Custom Full Overlap Containers

Choosing the Board Grade

The board grade matters as much as the style. Single wall B-flute or C-flute suits moderate loads that are packed snugly. Double wall BC-flute is the usual choice for heavy parts, combining a thick wall with good stacking strength. Triple wall board is available for very heavy or high-value loads that would otherwise need a wooden crate.

Tell us the weight of a filled box, how it will be handled and whether it will be stacked on a pallet or sent by parcel courier. Parcel networks treat boxes roughly, with conveyors and sorting chutes, so a box going by courier often needs a stronger grade than one moving on a pallet within your own fleet.

Box compression strength drops in damp conditions, so if your warehouse is unheated or your boxes sit in a loading bay, choose a grade with some headroom. A box that copes comfortably in a dry office may struggle after a week in a cold, damp unit. The flutes and their crush figures are set out in our guide to board and card types.

• Single wall for moderate weights and snug loads
• Double wall for heavy parts and parcel networks
• Triple wall for very heavy or high-value goods
• Kraft or white outer liner for printing

Sizing Full Overlap Containers

Measure the item or the packed bundle at its longest, widest and tallest points, then add space for any protective packaging such as foam end caps or corner blocks. For loose fixings in bags, decide the fill weight and size the box so it is full but not bulging, since empty space lets the contents shift and puts strain on the corners.

Keep in mind that full overlap flaps are as wide as the box, so they become very long on wide boxes. The style works best when the box width is modest compared with its length. On wide boxes, a half-slotted container with a separate lid, or a different construction, may be a better use of board. We will suggest the right option once we know your dimensions.

Void fill should be firm rather than loose. Crumpled paper or air pillows let heavy parts move about and strike the walls. Moulded foam, corrugated pads or cardboard partitions hold dense items in place, so the box walls only have to resist outside forces. Heavy cubes that stack three high usually move to double wall corrugated boxes for pallet loads.

Printing Trade and Handling Information

Industrial boxes do not need elaborate artwork, but clear print saves time in the warehouse. A one or two colour print of your logo, part numbers, handling symbols and weight warnings helps pickers, drivers and customers handle the box correctly. Many businesses print a blank panel for writing order numbers or sticking a label, and a 'heavy' warning on all sides for boxes over a certain weight.

Full-colour printing is also possible on a white-lined board if your boxes go to retail customers or trade counters, where a branded box marks your products apart on the shelf.

If boxes are reused within your own business, for example to send parts between sites and back, consider printing a simple return address and a space to record each trip. It helps keep track of returnable packaging. The free proof drawn with the label panel marked shows where handling symbols sit when the flaps are closed.

Closing and Palletising

Full overlap flaps give a wide, flat surface for tape, which makes closure secure. Reinforced gummed tape or heavy-duty polypropylene tape across the full length of the overlap, plus a strip at each end, gives the strongest closure. Staples are also an option for very heavy loads on industrial lines.

If boxes are stacked on pallets, think about the stacking pattern and the height. Column stacking, with boxes aligned directly above each other, uses the strength of the corners better than interlocking stacks. We can size boxes to make efficient use of a standard UK pallet footprint if you give us the pallet size you use. Pallet patterns and the cost of a few extra millimetres are covered in our guide to how custom box pricing works.

Give the Filled Weight and the Journey, Not Just the Size

A full overlap container is specified by how it travels as much as by what it holds. Send the internal length, width and height with 10 mm added each way for padding, and then the figures that decide the board: the weight of a filled box, whether it goes by parcel courier or on a pallet, how many are stacked and whether the stack stays in a dry warehouse or sits on a loading bay. Long narrow items need the flutes running along the length, so say which dimension is the long one. If the contents are a kit of parts, send the part list so partitions can be drawn. Lighter loads that still need a double top go in the corrugated folding boxes in single wall.

Email the sizes, filled weight, journey, stacking plan, quantity and any print, and a custom quote comes back within one working day, followed by a free proof showing the dieline and flap length. Containers are made in 4 to 7 working days once approved and delivered flat, free and tracked, on the UK mainland in 2 to 3 days. Containers that arrive crushed or misprinted are replaced or refunded when reported within 10 days.