Snap Lock Bottom Boxes.

The three base flaps interlock, and weight squeezes them tighter together. The floor supports itself once folded. Tuck bottoms work the other way round, and a heavy product slowly forces the flap out.

For most contents a snap lock performs close to a glued auto bottom. Very heavy loads left sitting for long periods are the exception, because the flaps can gradually work loose.

Volume and labour cost decide it. A snap lock carton costs less because there's no gluing step, but each one takes three folds to set up. An auto bottom costs a little more and erects in one motion.

As a rough guide, a business packing 50 boxes a day takes the snap lock, and one packing 5,000 a day takes the auto bottom. Between those two, work out what the bench time is costing you.

Nothing is glued in the base, so the blank folds completely flat. Only the side seam is glued. A pre-glued auto bottom carries extra layers of board folded into its base, and that adds bulk to every bundle.

Flatter bundles mean more cartons per shipping case and per pallet, which helps small operations with limited storage space.

The way to know is a filled drop test on a sample, and we'd run one before any order. Fill the box with the real product and drop it onto its base. If the lock stays engaged, the structure suits the load.

If it springs, we move toward 24pt SBS or a heavier board so the flaps can't pull free. For very heavy products an auto bottom is the safer call.

Every standard carton finish is available. That covers CMYK and Pantone print, hot foil, embossing or debossing, spot UV, and matte, gloss or soft-touch lamination. Board options run from 18 to 24pt SBS through folding boxboard, kraft and recycled grades.

Plan the artwork with the base in mind. The three flaps meet in the middle of the bottom panel, so a barcode or small text belongs on a side.

We start from the inside measurements of the product and build the die to fit. There's no fixed size list for this style. Length and width set the footprint that the three flaps lock across, and depth is the height of the carton walls.

Send us the product, or its exact dimensions and filled weight, and we'll return a flat sample for you to test.

The smallest run is 500 cartons. Snap lock suits lower volumes where assembly is by hand anyway, so most customers start near that number, and the same die handles reorders up to 100,000.

Tell us your daily packing count as well. It helps us say whether this style or an auto bottom will cost you less once labour is counted.

Your cartons come off the line 7 to 10 business days after you approve the proof. If you need them sooner, rush production is 5 to 7 business days. Samples are 5 to 7 business days as well.

Use the sample to time a few assemblies at your own bench. The sample cost is credited when the production order goes ahead.