Custom Hanging Retail Boxes
Custom hanging retail boxes with the hang hole cut into the carton itself, sized to your product and the store's peg, from 100. We draw the hole to the hook standard the retailer uses and send the dieline with a price the same working day.
The carton that sells from a hook, not a shelf
- Board
- 16–24pt folding boxboard; doubled hang panel on heavier products
- Builds
- Tuck end with integral hang panel, reinforced tab, hang-slot carton
- Hang hole
- Round, Euro-slot or sombrero, cut to the retailer's hook
Get a price for Hanging Retail 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.
Cutting the hang hole into the carton
The simplest hanging box has the hole die-cut through an extended top panel, sometimes doubled over and glued for strength. It is one piece, glues on a machine, and ships flat. The hole shape follows the retailer: a round hole for a plain peg, a sombrero or "delta" shape for a wire hook, or a Euro-slot that takes both. We ask which store it is going into and cut to that.
| Round hole, 6–8 mm | Plain pegs and single-wire hooks |
|---|---|
| Euro-slot (delta) | Most wire hooks and double pegs; the safest default |
| Sombrero | Flat-blade hooks common in hardware and craft retail |
The weight limit of a paper hang tab
A single thickness of 18pt board around a hang hole carries about 150–250 g before it starts to tear under repeated handling. Doubling the panel over roughly doubles that. Above 500 g the answer is a reinforced tab — a plastic or heavy-board hang tab applied to the carton — or a box that hangs from a slot cut lower, so the load is spread. Tell us the packed weight and we build for it.
Front panel first, everything else second
- The front panel is the whole sale: product name, one claim, a window if the product sells itself.
- Side panels are seen at an angle by a customer flicking through the peg; keep the name readable there too.
- The back carries the barcode, contents and legal text, on a matte patch that scans.
- The top, around the hole, is a good place for a color band that identifies the range at a glance.
Hanging straight
A box that hangs crooked looks like a faulty one. Straight hanging comes from a hole centered over the center of mass, not the center of the panel — on a box whose product sits low, the hole moves accordingly. This is worked out on the dieline and confirmed with a filled sample hung from a hook. Our retail box range for shelf display covers the same cartons without the hang feature.
A window helps a hanging box more than most: the customer is closer to it and cannot pick it up easily.
Shipping cartons that will hang
Hanging boxes are packed in outer cases like any carton and hung by store staff. The hang panel is the most vulnerable part in transit, so it folds flat against the box or is protected by the case count. We specify the outer to keep the tabs uncrushed; a bent tab will not hang straight either.
Hanging Retail 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
- 16–24pt folding boxboard; doubled hang panel on heavier products
- Builds
- Tuck end with integral hang panel, reinforced tab, hang-slot carton
- Hang hole
- Round, Euro-slot or sombrero, cut to the retailer's hook
- Load
- Up to ~250 g single panel; ~500 g doubled; tab or slot above that
- Full color; matte barcode patch on the back
- Window
- Optional, on the front panel, PET or paper-window
- 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 hanging retail 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: hanging retail 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 Hanging Retail 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 hanging retail 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 shape should the hang hole be?
A Euro-slot fits most wire hooks and pegs and is the safe default. A round hole suits plain pegs; a sombrero suits flat-blade hooks. Tell us the store and we cut to its hooks.
How heavy a product can hang from a cardboard tab?
About 250 g on a single panel of 18pt board, roughly double that if the panel is folded over. Heavier products need a reinforced tab or a lower slot.
Can the hang tab fold flat for shipping?
Yes. Most integral hang panels are scored so they lie flat in the outer case and stand up when hung.
Can I add a window?
Yes, on the front panel. It suits hanging boxes especially, because the customer looks rather than handles.
Why does my current box hang crooked?
The hole is centered on the panel, not on the weight. We position the hole over the center of mass on the dieline and check it with a filled sample.
What is the minimum?
100 boxes.
Do they ship assembled?
No, glued flat. They pop open and the product is loaded through the end.
Where does the barcode go?
On the back, on a matte unvarnished patch with clear space around it, so it scans at the till.
Can the same box also stand on a shelf?
Yes. A hanging box with a flat base does both, and many retailers use them either way.
Can you match a retailer's peg spacing?
If the retailer specifies a hook standard, send it and we cut to it. If not, a Euro-slot covers nearly all.
Do you send a dieline?
With the quote, showing the hang hole position, before anything is cut.
Can I get a sample to hang in store?
Yes, a plain sample at the finished size. Fill it with the product and hang it — that is the test that matters.
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