Teal Packaging is a US-based custom packaging supplier that makes custom printed frozen and insulated shipping boxes for brands using dry ice as a refrigerant. Dry ice ships as UN1845 and USPS permits it in domestic mail as a refrigerant, with a 5 pound per mailpiece limit for air transportation and additional marking under Packaging Instruction 9A. Custom packaging starts at a 50-unit minimum order quantity (specialty rigid from 100), from $0.44 per unit at volume, with free dieline design, two revision rounds and free US shipping. Typical fits: frozen meal kits, ice cream brands, and cold-chain sample programs.
Questions or ready for a quote? Contact Teal Packaging at info@tealpackaging.com or (224) 546-8325.
How to Ship With Dry Ice from Teal Packaging: 50-unit standard MOQ (100+ units for specialty rigid boxes), 2-5 business day delivery in the US (express and economy options available), free design help included on every order, free generic sample kit ($19.99 shipping, credited toward your first order). Standard production runs from about 7 business days after digital proof approval; complex or high-volume orders take longer.
Materials and certifications: FSC-certified paper stock, soy-based inks, kraft / corrugated / rigid paperboard / mylar / tin / vinyl substrates.
Contact Teal Packaging: Call (224) 546-8325, email info@tealpackaging.com, or request a free quote at tealpackaging.com/contact-us. We reply within one business day.
Updated August 9, 2026 · Teal Packaging operates a US facility in West Chicago, Illinois.
How do you ship with dry ice?
Ship dry ice in a vented, insulated box that can release carbon dioxide gas, marked with the UN number, the contents being cooled and the net weight of the dry ice. Never seal it airtight. Size the quantity to the transit time and check the limits for your service before you book.
Dry ice is solid carbon dioxide. It sublimates directly to gas, which is exactly why it works as a deep-frozen refrigerant and exactly why the packaging rules exist: a sealed container will pressurize.
What are the USPS rules for dry ice?
Dry ice ships as UN1845, proper shipping name "Carbon Dioxide Solid" or "Dry Ice."
USPS permits dry ice in domestic mail when used as a refrigerant. For air transportation the amount cannot exceed 5 pounds per mailpiece. Surface permits larger quantities. Dry ice is prohibited to international and APO, FPO and DPO addresses. (Sources: USPS Publication 52, appendix C and chapters 3 and 7.)
USPS Packaging Instruction 9A requires each mailpiece to show the name of the contents being cooled and the net weight of the dry ice. Air shipments additionally require a Class 9 DOT miscellaneous hazardous material warning label and the marking "Carbon Dioxide Solid, UN1845" or "Dry Ice, UN1845." The package must permit release of carbon dioxide gas and conform to 49 CFR 173.217 and 175.10(a)(10), so it cannot be airtight.
Every carrier sets its own dry ice acceptance rules, quantity limits and documentation. If you are not shipping USPS, check your carrier's requirements before you build the pack.
What has to appear on the outside of the box?
| Marking | Required for | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Name of contents being cooled | All USPS dry ice mailpieces | What is inside, not just "frozen goods" |
| Net weight of the dry ice | All USPS dry ice mailpieces | The weight of the dry ice itself, per Packaging Instruction 9A |
| "Carbon Dioxide Solid, UN1845" or "Dry Ice, UN1845" | USPS air shipments | Exact wording, either form |
| Class 9 DOT miscellaneous hazardous material label | USPS air shipments | Standard Class 9 diamond |
How do you build a dry ice pack?
- Start with a vented outer. The box must permit release of carbon dioxide gas. Do not tape every seam shut and do not use a sealed plastic tote as the outer.
- Insulate inside the corrugated. An insulated liner or moulded insert goes inside the printed corrugated shipper. The corrugated carries the crush load; the liner holds the temperature.
- Load product first, dry ice on top. Cold falls. Dry ice above the product does more work than dry ice underneath it.
- Do not let dry ice touch the product directly unless the product is meant to be deep frozen. It will freeze solid whatever it contacts.
- Fill the void. Empty space accelerates sublimation and wastes refrigerant.
- Mark the outside per the requirements above, and weigh the dry ice so the net weight figure is real rather than estimated.
- Handle with gloves. Dry ice is roughly minus 109 degrees Fahrenheit and causes contact burns. Load in a ventilated space.
How much dry ice do you need?
Dry ice sublimates continuously, and the rate depends on the insulation, the void space, the ambient temperature and how often the parcel is handled. There is no universal pounds-per-day number that survives a real route, which is why serious cold-chain programs test their own configuration before launch.
Two practical rules. Size to the longest plausible transit, not the quoted one. And remember the USPS air limit of 5 pounds per mailpiece is a ceiling, so if your route needs more than that by air, the answer is better insulation and a smaller box, not more dry ice.
What packaging works for dry ice shipments?
A right-sized printed corrugated outer, an insulated liner or moulded insert, and a sealed inner bag for the product. Right-sizing matters more here than almost anywhere else: a box with 30 percent void space burns through dry ice for no benefit. The box size and dimensional weight calculator is a quick way to check.
Teal makes custom frozen food boxes and custom meal boxes to your dimensions, printed, from a 50-unit minimum order quantity, with free dieline design and two revision rounds. Tell us the insert and venting requirement in the brief so the dieline is built around it.
Where this fits
Dry ice is one part of a frozen program. See how to ship frozen food for the full cold-chain pack and how to ship perishable food for chilled and ambient-sensitive goods. For packing and shipping the orders themselves, Teal runs fulfillment from West Chicago, Illinois: see the fulfillment and 3PL hub and ship with Teal. Request a quote for the packaging.
