BoxTemplate

Tray Insert Template

A tray with a cavity cut through its floor, so a product sits in the opening and cannot slide about. Drop it into a box you already have.

Tray insert — change shape

Size mm
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.

Advanced settingsunits, flaps, board, paper, lines
Units
Shape settings
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 tray insert template, flat and folded

Tray insert 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.
Tray insert folded up from the template — the finished box
The finished tray insert, made from it.

What this template is for

A tray with a cavity cut through its floor, so a product sits in the opening and cannot slide about. Drop it into a box you already have.

Also called product insert · box cavity insert · packaging insert · die-cut insert — all the same shape, and this is it.

How to use this template

All four downloads are the same tray insert 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 tray insert 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 tray insert 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. SIDESIDEENDENDINSERT FLOOR(cavity)

    Fold, glue and hold

    Fold the walls up and glue the corner tabs. Sit the insert in the box, drop the item through the cavity and it rests on the floor of the box below.

Glue: a glue stick for paper, white PVA on card — hold each seam thirty seconds, and let it dry before you use it.

Questions about the tray insert

How is this different from an open tray?
The floor has a hole cut in it. The item drops through and rests on the floor of the box underneath, so the insert holds it still rather than carrying it.
How much clearance should I leave round the item?
One millimetre is enough for card. Add more for a soft item or a thick board, and remember the clearance is added on all four sides, so it widens the cavity by twice what you type.
What are the notches on the sides of the cavity?
Finger notches, so you can get the item out again. Set the diameter to zero if you do not want them.

Print your own design on it

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

Templates like this one

See all 118 templates · For Canva · For Cricut · For Etsy sellers · Getting it printed

Collections: Wedding and party favour box templates · Christmas box templates · Food box templates