Cardboard Boxes
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Custom Cardboard Boxes
Custom cardboard boxes are printed paperboard cartons built to your exact product dimensions, and they’re the standard choice for retail shelves, subscription boxes and direct-to-consumer shipments. We produce them in your choice of stock, thickness, print style and finish, with orders starting at 200 units and a free dieline created for every project.
One packaging consultant handles your project from the first quote through to delivery. You’ll have their name, their direct line, and someone who already knows your specs the second time you order.
Who Uses Cardboard Packaging
Paperboard cartons suit almost any product light enough to sit on a shelf and valuable enough to deserve a printed exterior. The brands we produce for most often include:
- Beauty and personal care: serums, lotions, foundation, lip products, bar soap and bath bombs
- Candle and home fragrance: jar candles, tins, reed diffusers and wax melts
- Food and beverage: bakery items, chocolate, loose-leaf tea, coffee bags and cereal
- Wellness and supplements: capsule bottles, tinctures, sachets and topicals
- Apparel and accessories: socks, jewelry, small leather goods and gift sets
- Electronics and small hardware: cables, chargers, tools and replacement parts
- Subscription and DTC brands: curated boxes, sample kits and PR mailers
If your product has to survive a shipping journey without an outer carton, a heavier corrugated box is the better fit. Our consultants will tell you which one your product actually needs before you spend anything.
Cardboard vs. Corrugated: Which One Do You Need?
These two terms get used interchangeably online, and it causes a lot of wasted spend. Here’s the practical difference:
Cardboard (Paperboard) | Corrugated | |
Structure | Single solid layer of pressed paper stock | Two liners with a fluted wave glued between them |
Typical thickness | 12pt to 24pt | Single, double or triple wall flute |
Best for | Retail display, gifting, inner product boxes | Shipping, heavy or fragile items, mailers |
Print quality | Excellent, with a smooth surface and sharp detail | Good, slightly less crisp on fluted surfaces |
Ships alone? | Usually needs an outer shipper | Yes, built for transit |
Cost per unit | Lower | Higher |
Short version: if the box will be seen by the customer on a shelf or inside a shipment, cardboard is right. If the box is the shipment, look at corrugated boxes or mailer boxes instead.
What Our Customers Say
“Custom soap boxes. Daniel was great to work with: professional, knowledgeable, and helpful throughout the process. My order arrived earlier than expected, and I truly appreciated his guidance on sizing and setting up the artwork correctly. Highly recommended!” — Ava Nicole, Manager, soap and skincare brand
“Working with Daniel on our first custom packaging order was a great experience. He made everything easy to understand and guided us through each step. Communication was quick, pricing was fair, and the quality of our boxes exceeded our expectations.” Casey, CTO, consumer packaged goods brand
Materials and Finishes We Offer
Stock options
Stock | Look and feel | Commonly used for |
Standard white cardstock (SBS) | Bright white, clean print surface | Cosmetics, food, general retail |
Kraft brown | Natural, uncoated, recyclable | Soap, candles, organic and sustainable brands |
Corrugated stock | Ribbed, rigid, protective | Shipping-ready and heavier products |
Rigid press board | Thick, premium, no fold lines | Luxury gifting, jewelry, high-ticket items |
Foil metallic cardstock | Reflective silver or gold base | Limited editions, holiday and seasonal runs |
Holographic stock | Iridescent, colour-shifting | Beauty, vape, novelty and youth-market products |
Textured Neenah cardstock | Linen or felt tactile surface | Wine, stationery, premium personal care |
Coloured stock | Solid colour through the board | Bold minimalist branding |
Print and finishing add-ons
- Coatings: matte, gloss or soft-touch lamination
- Embossing and debossing: raised or recessed logo detail
- Foil stamping: gold, silver, rose gold, copper and holographic foils
- Spot UV: high-gloss accent over a matte surface
- Die-cut windows: with or without clear PVC film inserts, available as window boxes
- Interior printing: branded messaging revealed on opening
- Packaging inserts: trays and partitions that hold the product in place
- CMYK or PMS colour matching: for brands with strict colour standards
Send us your artwork and we’ll recommend the finish that gives you the most visible impact for the least added cost.
Box Styles Available
Every style below is produced from a custom dieline built to your dimensions:
- Straight tuck end (STE): flaps tuck in the same direction, giving a clean front-facing display
- Reverse tuck end (RTE): flaps tuck in opposite directions, the most cost-efficient option
- Auto-lock bottom: pops open with a locking base, ideal for heavier contents
- Seal end: glued top and bottom, secure and tamper-evident
- Tuck top with sleeve: layered presentation for gifting and PR kits
- Two-piece (base and lid): premium unboxing with no visible closure
- Hang tab / five-panel hanger: for peg and hook retail displays
- Pillow, gable, hexagon and cube: shaped boxes for retail differentiation
- Die-cut window boxes: a clear PVC window for products that sell on visibility
Pricing and Minimum Order Quantity
The minimum order for custom cardboard boxes is 200 units. Some styles and finishing processes need a higher run to be viable, and your consultant will confirm the exact figure for your spec.
Pricing is driven by five things: quantity, dimensions, stock, print coverage and finishing. Unit cost drops considerably as quantity rises, because plate setup and die-cutting costs spread across more pieces.
Quantity tier | What it suits | Cost per unit |
200 to 500 | First production run, market testing | Highest per unit |
500 to 1,000 | Established small brands, seasonal runs | Noticeably lower |
1,000 to 5,000 | Growing retail and DTC brands | Significantly lower |
5,000+ | Wholesale, retail rollout, ongoing supply | Lowest per unit |
Why we quote by project instead of showing a calculator
Online configurators price from a fixed menu of sizes and stocks. That works if your product fits one of their presets. Most don’t. A tapered candle jar, an irregular bar of soap, a bottle that needs a partition, or a foil-stamped rigid lid all price differently, and a calculator will either refuse the job or quote you for something close enough that it arrives wrong.
Every quote we send is itemised by stock, print and finishing, so you can compare our figure line by line against any other supplier. Most quotes go out the same business day.
First-time customers currently receive 20% off their first order.
How Your Order Is Produced
- Share your requirements. Dimensions, quantity, stock, finish, and your artwork or a rough concept.
- Receive your quote and dieline. We build a custom dieline template at no additional cost.
- Place artwork and approve the proof. Our design team checks bleed, colour mode, resolution and fold lines before anything is printed.
- Request a physical sample (optional). If you order within 30 days of receiving it, the sample cost is credited back to your order.
- Production. Printing, lamination, die-cutting, finishing and gluing.
- Quality check and dispatch. Inspected, flat-packed and shipped to your door.
Standard production takes 7 to 10 business days after artwork approval, plus 3 to 5 business days in transit. Expedited production is available on most cardboard box orders at 3 to 5 business days. Tell us your deadline on the quote request and we’ll confirm which option meets it.
Artwork Guidelines
To avoid delays and reprints, supply files as follows:
- Format: AI, PDF, EPS or PSD, with vector preferred for logos and type
- Resolution: 300 DPI minimum for raster images
- Colour mode: CMYK for full-colour print, PMS codes for exact brand colours
- Bleed: 0.125″ on all sides
- Fonts: outlined or packaged with the file
- Layers: keep die-cut lines, foil and spot UV areas on separate labelled layers
If you don’t have print-ready artwork, our in-house design team can build your layout onto the dieline as part of the order.
Why Brands Order Cardboard Packaging From Us
- Built to your product. Every order gets a custom dieline at no charge, sized to what you’re actually packing.
- Design support included. Our team checks and corrects artwork before it reaches press, which is where most packaging mistakes happen.
- Low entry point. Start at 200 units and scale as your volumes grow.
- Sample credited back. Hold your box in your hand before committing to a full run.
- One named contact. The same packaging consultant handles your project end to end, so nothing gets re-explained.
- US-based support. Quotes, proofs and phone support during US business hours from our St. Petersburg, Florida office.
Request a Quote for Custom Cardboard Boxes
Tell us what you’re packing and we’ll size the box around it. Every quote comes from a packaging consultant who has read your specs personally.
Call: +1 (630) 228-1764 Email: sales@thegrandpackaging.com Hours: Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm ET
The minimum order is 200 units. That figure can shift slightly depending on box style, stock and finishing, since some processes require a higher run to be viable. Contact us with your specifications and we’ll confirm the minimum for your project.
Standard production is 7 to 10 business days after you approve the proof, with 3 to 5 business days in transit. Expedited production runs at 3 to 5 business days for most cardboard styles. Foil stamping, rigid construction and specialty die-cuts add time, so confirm the schedule with your consultant if you’re working to a launch date.
Yes. You can request a physical sample of your custom box before committing to a full run. If you place your order within 30 days of receiving that sample, the sample cost is credited toward your order, which makes it effectively free for customers who go ahead.
Cost depends on quantity, size, stock, print coverage and finishing. As a general rule, per-unit cost falls sharply between 200 and 1,000 units, then continues declining more gradually at higher volumes. Send your specs through the quote form for an itemised figure.
Yes. Interior printing is a popular way to add a branded message, care instructions or a discount code that customers only see on opening. It’s priced as an additional print side, so include it in your quote request if you want it costed.
Boxes are built to your dimensions rather than selected from fixed sizes. Provide length, width and height in inches, centimetres or millimetres, and we’ll build the dieline around your product. If you’re unsure how much clearance to allow, send us the product measurements and we’ll work it out.
Ready to Box Up Your Brand?
Let’s create cardboard boxes that reflect your story and captivate your customers. Request a
quote today and discover how our custom packaging solutions can elevate your brand across
borders.