Custom Cardboard Tubes with Inserts
Custom cardboard tubes with inserts from 100 — an inner neck collar that the lid closes on, a board cradle that holds a bottle off the base, or a divided insert for two or three items, so nothing slides when the tube is turned upside down.
What sits inside the tube matters as much as the tube
- Board
- Spiral-wound kraft chipboard, 1.5–2.5 mm wall
- Inserts
- Inner neck collar, base riser, bottle cradle, divided insert, foam or pulp ring
- Neck finish
- White, silver foil-faced or printed inner ply
Get a price for Cardboard Tubes with Inserts
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.
Kinds of tube insert
| Inner neck collar | Raised ring inside the base rim; the lid closes onto it |
|---|---|
| Base riser | A board disc on a short tube, lifting a small item to the top |
| Bottle cradle | Die-cut board ring that holds a bottle by the shoulder |
| Divided insert | Cross or radial dividers for two to four items |
| Foam or pulp ring | For glass or heavier products that must not move at all |
Why the inner neck looks the way it does
The neck in our photos is a contrasting ply — white or silver against kraft — and that is deliberate. When the lid comes off, the first thing seen is a clean bright edge, which makes a plain kraft tube look finished. It also hides the cut edge of the base and stops the lid from sliding all the way down. A similar shoulder build in a printed wrap is shown on our printed paper tubes with lids page.
Sizing a tube around its insert
- Measure the product at its widest point and its full height, cap included.
- Add the insert wall to the inside diameter — about 2–3 mm all round for a board ring.
- Allow the neck height (usually 3/4–1 in) when you set the base length.
- Send a sample product if you can; a cradle cut to a real bottle beats a drawing.
Products that need a holder
Fragrance and essential oil bottles, glass candle vessels, coffee and tea tins inside a gift tube, watches on a pillow, and sets of two lipsticks or balms. For pairing a tube insert with other formats, our range of cut foam inserts for fragile items covers the softer options.
Cardboard Tubes with Inserts — 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
- Spiral-wound kraft chipboard, 1.5–2.5 mm wall
- Inserts
- Inner neck collar, base riser, bottle cradle, divided insert, foam or pulp ring
- Neck finish
- White, silver foil-faced or printed inner ply
- Outer
- Natural kraft, or full-color printed wrap with foil
- Fit
- Insert and lid fit set on a plain sample with your product
- Sizes
- About 1.5–5 in across; length to product plus neck
- Minimum
- 100 tubes
On every job
- Print process
- The tube itself is not printed. A wrap is printed offset as a flat sheet and applied, with the seam at the back.
- Color
- CMYK and spot colors on the wrap. Bare kraft takes one color directly, printed on the outer ply as the tube winds.
- Tolerance
- Diameter is fixed by the mandrel; length plus or minus 1 mm. Cap fit is set on a sample with a humidity allowance.
- Tooling
- The mandrel sets the diameter and is not a cost. Tooling is the wrap print and any foil die, made once and kept.
- Food contact
- A food-grade inner ply or a separate inner bag where the tube holds loose tea, coffee or confectionery.
- Sustainability
- The wound board and the paper wrap recycle as paper. Metal ends and plastic plugs are removed first.
- 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 tubes with inserts on
A tube is wound rather than folded, so the wall is built up in layers of board on a mandrel. That gives it drum stiffness, and it means the internal diameter comes from a fixed set of mandrels.
Wound kraft chipboard
Strips of recycled board spiralled and glued. The tube body: strong in compression, recyclable as paper, and naturally brown.
1–3 mm wallLight wall, 1–1.5 mm
For retail tubes that travel inside a shipper — tea, cosmetics, candles. Keeps the tube light and the freight down.
1–1.5 mmHeavy wall, 2–3 mm
For tubes posted on their own: posters, plans, spirits. A thin-walled long tube arrives with a kink in the middle.
2–3 mmPrinted paper wrap
The tube is not printed directly. A printed label is wrapped around it in full color, with foil or emboss, and the seam sits at the back.
120–157gsmTinplate ends
Crimped metal base and lid. The traditional tea and gift tube; adds weight and a different sound when it opens.
CrimpedPlastic plugs
Snap-in ends for shipping and poster tubes. Reusable, removable, and the fit is what stops them pushing out under a stack.
Push-fitFood-grade liners
A laminated or greaseproof inner ply, or a separate inner bag, where the tube holds loose tea, coffee or confectionery.
Inner ply or bagShoulder and telescoping lids
A short second tube over the base, or an inner collar for a flush join. The join is the difference between a container and a gift.
Wound to matchNot 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.
A tube is finished on the wrap, so anything a flat sheet takes, a tube takes.
Bare kraft
No wrap at all. The natural wound board, which is the look most brands choose it for.
Printed wrap
Full color on a laminated paper applied round the tube, with the seam at the back.
Hot foil
On the wrap before it is applied, or on the lid top. Gold on kraft is the category signature.
Deboss on the wrap
Pressed after wrapping so the relief follows the curve.
Two-tone
One paper on the lid, another on the base. Reads as a deliberate design for almost nothing.
Metal ends
Tinplate base and lid. A different weight and a different sound when it opens.
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 tube, where diameter comes in steps: cardboard tubes with inserts
Length is cut to order, but the internal diameter is set by the mandrel the tube is wound on. Those come in roughly 5 mm steps, so we choose the first step above your product rather than an exact figure.
- Internal diameter
- The product at its widest plus 2–3 mm, rounded up to the next mandrel. Anything more and a round product rolls inside.
- Length
- The product plus the depth of a cap at each end, plus 3 mm. Cut to any figure.
- Wall thickness
- 1–1.5 mm inside a shipper, 2–3 mm for a tube that travels alone. It is the whole protection on a mailing tube.
- Cap fit
- Set on a plain sample. A cap a fraction loose falls out in the post; a fraction tight cannot be opened by hand.
- Outside size
- Carriers measure the outside including the caps — usually about 0.25 in over the bore, and an inch over the length.
- Inserts
- Round products still rattle. A board ring or a foam disc holds a jar or a bottle centered.
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 Cardboard Tubes with Inserts
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a wall and wrap 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 tubes with inserts? 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 the insert in a cardboard tube with an inner neck?
A narrower tube glued inside the top of the base. It stands above the rim and the lid closes onto it.
Why is the inner neck a different color from the tube?
A white or silver neck gives a clean edge when the lid comes off and hides the cut board.
Can a cardboard tube insert hold a glass bottle?
Yes, with a die-cut cradle at the shoulder or a foam ring, so the bottle cannot touch the walls.
Can one cardboard tube hold two products?
Yes, with a divided insert. Two or three items is practical; four in a wide tube.
How do I size a tube with an insert?
Give us the product size, and we add the insert wall and neck height to set the tube.
Can the insert lift a small item to the top of the tube?
Yes. A base riser holds a short product near the lid so it is seen first.
Is the insert glued in the cardboard tube?
The neck collar is glued. Cradles and dividers can be glued or left loose, as you prefer.
Can the tube with an insert stay plastic-free?
Yes, with board inserts. Foam rings are the one option that adds plastic.
Can I send my product so the insert fits it?
Yes, and we recommend it. The sample tube is made around the real item.
What is the minimum order for cardboard tubes with inserts?
100 tubes per size and insert type.
Do cardboard tubes with inserts arrive assembled?
Yes, with the neck glued and lids on. Loose dividers are packed alongside.
Same range
