Custom Cookware Boxes
Custom cookware boxes for pans, pots and sets — heavy corrugated with a cradle for the body and protection for the handle, printed for the shelf or plain for shipping — sized to your piece from 100. Dieline and price the same working day.
Heavy, round, with a handle sticking out
- Board
- B flute under 2 kg; BC double wall for casseroles and sets
- Builds
- Flat carton with handle sleeve, square carton, double-wall carton, set carton with sleeve
- Cradle
- Molded pulp, corrugated rim cradle, foam corners; discs between nested pieces
Get a price for Cookware 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.
Formats by piece
| Frying pan or skillet | Flat carton with a handle sleeve; pulp cradle; window or printed image |
|---|---|
| Saucepan with lid | Square carton; body cradled; lid in a separate cell or inverted on top with a pad |
| Casserole or Dutch oven | BC double-wall carton; pulp or foam cradle top and bottom |
| Cookware set | Nested pieces with pads between; a large BC carton with a printed sleeve |
The handle problem
A pan handle is 150–250 mm of lever. In a box it either takes a separate sleeve — a corrugated tube along the handle, fixed to the cradle — or the box is sized to the whole length with the body cradled at one end. The sleeve is the smaller box and the cheaper freight; the full-length box is the simpler pack. Detachable handles ship in a pocket.
Cradles for a round body
- Molded pulp shaped to the base and the rim — plastic-free, the standard for premium cookware.
- A die-cut corrugated cradle at the rim, with a pad on the base — cheaper, fine for lighter pans.
- Foam corners for cast iron and heavy casseroles.
- A board disc between nested pieces in a set, so surfaces do not scratch.
Board that takes the weight and the stack
B flute for pans under about 2 kg; BC double wall for casseroles, cast iron and sets. Cookware cartons are stacked on a pallet and on a shop floor, and the carton is what takes the stack — the cradle only holds the pan. A crash-lock or glued base with the weight in it, and hand holes on a set carton. Our corrugated boxes in every grade are the base construction.
Non-stick surfaces scratch against board. A tissue or a paper disc on the cooking surface is specified for coated pans.
Retail print and the shipping outer
A cookware carton on a shelf shows a photograph of the pan, the size in cm or inches, the material and whether it suits induction. Full color on a white liner, matte laminated. The same carton ships direct in a plain outer, or on its own with a printed exterior if it is built to. Regulatory and care panels sit on the base.
Cookware 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 under 2 kg; BC double wall for casseroles and sets
- Builds
- Flat carton with handle sleeve, square carton, double-wall carton, set carton with sleeve
- Cradle
- Molded pulp, corrugated rim cradle, foam corners; discs between nested pieces
- Handle
- Corrugated sleeve or full-length carton; pocket for detachable
- Full color on white liner, matte laminate; size and induction marks
- Base
- Crash-lock or glued; hand holes on set cartons
- Minimum
- 100 boxes
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 cookware 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: cookware 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 Cookware 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 cookware 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.
How do you pack a pan with a long handle?
Either a corrugated sleeve along the handle fixed to the cradle, or a box the full length with the body cradled at one end. The sleeve makes a smaller box.
What board do you use for cast iron?
BC double wall with foam corners or a pulp cradle top and bottom.
Can the cradle be plastic-free?
Yes, molded pulp shaped to the base and rim is the standard for premium cookware.
Will the non-stick surface be scratched?
Not with a tissue or paper disc on the cooking surface, which we specify for coated pans.
Can one carton hold a set?
Yes, nested with board discs between the pieces, in a BC carton with hand holes and a printed sleeve.
What is the minimum order?
100 boxes.
Can the box be printed for retail?
Yes, full color on a white liner with the pan photograph, size and induction mark on the front.
Does it ship flat?
The carton and board parts do. Pulp cradles ship as they are and are fitted at packing.
Where does the lid go?
In its own cell, or inverted on the pan with a pad between, depending on the piece.
Do you drop-test it?
Yes, a filled sample is dropped on a corner before the run.
Do you keep the dies?
Yes, per piece, so a reorder or a new print on the same pan skips 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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