Die cut trays and inserts that hold the product still

What is the difference between trays, inserts and partitions?

The three words get used loosely, so here is how we use them. A tray is a shaped base that holds one or more products in shallow pockets. An insert is a fitted part that sits inside a box to locate and cushion the product. A partition is a grid of slotted strips that divides a box into cells. All three are corrugated, and all three are cut to your product.

Most orders mix these. A bottle box may use a partition grid and a top pad. An electronics box may use one die cut insert that cradles the unit and holds the cable and manual in their own pockets.

We also die-cut open-front pick bins: a stackable corrugated bin with a cut-away front face for warehouse and workbench picking. Give the shelf or trolley opening and we cut the bin to stack and pick clean, in the ply your load needs.

What can die-cutting do that a plain RSC box cannot?

A regular slotted carton, the RSC, is folded from a single scored blank into a plain rectangular box. It is fast and cheap and it is the right answer for most shipping. What it cannot do is hold an odd shape still. Die-cutting presses a custom steel rule shape through the board, so the part can carry curves, tabs, finger holes, locking flaps and pockets that a straight fold cannot make.

• Cuts pockets and cradles shaped to the product outline.
• Adds locking tabs so the insert holds without glue.
• Makes finger holes and thumb notches for easy lift-out.
• Produces round, angled or stepped edges a fold cannot.
• Lets one part hold several items in fixed positions.

An RSC box holds a rectangle. A die cut insert holds your exact product, in its own pocket, in one fixed position.

This is why fragile and multi-part goods ship on a die cut insert. The box takes the drop and the stack. The insert stops the product moving inside the box, which is where most in-transit damage actually happens.

How should a die cut insert fit the product?

The fit rule is simple: product plus a small clearance gap, never a loose box full of void fill. This mirrors right-sizing a shipping box. Too tight and the product scuffs on insertion or the pack splits. Too loose and the product rattles and the corners take the drop. We design the pocket around your real product dimensions with a clearance that suits the board thickness and the weight.

The board itself adds thickness, so a pocket is never cut to the bare product size. A 3-ply wall is roughly 3mm and a 5-ply wall is roughly 7mm, and that gets built into the pocket so the finished part fits the way you expect. Share a sample and we design to the object in hand, not to a number on a page.

• Give the product length, width, height and weight.
• Say what ships alongside it: cable, manual, sachet, cap.
• Say how it lifts out: pull tab, finger hole or lift-off tray.
• Send a photo or post a sample so we cut to the real object.
• Approve a physical sample before any production run.

Why can the quote engine not price the die cut trays?

The quote engine prices standard corrugated boxes from size, ply, quantity and print. It cannot price a custom die, because the die is a one-time tooling cost that depends on the shape, the number of cuts and the sheet layout. There is no honest way to auto-price it, so we do not pretend to. We quote the die on WhatsApp against your drawing or a sample, as a single tooling charge you pay once. After that, every run of die cut trays or inserts is priced on the per-unit board only, the same as any corrugated part.

So an order has two numbers. First, the one-time die, quoted to your shape. Second, the running per-unit price, which follows the board. A corrugated insert typically works out around Rs 6 to Rs 14 per piece depending on size and ply, on recycled kraft that trades roughly Rs 38 to Rs 46 per kg with the market, so this is a band and not a fixed figure. Prices attract 5% GST (HSN 4819); a GST invoice is issued with every order. Pricing here is secondary. The tooling caveat is the point: we will not invent a die price, we quote it against your drawing.

Two numbers, not one: a one-time die quoted to your shape, then the per-unit board price on every run.

Which industries do die cut trays and inserts serve?

Any product that must not move inside its box is a candidate. We supply corrugated inserts only. We do not make foam or moulded pulp, so when a job genuinely needs those we say so honestly rather than sell the wrong thing.

For bottles the usual answer is a corrugated partition grid, covered on our distillery and alcobev packaging page. For food we supply the corrugated outer, trays and dividers only. We do not supply food-contact or grease-resistant liners, so anything touching food directly is out of scope and we will tell you plainly.

Frequently asked questions