Glossary

Packaging glossary

The vocabulary of boxes, board and print, in plain English. Bookmark it for your next supplier call.

1

1-2-3 bottom (snap lock): A carton bottom of interlocking flaps folded in sequence without glue, for medium-weight products.

3

32 ECT: The most common rating for single-wall corrugated shipping boxes, meaning the board withstands 32 pounds per inch of edge crush force.

4

44 ECT: A heavy-duty single-wall corrugated rating for heavier boxes or more demanding stacking.
48 ECT: A common double-wall corrugated rating for heavy loads.

A

Accordion insert: A folded paperboard insert that creates several compartments.
Aqueous coating: A clear, water-based coating applied over printed board to protect it from scuffs and fingerprints. It is fast drying, low odor and keeps paper packaging easy to recycle.
Artwork: The final graphic files (logos, images, text and colors) placed on a dieline and used to make printing plates or digital print files.
Auto-lock bottom: A pre-glued carton base, also called a crash-lock bottom, that locks into place automatically when the flattened box is opened. Stronger and faster to pack than a tuck bottom.

B

B-flute: A corrugated flute about 1/8 inch thick. It offers good crush resistance and printability and is used for shipping boxes, heavier mailers and die-cut shippers.
Barrier film: A layer in flexible packaging that slows the passage of oxygen, moisture, light or aroma to protect the product and extend shelf life.
Basis weight: The weight of a standard area of paper or board, used to specify liners and paperboard. Higher basis weight generally means a heavier, stronger sheet.
BC double-wall: Corrugated board with two fluted layers (B and C) and three liners. It is about 1/4 inch thick and used for heavy, fragile or long-stacked loads.
BCT (box compression test): A lab test measuring how much top-to-bottom load a finished box can carry before it collapses. It predicts how high boxes can be stacked.
Belly band: A printed paper band wrapped around the middle of a box or product to add branding.
Bleed: Artwork that extends beyond the cut line, normally 1/8 inch (3 mm), so that no unprinted edge appears if cutting shifts slightly.
Blind emboss: An embossed design with no ink or foil, relying only on raised texture and shadow.
Blister pack: Plastic formed around a product and sealed to a card, used for small retail items.
Board: A general term for thick paper materials used in packaging, including paperboard, corrugated board and greyboard.
Box maker's certificate: A printed stamp on corrugated boxes stating the board construction, strength rating (ECT or Mullen), size and weight limits and the manufacturer.
Bundle: A group of flat boxes tied or banded together for shipping and storage.

C

C-flute: A corrugated flute about 5/32 inch thick and the most common flute for standard shipping cartons, balancing cushioning, stacking strength and cost.
C1S / C2S: Coated one side or coated two sides. Describes paperboard with a smooth clay coating on one or both faces for better printing.
Caliper: The thickness of paper or board. Paperboard caliper is usually given in points, where 1 point equals 0.001 inch.
Caliper gauge: A tool used to measure the thickness of board.
Carton: A box made from paperboard, usually a folding carton. In shipping, "carton" can also mean a corrugated case.
Chipboard: A dense, usually recycled board. Thin chipboard is used for backing cards; thick chipboard (greyboard) forms the core of rigid boxes.
CMYK: The four process ink colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and key/black) combined in small dots to reproduce full-color images in print.
Coated recycled board (CRB): Paperboard made from recycled fiber with a white clay-coated printing face and a grey back. Economical and widely used for food and household cartons.
Cold foil: A foil process applied with adhesive on press rather than heat, allowing printed colors over the foil. Suits large foil areas and fine detail on long runs.
Color proof: A printed sample made to show how colors will reproduce, used to approve color before production.
Compression strength: The ability of a box to resist being crushed from the top, which determines safe stacking height.
Corner crush: Damage to box corners from drops and stacking, a common failure in parcel shipping.
Corrugated board: Board made of a fluted (wavy) paper medium glued between flat liners. It is strong, light and the main material for shipping boxes and mailers.
Coverage: The proportion of a surface covered by ink. Heavy coverage uses more ink and can affect drying and cracking.
Crash-lock bottom: Another name for an auto-lock bottom: a pre-glued base that pops into place when the carton is opened.
Crease (score): A line pressed into board so it folds cleanly in the right place. Shown as dashed lines on dielines.
CUK: Coated unbleached kraft paperboard: a strong brown board with a white clay-coated printing surface.
Cushioning: Materials that absorb shock and vibration to protect products, such as paper void fill, molded pulp, foam or air pillows.
Cut line: The line on a dieline where the board is cut through, usually shown as a solid line.

D

Debossing: Pressing a design into the board so it sits below the surface. The opposite of embossing.
Die: A custom tool, usually steel rule mounted in a board, used to cut and crease packaging to shape.
Die-cutting: The process of cutting and creasing printed sheets into box shapes using a die.
Dieline: A flat template showing the exact shape of a box before folding, with cut, crease, bleed and safe zones. Artwork is designed on top of it.
Digital printing: Printing directly from a digital file without plates. Ideal for short runs, multiple designs and fast changes.
DIM divisor: The number carriers divide package volume by to calculate dimensional weight, such as 139 for UPS and FedEx daily rates in the US.
Dimensional weight (DIM weight): A billing method used by carriers that charges by package volume when it is higher than actual weight. Calculated as L × W × H divided by a divisor.
Dot gain: The tendency of printed dots to spread on paper, making images darker than the digital file. Printers compensate for it in prepress.
Double-wall: Corrugated board with two fluted layers, stronger than single-wall board.
Doypack: Another name for a stand-up pouch with a gusseted bottom.
Drop test: A test where packed boxes are dropped from set heights onto faces, edges and corners to check product protection.
Dust flap: A small flap on a tuck end box that folds in under the tuck to square the box and keep out dust.

E

E-flute: A thin corrugated flute about 1/16 inch thick. It prints sharply and folds crisply, making it the standard for mailer boxes.
Eco-friendly ink: Inks with lower environmental impact, such as water-based or soy- and vegetable-based inks.
ECT (edge crush test): A test measuring how much force corrugated board can take on its edge before crushing, in pounds per inch. It predicts stacking strength.
Embellishment: A decorative finish such as foil, embossing or spot UV.
Embossing: Raising part of the board surface into a relief using matched dies, often combined with foil or ink.
EVA foam: A dense, smooth foam used for protective inserts with precise cavities, common in premium electronics and jewelry packaging.

F

F-flute: A very thin corrugated flute (micro-flute) about 1/32 inch thick, used for premium retail boxes needing extra strength.
FEFCO code: A standard numbering system for corrugated box designs published by the European federation of corrugated board manufacturers. For example, 0201 is the regular slotted container.
Fill test: Filling a sample bag or box with product to confirm the size is right.
Finish: Any treatment applied after printing to change appearance or protect the surface, such as coatings, laminations, foil, embossing or spot UV.
Flat size: The size of a box blank before folding.
Flexographic printing (flexo): A printing method using flexible relief plates and fast-drying inks, common on corrugated boxes, labels and flexible packaging.
Flute: The wavy middle layer of corrugated board. Flute size (A, B, C, E, F) determines thickness, cushioning and strength.
Foil stamping: Applying metallic or pigmented foil to packaging with heat and pressure using a metal die.
Folding carton: A paperboard box printed, die-cut, creased and glued, shipped flat and folded into shape at packing.
Food-grade: Materials, inks and adhesives suitable for packaging that contacts food, meeting the relevant FDA requirements.
Food-safe coating: A coating approved for food contact, used where packaging touches food directly.
Friction lock: A tuck closure held only by the tightness of fit.
FSC: The Forest Stewardship Council, an organization that certifies responsible forest management and chain of custody for paper products. Using its label requires certified supply.
Full overlap container (FOL): A corrugated box whose outer flaps overlap fully, adding strength for heavy or rough-handled loads (FEFCO 0203).

G

Gable box: A paperboard box with a built-in carry handle formed by two angled top panels that lock together.
Gang run: Printing several different designs together on the same sheet to share setup costs.
Glue flap: The narrow strip glued to another panel to form the side seam of a box.
Grain direction: The direction fibers run in paper or board. Folding with the grain is easier; it also affects stiffness.
Greyboard: Thick, dense recycled board used as the structural core of rigid boxes, usually 1.2 to 3 mm thick.
Gusset: A folded expansion panel in a bag or pouch that lets it stand up or hold more volume.

H

Half slotted container (HSC): A corrugated box like an RSC but with no top flaps, used as a tray or with a separate lid (FEFCO 0200).
Hang tab: An extension of a carton with a hole so it can hang on a retail peg.
Header card: A printed card at the top of a hanging package carrying the brand and hang hole.
Hot foil: Traditional foil stamping using a heated die.

I

Insert: A component inside a box that holds products in place, such as die-cut paperboard, corrugated, foam or molded pulp.
Inside dimensions: The usable space inside a box, the standard way to specify custom box sizes (L × W × H).
ISTA: The International Safe Transit Association, which publishes standard test procedures for package performance during shipping.

K

Knock-down: A box shipped flat and assembled at the point of use.
Knockout: An area where one color is removed so another color or the board shows through, instead of printing on top.
Kraft: Paper or board made from unbleached wood pulp, naturally brown and strong.
Kraft paperboard: Unbleached paperboard with a natural brown surface, used for eco-minded and artisan packaging.

L

Lamination: Bonding a thin film (matte, gloss or soft-touch) or paper to board for protection and finish.
Landed cost: The total cost of packaging delivered to your door, including unit price, setup, freight and duties.
Lead time: The time from order (or proof approval) to delivery, including production and shipping.
Lid: The top part of a box, hinged or separate.
Liner: The flat paper faces of corrugated board. Can be kraft (brown) or bleached (white).
Linerboard: The flat paper used as the inner and outer faces of corrugated board.
Litho-lamination: Printing a sheet by offset lithography and laminating it onto corrugated board for high-quality graphics on shipping and display boxes.
Lock tab: A tab that slots into a cut to hold a box closed without glue.

M

Magnetic closure box: A rigid book-style box with a hinged lid and a front flap that closes with hidden magnets.
Mailer box: A self-locking corrugated box with a hinged lid and tuck front, widely used for e-commerce and subscriptions.
Make-ready: Setting up a press or machine before a run, including mounting plates and adjusting color. A major part of setup cost.
Matte finish: A low-gloss surface that reduces glare and gives a modern, soft look.
Micro-flute: Very thin corrugated board (E, F or N flute) that combines paperboard-like print quality with extra strength.
Minimum order quantity (MOQ): The smallest number of units a supplier will produce for a custom order.
Mock-up: A physical or digital model of a package used to check design and fit.
Molded pulp: Packaging formed from wet paper fiber in molds and dried, used for protective inserts and trays. Plastic-free and recyclable.
Mullen test: A burst test measuring how much pressure punctures corrugated board, in pounds per square inch.

N

Neck tube: A paper tube with an inner collar so the lid sits flush with the body.
Net quantity: The amount of product in a package (weight, volume or count), which many US consumer products must state on the main display panel.

O

Offset printing: Lithographic printing that transfers ink from metal plates to a rubber blanket and then to the sheet. Sharp detail and consistent color for larger runs.
Outside dimensions: The external size of a box, larger than inside dimensions by the board thickness.
Overprint: Printing one color on top of another without knocking out the color beneath.

P

Pallet: A flat platform used to ship stacked goods. The standard US GMA pallet is 48 by 40 inches.
Panel: A face of a box, such as the front, back, side, top or bottom panel.
Pantone (PMS): The Pantone Matching System, a standardized color reference used to specify exact spot colors.
Paperboard: Thick paper (usually 0.010 inch or more) used for folding cartons, such as SBS, kraft and recycled board.
PDQ display: A display box that ships with product inside and opens quickly into a counter display.
Perforation: A line of small cuts that lets packaging tear easily, used for tear strips and PDQ tops.
Pillow box: A small paperboard box with curved ends that fold in to close.
Plate: A printing surface (metal for offset, polymer for flexo) that carries the image of one color.
Point (pt): The unit of paperboard thickness: 1 point equals 0.001 inch. 18pt board is 0.018 inch thick.
Poly mailer: A lightweight plastic shipping envelope used mainly for apparel and soft goods.
Post-consumer recycled (PCR) content: Material made from products that consumers used and recycled, as opposed to manufacturing scrap.
Pre-production sample: A sample made with the final materials and printing before full production.
Prepress: Checking and preparing artwork files for printing, including color conversion, trapping and imposition.
Primary packaging: The package that directly holds the product, such as a jar or carton.
Print-ready file: An artwork file that meets all printing requirements: correct dieline, bleed, color mode, resolution and fonts.
Process color: A color printed using CMYK dots rather than a mixed spot ink.
Proof: A preview of the final package (digital PDF, 3D render or physical sample) that the customer approves before production.

R

Registration: The alignment of printed colors and finishes with each other and with the dieline.
Regular slotted container (RSC): The standard corrugated shipping box with four top and four bottom flaps of equal depth (FEFCO 0201).
Resolution: The detail in a raster image, measured in pixels per inch (ppi). Print usually needs 300 ppi at final size.
Reverse tuck end (RTE): A carton whose top and bottom tucks close from opposite sides. The most economical tuck style.
Rich black: Black printed with CMYK plus black ink for a deeper tone in large areas. Small text should use 100% black only.
Right-sizing: Designing packaging to fit products closely, reducing material, void fill and shipping costs.
Rigid box: A premium box made from thick greyboard wrapped in printed or specialty paper, delivered assembled. Also called a setup box.

S

Safe zone: The area inside the cut and fold lines where important text and logos should stay, usually at least 1/8 inch from any edge.
SBS (solid bleached sulfate): Premium paperboard made from bleached virgin fiber, bright white throughout, with the best print and finish quality.
Seal end carton: A carton whose end flaps are glued closed, usually on automated packing lines.
Secondary packaging: Packaging that groups primary packages, such as a shipping box or display.
Setup box: Another name for a rigid box.
Setup cost: One-time costs to prepare a job, such as plates, dies, make-ready and proofing, spread across the order quantity.
Shelf-ready packaging (SRP): Packaging that goes from shipping case to store shelf with minimal handling, often a tray with a tear-off front.
Shipper: A box used to ship products, often corrugated.
Shoulder box: A rigid box with an inner neck that the lid rests on, showing a contrasting band.
Shrink wrap: Plastic film that shrinks tightly around products or cartons when heated.
Single-wall: Corrugated board with one fluted layer and two liners.
Sleeve: An open-ended band or tube that slides over a tray or box, often printed to brand plain packaging.
Slit lock: Small cuts at the shoulders of a tuck flap that grip the dust flaps so the tuck stays closed.
Soft-touch lamination: A film with a velvety, matte texture that makes packaging feel premium and resists fingerprints.
Specialty paper: Textured, colored, metallic or otherwise distinctive paper used to wrap rigid boxes or print labels.
Spot color: A pre-mixed ink printed as a solid color, often matched to a Pantone reference.
Spot UV: A clear, glossy UV-cured varnish applied to selected areas to create contrast with a matte background.
Stacking strength: How much weight a box can carry from boxes stacked on top of it.
Stand-up pouch: A flexible bag with a gusseted bottom that stands upright, often with a zipper and barrier layers.
Straight tuck end (STE): A carton whose top and bottom tucks close from the same side, leaving the front panel uninterrupted.
Structural design: The engineering of a package's shape, folds, locks and inserts.
Substrate: The material being printed on, such as paperboard, corrugated, paper or film.

T

Tamper evidence: Features that show if a package has been opened, such as seals, tear strips or shrink bands.
Tear strip: A perforated or reinforced strip that opens a box by pulling a tab.
Telescope box: A two-piece box whose lid slides over the base. A full telescope lid covers the base completely.
Tertiary packaging: Packaging used to move large quantities, such as pallets and stretch wrap.
Thumb notch: A semicircle cut that makes it easier to open a tuck flap or push a tray out of a sleeve.
Tissue paper: Thin, light paper used to wrap products inside boxes, often printed with a brand pattern.
Trapping: Slightly overlapping adjacent colors in prepress to prevent white gaps if registration shifts.
Tray: An open-topped box base, often used with a sleeve or lid.
Tuck end box: A paperboard carton that closes with tuck flaps at its ends.
Tuck flap: A flap that folds over the opening of a box and tucks inside to close it.
Turnaround: The time to produce an order, usually counted from proof approval.
Two-piece box: A box with a separate base and lid that lifts off.

U

Unboxing experience: The sequence of moments a customer goes through when opening a package.
UPC barcode: The 12-digit Universal Product Code used to identify retail products at checkout in the US, obtained through GS1.
UV coating: A clear coating cured by ultraviolet light, giving high gloss and a hard surface.

V

Variable data printing: Printing unique information (names, codes, numbers) on each package, made possible by digital printing.
Varnish: A clear coating applied on press for protection or gloss effects.
Vector artwork: Graphics made of mathematical paths rather than pixels, which scale to any size without losing quality. Preferred for logos.
Void fill: Material that fills empty space in a shipping box to stop products moving, such as crinkle paper or air pillows.

W

Water-activated tape: Paper tape with an adhesive activated by water that bonds into box fibers, secure and recyclable with the box.
Window patching: Gluing clear film behind a die-cut window in a carton.
Wrap: The printed or specialty paper glued around the board of a rigid box or tube.

Z

Zipper (press-to-close): A resealable closure on flexible pouches and bags.

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