Help Me Find: Packaging box that I can run through printer

[gfron1]

What I really want is a Chinese take out box that hasn't been folded that I can run through my laser printer as card stock. I suppose any box or cube would work. Has anyone seen such a thing that is a square or rectangular shape that a printer would accept?

[pastrygirl]

How big and heavy can your printer handle?  You can find templates then cut them yourself but that would be a pain. The finished box would have to be awfully small to fit on letter sized paper ... 

 

You can get small numbers of custom printed things from sites like zazzle but they’re $2 each.  Maybe look at Paper Source, they’re very DIY. 

 

Edited November 21, 2018 by pastrygirl (log)

[quiet1]

The local pharmacies seem to be carrying something in the card/gift wrap section that’s basically perforated flat boxes that you print yourself then punch out and assemble. I can’t remember the brand though. We have a cutter at home (a Silhouette) so we haven’t purchased any to try because we can just print then cut/score ourselves.

[Lisa Shock]

Cardboard, even lightweight stuff can be really damaging to a printer if the machine isn't made to handle it. The leading edge can just randomly cut into things on its journey through the machine. Then there's the issue of the liner, carryout boxes have a plastic film or wax coating applied after they are printed to prevent getting soggy.

[Martin Fisher]

I can't imagine there being something readily available that would be heavy enough, large enough, and food-safe—yet printable with a standard printer for use as a 'Chinese' takeout box.

I think that it would have to be at least A3 size for any sort of a usable box—that's 11.7 x 16.5 inches (297 x 420 mm.)

What you need is a simple screen printing set-up to print on pre-made boxes.

A set-up for box printing should be very inexpensive, especially if you're only printing in one color.

Multi-colors would complicate things, but, it is, of course, very doable. 

 

Edited November 21, 2018 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[Martin Fisher]

Obviously not a 'Chinese' takeout box, but the process is very simple.

 

Edited November 21, 2018 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[Martin Fisher]

FWIW,

I haven't had my screen printing outfit up and running in a long time, but when I did I ordered a lot of supplies and such—via mail order—from Dick Blick when they had sales.

Looks like they have a store-front in St. Louis.

6300 Delmar Blvd.
St Louis, MO 63130

https://www.dickblick.com/categories/screenprinting/

 

Edited November 21, 2018 by DiggingDogFarm (log)

[quiet1]

3 hours ago, DiggingDogFarm said:

I can't imagine there being something readily available that would be heavy enough, large enough, and food-safe—yet printable with a standard printer for use as a 'Chinese' takeout box.

I think that it would have to be at least A3 size for any sort of a usable box—that's 11.7 x 16.5 inches (297 x 420 mm.)

What you need is a simple screen printing set-up to print on pre-made boxes.

A set-up for box printing should be very inexpensive, especially if you're only printing in one color.

Multi-colors would complicate things, but, it is, of course, very doable. 

 

 

 

‘The stuff I saw in the store made boxes maximum roughly 2x2x2 inches, on letter sized paper. They were quite small.

 

Labels seem like they’d be a safer route, but of course they don’t look as nice often.

[dcarch]

Just use adhesive backed paper. Any printer can be used. 

 

dcarch

[gfron1]

5 hours ago, quiet1 said:

The local pharmacies seem to be carrying something in the card/gift wrap section that’s basically perforated flat boxes that you print yourself then punch out and assemble. I can’t remember the brand though. We have a cutter at home (a Silhouette) so we haven’t purchased any to try because we can just print then cut/score ourselves.

That's the kind of thing I'm looking for. I don't need very big...I'll check my drugstore but if you happen to see one in yours I'd appreciate a pic or a brand name.

[gfron1]

Hmm. Well I don't like those answers very much

 

I need larger quantities and the ability to print on the fly. Food safety is not an issue for this application. Size is fine if they come in around 2" cube. And to Lisa's concern about damaging the printer, yes, it needs to be no thicker than card stock so my color laser can handle it. I'll check out quiet's lead. I'll also check with my local paper packaging distributor.

[pastrygirl]

6 hours ago, quiet1 said:

 We have a cutter at home (a Silhouette) so we haven’t purchased any to try because we can just print then cut/score ourselves.

 

Can the silhouette cut more than one at a time?  I had borrowed my sil’s but finally gave it back after never trying it out.

 

Another idea is I’d found a company that makes custom die cutters. This was last year and I don’t remember the name, but iirc there was a set of rollers and you fed your paper through and it cut. Not sure if it could mark the creases where you need to fold the box or not. I have the number $700 in my head for that. 

 

And re: Paper Source, even if they don’t have the pre-scored box, they do have a vast selection of colors in card stock and a wholesale division called Waste Not Paper. I’m using their luxe cream 4 bar envelopes to package my chocolate bars. 

 

 

[lemniscate]

Maybe the most non-technical solution?  An inked custom stamp?

[MelissaH]

28 minutes ago, lemniscate said:

Maybe the most non-technical solution?  An inked custom stamp?

If the ink will print on the coating that most take-out boxes have, and if the same thing needs to get printed on all the boxes....

[pastrygirl]

Inked custom stamps are inexpensive, I get mine through Impress, local to me but online everywhere.  I get printable labels in all sizes from Online Labels.

 

But check these out, they might even have an existing box die that would work for you:  https://accucut.com/collections/bag-box-dies?page=1

[lemniscate]

I had no idea until just now that the official name for the "Chinese Take-Out Box" is an Oyster Pail.  Learn something new everyday.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_pail

[RobertM]

Rob - call A Specialty Box Company, https://www.aspecialtybox.com/

They sell flat, foldable boxes, but, I'm unsure if they could be put through a printer (see above discussion)

[Lisa Shock]

I worked at a place where the owner used plain brown sacks as carryout bags. The logo was applied with a rubber stamp, the servers stamped bags in their free time. As lemniscate points out, a custom stamp is a bit of an investment, but it will produce thousands of impressions. Maybe you could get several and use them in combinations along with hand-written sections to achieve the custom images you want.

[Chris Hennes]

@gfron1 are you trying to do one-off custom boxes? So no exact duplicates? Or are you just doing small runs of identical boxes?

[gfron1]

7 hours ago, RobertM said:

Rob - call A Specialty Box Company, https://www.aspecialtybox.com/

They sell flat, foldable boxes, but, I'm unsure if they could be put through a printer (see above discussion)

Great lead. They're sending me samples that they think will work.

3 hours ago, Chris Hennes said:

@gfron1 are you trying to do one-off custom boxes? So no exact duplicates? Or are you just doing small runs of identical boxes?

I want to print my nightly menu, so, small runs changing about nightly.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Menu on a box?

 

[gfron1]

12 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Menu on a box?

"On?" In. When have you ever known me to not do goofy stuff like that

[Jim D.]

1 hour ago, gfron1 said:

"On?" In. When have you ever known me to not do goofy stuff like that

 

And all this time I thought your cooking was decidedly "outside the box."  😜

[Lisa Shock]

Why don't you print small menus, fold them into a thin rectangle and then place them inside a fortune cookie?

[JoNorvelleWalker]

How is someone like me going to read this small menu?