Custom magnetic boxes

You'll see it called a magnetic closure gift box, a book-style box, a flip-top box or simply a magnetic box. They all mean the same structure: a rigid box with the lid attached along the back, a flap that folds over the front, and magnets hidden under the wrap that hold the flap shut. The other common rigid box, with a separate lid that lifts off, is a lid-and-base or two-piece box.

Past custom rigid and magnetic box projects have run about $1,400–$2,000 for the whole run. That's context, not a quote: size, quantity, the wrap paper, how much foil and deboss, the insert and freight set your number. A custom box costs far more per piece than a retail stock box because its structure setup and dies are spread over your run alone, not over a standard size made in bulk. And a magnetic box costs more than a lid-and-base box of the same size, because the hinge, the flap and the magnets are extra parts and extra assembly. If you only need a stock box to look like yours, a foil belly band starts at $295 for 100.

Runs usually make sense from about 100 boxes. Below that, the structure setup and the foil die are spread across very few boxes, so each one costs more, but we quote short pilot runs for launches, gifting lists and executive mailings. Tell us the quantity you actually need and we'll price exactly that.

Production takes about three weeks after you approve the proof. Before that comes the structure and a physical prototype, and after it, freight. For a launch or a holiday gift, start about eight weeks before you need the boxes in hand. These are estimates, not guarantees, so tell us your date first and we'll say honestly whether it's comfortable.

The magnets are sized to pull the flap closed with a clean snap and hold it flat, not to lock the box. A magnetic box sitting on a table stays closed. Squeezed or dropped in a courier's van, a flap can open, which is one reason every magnetic box travels inside an outer carton. If the box has to stay sealed until it's opened, a foil seal across the flap does that job and looks deliberate.

No. A magnetic box is a presentation box, not a shipper. The wrap scuffs, the corners crush and the flap can open, so it goes inside a corrugated carton. Built boxes ship by volume, so we quote the freight with the job. If the box itself has to go through the post, a printed mailer box is the right structure; see all box structures.

A fixed box is glued up before it ships, so it's the most solid in the hand and the most expensive to move. A collapsible box ships flat and folds into shape on arrival, which saves a lot of freight and storage on a big gifting list. If the box goes straight to a client, we'd build it fixed. If you're packing hundreds yourself, ask us to price both and compare the freight.

Both are rigid boxes: chipboard wrapped in paper, built before they ship. A lid-and-base box has a separate lid that lifts off. A magnetic box has the lid attached along the back and closes with magnets in a front flap, so it opens like a book and stays in one piece. Magnetic costs a little more and makes a quieter, more deliberate reveal. Lid-and-base leaves more of the wrap clear for print and finishes. See custom rigid boxes.

Yes. For short runs where every box is different, we print the wraps digitally, so there are no plates to set up per design, and the eighth design costs the same to set up as the first. Foil is the exception: each foil design needs its own die, so personalised foil is priced per design. A common approach is a shared foil mark on every box, with the variable artwork printed.

Foil, yes: hot foil bonds well to soft-touch laminate. Deboss and emboss, no: laminate is a stiff film that won't take a clean impression. If you want soft-touch and an impression, we put the impression on an uncoated wrap instead, or pair the soft-touch with foil. On a dark box, remember that soft-touch shows fingerprints and courier scuffs.

No. Send us the product's dimensions and weight, or the product itself, and we draw the structure and dieline around it. You approve a physical prototype before the full run. Then you build artwork on our dieline in vector, with foil and deboss areas on their own named layers, or our packaging artwork team builds it for you.

Yes. Our $8 sample kit includes a swatch card with every foil we stock, plus papers and finishes like blind emboss, and comes with a $10 credit toward your first order. It's built around cards, not boxes, but it's the quickest way to pick a foil and a paper in your own light. The box itself isn't sampled from the kit: its fit is checked on a physical prototype of the structure before the run.

Mostly. The board and an uncoated paper wrap recycle with paper where local collection accepts rigid board, but the magnets should be pulled out first, and soft-touch or other laminated wraps aren't accepted everywhere. If recyclability matters to your brand, choose an uncoated wrap and a paperboard tray instead of foam, and we'll keep the box as close to all-paper as the structure allows.

No. We make custom magnetic gift boxes, printed and finished to your brand. If you already have a stock box you like, we can make it yours with a foil belly band, a foil seal across the flap or a printed insert card. That's usually the fastest and least expensive route.