Custom Greeting Card Boxes for Card Packs

Sizing Around Cards and Envelopes

Card boxes are sized around the envelope, because it is slightly larger than the card. Stack the number of cards and envelopes you plan to include, measure the length, width and height of the stack, and add a little clearance so the set slides in and out easily, as the guide to measuring your product describes. Square cards, A6 notecards and A5 cards all need different footprints.

Depth depends on card weight and pack count. Heavy card and thick envelopes stack higher than you expect, so measure a real stack rather than calculating. If the box will include a ribbon, a divider or a small booklet about the artist, include that in your measurement.

Mixed sets need a little more thought. A collection with several designs often looks best with the cards fanned or stacked in a set order, perhaps with a printed card on top listing the designs. If cards are different sizes, such as a few large cards with smaller notecards, a divider or a two-level tray keeps each size in place and stops the smaller cards slipping underneath.

Design: Show the Cards, Sell the Set

Shoppers want to know what is inside. A window lid that shows the top card is the simplest answer, and the print and finish options compared page shows how a laminate keeps the lid clean. If the box is closed, print a selection of the designs on the lid or the back, with the number of cards and envelopes and a short description. For artist collections, a short biography on the back adds value and helps sell a premium set.

Keep the box design in the publisher's style so it sits comfortably next to your single cards. Use the end panels for the set name so boxes stacked on a shelf are easy to identify. A barcode on the base keeps retailers happy.

Board and Finish

Folding board is the usual choice for card boxes, light, smooth and easy to print. Rigid greyboard wrapped in printed paper feels more substantial and suits premium collections; the board and card types guide compares the two. Kraft board pairs well with illustrated and nature-inspired designs.

Matt lamination gives a soft, calm finish that suits most card publishers. Soft-touch adds a velvety feel for premium sets. Foil on the publisher name or the collection title catches the eye, and embossing adds a tactile touch. Keep finishes consistent with your card range so boxed sets and single cards look like part of the same family.

If your boxes will be kept and reused for storing letters, photographs or keepsakes, rigid board is worth the extra cost. Customers notice when a box is too good to throw away, and every time they open it your name is on the lid.

Retail, Online and Corporate Sets

In shops, boxed card sets sit on tables and shelves rather than spinners, so they need to stand up and stack neatly. A box with a strong lid and a square base does both, and a printed sleeve over a plain box lets one tray serve several designs. Online, a boxed set photographs well and travels safely inside a mailer.

Businesses also order boxed card sets as corporate gifts or for their own use: thank-you cards for clients, welcome cards for new members or notecards with a company illustration. A box printed with the company logo and filled with their own cards makes a practical, personal gift.

Museums and galleries are a strong market for boxed sets. A box of notecards featuring works from a collection is easy for visitors to carry home, and a gift shop buyer will often prefer a neat boxed set to a spinner of single cards that needs constant tidying. If you supply these shops, a box with a short description of each artwork printed on the back or on a card inside adds context that visitors appreciate.

Stack the Envelopes, Not the Cards, and Measure With the Ribbon On

A card box is sized by its envelopes, which are a few millimetres bigger than the cards, and by whatever else sits on the stack. So count out a full set, cards and envelopes interleaved as they will be packed, add the ribbon or the artist booklet if there is one, and measure the length, width and height of that stack. That stack plus a little clearance is the inside of the box. Decide whether the lid gets a window to show the top card, and whether one plain tray with a printed sleeve per design would serve a range better than a printed box for each.

Send the card and envelope size, the pack count, the box style, artwork and finishes, and a custom quote comes by email within one working day, card boxes from £0.25 each with a low minimum that suits a first collection; the cards and envelopes can be quoted in the same email. Production takes 4 to 7 working days after the free design proof is approved and free tracked delivery reaches UK mainland addresses in 2 to 3 working days. Publishers who sell single cards too usually order the folded greeting cards alongside.