Free design proof on every custom order: no templates, no stock SKUs
A mailer box folds flat, ships flat and self-locks into shape at the point of use. No tape gun, no separate lid to track down. The self-locking tuck flaps on the ends hold the box closed under normal handling, which is what makes it the default choice for e-commerce and subscription shipments where a fast, tape-free pack-out matters as much as what the box looks like once it's opened.
A mailer box is a single die-cut corrugated sheet that folds into a rectangular carton with tuck flaps on each end. No separate lid, no glued corners waiting to fail, no tape required at all if the locking tabs are engaged correctly. That self-locking design exists specifically to speed up packing: a warehouse or home-based shipper can fold, load and seal one in a matter of seconds, which matters at any real order volume where tape guns and box sealers add friction to the packing line.
Corrugated construction gives the box real crush resistance for its weight, and flute thickness can be scaled to what's actually being shipped. A lighter single-wall flute for apparel, cosmetics or small subscription-box items, up to a heavier flute for anything with real weight or fragility risk. Because the box ships flat before assembly, storage and freight costs stay low even when ordering in the volumes that most e-commerce operations need, and a pallet of flat mailer stock takes a fraction of the space that pre-formed boxes would.
Printing on a mailer box usually covers both the exterior, for branding and any required shipping information, and increasingly the interior, since the inside of the lid is the first thing a customer sees when they open a package. A printed thank-you message, brand pattern or unboxing instructions there costs little extra during the same print run and adds a moment of presentation to what is otherwise a purely functional shipping container. That's part of why mailer boxes have become common outside pure e-commerce use, in subscription boxes and direct-to-consumer retail where the unboxing itself functions as marketing.
Sizing should track the actual product footprint rather than a generic range, since an oversized mailer box lets contents shift in transit and undercuts the crush protection the corrugated structure is providing. For anything shipping internationally or through multiple carriers, it's worth confirming the flute weight and locking tab design against the expected handling conditions before committing to a large print run, since a locking mechanism that works fine for a single short hop can loosen over a longer, rougher shipping chain.
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.
The walls roll up from the base and the front flap tucks into a die-cut slot, so the box locks square with no tape gun and no separate lid. That self-lock is the entire product: it survives the post as a shipping carton, then opens flat like a presentation box, which is why it became the default for anything shipped direct to a customer who will photograph it being opened.
Does it need tape for shipping? Not to hold its shape. A tamper-evident sticker or a strip of branded tape is common, but structurally the lock does the work.
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 |
Not structurally. The front flap tucks into a die-cut slot and locks the box square on its own. Most people add a branded or tamper-evident sticker across the seam, which is about security and presentation rather than holding it shut.
That is what E-flute corrugated is for. The flute absorbs impact the way flat board cannot. For heavier or fragile contents, tell us the weight and we will look at a heavier flute or an internal insert rather than assuming the standard build.
Because they do two jobs. A plain carton is unprinted kraft with taped flaps; a mailer is litho-printed, laminated and die-cut with a self-locking structure. You are paying for the box being part of the product experience rather than just the transport.
Yes, and on this construction it is the most common upgrade. The inside of the lid is the first thing seen on opening, which makes it the highest-value surface on the whole box.
Pricing for mailer boxes starts at $220 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 mailer 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. Because this product is cut to a shape, the file also needs a live vector path for the blade to follow. A JPG or PNG has no outline to cut to, so it has to be redrawn first. 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. Self-locking roll end 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.
Yes. We provide free samples, and on mailer 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: mailer 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. Where the job used custom tooling, that tooling is reused, which is why a shaped run costs less the second time. Tell us the previous order and we will match it rather than starting the specification again.
