Custom Educational Kit Boxes
Custom educational kit boxes with a cell for every part, instructions printed inside the lid and toy-safe board and inks — sized to your kit from 100. Dieline and price the same working day.
Forty small parts, one child, and a box that keeps them together
- Board
- E flute white-lined; 20–24pt boxboard for small kits; toy-safe
- Builds
- Lidded tray with divider, tray and sleeve, large classroom box, divided mailer
- Divider
- Cell per part, numbered, in instruction order; lift-out second tray
Get a price for Educational Kit 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.
Kit types and their boxes
| STEM and science kit | Divided box; cells for components, a tray for a circuit board; a lidded box that is reused |
|---|---|
| Craft and art kit | Tray with wells for materials; a sleeve; the lid as a work surface |
| Classroom set | A large divided box for 30 pupils' worth; a checklist inside the lid |
| Subscription learning box | A mailer with a divider; a new project monthly |
The divider is the product
Every part gets a cell sized to it, laid out in the order the instructions use them, with the cell printed with the part name or a number. Small parts sit in a bag in a cell. A second tray lifts out for a kit with many parts. The layout is drawn from the full bill of materials, and a plain sample is packed before print. Our toy boxes built for play cover the window and display versions for a toy-shop shelf.
The lid is the instruction sheet
- Step-by-step instructions printed inside the lid, or a quick-start with a QR to the full guide.
- A parts checklist with a picture of each, so a missing piece is found before the project starts.
- A safety panel and the age grade, in the markets' required forms.
- Space for a name — the kit is one child's, and it says so.
Board that survives a classroom
E flute with a white liner and a lidded tray construction: it is opened and closed weekly, dropped, and stacked in a cupboard. Toy-safe inks and board throughout. A crash-lock base for the tray; a full-depth lid so the box stacks with the lid on. For a single-use subscription kit, a printed mailer is enough.
Age grading and warnings differ between the US, UK, EU, Canada and Australia. The dieline reserves a panel per market.
Schools, publishers and subscription brands
Educational publishers order kit boxes by the title in hundreds to thousands; schools and museums order classroom sets in hundreds; subscription brands order a mailer monthly with a changed card. The divider die per kit and the print system are kept.
Educational Kit 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
- E flute white-lined; 20–24pt boxboard for small kits; toy-safe
- Builds
- Lidded tray with divider, tray and sleeve, large classroom box, divided mailer
- Divider
- Cell per part, numbered, in instruction order; lift-out second tray
- Full color; instructions and checklist inside the lid; age and safety panels
- Base
- Crash-lock; full-depth lid for stacking
- Sample
- Plain sample packed with the full kit before print
- Minimum
- 100 boxes
On every job
- Print process
- Digital below about a thousand, offset above it. Both sides as standard on cards, tags and leaflets.
- Color
- CMYK with spot colors for a brand match. Uncoated and cotton stocks print noticeably lighter than coated ones.
- Tolerance
- Trim plus or minus 1 mm guillotined, plus or minus 0.5 mm die-cut. Anything over about 170gsm is creased before folding.
- Tooling
- A die only where the piece is shaped, perforated or drilled, made once and kept. A plain rectangle needs none.
- Food contact
- Food-safe inks on menus and counter print that will be handled where food is served.
- Sustainability
- Uncoated and unlaminated stocks recycle without separation, and FSC papers are available across the range.
- 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 educational kit boxes on
Sheet print is judged in the hand more than a box is: the weight, the surface and whether a pen works on it. These are the stocks we run for cards, folders, leaflets and stationery.
Coated card 300–400gsm
The workhorse. Sharp full-color print, matte or gloss, laminated where it is handled. Does not take a pen unless the finish is matte.
300–400gsmUncoated card
No clay coat. Colors read softer and warmer, a deboss goes deeper, and it writes on with anything. Photographs lose punch.
300–400gsmCotton and textured card
Soft, thick and fibrous. Takes a deep blind deboss and reads as an invitation. Foil sits beautifully; four-color does not.
400–700gsmDuplexed card
Two sheets bonded, often with a colored core, for a very thick card with a visible colored edge. The heaviest thing we print.
600–900gsmText paper 100–170gsm
Leaflets, folder inners and booklet pages. Folds without cracking and takes a full-color print on both faces.
100–170gsmManila and kraft paper
Unbleached, tan, and cheap. One or two colors read well; white ink gives a light mark. Envelopes, folders and tags.
90–300gsmSynthetic stock
Polypropylene sheet for tags and cards that get wet, torn or handled outdoors. Prints like paper and does not soften.
200–400 micronBoard-backed
A printed face laminated to grayboard, for a rigid card, a folder back or a display that has to stand up on its own.
1–2 mm boardNot 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.
Sheet print takes the widest range of finishes of anything we make.
Matte lamination
Soft, fingerprint-resistant, and it still takes a pen. The default on anything handled.
Gloss lamination
Maximum color depth. Shows every fingerprint and refuses a ballpoint.
Hot foil
Gold, rose gold, silver, holographic or a color. The block is small so the die is cheap.
Emboss and deboss
Deepest on uncoated and cotton stocks; shallow and prone to cracking on gloss coated.
Spot UV
A gloss shape on a matte laminate. Best on a dark ground where the contrast reads.
Edge paint and colored core
Color on the cut edge of a thick or duplexed card. Only seen when the card is picked up, which is the point.
Soft-touch
A velvet laminate on a cover or a folder. Marks on white; excellent on dark.
Uncoated and textured
No film at all. Writes on, debosses deeply, and reads as considered rather than cheap.
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 printed sheets, folds and the grain: educational kit boxes
A printed piece is specified flat and finished folded, and the difference between the two is where mistakes live. Send the finished size you want and we work back to the flat.
- Finished size
- The size after folding and trimming. A6, A5, A4, DL, US letter and legal are standard; anything else is cut on its own die.
- Bleed and safe area
- 3 mm of artwork past every trim edge, and nothing important within 4 mm inside it. The guillotine drifts by a fraction on every stack.
- Grain direction
- Paper folds cleanly along the grain and cracks across it. We set the grain to the fold, which is why a sheet is not simply cut from the biggest sheet available.
- Fold allowance
- On a roll fold or a gate fold, the inner panels are cut a millimeter or two shorter so the piece closes flat.
- Creasing
- Anything over about 170gsm is creased before folding. Without it the fold cracks and the coating flakes along the line.
- Trim tolerance
- Plus or minus 1 mm guillotined, plus or minus 0.5 mm die-cut.
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 Educational Kit Boxes
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a stock 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 educational kit 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 every part have its own place?
Yes, a cell per part, numbered and laid out in the order the instructions use them.
Can instructions be printed inside the lid?
Yes, the steps or a quick-start with a QR to the full guide, plus a parts checklist.
Is the box safe for children?
Yes, toy-safe board and inks, with age grading and warnings reserved per market.
Will it survive a classroom year?
On E flute with a crash-lock tray and a full-depth lid, yes. It stacks with the lid on.
What is the minimum order?
100 boxes.
Can there be two layers?
Yes, a lift-out second tray for kits with many parts.
Do I need to send every part?
Yes, or the full bill of materials with dimensions. The divider is drawn from it and a plain sample is packed before print.
Can the box hold a classroom set of 30?
Yes, a large divided box with a checklist inside the lid.
Does it ship flat?
Yes, with the dividers flat, and folds at the packing bench.
Can a subscription kit change monthly?
Yes, a mailer with a divider of standard cells and a card printed each month.
Can small parts be bagged in a cell?
Yes, in a bag that sits in its own cell.
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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