Custom Product Boxes Built Around Your Item

What is a product box?

A product box is a printed carton made for one specific item. It protects the product, shows the brand and carries the details a buyer looks for.

Our photos show a few of the shapes it can take. There is a tube carton with a hanging tab look, a white mailer with a cut insert, a pink drawer box and a plain white tuck end carton ready for print.

What links them is that the box is sized and printed for the thing inside, not picked off a list of generic sizes.

A good product box also saves time at the till and on the packing bench, because staff can see what is inside without opening it.

Which style of product box should I pick?

The style decides how the customer opens the box and how it stands on a shelf. Tall items suit a tuck end carton. Flat, premium items often suit a drawer or lid and base.

Here is how the common styles compare in day to day use.

How should I size a product box?

Measure the product at its widest points, including caps, pumps and labels. A cap that sticks out by 2 mm can stop a box from closing.

For a single item, allow a small clearance so it slides in without forcing. For sets, measure each item and tell us how they should sit side by side.

Height matters most for tuck end cartons. Too much headroom lets a bottle drop and knock against the top flap, while too little makes the tuck hard to close.

Our guide to common UK box sizes is useful if you want to compare your measurements with typical shapes.

Should a product box be folding board or corrugated?

Folding board is the classic retail carton material. It has a smooth surface that takes fine print, small text and barcodes very well. It suits items sold in shops or packed inside a larger shipper.

If the product box itself goes through the post, E flute corrugated is the better choice. It is about 1.5 mm thick and still prints cleanly, but it resists knocks far better.

Kraft board gives a natural brown finish. White board makes colours look brighter and is the usual pick for cosmetics.

Which finish suits a product box?

Matte lamination gives a soft, modern look and suits pastel colours. Gloss lamination makes photography and bright shades stand out on a crowded shelf.

Spot UV, foil stamping and embossing work best on one focal point, such as the logo or product name. Used everywhere, they lose their effect.

Uncoated kraft is a good fit for natural or handmade goods, where a simple one or two colour print feels right.

If your box will be handled a lot, a laminate also protects the print from scuffs. That helps on testers and display units that people pick up all day.

How do inserts help a product box?

An insert holds the product in one position so it does not rub or rattle. It also makes the box feel more finished when it is opened.

Inserts also stop glass touching glass. Two bottles in one carton should never sit loose against each other.

Bottles and jars sit well in a card cradle with cut holes. Sets of tubes or vials can sit in a row of slots, much like the mailer in our photos. Browse our folding carton inserts for retail packs for more ideas.

Tell us the diameter and height of each item, and we will plan a cradle that holds them all at the same level.

What do product boxes cost to make?

Product boxes start from £0.25 per unit. The exact figure for your size, board and finish is set out on a written quote.

Delivery is included at no charge across the UK. If any cartons have print faults or transit damage, photos sent within 10 days get them reprinted or refunded.