Custom Reverse Tuck End Boxes
Custom reverse tuck end boxes from 100 — the folding carton with its top tuck closing from the back and its bottom tuck from the front. It nests tighter on the press sheet than any other tuck style, which is why it is the price floor for printed cartons in cosmetics, supplements and retail.
Two tucks, opposite sides, one tighter sheet
- Board
- 16–24 pt SBS or kraft boxboard
- Build
- Reverse tuck end: top and bottom tucks on opposite sides
- Closure
- Friction tuck with shoulder lock slits
Get a price for Reverse Tuck End 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.
Why the reversed tuck is cheaper
Carton cost is mostly board, and board is bought by the sheet. Blanks with both tucks on the same side nest poorly and leave waste between them. Reversed tucks let the blanks interlock head to tail, so a sheet that holds eight straight-tuck blanks might hold nine or ten reverse-tuck blanks of the same size. The saving grows with the run.
Which panel the top tuck hinges from
If the front must be seen with the lid open, say so. We flip the tucks so the lid opens away from the viewer.
- On a reverse tuck, the top tuck is usually hinged from the back panel.
- The lid then opens toward the customer, and the tuck slides in behind the front.
- The front panel stays uncut at the top edge, which suits a full-bleed design.
- On a window carton, check which way the lid opens before placing the window.
Weight it carries
A tuck bottom is held closed by friction and a small lock slit, not glue. That is fine for light products — creams, serums, supplements, tea, cards — but a heavy jar can push the bottom tuck open when the carton is lifted by its top. Above roughly a pound, a locking bottom is the safer choice, and our auto lock bottom cartons set up faster at the packing bench too.
Common products and board
| Cosmetics and skincare | 16–18 pt SBS; foil and spot UV common |
|---|---|
| Supplements and vitamins | 18 pt SBS; a tamper seal over the tuck |
| Tea, coffee sachets, candy | 16–18 pt SBS or kraft; window optional |
| Retail accessories and electronics | 18–24 pt SBS; hang tab option |
Lock slits and friction flaps
The tuck is held shut by two small slits at its shoulders that catch on the dust flaps, and by the curve of the tuck against the panel. Cut too loose, a tuck pops open in a shipping case; too tight, it creases when a customer opens it. We set the lock on the sample for your board thickness.
Reverse Tuck End 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
- 16–24 pt SBS or kraft boxboard
- Build
- Reverse tuck end: top and bottom tucks on opposite sides
- Closure
- Friction tuck with shoulder lock slits
- Full color CMYK, Pantone, foil, emboss, spot UV
- Options
- Window, hang tab, tamper seal, insert
- Delivery
- Flat and glued on the side seam
- 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 reverse tuck end 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: reverse tuck end 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 Reverse Tuck End 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 reverse tuck end 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 a reverse tuck end box?
A folding carton whose top tuck and bottom tuck close from opposite sides of the box.
Why is a reverse tuck cheaper than a straight tuck?
The blanks interlock on the press sheet, so more fit per sheet and less board is wasted.
Which way does the lid open?
Usually toward the customer, hinged from the back panel. We can reverse it for a window carton.
How heavy a product can it hold?
Light to medium products. Above about a pound, a locking bottom is safer.
What is the difference from a straight tuck end box?
On a straight tuck, both tucks close from the same side. It looks cleaner from the front when opened but nests less tightly on the sheet.
Can a reverse tuck box have a window?
Yes. We check the lid direction first so the window is on the panel you want to show.
Is the bottom glued?
No, both ends are tucks. Only the side seam is glued, so the box ships flat.
Can I add a tamper seal?
Yes, a clear or printed seal across the top tuck, common on supplements.
What board thickness do you recommend?
16–18 pt for cosmetics and light goods, 18–24 pt for heavier retail items.
Can it hang on a peg?
Yes, with a hang tab die-cut into the top tuck panel.
What is the minimum order for reverse tuck boxes?
100 boxes. The sheet-nesting saving grows with the run, so larger quantities bring the unit price down faster.
How long do reverse tuck end boxes take?
They are among the quickest cartons to produce; foil, emboss or a window add steps. We give a date with the quote.
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