The outside of the box is the only piece of marketing every single customer definitely sees. Printed packaging specified properly - format, board, process and print area decided together.
Custom printed packaging is branded print applied to the packaging itself - corrugated cartons, postal boxes, polythene and paper mailers, carton sealing tape, tissue, inner liners and card inserts. WSUK specifies print and format together for UK businesses, because board grade, box style and print process all limit each other: a flute profile determines how fine the print can be, and the box style determines where the print can usefully sit. Artwork is checked and a proof approved before any run. For printed tape on its own, see custom printed tape; for the format itself, see bespoke carton manufacture.
Choosing artwork first and the box afterwards is how brands end up with detail that the board cannot hold.
Branding on corrugated cartons and postal boxes, with the print process matched to the board - flute profile, liner and coverage all change what is achievable.
Polythene and paper mailers printed with brand, returns instructions and handling marks - including the things that reduce support contacts rather than just look good.
Printed inner liners, tissue, card inserts and tape, so the pack reads as deliberate from the outside in rather than just on the lid.
Brand, instruction and handling. Most printed packaging only does the first of them, which wastes the other two.
Format, then print, then proof, then run.
The carton, mailer or format is specified before the artwork is placed, because the style decides where print can sit and what it has to survive.
Process, colour count and coverage chosen for the board and the quantity, with the practical limits of the surface stated up front.
We check the artwork against the specification and you approve a proof before the run is made.
The approved print is produced and supplied, and held on call-off if you would rather not store a print run.
Printed packaging is specified from our Midlands Golden Triangle base and supplied to businesses across the UK, alongside the storage and fulfilment that uses it.
Custom printed packaging is branding and information printed onto the packaging itself rather than applied as a label afterwards. The reason to do it is straightforward: the outer pack is the one piece of brand communication that every customer handles, and a plain brown box spends that moment on nothing. The reason it frequently disappoints is also straightforward - the artwork gets designed before the pack is specified. Corrugated board is not paper. The flute profile under the liner sets a practical limit on how fine a line or how small a typeface can be reproduced cleanly, large areas of solid dark colour show handling marks that a lighter ground would hide, and the box style decides where print can usefully go: a crash-lock base is hidden, the panel a customer sees first depends entirely on how the pack opens. Specifying print and format in the same conversation avoids all of that. It is also worth using the print for more than the logo. Returns instructions printed inside a lid get read; the same words on a slip of paper fall on the floor. Orientation and fragile marks printed on the panel reduce damage more reliably than a label that depends on somebody applying it the right way up. Recycling guidance printed on tells the customer what to do with the material, which is the part most brands leave out. We check artwork against the specification and proof it before any production run, and we keep a plain equivalent specified alongside the branded one, because marketplace orders and D2C orders frequently want different outsides on the same product. For tape on its own see custom printed tape, for the e-commerce side see ecommerce packaging, and for retail-facing print see retail packaging.
Specification first, then a quote against it.
The carton, mailer or format is specified before the artwork is placed, because the style decides where print can sit and what it has to survive.
Process, colour count and coverage chosen for the board and the quantity, with the practical limits of the surface stated up front.
We check the artwork against the specification and you approve a proof before the run is made.
The approved print is produced and supplied, and held on call-off if you would rather not store a print run.
Everything you need to know about custom printed packaging at WSUK, answered plainly.
Corrugated cartons and postal boxes, paper and polythene mailers, carton sealing tape, tissue, inner liners and card inserts. Essentially anything in the pack can carry print; what changes is how fine that print can be.
From one colour up to full colour, depending on the material, the process and the quantity. We specify the colour count against the board rather than accepting artwork that the surface cannot reproduce.
Not always, and that is worth knowing before the run rather than after. The flute under the liner limits how fine a line or how small a typeface reproduces cleanly. We will tell you what will hold and what needs simplifying.
Yes. Artwork is checked against the specification and a proof approved before anything is printed in quantity.
Yes - print has a setup element, so there is a practical minimum per design. Tell us your volumes and we will tell you what quantity makes the print worthwhile.
Yes, and we would recommend specifying both at once. Many marketplaces expect plain outers, so holding a branded and a plain line against the same product is normal.
If returns are a meaningful part of your volume, yes - printed instructions get read far more often than a paper insert. It is one of the cheapest reductions in support contacts available. See returns management for the operational side.
Yes - recycling guidance, orientation arrows, fragile and weight marks. Printed marks do not depend on somebody applying a label correctly.
Yes. A print run is usually produced in one go and used over months, which is what packaging stockholding exists for.
| What you get | WSUK | Typical packaging supplier |
|---|---|---|
| Print specified against the board, not just the artwork | Yes | Rarely |
| Format and print decided in the same conversation | Yes | Rarely |
| Told plainly what detail the surface will hold | Yes | Rarely |
| Proof approved before any production run | Yes | Rarely |
| Branded and plain lines specified as a pair | Yes | Rarely |
| Print run held on call-off rather than in your unit | Yes | Rarely |
Custom Printed Packaging is supplied to businesses across the UK from the Midlands Golden Triangle. Pick a location for how supply works locally, or see the full list on the packaging services hub.
Send us your artwork and the format you have in mind, and we will tell you what will print cleanly and quote it.