What this template is for
A straight tuck end carton: both tuck flaps hinge from the back panel, so the front face is left completely unbroken for your design.
Also called straight tuck end carton · STE carton · gift carton · cosmetic box — all the same shape, and this is it.
- Gift and cosmetic cartons
- Candle, soap and skincare boxes
- Retail packaging with a printed front
- Small product boxes for a shop
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 gift box (straight tuck), 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 gift box (straight tuck) 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 gift box (straight tuck). 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 gift box (straight tuck) 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
Glue the narrow flap to the far panel to make a tube. Fold the dust flaps in first, then push each tuck flap inside — both of them from the back.
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 gift box (straight tuck)
- What is a straight tuck end carton?
- Both tuck flaps fold from the same panel — the back. The alternative, a reverse tuck, takes one from the front and one from the back. Straight tuck uses a little more board but leaves the front panel completely clean, which is why gift and cosmetic boxes use it.
- Which should I choose, this or the card box?
- If the front of the box carries your design, use this one. If you are trying to get the most boxes out of a sheet, use the card box — the reverse tuck nests better.
- Does the size I type mean the inside or the outside?
- The inside. The panels are drawn one board thickness wider than the space you asked for, because the card has to travel round the corners and then stand in the opening it just made.
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 gift box (straight tuck), 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.