Printed Corrugated Boxes Sourcing is an independent sourcing partner. Follow-up uses the work email on the RFQ form; no public mailbox is published on this site.

Size, print and quote coordination

custom size corrugated shipping boxes

This page turns a custom size corrugated shipping boxes request into one written brief so factories quote the same inside dimensions, flute profile, edge crush test or burst method, quantity unit and exclusions. Printed Corrugated Boxes Sourcing restates gaps. It does not run a corrugator or sell linerboard as a mill.

A shipping box that is only described as “custom size” still leaves the estimator guessing. Write length x width x depth in mm, whether the style is a regular slotted carton or a die-cut, and whether print is one-color, multi-color flexographic printing or a digital short run. Plate, die and freight stay outside the piece price unless a factory writes them on the reply.

Request Factory Quotes
Buyer reviewing a corrugated die line and an inside-size drawing

Four steps that stay on every comparable factory quote

Restate the size brief

Inside dimensions, flute, board grade and whether the die line is locked. A marketing mock-up is not a production file.

Match factories by construction

We approach plants that publish that flute and print process. A directory name is not a qualified supplier list.

Line up the same exclusions

Die, plate, tooling, freight and document fees stay outside the piece price unless a factory writes them on the reply.

Coordinate samples

Plain sample, printed first article, or packed line trial. Each path has a different cost and calendar. None is implied by clicking a card.

Procurement situations, not claimed accounts

Short-run digitally printed cartons beside a longer flexo printed shipper

Digital print versus flexographic printing

High SKU counts and frequent artwork changes can reduce plate cost with digital print. Stable long runs often keep unit cost and spot-color control on flexographic printing. Gravure printing is uncommon on corrugated shippers and should not be assumed. The buyer still chooses. We only ask each factory to quote the same process, color count and quantity so the replies can be read side by side.

A digital mock-up is not an edge crush test. If the carton must sit on an existing pallet pattern, write the stack height and the ECT or burst method you already use, or ask the factory to state the method they will hold.

When dies, plates and freight leave the piece price

Every comparable custom size corrugated shipping boxes quote should name: style, inside size, flute, strength method, color count, quantity in pieces, Incoterms or ship-to ZIP, and which of die, plate, sample and document fees sit outside the unit. If a reply folds those fees into the piece price without saying so, the comparison is incomplete.

Third-party packaging coordinators show a brief-first path. That is a process reference, not this site's factory network or lead time. See the Packhelp quote brief for how a written brief can look, then keep your own fields here.

Invoice-style quote sheet separating piece price from die, plate and freight
4 Fields every quote must share: size, flute, quantity, destination
0 Published discount percentages without the same specification evidence
3 Sample paths to name: plain carton, printed first article, packed trial
1 Written basis used when lining up factory replies

Send the size and print brief

List product format, intended contents, quantity by artwork, print colors, destination and requested delivery date. Optional budget may name currency and whether the figure is per piece or for the whole order. High-end, mid-range, budget or undecided is a buyer preference, not a verified plant rating.

Review inquiry options first if the construction is still unnamed.