Key Takeaway
A mailer box does the outer shipper's job and the gift box's job at once: corrugated protection outside, printed brand moment inside. Teal Packaging is a US manufacturer producing E-flute mailers with full-color print inside and out, die-cut inserts and tear-strip options. Free dieline design comes with every order and volume pricing starts from about $0.44 per unit at scale. Production runs from about 7 business days after proof approval, plus delivery. Suits subscription, ecommerce and DTC brands where unboxing is marketing.
Questions or ready for a quote? Contact Teal Packaging at info@tealpackaging.com or (224) 546-8325.
A mailer box is a one piece die cut corrugated box, usually a roll end tuck top, that folds up without tape and opens like a lid. E flute at 32 ECT is the default wall because it holds print well at a 1/16 inch thickness. B flute doubles the wall to 1/8 inch when the contents are heavy. Custom mailers start at 50 units.
Size chart by contents
| Inside size | Typical contents | Flute |
|---|---|---|
| 6 x 4 x 2 in | Jewelry, a single skincare item, samples | E flute |
| 8 x 6 x 2 in | Folded tee, small book, flat goods | E flute |
| 9 x 6 x 4 in | Two bottles with a divider | E flute |
| 10 x 8 x 4 in | Mixed order, gift bundle | E flute or B flute |
| 12 x 9 x 4 in | Apparel set, subscription box | E flute |
| 14 x 10 x 6 in | Multiple heavy items | B flute |
Sizes are quoted inside. Add a quarter inch of clearance around the packed product if you use paper or tissue, and half an inch if you want the contents to sit in a visible nest of void fill. A mailer that fits with no gap looks tight in a photograph and crushes at the corners in a truck.
The carrier charges you for air
Domestic parcel carriers bill the greater of actual weight and dimensional weight. Dimensional weight is length times width times height divided by 139. A 12 x 9 x 4 inch mailer works out to 432 divided by 139, or about 3.1 billable pounds, even if the contents weigh a pound. Cutting that box down to 12 x 9 x 3 drops it to about 2.3. Across a season of orders, an inch of unnecessary depth is one of the most expensive design decisions available.
- Measure the packed order at rest, not compressed by hand.
- Choose depth in half inch steps. Most product sets fit a shallower box than the packer assumes.
- Where two SKUs are close in size, run one mailer for both and use an insert to take up the difference.
Black mailers, and why they cost what they cost
| Route to black | How it is made | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| Dyed black liner | Board manufactured with black liner and fluting | Scores and edges stay black, no white shows at folds |
| Flood printed black | Kraft board printed solid | Cheaper, but creases and scuffs show as brown or white |
| Black inside only | Printed interior, plain kraft outside | Strong opening moment at low cost |
| Black with white ink logo | Dyed board, white flexo | Needs two hits for opacity on dyed stock |
If the box is photographed by customers, pay for the dyed liner. If it is a shipper that gets opened once, flood print is the sensible economy. Matte black shows fingerprints in photographs more than most people expect, so test a sample under the lighting you shoot in.
Interior print is the cheap win
The outside of a shipper collects tape, labels, and scuffs from three handoffs. The inside arrives untouched. A flood color or a printed pattern on the inner face is one extra pass and it is the surface a customer actually sees at the moment of opening. Put a short message, a care instruction, or a discount code there instead of on a card that gets discarded with the packaging.
Print methods for corrugated
- Flexo prints directly on the board in one to three colors. Fast, low cost, coarse screen, ideal for logos and solid blocks.
- Digital prints full color with no plates and suits runs under about 500 or several artwork versions in one order.
- Litho lamination bonds an offset printed sheet to the corrugated for photographic quality, and it is the route for full color exterior artwork at volume.
Regulated categories
Mailers for hemp and CBD products follow the same structural rules as any other mailer, and the difference sits entirely in the printed copy. Keep claims off the outer box, keep the panel layout flexible so text can be revised without a new die, and print shorter runs digitally so a copy change does not strand a pallet of stock. Where a child resistant closure is part of the design, treat it as a structural feature of the inner packaging and describe it that way rather than as an approval of any kind.
Quantities, price, and dates
| Quantity | Print route | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 50 to 250 | Digital | Test the size before committing to a die |
| 500 to 1,000 | Digital or flexo | Interior flood color becomes affordable |
| 2,500 to 10,000 | Flexo or litho lamination | Full color exterior worth costing |
| 25,000 and up | Litho lamination | Freight and storage lead the total |
High count mailer programs run from about $0.44 per unit at volume, with the exact number set by flute, print route, and size. Eligible in house runs may be ready in about 7 business days after the proof is approved, and specialty imported work may take about 12 weeks. Both are planning ranges rather than firm dates. Teal is a US company operating from West Chicago, Illinois and Guangzhou, with each order routed to the facility that fits the spec.
To quote, send the packed dimensions, the weight, the flute you want, the print route, and the quantity. Dielines are free, a digital proof precedes production, and US shipping is included, with the $19.99 sample kit credited to your first order. Formats are listed on the mailer box range and the subscription box page.
Ben Russell
Ben is a Senior Packaging Strategist and writer at Teal Packaging, covering packaging materials, design strategy, and practical branding insights.
