Custom Cardboard PET Carriers Boxes
Custom cardboard pet carriers — a vented B-flute carrier with a locking lid and a handle, sized to the animal and printed for your clinic, shelter or store — from 100. Dieline and price the same working day.
A carrier for the trip home, built so nothing gets out
- Board
- B flute medium and large; E flute small; moisture-resistant base liner
- Builds
- Vented carrier with locking lid and die-cut handle; crash-lock or locked base
- Sizing
- Small, medium, large from the animal standing and turning
Get a price for Cardboard Pet Carriers 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 by animal
The animal is sized standing and turning, not lying down. Send the largest animal the carrier is for.
| Small — birds, hamsters, small reptiles | About 250 × 150 × 150 mm; fine vents |
|---|---|
| Medium — guinea pigs, rabbits, kittens | About 350 × 220 × 220 mm |
| Large — cats, small dogs, large rabbits | About 450 × 280 × 300 mm; B flute; a reinforced handle |
Vents, and the calm inside
Vents are cut on the sides and the lid — round or slot — sized so a paw cannot get through and light comes in without the animal being on display. A darker interior calms a cat; a lighter one suits a bird. Vents are placed high so bedding stays in and air moves. Our pet packaging for food, toys and supplies covers the rest of what a shelter or a store sends home.
The lid, the lock and the handle
- A lid that folds in from both sides and locks with tabs, closable one-handed.
- A die-cut handle in the lid, doubled and reinforced on the large size.
- A crash-lock or locked base that holds an animal's weight without opening.
- No sharp edges or loose tabs inside; the interior is plain.
Board for an animal that moves
B flute for medium and large carriers, E flute for small. The handle carries the animal's weight plus its movement, so it is sized for twice the static load. A moisture-resistant liner on the base for the trip; a carrier is single-use or a few uses, not a permanent box.
Carriers are assembled by a stressed person in a hurry. The fold sequence is printed on the lid, and it is tested by someone who has not seen it before.
Shelters, clinics and stores
Shelters print the carrier with an adoption message and a care QR; clinics with the practice name and a "keep calm, keep dark" note; stores with the brand. Carriers ship flat in bundles of 25 or 50 and fold at the desk. A hundred is a season for a small shelter; the die is kept per size.
Cardboard Pet Carriers 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
- B flute medium and large; E flute small; moisture-resistant base liner
- Builds
- Vented carrier with locking lid and die-cut handle; crash-lock or locked base
- Sizing
- Small, medium, large from the animal standing and turning
- Vents
- Round or slot, paw-proof, placed high
- 1–2 colors or full color outside; fold sequence on lid; plain interior
- Supply
- Flat, bundles of 25 or 50; folds at the desk
- Minimum
- 100 carriers
On every job
- Print process
- Digital below about a thousand, offset above it. One side or both, with spot colors where a match has to hold.
- Color
- CMYK as standard. Uncoated and kraft stocks print lighter and warmer; a spot color is the only exact match.
- Tolerance
- Cutting plus or minus 1 mm, creasing plus or minus 0.5 mm, confirmed on a plain sample before the run.
- Tooling
- A cutting die per size, made once and kept. Foil and emboss dies per artwork, also kept.
- Food contact
- Food-grade board and inks where the carton touches food, with the interior left plain.
- Sustainability
- Mono-material board wherever the product allows; recycled-content and FSC stocks; no claim printed the pack does not earn.
- 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 pet carriers boxes on
A folding carton is one sheet of board, so the board is the product. These are the stocks we run for cartons, what each is good at, and where it lets you down.
Natural kraft
Unbleached folding board. Warm, hides marks, costs least. Mutes color — one or two flat colors print well, photographs do not.
250–350gsm sleeves; 14–24pt cartonsWhite SBS
Solid bleached sulfate: bright, coated, the retail carton standard. Takes accurate color and every finish. Shows scuffs sooner than kraft.
14–24ptWhite lined chipboard
A recycled gray core under a white printing face. Cheaper than SBS and slightly duller; the back of the sheet stays gray.
16–24ptKraft-look coated
A kraft face over a coated inner. The natural look with a barrier behind it — the answer where oil, grease or moisture would mark plain kraft.
14–20ptRecycled-content board
Post-consumer fiber with a gray-brown cast. Right for outers and inner components; poor for bright whites and photography.
16–22ptMicro-flute E and F
A fine corrugated layer where a carton needs structure it cannot get from board — a large panel, a heavy product, a box that ships alone.
E 1.5 mm; F 0.8 mmUncoated and textured
No clay coat, or a linen or laid grain. Print reads softer and warmer; a deboss goes deeper. Photographs do not sit well on it.
280–350gsmMetallised and pearlescent
A metallic or pearl face for a shelf that needs to catch light. Costly, and it fights a photograph — a mark or a pattern suits it better.
16–20ptNot 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.
Every finish here is a decision about light on a shelf, not about luxury.
Matte lamination
Reads considered, hides marks, takes a ballpoint.
Gloss lamination
Lifts color; glares under shop lighting.
Soft-touch
Velvet in the hand; shows fingerprints in a bag.
Hot foil
Real metal leaf — the most reliable premium signal.
Emboss / deboss
Shape with no ink; works in the dark.
Spot UV
Gloss shapes on a matte field.
Uncoated kraft
Warm, natural, mutes color.
Textured stock
Texture in the paper; cannot scuff off.
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 a folding carton so the die comes out right: cardboard pet carriers boxes
Measure the product, not the box it is in now. A carton is built around what has to fit inside it, assembled — cap on, lid fitted, folded if it folds — at its widest point in each direction. Send those three numbers and say which is which.
- Length x width x height
- Internal, always. External dimensions include the board and are what the carrier measures, not what the product needs.
- Clearance
- 2–3 mm a side for a snug fit; more where an insert or void fill goes in. A carton cut exactly to the product is slow to pack and transmits every knock.
- Board thickness
- Heavier board takes internal space from the product. It matters most on small boxes, where four walls of 24pt is a real share of the cavity.
- Varies between batches?
- Glass, textiles, molded parts and cured soap all do. Measure several and build to the largest.
- Cutting tolerance
- Plus or minus 1 mm on folding board. Confirmed on a plain sample before the run.
- Units
- Metric or imperial, as long as you say which. Mixing them in one spec is where mistakes happen.
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 Pet Carriers 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 pet carriers 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.
What animals can a cardboard carrier hold?
Birds, hamsters, small reptiles, guinea pigs, rabbits, kittens, cats and small dogs, in three sizes from the animal standing and turning.
Is it strong enough for a cat?
Yes, in B flute with a doubled reinforced handle sized for twice the static load.
Can a paw get through the vents?
No, vents are sized paw-proof and placed high.
Can it be closed with one hand?
Yes, the lid folds in from both sides and locks with tabs.
What is the minimum order?
100 carriers.
Does it ship flat?
Yes, in bundles of 25 or 50, folding at the desk with the sequence printed on the lid.
Can it be reused?
A few times. It is built for the trip home, not as a permanent carrier.
Can the shelter's message be printed on it?
Yes, one or two colors or full color, with a care QR if wanted.
Is the base moisture-resistant?
Yes, a liner on the base for the trip.
Is the inside safe for the animal?
Yes, plain, with no loose tabs or sharp edges.
Can I have a darker interior for cats?
Yes, a kraft or a dark liner, which calms a cat; a lighter one suits birds.
Do you ship outside the US?
Yes, to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, quoted in the delivery currency.
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