Custom Printed E-Commerce Mailer Boxes
A product-sized corrugated mailer designed for the parcel journey and the opening moment, rather than selected from a stock-box list.
- Product-Sized Mailer
Overview
An e-commerce mailer has to perform two jobs in sequence: carry the product through a parcel network, then become the first physical brand surface the customer sees. Its internal dimensions therefore start with the product and any required fitment, while the opening panels and inner print are treated as part of the presentation rather than as unused shipping space.
Oversizing is expensive twice: it consumes more board and leaves more volume to fill and transport. The mailer is developed with the actual product loaded so movement, insert layout and the opening action can be reviewed together. Print method follows the role of the box, with retail-facing presentations handled differently from transit-only copy.
What to decide for this format
Product Fit & Empty Space
Set the internal size from the product and fitment, then check movement and unused volume on a loaded sample.
Opening & Print Sequence
Plan what the recipient sees first, which inner surfaces carry copy and which panels must remain clear for shipping information.
Board & material options
Natural Brown Kraft
Unbleached brown fibre, the recycled-content standard.
The lowest-processing option we stock. Remember that the brown ground shifts every ink laid over it — colours need proofing on the actual stock, not on white.
White Kraft
Strong uncoated white fibre with a natural surface.
Reads honest rather than glossy, and takes one or two spot colours well. Recycled and FSC-certified grades are available where a materials policy applies.
Recycled Content Board
Post-consumer fibre, visible in the surface.
The speckle is the point — it reads as recycled without a label saying so. Colour varies between batches, which has to be accepted up front.
Coated One Side (C1S)
Coated on the printing face, uncoated on the reverse.
The default carton and wrap board. You are paying for coating only where the print goes, so it is the economical choice whenever the inside face is not seen.
Finishing options
Die Cutting
Custom shapes, windows and cut-outs.
Windows, shaped lids, handle apertures and label outlines. A window can be left open or patched with clear film depending on whether the product needs protecting.
Aqueous Coating
A water-based protective coat applied in-line.
The low-cost seal on cartons and shippers. Water-based, so it stays inside a recyclable mono-material specification.
Spot UV
Gloss varnish applied to selected artwork elements.
Highest contrast over a matte or soft-touch base. On a gloss laminate it barely reads — the base finish decides whether spot UV is worth paying for.
Anti-Scuff Lamination
A matte film formulated to resist marking.
Ordinary matte film scuffs on dark artwork in transit. This is what you specify when the pack is dark and ships a long way.
Materials
Single-Wall Corrugated
The default for retail packs and lighter e-commerce goods, balancing strength against cube and cost.
Double-Wall Corrugated
For heavier products, tall stacking and long export transit where a single wall would crush.
Litho Face Papers
Coated art paper printed offset and laminated to the board, carrying the finishes retail print expects.
Kraft Liners
Brown or white kraft outer liners, printed direct where one or two colours is all the job needs.
Recycled & FSC-Certified Board
Recycled-content and certified board with water-based inks — corrugated is the easiest part of a pack to make genuinely circular.
Printing & Finishes
Litho Lamination
Offset-printed sheet bonded to corrugated board — photographic print quality on a structural box.
Flexo Printing
Direct printing on the liner using our six-colour flexo and water-based equipment. Economical for transit cases and high volumes.
Matte & Gloss Lamination
Applied to litho-laminated packs for scuff resistance through distribution.
Foil & Spot UV
Available on the litho face before lamination, for retail packs that sit on shelf as well as ship.
Die Cutting, Perforation & Gluing
Tear strips, handle cut-outs, shelf-ready perforation and automatic gluing on the integrated line.
What you can customise
- Internal dimensions calculated from the product and how many go in a case
- Board grade and wall construction against stacking and transit
- Print method — litho-laminated, flexo, or plain
- Inner printing for the unboxing moment
- Tear strips, handles and shelf-ready perforation
- Corrugated dividers and fitments assessed as a fibre-based support option
- Shipping marks, carton counts and pallet configuration
Specifications
| Minimum order quantity | Standard cartons from 1,000 units |
|---|---|
| Production lead time | 15–20 working days after artwork approval |
| Converting line | Fully automated line integrating printing, laminating and gluing |
| Print processes | Offset litho-lamination on the Rapida 106; six-colour flexo and water-based printing for direct liner print |
Terms for this specification
- Sampling
- Presentation-quality sample in 5–7 working days. The sample cost is credited against your first approved production order.
- Colour matching
- Pantone references and physical samples are used where the selected print process supports them. The approval method follows the substrate, artwork and process.
- Certifications
- ISO 9001, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001 and China Environmental Labelling (Ten-Ring). ISO 22000 applies to eligible food-contact work.
- Sustainable options
- FSC-certified or recycled-content paper and board, water-based inks and adhesives, and fibre-based fitments are available where the selected construction supports them.
What drives the cost
We do not publish a price list, because no two specifications are alike. The levers that decide a quote are consistent, though.
Quantity
Most of the cost of a print job is set-up — plates, dies, make-ready, the first good sheet. Doubling a run rarely doubles the price, which is why it is worth asking for two or three volumes on the same quote.
Structure
A rigid box is formed, wrapped and often assembled by hand; a folding carton is die-cut and glued in one pass. Structure is usually the single biggest difference between two otherwise identical packs.
Material
Board grade and wrap stock. Specialty and textured papers cost more per sheet, but can replace a finishing pass — sometimes the cheaper route to the same effect.
Finishing passes
Each of foil, emboss, spot UV and lamination is a separate pass through a machine. Two effects cost roughly twice one, so the question is always which effect earns its place.
Tooling
Dies, emboss plates and foil blocks are one-off costs carried by the first order and reused on every repeat. Repeat runs of an approved specification are materially cheaper than the first.
Design & artwork
From an artwork check, through a dimensioned dieline and print-ready files, to a full concept package across a range — done by the factory that will make it.
Applications
E-Commerce & DTC
Mailers sized to the product and available with inside and outside print. The complete loaded pack and acceptance method are agreed for the intended parcel journey.
How it is made
Product, load & transit review
Weight, fragility, units per case, stacking height and journey decide board grade before anything is drawn.
Structure & cube optimisation
Internal dimensions set against pallet and container fit — the difference between shipping product and shipping air.
Print method decision
Litho-lamination where shelf quality is needed, flexo where the case is transit only.
Sampling
Samples in 5–7 working days, loaded with the actual product wherever possible.
Printing, laminating & gluing
The integrated line runs print, lamination and gluing in sequence, then die cutting and perforation.
Inspection & dispatch
Dimensional, glue and print inspection against the approved sample, then palletising and shipping marks.
Why Yuan Packaging
- Fully automated line integrating printing, laminating and gluing — serving publicly listed companies
- Litho-lamination and flexo under one roof, so print method follows the job rather than the equipment
- Corrugated made where the retail pack inside it is made — one specification for the whole shipment
- Recycled and FSC-certified board with water-based inks for mono-material recyclable packs
Frequently asked questions
Can the mailer be printed on the inside?
Yes. Inner printing is one of the format options already supported by the parent range. It should be planned with the opening sequence so the message lands on the first useful surface rather than disappearing beneath the product.
How do you decide the mailer size?
From the actual product, the number of units and any dividers or folded fitments required. A loaded sample then shows whether the contents move and whether the box carries unnecessary empty volume.