Custom Packaging for Small Brands: Mailers, Cartons or Rigid Boxes

Most small brands need one of three boxes: a corrugated mailer box if the product ships to customers, a folding carton in SBS paperboard if it sits on a shelf, or a rigid box if the box is part of the gift. Tissue, tape, inserts and bags are chosen around that box.

Start from how the product reaches the customer: by courier, off a shelf, or across a counter in a bag. That decides the structure. Branding comes second.

Mailer box, folding carton or rigid box: which is right?

Mailer boxes

A mailer box is corrugated board die-cut in one piece, with a hinged lid that tucks in at the front. It is strong enough to ship without an outer carton, and printing the inside means the customer sees a message the moment the lid lifts.

Folding cartons and custom product boxes

A folding carton is the retail box: one sheet of paperboard, printed, die-cut to a dieline, folded and glued along the side seam. Custom product boxes come as straight tuck end, where the top and bottom flaps tuck in from the same side, or reverse tuck end, where they tuck from opposite sides. A folding carton protects the product on a shelf but is not a shipping box. For e-commerce it goes inside a mailer.

Rigid gift boxes and garment boxes

Rigid boxes are built from thick chipboard wrapped in printed paper, usually as a two-piece box with a separate lid. Most do not fold flat, so they take far more storage space than cartons and cost more to move. Garment boxes come in rigid and folding styles. The folding version stores flat and suits higher volumes.

What board should a custom box be made from?

SBS paperboard for printed retail cartons, corrugated board for anything that ships, chipboard for rigid boxes. Kraft versions of paperboard and corrugated give a natural brown look.

• SBS (solid bleached sulfate) paperboard: a bright white board made from bleached virgin fiber, usually coated on the printing side. Thickness is quoted in points, meaning thousandths of an inch.
• Corrugated board: a fluted paper medium glued between flat liners. According to the Fibre Box Association, B-flute runs about 47 flutes per foot and E-flute about 90. Smaller flutes such as E print better, which is why they are common for retail-facing mailers. Larger flutes such as B give more cushioning and stacking strength.
• Chipboard: dense, thick, uncoated board used as the core of rigid boxes, then wrapped in printed or colored paper.
• Kraft: unbleached brown board or liner. Dark inks read well on it. Light colors look muted because the brown shows through.

What goes inside the box?

Inserts, tissue and printed extras turn a box into a presentation, and a fitted insert stops the product sliding around in transit.

• Product inserts: thank you cards, instructions, care cards and discount codes that ship in the box.
• Fitted inserts: die-cut paperboard or corrugated that holds each item in place. Worth it whenever a box holds more than one piece.
• Custom tissue paper: branded tissue with a repeating logo, for wrapping garments and fragile items.
• Packaging sleeves: printed belly bands that slide over a stock box, so one box can carry different products or seasons.
• Custom packaging tape: printed kraft or poly tape that seals the box and carries the logo.

When is a poly or bubble mailer better than a box?

When the product is soft and unbreakable, or small and flat. Printed poly mailers suit clothing and textiles: light, water resistant and cheaper to post than a box. Bubble mailers add cushioning for small items such as jewelry, cosmetics or accessories. Choose a box when the product can crush, when the unboxing is part of the brand, or when several items need to stay in place.

What do New York's bag rules mean for printed shopping bags?

If your store collects New York State sales tax, you cannot give customers a plastic carryout bag, and in New York City you must charge a five-cent fee on each paper carryout bag. Printed paper shopping bags are still the standard retail bag. The customer simply pays the fee.

• The state ban took effect March 1, 2020 and covers anyone required to collect New York State sales tax. Enforcement began October 19, 2020.
• The state does not treat plastic bags of any thickness as reusable, so a heavy branded plastic bag does not get around the ban.
• A reusable bag under the state rules is entirely non-plastic, made of machine washable fabric or durable material with handles, and built for at least 125 uses carrying 22 pounds over 175 feet.
• The NYC fee is five cents per paper carryout bag, on top of any price the store charges for the bag itself. Customers using SNAP or WIC are exempt from the fee.
• Some bags are exempt from both rules, including garment bags such as dry cleaning bags, pharmacy bags for prescriptions, and plastic takeout bags from restaurants.

Sources: NYS DEC bag waste reduction law and NYC 311 on the plastic bag ban and paper bag fee. The shopping bags we supply are printed paper, in eurotote, kraft and rope-handle styles.

How do you get a dieline for a custom box?

From the product. If you do not have a dieline, give us the product dimensions and we will match a structural template to them. A physical sample is produced before any full packaging run, so you can check the fit with the real product in hand before committing to the quantity.

How long does custom packaging take?

Longer than flat print. Boxes need a dieline, a cutting die or cutting setup, and an approved sample before production, and rigid boxes take extra assembly time. Plan packaging back from the launch date, and run printed tissue, tape, inserts and product labels alongside the boxes so everything lands together. Finished packaging is delivered free anywhere in Manhattan.

Custom packaging questions

See custom boxes, mailers and packaging printing for every format, and our hang tag and care label guide if you sell clothing.