Min. 100 units · 3–5 days
Cream Boxes
Custom Cosmetic Packaging
Specify thisCustom Cosmetic Packaging
Foundation Boxes
Made-to-order foundation Boxes in 12pt sbs paperboard, printed to your artwork and cut to your dimensions.
- Minimum order
- 100 units
- Production
- 3–5 business days
- Construction
- folding carton
- Delivery
- US, UK, Canada, Australia
No obligation
Price this finish
Name, email, phone and what you are packing and the finish you have in mind. Attach artwork if you have it. We reply with a specification and a written price, usually within one business day.
What foundation boxes have to cope with
Foundation Boxes hold a glass or plastic bottle, often with a pump, and usually part of a long shade range. That is the starting point for the specification, because a consistent layout with one strong shade differentiator — usually a printed swatch — reads far faster than individual designs.
In service they are used for beauty retail where a customer is choosing between fifteen or more near-identical units.
Presentation on the shelf
Shelf presence is decided at arm's length, not close up. Contrast, the front panel hierarchy and how the pack sits next to competitors matter more than a finish that only reads in the hand.
If foundation boxes will be faced on a shelf, tell us the facing orientation so the strongest panel is the one the customer sees.
Where foundation boxes are actually used
Foundation Boxes are specified for beauty retail where a customer is choosing between fifteen or more near-identical units. A consistent layout with one strong shade differentiator — usually a printed swatch — reads far faster than individual designs.
- Beauty retail where a customer is choosing between fifteen or more near-identical units
- Shelf display in specialty retail
- Subscription and gift sets
- E-commerce inner packaging
The substrate for foundation boxes
16pt SBS across the whole range so the unit cost stays low and only the artwork changes per shade.
The options we would consider for this format are below; a consistent layout with one strong shade differentiator — usually a printed swatch — reads far faster than individual designs.
- 12pt SBS paperboard
- 14pt SBS paperboard
- 16pt SBS paperboard
- 18pt kraft board
- recycled CCNB board
Printing foundation boxes
Digital print for a long shade range. Each shade carries its own setup on offset, which multiplies quickly across twenty.
Offset lithography, Digital press, Flexography are all available for this format. Run length usually decides which is cheapest: digital removes the plate cost on short quantities, offset and flexo overtake it at volume.
Finishing foundation boxes
Digital print for a long shade range. Each shade carries its own setup on offset, which multiplies quickly across twenty.
Every finish listed here is its own pass through the line, so each one is priced on its own rather than folded into a single figure.
- Gloss lamination
- Matte lamination
- Soft-touch lamination
- Spot UV
- Foil stamping
- Embossing
- Debossing
- Aqueous coating
Sizing foundation boxes
Sized to the bottle at its widest point including the pump height, commonly 1.5 × 1.5 × 5 in.
Send the contents rather than a box size. Each shade is treated as a separate design job, so the range does not read as a family and shade finding is slow.
Preparing artwork
Supply artwork on the dieline we send you, with 3 mm bleed past every trim edge and all text held 4 mm inside the fold lines.
Supply a print-ready PDF or vector file with fonts outlined and images at 300 dpi. Our prepress team checks every file before a proof is issued. The check that catches most files is type sitting too close to a crease, which is easier to move at layout than at proof.
From enquiry to delivery
Start with dimensions and quantity. If you already run something similar, a physical sample tells us more in a minute than a specification does in a page.
A dieline template follows, sized to your product. Prepress checks your artwork against it and issues a proof; nothing runs until you sign that off.
Proofing before the run
Foil, soft-touch and deboss all read differently in person than on a screen, so we recommend a printed prototype rather than a digital proof alone for anything finish-led.
Sample costs are normally credited against the production order.
Reference
Foundation Boxes at a specification level
| Product | Foundation Boxes |
|---|---|
| Category | Custom Cosmetic Packaging |
| Construction | Die-cut, creased and seam-glued |
| Board thickness | 12pt – 18pt depending on product weight |
| Ships as | Flat-packed, glued one seam |
| Materials | 12pt SBS paperboard, 14pt SBS paperboard, 16pt SBS paperboard, 18pt kraft board |
| Printing | Offset lithography, Digital press, Flexography |
| Finishes | Gloss lamination, Matte lamination, Soft-touch lamination, Spot UV, Foil stamping |
| 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
Specify Foundation Boxes in under a minute
Set what you know, leave the rest. Everything here travels with your request, so nothing gets retyped.
- 100-unit minimum
- 3–5 day production
- Free dieline
- No obligation
Foundation Boxes
Drag to rotate
In practice
What you get with this format
Fitted to what goes in it
Sized to the bottle at its widest point including the pump height, commonly 1.5 × 1.5 × 5 in.
The failure we design out
Shade confusion at the shelf, where twenty near-identical cartons differ only by a code the customer scans quickly.
Where it has to work
Specified for beauty retail where a customer is choosing between fifteen or more near-identical units.
The detail that matters
A consistent layout with one strong shade differentiator — usually a printed swatch — reads far faster than individual designs.
This format sits in our custom cosmetic packaging range, alongside 24 other made-to-order formats.
Answers
Specifying foundation boxes: what buyers ask
Specification, minimums and lead times for foundation boxes.
How do I package a long shade range affordably?
One carton specification across every shade, with only the artwork changing, and digital print so each shade does not carry its own plate cost. Keep the layout constant and vary one strong element — usually a printed swatch.
How do I measure a bottle for its carton?
At the widest point, which is frequently not the base, and including the cap or pump. Send us the actual container if you can — a measurement from a drawing misses flex and applied label thickness, and both decide whether foundation boxes close cleanly.
How much panel space do ingredient lists need?
More than most brands allow for. Ingredient copy and any warnings compete directly with the design, and adding them late usually forces a reflow. We block the area on the dieline before you commit design time.
Do foundation boxes arrive flat or assembled?
Flat and glued along one seam, so they pop open on your packing line. That keeps freight cost down considerably compared with a pre-assembled structure.
Can I order foundation boxes in a custom size?
Every run is cut to your dimensions — there are no stock sizes here. Send the product measurements rather than a box size and we will build the folding carton around them, then send a dieline template you can design onto.
What happens after I approve the quote?
We issue a dieline template sized to your product, prepress checks your artwork against it, and a proof comes back for sign-off. Nothing runs until you approve that proof, and folding cartons then take 3 to 5 business days.
Can you hold the specification for repeat orders?
Yes. Once a first run is approved we hold the board, structure, dimensions, print method and finishes against your account, so a reorder references the same specification exactly rather than being re-derived. That includes the ink formulation, which is what keeps a brand colour consistent between runs rather than drifting a shade each time.
Do you offer recycled or recyclable options?
Recycled grades are available across most of the substrates we run for folding cartons. Recycled content, kerbside recyclability and certified compostability are three different claims though, so tell us which one you intend to print.
What file format should I send artwork in?
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.
What is the minimum order for foundation boxes?
A flat 100 units on any format. Most folding cartons 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.
How long do foundation boxes take to produce?
3 to 5 business days after artwork approval, plus freight. Folding carton 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.
What do foundation boxes cost?
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. Finishing passes are the lever buyers most often underestimate: each one is a separate run through the line.
Next step
Get a price for Foundation Boxes
Send the dimensions, the quantity and the finish you want. We reply with a full specification and a written price, usually within one business day.