Custom Cardboard Boxes with Lids

Single or Double Wall Board

Single wall corrugated is the standard for lighter contents such as clothing, gifts, stationery and retail stock. It keeps the box light and affordable while still stacking well. Double wall corrugated suits heavy loads: archive files, books, workshop equipment, kitchen kit and anything stacked several boxes high. If the box will be lifted when full, a double wall base is worth considering even if the lid stays single wall.

Brown kraft corrugated is the economical everyday choice. White-lined corrugated gives a cleaner, brighter look for hampers and retail. For the most polished look, a printed litho-laminated sheet over the corrugated gives full colour photographic print. You can see single and double wall board explained in our board guide.

Getting the Size Right for Cardboard Boxes with Lids

Measure the contents and decide on the internal size of the base. For files and papers, work from the sheet size and the depth of the stack, allowing room for fingers to lift files out. For hampers, arrange the products as you want them to sit and measure the footprint and the tallest item. We add the board thickness and a small clearance to the lid so it slides over the base without being loose.

Think about where the boxes will live. If they go on standard shelving, measure the shelf depth and height so the boxes fill the space without overhanging. If they go on pallets, a size that divides neatly into a pallet footprint saves wasted space in transit.

Lid fit is the detail people notice most. Too tight and the lid sticks, too loose and it slides off when the box is carried. We calculate the lid from the outside of the base rather than the inside, allowing for the thickness of the board you choose, so it drops on smoothly and stays put. If you plan to pack the box very full, tell us, because bulging contents push the walls outward and the lid needs a touch more room. Our guide on how to measure the contents before ordering covers clearance for files and hampers.

Printing and Labelling

Direct flexo print in one or two colours suits logos and contact details on brown or white corrugated. It is cost effective and hard wearing. For hampers and retail packaging, a full colour litho-laminated lid makes the box look like a gift before it is opened. Some customers print only the lid and leave the base plain, which keeps costs down while still showing the brand where it matters.

Storage and archive boxes benefit from a printed label panel on the end, so contents and dates can be noted by hand and read easily when the box is on a shelf. A printed grid or tick boxes on the panel helps teams record contents consistently. Where contents change, printed labels for the end panel are cheaper than reprinting the box.

Who Orders Lidded Boxes

We make cardboard boxes with lids for offices and solicitors storing files, retailers keeping stock in a stockroom, hamper and gift companies, clothing brands shipping folded garments, photographers and artists storing prints, schools and clubs storing equipment, and removal firms supplying sturdy storage boxes to customers. Wholesalers use them for products that are picked from the box several times before it is empty.

Many businesses order two or three sizes that nest or stack together, so a mix of contents can be stored neatly on the same shelves.

Hamper companies often pair a lidded box with tissue, shredded paper fill and a printed card insert, so the reveal is the first thing the recipient sees when the lid comes off. A belly band or ribbon around the closed box keeps the lid on in transit and adds a finishing touch without extra tape.

Give Us the Inside Size and the Lid Depth, Not the Outside

Lidded boxes are quoted from the inside dimensions of the base, so measure what goes in and add a little clearance rather than measuring an old box from the outside. Then pick the lid depth: full depth for archives and anything stacked, half depth for hampers and gift packs where a band of the base should show, and a shallow cap for retail. Say whether the lid needs a thumb cut-out and whether the box will be carried full, because that changes the board grade. Boxes that ship as a unit should go in a plain shipping carton for transit or be strapped so the lid cannot lift.

Send the inside size, lid depth, print and quantity, and a custom quote comes back by email within one working day. The free proof shows the base and lid dielines with any label panel on the end. Bases and lids are made in 4 to 7 working days once approved and delivered flat in bundles by tracked courier. Crushed or misprinted blanks reported within 10 days with a photo are reprinted or refunded.