Custom Promotional Boxes
Custom promotional boxes for corporate gifts, event swag and welcome kits — a mailer or a rigid box with an insert cut for the items — printed with your brand from 100. Dieline and price the same working day.
A promotional box is judged by what it is like to receive
- Board
- E flute white-lined mailers; wrapped grayboard rigid; 18–24pt cartons
- Builds
- Mailer with insert, rigid lift-off or magnetic, small carton
- Insert
- Die-cut board, molded pulp or foam; card slot; second layer
Get a price for Promotional 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 formats
| Welcome kit | A mailer with an insert for a notebook, a mug, a tee and a card; new joiners and customers |
|---|---|
| Event box | Posted before a virtual event; snacks, a lanyard, a printed agenda |
| Corporate gift | A rigid box with a foam or pulp insert for a premium item |
| Sampling box | A small carton with a sample and a coupon; volume runs |
The insert that makes it a kit
Send every item in the kit, and we lay out the insert. Our packaging inserts for holding items cover the materials.
- A die-cut board insert with a cavity per item, so nothing shifts and everything is seen at once.
- Molded pulp for a plastic-free kit; foam for glass or electronics.
- A card slot at the front, so the message is read before the items are lifted.
- A second layer for kits with many pieces, lifted by a ribbon.
The lid liner is where the welcome goes
The outside carries the brand and, for an event, the event. The inside of the lid carries the message — a welcome, a thank-you, an agenda — because that is what is read as the box opens. Full color on a white-lined E flute or a wrapped rigid box, with a foil mark where the budget allows. Names printed digitally on each card personalize a run of a few hundred without a separate job.
Sizing to the kit, not to the largest item
A kit box is sized to the insert layout, which is planned from all the items together. That usually gives a box smaller than a box built around the largest item with the rest loose, and a much better opening. Send the items; a plain sample of the box and insert is turned round before print.
Kits go by courier one at a time. The box is built to travel on its own, or a plain shipper is quoted with it.
Runs and repeat kits
A welcome kit runs on a schedule — 100 a quarter, for example — from a kept die and insert, with only the card changing. An event box is a single run to a date. Both are quoted with the kitting — placing the items in the insert — as an option if you would rather not do it in-house.
Promotional 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 mailers; wrapped grayboard rigid; 18–24pt cartons
- Builds
- Mailer with insert, rigid lift-off or magnetic, small carton
- Insert
- Die-cut board, molded pulp or foam; card slot; second layer
- Full color inside and out; foil; personalized cards
- Sizing
- To the insert layout of all items
- Kitting
- Item placement available as an option
- 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 promotional 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: promotional 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 Promotional 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 promotional 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 the box hold several different items?
Yes, in a die-cut insert with a cavity per item, laid out from the items you send.
Can each box have a name on it?
Yes, printed digitally on the card or the box, within the same run.
Is the inside printed?
Yes. The inside of the lid is where the message is read as the box opens.
Can you place the items in the boxes?
Yes, kitting is quoted as an option alongside the boxes.
What is the minimum order?
100 boxes.
Can the insert be plastic-free?
Yes, die-cut board or molded pulp. Foam is used only for glass or electronics.
Will it survive the courier on its own?
A mailer built for it, yes. A rigid box goes in a plain shipper, which we quote with it.
Can I reorder a welcome kit on a schedule?
Yes, from the kept die and insert, with only the card changing.
How big will the box be?
Sized to the insert layout of all the items together, which is usually smaller than a box built around the largest item.
Can I get a sample kit?
Yes, a plain box and insert with your items in it, before print.
Can I have foil on the lid?
Yes, on a rigid box or a mailer.
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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