Resource guide · The box atlas
Seven box types, seven dieline styles, three materials, and the finishing options that fit them. This is the map our structural engineers work from when a product needs a box — written down so you can navigate it too.
PDF · 2 pages · 1.1 MB
01 The types
Some boxes are built to survive the carrier; others to sell from a shelf or open like a gift. These seven cover most of what leaves our plant.
T-01
Die-cut corrugated mailers with interlocking flaps, so the box closes securely without a wrap of tape across every seam. They carry real structure but still present cleanly — which is why e-commerce lives in them.
T-02
Heavy-duty corrugated containers built for transport and storage first. The walls are engineered for stacking, so pallets hold their shape through shipping and warehousing.
T-03
Lightweight paperboard, printed flat, die-cut, then folded into shape. The smooth face takes fine graphics and tight color, which makes this the retail shelf’s default package.
T-04
Thick board wrapped in printed or decorative paper. A rigid box holds its shape empty or full, and the heft reads as premium before anything is opened.
T-05
Sized to one specific item so it sits securely, with the branding and product information built around it. Add an insert to position the product, or a die-cut window to show it.
T-06
Built for the unboxing on camera: custom inserts, bold printing inside and out, and specialty finishes placed where a hand or a lens will land.
T-07
A short-run sample cut before production tooling is committed. You check the design, the structure, and the product fit — then adjust on paper instead of on a full run.
02 The dieline index
Style is the structure: how the blank folds and closes. It sets the box’s strength, how fast it assembles, and how it opens in a customer’s hands.
The standard shipping box. All flaps are the same length and meet at the center when closed.
Side panels roll inward to double the walls; the front flap tucks in to lock the lid down.
The same rolled-wall build as REFT, closed with a top tuck flap for a cleaner opening motion.
A lid that slides down over a separate base. The overlap doubles the wall and slows the reveal.
An RSC with flaps on one side only, leaving the other end open.
A single sheet that wraps around the product and folds to a snug, protective fit.
A one-piece folder with a fifth panel that closes the ends for extra edge protection.
03 The board
Material sets durability, surface, and print quality. The right one depends on the product’s weight, how it ships, and how the package has to feel in hand.
Light, with a smooth face that takes detailed graphics and clean branding. Where the package’s job is mostly presentation, this is the sheet.
The same printable face on a stiffer sheet. The package feels substantial in the hand without giving up a clean printed surface.
Two liners around a fluted core — the arches you see on a cut edge. The flute is the cushioning and the structural strength.
04 The finish
Past type, style, and material, the spec sheet still has room: how the box is printed, how the surface is finished, and what’s built into the interior.
Two decisions: the method that puts ink on the board, and the press that runs it.
Surface treatments that highlight a logo, build contrast, or change how the box feels in hand.
Interior and closure work that protects the product and stages it.
05 The PDF
The full taxonomy in two pages — print it, forward it, or keep it beside your next quote request.
PDF · 2 pages · 1.1 MB
06 Your project
Send the product, the quantity, and where it has to ship. Our structural team comes back with a type, style, and material — and a quote for the run. Printing and mailing from one Mount Prospect plant since 1927.
Questions? Call 847.588.7600
