Skip to content
AutomatePrint
Start free

Quote & design

Type three sizes. Get a dieline that folds.

Pick one of 8 ECMA and FEFCO styles, type the inside size and choose the board. The Box designer draws the dieline with the board's real caliper, folds it in software to check that it closes, and shows it folded in 3D — before anyone pays for a die.

On every plan

Style
Inside size
Inside size
Inside size

Lines

    1:1 file

    Output · Dieline SVG

    Real output from the Box designer's engine — the same SVG and numbers the app shows.

    Today, and with AutomatePrint

    Today: Every new size means redrawing the dieline by hand.

    With AutomatePrint: Type the size; the dieline redraws around the board's caliper.

    Today: You find out the tuck flap clashes when the sample arrives.

    With AutomatePrint: Every dieline is folded in software first. A clash names the panels and the amount.

    Today: The die maker wants CF2, the designer wants a template, the estimator wants the blank size.

    With AutomatePrint: Download the dieline PDF, an artwork template, DXF or CF2 — and the box goes straight into a quote.

    In numbers

    styles
    8
    ECMA folding cartons and FEFCO shipping boxes
    inside-size check on cartons
    0.05 mm
    0.15 mm on corrugated
    boards in the catalog
    22
    file per box
    1
    the same box always gives the same bytes

    How it works

    1. Pick a style

      Choose a tuck box, tray, sleeve, seal end or shipping box from the gallery.

    2. Type the size

      Inside, crease or outside, in mm or inches with fractions, on the board you run.

    3. Check, fold, download

      The fold check runs as you stop typing; see it in 3D, then download the files or quote the box.

    Every dieline is folded before you see it

    A moment after you stop typing, the dieline is folded in software with the board's real thickness. It checks that every side closes, the inside size is within 0.05 mm on cartons and 0.15 mm on corrugated, nothing clashes and the glue reaches. A failure names the panels and the amount, and a size it can't make names the field and why — often with a fix button, and the die files wait until it's solved.

    A carton's tuck typed longer than half its depth: the field and the error named, a fix, downloads held
    1. Names the field and why
    2. One-click fix

    Files your die maker can use

    • Box designer download menu: dieline PDF, artwork template, DXF, CF2 and SVG

      Dieline PDF

      Thru-cut, Crease, Perforate and Score spot colors — it carries its own fold data.

    • Corner of an artwork template PDF: the title block, the glue flap and its glue area marked no ink

      Output · Artwork template PDF · 400 dpi

      1. Title block
      2. Glue: no ink

      Artwork template

      Bleed, glue areas marked “no ink”, panel names and a title block.

    • Box designer measurements: blank size, net area, rule lengths, glue seam and the Checked chip
      1. Folded and checked

      The numbers

      Blank size, rule lengths and outside size, ready for the quote.

    Corrugated, with real flute allowances

    Score allowances come from the flute and grow with caliper. Calibrate them from your own samples, and choose a plant or rigid joint.

    • Allowances for 8 flutes, single and double wall
    1:1 file

    Output · Dieline SVG · Box designer engine

    From dieline to quote

    Use in estimate fills a box row. Cartons are costed on your press, die-cutter and folder-gluer, shipping boxes on a flexo folder-gluer or as blanks, and the die is a separate line — a die you own or a new one, priced all-in.

    See box quotes

    A shipping box line of a quote with its drawer open: style, size, board and the drawing of the blank
    1. Drawn to size

    • Files folder of saved dielines, each card with its style, size and board

      Save to Files

      Style, size and board are kept as properties; saving again makes a new version.

    What's in it

    • Fits a product (adds clearance)
    • Inside, crease or outside size
    • Swap L and W
    • Fractions such as 2 3/8
    • Grain and flute direction
    • Calibrate allowances from your samples
    • Plant or rigid joint
    • Errors keep the last good drawing
    • Box designer API

    Specs

    Styles
    Reverse tuck end (ECMA A20.20.03.01) · Regular slotted container (RSC) (FEFCO 0201) · Four-corner tray (ECMA B40.22.00.00) · Straight tuck end (ECMA A20.20.03.03) · Seal end (ECMA A70.70.00.00) · Sleeve (ECMA A01.01.00.00) · Half slotted container (HSC) (FEFCO 0200) · Full overlap container (FOL) (FEFCO 0203)
    Units
    mm or inches with fractions
    Boards
    22, from 10 pt SBS to BC double wall
    Downloads
    Dieline PDF · Artwork template PDF · DXF R12 (mm) · CF2 (cut 1, crease and score 2, perforation 3) · SVG
    Deterministic
    The same box always makes the same file

    What we don't do

    • The Box designer draws standard styles to size. For custom structures, keep your structural CAD — and open its dieline in the 1-up editor to fold it in 3D.

    On which plan

    Compare every plan
    Capability FreeShopProductionPlant
    8 ECMA and FEFCO styles, fold check, 3D fold-up Included Included Included Included
    Dieline PDF, artwork template and SVG, commercial use Included Included Included Included
    DXF and CF2 for die makers and CAD tables Not included Included Included Included
    Carton and corrugated quotes: dies, plates, die-cutters and folder-gluers Not included Included Included Included

    Free for commercial work: every style, the fold check, 3D fold-up, dieline PDF and artwork template.

    FAQ

    Questions, answered

    Anything else? Email hello@automateprint.com and a person who knows print will answer.

    Is the Box designer really free?

    Yes. On the Free plan you can draw every style, check the fold, see it in 3D and download the dieline PDF and artwork template — for commercial work, too. DXF and CF2 die files come with Shop.

    Which box styles are there?

    8 today: reverse tuck end, straight tuck end, seal end, four-corner tray and sleeve, plus FEFCO 0200, 0201 and 0203 shipping boxes.

    Will my die maker accept the files?

    DXF (R12, in mm) and CF2 carry cut, crease and perforation on the line types structural CAD reads, and the outline is one closed path.

    Can I fold my own dieline in 3D?

    Yes. Open your PDF in the 1-up editor and map the spot colors that carry the die; the 3D tab folds it along its creases.

    Does it price the box?

    Yes, from Shop: as blanks, and as full carton and corrugated quotes with dies, plates, die-cutters and folder-gluers.

    Put every job on one platform

    Start free, with 14 days of every Production feature. No card, and your customers review for free.