Custom Cardboard Noodle Boxes
Custom cardboard noodle boxes — the fold-top takeout pail — made in your sizes and print, from 100 units. Leak-resistant board that holds sauce, a fold that stays shut in a bag, and a handle that does not pull out when the box is full.
The pail that unfolds into a plate
- Board
- Food-grade poly-coated SBS or kraft, 18–24 pt; double-coated for soup
- Sizes
- 8, 16, 26, 32 and 64 oz; custom volumes to order
- Handle
- Wire bail, die-cut paper handle, or none for delivery
Get a price for Cardboard Noodle 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.
Sizes, in ounces, and what each actually holds
Pails are volume-rated, but noodles are not liquid. A 26 oz pail comfortably holds a portion that would overflow a 16 oz one only because the noodles pile above the rim before the top is folded. If you fill by weight, send us the portion and we will tell you the pail.
| 8 oz | A side of rice or a sauce — 3 × 2.75 in base |
|---|---|
| 16 oz | A single noodle portion, the standard lunch pail |
| 26–32 oz | A full entrée with sauce; the size most restaurants order most of |
| 64 oz | Family share, or a party pail; needs the heavier board |
Holding sauce without a seam leak
A noodle pail is made from a single blank with a glued side seam and a folded, locked base — there is no separate bottom to leak. What makes it hold liquid is the board: a poly-coated food grade on the inside stops sauce soaking through, and the fold-in base traps the corners. For a pail that will hold soup rather than noodles, we move to a double-coated grade and a tighter base lock.
Grease is a different problem from sauce. A pail for fried noodles needs the same grease resistance we build into french fry boxes that stay dry outside, and we use a non-fluorinated barrier for it.
Microwave use needs a poly-free grade or a microwave-safe coating and no wire handle. Say so at the quote stage; it changes the board and the handle.
The handle, and the two ways to do it
The wire holes are the weak point on cheap pails: too close to the edge and a full 32 oz tears out. We set them a full half-inch in and reinforce the fold behind them.
- Wire bail — the classic, threaded through two die-cut holes and crimped. Holds the most weight, folds flat against the side, not microwaveable.
- Die-cut paper handle — cut into the top flaps, locks when the box is closed, all paper, lower capacity.
- No handle — for pails going into a delivery bag, where a wire only snags.
Print on a folded surface
The pail blank is printed flat, so all four sides and both top flaps can carry artwork. The creases run through the print, and solid dark colors show white at a cold crease; we score deeper on a solid design and warn where a crease crosses a logo. A kraft pail with one-color print is the budget answer and looks deliberate. The white version takes full color and photographs well for a menu.
Cardboard Noodle 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
- Board
- Food-grade poly-coated SBS or kraft, 18–24 pt; double-coated for soup
- Sizes
- 8, 16, 26, 32 and 64 oz; custom volumes to order
- Handle
- Wire bail, die-cut paper handle, or none for delivery
- Base
- Fold-in locked base from a single blank, no separate bottom
- All four sides and both flaps; kraft one-color or white full-color
- Minimum
- 100 boxes
On every job
- Print process
- Flexo in one to six colors, printed on the outer face only and before any lining goes on.
- Color
- Food-safe inks throughout. Kraft mutes color; a white board or liner is needed for anything photographic.
- Tolerance
- Cutting plus or minus 1 mm, and fit confirmed by filling a plain sample from your own kitchen or line.
- Tooling
- A cutting die per size, kept. Molded pulp needs a tool per shape, which is a longer lead and a larger one-off.
- Food contact
- Every board food-contact grade, with grease resistance built into the sheet and never a PFAS treatment.
- Sustainability
- Aqueous linings and unlined boards repulp with ordinary paper. PE-lined cups need cup collection, and we say which you have.
- 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 cardboard noodle boxes on
Food packaging is chosen for what the food does to it: grease, steam, heat and time. Every board here is food-contact grade, and none of them uses a PFAS treatment for grease resistance.
Food-grade virgin board
Bleached board made for direct food contact. Clean, bright, no recycled fiber and no mineral-oil risk from recovered paper.
14–24ptGrease-resistant board
Resistance built into the sheet rather than sprayed on. Holds fries, pastry and butter without darkening. PFAS-free.
16–24ptPE-lined cupstock
Board with a polyethylene film for hot and cold liquid. Microwave-safe for reheating; recycled only where cup collection exists.
260–350gsmAqueous-lined cupstock
A water-based lining instead of PE. Repulpable in ordinary paper recycling in more places, and compostable; a slightly shorter hold time.
260–320gsmGreaseproof and glassine
Dense, calendered paper that resists fat through the fiber. Wraps, liners and interleaves; breathable, so pastry stays crisp.
30–55gsmFood-grade corrugated
E and B flute with a food-contact liner, vented where steam has to leave. Pizza, catering and anything hot and heavy.
E and B fluteMolded pulp and bagasse
Fiber pressed into a shape. Holds heat, resists grease with no lining, composts, and takes only an embossed or one-color mark.
Molded to shapeRecycled board
Post-consumer fiber. Used for outers, sleeves and anything that does not touch food directly — not for direct contact.
Non-contact onlyNot 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.
Food finishes are limited by what may touch food, and that is the point.
Food-safe inks
Printed on the outer face only. Every food pack we make uses them, laminated or not.
Uncoated kraft
No coating at all. Breathable, so pastry stays crisp, and it takes one or two colors.
Aqueous varnish
Scuff resistance without a plastic film, so the pack still repulps.
Molded emboss
A logo pressed into pulp or bagasse. No ink, nothing to rub off, and it survives grease.
Grease-resistant face
Not a finish you can see. It is in the sheet, it is PFAS-free, and it is why the print stays clean.
Matte lamination
Available on outers and sleeves that never touch food — a cake box lid, a carrier, a gift sleeve.
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 food packaging around a portion, hot: cardboard noodle boxes
Food is sized by serving, not by dimensions, and it is served hot, heaped and in a hurry. Send us the portion — or better, the box you use now with the food in it — and we size to how it is actually filled.
- Portion, heaped
- Fries, popcorn and salad are served above the rim. A box sized to a level fill looks mean and spills in a bag.
- Lid clearance
- Enough that a loaded burger or a topped cake does not touch the lid. This is the single most common complaint about a food box.
- Venting
- Hot food steams. Vents in the lid keep pastry and fries crisp; a sealed box is right only for cold food.
- Grease path
- Where the fat sits decides the board. Say if the food is fried, buttered or sauced, and whether it is held for minutes or an hour.
- Stacking in a bag
- Delivery boxes are stacked five high on a bike. The lid has to hold the box above it off the food below.
- Sample fill
- A plain box filled from your kitchen settles the size in one try, and we send one before the run.
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
Build your Cardboard Noodle Boxes in 3D
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a board 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 cardboard noodle 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.
Does it leak?
Not with the poly-coated food grade and the fold-in base. For soup rather than noodles we use a double-coated board and a tighter base lock.
Can it go in the microwave?
Yes, in a microwave-safe grade with a paper handle or no handle. The wire-bail version cannot. Tell us at the quote stage, because it changes the board.
Which size for a standard noodle portion?
16 oz for a lunch portion, 26 oz for a full entrée with sauce. Send us your portion weight and we will confirm the pail.
Will the wire handle pull out?
Not on ours. The holes sit a half-inch in from the edge with a reinforced fold behind them, which is what cheap pails skip.
Can I have a kraft pail?
Yes, with a food-grade coating inside. One-color print on kraft is the lowest-cost version and looks deliberate.
Does it really unfold into a plate?
Yes. Unfold the top flaps and push the sides down and the base and walls lie flat. That is why the creases have to be scored properly.
Can it hold fried food?
Yes, with a grease-resistant barrier. Fried noodles and grease are a different problem from sauce and we spec for both.
Is it recyclable?
The poly-coated grade is compostable in industrial facilities and recyclable where coated board is accepted. An aqueous-coated version is easier to recycle and holds sauce for a shorter time.
Do the pails come flat?
Yes, glued at the side seam and shipped flat. They pop open and the base locks in a second or two at the counter.
What is the minimum order?
100 pails per size. The blank runs many-up on a sheet, so short runs are practical.
How long does production take?
It depends on the board and the quantity. We give a date with the quote rather than a number before we have seen the spec.
Will you send a sample?
An unprinted pail in your size, so you can fill it with a real portion and carry it home before print.
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