Custom Snap Lock Bottom Boxes
Custom snap lock bottom boxes from 100 — folding cartons with a 1-2-3 locking base folded by hand, strong enough for a candle jar or a glass bottle, with no glue at the bottom and a lower unit price than a pre-glued auto-lock for short and medium runs.
Fold one, two, three, and the base carries a jar
- Board
- 18–24 pt SBS or kraft boxboard; E flute for heavy glass
- Base
- 1-2-3 snap lock, folded by hand, no glue
- Top
- Straight or reverse tuck with friction lock; hang tab optional
Get a price for Snap Lock Bottom 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.
The folding sequence
We print the sequence on the inside of a flap on request, so new packing staff get it right first time.
- Fold in the first flap, with its notch facing up.
- Fold in the two side flaps over it.
- Fold the last flap and push its tab through the slot so all four lock.
- Press the base flat from inside; it is now square and carries the load.
Snap lock against auto-lock
For a few hundred boxes packed by hand, the snap lock usually wins on price. For thousands packed on a line, our auto lock bottom cartons for speed save more labor than they cost.
| Snap lock (1-2-3) | Not pre-glued; folded by hand; cheaper per box; slower to set up |
|---|---|
| Auto-lock | Pre-glued at the factory; pops open square; costs more per box |
| Tuck bottom | Friction only; cheapest; for light products |
Products that need the base
Candle jars, glass bottles, jarred food, cosmetic pots, mugs and anything with a heavy base. A tuck bottom lets these push through when the box is lifted by the top; a snap lock bottom holds them. The top is usually a straight or reverse tuck with a friction lock, or a tuck with a hang tab for retail.
The lock carries weight, but the board still sets the limit. Heavy glass above a couple of pounds wants 24 pt board or E flute.
Board and finish
18–24 pt SBS is the usual board, printed full color and coated; kraft boxboard suits candles and natural products. E flute gives a snap lock carton the strength for heavier glass while keeping a printable surface. Windows, foil and spot UV work as on any folding carton, as long as the window avoids the base panel.
Snap Lock Bottom 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
- 18–24 pt SBS or kraft boxboard; E flute for heavy glass
- Base
- 1-2-3 snap lock, folded by hand, no glue
- Top
- Straight or reverse tuck with friction lock; hang tab optional
- Full color, Pantone, foil, spot UV, emboss
- Options
- Window, insert, printed folding guide
- Delivery
- Flat, side seam glued
- 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 snap lock bottom 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: snap lock bottom 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 Snap Lock Bottom 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 snap lock bottom 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 snap lock bottom box?
A folding carton with a 1-2-3 base: four flaps folded in order that lock together to carry weight.
Is it the same as a 1-2-3 bottom?
Yes, the names are used for the same base.
How is it different from an auto-lock bottom?
An auto-lock is pre-glued and pops open square. A snap lock is folded by hand and costs less per box.
How much weight can it hold?
Far more than a tuck bottom; jars, bottles and candles are typical. Heavy glass wants 24 pt board or E flute.
Is it hard to assemble?
It takes a few seconds once learned. We can print the folding order inside a flap.
When should I choose a snap lock?
For heavier products packed by hand in short to medium runs, where the saving over an auto-lock matters.
What top closure do you use?
A straight or reverse tuck with a friction lock, or a tuck with a hang tab.
Can the box have a window?
Yes, on a side panel, kept clear of the base flaps.
Can it hold a candle jar?
Yes, it is one of the most common cartons for candle jars.
Is the snap lock base folded at the factory?
No. Only the side seam is glued; the base is folded by hand at packing, which keeps the price down.
What is the minimum order for snap lock boxes?
100 boxes, which suits the short, hand-packed runs this base is best at.
How long do snap lock bottom boxes take?
There is no extra gluing at the base, so they run much like a tuck carton. We give a date with the quote.
Same range
