Custom Packaging Sleeves
Custom packaging sleeves — belly bands, full wraps and sleeves over a clamshell or a bundle — cut to your item and printed in full color, from 100. The dieline and price come back the same working day.
The band that makes a bundle a product
- Board
- 200–350 gsm; 16–18pt boxboard for structural sleeves
- Builds
- Belly band, full wrap, clamshell sleeve, bundle sleeve
- Closure
- Glued seam, tab-and-slot, sticker
Get a price for Packaging Sleeves
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.
Belly band, wrap or sleeve
| Belly band | A narrow band around the middle; holds a set, carries the label; slides off |
|---|---|
| Full wrap | Covers most of the item; a paper face for a plastic tub or a foil tray |
| Clamshell sleeve | Slides over a clear clamshell; gives print to a pack that cannot be printed |
| Bundle sleeve | Holds several items as one — three soaps, a set of cards, two jars |
Sizing to the object and how it is held
A band is cut to the girth of the object plus about 1 mm, with the seam glued or tucked at the back. Where the object is soft or a bundle, the band is cut to the compressed size so it holds under tension. Where it is a rigid tub or a clamshell, it is cut to slide with friction and the molded lip of the container stops it going further. We ask for the object rather than its drawing; the drawing rarely shows the lip.
A clamshell varies more than a box. Send three, and the sleeve is cut to the largest.
Board, and the case for lighter stock
Our sleeve boxes with a tray inside are the version where the sleeve gets its own base rather than wrapping someone else's.
- 200–250 gsm for a belly band that is slid off and thrown away.
- 300–350 gsm for a wrap or a sleeve that carries print and a barcode on a shelf.
- 16–18pt boxboard for a sleeve that has to stand a tub up or take a hang tab.
- Kraft for a natural look at any of those weights; coated white for full color.
Closing a band: glue, tuck or sticker
A glued seam is the neatest and ships flat, opened at the bench. A tab-and-slot tuck needs no glue and lets the band be applied and removed by hand — right for a bundle that the shop assembles. A sticker seal is the quickest for a very short run and reads as artisan. Each is drawn on the dieline; the choice is about who is applying the band.
Print, barcodes and the regulated panel
For food and cosmetics in an unprinted container the sleeve is the only printable surface, so the ingredients, weight, barcode and warnings all live on it. That fixes the minimum size of the band before the design starts. Full color offset, laminated if the product is handled wet or greasy, and a matte patch for the barcode.
Packaging Sleeves — 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
- 200–350 gsm; 16–18pt boxboard for structural sleeves
- Builds
- Belly band, full wrap, clamshell sleeve, bundle sleeve
- Closure
- Glued seam, tab-and-slot, sticker
- Fit
- Girth plus ~1 mm; compressed size for soft bundles; sampled plain
- Full color, laminated where handled wet; matte barcode patch
- Supply
- Flat; glued bands pop open, tuck bands assemble by hand
- Minimum
- 100 sleeves
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 packaging sleeves 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: packaging sleeves
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 Packaging Sleeves 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 packaging sleeves? 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 difference between a belly band and a sleeve?
A belly band is a narrow strip around the middle of an item; a sleeve covers more of it. Both are bands of board cut to the object.
Can a sleeve go over a plastic clamshell?
Yes, and it is one of the main uses: a printed paper face for a pack that cannot be printed directly.
How do you get the fit right?
From the object itself. We cut to the girth plus about 1 mm, or to the compressed size for a soft bundle, and confirm on a plain sample.
Can I apply the bands myself?
Yes, with a tab-and-slot or a sticker closure. Glued bands ship flat and open at the bench.
Is the sleeve strong enough to hold a bundle?
At 300–350 gsm and cut to the compressed size, yes. A loose bundle needs a tighter band, not a heavier one.
What is the minimum order?
100 sleeves.
Can it carry the legal label for food or cosmetics?
Yes, and on an unprinted container it has to. That sets the minimum band width before the design starts.
Can I have a window?
Yes, die-cut in the band, with or without film.
Does it ship flat?
Yes, all versions.
Can I get a sample?
Yes, plain at the finished size, to try on your object before printing.
Kraft or white?
Kraft for a natural look with one or two colors; coated white for full color and photographs.
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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