Custom Reusable Boxes
Custom reusable boxes from 100 — corrugated mailers with a tear strip and a second seal for returns, lidded boxes customers keep for storage, and heavier builds made to survive more than one trip.
Built to be opened without a knife and closed again
- Board
- Corrugated E or B flute single wall; double wall for closed-loop boxes that travel many times
- Closures
- Tear strip with second release-liner seal, locking tabs, lift-off lids
- Styles
- Return mailers, lidded storage boxes, heavy reusable shipping boxes
Order online
Order reusable boxes
Starting from $2.50 per unit
Printed to your artwork or plain, sold in runs of 100 up to 5,000 units per product online. Freight to the US, UK, Canada and Australia is inside the price.
How an online order runs
- Add the units you needThen check out with your delivery address. Add other products to the same order on the way.
- A digital proof comes backLaid on the dieline, before anything prints. Change it as often as you need.
- Pay once you approve itPay by PayPal invoice or bank transfer after you approve your digital proof, or cash on delivery in the US and Canada.
- We make it and ship it deliveredYour delivery date is confirmed with the proof, against the spec and your fill date. Freight and customs are handled on the way to you.
Another size, board or finish, or more than 5,000 units? Send the spec for a price instead. Freight by market and our terms cover delivery and remakes.
Get a price for Reusable 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.
Opening without damage
The most useful feature is a tear strip: a pull tab that opens the box along a scored line, leaving clean edges and no slashed tape. Beneath it, a second strip of release-liner adhesive waits to seal the box again. A customer can open an order, decide to return it, and send it back in the same box with nothing more than the label.
Three ways a box gets a second life
| Return mailer | Tear strip to open, second adhesive strip to reseal; one box, two trips |
|---|---|
| Kept for storage | Lidded box with a good fit that customers keep for shoes, papers or toys |
| Returned to you | Heavier double-wall box sent back for refill or reuse in a closed loop |
Board that survives more than one journey
- Single-wall E or B flute for a box that makes one outward trip and one return.
- Double-wall corrugated for boxes that go out and come back many times.
- Locking tabs rather than tape on lidded boxes, so the lid seats the same way every time.
- Plain or lightly printed outsides scuff less visibly over several trips.
Tell us how many trips the box should make and whether it comes back to you. That decides the board and the closure.
Making reuse the obvious thing to do
Print does part of the work. A line on the inside flap saying the box can be resealed for a return, or a drawing of where the second strip is, changes what people do with it. Our page on sustainable boxes and honest claims covers what you can and cannot say on the box.
When reuse is not the right goal
A heavy reusable build costs more board per box. If most of your orders are never returned and the box is not kept, a lighter right-sized box that recycles easily can be the better choice. The wider choice of materials is on our page for eco-friendly boxes and materials.
Reusable 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
- Corrugated E or B flute single wall; double wall for closed-loop boxes that travel many times
- Closures
- Tear strip with second release-liner seal, locking tabs, lift-off lids
- Styles
- Return mailers, lidded storage boxes, heavy reusable shipping boxes
- Inside and outside, with reseal and return instructions
- Recycling
- Paper-based board and adhesive strips; recyclable at the end of its life
- Minimum
- 100 boxes per size
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 reusable 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.
280–350gsmMetalized 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: reusable 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 Reusable 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 reusable 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.
How does a reusable box open without damage?
With a tear strip that opens the box along a scored line, so there is no slashed tape and the edges stay clean.
Can a reusable box be resealed for a return?
Yes. A second adhesive strip under a release liner reseals the box, so the customer sends it back in the same box.
How many times can a reusable box be used?
A single-wall return mailer makes two trips. Double-wall boxes built for a closed loop can go out and back many times.
Is a reusable box more expensive than a normal mailer?
Usually a little, because of the strips and sometimes heavier board. It saves a second box on every return.
Are reusable boxes still recyclable?
Yes. They are paper-based corrugated with paper adhesive strips and go in the recycling when they are finished.
Do reusable boxes need tape?
No. The built-in adhesive strips or locking tabs close them, which is part of what keeps them whole for reuse.
Can a reusable box be printed with return instructions?
Yes. We print where the second strip is and how to reseal it on the inside flap, which makes reuse far more likely.
What sizes do reusable boxes come in?
Any size. They are made to your product, from small apparel mailers to large shipping boxes.
Will customers keep a reusable box for storage?
A lidded box with a good fit and a clean finish often is kept. That is a separate design from a return mailer.
Is a reusable box always the greener option?
Not always. If boxes are rarely returned or kept, a lighter right-sized box that recycles well can use less material overall.
Can reusable boxes ship flat?
Yes. Mailers and lidded boxes ship flat and fold up without tape when you pack them.
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