Black Rigid Boxes.

It is greyboard dyed black all the way through its thickness, so a cut edge or a worn corner is black as well. Standard rigid board is grey in the middle, and under black wrap paper the grey shows as a pale line wherever the wrap is trimmed or scuffed. On a black box that line is very obvious.

If black is part of your brand identity, write "black-core" into the specification so it isn't swapped for standard board.

Black-lined board is a sound middle option, with black faces on both sides and a grey centre. The surfaces stay dark, but a cut edge still shows a thin grey stripe. On a box where the edges are covered by turned-in wrap, it is often fine.

A third route is edge painting standard board by hand. It works, but it adds an operation to every box, which black-core board does away with.

Yes, plain matte black marks more easily than any other finish, especially on a retail counter where boxes get picked up all day. An anti-fingerprint matte laminate carries an additive that resists oily marks. Soft-touch black still marks, but most brands accept it because the hand is so good.

Gloss hides fingerprints better but shows scratches, so it suits boxes that go straight into a shipper.

Hot foil gives the strongest contrast, and gold, silver or copper all read sharper on black than on any lighter ground. Spot UV gloss on a matte black lid gives a tonal logo you see when the light catches it. A blind deboss has no ink at all and relies on shadow, which suits a quiet brand.

Process colour sinks into a black sheet, so on black stock we'd use a PMS spot colour or foil for anything that must read clearly.

The standard build is a telescoping two-piece, where the lid slides down over the base. The lid walls cover the base walls, which hides the base edges and gives a clean black block when closed. A thumb notch or ribbon pull makes a tight lid easier to open.

Inside, a fitted insert in black board or black flock keeps the colour consistent once the lid comes off, so there's no flash of grey or white at the reveal.

Our common black-core builds are 8 × 6 × 3 in and 10 × 8 × 4 in, and any size can be cut to order. We work in internal dimensions, length by width by depth, and size the box around the product in its insert. Wrap and lining take up a few millimetres on each wall, which is why the insert is drawn first.

Send the product or its dimensions and we'll draw the dieline free.

Yes, black rigid work starts at just 30 units. That makes a short run for a launch, a PR send or a limited edition practical without committing to thousands. Larger runs go up to 100,000 boxes.

A 30-box order still gets black-core board, a foil die if you want one and a fitted insert, so the small run matches what a later full run will look like.

Bulk takes 7 to 10 business days after artwork approval, or 5 to 7 business days if you book rush. A sample made to your spec comes back in 5 to 7 business days, and the fee for it is credited when the main order goes ahead. With black, the sample is where you check edge colour and fingerprint behaviour under your own lighting.

Delivery goes to any address in the USA.