Custom Portfolio Boxes
Most boxes hold one thing, always the same size. A portfolio box holds a variable stack, and it has to close properly at both extremes — which is a different engineering problem from everything else we make.
- Builds
- Telescoping lid and base, shoulder-neck, drawer, hinged
- Sizes
- A4, US letter, shared internal, or built to your mounted work
- Board
- 1.5–3 mm grayboard, wrapped
Get a price for Portfolio 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.
Depth tolerance is what you are actually buying
A telescoping lid slides down as far as the contents allow, so the same box closes neatly over a thin stack and a thick one. That single property is the reason this build exists, and it is why a hinged box makes a poor portfolio case.
The lid still needs a limit. A lid that can slide all the way to the base looks wrong when the box is nearly empty, so a shoulder or a printed band that shows below the lid gives it a deliberate stopping point at every fill level.
Tell us the thinnest and the thickest contents you expect. The tolerance is set from that range, not from an average.
Sizing to documents you did not choose
The mistake is sizing to the paper. Documents are handled into and out of the box by hand, and a case with no finger room is one the contents get damaged coming out of.
| A4 only | 215 × 302 mm internal covers the sheet with handling room |
|---|---|
| US letter only | 221 × 284 mm internal |
| Both markets | 222 × 303 mm internal clears each without looking oversized |
| Mounted or sleeved work | Measure the mount, and add for the sleeve on every side |
Getting the contents out again
Without one of these, the first sheet is removed by pressing a fingernail against it, which is exactly what a presentation box is meant to prevent.
- A finger notch cut into the long side of the base — cheapest and most effective.
- A ribbon pull under the stack, which lifts everything together.
- A drawer build, where the whole tray slides out with nothing to lift.
- A card lifter with a folded tab, for boxes holding loose prints.
Wrap choices for something kept on a desk
This box lives in daylight on a shelf or a desk rather than in a warehouse, so the wrap is seen for years. Uncoated and textured papers age well and mark easily; laminated wraps stay clean and look less considered.
A dark uncoated wrap with a blind deboss is the most durable premium look here, because there is no ink on the surface to scuff. The fuller set of wrap and corner trade-offs is in our rigid box construction notes.
Printing the inside of a box that gets opened slowly
A portfolio box is opened deliberately, in front of someone, and the inside of the lid is in view for the whole conversation. A printed inner — a statement, an index, a photograph — costs a second pass on paper already being bought.
It is the same argument as printing the inside of a mailer, except the audience here is one person who is already paying attention.
Portfolio 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
- Builds
- Telescoping lid and base, shoulder-neck, drawer, hinged
- Sizes
- A4, US letter, shared internal, or built to your mounted work
- Board
- 1.5–3 mm grayboard, wrapped
- Access
- Finger notches, ribbon pulls, card lifters, sliding trays
- Finishes
- Uncoated and textured wraps, foil, blind deboss, printed inners
- 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 portfolio 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: portfolio 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 Portfolio 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 portfolio 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 is the minimum order?
100 boxes, in A4, US letter or a shared internal size.
Will one box work for a thin and a thick portfolio?
That is what a telescoping lid does. Give us the thinnest and thickest contents and the tolerance is set from the range.
A4 or US letter?
A single internal size can clear both for a few millimeters of board, which saves running two products.
How do people get the contents out?
A finger notch, a ribbon pull or a drawer. Without one, the first sheet gets damaged on the way out.
Which wrap survives being kept on a desk?
Dark uncoated with a blind deboss — there is no ink on the surface to scuff.
Can you print inside the lid?
Yes, and on a box opened in front of someone it is in view for the whole conversation.
Will one box work for a thin and a thick portfolio?
That is what a telescoping lid does. Give us the thinnest and thickest contents and the tolerance is set from the range.
A4 or US letter?
A single internal size can clear both for a few millimeters of board, which saves running two products.
How do people get the contents out?
A finger notch, a ribbon pull or a drawer. Without one, the first sheet gets damaged on the way out.
Which wrap survives being kept on a desk?
Dark uncoated with a blind deboss. There is no ink on the surface to scuff and it ages well.
Same range
