A dish pack, also called a dish barrel, is a heavy double wall carton built for plates, bowls, glassware and stemware. Most of the sizes you will see quoted trace back to one convention in the US moving trade, and the rest of the spec is about what goes inside the box rather than the box itself.
The dish barrel convention
These are industry-typical figures from the moving trade, offered as a starting point rather than as an iBox stock size.
| Spec | Industry-typical figure | Why it is that way |
|---|---|---|
| Footprint and height | About 18 x 18 x 28 in | A near-square footprint lets plates stand in rows in either direction |
| Cube | About 5.25 cubic feet | 18 x 18 x 28 in divided by 1,728 cubic inches, the figure movers price by |
| Board | Double wall | Two fluted layers for stacking load and puncture resistance under dense contents |
Plates stand on edge, so height rules
Dishes are packed vertically because a plate on edge resists a drop far better than a plate lying flat under the weight of the plates above it. That single fact sets the box. A dinner plate commonly measures somewhere around 10 to 11 inches across, so the internal height has to clear the largest plate you are packing plus the cushioning under it, plus the layer that goes on top. If you are designing a carton for a specific dinnerware line, measure the largest piece in the set, which is usually a charger or a platter, and size to that.
Cells and partitions are a separate line
The carton is only half the job. Stemware and glasses travel in cells formed by slotted corrugated dividers, and those are specified by cell count, cell opening and board caliper. A tighter cell grid protects better and fits fewer items, and the divider board eats internal space on every axis, which is the detail most people forget when they size the outer box. Our explainer on corrugated partitions covers how the slots interlock and what a cell count means on a quote.
Measuring for a custom dish pack
- Measure the tallest item on edge and the widest item flat. The larger number drives internal height.
- Count how many items per row and how many rows, then multiply out the divider thickness across each axis.
- Add cushioning allowance at the base and the top, since the top and bottom faces take the drop.
- State the result as internal length x width x depth and confirm on the quote that it is internal, not external.
- Give us the loaded weight. Double wall is not one thing, and the load decides the board.
Ordering and turnaround
Minimum order is 100 boxes. Dies and plates are included, so a partition grid cut to your exact glassware costs nothing extra to tool. Pricing starts from about $0.48 per unit at bulk volumes and is confirmed on your written quote, with design support, US shipping and a digital proof included. Three production lanes are available, rush with expedited production and air freight, standard on air, and cost saver by sea, starting from about 7 business days, plus 2 to 5 for delivery. We produce in West Chicago and in Guangzhou.
Tell us the heaviest set you pack and how many pieces have to fit, and a quote can come back with both the carton and the divider grid priced together. If breakage rather than size is the real problem, start with how to protect fragile items in shipping.
