Box styles2 min readUpdated Nov 13, 2026

Void fill

Void fill is the paper, air or foam you pack round a product so it stays put on the way and doesn't knock against the walls. A box with less empty space needs less of it.

Start with a box that fits

A stock box comes in a handful of sizes, and your product rarely matches one, so the gap gets filled. On this site you type the size you need and the dieline is drawn at that size.

Measure your product and type its size as our sizing help explains: creaseCrease A fold line pressed into board so it bends cleanly, also called a score. Dashed green on our dielines. to crease, with 1–2 mm of room. If you wrap the product or add an insertInsert A piece inside a box that holds the product still: foam, card, corrugated or moulded pulp, shaped to fit., add that thickness on every side as well.

A box that fits takes less board and less fill. It works the same for a shipping box and a mailer box.

Kinds of void fill

• Paper. Crumpled kraft paperKraft paper Strong paper from long wood fibres. Brown when unbleached, white when bleached; the paper of shopping bags and sacks. or newsprint, or paper that is folded into pads or opens into a honeycomb. It fills gaps and can wrap the product too.
• Air pillowsAir pillows Small film bags filled with air, packed round a product to fill the gaps in a box. They weigh almost nothing.. Small film bags filled with air, by a machine or by hand. They weigh almost nothing and take little room before they are filled.
• Bubble wrapBubble wrap Film with small air cells, wrapped round a product to cushion it rather than poured round it like loose fill.. Film with small air cells, wrapped round the product itself rather than poured round it.
• Loose fill. Small pieces poured round the product, often called packing peanutsPacking peanuts Loose fill: small pieces of foam polystyrene or starch poured round a product. The starch kind dissolves in water.. They are made of foam polystyrene or of starch; the starch kind dissolves in water, so keep it dry.
• Inserts. For an odd shape or a set of items, an insert cut to the product holds it better than loose fill. See Inserts.

Packing a box

• Put a layer of fill on the floor first, set the product in the middle, then fill the sides and the top, so the product doesn't touch any wall.
• Fill right up to the top, so the closed lid presses gently on the fill.
• Wrap fragile items one by one, and keep them from touching each other.
• With bubble wrap, most packing guides put the bubbles toward the product and the flat side out. On a delicate finish, wrap the product in paper first, since the bubbles can leave marks.
• Close the box and shake it gently. If you feel the product move, add fill.

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