Products · new stock
Sometimes the right box has never been used.
- Lead time
- Varies by supplier
- Minimums
- Often a production run
- Recycled content
- Ask the supplier
Specify a new box
Send the spec, any requirement you must meet and the volume. Ask whether used plus a liner would satisfy it.
Answer first
Situations where new often wins.
- Regulated direct contact. If your product touches the board and your rules regulate that, check your own QA and current regulations. Nothing on this site is offered as food-contact packaging.
- Printed retail or customer-facing packaging. Graphics, brand colour and a consistent face require a converting plant.
- Certain export shipments. Where a marking or a phytosanitary requirement attaches to the container or pallet itself. ISPM 15 heat treatment, for example, means wood packaging reaching a core temperature of 56 °C for 30 minutes.
- Tooled shapes. Non-standard die-cuts, integrated dividers or purpose-designed geometry that does not exist in the used market.
Outside those situations, used stock in a suitable grade can do the same job for less, and reusing a box avoids making a new one.
What is available
New stock, quoted by partner suppliers.
| Product | What to specify | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| New 5-wall gaylord | Footprint, height, board strength | Stiffer, supports more reuse cycles |
| New 4-wall gaylord | Footprint, height, board strength | Lighter, usually cheaper, fewer reuse cycles |
| New octabin set | Body, base, cap, triple wall | Bases and caps are sometimes sold separately |
| Printed carton | Single or double wall, number of colours | Tooling cost is spread across the run |
| Custom die-cut | To drawing | Ask whether a standard footprint plus an insert would do |
Questions
New versus used, answered.
Why would a reuse-focused site mention new boxes at all?
Can I get recycled content in new boxes?
What is the lead time on new boxes?
Can a liner make a used box suitable for my product?
Specification
What to send a supplier, and what it changes.
New board is made to order, so the specification decides the price, the lead time and the minimum. These are the inputs a converting plant usually needs.
- Inside dimensions
- New boxes are quoted on inside dimensions, meaning what has to fit. Describe the product and let the supplier convert.
- Board grade
- Mullen burst or edge crush, with a value. If you do not have one, give the load and stack height and ask the supplier to specify it.
- Construction
- Single, double, triple, 4-wall or 5-wall. Drives both price and how many reuse cycles it will support later.
- Style
- Regular slotted, half-slotted, sleeve-and-base, octabin set, tray. Non-standard styles carry tooling.
- Number of colours and coverage. One colour on a small area is inexpensive; full coverage is a different product.
- Recycled content
- Say what you want and ask the supplier where a specification limits it.
- Regulatory or export requirement
- Any marking or scheme-specific requirement. This is usually what forces new in the first place. Check current regulations.
- Annual volume
- Changes the price more than most things, because tooling and setup spread across the run.
- Delivery pattern
- One drop or scheduled releases. Storage of new stock is a real cost, and scheduled releases often beat bulk buying.
Before you commit
Four questions that often send people back to used stock.
Worth asking before any new-box order.
- 01
Does unpackaged product touch the board?
If not, the contact requirement that pointed you to new stock may not apply. Check your own QA requirements; nothing here is offered as food-contact packaging.
- 02
Is the print functional or decorative?
A shipping mark, a lot code or a handling symbol can be applied with a label or a stencil on used stock. Full brand print needs a converting plant.
- 03
Is the shape actually non-standard?
Many 'custom' requirements turn out to be a standard footprint with an internal divider.
- 04
How many trips will it make?
If the container makes one journey and is discarded, new board can be the most expensive way to do that. A used box may do the same single trip for much less.
Cost structure
What moves the price of a new box.
| Component | Notes |
|---|---|
| Containerboard | The largest component. Moves with the fibre market and the mill's energy costs |
| Converting and assembly | Cutting, scoring, joining, bundling |
| Setup and tooling | Falls sharply with run length; dominant on short runs |
| Freight from plant | New boxes usually ship assembled, which is space-inefficient |
| None for plain; significant for multi-colour coverage |
Send the specification, not the assumption.
Some buyers who ask about new boxes find that used stock with a liner does the job. Others genuinely need new. Either way, a partner supplier follows up.