Custom Carbonless Pads Boxes
A pad is the simplest way to buy carbonless forms: sets glued along the top edge, torn off individually, with a stiff cover behind them. It is cheaper than binding into books and it has one failure mode that ruins whole pads.
- Formats
- Padded carbonless sets, 2, 3 and 4 part
- Finishing
- Head-glued padding, wraparound cover, perforation, sequential numbering
- Sizes
- A4, A5, A6, DL and bespoke
Get a price for Carbonless Pads Boxes
Send the size and quantity — we reply the same working day with a price, a dieline and a date. Artwork optional at this stage.
- Free dielineThe flat drawing comes with the quote, before you commit.
- Proof before pressNothing is printed until you have seen it laid on the dieline.
- Die kept for reordersTooling is paid once. Every reorder skips straight to press.
- Quoted in four marketsUS, UK, Canada and Australia, in the delivery currency.
The wraparound cover is not optional
Writing on the top set of a pad presses through into the set below it, and the set below that. Without something between them, a pad works for one set and then every remaining set carries a ghost of what was written above it.
A stiff wraparound cover folds behind the pad and sits under the set being written on. It is a few pence and it is the difference between a usable pad and a pad of scrap.
Train whoever uses them to fold the cover under. A cover left at the back does nothing at all.
Parts, and where the copies go
Follow the color convention. Everyone in a trade already knows which color they keep, and departing from it causes confusion for no benefit.
| 2-part | White top, yellow copy — customer and file |
|---|---|
| 3-part | White, yellow, pink — customer, office, driver |
| 4-part | Adds green; the practical limit before the last copy goes faint |
| Numbered | Sequential across the pad; the only reliable way to spot a missing set |
Pads against books
- A pad is cheaper to finish and the sets tear off cleanly one at a time.
- A book keeps the file copy bound in, which is what a lot of trades actually want.
- A pad with a perforated top copy does both — the copy leaves, the record stays.
- For anything used in a van or on site, a book survives better than a pad.
Design it for a gloved hand on a clipboard
Write-in boxes always look big enough on screen and are always too small in practice. The people filling these in are standing, often outdoors, sometimes in gloves, and always in a hurry.
Print a proof and fill it in yourself, standing up, with a ballpoint. Every problem shows in a minute and none of them is visible on a PDF — the wider form-design points are in our carbonless forms notes.
Ballpoint only, and why the last copy fades
Carbonless works by pressure bursting microcapsules of dye. A rollerball or a felt tip glides and applies almost none, so the second copy comes out patchy and the third barely at all.
That is also why four parts is the practical limit: by the fourth sheet the pressure has been absorbed by the ones above. If you need five, expect the last one to be a reference rather than a document.
Carbonless Pads Boxes — specification
The rows that are specific to this build first, then what applies to every job we run. Anything not listed is a question, not a limit — send the brief.
This build
- Formats
- Padded carbonless sets, 2, 3 and 4 part
- Finishing
- Head-glued padding, wraparound cover, perforation, sequential numbering
- Sizes
- A4, A5, A6, DL and bespoke
- One or two colors as standard; full color available
- Pen
- Ballpoint required — rollerballs will not transfer
- Minimum
- 100 sets
On every job
- Print process
- Digital below about a thousand, offset above it. Both sides as standard on cards, tags and leaflets.
- Color
- CMYK with spot colors for a brand match. Uncoated and cotton stocks print noticeably lighter than coated ones.
- Tolerance
- Trim plus or minus 1 mm guillotined, plus or minus 0.5 mm die-cut. Anything over about 170gsm is creased before folding.
- Tooling
- A die only where the piece is shaped, perforated or drilled, made once and kept. A plain rectangle needs none.
- Food contact
- Food-safe inks on menus and counter print that will be handled where food is served.
- Sustainability
- Uncoated and unlaminated stocks recycle without separation, and FSC papers are available across the range.
- Artwork
- Vector PDF or AI, 3 mm bleed, 4 mm safe area, fonts outlined. We check every file and send a proof before press.
- Dieline
- Supplied free with the quote, before you commit. Yours whether or not you order.
- Sample
- A plain unprinted sample at the finished size on request, for fit and construction.
- Reorders
- Skip the tooling and go straight to press at a lower unit price.
- Lead time
- Quoted with the price against your fill date rather than promised before we have seen the spec.
- Markets
- United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia — priced in the delivery currency, freight included.
Boards and films we build carbonless pads boxes on
Sheet print is judged in the hand more than a box is: the weight, the surface and whether a pen works on it. These are the stocks we run for cards, folders, leaflets and stationery.
Coated card 300–400gsm
The workhorse. Sharp full-color print, matte or gloss, laminated where it is handled. Does not take a pen unless the finish is matte.
300–400gsmUncoated card
No clay coat. Colors read softer and warmer, a deboss goes deeper, and it writes on with anything. Photographs lose punch.
300–400gsmCotton and textured card
Soft, thick and fibrous. Takes a deep blind deboss and reads as an invitation. Foil sits beautifully; four-color does not.
400–700gsmDuplexed card
Two sheets bonded, often with a colored core, for a very thick card with a visible colored edge. The heaviest thing we print.
600–900gsmText paper 100–170gsm
Leaflets, folder inners and booklet pages. Folds without cracking and takes a full-color print on both faces.
100–170gsmManila and kraft paper
Unbleached, tan, and cheap. One or two colors read well; white ink gives a light mark. Envelopes, folders and tags.
90–300gsmSynthetic stock
Polypropylene sheet for tags and cards that get wet, torn or handled outdoors. Prints like paper and does not soften.
200–400 micronBoard-backed
A printed face laminated to grayboard, for a rigid card, a folder back or a display that has to stand up on its own.
1–2 mm boardNot sure which? Say what goes in it and where it is sold — the material follows from that. Our notes on recycled, recyclable and compostable cover which claims each stock can honestly carry.
- 01
Send what you have
A dimension, a photograph beside a ruler, or the product itself. No technical drawing needed — that part is ours.
- 02
We quote and draw
A price, a dieline and a date come back together. If a different build would suit the product better, that is in the reply too.
- 03
Approve the dieline
The flat drawing is yours to check: which panel is the front, where the folds fall, how deep the cavity really is.
- 04
Artwork on the dieline
You place your design on the flat we sent, or we place it for you, and you see a proof before anything goes to press.
- 05
A sample if you want one
A plain unprinted sample at the finished size shows fit and construction — the things a drawing cannot.
- 06
Cut, printed, shipped
The die is cut once and kept, so every reorder skips the tooling and goes straight to press at a lower unit price.
Format
Vector PDF or AI where possible. Raster artwork at 300dpi at final size, in CMYK.
Bleed
3 mm past every trim line, so a fraction of drift on the cutter never leaves a white edge.
Safe area
Keep type and anything important 4 mm inside the cut and away from every fold.
Color
Convert to CMYK before sending. Uncoated stock prints lighter; a spot color is the only exact match.
Fonts
Outline them or supply the files. A missing font substitutes silently and the proof will not match.
Barcodes
On a light, matte, unvarnished patch with the quiet zone clear — a code on gloss fails the scanner.
Not set up that way? Send it anyway — fixing a file is a short conversation, and we check every one before press. Our guide to preparing print files covers each point.
Sheet print takes the widest range of finishes of anything we make.
Matte lamination
Soft, fingerprint-resistant, and it still takes a pen. The default on anything handled.
Gloss lamination
Maximum color depth. Shows every fingerprint and refuses a ballpoint.
Hot foil
Gold, rose gold, silver, holographic or a color. The block is small so the die is cheap.
Emboss and deboss
Deepest on uncoated and cotton stocks; shallow and prone to cracking on gloss coated.
Spot UV
A gloss shape on a matte laminate. Best on a dark ground where the contrast reads.
Edge paint and colored core
Color on the cut edge of a thick or duplexed card. Only seen when the card is picked up, which is the point.
Soft-touch
A velvet laminate on a cover or a folder. Marks on white; excellent on dark.
Uncoated and textured
No film at all. Writes on, debosses deeply, and reads as considered rather than cheap.
Not sure which suits the shelf it sells from? Say where the product is sold and we suggest one — our notes on specialty finishes show them on real boxes.
Sizing printed sheets, folds and the grain: carbonless pads boxes
A printed piece is specified flat and finished folded, and the difference between the two is where mistakes live. Send the finished size you want and we work back to the flat.
- Finished size
- The size after folding and trimming. A6, A5, A4, DL, US letter and legal are standard; anything else is cut on its own die.
- Bleed and safe area
- 3 mm of artwork past every trim edge, and nothing important within 4 mm inside it. The guillotine drifts by a fraction on every stack.
- Grain direction
- Paper folds cleanly along the grain and cracks across it. We set the grain to the fold, which is why a sheet is not simply cut from the biggest sheet available.
- Fold allowance
- On a roll fold or a gate fold, the inner panels are cut a millimeter or two shorter so the piece closes flat.
- Creasing
- Anything over about 170gsm is creased before folding. Without it the fold cracks and the coating flakes along the line.
- Trim tolerance
- Plus or minus 1 mm guillotined, plus or minus 0.5 mm die-cut.
Not sure your numbers are right? Send the product dimensions rather than the box dimensions and we work the box out — the full method is in our guide to measuring for a box.
Interactive · five steps · no sign-up
Spec your Carbonless Pads Boxes
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a stock and a finish. The preview on the left redraws as you go, and the spec lands with us exactly as you set it.
Frequently asked questions
Got a question about carbonless pads boxes? The answers below cover what we get asked most. If yours is not here, send it with a brief, message us on WhatsApp, or call +1 503-461-4788 — we reply the same working day.
Why do the sets below get marked?
No wraparound cover under the set being written on. It is a few pence and it saves the whole pad.
Why is my last copy faint?
Too many parts, or the wrong pen. Four parts is the practical limit and it needs a ballpoint.
Pad or book?
Pad for cheapness and clean tearing. Book if the file copy should stay bound in, or if it lives in a van.
Should I have them numbered?
If the forms matter for control, always — sequential numbering is the only way to know a set has gone missing.
What size boxes should the write-in fields be?
Bigger than they look on screen — print a proof and fill it in standing up with a ballpoint before ordering.
Can I have my company details pre-printed?
Yes, and on a form that doubles as an invoice or delivery note, the pre-printed elements are what make it valid.
Why do the sets below get marked?
No wraparound cover under the set being written on. It is a few pence and it saves the whole pad.
Why is my last copy faint?
Too many parts, or the wrong pen. Four parts is the practical limit and it needs a ballpoint.
Pad or book?
Pad for cheapness and clean tearing. Book if the file copy should stay bound in, or if it lives in a van.
Should I have them numbered?
If the forms matter for control, always. Sequential numbering is the only way to know a set has gone missing.
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