How To Get Your Logo Printed On Cardboard Boxes

When a customer picks up your product, the cardboard box is the first thing they see. A plain brown box will get your product there, but it doesn't tell anyone who you are or where the product came from.

Printing your logo on cardboard boxes is simpler than most people think, as long as you know what you need to give to the printer. Get the artwork, colours and quantities right at the start, and you avoid delays and reprints later down the line.

At Fastbox, we print boxes in-house at our Leeds factory, so we see the same questions (and the same mistakes) come up again and again. This guide covers how to get your logo on your boxes, what we need from you and how to keep the cost down.

How do you print a logo on a cardboard box?

There are three main ways to get your brand on a cardboard box ready to send out to your customers:

• Printing directly on the box: For most businesses, printing your design straight onto the corrugated board using flexographic printing, as part of making the box, gives you the most professional finish.
• Printed tape: Your logo or a handling message printed on the tape that seals the box shut. It's a simple way to brand plain boxes you already use without replacing the box.
• Labels or stamps: These are fine when you're only sending out a handful of boxes, but they take time to apply by hand and don't look as professional.

If you're ordering a high number of boxes, printing your branding directly on the box is the best option, and it's what the rest of this guide covers.

What do you need to get your boxes printed?

Before your corrugated box manufacturer can print your boxes, they need a few things from your team to make the printing process as smooth as possible:

• Your logo: You should have your logo as a vector file in AI, EPS or vector PDF format, as this keeps it sharp at any size.
• Your brand colours: We need your brand colours as Pantone references. Colours look different on a screen than in ink on a box, so a Pantone reference is the most reliable way to match them once they're printed.
• Where the print is going: You need to decide which sides of the box, which way up it needs to be, and whether anything needs to go on the top flaps or tape.
• Your box size, style and board: We need to know which boxes we're printing on, the style and the type of board, as these influence what you can do. If you haven't settled on a box yet, start by getting the size right and working out which type of cardboard box you need.
• Your quantities: How many boxes you need now, and roughly how many you'll need over the year. This helps us give you a more accurate cost for the printing.

If you don't have artwork ready, our in-house design team can create it from scratch. If you'd like to know what's involved, we've explained how the packaging design process works.

What prints well on a cardboard box?

Corrugated board isn't a smooth sheet of paper, so not every design prints the same way. In our experience, the designs that print best all keep things simple:

• Solid colours: Logos and blocks of solid colour print cleanly. Avoid very light shades, or several colours that are all similar.
• Bold text: Clear, reasonably sized text reads well. Very small or very thin text can fill in or break up and become unreadable.

Photographs, gradients and very fine detail are much harder to print directly onto corrugated board, so we'd always recommend keeping your design simple. The board colour matters too. On brown board, dark inks show up best and light colours don't stand out.

What should you print on your boxes?

Only print things that won't go out of date. Your boxes might sit in stock for months, so a launch date or a seasonal offer can leave you with boxes you can't use. Things worth printing include:

• Your logo: So people know who you are and start to recognise your brand.
• Your website: So customers can find you again and reorder.
• Your social media: So people can follow you and keep up to date with new products.
• A short strapline: A few words that tell people what you do and who you are.
• Handling instructions: "Fragile" or "This way up" helps your boxes get treated properly.

Product or warehouse information: A product code, or a clear space for a label, makes life easier for whoever packs and stores your boxes.

How much does it cost to print boxes?

There isn't one price for all printed packaging, but there are things that will influence how much it costs:

• The number of colours: Each colour needs its own plate and set-up, so the more colours you use, the more it will cost. Sticking to your core brand colours keeps the number down.
• The quantity: Set-up costs are spread across the run, so they change how much each box costs. If you're doing lots of small runs rather than one big one, it will usually cost you more over time.
• The box itself: The size, style and board grade all affect the price, and a bigger print area usually costs more.

Can you see a printed sample before ordering?

Not a printed one. We can make a plain box so you can check the size and style around your product, but it won't carry your print or be in the exact board grade.

What you do get is an artwork proof showing exactly what will be printed, and nothing goes to print until you've approved it.

Common box printing mistakes we have seen

Sending a low-quality logo

A logo saved from your website or a social media profile is too small to print on a box, and a JPEG will look blurred and unprofessional once it's scaled up. Ask your designer for the original vector file before you place your order.

Using too many colours

Every extra colour has to line up exactly with the others, and on brown board, some colours won't look how you expect. One or two strong colours often look better than a busy design.

Printing over creases and edges

Text or logos that run over a fold can crack or end up split across two sides. Keep important print away from the creases and edges of the box.

Not checking the proof properly

A spelling mistake, a wrong phone number or a misplaced barcode on the proof ends up on every box in the run. Go through every word, colour and code on it, and get a second person to look at it too.

How to get your boxes printed at Fastbox

Everything happens in our Leeds factory. Our flexographic printing, die-cutting and case making are all done in-house, so your job isn't passed between different companies.

We also print tape with your logo or messaging in up to three colours, using standard Pantone colours or your own. If you'd like to see the full ordering process first, we've set out each step of a bespoke order, from your first enquiry to delivery.

When you're ready, add your box size, quantities and print details to the Box Builder, and we'll come back to you with a quote.

Printed boxes frequently asked questions

Can I reorder the same printed boxes later?

Yes. We keep your box design on file, so you can order the same printed boxes again without starting from scratch. Just tell us how many you need.

How long does it take to get printed boxes?

Most orders take around two weeks from the day you sign off your artwork proof. Timings can shift through the year with demand and paper supply, so call us for a firm date on your order.

Can printed cardboard boxes still be recycled?

Yes. Printing doesn't stop a cardboard box from being recycled, and printed paper and board is routinely recycled back into new packaging. Your customers can put it in their normal cardboard recycling, the same as a plain box.

Is there a minimum order for printed boxes?

No higher than for plain boxes. Printed orders start at the same point: 10 boxes made from board we keep in stock, and go up to runs of 100,000+.

How many colours can you print on a box?

There's no limit, so you can use as many colours as your design needs. Send us your artwork, and we'll tell you how it'll come out on your board.

Can you print on the inside of a box?

Yes. We can print on any side of a box, inside and out, so you can add a message or pattern your customers only see when they open it.