Die-cut cardboard boxes: custom and personalised production
Die-cut cartons are a highly customisable packaging solution, for anyone who needs a box that is not a rectangle. Unlike a standard carton they are made to your own outline — shapes and designs that are not limited to a predefined model, thanks to a die cut specifically for the job.
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How they are made
What goes into a die-cut carton
Producing a custom die-cut box runs through several stages:
- Custom cutting
- A steel-rule die is made to your outline, so the shape is not limited to what a standard machine setting can cut.
- Creasing
- Fold lines are placed for the board thickness, which is why the same artwork needs a different die in 3-ply and 5-ply.
- Branding elements
- Logos, artwork and colour printed onto the board before it is cut, so the finish wraps the whole shape.
- Assembly
- Gluing or stitching where the design calls for it, so the finished box holds without tape.
Where they are used
Industries of application
Custom die-cut boxes are used across a wide range of trades:
- Retail & display
- Packs that open out or stand up, so the box itself presents the product on a shelf.
- Food & confectionery
- Mithai, dates and gift packs, where the shape and the print are part of the product.
- Glassware & crockery
- Gift boxes for glass sets with a die-cut window and carry handle, and fitted inserts for dinner sets.
- Pharmaceutical & cosmetics
- Cartons cut to hold one item in one position, with room for the printing a regulated product needs.
- Hardware & components
- Fitted trays that stop parts moving against each other in transit.
- Apparel & footwear
- Boxes cut to a shape that reads as the brand rather than as a shipping carton.
- E-commerce
- Locking mailers that close without tape and survive courier handling.
Why us
Why choose our die-cut boxes
What you get from having the die, the print and the board decided in one plant:
- Built to your shape
- Send a dieline, or send the product and a description of how the box should behave, and we work the shape out.
- Specified board
- The ply and the bursting strength are chosen for the load, not inherited from whatever the die was last run on.
- Print and cut together
- Artwork and die are decided by the same people, so the print lands where the shape expects it.
- Reorder without re-tooling
- Your die is kept, so a repeat run does not pay the one-off cost again.
- One plant
- Corrugation, printing, die cutting, creasing and gluing all happen at Mehmood Booti.
Common questions
What is a die-cut box?
A box cut to a custom shape using a die — a steel rule blade set into a board — rather than cut and creased on standard settings. It lets the box be any shape you need, with tabs, windows, handles or locking flaps, instead of a plain rectangle.
When is die-cutting worth the extra cost?
When the shape does real work: a box that locks shut without tape, a display pack that has to stand up on a shelf, a tray moulded to hold one product, or anything where a plain rectangle would waste space. For straightforward shipping cartons it usually is not worth it.
Is there a one-off cost?
Yes. A die has to be made for your shape before anything can be cut, and that is a one-time cost paid on the first order. Repeat orders of the same box do not pay it again, which is why die-cutting suits designs you will reorder.
Can you work from our drawing?
Yes. Send a dieline or a drawing with dimensions. If you only have the product and an idea of how the box should behave, describe it and we will work the shape out.
Before you specify
Worth reading first
No price list, and that is deliberate
Send us the shape
A die-cut job is quoted against the dieline, the board and the run length. Describe the product — or send a drawing or a sample — and we will propose a specification and quote it.
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