Packaging glossary

A water-based clear coating applied inline during printing to protect the sheet and adjust its sheen. It is thinner and less protective than a laminate film, and it is applied to the whole sheet rather than selectively.

See also: Lamination, Spot UV

A folding-carton base whose glued flaps lock into a flat bottom as the carton is squared up, with no assembly beyond opening it. It is chosen for heavier products and for faster hand packing.

See also: Folding carton, Tuck end

A corrugated flute roughly 3 mm thick, thicker and more crush-resistant than E-flute but with a slightly coarser printing surface. Used where a mailer or shipper needs more protection.

See also: E-flute, Corrugated board

Artwork extended past every trim edge of the dieline so that no unprinted sliver appears when the sheet shifts slightly during cutting. Typically an eighth of an inch on packaging, but the dieline for the job states the requirement.

See also: Dieline, Safe area

The thickness of a board, quoted in the US in points (pt), where one point is one thousandth of an inch. A 24pt board is 0.024 inches thick. Caliper is how paperboard is specified; GSM is a weight measure and not interchangeable with it.

See also: GSM, SBS, Greyboard

The four process inks — cyan, magenta, yellow and black — that are overprinted as screens to reproduce full-color images. Packaging artwork is supplied in CMYK, not RGB, because RGB colors cannot all be reproduced in ink.

See also: Pantone, RGB

A rigid box whose panels are hinged and held closed by magnets or elastic so it can ship flat and be assembled at packing. It gives the weight and hard edge of a rigid box while taking far less space in transit and storage.

See also: Rigid box

A sample produced before the full run to confirm how the artwork will actually print. A digital proof checks layout and content; a press proof or a physical sample checks color, board and finish on the real material.

See also: Pantone, Prepress

Board made of a fluted paper medium glued between flat liners. The flutes give it crush resistance and cushioning at low weight, which is what makes it the material for shipping boxes and mailers.

See also: E-flute, B-flute, Mailer box

The physical tool that cuts, creases, embosses or foils the board. A die is made for a specific box size and structure, so changing the dimensions of a box means a new die.

See also: Dieline, Die-cut, Foil stamping

Cut to a shape using a die rather than trimmed square — how box blanks, windows, handles and board inserts are produced.

See also: Die, Dieline, Window patching

The flat technical drawing of a box before it is folded, showing every cut, crease, fold and glue area for that exact size and construction. Packaging artwork is built on the dieline supplied for the job — it cannot be drawn from dimensions alone.

See also: Bleed, Die, Die-cut

Printing directly from a file with no printing plates. There is no plate setup, so short runs and variable artwork are economical, but the per-unit cost does not fall with quantity the way offset does.

See also: Offset printing

A billing weight carriers calculate from a parcel's volume rather than its actual weight, charging whichever is greater. A box larger than the product needs therefore raises the shipping cost even when nothing heavy is inside it.

See also: External dimensions, Mailer box

A rigid box with an inner tray that slides out of an outer sleeve, usually with a ribbon or thumb cut as the pull. The sliding action gives a slow, controlled reveal, which is why it is used for premium and gift packaging.

See also: Rigid box, Thumb cut

A fine corrugated flute, roughly 1.5 mm thick, with a smooth surface that prints well. It is the usual choice for printed mailer boxes and retail-facing corrugated packaging where print quality matters more than maximum strength.

See also: B-flute, Corrugated board, Mailer box

A raised relief pressed into the board with a matched pair of dies. Debossing is the same process in reverse, pressing the shape down into the surface. Both can be combined with foil in a single pass.

See also: Foil stamping, Die

The outside measurements of a finished box, including board thickness. They matter for shipping, cartonization and shelf or pallet fit, but a box is specified by its internal dimensions.

See also: Internal dimensions, Dimensional weight

A metallic or pigmented foil pressed onto the surface with a heated die, leaving a reflective mark that ink cannot reproduce. It needs its own die and its own artwork layer, supplied as solid shapes.

See also: Emboss, Die, Spot UV

A box die-cut from a single sheet of paperboard, scored along its fold lines and glued at one seam. It ships flat and is erected at packing. Printing goes directly onto the board, which makes it the most common construction for retail products.

See also: SBS, Dieline, Glue seam

A carton whose top folds into a peaked, house-shaped closure with an integrated carry handle. Used for food to go, favors and gift sets.

The joint where the two edges of a die-cut carton blank are bonded to form the box. Its position is decided at the dieline stage, and artwork is laid out so the seam falls where it is least visible.

See also: Folding carton, Dieline

Dense, rigid board made from recycled fiber, used as the structural core of a rigid box. It is not printed on directly — a printed wrap is laminated over it.

See also: Rigid box, Wrap, Caliper

Grams per square meter: the weight of a paper or board per unit area. It describes weight, not thickness, so two boards at the same GSM can have different calipers depending on how densely they are made.

See also: Caliper

A fitted component inside a box that holds the product still — board dividers, a die-cut foam pad, molded pulp or a fabric-wrapped tray. The insert sets the internal dimensions, so it is designed together with the box rather than afterwards.

See also: Die-cut, Molded pulp, Internal dimensions

The usable space inside a finished box, always quoted length x width x depth. Packaging is specified by internal dimensions because that is what the product has to fit into; external dimensions vary with board thickness.

See also: External dimensions, Insert

Unbleached paperboard with a natural brown surface, produced by the kraft pulping process. Strong for its weight and chosen for an undyed, natural look; printing on it shifts color because the brown base shows through.

See also: SBS, Corrugated board

A thin film bonded to the printed surface to protect it and set its sheen. Gloss lamination lifts color and reflects light; matte lamination flattens reflection; soft-touch lamination adds a velvety texture.

See also: Spot UV, Aqueous coating

A process in which an offset-printed sheet is laminated onto corrugated board, combining high-quality print with corrugated strength. Used for retail-facing corrugated packaging and heavier printed shippers.

See also: Offset printing, Corrugated board

A corrugated box with an integrated lid and side wings that fold into place without tape, designed to survive a courier network on its own. Widely used for e-commerce because it opens cleanly and can be printed inside and out.

See also: Corrugated board, E-flute, Dimensional weight

A representation of the finished box used to check design or structure before production — either a digital 3D visual or a hand-made physical model. A mockup is not made on the production process, so it does not confirm color or finish.

See also: Pre-production sample, Color proof

An insert or tray formed by pressing paper pulp into a mold and drying it. It suits curved or irregular products and gives a matte, fibrous paper-based finish.

See also: Insert

Minimum order quantity: the smallest number of units a supplier will produce for a given product in a single run. It exists because setup, tooling and press time are largely fixed regardless of how many pieces are produced.

See also: Setup cost, Unit cost

A plate-based printing process in which ink is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket and then onto the sheet. Plates are made per job, so there is a setup cost, but the per-unit cost falls as the run gets longer and it reproduces Pantone colors accurately.

See also: Digital printing, Pantone, Litho lamination

The industry practice of delivering slightly more or fewer units than ordered, because press setup consumes material and output cannot be hit exactly. The accepted tolerance is stated by the supplier and appears on the quote.

See also: RFQ, Setup cost

A standardized color matching system in which each color has a number and a mixed ink formula. Specifying a Pantone color is how a brand color is held consistent between print runs, rather than relying on a CMYK build.

See also: CMYK, Offset printing, Color proof

A flat-shipped carton with curved end closures that give it a cushion shape when filled. Suits flat, light products such as gift cards, jewelry and small accessories.

A physical sample made on the specified board and process before the full run is authorized, so structure, fit, color and finish can be checked on the real material rather than on screen.

See also: Color proof, Mockup

The stage between approved artwork and printing: imposing the artwork on the dieline, separating colors and finish layers, trapping, and generating plates or print files. Most avoidable print problems are caught here.

See also: Dieline, Color proof, CMYK

Request for quotation: the document a buyer sends suppliers to price a job. A packaging RFQ that can be answered accurately states dimensions, construction, board, print, finishes, quantities and the delivery destination.

See also: Unit cost, Internal dimensions

The red, green and blue color model used by screens. It has a wider range than printing ink, so an RGB file converted for print will shift — which is why packaging artwork is built in CMYK or named Pantone colors from the start.

See also: CMYK, Pantone

A box built from thick chipboard or greyboard panels that are cut, glued into shape and wrapped in a printed or specialty paper. It arrives assembled rather than flat, holds its shape under weight and has a hard, square edge. Also called a set-up box.

See also: Greyboard, Wrap, Collapsible rigid box

The zone inside the trim and fold lines where text and critical detail must sit so that normal production tolerance cannot cut or crease through them.

See also: Bleed, Dieline

Solid bleached sulphate: a bleached virgin paperboard with a smooth white surface on both sides, the standard substrate for printed folding cartons. It takes fine detail and accurate color, which is why it is used for retail packaging.

See also: Folding carton, Caliper, Kraft

A crease pressed into the board so it folds cleanly and predictably along that line. Scoring is a structural operation, marked on the dieline, and distinct from perforation, which partially cuts the board.

See also: Dieline, Die-cut

The fixed cost of preparing a job to run — plates, dies, press make-ready and prepress — incurred once per run regardless of quantity. It is why the unit cost of a custom box falls as the order gets larger.

See also: Unit cost, MOQ, Die

An open-ended band of board that slides over a tray or box, carrying the printed graphics while the inner box stays plain. A sleeve lets one stock inner box serve several printed variants.

See also: Drawer box

A gloss coating cured with ultraviolet light and applied only to selected areas of the artwork, so a logo or pattern catches the light against the surrounding surface. It is usually applied over matte lamination, where the contrast is strongest.

See also: Lamination, Emboss

A small semicircular notch cut into a sleeve or lid so the contents can be pushed or gripped out. A structural detail, not decoration — it changes how a box opens.

See also: Sleeve, Drawer box

The closure style of a folding carton in which flaps tuck into the body of the box. A straight tuck has both flaps folding from the same panel; a reverse tuck has them folding from opposite panels, which uses less board but leaves a visible seam on both ends.

See also: Folding carton, Auto-lock bottom

A rigid box made of a separate base and a lid that fits over it. The lid may cover the full depth of the base (a full telescoping box) or only part of it. Common for apparel, gifting and jewelry.

See also: Rigid box

The price of one finished box, being the setup cost spread across the run plus the per-piece cost of material, printing, finishing and assembly. The setup share shrinks as quantity rises, which is why unit cost drops at volume and then flattens.

See also: Setup cost, MOQ

Material added to take up empty space in a shipping box so the contents cannot move. A correctly sized box and a fitted insert reduce the need for it, and reduce dimensional weight at the same time.

See also: Dimensional weight, Insert

A clear film applied behind a die-cut opening so the product is visible through the box. The film is applied as a separate production step after die-cutting.

See also: Die-cut

The printed or specialty paper laminated over the greyboard shell of a rigid box. All printing and finishing for a rigid box happens on the wrap before it is applied, not on the structural board.

See also: Rigid box, Greyboard