Box styles4 min readUpdated Nov 13, 2026

Structural features

Beyond its panels and flaps, a box can carry small parts that each do one job: a strip that glues it, a fold that doubles a wall, a tab that hangs it, a hole that carries it, a line that tears it open. Here is what each one does and how it looks on your dieline.

Glue flap

Most glued cartons have one narrow glue flap at the end of the row of panels. The box maker glues it to the last panel, and the sheet becomes a tube. On our tuck box it is up to 15 mm wide, with its ends cut at an angle so they clear the folds next to them.

Some boxes skip the glue. On the snap lock bottomSnap lock bottom A bottom of four flaps that lock into each other by hand, with no glue: fold one, two, three. Also called a 1-2-3 bottom. box, Glue-free side puts two tabs on the last panel that push through slots on the glue flap's fold and hold the seam. The pillow box does the same with its Tabs closure.

Double walls and double creases

Some walls fold back on themselves into two layers, like the side walls of the mailer box. A fold that turns all the way over needs room for the board, so it gets two creases side by sideDouble crease Two creases side by side, twice the board thickness apart, where a wall folds right back on itself. Under 0.6 mm one crease is enough., twice the board thicknessBoard thickness How thick the board is, in mm, also called caliper. Type it into a box's dieline and the details around the folds follow it. apart. When you see two green lines close together on your dieline, that is what they are. On board under 0.6 mm one crease is enough, and you see a single line.

Hang tabs

A hang tab lets a box hang from a shop peg. On the tuck box with hang tab the tab rises from the back panel and folds in two, and a short tongue at its end tucks down inside the box. Each layer has its own hole, and the two line up once folded. Pick a Euro slot or a round hole. The snap lock bottom box (Hang tab top) and the pillow box with hang tab carry one too. The hang tab box sizes guide has sizes to start from.

Handles and finger holes

• Hand hole. The gable box carries two handle panels that meet back to back, each with a hole for the hand. The snap lock bottom box has the same top as its Handle option.
• Handles on the roof. The carry handle box has a half-round handle on each roof half, held together by two straps.
• Thumb notch. A small half-round cut at an edge, so a finger can get in to open the box. The tab lock mailer box has them on its lids, and the pillow box offers one as the Thumb notch option.

Tear strips and perforations

A perforationPerforation A line of short cuts with small uncut bits between them, so the board tears along it. We draw it as real red cuts. is a line of short cuts with small uncut bits between them, so the board tears along it when you pull. On our dielines each one is drawn as real cuts, 2 mm cut and 2 mm uncut, in red dashes. You find them in the snap lock bottom box's Tear strip (tear the band off and the box opens into a display tray), the ridge flap of the roof box and the tear-out oval of the tissue box.

Keep those dashes as they are. If you redraw a tear line, draw separate short lines: a cutter follows the drawn shape and ignores the line style, so a solid line made to look dashed is cut straight through.

Windows and small holes

A window shows the product through the box. Our cake box and wine carriers draw one as part of the red cut line; Laser engraving and windows explains how they are made. Smaller holes have smaller jobs: the snap lock bottom box's Ribbon holes are two small holes near the top, front and back, to tie a ribbon over the lid.

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