Think matchbox, just a lot nicer. There’s a wrapped sleeve on the outside and a tray that slides out of it, both in thick chipboard, and you can pick the wrap paper and add a pull tab plus an insert cut for your product. Jewelry and watches mostly, but we see chocolates in them a lot too.
Your time is very important to us so we have kept it short.
There’s a little moment when a drawer box opens. Thumb on the tray, a little push, and it sort of eases out against the sleeve while the product comes into view an inch at a time. That’s really what rigid drawer boxes are for. Matchbox style, basically, a stiff sleeve and a tray inside it, both thick chipboard with printed or fancy paper wrapped over the top.
We make the most for jewelry and watch people, then candle makers and chocolatiers, a few skincare lines, and every fall a pile of corporate gift orders. Why switch? Honestly, a folding carton feels a bit throwaway, and if what’s inside cost real money the box should feel like it did too.
Chipboard, mostly somewhere around 1.5 to 2.5 mm depending how big the box is. It won’t fold. So these come to you already built, not flat, and each piece gets wrapped (by hand or on a machine) in printed paper or a colored specialty stock, or one of the textured ones that feels like linen or leather.
Getting the slide right is the fiddly part. If the tray’s tight it sticks, or it scrapes the wrap every time you open it, and if it’s loose the tray just drops out on the floor when someone grabs the box by one end, so we leave a small gap and test it on the physical sample (ask for one before the bulk run, we’d recommend it).
Your customer needs something to grab. The old favorite is a ribbon glued to the end of the tray, and it gives you a pop of color too. Cheaper and a bit cleaner? A half-moon thumb cut in the sleeve. We’ve also done little leather-look tabs with the logo pressed into them.
Small tip. If your box opens from both ends, put the ribbon on one end only. Otherwise people pull the wrong side and the product ends up upside down in their hand.
Then the insert, which keeps things from sliding around in the tray. For a watch or a bottle we’d cut a cavity in foam, jewelry cards and chocolates sit fine in paperboard, and a candle jar wants a raised platform so it doesn’t roll. Sizing rings or necklaces? The jewelry box dimensions guide has the usual numbers.
Outside, gold or silver foil looks lovely on a rigid wrap, and so does embossing or soft-touch. And print the inside of the tray. A thank-you line, a pattern, whatever, people smile at that. If you prefer a lid that lifts off rather than slides, compare these with two piece rigid boxes, or see the full rigid boxes range.
You don’t need to order a ton, often around 50 boxes depending on the style, and each box costs less the more you get. Design help is free. We build the dieline, put your artwork on the wrap and look over the files for print problems, then you get a digital proof.
Standard production runs 10 to 12 business days after you approve that proof, with rush options available on request. Ground shipping is free across the USA. If you want something similar with a hinged magnetic lid, look through our luxury and rigid packaging boxes, or get in touch for pricing.
No, rigid chipboard doesn’t fold, so they arrive fully built. If storage space is tight, ask about collapsible rigid styles instead.
It’s sturdy, but the wrap paper can scuff in a courier bag. We recommend putting it inside a plain mailer or shipping box for delivery.
Usually a cushion or pillow insert that the strap wraps around, set into a foam or board base so it can’t slide when the tray opens.
Brands ordering these often look at custom magnetic closure boxes, two piece rigid boxes, collapsible magnetic front flap closure boxes and custom rigid boxes as well. You can see the full range in luxury & rigid packaging boxes, and our guide to how to choose rigid boxes helps with sizing.
