Custom Cardboard Sleeve Boxes
Custom cardboard sleeve boxes — a tray for the product and a printed sleeve over it — sized to your item from 100 sets. The tray holds, the sleeve sells, and both ship flat. Dieline and price the same working day.
Two pieces of board, and the slide between them
- Board
- Tray 18–24pt boxboard or E flute; sleeve 300–350 gsm or 16pt
- Builds
- Open tray and sleeve; closed-end sleeve; ribbon-pull tray; rigid tray and slipcase
- Fit
- About 1 mm clearance on the girth; sampled plain
Get a price for Cardboard Sleeve 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 tray, and what it is made of
The tray is sized to the product plus 2–3 mm a side. Its walls are what the sleeve slides over, so their height sets the sleeve and the depth of the reveal.
| Folding boxboard tray, 18–24pt | Glued corners or crash-lock; ships flat; light and medium products |
|---|---|
| E-flute tray | Stiffer walls; ships flat; heavier products and shipping inside the sleeve |
| Rigid wrapped tray | Does not ship flat; the premium version, with the sleeve as a slipcase |
The sleeve, and the friction that holds it
The sleeve is a four-panel band glued on one seam, cut about 1 mm larger than the tray in each direction of the girth. Too tight and it will not slide; too loose and the tray falls out when the box is tipped. A thumb cut-out in the sleeve, or a finger notch in the tray end, gives a grip to pull. Our paper sleeves without the tray are the same band used over other objects.
The fit is confirmed on a plain sample — the one item on a sleeve box that a drawing cannot settle.
Keeping the tray in
- A closed-end sleeve on one side, so the tray stops against it and pulls out one way.
- A ribbon tab glued to the tray base, which pulls the tray out and reads as a drawer.
- A small tuck flap on the tray end that folds over the sleeve edge.
- Nothing — for a box that sits on a shelf and is opened deliberately, the friction alone is enough.
Print on the sleeve, presence in the tray
The sleeve is a flat print with folds and takes full color, laminate, foil and emboss cleanly. The tray is usually plain or a single color — inside the sleeve it is seen for a moment as the box opens, and a colored tray inside a printed sleeve is one of the simplest two-tone effects in packaging. A window in the sleeve shows the product before the slide.
Products that suit a slide
Chocolates and confectionery, soap, candles, tea, cosmetics sets, stationery, phone accessories, small electronics. Anything flat or low that presents well edge-on, and any product where a two-tone look is wanted without a rigid box.
Cardboard Sleeve 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
- Tray 18–24pt boxboard or E flute; sleeve 300–350 gsm or 16pt
- Builds
- Open tray and sleeve; closed-end sleeve; ribbon-pull tray; rigid tray and slipcase
- Fit
- About 1 mm clearance on the girth; sampled plain
- Full color sleeve; plain or one-color tray; window optional
- Supply
- Both pieces flat; tray folds or locks at the bench
- Sizing
- Tray to product plus 2–3 mm; sleeve from the tray
- Minimum
- 100 sets
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 sleeve 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 sleeve 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 Sleeve 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 sleeve 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 is a sleeve box?
A two-piece box: an open tray that holds the product and a band that slides over it. It opens by sliding the tray out.
Does it ship flat?
Yes, both pieces, unless the tray is rigid. The tray folds or locks at the bench and the sleeve pops open.
How do you stop the tray falling out?
The friction of the fit holds it in normal handling. A closed-end sleeve, a tuck flap or a ribbon pull adds security where it is needed.
Can the tray be a different color from the sleeve?
Yes, and it is the easiest two-tone effect there is: a colored tray appearing as the sleeve slides.
Is a sleeve box strong enough to post?
On an E-flute tray inside a shipper, yes. On its own through the post, the sleeve slides and the tray can escape; we suggest a closed-end sleeve or an outer box.
What is the minimum order?
100 sets.
Can I add a window?
Yes, die-cut in the sleeve on the same die.
How do I get the fit right?
We cut the sleeve about 1 mm larger than the tray on the girth and confirm it on a plain sample before printing.
Can there be a ribbon pull?
Yes, glued to the tray base so the tray pulls out like a drawer.
Can the tray hold an insert?
Yes, a die-cut platform or foam insert sits in the tray to hold the product in place.
Do you keep the dies?
Yes, for the tray and the sleeve, so reorders skip the tooling.
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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