Every custom box order has two kinds of cost inside it. One kind repeats for each box: board, ink, the time the press spends running. The other kind happens once no matter how many boxes you order. Minimums exist because of the second kind.
What the one time work actually is
- The dieline. A structural drawing of your box, flat, with every fold, glue tab and cut marked. Drawn once per structure.
- The die. A physical cutting tool, blades set into a board, built to that dieline. Cut once, used for every box in the run and in later reorders of the same size.
- The plates. On an offset press, one plate per ink. Made once per design.
- Makeready. Fitting the plates, setting register so the inks line up, bringing color up to the proof, and running waste sheets until the result is right. This is press time nobody is paid for in product.
- The proof and the checks. Someone has to look at the first pieces and decide they are correct.
That work is the same for a run of 10 and a run of 10,000. A minimum is simply the point below which the fixed work makes a custom box unreasonable to sell.
Why the per unit price falls with volume
| Cost type | Behaves like | Effect on unit price |
|---|---|---|
| Dieline, die, plates, makeready | Fixed per job | Divided across the run, so it shrinks fast as quantity rises |
| Board and ink | Variable per box | Roughly flat per unit, with modest material breaks |
| Press running time | Variable, but efficient at scale | Falls somewhat as the run gets longer |
| Freight | Per shipment and per volume | Falls per unit on larger consolidated shipments |
That table is the whole explanation for volume pricing. It is not a discount for loyalty, it is arithmetic.
What is different here
Our minimum is 100 boxes, and the die, the plates, design support, US shipping and a digital proof before anything prints are included rather than charged as setup line items. That matters for two reasons. First, a small first order is not swallowed by tooling charges. Second, a genuinely custom internal size costs no more to tool than a near standard one, so you are not pushed into a size that does not fit your product just to avoid a die charge.
Making a small order work harder
- Run one structure across several products and change only the print, so one die serves the range.
- Keep ink coverage simple on a first run. Coverage moves price more than most buyers expect.
- Choose the cost saver sea lane if your timeline allows, and the standard or rush lanes when it does not.
- Order the next size band up in quantity if a reorder is already likely. The second hundred always costs less than the first.
What it costs and how long it takes
Pricing starts from about $0.48 per unit at bulk volumes and is confirmed on your written quote, because size, board, ink coverage, finishing and quantity all move the number. Turnaround is quoted per job in three lanes, rush (expedited production plus air freight), standard (air) and cost saver (sea), from about 7 business days, plus 2 to 5 for delivery, with a rush premium of about 7 to 25% depending on the job. Specialty imported items can run up to about 12 weeks.
If you are weighing a first run against a larger one, send both quantities on the quote form and compare the two quotes side by side. Related: what is the minimum order for custom boxes and how much do custom boxes cost.
