Knowledge Centre
Packaging Knowledge Centre
Practical guides to specifying, designing and buying custom packaging in the UK, written by packaging specialists. Search for an answer or start with a topic.
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Packaging Fundamentals
How custom packaging is specified, measured, made and ordered, from the first brief to delivery.
8 guidesBox Styles & Construction
How each box is built, opens and closes, and how to choose between rigid boxes, folding cartons and mailers.
19 guidesMaterials & Board
Greyboard, folding boxboard, kraft and corrugated board explained: thickness, strength, print quality and when to use each.
9 guidesPrinting & Finishes
Print methods, colour and the finishes that change how a box looks and feels: lamination, foil blocking, embossing and spot UV.
8 guidesArtwork & Pre-Press
Preparing print-ready packaging artwork: dielines, bleed, file types and getting colour right on board.
7 guidesIndustry Packaging
What cosmetics, food, jewellery, candle, gift and e-commerce packaging each needs, and how to specify for it.
8 guidesSustainability & UK Packaging
Recyclable materials, FSC, UK packaging EPR and the Plastic Packaging Tax, explained in plain terms for UK brands.
6 guidesPackaging Buying Guides
What drives custom packaging cost, how to compare quotations, lead times, samples and the information a quote needs.
11 guidesPackaging Glossary
This glossary defines the terms you meet when specifying, quoting and approving custom printed packaging in the UK: board grades and flutes, box…
138 terms
Learning path
New to packaging?
Read these in order and you will know what to ask for, what to send and what happens next.
- The Complete Guide to Custom Packaging in the UKCustom packaging is packaging made to your product's dimensions and printed with your design, rather than bought from stock. In the UK it…
- Choosing the Right Packaging for Your ProductChoose packaging by working through five questions in order: what the product needs (size, weight, fragility), how it reaches the customer…
- How to Measure a Box Correctly (L × W × D)Measure a custom box by its internal dimensions, written as length × width × depth in millimetres. Length and width describe the opening,…
- What Information Do You Need for a Packaging Quote?To get an accurate packaging quote, send what goes in the box, its internal dimensions in millimetres, one to three quantities, the box…
- Packaging Artwork Guide: From Brief to Print-Ready FilePackaging artwork is the printed design laid onto a box's flat dieline, supplied as a print-ready vector file. To get it right, start from…
- How Custom Packaging Is Manufactured: From Brief to DeliveryCustom packaging is made in five stages: enquiry and specification, dieline and artwork, proof approval, production and delivery. In…
Materials & Board
Materials and board
What the box is made of decides its strength and how well it takes print.
All materials & boardMaterials & Board
Packaging materials guide: board, paper and corrugated
Most custom packaging is made from one of three board families: folding boxboard for printed cartons, corrugated board for mailers and transit boxes, and greyboard…
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Greyboard
Greyboard is a stiff, unlined board, usually made from recycled paper fibre and typically 1.5–3 mm thick, used as the structural core of rigid (set-up) boxes. It is cut…
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Folding boxboard and SBS
Folding boxboard (FBB) is a layered carton board with a bulky mechanical-pulp core between bleached outer layers; SBS is bleached chemical pulp throughout. Both are…
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Corrugated board
Corrugated board is made from a fluted paper layer glued between flat paper liners. It is graded by flute size (E, B and C flute, typically around 1.5 mm, 3 mm and 4 mm…
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E flute vs B flute vs C flute: which corrugated flute do you need?
E flute is about 1.5 mm thick with the smoothest print surface and suits printed mailer boxes for lighter products. B flute, about 3 mm, is the general-purpose choice for…
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GSM and board thickness explained: GSM, microns and points
GSM (grams per square metre) measures how heavy a board is; calliper, quoted in microns, measures how thick it is. The two are linked by density, so boards of the same…
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Printing & Finishes
Printing and finishes
How a box is printed and finished, and what each finish does to the look and feel.
All printing & finishesFinish
Lamination
Lamination bonds a thin plastic film, typically around 15–30 microns, over printed packaging to protect it and set the finish. Matt lamination is low-glare and…
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Foil blocking
Foil blocking (hot foil stamping) uses a heated metal die to transfer foil from a carrier film onto the surface of a box under pressure. It is used for logos, type and…
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Embossing and debossing
Embossing uses a matched pair of dies to push part of the board upwards into a raised design; debossing presses the design down into the surface. Both are used for logos,…
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Spot UV
Spot UV is a clear varnish applied to selected areas of printed packaging and cured with ultraviolet light, giving a glossy, slightly raised finish against the…
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Luxury packaging finishes: a buyer's overview
Luxury packaging finishes are the processes applied after printing that change how a box looks and feels: soft-touch or matt lamination, foil blocking, embossing and…
Read the guidePrinting & Finishes
CMYK vs Pantone (PMS) for packaging: which should you use?
CMYK prints every colour from four process inks laid down as tiny dots, so it suits photographs, gradients and multi-colour artwork. Pantone (PMS) prints a pre-mixed spot…
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Sustainability & UK Packaging
Sustainability
Recyclable materials and the UK rules that apply to packaging, explained in plain terms.
All sustainability & uk packagingSustainability & UK Packaging
Sustainable Packaging Guide for UK Brands
Sustainable packaging for a UK brand means using as little material as the product needs, choosing materials the UK can collect and recycle, keeping non-paper components…
Read the guideSustainability & UK Packaging
Recyclable Packaging Materials
Paper and card are among the core materials English councils must collect from households and that workplaces must separate for recycling, so board-based boxes start from…
Read the guideSustainability & UK Packaging
UK Packaging EPR: What Brands Need to Know
UK packaging EPR (extended producer responsibility) makes businesses that supply or import packaging responsible for reporting it and, if they are large producers, for…
Read the guideSustainability & UK Packaging
FSC Certification Explained for Packaging
FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certification shows that the wood fibre in paper and board comes from FSC-certified forests, recycled material or controlled sources. An…
Read the guideSustainability & UK Packaging
UK Plastic Packaging Tax and Paper-Based Alternatives
Plastic Packaging Tax is a UK tax on finished plastic packaging components manufactured in or imported into the UK that contain less than 30% recycled plastic. From 1…
Read the guideSustainability & UK Packaging
Reducing Excess Packaging (Right-Sizing)
The most effective way to reduce excess packaging is to right-size it: make the box fit the product closely, choose the lightest board that still protects it, and remove…
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Editor's picks
Editor's picks
Box Styles & Construction
Choosing the right box construction: a decision guide
Box construction follows how the product travels, what it weighs and what the box is for after opening. Rigid boxes suit products that are given or kept; folding cartons…
Read the guideBox Styles & Construction
Rigid boxes vs folding cartons: how to choose
Choose a rigid box when the packaging is part of the product experience: it will be given, photographed or kept, and its perceived value supports the price of what is…
Read the guidePackaging Buying Guides
What Determines Custom Packaging Cost?
Custom packaging cost is set by the specification, not by a price list. The box structure, its size, the board, how it is printed and finished, any inserts, the quantity…
Read the guidePackaging Fundamentals
How to Write a Packaging Specification (with Template)
A packaging specification is a written record of exactly what you are buying: the box style, internal dimensions, board, print, finishes, inserts, quantity, artwork and…
Read the guideBox Styles & Construction
Magnetic closure vs lid and base boxes
Magnetic closure and lid and base boxes are both rigid greyboard boxes wrapped in printed paper. A magnetic box is one piece, with a hinged lid and a front flap held by…
Read the guidePackaging Buying Guides
Royal Mail and Courier Size Bands for Mailer Boxes
Royal Mail prices UK post by size format: Letter, Large Letter, Small Parcel and Medium Parcel, each with maximum dimensions and a weight limit. A Large Letter can be up…
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Latest
Latest guides
Artwork & Pre-Press
Bleed, Trim and Safe Areas on Packaging
Bleed is artwork extended beyond the cut line, typically 3 mm on folding cartons, so no white edge shows if the cut moves slightly. The trim or cut line is where the…
Read the guideIndustry Packaging
Candle packaging guide: how to package candles for shops and posting
Package candles from the vessel outwards. Measure and weigh each candle, choose a construction that carries the weight (a crash lock carton or rigid box for glass, a tuck…
Read the guideIndustry Packaging
Chocolate and confectionery packaging: boxes, trays and practicalities
To package chocolates, first decide whether each piece is wrapped or loose. Wrapped bars and sweets go into printed sleeves, cartons or gift boxes; loose truffles and…
Read the guideBox Styles & Construction
Choosing the right box construction: a decision guide
Box construction follows how the product travels, what it weighs and what the box is for after opening. Rigid boxes suit products that are given or kept; folding cartons…
Read the guidePackaging Fundamentals
Choosing the Right Packaging for Your Product
Choose packaging by working through five questions in order: what the product needs (size, weight, fragility), how it reaches the customer (shelf, post or hand), what the…
Read the guidePrinting & Finishes
CMYK vs Pantone (PMS) for packaging: which should you use?
CMYK prints every colour from four process inks laid down as tiny dots, so it suits photographs, gradients and multi-colour artwork. Pantone (PMS) prints a pre-mixed spot…
Read the guide
Ask Aura
Aura, our packaging assistant, answers questions about box styles, board, finishes and what a quotation needs.