Custom Lid & Base (Two-Piece) Rigid Boxes
The classic two-piece box our Hongming lines are built around — and the structure where the quality of a factory shows up fastest.
- Two-Piece
- Controlled Fit
- Hand Wrapped
- Foil & Emboss
- Fitted Inserts
Overview
A lid and base box is two separate trays, the lid dropping over the base. There is no hinge, no magnet and nowhere to hide — which is exactly why it is the structure that reveals whether a factory can actually make rigid boxes.
The whole product is the fit. Too tight and the lid sticks or tears the wrap on opening; too loose and it drops off the base and reads as cheap. A correct fit lifts slowly, with air escaping around the sides, and that slow lift is the effect the format is bought for. It is a function of board thickness, wrap tension and forming tolerance rather than anything that can be specified in a document.
This is the box our two Hongming 6418K lines are built around, and it remains the most economical rigid structure per unit — no hardware, no hinge, and it stacks efficiently for export.
Variants
Full Telescoping Lid
The lid covers the full height of the base. Maximum protection and the most substantial appearance.
Partial Lid
A shallower lid showing part of the base, so two materials or colours can meet in a deliberate line.
Shoulder-Neck Construction
An inner neck lifts the base above the lid line so the lid seats on a defined shoulder — a more engineered look.
Window Lid
A die-cut aperture in the lid, open or patched with clear film, revealing the product or a printed layer.
Two-Piece with Fitted Tray
A cut insert holding the product central so it presents square the moment the lid is lifted.
Selected work
Board & material options
Greyboard
The dense structural core of a rigid box.
Not printed — it is wrapped. Thickness is specified against the weight the box carries and the opening feel you want.
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.
Textured & Felt-Marked
Embossed linen, laid and felt surfaces.
Carries a tactile identity with no extra finishing pass. Print sits softer on texture — fine detail and photographic images lose bite, so it suits type and blind emboss better than imagery.
Leather Grain
An embossed hide pattern on paper.
Used on rigid box wraps where the brief asks for leather without the cost, the weight, or the sourcing questions.
Finishing options
Hot Foil Stamping
Metallic foil applied by heated die, registered to the print.
Gold, silver, copper and coloured foils. Applied flat before any wrapping or forming, so registration is controlled on a sheet rather than on a curve.
Embossing
Raised relief pressed into the surface from behind.
Can be registered over foil for a sculpted metallic mark. Sequence matters: emboss after foil is standard, and reversing it damages the foil surface.
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.
Soft-Touch Lamination
A velvet matte film laminated to the printed surface.
Changes how the pack feels more than how it looks, and hides fingerprints on dark artwork. The most requested finish on premium spirits and skincare.
What you can customise
- Internal dimensions built around your product
- Board thickness against weight and opening feel
- Wrap material, print and finishing combination
- Insert material, cavity layout and lining colour
- Ribbon, closure and hardware detail
- Export carton count and pallet configuration
Specifications
| Minimum order quantity | Typically 500–1,000 units for premium gift boxes with complex finishing |
|---|---|
| Production lead time | 15–20 working days after artwork approval; complex gift boxes 25–30 working days |
| Printing | Koenig & Bauer Rapida 106 eight-colour offset — CMYK and Pantone spot colours |
| Box forming | Two Hongming 6418K automated box lines, with hand wrapping and assembly for detail work |
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
Festival & Mooncake Sets
Divided trays for portions, produced annually against fixed festival dates.
Spirits & Wine
Single and multi-bottle presentation boxes with fitted cradles.
Apparel & Accessories
Shallow two-piece boxes with tissue, the retail standard for garments and scarves.
Beauty Sets
Coffrets where the slow lid lift is part of the product experience.
Why Yuan Packaging
- Two Hongming 6418K automated box lines plus hand finishing on every structure
- Presentation-quality structural sample in 5–7 working days, credited against your first order
- Printing, foil, embossing and lamination applied in-house before wrapping
- Rigid boxes produced for Chinese spirits houses including Guoyuan and Yanghe distilleries
Frequently asked questions
Why does the lid fit matter so much?
Because it is the only interaction the format has. A correct fit lifts slowly as air escapes around the sides; a loose one drops off and reads cheap, a tight one tears the wrap. It comes from board thickness, wrap tension and forming tolerance, which is why we sample rather than specify it on paper.
Is a two-piece box cheaper than magnetic?
Usually yes — there is no hardware and no hinge, and it stacks efficiently for freight. If budget is the constraint but the pack still has to feel substantial, this is the structure to start from.
Can it ship flat?
Not in the usual construction — a two-piece box is formed and wrapped before it leaves us. Where freight volume is the binding constraint, a collapsible magnetic box is normally the better answer.