Frequently Asked Questions

From our 5 locations throughout the Pacific Northwest, we deliver to our custom packaging clients in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska.

We offer digitally printed corrugated products to clients throughout the United States. Contact your Sales Representative to learn more.

We determine the most efficient shipping carrier for your order. The carriers that may be used are U.S. Postal Service (USPS), United Parcel Service (UPS), FedEx, or The BoxMaker delivery service within our local service areas. We are not able to ship to P.O. Boxes.

Sales tax will be charged according to applicable rates as determined by law. At the company’s discretion we may add a shipping surcharge.

We ship to both commercial and residential locations within our service region. However, you must notify us if you are requesting shipment to a residence as a separate freight charge will apply.

Custom packaging is manufactured just for you. This may include custom print on a standard box style, or a printed or plain packaging structure that has been specifically designed for your product.

Custom packaging is specific to your product and brand. Custom packaging helps promote your brand to the consumer and protects your product safely in transit. Custom packaging can help lower your costs for packaging materials, shipping, and inventory warehousing.

The cost of custom packaging depends upon the product type, quantities, artwork, materials, and print methods used. Every project is unique and quoted individually based on these factors.

The BoxMaker’s team of Packaging Advisors is trained to help evaluate your current needs and work within your budget to deliver effective custom packaging solutions for your business.

A final invoice will include the total cost for the quantity purchased/produced (subject to overrun and underrun quantities), shipping, and tooling costs if applicable.

Yes, The BoxMaker is a manufacturer of custom corrugated boxes. Contact your Packaging Advisor or fill out our Request a Quote form.

The BoxMaker sells stock boxes to our current custom packaging clients. Contact your Sales Representative for current stock box sizes and pricing.

The BoxMaker provides custom packaging at scale for established and growing businesses. For custom box orders in quantities as low as one, please order online from our e-commerce website, www.fantastapack.com.

The most common flute sizes for corrugated packaging are B, C, and E. The BoxMaker also offers F flute* and double-wall flute combinations for additional corrugated strength and durability. Our Packaging Advisors and award-winning Structural Design Team are trained to select the corrugated material that will perform best based on the specific needs of your packaging project.

*F flute corrugated is subject to supply chain availability.

The Edge Crush Test (ECT) and the Mullen Test are both methods of measuring the strength of a corrugated material. ECT measures the stacking strength of a particular corrugated grade by stacking multiple boxes on a pallet. The Mullen Test focuses on a single box’s ability to withstand rough handling. The BoxMaker can produce packaging to either ECT or Mullen specifications. 

Learn more about corrugated testing here.

The size of a corrugated box is always expressed by three dimensions: length, width, and depth, or L x W x D. Length is always the longest side of the box that has a flap. The width also has a flap, but this side is shorter than the length. The depth relates to the area between the top and bottom openings of the box (the height).

How you measure the length, width, and depth of a box matters. Corrugated boxes have three sets of dimensions: interior, exterior, and score-to-score.

Using score-to-score dimensions is the most accurate way to measure your box if you are trying to replicate it with your packaging manufacturer. Read step-by-step instructions here.

As a part of our pre-production services, we provide a plain structural sample to verify form, fit, and function. Samples may vary from a production order due to readily available materials. Once you’ve reviewed your quote and place an order, your order may be eligible for a printed first article. Corrugated first articles are available for purchase. Contact one of our Packaging Advisors to learn more.

Overruns and underruns are final production quantities that can be greater or fewer than the original item quantity ordered. This occurs because of the way custom corrugated products are produced, and many factors contribute.

A specific amount of material is allocated to each job, and used during the setup process. Since the setup process varies for each project, there is either more or less material available to produce the full production run.

The overrun and underrun percentage is the minimum and maximum amount of product you will be responsible to pay for, as detailed in our quotes as a plus or minus percentage. You are billed pro-rated for the actual shipped amounts.

Please note you will only be billed for what we make and ship. If you order 10,000 boxes and receive 9,500 boxes you will only pay for 9,500 boxes. If you ordered 10,000 boxes and receive 10,500 boxes you will pay for 10,500 boxes.

A custom cutting die for corrugated works like a giant cookie cutter. Custom dies are used to rapidly convert printed sheets of corrugated material into finished products. Custom dies are used to convert mid- to high-volume orders.

Learn more about the die-cutting process here.

Many factors contribute to the cost of a custom die, including the amount of steel rule used and the packaging design intricacy. Prices typically range from $250 to $3,000.

The BoxMaker offers flexographic and digital printing in-house for corrugated packaging. We can also source litho-lamination through our manufacturing partner network. 

To learn more about the differences between litho-lamination and digital print, click here.

Print method determines the number of colors that can be printed on corrugated boxes. The BoxMaker’s corrugated flexo presses can print up to 2 colors on a box in a single machine pass. Digital printing is a direct-to-substrate process that can print the full CMYK color spectrum on corrugated packaging in a single machine pass.

Spot colors are the only choice when printing on a 1- to 2-color flexo press. We do not print with Pantone^® or spot colors on our digital presses but can match many spot colors using the CMYK color spectrum.

The BoxMaker’s HP Scitex presses use UV-curable inks. After being printed onto the packaging substrate, these inks need to be cured under ultraviolet lights via LED or mercury lamps. The curing process dries the ink and converts it into a durable polymer film.

The HP PageWide C500 Press uses True Water-Based Inks. These inks don’t require curing. Instead, they need adequate drying time during the production process to ensure the ink adheres to the surface. A drying section is built into the press so that sheets come off the press dry.

True Water-Based Inks are 100% free of UV-reactive chemistries. Therefore, they are nontoxic and meet stringent food safety requirements.

Learn more about the differences between these inks here.

The BoxMaker can produce custom inserts using corrugated, foam, or paperboard materials for clients who currently purchase custom boxes from us. We do not produce inserts without a custom box purchase.

We can create custom inserts out of a variety of materials, including foam and corrugated. Foam inserts are most commonly die-cut to the unique dimensions of your product. They add extra blocking and bracing for product protection during transit and are often used for high-priced items, like jewelry and electronics.

Corrugated inserts are made of corrugated material. Like foam inserts, they are designed to fit inside the box and provide a protective space or partition to secure your product. Corrugated inserts offer the advantages of being easily recyclable and highly durable.

We do not offer stock partitions or inserts. Our partitions and inserts are custom-made to fit our corrugated boxes.

Please view The BoxMaker’s artwork guidelines here.

To submit your artwork file for production, visit The BoxMaker’s file upload portal, fill out your information, and upload your compressed file.

Yes, we offer in-house structural design services for our custom packaging clients. Our award-winning team can help you maximize protection, efficiency, and the visual impact of your packaging and displays. We leverage industry-leading 3D modeling/CAD systems and software specifically developed for the packaging sector to create full-scale prototypes and bring your packaging vision to life.

Structural design is only available for clients who purchase packaging from The BoxMaker.

To create a structural design for your order, The BoxMaker’s award-winning design team will collect information about your product, including dimensions, weight, and structural characteristics. They will also need to know how many units will go into each box or display, and many other details collected by your Sales Representative. We may request that a physical sample of your product be sent to our offices so that we can reference it in our design process.

Once a structural design is created, a plain unprinted first article can be created for your review and approval. Once approved, we will provide the unique die lines for your structure so that you may add your own custom graphics. The BoxMaker does not offer in-house creative design services. Once we receive your artwork file, our Graphics department will generate a digital PDF proof for your approval. Once approved, your project is ready to enter production.

No, The BoxMaker does not offer in-house creative design services to develop the graphics for your packaging. We are happy to refer you to graphic designers with packaging design experience in our network here.

If you can dream it, The BoxMaker can (likely) make it! We maintain an extensive library of label shapes, sizes, colors, ink varieties, and materials. We can always create a custom size and shape to fit your needs.

The cost of a label depends on the size of the label, material, desired print method, and order volume. For a custom label quote, please complete our Request a Quote form and a Packaging Advisor will be in touch.

There are several key differences between film labels and paper labels. Film labels use film stock. As such, they offer durability, moisture, and UV resistance. Film labels are also able to conform to unique shapes and squeeze applications.

Paper labels use paper stock. While paper is versatile and economical, it’s generally only used for indoor or short lifespan applications. Paper labels are unable to withstand long-term exposure to moisture, heat, or UV.

A semi-permanent label uses a removable adhesive that provides a secure, temporary bond to the surface when applied. However, it can be easily removed without leaving behind a residue or damaging the surface.

All labels produced by The BoxMaker are digitally printed in-house on our HP Indigo web presses. These 7-color process digital presses feature continuous on-press color calibration, variable data capabilities, and can print at a speed of 130 linear feet per minute. The Indigo presses also color match up to 97% of the Pantone^® color library.

As a part of our services, we provide a piece of raw material without varnish or laminate. Once you submit your purchase order and artwork, you will receive a digital PDF proof of your label artwork. Press proofs, which are printed samples without die-cut, are available for purchase. Contact your Sales Representative to learn more.

The BoxMaker provides custom packaging at scale for established and growing businesses. For custom label orders in quantities as few as one, please order online from our e-commerce website, www.fantastapack.com.

The BoxMaker provides fulfillment, kitting, and pack-out solutions to clients who purchase custom packaging products (boxes, retail displays) through a network of contracted providers. Contact your Sales Representative for more information.

The BoxMaker is not a GFSI certified facility. We do not offer in-house fulfillment services.