Custom Apparel Sleeve Boxes

Sizing Around a Folded Garment

Fold the garment exactly the way you will pack it, wrapped in tissue if you use it, and measure the length, width and thickness. A T-shirt folded into a neat rectangle might sit at around 250 x 200 mm and 20 mm deep. A chunky knit can easily be three times as deep. Add a few millimetres all round so the folded item sits snugly without being squashed.

Remember the sleeve fits over the tray, so its inside size is a whisker larger than the drawer's outside size. We set those tolerances on the dieline so the drawer slides smoothly without falling out when the box is tilted. If you sell several garment types, two or three tray depths with one sleeve width often cover the range.

Weight is worth checking too. A heavy knit in a folding board tray can bow the base when lifted from one end, so for anything over about a kilo we usually suggest a thicker board or a corrugated tray. It is far better to decide that now than to find soft bases after the first week of orders. The depth rule applies to hosiery too; the slim hosiery boxes use a shallow tray for exactly this reason.

Printing Custom Apparel Sleeve Boxes

The sleeve is the billboard. Most labels print it in full colour or a strong single brand colour with the logo centred or set off to one side. The drawer is often left plain or printed in a solid colour that contrasts with the sleeve, so there is a flash of colour as it slides out.

Printing the inside of the drawer, or the inside face of the sleeve, gives you somewhere for a short thank-you, care instructions or a social handle. It is a small detail that customers often photograph.

Consider where the logo falls once the box is closed. On a sleeve that slides on from the end, the top face is what people see first, but the narrow edge is what shows when boxes are stacked on a shelf. Printing the brand name on that edge as well helps in shops and in photographs of a stack of orders ready to go. The full-colour print on the sleeve is the same process described for printed boxes in full colour, and it reproduces photographs cleanly on white board.

Finishes That Suit Fashion Packaging

Matt lamination gives a calm, modern look that suits minimal brands. Soft-touch lamination adds a velvety feel that works especially well for knitwear and loungewear, where texture is part of the product. Foil blocking on a logo, in gold, silver, rose or a coloured foil, adds a sharp line of light.

Kraft board left uncoated, printed with a single dark ink, gives a relaxed, natural look that suits workwear, outdoor and handmade labels. It also shows fewer scuffs from handling in a small studio.

If you want the box to feel special without adding a full lamination, a spot of foil on the logo alone gives most of the effect at a lower cost. It also leaves the rest of the board natural, which suits brands that prefer a quieter, tactile look over a glossy one. Soft-touch and spot gloss finishes are compared in the guide to print and finish options, with notes on which scuff least in a courier bag.

Getting Sleeve Boxes Through the Post

A folding board sleeve box is lovely in the hand but will scuff if it goes through a parcel network unprotected. For online orders, many brands post the sleeve box inside a plain mailer or a padded bag. If you want to post the box on its own, a thin corrugated tray and sleeve gives far better protection and still prints well.

A simple sticker or paper band across the sleeve opening stops the drawer sliding out in transit. It also acts as a seal that shows the box has not been opened, which customers appreciate when buying gifts.

Think about the packing bench as well. A drawer that has to be folded, filled, closed and slid into a sleeve takes a little longer than dropping a garment into a mailer. Most brands find the extra minute worthwhile for full-price orders and keep a simpler mailer for sale items and returns, which balances presentation against time. For orders that must survive a courier network, a corrugated mailer box as the outer is cheaper than making the sleeve itself heavy enough to post.

Measure the Garment Folded, Not Flat

Sleeve boxes only look right when the tray is a close fit, so start with the garment folded exactly as it will be packed. Lay a hoodie, tee or shirt on a table, fold it to the width you want, then measure length, width and the stacked height in the middle, where the fold is thickest. Add about 5 mm to each side for tissue and ease, and make the tray depth equal to the folded height, not more, or the drawer will slide about.

With those three numbers, the number of sizes and how you plan to post, we price the tray and sleeve together. You get a quote by email within one working day, then a free proof with the sleeve artwork laid on the dieline so you can check where the logo lands when the drawer is closed. Production takes 4 to 7 working days after you approve it, delivery to UK mainland addresses is tracked and included, and print faults reported within 10 days are reprinted or refunded. Brands that also sell caps often match the sleeve print to cap boxes in the same board.