Custom Shipping Boxes

A shipping box, also knows as a packaging box, cardboard box, or paper box, is a shipping container packaging made of corrugated fiberboard. Shipping boxes come in various styles, strengths, and sizes and is delivered flat and unassembled for efficient shipping to your facility. Most often used as secondary packaging, shipping boxes have flaps or lids that are sealed with shipping tape. Shipping boxes are widely curbside recyclable with paper and corrugate.

If you are shipping something heavy or bulky, or if you typically ship a combination of different items at a time, shipping boxes are likely the best packaging supplies you can use for your business. We also recommend shipping boxes - especially custom printed shipping boxes - to companies that really want to deliver an exceptional, unique delivery experience.

If you’re debating between a mailer and a shipping box for your business, it is helpful to remember that mailers are less expensive, use less material, and allow for a lower cost of shipping to your customers.

Learn more about choosing between a mailer and a shipping box on our blog.

EcoEnclose offers various types of custom boxes. Big picture, our box styles fall into three categories: presentation style boxes (tab locking, literature mailers), standard boxes (regular slotted containers, five-panel folds), and flat boxes (one-panel folds). Read on for details of each and when we recommend using one over the other.

Tab Locking Box (TL)

These are the boxes we recommend the most and sell the most. This is the classic presentation style box that is used by many brand-conscious eCommerce businesses to create a wonderful unboxing experience for the customer. Their logo and branding look great on the lid of the box. The locking tabs create a clean seal for the box and get the sealing tape on the bottom corner of the box versus the top edge of a Literature Mailer or the across the top of a Regular Slotted Container. These are ideal for most eCommerce products, including apparel, accessories, cosmetics, small toys, outdoor wear. Avoid the TL when shipping large boxes (greater than 15” x 15”) or heavy goods (>15lbs).

Literature Mailer (LM)

Very similar in design to the TL box, this box style can be used for the same items. Because the material footprint is essentially the same, we offer the same price for LMs and TLs. Thus, for most customers, the choice between a TL and LM is based on aesthetic preference. The LM has the seam on the top edge of the box versus the bottom edge of the TL. The LM’s lid rests on the sides of the box, which hides the side seams and folds that see on a TL. However, the LM is quicker to assemble due to the lid folding into the box versus the TL’s two tabs that fold into slots.

Regular Slotted Container (RSC)

RSCs are the traditional industrial box seen throughout life. Think moving boxes and Amazon boxes. Each side has a tab that folds over and the seam is taped shut on the top and bottom of the box. RSCs are great for heavy products (>15lbs) and deep box sizes (>6”). Many customers use RSCs when packing wrapped fragile items in packaging paper or packing heavy items such as books, liquids, or ceramics.

Five-Panel Folder (FPF)

Very similar in design to the RSC, except FPFs have an extra inside flap that reinforces the structural integrity of the box. This design is best for tall or long items such as a wooden sculpted Statue of Liberty, a skyscraper model, or a baseball bat.

One Panel Fold (OPF)

In a class all by itself, the OPF is a great box for slim to flat items such as picture frames, prints, books, and jump ropes. The OPF flaps each fold around the product and meets on the backside of the box, creating a very clean front panel with no seams. The OPF looks great when printed. Several variations can make these boxes very quick to pack. For example, we have developed a wrap-around OPF that allows you to wrap the product versus folding over each of the four sides. The OPF is a great way to quickly package large volumes of the right product.

Corrugated Pads

These typically serve one of three purposes:product divider, additional compression protection to your product, or increase rigidity of a print: Used frequently by artists when shipping with mailers, a corrugated pad adds additional rigidity to your print to reduce the chance of bending during transit. Scored pad dividers can separate two or more products within your box and provide more visibility, attention, and protection to each piece

Tray

Ideal for transporting plants, cans, bottles and more!

EcoEnlose is focused on providing completely customized boxes so they are the exact size you need them to be. This helps you minimize extra, unnecessary air within a box – for more eco-friendly shipping that is less expensive and more visually appealing.

If your vision is to make the box fit perfectly around your items, then a simple guideline would be to add 0.125" to the length and 0.125” to the width (and keep the height the same). If you are going to use void fill, then consider what type and how much fill you plan on using, and add this “cushion” to your dimensions.

Note that the dimensions you input on our site for boxes refer to the inside dimensions of the box you’ll receive. If you have any doubts, we recommend that you order a sample prior to stocking up.

Due to the capabilities of our machinery, there are some restrictions on the sizes of corrugated boxes we are able to cut and the sizes we can custom print. If you input box dimensions that we cannot cut or cannot print, you will see an error message. To learn more about our parameters and what we offer, contact us here.

We ship our shipping boxes flat. As such, oversize cardboard boxes can often be cut, but are extremely expensive to ship.

Fluting refers to the characteristics of a corrugated sheet's middle wavy layer. Flutes vary in two main characteristics – their height (which creates the thickness of the cardboard sheet) and how tightly or loosely they are waved or “fluted.” EcoEnclose offers B flute, C flute, and E flute, and a range of strengths (which refers to the amount of weight that can be placed on a corrugated sheet standing straight up and down).

We recommend 32E as the best fluting for presentation-style mailer boxes (Tab Locking Boxes and Literature Mailers), particularly for smaller dimensions. B flute works better for large presentations mailer boxes as B flute doesn’t bow the way E flute will on a large box. For RSC or FPF boxes, choose 32C if your shipment is fairly light and 44C if you are shipping very heavy items or needing very large boxes.

To recap:

• 23B (Economy): 1/8" thick. Our lightest weight and flimsiest option. This is our economy option - if it works effectively for your business, use it as it is both cheaper and uses less source material than our other boards.


• 32B (Standard): 1/8" thick, but with a higher ECT rating, giving it more strength and rigidity than our 23B board. It also provides more cushion and shock resistance than our 32E board.


• 32E (Design): 1/16” thick, making it thinner, sleeker and more aesthetically pleasing than our 23B and 32B options. While it has the same ECT rating as 32B, its thinness does mean it is more subject to bowing than 32B and offers less cushioning.


• 32C (Strength, Cushion): 11/64” thick, making it one of our two thickest options, providing even more cushioning.


• 44C (High Strength): 11/64” thick, making it one of our two thickest options and our heavy-duty board option. We use this for most of our outbound shipments, which tend to be over 20-30 lbs each. This is our most expensive board type.

Learn more on our blog: Understanding Shipping Box Strength.

If you’ve never folded a tab locking box and aren’t sure where to start – our tutorial videos are for you. As a bonus, they will work for our ecofriendly literature mailers as well.

We are often asked what is quicker to fold and tape - a tab-locking box or a regular slotted container. Check out this tutorial video to see the fulfillment speed of these boxes in action.

Lead time is the estimated time to process your order for shipment and does not include transit time.

For branded orders, lead time begins after artwork proof and, if applicable, ink swatch approval.

What does this mean?

When you place a branded order, our Design Team reviews the artwork files attached to your order and creates an artwork proof. We then send your artwork proof to you for review and approval. We highlight any adjustments made, emphasize potential print risks, and request additional files or information.

Once the proof suits your design vision and aligns with our printing capabilities, we request your written approval. After we receive your written approval, your lead time begins.

Find your lead time here.

Looking for guidance on how to set up your artwork for your custom printed shipping box? Check out our art specs and requirements here. 

Even the most sustainable (water and soy-based) inks are made with carbon-based pigments. We are proud to offer Algae Ink for black box prints.

Algae Ink, made by Living Ink Technologies, is the world's most sustainable ink. It is a water-based (i.e. water is the carrier) ink whose pigment is made with algae cells, rather than carbon. This exciting advancement in ink has actually been shown to be a carbon negative technology. Algae Ink captures more carbon than is used to produce it! If you're interested in using Algae Ink for your custom printed shipping boxes, select ALGAE INK as your color option.

Still not sure why Algae Ink is so cool? Explore Algae Ink for a rundown.

Our tiered pricing structure for printing plates is based on the style and size of your box and the number of printed panels. Prices start at $95 for a single panel print, average about $200 for a mid-coverage print, and can be $300-800 for a full coverage print. Each printed color and printed side will require a plate. Plates are a one-time cost for a particular design.

We will let you know during proofing if we need to change your coverage and plate fee.

Tab Locking, Literature Mailer, One Panel Fold, and Tray

Mid Coverage Print

Mid coverage printing plates cover half of the size of the flat box. For exterior prints, it's a printed top panel + front and/or back panel, or printing on the left/right flaps that tuck into the box. For interior prints, it's a bottom panel + back or right/left panel.

Full Coverage Print

Full coverage printing plates cover more than half of the size of the flat box. Full coverage prints include printing on the top panel and the left or right side of the box, and/or the bottom of the box. They are often full-wrap prints across an entire box.

Regular Slotted Container and Five Panel Fold

RSC and FPF have 4 printable panels. The top or bottom flaps of any given “side” of the box are not considered individual panels.

Two-Color Prints and Interior/Exterior Prints

If you are printing the outside and inside of your box, you will be charged for two plates. Each plate's price is calculated based on above tables. If you are printing in two colors, you'll be charged a separate plate for each color. Each plate's price would be calculated based on the above table as it relates to each color. 

Check out our Guide To Protective Packaging and Guide to Eco Friendly Packing Tape.