Custom Folding Carton Dividers

Measuring for a Snug Fit

Start with the inside dimensions of the outer box, measured from wall to wall at the base, not at the opening. Then measure the largest item that will sit in a cell, at its widest point. Decide how many rows and columns you need, and allow the thickness of each divider wall, usually 0.5 to 1 mm for folding board and around 1.5 mm for E-flute. The divider height is normally between half and three-quarters of the product height, so items are held firmly but are easy to lift out.

If you already have the outer boxes, send us one or the exact inside measurements, along with a sample product. If you are ordering boxes and dividers together, we design them as a pair, which avoids the common problem of a divider that is a millimetre too wide to drop in.

A quick check before ordering saves frustration: cut a rough grid from scrap card to your planned measurements and drop it into a box with real products. If items are too tight, widen the cells; if they wobble, narrow them. It takes ten minutes and tells you more than any drawing. Our method for measuring products for a cell covers caps, lids and clearance.

Board Choice for Dividers

Folding boxboard in 300 to 400 gsm is the standard choice for light items such as cosmetics, sweets and small candles. It is thin, takes print well and folds cleanly. Heavier items like glass bottles or tins benefit from E-flute corrugated, which is thicker and stiffer and absorbs knocks. For a premium rigid box, a greyboard divider wrapped in printed paper matches the outer box perfectly.

Food items generally sit in a liner or cup inside the cell, but food-contact grade board is available on request if your chocolates or sweets will touch the divider directly.

• 300 to 400 gsm folding board for light items
• E-flute corrugated for glass and heavier products
• Wrapped greyboard for rigid presentation boxes
• Food-contact grade board on request

Plain or Printed Dividers

Plain white or kraft dividers are clean and economical, and many brands use them happily. Printing the divider in your brand colour, though, makes a noticeable difference when the box is opened. A black divider inside a black box looks sleek and expensive; a pink divider in a white box adds a pop of colour; a printed pattern on the divider edges adds detail that customers notice and photograph.

You can also print text on the divider walls or base, such as product names under each cell, so the customer knows which shade or flavour sits where. This is very useful in mixed sets and saves printing a separate key card.

Colour also helps the product read clearly. A dark lipstick tube against a pale divider, or a white candle against a deep green one, makes each item look more defined when the lid comes off and in the photographs customers take. Unprinted grids in a thinner board are on our plain chipboard dividers page.

Pairing Dividers With Your Boxes

Dividers work in tuck end cartons, tray and lid boxes, mailer boxes, drawer boxes and rigid gift boxes. The deeper the box, the more a divider helps, because items have more room to tip. In mailer boxes posted by courier, a divider also stops products sliding towards one end when the box is stood on its side. If your boxes are already in use and items move about, a divider is often a cheaper fix than a whole new box.

We can also combine a divider with a raised platform, so that small items sit higher in the box and the customer sees them straight away when the lid comes off.

For subscription boxes, where the contents change each month, a flexible divider with removable strips lets you rearrange cells without ordering new inserts every time. We can design one grid that adapts to several product combinations.

Measure the Inside of the Box, Not the Outside

Dividers are drawn from the inside of the box, and the most common error is sending the outside dimensions. Open a box, measure the internal length, width and depth, and send those with the number of cells you want across and down. Then measure the product that goes in each cell, including any cap or lid, so the cell is a few millimetres larger and the product lifts out without catching. Decide the height of the divider: full depth for bottles that must not tip, half depth for chocolates and lipsticks that should be seen above the grid. Choose plain board or a printed colour, and say if the divider should fold as one piece or slot together from strips. For printed dividers, send a vector file for the colour and any logo, and the free proof shows the flat pieces and the assembled grid. A custom quote comes by email within one working day, minimums are quoted per job, and dividers are made in 4–7 working days after approval and shipped flat on free tracked UK mainland delivery. Heavier shipping cartons use the thicker corrugated dividers for shipping boxes.