Cardboard Boxes for UK Businesses, Plain or Printed

Why Buy Cardboard Boxes Made to Size?

A box that fits the product saves on void fill, stops items sliding about on a courier van and often pulls a parcel into a lighter, cheaper delivery band. So rather than offering a short list of near-miss stock sizes, we cut each order to the inside measurements you send.

Most buyers start with a single wall shipping box in B or C flute. If the parcel is heavy, fragile or will be stacked on a pallet, double wall BC flute adds the extra strength. For lighter retail goods, E flute mailers and paperboard cartons give a crisper surface for print.

Plain or Printed?

Plain boxes are the quickest and lowest cost route, and for warehouse moves, trade deliveries and storage they are usually all you need. Adding a 1 colour logo is a modest step up that makes a parcel look as if it came from an established business.

Full colour print suits subscription boxes, gift packaging and retail displays where the box is part of what the customer pays for. We print on the outside, the inside or both, and the proof shows exactly where every panel of artwork lands before a sheet of board is cut.

What Does a Cardboard Box Cost?

Prices start from £0.20 a box. The figure on your quote depends on four things: the size, because bigger boxes use more board; the grade, because double wall costs more than single wall; the print, because each extra colour adds set-up; and the quantity, because set-up is shared across the run.

If you are comparing options, ask for two prices on the same quote, for example plain against 1 colour, or B flute against BC. The guide to plain and printed box costs explains where the money goes.

Which Board Should You Choose?

Corrugated board is two flat liners with a wavy fluted layer between them. The flute size sets the thickness: E is thin and prints sharply, B is the everyday parcel grade, C is a little thicker with more cushion, and BC stacks a B and a C flute together for double wall strength.

Folding cartons and tuck end boxes use solid paperboard instead, in kraft brown or white. It is thinner than corrugated, so it suits shelf packs and gift boxes rather than heavy parcels.

• E flute for small mailers and retail packs
• B flute for most everyday parcels
• C flute where a little more cushion helps
• BC double wall for heavy or stacked loads
• Paperboard for cartons that sit on a shelf

How Do You Measure for a New Box?

Take the measurements from the packed item, gift box and all, across its broadest points. Write the size as length, then width, then height, where length and width are the opening of the box and height is the depth. Add a few millimetres each way if the item is rigid, or more if you plan to wrap it.

Those figures are the inside size, and the inside size is what we quote on. Board thickness is added on the outside, so a double wall box is noticeably bigger outside than a single wall box with the same inside measurements.

Who Buys From Us?

Online shops posting orders every day, wholesalers sending cartons to retailers, makers selling at markets, removal firms, offices clearing archives and manufacturers shipping spare parts. The common thread is that they want the right box at a fair price without a sales call.

You send sizes and quantities, we send a price and a proof. There is no account to open and no payment taken on this site. If a box is not right for the job, we say so on the quote and suggest one that is.

Delivery to UK Mainland Addresses

Boxes are delivered flat, banded in bundles and tracked, free of charge to UK mainland addresses, usually 2 to 3 working days after production. The factory needs 4 to 6 working days, counted from your sign-off on the proof.

If a delivery arrives damaged, or the print does not match the approved proof, tell us within 10 days with a photo and we reprint the boxes or refund you. The delivery and dispatch details page covers bundle sizes, tracking and what to expect on the day.