Custom Six-Corner Boxes

Lid Options

A separate lid made as a second, slightly larger six-corner tray gives a full telescope box. It looks substantial and is easy to open, which suits gifts and bakery boxes. A shallow lid that covers only the top edge uses less board and shows the printed sides of the base.

A hinged lid is cut as part of the same sheet, folding over the top and tucking into the front. It cannot be lost and suits takeaway and grab-and-go items. A window lid with clear film lets customers see cakes and pastries without opening the box, which keeps them fresher and reduces handling at the counter.

For retail sets, a printed sleeve sliding over a plain or lightly printed tray can be the most economical option, especially when the same tray is used for several products. p2 Window lids with film are shown on our foldable window boxes page.

Choosing Board for the Job

Folding boxboard from 350 to 400 gsm suits most cakes, pastries and retail sets. Heavier items, such as large traybakes, candles or multi-jar gift sets, call for thicker board or E-flute corrugated with a printed liner. The glued corners add strength, so a six-corner tray often outperforms a tuck-in tray made from the same board.

White board gives clean bakery colours; kraft board suits rustic bakeries and handmade goods. For cakes with buttercream or glaze, a coated inner surface or a printed food-contact liner helps prevent marks. Food-contact grade board is available on request where food touches the box directly. p1 The guide to board and card types lists the folding board and E-flute weights.

Measuring for Cakes and Products

For cakes, measure the cake board, not the cake, because the board is what sits in the tray. Add 5 to 10 mm all round so the board slides in and out without the sides of the cake touching the walls. Measure height to the highest decoration, plus a margin for the lid.

For retail products, lay out the contents exactly as you want them presented and measure the whole arrangement. If you plan to use an insert to hold items in place, add its thickness to the internal dimensions. For trays that will sit inside an outer mailer, give us the mailer size so the tray fits snugly.

Taller items may need a deeper tray with a lower lid, rather than a deep lid, so the customer can lift the lid off without the product coming with it.

If you sell several cake sizes, it is worth choosing tray sizes that share the same height and differ only in length and width. The lids then look uniform on your shelves and in the back of a delivery van, and a single stack of each size is easy to find in a hurry. p3 The guide to measuring a product covers cake boards and domed tops.

Print and Finishing

Six-corner trays print on the outside walls and, if you wish, inside the base. The lid top is the main branding area. Full colour print shows illustrations and patterns, while one or two colours on kraft keep things simple and inexpensive.

Because the walls are visible on a counter, consider printing them with a pattern or your website so the box still carries the brand with the lid off. A matt varnish protects the print from fingerprints; a gloss varnish makes colours bright. Foil on the lid logo turns a simple bakery box into a gift box.

Our free design proof shows the flat layout with glue areas marked, so you can see which areas will be hidden by the glued corners and avoid placing text there.

Measure the Cake Board, Not the Cake

A six-corner tray holds a cake by its board, so the board is what we size to. Measure the largest cake board you use, add 5 to 10 mm all round, and take the height to the tallest decoration plus 15 mm for the lid. Bakeries with several cake sizes should keep one height and vary only length and width, so the lids look alike on the shelf and in the van.

Choose the lid from how the box is handled: a telescope lid for gifts, a hinged lid for grab-and-go, a window lid where cakes are chosen from a counter. Then say how many you box in a normal week. The custom quote arrives by email within one working day, from £0.25 for simple sizes, with the minimum set per job.

The free proof shows the glued tray flat and popped up. Production takes 4 to 7 working days after approval and the pre-glued trays reach UK mainland addresses flat by free tracked delivery. Keep them dry and away from the oven. Bakeries that sell by the slice usually add single-slice cake boxes in the same print.