Free design proof on every custom order: no templates, no stock SKUs
Apparel boxes hold folded clothing and accessories in a rigid, presentable form. From a thin chipboard box for handing across a retail counter to a sturdier corrugated construction built to survive shipping. Choose the material weight based on how the box will actually travel, and finish it in matte, gloss or a foil accent for a retail-ready presentation. A practical choice for boutiques, apparel brands and subscription box shipments alike.
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An apparel box is built to do two jobs that pull in slightly different directions: protect folded clothing from creasing or shifting in transit, and present it well enough that opening the box feels like part of the purchase. Getting both right starts with material choice. A folding chipboard box, similar in weight to a shirt box, works well for in-store handoffs or short local deliveries where the box doesn't need to survive rough handling. A corrugated box, with a fluted inner layer for cushioning, is the better call for anything shipped by mail. It resists crushing and holds its shape through a delivery network in a way that thin chipboard can't.
Sizing matters more for apparel than for most packaged goods, since a box that's too large lets garments shift and wrinkle in transit, while one that's too tight makes folding and unfolding awkward for the customer. Many apparel boxes are built with a separate lid and base, or a magnetic or tuck-style closure, both of which allow the box to be opened flat without tearing. A detail that matters for a brand relying on unboxing as part of the customer experience. Interior touches like tissue paper, an insert, or printed panels on the inside of the lid are common additions once the base structure is settled.
Finish is where an apparel box shifts from purely functional to a genuine part of the brand experience. A matte laminate gives a soft, understated look that photographs well and resists fingerprints during handling. A gloss finish adds shine and vibrancy for a bolder design. Foil stamping on a logo or wordmark adds a metallic accent that a boutique or higher-end apparel line often uses specifically because it reads as more considered than a plain printed box. Because folded clothing is genuinely delicate to crease marks and moisture, an interior liner or a light coating on the inside surface is worth considering for anything shipping over longer distances or through variable weather.
Deciding between a lighter retail box and a shipping-grade corrugated box mostly comes down to how the product actually reaches the customer. In-store pickup or local hand-delivery can lean on a lighter, more decorative box since it never has to survive a conveyor belt or a delivery truck. Anything going through the mail should default to sturdier corrugated stock, sized close to the product to limit movement, with a closure that holds up to being handled by more than one person before it reaches its destination.
The board is chosen against weight, not appearance. How much the box has to carry and how much abuse it takes on the way. Folding boxboard coated on one side takes the best print and suits anything retail-facing. Corrugated adds a fluted middle layer that absorbs impact, which is what makes it a shipping material. Rigid chipboard does not fold at all; it is cut, wrapped and assembled into a box that feels like an object rather than a carton.
How do I know which board I need? Tell us the weight of the contents and whether it ships alone or inside another carton. Those two facts eliminate most of the list immediately.
Most cartons run offset litho, which holds fine detail and small type far better than printing directly onto board. Corrugated is usually litho-laminated for the same reason. The graphics are printed on a thin sheet and bonded to the fluted board, rather than printed onto a ribbed surface that shows through. Where a brand color must match across every reorder, it runs as a Pantone spot rather than being approximated from process inks.
Should I print the inside? Only if the box is opened in front of the customer. On a shipper it is money spent where nobody looks.
A coating does two jobs on packaging: it protects the print from scuffing through the supply chain, and it sets the tactile impression when someone picks the box up. Gloss lamination maximizes color and wipes clean. Matte reads more restrained and hides handling marks. Soft-touch is a matte film with a velvety surface that changes how expensive a box feels more than any other single decision at this stage.
Is lamination necessary? On anything that travels, yes. Unlaminated board scuffs white at every corner and edge, and that is the first thing a customer sees.
A carton starts as a flat blank cut by a steel-rule die, with fold lines scored rather than merely creased so the board bends along a controlled path instead of cracking its coating. The glue is applied to the side seam and the box is delivered flat, folded on that one seam. Everything about how the finished box behaves (whether it locks square, whether the lid sits flush) is decided by the accuracy of the die and the score positions.
Why does my box arrive flat? It ships flat and folds up at your end. A fraction of the freight cost and storage space of a pre-assembled box, which is why almost all cartons are supplied this way.
Folded clothing is light but wide, so the construction is a broad, shallow footprint rather than a deep one. A lid-and-base set-up in chipboard for retail, or a folding carton in a lighter board for something handed across a counter. The proportions come from the folded garment, which is why apparel boxes are sized in flat dimensions rather than volume.
What size do I order? Fold the garment the way it will be packed and measure that, then add clearance. Ordering by garment size rather than folded size is the usual mistake.
Ask for samples of any board on this list before committing to a run. Stiffness and surface are impossible to judge on screen.
A bonded film that carries the box through the supply chain without scuffing white at the corners. Gloss holds color saturation; matte reads more restrained and hides handling marks across a long shelf life.
A matte film with a velvety surface that changes how expensive a box feels more than any other single decision. It marks more readily than gloss, so it suits a box that is opened once rather than handled daily.
Metallic foil pressed into the board under heat. On packaging it works hardest on a logo or a single rule rather than across large areas. A small foil element against an uncoated or matte ground reads as considered.
A raised gloss varnish on selected elements, or the board physically pressed into relief. Both add a tactile layer that survives being seen only once, which on packaging is often the only moment that matters.
Same family, genuinely different jobs. Your current selection is highlighted.
| Box | From | Construction | Order it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom Packaging Box | $185 | Dieline drawn to your product | Nothing standard fits what you make |
| Tuck Box | $210 | Folding carton, tuck end | The default retail carton |
| Mailer Box | $220 | Self-locking roll end, E-flute | It ships direct and gets opened on camera |
| Retail Box | $225 | Carton built around shelf hierarchy | It competes for attention on a shelf |
| Corrugated Boxes | $385 | Litho-laminated corrugated | Retail print quality plus impact resistance |
| Cardboard Packaging | $378 | Slotted shipping carton | Shipping, moving and bulk storage |
| Kraft Box | $210 | Uncoated kraft, low coverage | The material should read as unfussy |
| Bux Board Box | $235 | Solid recycled board, folded | Rigid protection without corrugated cost |
| Gift Boxes | $185 | Lid and base, or collapsible rigid | It is opened as part of the occasion |
| Magnetic Box | $325 | Rigid, hinged lid, concealed magnets | The closure itself has to feel expensive |
| Linen Card Box | $320 | Linen-embossed wrap over rigid | Formal, textured, type-led packaging |
| Apparel Box | $280 | Shallow lid over a wide base | Folded clothing and accessories |
| Watch Box | $305 | Rigid shell, strap pillow | The interior matters more than the outside |
| Cosmetic Packaging | $210 | Fitted tray or sleeve per SKU | A range of small, awkward product shapes |
| Bottle Packaging | $870 | Die-cut inserts, 1-4 bottles | Glass must never touch glass |
| Cake Packaging | $424 | Locked flat base, tall clearance | The base has to carry weight, level |
| Gable Box | $185 | Peaked seam with die-cut handle | Someone carries it away by hand |
| Pyramid Box | $275 | Square base folding to a point | It should not read as packaging |
| Toy Box | $235 | Window patch, reinforced corners | The product has to be visible on shelf |
| Software Boxes | $320 | Shallow carton, fitted interior | Media and printed matter, held apart |
Fold the garment the way it will actually be packed, measure that, and add clearance. Ordering against garment size rather than folded size is the most common error and it is expensive once the die is cut.
Rigid lid-and-base for retail and premium presentation; a folding carton in a lighter board where the box is handed across a counter and carried home. The difference is cost and how permanent the box needs to feel.
Yes, and it is the standard finish for apparel. Tissue liner, a branded seal and sometimes a printed interior. None of it changes the box structure, so it can be added to any construction here.
A rigid lid-and-base stacks well. A shallow folding carton stacks less predictably because the lid can shift. If they are stored stacked in quantity, say so and we will look at the board weight.
Pricing for apparel boxes starts at $280 and moves with quantity, size, material and finish rather than sitting on a fixed list. Setup is shared across the run, so the per-unit price drops steeply as the quantity rises: the gap between a few hundred and a few thousand is usually the significant one. Send the size, quantity and what it has to do and you get a firm figure back, not a range.
There is a practical minimum rather than a hard one. Every run carries artwork checks, a proof and a press setup, so a very small quantity of apparel boxes prices poorly per unit even though we will still make it. If you are ordering a small batch, ask for pricing at two or three quantities at once: the curve usually shows that a modest increase costs very little more in total.
The clock starts when you approve the proof, not when the order is placed, which is the part most people are surprised by. You get a proof first: a flat proof showing artwork against the dieline, plus a folded mockup so you can see the panel that actually faces the customer. Nothing is tooled until you approve it, because a steel-rule die is the one thing in this process that cannot be revised cheaply. Turnaround after approval depends on the finish: anything laminated, foiled or die-cut adds a stage that cannot be compressed without causing problems later. Tell us the date you actually need them and we will work backwards from it rather than quoting a generic lead time.
Print-ready artwork with bleed and a safe margin, supplied as a PDF, AI or EPS. Photographic elements should be supplied at the resolution the finished size needs, not the resolution that looks sharp on screen. If your file is not print-ready, say so when you order. We would rather fix it before the proof than after the run.
Yes. Shallow lid over a wide base is the standard build, and the dimensions around it are yours to set. A size that sits efficiently on the press sheet often costs no more than a standard one, while an awkward proportion that wastes half the sheet does. Ask before you commit and we will tell you whether a small change to the dimensions saves a disproportionate amount.
In most cases they are the same product under a different name: the trade uses several terms for it depending on the region and the supplier. What actually defines this one is the build: shallow lid over a wide base. Order it when folded clothing and accessories. If you have seen it called garment packaging elsewhere, describe what it has to do rather than which name you found, and we will match the specification.
Yes. We provide free samples, and on apparel boxes it is worth asking for one, because the difference between folding boxboard (c1s) and kraft board is obvious in the hand and invisible on a screen. Most orders run on folding boxboard (c1s), but ask for whichever you are weighing up. You also get a free design proof before anything goes to press, so nothing is printed that you have not seen.
The usual choices are lamination, soft-touch, foil stamping. Finish is not decoration on this product so much as a decision about how long it survives and how it reads in the hand, so it is worth choosing against the job rather than the budget. Tell us where the finished piece ends up and we will say which finish is doing real work and which is only adding cost.
Yes, and that is what almost every order here is. Nothing in this catalogue is a stock item: apparel boxes are manufactured to the specification you give us, with your artwork on them. Send your logo as vector artwork where you have it, since that scales to any size without softening. If all you have is a low-resolution file, tell us and we will say what it needs before it reaches the press.
Yes, and a repeat run is simpler than the first one. We keep your approved specification on file, so a reorder skips the setup decisions and goes straight to production. If nothing about the artwork or the specification has changed, there is nothing to re-approve. Tell us the previous order and we will match it rather than starting the specification again.
Yes. Regalo Print has been producing custom commercial print for businesses across the USA and Canada since 2008, and every order ships tracked. The tracking number reaches you the day the job leaves, not the day it arrives. If you are working to a fixed date, say so when you order so the production schedule is built around the delivery date rather than the other way round.
