Candle Tray and Sleeve Box.

A printed sleeve slides over an open tray, and the tray holds the candle. The customer pushes the tray out like a matchbox and sees the vessel sitting in its well. The sleeve carries all the branding as a full wrap with no closure flaps, while the tray does the structural work.

You get a two-part reveal that reads close to rigid packaging, built on folding-carton board and at folding-carton cost.

The tray is 18 to 24pt board built to the same rules as a jar carton, and the sleeve is 18pt stock with its grain running around the girth. Running the grain that way lets the sleeve wrap tightly without cracking at the folds. A heavy jar takes the upper end of the tray range.

Kraft and a spread of coloured stocks are available for both parts. Being all paperboard, the pack recycles as one material, and a compostable option is offered too.

Not if the friction fit is right, and tuning that fit is most of the work on this format. A loose sleeve slips off in a courier bag, and a tight one creases as the box is slid open. We check samples with the filled candle in place, since the weight of the glass changes how the tray slides.

Thumb notches cut into the tray end give the customer something to grip without pulling on the sleeve edge.

Yes, the tray can be cut with separate wells, one per vessel, so three candles sit side by side without touching. Collar seats in each well close the gap around tapered jars and keep them upright. The trio has become the discovery-set format for a lot of fragrance-led candle brands.

Many lay the three scents out left to right, morning to night, and print the name of each one on the tray floor beneath its well.

That's the main reason brands choose this format, since one tray die can carry a whole wardrobe of sleeves. Seasonal editions, new scents and gift versions become a sleeve reprint on 18pt stock while the tray stays the same. CMYK print, foil scent names and embossing on the sleeve cover most ranges.

A window cut in the sleeve gives a glimpse of the label before the tray comes out, and the tray floor can be printed as well.

We size the tray well from the filled vessel with its lid on, then size the sleeve from the tray's outside dimensions. A single typically comes out at 4 by 4 by 4.5 inches and a trio at around 10 by 4 by 4.5 inches. The sleeve needs only a slight allowance over the tray, which is why both parts are cut together.

Send one filled candle for each vessel size in the range and we'll draw both dielines from those.

Tray and sleeve boxes start at 500 pieces. Because the tray is plain or lightly printed, many brands order a longer run of trays and split the sleeves across several designs, each at 500 of its own. Either part can run up to 100,000.

Splitting it that way keeps a new scent launch down to a sleeve order, with the trays already sitting in your stockroom.

Standard turnaround is 7 to 10 business days after proof approval, with rush orders done in 5 to 7 business days. On this format the sample is where the slide gets set, so we'd order one before bulk. It takes 5 to 7 business days to produce.

The sample charge is credited once you place the production order, and finished boxes ship nationwide.