BoxTemplate

Tapered Tub Template

Straight-sided box that opens out towards the top — chip boxes, popcorn boxes, plant pot covers, nesting storage.

Tapered tub — change shape

Units
Dimensions
Optional parameters
Only here Your own design

Put a logo, photo or pattern straight onto the box — most free template sites give you the outline and stop there. Drag it where you want it; it is trimmed to the cut lines so nothing prints off the card, and it stays in your browser.

Page

Bigger than the paper? Each piece prints whole on its own sheet. A single piece is never split: pick bigger paper or a smaller size. More about printing

Template

cutfold

Drop a picture anywhere on the drawingTap “Add a picture” below to print your own design on this box.

Print at 100% (“actual size”), never “fit to page”, or the box comes out the wrong size.

The tapered tub template, flat and folded

Tapered tub 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.
Tapered tub folded up from the template — the finished box
The box it folds into.

What this template is for

Straight-sided box that opens out towards the top — chip boxes, popcorn boxes, plant pot covers, nesting storage.

Also called nestable tray · tapered carton · chip box · popcorn box — all the same shape, and this is it.

The same box as the nestable tray. It cuts the identical dieline — the only difference is how you type the size: here you give the top opening directly; there you give a draft angle and it works the opening out, and tells you how far a stack grows per tray.

How to use this template

All four downloads are the same tapered tub 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 tapered tub 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

  1. Type your size above, then download the PDF.
  2. Print at 100% — never “fit to page”, or every measurement comes out wrong.
  3. 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 tapered tub itself, not a generic diagram — change the measurements above and the template changes, but the three steps never do.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. BOTTOMSIDESIDEENDEND

    Fold, glue and hold

    Fold the four walls up; the two long walls carry the tabs. Glue each tab behind 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 tapered tub

Why did my top size change?
Past a certain slope the four walls overlap each other when laid out flat, so no template exists. The generator eases the taper back to the steepest shape that still works and tells you what it used.
Can the top be smaller than the bottom?
Yes. Enter a smaller top size and the walls lean inwards instead, which gives a plant-pot shape.
Will it hold food?
Only with a food-safe liner or greaseproof paper. Plain card is not a food-contact material.

Print your own design on it

Add a logo, photo or pattern in the panel on the left and drag it onto the tapered tub. 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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Ready-made settings: Trapezoid box

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