Cardboard Box Customization: the Perfect Touch for Gifts & Small Businesses

If you haven't guessed by the title, this Instructable will show YOU how to put custom text or designs onto a box, without doing it manually, using a sticker, or any other traditional (and labor intensive) methods.

Whether you run an Etsy store, want to send a gift to someone you care about, or just want to have the satisfaction of learning this valuable method of customizing cardboard boxes, get ready customize, finesse, and master this skill!

• Your desired box

• Laser Cutter & Engraver

• Computer

• A passion for crafting!

As mentioned in the supplies section, this process will use a technique called laser engraving to turn a standard cardboard box into a professional, finished looking masterpiece.

Desktop home user cutters are becoming more and more popular, and there are many different brands to choose from. For this Instructable, I used a Flux Beamo.

Shhhhhhh... Normally, I don't show pictures of examples how it could look in the second step, but I want to show you all the potential this method has, so you can get just as excited as I am about this!

There are multiple variations of this process, but they fall into three categories:

• Engraving Onto The Cardboard Box

• Cutting Through 1 Layer Of the Box & Using A Colored Second Layer

• Cutting & Engraving The Box On A Single Layer

In the photos, you will see an example of each of these options. In the following steps, I'll show exactly how to make a plain old box into these finished products.

First, determine whether your image or design will simply be engraved onto the box, or a design will be cut into the first layer. If opting for the latter option, you will need to have a 2-layered box, or cut your design so that the box can still hold the contents inside.

I would recommend doing a simple engraving before tackling cutting complex designs for two reasons. First, this will be the method I will be demonstrating in the next few steps. And two, cutting designs usually require SVG files which are not free (usually), and can take some experience to make in CAD or adobe illustrator.

Additionally, you can not only engrave text right onto the box in your desired font, but you can also take any image and convert it into a gradient (or shaded) mode, and engrave it right onto the cardboard.

To engrave cardboard, you want low to moderate power on your laser, with quick speeds to avoid charring.

I recommend doing a test panel of different speed/power combinations before trying the engraving on a real box.

Every cardboard type engraves differently, so don't be discouraged if you go from thicker shipping cardboard, to thinner, "cereal box thickness" cardboard and you need to tweak your settings.

Most laser cutters will be able to do a box around 1-2" tall, but with the rotary attachment on the Flux Beamo (what I use), you can use the extra space in the rotary to engrave a larger box, such as one used for shipping.

As you can see in the image, you can easily get a deep black color for your engraving...but sometimes, there can be a "smokey edge" meaning some of the black engraving floated up, and back onto the box. You can get rid of this using a dedicated towel and wiping around the engraving, not onto it.

If you wipe on the engraving at this point, you could "smear" the engraving.

This step is crucial and completely up to you. Choose the option which best suits your application, as only you know which is the best direction to go with your box.

• If you use that towel from the last step to wipe over the entire box, your engraving will not be as dark, but permanent (as it is an "engraving").

• The other option is to use another substance such as Mod Podge, to protect the dark engraving and also make it permanent. This step is just as permanent as the one above, but just requires a bit of extra work.

Cardboard is used in a lot of places, especially in laser cutting, but is rarely engraved. This is because it may be initially hard to find the "sweet spot" in the settings. With the techniques in this Instructable, you should have a great foundation for cardboard engraving, and should be able to tackle it fairly easily!

I hope you enjoyed learning this method! If you did enjoy this Instructable, please consider voting in the "Cardboard Challenge".

Happy Crafting!