The card box template, flat and folded
What this template is for
The everyday folding carton — four walls, tuck flaps at both ends and dust flaps to keep them shut. Soap, tea, cosmetics, board-game boxes.
Also called reverse tuck end carton · RTE box · folding carton · tuck end box — all the same shape, and this is it.
- Soap, tea and cosmetics cartons
- Board game and toy boxes
- Product packaging for a small shop
- Retail cartons for craft fairs
How to use this template
All four downloads are the same card box at the same size — only the format changes.
- PDF printing at home
- Print at 100 per cent, or hand it to a print shop as "actual size, no scaling".
- PNG 300 dpi Canva, Photoshop, Procreate
- Upload, lock it in place and design your card box on top. Free plan and phone included. Full Canva walkthrough →
- SVG Cricut, Illustrator, Inkscape, Affinity
- Vector, with cuts, folds and labels on separate layers. Cricut and Silhouette walkthrough →
- DXF Silhouette, laser and vinyl cutters
- Two layers, CUT and FOLD — and the one free Silhouette Studio Basic will open.
Printing it
- Type your size above, then download the PDF.
- Print at 100% — never “fit to page”, or every measurement comes out wrong.
- Too big for the paper? Pick your paper size and leave Fit the pieces to the page ticked: each piece gets its own place on a sheet and the PDF comes out with every page in it, nothing cut in half and nothing to tape.
How to put it together
These pictures are the card box itself, not a generic diagram — change the measurements above and the template changes, but the three steps never do.
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Cut the solid lines
Every solid line is a cut. Do the inside shapes first, while the sheet is still whole and easy to hold.
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Score every dashed line
Dashed lines are folds. Score each one first — an empty ballpoint against a ruler — or the card cracks along the outside of the bend.
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Fold, glue and hold
Glue the narrow flap to the far side panel to make a tube. Fold the dust flaps in first, then push each tuck flap inside. If you set a window border, cut the opening out before you fold anything, and tape a piece of acetate or cellophane over it on the inside — the frame is thin, and it tears far more easily once the box has been creased.
Glue: a glue stick for paper, white PVA on card — hold each seam thirty seconds, and let the box dry standing up.
Questions about the card box
- What is a reverse tuck carton?
- The top flap folds from the back panel and the bottom flap from the front panel. It uses less board than a straight tuck and is the layout most shop cartons use.
- Do I need glue?
- Only one seam — the narrow flap down the side. Everything else tucks. White PVA or a glue stick both work on card.
- Can I print my own design on it?
- Yes. Add a picture in the Artwork panel, drag it where you want it, and it is trimmed to the outline so nothing prints off the card.
Print your own design on it
Add a logo, photo or pattern in the panel on the left and drag it onto the card box. It is trimmed to the cut outline, embedded properly in the PDF, and never leaves your computer — most free template sites hand you the outline and stop there. How printing your own design works.
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