Custom Paper Sleeves
Custom paper sleeves cut to slide over your box, tray or product with the right friction, printed in full color, from 100. The dieline and price come back the same working day.
A sleeve is the print without the box
- Board
- 250–350 gsm; 16–18pt boxboard for heavy or standing sleeves
- Builds
- Glued band, interlocking tab-and-slot, open or closed ends
- Fit
- About 1 mm total clearance; confirmed on a plain sample
Get a price for Paper 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.
Where sleeves go
In each case the sleeve is the printed part and the object underneath is the structure. Our sleeve range across every product type covers the specialised versions.
- Over a plain kraft or white box, so one stock box serves many products.
- Around a food tray, a cup, a soap bar or a candle jar.
- Around a folded garment, a towel or a set of cards, holding them as a unit.
- Over a clear clamshell or a plastic tub, giving a paper face to a plastic pack.
Fit is a friction, not a dimension
A sleeve that slides on and off with a little resistance is right; one that drops off is loose and one that has to be forced tears at the glue seam. The clearance that gives that friction is about 1 mm across the whole girth on board of this weight, and it depends on the object being consistent. Where the object varies — a hand-cut soap, a folded shirt — the sleeve is built to the largest and the friction comes from the product compressing slightly.
Send the object, or three of them if they vary. Fit is confirmed on a plain sleeve before print.
Board weight and construction
Sleeves are glued on one seam and ship flat; they pop open to slide on. An interlocking tab-and-slot sleeve needs no glue, ships as a flat sheet, and closes by hand at the bench.
| 250 gsm | Light band on a small item; folds crisply, cheapest |
|---|---|
| 300–350 gsm | The standard sleeve; holds a rectangle around a box or tray |
| 16–18pt boxboard | A sleeve that carries a heavy item or has to stand on a shelf |
Print and finish on a band
Full color offset, matte or gloss laminated, foil and emboss — a sleeve is a flat print with two folds, which makes it the easiest thing to finish well. A window die-cut in the sleeve shows the product through it. Inside print is rarely worth it, because the inside is against the object.
Sleeves and the stock-box strategy
A brand with twenty products and one box size prints twenty sleeves and one box. The sleeves are cheap and fast to change; the box is bought in one long run. It is the lowest-cost way to run a range with variety, and a sleeve reprint for a new product costs a fraction of a new box.
Paper 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
- 250–350 gsm; 16–18pt boxboard for heavy or standing sleeves
- Builds
- Glued band, interlocking tab-and-slot, open or closed ends
- Fit
- About 1 mm total clearance; confirmed on a plain sample
- Full color, laminated; foil, emboss, spot UV; die-cut window
- Supply
- Glued sleeves flat and folded; tab-and-slot as flat sheets
- Sizing
- Made to the object; any girth from a cup band to a hamper
- 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 paper 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: paper 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 Paper 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 paper 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 a paper sleeve used for?
To put print on something that already exists: a plain box, a tray, a jar, a folded garment or a plastic tub. The sleeve carries the branding; the object underneath carries the product.
How do you make it fit?
With about 1 mm of clearance around the girth, which gives a slide with slight friction. We confirm it on a plain sleeve before printing.
Do sleeves ship flat?
Yes. Glued sleeves ship flat and pop open; interlocking sleeves ship as flat sheets and close by hand.
Can a sleeve have a window?
Yes, die-cut on the same die, with or without film.
What board do you use?
300–350 gsm for most sleeves, 250 gsm for small bands, and boxboard where the sleeve carries weight.
What is the minimum order?
100 sleeves.
Can I have foil on a sleeve?
Yes. A sleeve is a flat print with two folds, so foil, emboss and spot UV all work well on it.
Can one box work with many sleeves?
That is the main reason to use them: one stock box in a long run, and a different sleeve for each product.
Will a sleeve stay on a soft product?
Yes if it is built to the largest size and the product compresses into it. Send several examples if they vary.
Can I get a plain sample?
Yes, at the finished size, to check the fit on your object.
Do you keep the die?
Yes, per size, so reorders and new designs on the same size skip 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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