Custom Sandwich Boxes
A sandwich is bought on what the cut edge looks like. That is the whole reason the wedge carton is shaped the way it is — it stands the sandwich upright with the filling facing the shopper, and puts a window exactly there.
- Build
- Wedge carton; square and long builds to order
- Board
- Grease-resistant food-grade; coated inner for wet fillings
- Windows
- Anti-fog film as standard on chilled; open die-cut on hot
Get a price for Sandwich 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.
Getting the window in the right place
The window has to frame the cut face, not the crust. That means its position is set by where the sandwich actually sits inside the carton, which depends on the bread height and how tightly the pack holds it.
Send a made-up sandwich, or its exact dimensions with the filling in. A window sized to an empty carton is a window that shows mostly bread.
Fillings settle. A sandwich that looks generous at the counter has slumped by the time it is on a shelf — allow for it in where the window sits.
Fogging is the failure that hides the product
A chilled sandwich moved into a warm shop collects condensation on the inside of the film, and a fogged window shows nothing at all. It is the most common complaint in this format and it defeats the entire purpose of the pack.
Anti-fog film costs more per carton and is almost always worth it on anything that moves between a chiller and room temperature. Standard film is fine only if the pack stays cold until it is eaten.
Board, filling and what soaks through
The base panel is where it shows first, because that is where gravity takes it. A grease mark on the bottom of a chilled sandwich carton reads as a leak to a shopper.
| Dry fillings | Standard food-grade board is adequate |
|---|---|
| Mayonnaise or dressing | Grease-resistant board, or the base marks within hours |
| Hot fillings | Grease-resistant plus venting, or the bread steams |
| Oily or marinated | Coated inner face; the mark otherwise reaches the outer |
Stacking in a chiller you do not control
- Wedges are stacked leaning, front-face out, in a narrow chiller shelf.
- A carton that will not hold its shape when leaning slumps and hides its own window.
- The back panel does the structural work here, not the front.
- Board weight matters more in a humid chiller than the same board in dry air.
The allergen panel is not optional and it is long
A sandwich made somewhere other than where it is sold carries a full ingredient list with allergens emphasised, plus weight and a use-by date. On a wedge carton that occupies most of one face.
Lay that panel out at a legible size first, then design around it. The hot-versus-chilled construction choices behind the rest of the pack are set out in our sandwich packaging notes.
Sandwich 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
- Build
- Wedge carton; square and long builds to order
- Board
- Grease-resistant food-grade; coated inner for wet fillings
- Windows
- Anti-fog film as standard on chilled; open die-cut on hot
- Venting
- On hot and toasted builds only
- Reserved panel
- Ingredient, allergen, weight and date panel marked on the dieline
- Minimum
- 100 cartons
On every job
- Print process
- Flexo in one to six colors, printed on the outer face only and before any lining goes on.
- Color
- Food-safe inks throughout. Kraft mutes color; a white board or liner is needed for anything photographic.
- Tolerance
- Cutting plus or minus 1 mm, and fit confirmed by filling a plain sample from your own kitchen or line.
- Tooling
- A cutting die per size, kept. Molded pulp needs a tool per shape, which is a longer lead and a larger one-off.
- Food contact
- Every board food-contact grade, with grease resistance built into the sheet and never a PFAS treatment.
- Sustainability
- Aqueous linings and unlined boards repulp with ordinary paper. PE-lined cups need cup collection, and we say which you have.
- 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 sandwich boxes on
Food packaging is chosen for what the food does to it: grease, steam, heat and time. Every board here is food-contact grade, and none of them uses a PFAS treatment for grease resistance.
Food-grade virgin board
Bleached board made for direct food contact. Clean, bright, no recycled fiber and no mineral-oil risk from recovered paper.
14–24ptGrease-resistant board
Resistance built into the sheet rather than sprayed on. Holds fries, pastry and butter without darkening. PFAS-free.
16–24ptPE-lined cupstock
Board with a polyethylene film for hot and cold liquid. Microwave-safe for reheating; recycled only where cup collection exists.
260–350gsmAqueous-lined cupstock
A water-based lining instead of PE. Repulpable in ordinary paper recycling in more places, and compostable; a slightly shorter hold time.
260–320gsmGreaseproof and glassine
Dense, calendered paper that resists fat through the fiber. Wraps, liners and interleaves; breathable, so pastry stays crisp.
30–55gsmFood-grade corrugated
E and B flute with a food-contact liner, vented where steam has to leave. Pizza, catering and anything hot and heavy.
E and B fluteMolded pulp and bagasse
Fiber pressed into a shape. Holds heat, resists grease with no lining, composts, and takes only an embossed or one-color mark.
Molded to shapeRecycled board
Post-consumer fiber. Used for outers, sleeves and anything that does not touch food directly — not for direct contact.
Non-contact onlyNot 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.
Food finishes are limited by what may touch food, and that is the point.
Food-safe inks
Printed on the outer face only. Every food pack we make uses them, laminated or not.
Uncoated kraft
No coating at all. Breathable, so pastry stays crisp, and it takes one or two colors.
Aqueous varnish
Scuff resistance without a plastic film, so the pack still repulps.
Molded emboss
A logo pressed into pulp or bagasse. No ink, nothing to rub off, and it survives grease.
Grease-resistant face
Not a finish you can see. It is in the sheet, it is PFAS-free, and it is why the print stays clean.
Matte lamination
Available on outers and sleeves that never touch food — a cake box lid, a carrier, a gift sleeve.
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 food packaging around a portion, hot: sandwich boxes
Food is sized by serving, not by dimensions, and it is served hot, heaped and in a hurry. Send us the portion — or better, the box you use now with the food in it — and we size to how it is actually filled.
- Portion, heaped
- Fries, popcorn and salad are served above the rim. A box sized to a level fill looks mean and spills in a bag.
- Lid clearance
- Enough that a loaded burger or a topped cake does not touch the lid. This is the single most common complaint about a food box.
- Venting
- Hot food steams. Vents in the lid keep pastry and fries crisp; a sealed box is right only for cold food.
- Grease path
- Where the fat sits decides the board. Say if the food is fried, buttered or sauced, and whether it is held for minutes or an hour.
- Stacking in a bag
- Delivery boxes are stacked five high on a bike. The lid has to hold the box above it off the food below.
- Sample fill
- A plain box filled from your kitchen settles the size in one try, and we send one before the run.
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 Sandwich 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 sandwich 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.
Why does my window fog up?
Standard film on a chilled pack meeting warm air. Anti-fog film costs a little more and fixes it completely.
Where should the window go?
Framing the cut face, positioned against a real made-up sandwich rather than an empty carton.
Why is there a mark on the bottom of my cartons?
Dressing or oil soaking into plain board. Grease-resistant stock or a coated inner face stops it.
Can I use the same carton for toasted sandwiches?
Only if it is vented. A sealed wedge carton turns a toasted sandwich limp before it is sold.
What is the minimum order?
100 cartons, wedge or square.
Do fillings settle after packing?
Yes — a sandwich that looks generous at the counter has slumped by the shelf. Allow for it in where the window sits.
Why does my window fog up?
Standard film on a chilled pack meeting warm air. Anti-fog film costs a little more and fixes it completely.
Where should the window go?
Framing the cut face, positioned against a real made-up sandwich rather than an empty carton.
Why is there a mark on the bottom of my cartons?
Dressing or oil soaking into plain board. Grease-resistant stock or a coated inner face stops it.
Can I use the same carton for toasted sandwiches?
Only if it is vented. A sealed wedge carton turns a toasted sandwich limp before it is sold.
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