Octagon Boxes.

An octagon reads as round from across a shop, but it gives you eight flat panels that take print and a base that won't roll. Cylinders need wrap labels, and every graphic on them curves away from the viewer. The 135 degree corners also remove the sharp right-angle corner that dents first on a square box.

It sits between square and round on cost as well as looks, which is why the octagonal hat box has lasted as a format.

A corner-cut carton trims the four corners of a square footprint back at an angle to give eight walls. It runs from a single SBS or kraft blank on a standard cutting die and ships flat, which makes it the practical volume version of the octagon. The angled corners survive handling better than square ones.

Gentle 135 degree folds don't lock as firmly as square ones, which leaves the base doing most of the stiffening. For weighty contents we would specify a rigid drum.

Yes, our hat-box scale drums are rigid eight-wall builds with a deep lift-off lid. The chipboard walls are wrapped in printed or specialty paper, and the lid drops over all eight edges. That fit leaves little room for error, so we cut the die tight and check it on the sample.

Drums of this size are used for flowers, keepsakes and seasonal gift sets as well as millinery. A ribbon tie or bow can be added to the lid.

All-over pattern repeats suit the shape best, because each facet catches light at a slightly different angle and the pattern seems to move as the box turns. A single large image across one face gets cut up by the folds, so we keep logos within one panel.

Print is CMYK or Pantone, with foil, embossing, spot UV or soft-touch available on top. Window patches and holographic film aren't part of the octagon range.

We measure it across flats, from one wall to the wall directly opposite, and then give the depth. A standard size is 8 inches across flats by 3 inches deep, and hat-box drums run much taller. Round items fit an octagon neatly with a collar insert, while rectangular ones waste space against the angled walls.

Give us the widest measurement of what goes inside and we'll size the box and the insert together.

Our minimum for octagon boxes is 500 units. It is the same starting point for corner-cut folding cartons and rigid drums, and the unit cost falls as the quantity rises. If you want two sizes, each is quoted separately.

You get free help with the dieline and artwork layout, which matters with eight narrow panels to plan, and delivery covers the whole of the USA.

Plan on 7 to 10 business days once the proof is signed off. If the date is tight, rush production comes in at 5 to 7 business days. A pre-production sample takes 5 to 7 business days as well, and we would always sample a new rigid drum so you can see how the lid settles over eight edges.

Its cost is then credited against your production run.

Their corners do, because a 135 degree corner has no sharp point to take the knock. Square cartons usually dent first at a corner when a case is dropped, and the angled wall of an octagon takes that impact more evenly. The flat base also keeps it from rolling in a tote the way a cylinder can.

Mail orders still need an outer carton. SBS and kraft versions recycle with paper.