Colour mailer boxes vs custom printed boxes: which should you buy?
Buy a colour mailer when you want an unboxing colourway this week with no print minimum; switch to a custom-printed box only after the size is stable and you can commit to 500 pieces and about 10 working days.
Updated 10 Sept 2026 · PackWorks By Velun, Karnal
What a colour mailer actually is
It is a stock tuck-top mailer whose outer liner is dyed or coated in a solid colour — not a digitally printed photo wrap. PackWorks stocks nine colours with a white or kraft interior, from jewellery flats to 12 × 10 × 5 inch. You order a pack (often 10–50 pieces), not a print run.
What custom print is
Flexo ink on a kraft or white board, using a plate of your logo. The die is a PackWorks stock size, so you are not paying for a new cutter. Minimum is 500 pieces per size for one colour (about 10 working days after you approve the dieline), or 1,000 pieces for multi-colour or inside-lid print.
Which one to buy
Colour wins while you are still changing size, photographing samples, or shipping fewer than a few hundred units a month. Print wins when the unboxing photo is part of the brand, the size has not changed in 60 days, and 500 pieces will move before the next design tweak.
| Colour mailer | Custom printed box | |
|---|---|---|
| MOQ | One pack (often 10–50) | 500 pcs (1-colour) / 1,000 multi-colour |
| Lead time | 48-hour dispatch on stock | 10–14 working days after artwork |
| Look | Solid colour, no logo | Your mark, one or more ink colours |
| Change size later | Just order another size | New plate if the die changes |
| Best first buy | D2C tests, gifts, seasonal drops | Stable hero SKU, repeat monthly volume |
A practical sequence
Order a colour-mailer sample pack and a plain kraft of the same inner size. Ship 50 real orders. If customers photograph the colour and you are not changing dimensions, brief a one-colour flexo on that same die. You keep the proven size and only pay for ink.