Kraft Shipping Boxes
Kraft shipping boxes suit brands that want a parcel to look natural rather than glossy, and they're just as strong as white-lined board at the same flute. The unbleached brown liner prints best in one or two colors, which also keeps production cheaper than fighting the material with full coverage. Tell us your product's weight and we'll recommend the right flute profile.
Ours are on Trustpilot, where we can't edit them or choose which ones you see.
Read them on Trustpilot →(opens in a new tab)Four stages, twelve days
Quote confirmed
A specialist checks your spec against the board and comes back with a firm price inside 4 business hours.
Proof approved
You get a flat dieline and a 3D render. Nothing goes to press until you approve it in writing.
On press
Print, die-cut, glue, and fold. You get a press-side photo the day your job runs.
QC and delivery
Every pallet is sampled against the digital proof or physical sample you approved, then shipped with tracking to your dock or 3PL.
If a box doesn't match the digital proof or physical sample you approved, we reprint the run at no charge.
Read the reprint terms →Know exactly what you're ordering.
Kraft Shipping Boxes That Look Intentional, Not Like Stock Cartons
Nearly every warehouse ships in brown boxes, and that is the problem kraft shipping boxes have to solve. A brown carton with a supplier's code stamped on the flap looks like a delivery of printer paper. A brown box cut to the product, with a well-placed one-color logo and a printed message inside the lid, looks like a brand that chose brown on purpose. The difference is design, not material. This page is for sellers who want the natural, unbleached look and are willing to design for it. Orders start at 100 boxes, so you can try the look on a single product line before moving the rest of the range over.
Kraft Shipping Box Construction and Liner Specs
The outer face is brown kraft, an unbleached liner stock that takes flexo printing cleanly and adds tear resistance. Everything underneath is specified the same way as any other shipper.
| Part | Options |
|---|---|
| Outer liner | Brown kraft, unbleached |
| Inner liner | Kraft, or coated white if you plan to print inside |
| Flute | C-flute (about 4mm), B-flute (about 3.2mm) or BC double-wall |
| Rating | About 32 ECT single-wall, 44 ECT and up double-wall; Mullen 200# to 275# |
| Size | Cut to your dimensions, from small parcel cartons to 24-inch-plus |
C-flute single-wall covers most parcel work, so that is where we start unless the product's weight says otherwise.
The Case for Leaving the Liner Unbleached
Choose kraft when the look you want is natural and the artwork is simple. Brown hides the handling marks that show quickly on white, so a kraft box tends to arrive looking much as it left. It also suits products that are earthy or handmade, where a glossy white box would feel off-message. Many kraft shippers are made as self-locking tuck-front builds, which keeps strips of packing tape off the brown surface you've designed around. The trade-off is color. If your brand depends on an exact shade or on photography, kraft will fight you at every proof, and a coated white liner is the better spend.
Designing One- and Two-Color Print for Kraft Shippers
The strongest kraft designs use one or two colors and let the brown do the rest. Black, white and deep colors read clearly on brown, while pale tints and pastels tend to sink into it. White ink is worth considering as one of your two colors, because it reads as a highlight against the liner. Interior print works well on kraft too, especially a short message under the lid. Flexo keeps the per-unit cost low at volume. Hairlines and anything under 8pt fill in on the flute, so bold shapes win. What we wouldn't put on kraft is lamination, which a coated liner takes far better. Design help is free and unlimited, and we'll point out where to simplify artwork before it reaches the proof.
Kraft Shipping Boxes for Soap, Candles and Natural Goods
Kraft's look fits products sold on ingredients and craft. Handmade soap makers ship bars and gift sets in kraft because the brown matches the paper wraps and stamped labels already on the product. Candle sellers use it for the same reason, often with a printed interior and a fitted insert to hold glass jars still. Coffee roasters, tea blenders, plant nurseries and refill brands lean toward kraft when their packaging already uses brown paper elsewhere. It also works for workshops shipping tools or leather goods, where a plain, sturdy box suits the product better than a glossy one. Brands with bright, photographic artwork usually end up on a coated liner instead.
How a Kraft Shipping Box Order Runs
Start with the product dimensions and weight. We build the dieline from them and confirm in writing which measurements are internal and which are external, so a snug box doesn't arrive a few millimeters too tight. Artwork goes onto that dieline, and you approve a proof before anything is printed. Production then takes 8–12 business days. If a launch date is close, rush is available at extra cost, priced before you commit. Each box passes a three-stage check before it leaves, so a misprint or a bad fold is caught on our side rather than at your packing table. Shipping is included in the quote, with no separate charge for dies, plates or setup.
One connected process, start to finish.
Structural Design
Dieline drafted to your exact fit and freight tolerances.
Proof & Sample
Sign off on a digital proof, or request a physical sample.
Tooling
Dies and plates are cut for your job and archived on file.
Production
Print, die-cut, and assembly run under in-line quality checks.
Ship & Reorder
Freight goes out, and the cycle resets for your next run.
Steady process. Powerful results.
Like everything we build, our process is engineered to hold up — no shortcuts, no surprises. Five dependable stages that run the same way every single time, so reorders are just as fast as the first order.
- One dedicated teamFrom first sketch to final freight, the same people carry your order start to finish.
- Dies archived on fileReorders skip tooling and re-setup entirely — we already have your exact spec.
- Checked against your sign-offEvery run is inspected against the digital proof or physical sample you approved.
Set up your file once, correctly
Nine in ten delayed jobs are delayed by artwork, not production. Match these four rules and your proof lands the next morning.
- Bleed1/8 in (3 mm) past every cut line
- Safe ZoneKeep text 1/4 in clear of every crease
- ColourCMYK or named Pantone. No RGB.
- Resolution300 dpi at final size, fonts outlined
No print-ready file?
Send a logo and a rough idea. Our studio builds the production file free with any order over 500 units — you keep the source file either way.
Ask the StudioBackground art must run all the way to the outer bleed edge. Anything inside the white dashed line survives fold tolerance.
What brands say about this box
They live there rather than here, where we can't edit them, delete them, or pick which ones you get to see. That is exactly what makes them worth reading.
Read all reviews on Trustpilot(opens in a new tab)Answers before you have to ask.
Are kraft shipping boxes strong enough for transit?
Yes. Kraft is the liner, not the structure — underneath it is the same fluted board doing the work. The strength comes from the flute and the wall count, so a kraft shipping box is exactly as strong as its white-lined equivalent at the same spec.
Are kraft shipping boxes recyclable?
Yes. Kraft is unbleached pulp and recycles easily, and corrugated as a material has one of the higher recycling rates in packaging. If a retailer or marketplace has a specific screen you need to pass, tell us and we'll spec accordingly.
Can kraft shipping boxes print in full color?
It can, but you should know what happens first. Unbleached stock absorbs ink, so colors dry duller, warmer and darker than your proof. Most brands either design around that with one or two colors, or add a white underprint to restore accuracy.
How soon can I get kraft shipping boxes?
Usually 8–12 business days after you sign off the proof. There's a rush lane when a deadline is tight, priced upfront. Shipping comes included, along with unlimited free design help.
Will kraft look the same across every reorder?
Closely, though kraft is a natural material and slight tone variation between batches is normal for unbleached stock. We hold your spec on file so reorders match as nearly as the material allows, and every run passes a three-stage check before dispatch.