Custom Window Rigid Boxes
Custom window rigid boxes from 100 — two-piece, drawer and fold-front boxes in wrapped grayboard with a window cut through the board and clear film set behind it, so the product is seen before the box is opened and the box still feels solid in the hand.
Cutting a hole in the strongest part of the box
- Board
- Grayboard 1.5–2 mm, wrapped in printed or colored paper
- Window
- Die-cut through board and wrap; wrap turned in; PET film behind
- Builds
- Two-piece lid and base, drawer and sleeve, fold-front, display front
Get a price for Window Rigid 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.
How the window edge is finished
- The board is cut first, then the wrap is cut smaller and folded through the opening.
- Turned-in paper covers the board edge, so no gray shows from the front.
- Film is glued to the inside of the board, behind the turned edge, so it sits flat.
- Corners of the window are radiused slightly; a sharp inside corner tears the wrap.
Where the window goes
| Lid of a two-piece box | Product seen from above; the most common window |
|---|---|
| Front of a drawer sleeve | Contents visible while the drawer is closed |
| Fold-front or book-style cover | Window in the cover, product framed underneath |
| Front wall of a display box | For tall products sold on a shelf |
The insert faces the window
What shows through the window is the insert as much as the product. A pink or black flocked tray, a printed card or a satin pad sits in frame, and the product has to be held at the exact height the window expects. We cut the insert from the window drawing, not the other way round. If you want the whole lid to be clear rather than a framed opening, our clear lid gift boxes with printed bases are the better build.
Film, scratches and fingerprints
PET film is the default: clear, stiff and recyclable in some programs. It scratches if boxes are stacked lid to lid, so window boxes are packed with a sheet between them. Film is applied with its protective layer on where practical, so the first fingerprints on it are your customer’s.
Window Rigid 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
- Grayboard 1.5–2 mm, wrapped in printed or colored paper
- Window
- Die-cut through board and wrap; wrap turned in; PET film behind
- Builds
- Two-piece lid and base, drawer and sleeve, fold-front, display front
- Inside
- Flocked tray, card insert, satin pad, foam cut
- Extras
- Ribbon closure, drawer pull, foil-stamped frame around the window
- Delivery
- Shipped assembled, interleaved to protect the film
- Minimum
- 100 boxes
On every job
- Print process
- The wrap is printed offset as a flat sheet and applied to the board, so the print quality is that of a sheet rather than a box.
- Color
- CMYK on the wrap with spot colors for a brand match. A textured or soft-touch wrap mutes a solid color slightly.
- Tolerance
- Board cut plus or minus 0.5 mm. Lid fit is set on a sample and held on the run, with an allowance for the delivery climate.
- Tooling
- No cutting die on the box itself. The tooling is the wrap print and any foil or emboss die, made once and kept.
- Food contact
- A food-grade liner or an inner tray where a rigid box holds unwrapped food.
- Sustainability
- Board and paper recycle together. Magnets, ribbon and foam come out first, and the spec says which the box has.
- 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 window rigid boxes on
A rigid box is two materials: the grayboard that holds the shape and the paper wrapped around it. The board decides the feel; the wrap decides everything a customer sees and touches.
Grayboard 1.2–1.5 mm
The light rigid box: jewelry, small cases, card boxes. Heavy in the hand for its size without thick walls on a small cavity.
1.2–1.5 mmGrayboard 2–3 mm
The full rigid box. Resists crushing, bends poorly — thickness is chosen from box size so a wide lid does not sag.
2–3 mmArt paper wrap
Printed coated paper, matte or gloss laminated. Full color, photographs, any design. The most flexible wrap and the least tactile.
128–157gsmSoft-touch wrap
A velvet-feel laminate over printed paper. Reads expensive, shows fingerprints on white, and scuffs at the corners before anywhere else.
128–157gsm laminatedLinen and textured wrap
Texture woven into the paper, so it cannot scuff off. Takes foil and deboss beautifully; breaks up a solid print.
120–140gsmLeather-grain and specialty
Embossed grain papers, metallics and colored stocks. One color and a foil mark, not a photograph.
120–160gsmFlocked and velvet liners
A short-fiber or woven pile for the interior and the insert. Holds a product without marking it and sets the color the piece is seen against.
Applied to board or foamMagnets and hardware
Neodymium magnets under the wrap, ribbon pulls, and hinges built from the wrap itself. Each is a line on the quote.
Per closureNot 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.
On a rigid box the wrap is the finish, and the corners are where it is judged.
Soft-touch wrap
Velvet in the hand. The category default, and it scuffs at the corners first.
Linen and laid
Texture woven into the paper; hides marks and cannot rub off.
Hot foil
Stamped into the wrap. Small block, cheap die, large effect on a lid.
Blind deboss
Shape with no ink. On a textured wrap it is the quietest premium mark there is.
Spot UV on matte
A gloss shape on a matte field; a pattern that only shows at an angle.
Colored liner
A wrap on the inside face, seen for a second as the lid lifts. The cheapest thing that changes an opening.
Leather-grain
Embossed grain paper. One color and a foil mark, never a photograph.
Ribbon and hardware
A pull under the product, magnets under the wrap, a hinge built from the paper.
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 rigid box, where the wrap is part of the wall: window rigid boxes
A rigid box is built up rather than folded, so the internal size is set first and the board and wrap are added outside it. The lid is then made to fit the base, and that fit is the thing people judge.
- Internal dimensions
- The product plus its insert, at the widest point. Everything else is built outward from this number.
- Wall build-up
- Each wall is the grayboard plus the wrap on both faces — roughly 2.5 mm on a 2 mm board. A small box gains noticeably in outside size.
- Lid clearance
- A few tenths of a millimeter. Set on a plain sample: a slow, air-cushioned lift, not a lid that drops off or has to be prised.
- Insert depth
- The tallest item plus 2 mm. On a two-layer box, this sets the total height and the ribbon lift.
- Humidity
- Board takes up moisture and a lid set snug in a dry factory can bind in a damp shop. We allow for the delivery market.
- Tolerance
- Plus or minus 0.5 mm on a rigid box, tighter than folding board because nothing springs back.
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 Window Rigid 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 window rigid 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.
How is the window cut in a window rigid box?
Through the grayboard and the wrap, with the wrap turned in around the edge so no board shows, and clear film glued behind.
Will the gray board show around the window of a rigid box?
Not when the wrap is turned through the opening. That fold is the main difference between a good and a poor window rigid box.
Can a drawer-style rigid box have a window?
Yes, in the sleeve, so the contents are visible while the drawer is closed.
What film goes in a window rigid box?
PET as standard. It stays flat and clear; thicker film is used on large windows so it does not bow.
Will the window on a rigid box scratch in transit?
It can if boxes rub lid to lid. We interleave them for delivery, and an outer carton protects them when they ship to customers.
Can the window on a rigid box be a shape other than a rectangle?
Yes — circles, ovals, arches and logos — with slightly radiused corners so the turned wrap does not split.
What should sit behind the window of a rigid box?
An insert sized to the window: a flocked tray, a printed card or a satin pad, set at the height the window frames.
Can a window rigid box close with a ribbon?
Yes. A ribbon tie or pull is common on window boxes for gifts, set so it does not cross the window.
Does a window make a rigid box weaker?
Slightly, in the panel that is cut. We keep a border of board around the window wide enough to hold its shape.
Can the frame around the window of a rigid box be foil stamped?
Yes, a foil line or border around the opening is a common way to draw the eye to it.
How many window rigid boxes can we order?
From 100 per size. Each window shape needs its own cutting tool, so the shape is fixed before the run.
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