What this template is for
A shop counter tray: low at the front so the goods show, tall at the back for a printed header, with the sides ramped between the two.
Also called counter display unit · PDD tray · point of sale tray · display tray — all the same shape, and this is it.
- Shop counter and point-of-sale trays
- Craft fair and market stall displays
- Sweet, sachet and card dispensers
- Sample and tester holders
How to use this template
Set your measurements above, then download the file that suits whatever you are already working in. All four are the same counter display, drawn to the same size — only the format changes, and every one of them is free.
- PDF printing at home
- Print it at 100 per cent and cut it out. This is also the file to hand a print shop: say "actual size, no scaling".
- PNG 300 dpi Canva, Photoshop, Procreate
- Upload it as an image, lock it in place, and design your counter display on top of it. Works on the free Canva plan and on a phone. Full Canva walkthrough →
- SVG Cricut, Illustrator, Inkscape, Affinity
- Vector, with the cut lines, fold lines and labels on separate layers so you can style or delete them independently. Cricut and Silhouette walkthrough →
- DXF Silhouette, laser and vinyl cutters
- Two layers, CUT and FOLD. The free Silhouette Studio Basic opens DXF where it will not open SVG, so this is the one to use there.
Putting your own design on it: you do not need any of those programs for a logo or a pattern — add a picture in the panel above and drag it onto the counter display. It is trimmed to the cut outline and embedded properly in the PDF, and it never leaves your computer. Getting it printed properly →
Printing it
- Type the size you need above, in millimetres, centimetres or inches.
- Download the PDF and print it at 100% — never “fit to page”, or every measurement comes out wrong.
- Too big for your paper? Tick Split across several sheets and it prints across as many as it needs, with overlaps and matching letters to tape together.
How to put it together
These pictures are the counter display 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. Scissors are fine; a craft knife against a steel rule is neater on the straight runs. Cut the inside shapes, like a thumb hole, before you free the outline — the sheet is easier to hold while it is still whole.
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Score every dashed line
Dashed lines are folds, and they want scoring first: run an empty ballpoint, a bone folder or the back of a butter knife along a ruler. Card folded without scoring cracks along the outside of the bend. Fold each crease both ways, then back — it makes the shape almost close itself.
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Fold, glue and hold
Fold the base edges up. The back and front walls carry the tabs — glue each one to the inside of the ramped side wall next to it.
Glue: a glue stick is enough for paper; use white PVA on card and hold each seam for thirty seconds. Tape works on the inside of any seam if you would rather not wait. Let a box dry standing up, not lying on a flap.
Questions about the counter display
- What is a counter display unit?
- A shallow tray with a low front wall so the goods show, and a tall back panel that carries the printing. The trade name is a PDD or counter display unit, and it is what sits by a till holding lip balms or chocolate bars.
- Why are the sides sloped?
- They ramp from the low front up to the tall back so the box has no exposed corner and the whole front of the contents stays visible. The slope comes straight from the two heights you set.
- How do I get my design on the back panel?
- Add a picture in the Artwork panel and drag it over the back wall of the drawing. It is trimmed to the cut outline, so nothing prints off the board.
Print your own design on it
Every template here takes your artwork. Add a picture in the panel on the left — a logo, a photo, a pattern — drag it where you want it on the counter display, and it prints with the template. It is trimmed to the cut outline automatically, so nothing spills over the edge, and it goes into the PDF as a properly embedded image.
No other free box template site will do that, and your picture never leaves your computer — there is no server here to send it to.