Handle Gable Boxes

A handle gable box is a gable box with a die-cut carry handle in the peaked top, so the box locks in one motion and carries like a bag. It is cut from one flat blank, ships flat, squares up by hand, and the two gable ends fold in and lock the handle through a slot without tape or glue. We make them in kraft, white and full color, from a 4 inch favor size to a 12 inch gift and lunch size, with clear windows and printed handle panels, and with no minimum order. The number that sets the box is handle allowance: the handle needs about 1.5 inches of height above the contents to fold and lock, so a 4 inch tall item needs a box about 5.5 inches to the top of the handle.

The handle is the whole point. A cupcake pair, a lunch, a favor, a gift set or a sample kit leaves the counter in one hand without a bag, and the handle panel is the largest print area on the box, seen at eye height as it is carried.

Sizes

Board by what the handle carries

The handle carries the whole weight through the slot, so the board is chosen by weight rather than size. 16 to 18 point paperboard holds up to about 2 pounds without the slot tearing. E flute corrugated holds 2 to 5 pounds and takes a wet lunch or a heavy jar. Above that a handle box is the wrong structure; a tote or a shipping carton with hand holes does the job. Reinforced handle slots, a second layer of board glued at the handle, extend paperboard to about 3 pounds where the print quality of paperboard matters.

Kraft, white, windows

Kraft is the everyday choice and hides handling marks; it takes one or two color print cleanly. White board gives the cleanest full color print for branded retail. A die-cut window with clear film on the side panel shows bakery and gift contents; for a plastic free box the window is left open. For food, a grease resistant coating inside keeps the box clean and the handle dry.

Assembly

Push the flat blank open, fold the base flaps under, fold the two gable ends in, bring the handle panels together and push the tab through the slot. A few seconds per box, no tape. Filled paperboard gables stack two high; E flute gables stack three or four. For direct to customer shipping, a handle gable goes inside a plain corrugated outer; the handle is for carrying, not for a parcel network.

In short

What to send us: what goes inside and its height, the weight when full, whether it is food, and how many. What you get back: a size with the 1.5 inch handle allowance built in, the board for the carried weight, a window and coating recommendation, a dieline and a physical sample to load and carry. What it costs you to start: nothing. Free design, free dieline, free samples, no minimum order.

Handle gable box questions

No minimum order. One or a full run. Free design and dieline, and a printed proof before production. Free samples so you can load one and carry it before you commit. Price match: send a written quote for the same size, board, print and quantity and we will beat it.

Related: gable boxes, kraft paper gable boxes, window gable boxes and all gable boxes.