Custom Square Paper Tubes
Custom square paper tubes from 100 — a four-sided kraft sleeve with tuck ends, folded rather than wound, so it ships flat, stacks without rolling and gives you four flat faces for print instead of one curved one.
A tube with corners stays where you put it
- Board
- Kraft paperboard 18–24 pt, or E or B flute kraft corrugated
- Build
- Folded four-sided tube with tuck ends or crash-lock base
- Sizes
- About 1.5–6 in square; short cartons to long mailers
Get a price for Square Paper Tubes
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.
Folded square against wound round
| Ships | Square: flat, folded at packing. Round: rigid, as made |
|---|---|
| Square: four flat panels. Round: one wrap with a seam | |
| Stacking | Square: packs tight, does not roll. Round: gaps between tubes |
| Strength | Square: strong on the corners. Round: even crush strength all round |
| Closure | Square: tuck flaps or crash lock. Round: caps, plugs or lids |
Board weights for a square tube
- Kraft paperboard, 18–24 pt, for light items like candles, soap bars and tea.
- E flute kraft corrugated for bottles and heavier products.
- B flute for long, heavy items in the mail.
- White-lined kraft where the print needs to be bright on one side.
Long square tubes for prints and rods
A long square tube in corrugated kraft is a common mailer for rolled prints, maps and rods. It cannot roll off a sorting belt and it stacks in a van. For a round, heavy-wall option and standard poster sizes, compare our 3 by 36 inch poster mailing tubes.
Short square tubes on a shelf
Cut short, a square tube becomes a sleeve-style carton for a bottle, a candle or a bar. Printed on all four faces, it reads from any angle in a display, and the tuck ends open cleanly. If the product suits a cylinder after all, our round kraft paper tubes made to size cover that.
Square Paper Tubes — 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
- Kraft paperboard 18–24 pt, or E or B flute kraft corrugated
- Build
- Folded four-sided tube with tuck ends or crash-lock base
- Sizes
- About 1.5–6 in square; short cartons to long mailers
- Natural kraft, 1–2 color, or full color on white-lined board
- Shipping
- Flat, glued on the side seam, folded at packing
- Inserts
- Board inserts to center bottles and short products
- Minimum
- 100 tubes
On every job
- Print process
- The tube itself is not printed. A wrap is printed offset as a flat sheet and applied, with the seam at the back.
- Color
- CMYK and spot colors on the wrap. Bare kraft takes one color directly, printed on the outer ply as the tube winds.
- Tolerance
- Diameter is fixed by the mandrel; length plus or minus 1 mm. Cap fit is set on a sample with a humidity allowance.
- Tooling
- The mandrel sets the diameter and is not a cost. Tooling is the wrap print and any foil die, made once and kept.
- Food contact
- A food-grade inner ply or a separate inner bag where the tube holds loose tea, coffee or confectionery.
- Sustainability
- The wound board and the paper wrap recycle as paper. Metal ends and plastic plugs are removed first.
- 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 square paper tubes on
A tube is wound rather than folded, so the wall is built up in layers of board on a mandrel. That gives it drum stiffness, and it means the internal diameter comes from a fixed set of mandrels.
Wound kraft chipboard
Strips of recycled board spiralled and glued. The tube body: strong in compression, recyclable as paper, and naturally brown.
1–3 mm wallLight wall, 1–1.5 mm
For retail tubes that travel inside a shipper — tea, cosmetics, candles. Keeps the tube light and the freight down.
1–1.5 mmHeavy wall, 2–3 mm
For tubes posted on their own: posters, plans, spirits. A thin-walled long tube arrives with a kink in the middle.
2–3 mmPrinted paper wrap
The tube is not printed directly. A printed label is wrapped around it in full color, with foil or emboss, and the seam sits at the back.
120–157gsmTinplate ends
Crimped metal base and lid. The traditional tea and gift tube; adds weight and a different sound when it opens.
CrimpedPlastic plugs
Snap-in ends for shipping and poster tubes. Reusable, removable, and the fit is what stops them pushing out under a stack.
Push-fitFood-grade liners
A laminated or greaseproof inner ply, or a separate inner bag, where the tube holds loose tea, coffee or confectionery.
Inner ply or bagShoulder and telescoping lids
A short second tube over the base, or an inner collar for a flush join. The join is the difference between a container and a gift.
Wound to matchNot 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.
A tube is finished on the wrap, so anything a flat sheet takes, a tube takes.
Bare kraft
No wrap at all. The natural wound board, which is the look most brands choose it for.
Printed wrap
Full color on a laminated paper applied round the tube, with the seam at the back.
Hot foil
On the wrap before it is applied, or on the lid top. Gold on kraft is the category signature.
Deboss on the wrap
Pressed after wrapping so the relief follows the curve.
Two-tone
One paper on the lid, another on the base. Reads as a deliberate design for almost nothing.
Metal ends
Tinplate base and lid. A different weight and a different sound when it opens.
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 tube, where diameter comes in steps: square paper tubes
Length is cut to order, but the internal diameter is set by the mandrel the tube is wound on. Those come in roughly 5 mm steps, so we choose the first step above your product rather than an exact figure.
- Internal diameter
- The product at its widest plus 2–3 mm, rounded up to the next mandrel. Anything more and a round product rolls inside.
- Length
- The product plus the depth of a cap at each end, plus 3 mm. Cut to any figure.
- Wall thickness
- 1–1.5 mm inside a shipper, 2–3 mm for a tube that travels alone. It is the whole protection on a mailing tube.
- Cap fit
- Set on a plain sample. A cap a fraction loose falls out in the post; a fraction tight cannot be opened by hand.
- Outside size
- Carriers measure the outside including the caps — usually about 0.25 in over the bore, and an inch over the length.
- Inserts
- Round products still rattle. A board ring or a foam disc holds a jar or a bottle centered.
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
Spec your Square Paper Tubes
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a wall and wrap 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 square paper tubes? 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 is a square paper tube made?
It is die-cut from a flat sheet and glued on one side seam, then folded into shape at packing.
Do square paper tubes ship flat?
Yes. That is one of the main reasons to choose them over a wound round tube.
Can a square paper tube hold a tall glass bottle?
It can hold a tall bottle in E flute corrugated with an insert to keep it centered.
Can a square tube mail rolled prints?
Yes, in a long corrugated version. It does not roll and stacks well in transit.
Can all four sides of a square paper tube be printed?
Yes, edge to edge, without the distortion a curved wrap puts on artwork.
How do square paper tubes close?
With tuck flaps at each end, or a crash-lock base and a tuck top.
Are square paper tubes as strong as round ones?
They are strong on the corners; round tubes resist crushing evenly. Corrugated closes the gap.
What board is used for a square kraft tube?
Kraft paperboard for light items, E or B flute corrugated for heavier ones.
Can a square paper tube hold soap or candles?
Yes, as a short sleeve carton in kraft paperboard, printed on four faces.
What is the minimum order for square paper tubes?
100 tubes per size and print design.
Are square paper tubes recyclable?
Yes. They are plain kraft board or corrugated with no plastic parts.
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