Custom Tumbler Boxes
A tumbler is strong along its walls and fragile at exactly two places: the rim and the base edge. Almost every chipped-on-arrival complaint traces to one of them touching board, and both are avoidable with clearance rather than thicker packaging.
- Builds
- Folding cartons, rigid lid and base, window boxes, divided set boxes
- Board
- 18–24pt folding; corrugated outer for posted orders
- Inserts
- Die-cut card cradles at base and shoulder, dividers on every multipack
Get a price for Tumbler 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.
Cradle it, do not grip it
A box cut to the exact diameter of a tumbler holds it firmly and transmits every impact straight into the glass. A box a few millimeters larger with a card cradle at the base and shoulder holds it just as still and lets the box absorb the hit instead.
The cradle should never reach the rim. Support the widest part of the body and leave the top in air — that single rule prevents most of the damage in this category.
Insulated steel tumblers are not exempt. They dent rather than chip, and a dented lip stops a lid sealing.
Tapers, handles and the shapes that complicate it
- A tapered tumbler is widest at the rim, which is the part you least want touching anything.
- A handle adds a protrusion that has to have its own space or it levers against the wall.
- A stemmed glass is a different product — the stem is the failure point, not the rim.
- A lid sold with the tumbler doubles the depth and usually needs its own cell.
Singles, pairs and sets
In any multipack, no two pieces should be able to touch. A thin card divider is enough — it does not need to be strong, it needs to be present.
| Single | Cradle plus clearance; the simplest and most common |
|---|---|
| Pair | A divider between them is mandatory — glass against glass is the failure |
| Set of four or six | Full divided insert; the insert becomes most of the cost |
| Set with a carafe | Mixed heights; a layered insert rather than a flat one |
Windows, and what they take away
Drinkware is bought on how it looks, and a window shows the glass, the color and the finish far better than a printed photograph. On a shelf that is worth a great deal.
It also removes a wall of protection at the point where the pack is weakest. The usual compromise is a window on the front face with the cradle and the side walls left intact — the same balance described in our homeware packaging notes.
Posted rather than carried
A tumbler bought online travels loose in a courier network, and a retail-facing window box is not built for that. It arrives with crushed corners even when the glass is intact, and a crushed box on a gift item reads as damage.
Ship the retail box inside a corrugated outer with void fill on all six sides. It is cheaper than the breakage rate without it, and far cheaper than the returns.
Tumbler 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
- Builds
- Folding cartons, rigid lid and base, window boxes, divided set boxes
- Board
- 18–24pt folding; corrugated outer for posted orders
- Inserts
- Die-cut card cradles at base and shoulder, dividers on every multipack
- Clearance
- Rim and base edge kept clear of board on every build
- Windows
- Front face only, side walls and cradle left intact
- 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 tumbler 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: tumbler 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 Tumbler 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 tumbler 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 do my tumblers chip on arrival?
The rim or base edge is touching board. Add clearance and cradle the body instead of gripping the whole glass.
Is a tighter box safer?
No — the opposite. A tight box transmits impact into the glass; clearance lets the box absorb it.
Do I need dividers in a pair?
Yes. Glass against glass is the failure mode in every multipack, and a thin card divider prevents it.
Can I post the retail box on its own?
Not well. It arrives corner-crushed even when the glass survives. Use a corrugated outer.
What is the minimum order?
100 boxes, with cradles cut to your tumbler.
Does an insulated steel tumbler need the same care?
Yes — it dents rather than chips, and a dented lip stops a lid sealing.
Why do my tumblers chip on arrival?
The rim or base edge is touching board. Add clearance and cradle the body instead of gripping the whole glass.
Is a tighter box safer?
No — the opposite. A tight box transmits impact into the glass; clearance lets the box absorb it.
Do I need dividers in a pair?
Yes. Glass against glass is the failure mode in every multipack, and a thin card divider prevents it.
Can I post the retail box on its own?
Not well. It arrives corner-crushed even when the glass survives. Use a corrugated outer.
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