Keyboard Packaging Boxes.

A keyboard puts its weight along a long, narrow span, so when the box lands on an end the base bows and the corners take the whole impact. The usual result is a cracked corner or a bent edge on the board inside.

We fix it in two places. A full-length base support stops the carton flexing across its length, and end cap inserts in moulded pulp or die-cut board absorb the knock at each end, where drops actually land.

The cradle holds the keyboard by its base and frame and leaves clear air above the keys, so nothing presses on the keycaps or switches. Foam and moulded pulp both work for this.

We never rest a lid, a manual or an accessory tray on top of the keys. Cables and a keypuller get their own bays beside the board instead, which stops them sliding across it when the parcel gets thrown about.

E-flute suits most keyboards, since it prints cleanly and still has shipper-grade strength for a long, fairly light product. Heavier mechanical boards with metal plates or aluminium cases move up to B-flute, which is thicker and gives more rigidity and cushioning.

Either way the box is built to travel as its own parcel. We don't quote folding carton board for keyboards sold online, because it lacks the stiffness for that span.

For shelf-facing boxes we'd go with litho-lamination, a full-colour printed sheet mounted onto corrugated, which gives retail print quality on a box strong enough to ship. Plain full CMYK covers most consumer ranges, and kraft with flexo keeps trade and bulk supply economical.

Enthusiast boards often get matte lamination. Inside print on the long lid is under-used, and it's the first thing seen on a product that tends to get photographed as it's unboxed.

A full-size board typically packs into a box around 18 by 6 by 2 inches, and a tenkeyless into roughly 14 by 5.5 by 1.75 inches. Those are inside dimensions, measured length by width by depth.

We work from your keyboard's actual footprint plus the end caps and cradle, so a 75% or 65% layout gets its own size and doesn't rattle around in a TKL box. Send the product dimensions and weight and we'll draw the dieline.

We start keyboard boxes at 500 units. Past 1,000 the pricing moves onto a lower tier, and the ceiling for one run sits at 100,000.

If you're launching more than one layout, tell us the split between full-size, TKL and compact boards, and we'll quote each box size on its own line so you can see where the tiers fall.

Once the sample is approved, bulk production runs 7 to 10 business days, or 5 to 7 on a rush. The sample itself is ready in 5 to 7 business days.

Put a keyboard in it and drop it on each end before you sign off, since the end caps are what you're really testing. The sample fee comes off the production invoice when you place the order.

Yes, the shipper-rated corrugated and full-length base support that protect the board in the post also let the boxes stack flat on a shelf or pallet. A long, flat format stacks well as long as the base doesn't sag.

On the front, a key layout diagram and the language variant printed clearly help buyers pick the right board from a stack, because ANSI and ISO layouts look alike at a glance.