How to Choose a Custom Box Style

Start With the Job, Not the Look

It is tempting to begin with a box you have admired on someone else's product. A better starting point is the job your box has to do. Ask three questions. Does it travel through the post on its own? Does it sit on a shelf where a buyer has to choose it? Is the moment of opening part of what the customer is paying for? Most products answer yes to one of these more strongly than the others, and that answer narrows the choice to a handful of styles.

Once you know the job, the look is a matter of print and finish, which can be applied to almost any style. A plain kraft mailer and a full colour foiled mailer are the same structure; only the surface changes. The full list of box styles groups them by job.

Boxes That Travel

If the box goes through a courier network by itself, it needs corrugated board. The flute inside gives it the crush strength to survive stacking and handling. Within that group there are two main choices.

• Mailer boxes have a hinged lid and locking front tabs. They close without tape, look tidy when opened and suit most online orders under a couple of kilos. See custom mailer boxes.
• Shipping boxes are four-flap cartons sealed with tape. They take more weight, stack well on pallets and suit heavier, bulkier or multi-item orders.

Between them sit everyday cardboard boxes in various styles, and kraft versions in brown board of all of these for a natural brown finish.

Boxes That Sell From a Shelf

On a shelf, the box is competing for attention, and it rarely has to survive the post on its own. Folding card is the usual material because it prints fine detail and keeps the unit cost low.

• Tuck end boxes close with a flap at each end and are the standard carton for cosmetics, supplements and small products.
• Product boxes are cartons built around one item, often with an insert to hold it upright.
• Window boxes add a die-cut window so the buyer can see the product without opening anything.
• Pillow boxes have curved ends and suit small, light items such as favours and samples.

When a product needs to look more premium on the shelf, the same ideas can be built in rigid board. The retail and product boxes range shows every shelf style.

Boxes Where Opening Matters

For gifts, jewellery, premium skincare and corporate packs, how the box opens is part of the value. Rigid boxes, built from thick greyboard wrapped in paper, give that weighty, square feel.

• Lid and base boxes lift off slowly and suit almost any premium product.
• Magnetic boxes open like a book and close with a soft click.
• Sleeve boxes slide a tray out of an outer sleeve, often on a ribbon.

These boxes usually travel inside a mailer or carton, so budget for an outer box if you sell online. Our luxury and gift boxes range shows every option.

A Quick Comparison

When One Box Has to Do Two Jobs

Many small brands sell both online and in shops, and want one box that does both. A printed E flute mailer is often the answer: strong enough to post, smart enough to hand over a counter. Another route is a card product box inside a plain shipping carton, which keeps the retail box crisp and lets you change outer cartons as order sizes change.

If presentation and protection pull in different directions, an insert can help. A card or foam insert holds the product in place, so a lighter box can do a heavier job. See custom box inserts.

Practical Points People Forget

• Packing speed. If you pack hundreds of orders a week, a box that folds in seconds and closes without tape saves real time.
• Storage. Folding boxes arrive flat. Standard rigid boxes arrive built and take far more room.
• Courier size bands. A box a few mm smaller can drop a parcel into a cheaper band, so size to the product, not to a stock list.
• Reuse. Customers keep rigid and sleeve boxes; that keeps your brand in their home long after the sale.

For the sizing side of these choices, read how to measure for a custom box.

Still Undecided?

Send us the product, its size and weight, and a line on how it is sold. We will suggest a style and board in the custom quote, often with an alternative so you can compare prices. Every order includes a free design proof, so you see exactly what you are getting before anything is printed. You can also try your logo on a box photo first.