Custom Straight Tuck End Boxes
Custom straight tuck end boxes — the carton whose flaps tuck from the same side, so it loads and closes in one motion — sized to your product and printed from 100. Dieline and price the same working day.
Both flaps tuck the same way, and that is the whole difference
- Board
- 16–24pt folding boxboard, coated or kraft
- Builds
- Straight tuck end; friction, slit or tamper-perforated tuck
- Sizing
- Product plus 2–3 mm; loads from either end
Get a price for Straight 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.
Straight tuck or reverse tuck
For a box with a printed front that must not be interrupted, straight tuck. For the cheapest board use where the front is plain, reverse tuck. Our tuck end auto bottom boxes for weight add a locking base for heavier products.
| Straight tuck end (STE) | Both flaps tuck from the back; the front is clean; loads from either end |
|---|---|
| Reverse tuck end (RTE) | Flaps tuck from opposite sides; uses slightly less board; a flap crosses the front |
Products that live in a straight tuck
- Cosmetics: creams, serums, lipsticks — the tube or jar loaded from the top.
- Supplements and pharmacy: a bottle or a blister in a carton with the panel on the back.
- Small electronics: earbuds, cables, chargers, with an insert.
- Tea, spices, small food items in an inner bag.
- Candles, soap, small gifts.
Board and the tuck
16–20pt folding boxboard for most; 24pt where the box stands rigid on a shelf. A friction-lock or slit-lock tuck holds the flap closed; a tuck with a tamper perforation shows a first open. The dust flaps on the sides are sized to the box, and on a small box are where a cheap carton shows itself — short dust flaps let the tuck slip.
The product loads from the top or the bottom, but the print orientation is set for one. Say which end is filled on the line.
Print, finish and the clean front
The clean front is why the STE is chosen, and it takes a full-color panel, a foil mark, a spot UV shape or an emboss without a flap crossing it. Matte or gloss laminate, soft-touch on cosmetics, a window on the front or side if the product sells on appearance. Inside print is a second pass.
The most-made carton, and why it is cheap
The straight tuck is a single die-cut blank glued on one seam, made in millions across the industry. The die is simple, the gluing is fast, and it ships flat in bundles that pop open at the bench. A hundred is a launch; a few thousand is a season.
Straight 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
- 16–24pt folding boxboard, coated or kraft
- Builds
- Straight tuck end; friction, slit or tamper-perforated tuck
- Sizing
- Product plus 2–3 mm; loads from either end
- Full color; foil, spot UV, emboss on the clean front; window; inside print
- Finish
- Matte, gloss or soft-touch laminate
- Supply
- Glued flat; pops open
- 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 straight 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.
280–350gsmMetallised 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: straight 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 Straight 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 straight 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 straight tuck end box?
A folding carton whose top and bottom flaps both tuck from the back, leaving the front panel clean.
Straight tuck or reverse tuck?
Straight for a printed front that must not be interrupted; reverse for the cheapest board use where the front is plain.
Can the tuck be tamper-evident?
Yes, with a perforation on the tuck flap that shows the first opening.
What board do you use?
16–20pt for most products, 24pt where the box has to stand rigid.
Can I have a window?
Yes, on the front or a side, cut on the same die.
What is the minimum order?
100 boxes.
Which end does the product load from?
Either, but the print is oriented for one. Tell us which end your line fills.
Can the front be foil-stamped?
Yes, and the clean front is why the STE is chosen for it.
Does it ship flat?
Yes, glued on one seam and popped open at the bench.
Is it suitable for heavy products?
Up to about 300 g. Above that, a tuck end with an auto-lock bottom.
Can the inside be printed?
Yes, as a second pass on the reverse of the sheet.
Do you ship outside the US?
Yes, to the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, quoted in the delivery currency.
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