A pillow box dieline is a flat template with two identical panels, one glue flap and four curved end flaps that fold inward to close the pack. The box ships flat, pops open when the ends are pressed in, and needs no tape or inserts. This page shows the layout, the stock sizes we draw most often, and how to set artwork on it.
Send your inside dimensions and a specialist replies within one business day with a production-ready file: vector PDF that opens in Adobe Illustrator, plus SVG and DXF. Free design help, free samples and no minimum order.
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Stock sizes
| Inside size | Flat size, inches | Flat size, mm |
|---|---|---|
| 3 x 5 in | 6.50 x 6.32 | 165 x 161 |
| 4 x 7 in | 8.50 x 8.76 | 216 x 223 |
| 5 x 9 in | 10.50 x 11.20 | 267 x 284 |
| 6 x 11 in | 12.50 x 13.64 | 318 x 346 |
Pillow boxes are specified as width x length. Flat sizes are nominal, before the allowance for board thickness. The production file we send is adjusted for your board.
How to read the layout
| Line | Meaning | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|
| Solid magenta | Cut | The knife follows this line. Nothing outside it survives. |
| Dashed blue | Crease | The board folds here. Keep small text and fine lines off it. |
| Thin green | Bleed, 0.125 in outside the cut | Run backgrounds and images out to this line so no white edge shows after cutting. |
| Dotted gray | Safe zone, 0.125 in inside each panel | Keep logos, text and barcodes inside it. |
| Orange fill | Glue area | Leave it free of ink and coating so the glue bonds to bare board. |
Setting up artwork on the dieline
- Open the file in your design program and lock the dieline on its own layer.
- Build artwork on a separate layer underneath. Work in CMYK, with any spot colors named.
- Extend backgrounds to the bleed line and keep live text inside the safe zone.
- Check which way each panel reads once folded. Lids and bottom panels often need turning 180 degrees.
- Outline fonts, embed images at 300 dpi or better, and export a vector PDF with the dieline layer still in place.
The print-ready artwork guide covers each step in more detail, and what a dieline is explains the parts of the template.
How the pillow box goes together
The glue flap joins the two panels into a flat tube at the factory. Each end has a pair of lens-shaped flaps on curved creases. Press one flap in, then the other over it, and the panels bow outward into the pillow shape. The front flap carries a thumb notch so the pack opens without tearing.
The depth of the end curve sets how thick the filled box can be. A deeper curve gives a fatter pillow and a shorter usable length. If your product is rigid, tell us its thickness as well as its width and length so the curve is drawn to suit.
Board and print
Pillow boxes are cut from folding carton paperboard or kraft board. The curved creases need a board that folds cleanly without cracking, so very heavy board is a poor fit for small sizes. Both panels print in one pass, which makes an all-over pattern or a full-bleed color straightforward.
Boxes that use this structure
Back to all dieline templates.
Dieline questions
Can I resize the dieline myself?
It is better not to. Scaling a dieline also scales the glue flap, tuck depth and relief cuts, and those should stay fixed. Tell us the inside size you need and we redraw the template to it at no charge.
What bleed and safe zone should I use?
Use 0.125 inch of bleed past the cut line, and keep text and logos 0.125 inch inside the cut and away from every crease.
Which file formats do you send?
A vector PDF that opens in Adobe Illustrator, plus SVG and DXF. The DXF keeps cut and crease lines on separate layers for CAD tables and sample cutters.
How do I work out the size I need?
Measure the product, add clearance, and give us inside dimensions as length x width x depth. The box measuring guide shows where each dimension is taken.
Send your inside dimensions and a specialist replies within one business day with a production-ready file: vector PDF that opens in Adobe Illustrator, plus SVG and DXF. Free design help, free samples and no minimum order.
Request this dieline