Min. 100 units · 3–5 days
Custom Printed Boxes with Inserts
Custom Packaging Inserts
Specify thisCustom Packaging Inserts
Custom packaging Boxes with Inserts produced to your size and substrate, with printing and finishing handled in one run.
No obligation
Name, email, phone and what you are packing and how it ships. Attach artwork if you have it. We reply with a specification and a written price, usually within one business day.
Design the cavity first. The outer follows from it, and the pack is smaller and cheaper as a result.
Custom Packaging Boxes with Inserts are die-cut from board or routed from foam to hold each item in a fixed position, so nothing shifts between the packing bench and the customer.
Custom Packaging Boxes with Inserts hold a complete pack — outer and fitted cavity supplied together. That is the starting point for the specification, because design the cavity first. The outer follows from it, and the pack is smaller and cheaper as a result.
In service they are used for brands buying a complete solution rather than adapting something they already have.
Custom Packaging Boxes with Inserts are specified for brands buying a complete solution rather than adapting something they already have. Design the cavity first. The outer follows from it, and the pack is smaller and cheaper as a result.
Where a product needs to be held still, a fitted insert cut to its profile does more for damage rates than a heavier outer board. It usually costs less too, because you can drop a grade on the outer.
Board outer with a die-cut insert, specified together so the outer can be lighter than it would need to be alone.
The options we would consider for this format are below; design the cavity first. The outer follows from it, and the pack is smaller and cheaper as a result.
The outer is designed first and the insert made to fit, which usually wastes internal space.
Design the cavity first. The outer follows from it, and the pack is smaller and cheaper as a result.
The cavity layout sets the internal dimensions and the outer is built around it.
Send the contents rather than a box size. Buyers specify the box they want and then ask for an insert, when the sequence should be the other way round.
Buying both together means the insert can be printed to match, which is where a complete pack reads better than a retrofit.
Finishes are costed one at a time because each is a separate operation — that way you can see which one is carrying the price.
Ask for an unprinted sample if the question is fit, or a printed prototype if the question is colour. They answer different things.
Sample costs are normally credited against the production order.
The useful starting point is the product, not the pack. Give us its measurements and the quantity, and we work the packaging insert outward from there.
You approve the quote, we send the dieline, prepress proofs it, and production follows. The proof stage is where changes are still free.
Reference
| Product | Custom Packaging Boxes with Inserts |
|---|---|
| Category | Custom Packaging Inserts |
| Construction | Packaging insert |
| Material | Corrugated, chipboard, moulded pulp or foam |
| Tolerance | 1 mm – 2 mm around each cavity |
| Assembly | Drop-in, no adhesive required |
| Materials | E-flute corrugated, Chipboard, Moulded pulp, EVA foam |
| Printing | Flexography, Digital press, Unprinted natural |
| Finishes | Unprinted kraft, Flood colour, Matte lamination, Fabric wrap |
| Minimum order | Minimum order is 100 units on any format, and unit cost falls sharply as the quantity rises. |
| Lead time | 3 to 5 business days after artwork approval |
| Shipping | Across the US, UK, Canada and Australia |
Specification builder
Set what you know, leave the rest. Everything here travels with your request, so nothing gets retyped.
Drag to rotate
In transit
The cavity layout sets the internal dimensions and the outer is built around it.
The outer is designed first and the insert made to fit, which usually wastes internal space.
Specified for brands buying a complete solution rather than adapting something they already have.
Design the cavity first. The outer follows from it, and the pack is smaller and cheaper as a result.
This format sits in our custom packaging inserts range, alongside 20 other made-to-order formats.
Answers
Specification, minimums and lead times for custom packaging boxes with inserts.
The insert. The cavity layout sets the internal dimensions and the outer follows. Doing it the other way round almost always leaves wasted space you then pay to ship.
Only if boxes are arriving crushed. If they arrive intact with damaged contents, the product is moving inside and a heavier outer changes nothing. A fitted insert solves that case, usually at lower cost.
Yes, and for custom packaging boxes with inserts we prefer to specify both together. A cavity that holds the contents still often lets us drop a grade on the outer, so the pair can cost less than an over-specified box alone.
Board is cheapest and suits light or regular shapes. Foam holds irregular and fragile items better and absorbs shock. Moulded pulp sits between them and is the more recyclable of the cushioning options. Send the item and we will recommend.
Recycled grades are available across most of the substrates we run for packaging inserts. Recycled content, kerbside recyclability and certified compostability are three different claims though, so tell us which one you intend to print.
A print-ready PDF or a vector file, with fonts outlined and any raster images at 300 dpi at final size. We supply the dieline to design onto, and prepress checks bleed, safe area and crease clearance before issuing a proof. The dieline we supply carries the crease positions, so keeping type clear of a crease is easier to solve at layout than at proof.
A flat 100 units on any format. Most packaging inserts in this range are quoted from 100 units upward because unit cost falls sharply above that, but the minimum exists so you can validate a structure first.
3 to 5 business days after artwork approval, plus freight. Packaging insert runs with applied finishes can take longer because each finish is a separate pass, and we confirm a firm date in writing with the quote.
Prices start from $0.30 per piece for large-volume orders. For this format the biggest levers are quantity, print route, board grade and how many finishing passes are involved. We quote each element separately so you can see where the money is going. An insert often lowers the total rather than raising it, because holding the contents still lets us drop a grade on the outer.
Yes. We can send a plain unprinted sample so you can check the fit and structure, or a printed prototype for colour and finish. Sample costs are normally credited against the production order. On custom packaging boxes with inserts the thing to check is whether the contents still sit tight once the pack is closed, because movement inside is what causes damage rather than the board grade.
Send the current specification or a physical sample and we will quote to match it rather than proposing an alternative you would then have to re-approve internally. A physical sample tells us more than a specification sheet — board caliper and coating are usually described loosely and measured exactly.
All 50 US states, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, on the same timeline everywhere: 3 to 5 business days of production after artwork approval, then 5 to 7 business days in transit. Every run is made to order and shipped directly to your address rather than pulled from stock, so you receive current production rather than whatever has been sitting in a warehouse. Freight is costed separately by weight, volume and destination. Tell us at quoting if the delivery point cannot take a pallet, and we will break the consignment into cartons instead.
Related formats
Next step
Send the dimensions, the quantity and how it ships. We reply with a full specification and a written price, usually within one business day.