Short Answer
Rigid mailers are shipping boxes built from thick chipboard, 1.5 to 2.5mm, wrapped in a full-color printed paper skin instead of folded from a single corrugated sheet. The solid wall protects high-value items in transit, and the wrap gives an unboxing surface worth printing on. Teal Packaging supplies them custom to your dieline as a specialty rigid product, from 100 units.
What is a rigid mailer?
A rigid mailer is a mail-ready box made the way a setup box is made. A chipboard shell is cut and formed first, then wrapped in printed paper, rather than being folded from one scored sheet of corrugated. Because the chipboard is solid board, there are no flutes in the wall to compress.
The format earns its place where a box is doing two jobs at once: protecting something valuable and acting as the presentation layer the moment the customer opens the outer carton. It suits electronics and accessories, jewelry and watches, and limited-run releases where the shipper and the gift box are the same object. Rigid construction does not fold flat the way a scored corrugated mailer does. If flat storage or freight matters, ask about collapsible rigid boxes, which fold down and pop up at pack-out.
Rigid mailers vs corrugated mailers vs bubble mailers
The choice comes down to what the wall is made of and how much print quality the outside needs to carry. Rigid uses solid chipboard with a wrapped print surface. Corrugated uses a fluted board printed directly on the liner, and a bubble mailer replaces the box entirely with a padded envelope.
| Format | Wall construction | Print surface | Suited to | Teal minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rigid mailer | Solid chipboard 1.5 to 2.5mm, paper wrapped | Printed wrap; takes foil, emboss, deboss, spot UV, soft-touch | High-value items where the box is part of the product experience | From 100 units (specialty rigid) |
| Corrugated mailer box | E-flute or B-flute corrugated | Printed direct to the liner | Ecommerce shipping where weight and pack speed lead | From 50 units |
| Bubble mailer | Padded envelope, no box structure | Printed face, limited area | Flat or soft items that do not need a rigid cavity | From 50 units |
If the product is fragile, expensive, or photographed by customers when it arrives, rigid is the format that carries both the protection and the finish. If it is light and replaceable, corrugated or a bubble mailer does the same shipping job with less material.
What are rigid mailers made of?
The core is rigid chipboard at 1.5 to 2.5mm, wrapped in a printed paper skin. That wrap is what makes the finish options possible, because paper accepts foil and texture treatments that a fluted liner cannot hold as cleanly.
- Core board: rigid chipboard, 1.5 to 2.5mm
- Wrap and print: full-color printing, soy and water-based inks
- Finishes: foil stamping, embossing, debossing, spot UV, soft-touch, die-cuts, windows
- Inserts: die-cut board inserts to hold the product in position
- Sustainability: FSC-certified and recyclable options by specification
Other Teal material lanes, including kraft paperboard at 300 to 400gsm, white SBS at 14 to 18pt, corrugated E-flute and B-flute, mylar, tin and vinyl, are available if a different structure fits the product better. The paper weight chart explains how those numbers compare.
What size rigid mailer do I need?
There is no stock size to pick from. Every rigid mailer is cut to your dieline, so the sizing is made to your product, including the wall clearance an insert needs. Send your dimensions with your quote request and the free dieline design service builds to them.
Measure the product at its widest point in all three axes, then decide how much room the insert or void fill requires around it. Because shipping cost is often driven by billable weight rather than actual weight, it is worth running the outside dimensions through the box size and dimensional weight calculator before you lock the spec. A slightly tighter box can change the shipping band.
How to order custom rigid mailers
- Send the spec. Product dimensions, quantity, board and finish preferences, and any insert requirement, through request a quote.
- Get pricing. Rigid mailers are quoted to spec, with volume pricing from $0.44 per unit. Minimum is 100 units, because rigid mailers are a specialty rigid product; standard custom projects across the catalog start from 50 units.
- Approve the dieline and proof. Dieline design is free, artwork gets 2 revision rounds, and a digital proof is issued before anything prints.
- Production. From about 7 business days after proof approval, with complex or high-volume orders taking longer, plus 2 to 5 business days for US delivery. Express and economy options are available.
- Delivery. US shipping is free on every order.
If you want to see and handle the board and finishes before committing to a run, the free sample kit ships for $19.99 and that cost is credited toward your first custom order. Smaller ready-to-buy items with live per-unit pricing sit in the Teal shop.
Rigid mailers with kitting and delivery to the recipient
Teal supplies the printed rigid mailers, and its West Chicago, Illinois warehouse handles kitting, assembly, pick-pack, storage and ship-to-recipient. That matters when a rigid mailer is not going to a single warehouse but to a list of individual people, which is the usual shape of a launch drop, a press send-out or a subscription release.
Pair rigid mailers with kitting services to have inserts, tissue, cards and product assembled into the box before it ships, then pick, pack and ship to each address from the Chicago fulfillment center. For recurring programs, subscription box fulfillment handles the repeat cycle. If the rigid mailer is the outer for a press or gifting program, see custom PR boxes and magnetic gift boxes, which use the same rigid construction with a closure built for reveal. Full service detail sits on the fulfillment page.
Rigid Mailers FAQ
What is the minimum order for rigid mailers?
Rigid mailers are a specialty rigid product, so they start at 100 units. Standard custom packaging projects at Teal start from 50 units, which is why a corrugated mailer box can be ordered in a smaller run than a rigid one. Shop products carry their own per-product minimums.
How long do custom rigid mailers take?
Production runs from about 7 business days after proof approval, with complex or high-volume orders taking longer, then 2 to 5 business days for US delivery. Express and economy options are available. The clock starts at proof approval, not at quote, so returning artwork quickly is a lever you control.
How much do rigid mailers cost?
Pricing is quoted to spec and starts from $0.44 per unit at volume. Board thickness, size, finish count and quantity all move the number, so a soft-touch box with foil and a die-cut foam insert prices differently from a plain printed wrap. Send the spec through the quote form for a real figure.
Can I get a sample before I order?
Yes. The sample kit itself is free and ships for $19.99, and that shipping cost is credited toward your first custom order. It is the practical way to judge board feel, wrap finish and print before committing to a full run.
Are rigid mailers available in recycled or FSC-certified board?
FSC-certified and recyclable options are available by specification, and printing uses soy and water-based inks. Name the requirement on your quote request so it is written into the spec before the dieline and proof stage rather than after.
Questions on a spec? Call (224) 546-8325 or email info@tealpackaging.com, or request a quote to get pricing on your dimensions.
How to Order Rigid Mailer Boxes
Ordering custom rigid mailer boxes is simple:
- Submit a quote request with your dimensions, quantity, and design references
- Receive quote guidance within one business day
- Send your artwork or work with our design team (free dieline + 2 revision rounds)
- Approve the digital proof and production begins
- Standard production runs from about 7 business days after proof approval; complex or high-volume orders take longer
