How do the corners work?

Each corner has a tab on the end wall. Fold the walls up and glue every tab to the inside of the wall next to it. The tabs are angled so they never foul the neighbouring wall.

Can I make a tray that fits inside a box I already have?

Yes — measure the inside of the box and take a millimetre or two off, then set the tray to that. Remember the board thickness adds up on both sides.

What is the difference between this and the box with lid?

The box with lid gives you two trays, a base and a slightly larger lid that slides over it. This one is the single tray on its own.

Open Tray Template — Free Box Insert, Any Size, PDF & SVG

The open tray template, flat and folded

Open tray template — free printable dieline with cut and fold lines, any size — The printable dieline at its standard size. Type your own size above for yours.

Open tray folded up from the template — the finished box — The box it folds into.

What this template is for

A lidless tray: one bottom, four walls and a glue tab in every corner. Drawer inserts, seed trays, desk organisers.

Also called tray insert · box insert · open-top tray · drawer organiser — all the same shape, and this is it.

Drawer and desk organisers
Box inserts and dividers
Seed and propagation trays
Shallow storage for small parts

How to use this template

All four downloads are the same open tray 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 open tray 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.

Getting it printed properly →

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 open tray itself, not a generic diagram — change the measurements above and the template changes, but the three steps never do.

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.
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.
Fold, glue and hold
Fold the four walls up and glue each corner tab to the inside of the neighbouring wall.

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 open tray

How do the corners work?: Each corner has a tab on the end wall. Fold the walls up and glue every tab to the inside of the wall next to it. The tabs are angled so they never foul the neighbouring wall.
Can I make a tray that fits inside a box I already have?: Yes — measure the inside of the box and take a millimetre or two off, then set the tray to that. Remember the board thickness adds up on both sides.
What is the difference between this and the box with lid?: The box with lid gives you two trays, a base and a slightly larger lid that slides over it. This one is the single tray on its own.

Print your own design on it

Add a logo, photo or pattern in the panel on the left and drag it onto the open tray. 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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