Custom Designer Boxes
Custom designer boxes engineered from your sketch, render or reference, from 100. You bring the idea; we turn it into a dieline that folds, glues and survives a courier, and send it back with a price the same working day.
A box that starts as a drawing, not a catalog number
- Board
- Folding boxboard 16–24pt; E flute; wrapped grayboard for rigid parts
- Builds
- From your drawing: shaped panels, custom openings, nested and multi-part
- Engineering
- Dieline drawn from concept; plain sample before print
Get a price for Designer 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.
What we need from a concept to quote it
From that we draw a first dieline and price it. If the concept has a construction problem — a fold that fights the grain, a lid that will not hold — the reply says so and offers the nearest build that works.
- A sketch, a render or a photograph of something similar — the intent matters more than the accuracy.
- The product dimensions and weight, assembled, at the widest point in each direction.
- How it travels: inside a shipper, or on its own through the post.
- How many, and whether there is a date the first run has to meet.
The three places designer boxes go wrong
Glue flaps in the wrong place, so the box needs a hand assembly step nobody costed. Panels that are gorgeous in a render and impossible to score in board, because a curve tighter than the board thickness cracks. And openings that work on the first use and not the twentieth. Each is caught on the dieline or the plain sample, which is the point of having both before anything prints.
A white unprinted sample at the finished size is the single most useful thing we make on a designer job. Ask for one.
Materials that let the design do more
Mixing them is common: a rigid tray inside a folding sleeve, a corrugated outer around a boxboard inner. The quote lists each part so you can see where the cost sits.
| Folding boxboard, 16–24pt | Sharp scores, tight folds, full color and every finish |
|---|---|
| E-flute corrugated | Structure at larger sizes; prints well on a white liner |
| Wrapped grayboard | Rigid pieces — trays, lids, drawers — that hold a shape |
| Windows, sleeves, inserts | Second components that make the mechanism, not decoration |
Keeping the idea when the quantity is small
At 100 to 500 units a cutting die is the main tooling cost and a complex outline makes it larger. Where a concept has two dies' worth of pieces, we look for one die that cuts both, or a build where one piece is a plain rectangle cut without tooling. Our note on what a first run actually costs sets out where the money goes on a short run.
From the approved dieline to the shelf
Once the dieline and sample are signed off, artwork is placed on the flat and proofed, the die is cut and kept, and the run is printed, cut and glued. Reorders go straight to press. A change of size later is a new die; a change of artwork on the same size is not.
Designer 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
- Folding boxboard 16–24pt; E flute; wrapped grayboard for rigid parts
- Builds
- From your drawing: shaped panels, custom openings, nested and multi-part
- Engineering
- Dieline drawn from concept; plain sample before print
- Full color inside and out; foil, emboss, spot UV, soft-touch
- Tooling
- Cutting die per size, kept for reorders; foil and emboss dies per artwork
- Components
- Windows, sleeves, inserts, ribbons quoted as separate lines
- 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 designer 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: designer 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 Designer 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 designer 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.
Can you make a box from a sketch?
Yes. A sketch, a render or a photo of something similar is enough to draw a first dieline and quote it. Accuracy is not required; intent is.
Do I need to supply a dieline?
No. Drawing the dieline is our job, and it comes back with the quote for you to check before anything is cut.
What if my design cannot be made?
We say so, and offer the closest build that can. Usually the problem is a fold too tight for the board or a glue flap in the wrong place, and both have fixes.
How much does tooling cost?
It depends on the size and complexity of the outline. It is shown separately on the quote, paid once, and the die is kept for every reorder.
Can I get a sample before the run?
Yes, a plain unprinted sample at the finished size. On a designer box it is the best money you will spend, because it shows the mechanism working.
Can the box mix materials?
Yes: a rigid tray in a folding sleeve, a corrugated outer with a boxboard inner, a window in either. Each part is listed on the quote.
What is the minimum?
100 boxes.
Can I change the design after the first run?
Artwork changes on the same size go straight to press. A change to the shape or size needs a new die.
How long does a designer box take?
Longer than a standard carton, because there is a drawing and a sample stage. We give a date with the quote rather than a number of days before we have seen the concept.
Will the box survive shipping?
That is decided on the dieline: we ask how it travels and build accordingly, adding a shipper or choosing E flute where a folding box alone would not make it.
Can you match a box I have seen elsewhere?
We can build to the same construction and size. We will not copy someone else's artwork or trademarked shape.
Do you keep my design confidential?
Yes. Your drawings and dielines are not shown to anyone else or reused on other jobs.
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