What is considered as printing on 1 side or 2 sides of my packaging?

The price of your packaging is dependent on how many sides you will be printing on. For packaging such as mailer boxes, folding carton boxes, and rigid boxes, we'll typically ask if you want any artwork printed on the outside of the box, inside of the box, or both.

Rigid Boxes

Based on the photos of the rigid boxes above:

• White rigid box: no print on the inside of the box. The paperboard on the inside of the box is visible with no additional paper wrapping the paperboard on the inside. A box produced like this is considered as printed only on the outside and blank on the inside.
• Black and pink rigid box: these boxes have print on the outside and inside of the box. Even though it's 1 solid color on the outside and inside, it would still be considered as a printed box on the outside and inside.

Artwork is printed on white paper which is then wrapped over the paperboard. That's why even if you have only 1 solid color (not white) on the outside or inside of the box, there's still printing involved. Learn more about how rigid boxes are made here.

Mailer Boxes

We produce all of our mailer boxes using offset printers as it yields the highest quality print. Designs are printed directly on the substrate (paper) which is then laminated (i.e. glued) to the corrugated board. Printing on a smooth substrate as opposed to printing directly on corrugated cardboard results in higher quality print.

The small tradeoff is that because we're using an extra layer of substrate (paper), it makes the box a bit thicker and heavier. Upon your request, we can also print using flexographic printers. Please contact us for more information!

Mailer box with outside printing only (offset printer)

Your artwork is printed on a substrate (paper), then laminated to the outside of the corrugated board. The layers are:

1. Substrate (paper for print on the outside of the box)
2. Corrugated board (fluting + liner)

Mailer box with outside & inside printing (offset printer)

Your artwork is printed on two substrates (paper), then laminated to the outside and inside of the corrugated board. The layers are:

1. Substrate (paper for print on the outside of the box)
2. Corrugated board (fluting + liner)
3. Substrate (paper for print on the inside of the box)

Mailer box with outside printing only (flexographic printer)

Your artwork is printed directly on the liner of the corrugated board and there is no additional substrate layer. The quality of print won't be as high as with offset printers, but this option allows your boxes to be more lightweight.