Where should the logo actually go?
A shipping box has two very different audiences. The outside is seen on a doorstep and in a warehouse. The inside is seen the moment the customer opens it, and that is the panel that ends up in photos. On a mailer box the inside of the lid is prime real estate, and it is routinely left blank by people who already paid for print. Keep the mark clear of score lines, glue tabs, and the safety margin marked on the dieline, because anything crossing a crease distorts as the board folds. A medium logo repeated as a light pattern usually photographs better on corrugated than one huge mark stretched across a panel.
Single color or full color?
If your logo is a solid shape or a wordmark, single-color printing is cheaper and often better looking. It stays crisp, holds its edges on absorbent board, and reads as deliberate. Full color earns its cost when the mark contains gradients, photographic elements, or several colors that cannot be reduced. If you only own a full-color logo with a gradient in it, have a one-color version made. It gets used more than you expect: on tape, on inserts, and on any surface where a quiet print is enough.
Print, foil, or emboss?
Printing lays ink on the surface and is the flexible option: any color, any complexity, no tooling beyond the plate. Foil stamping presses metallic film with a heated die, so the mark reads hard and reflective in a way ink cannot imitate, and it works best on simple shapes with reasonable line weight. Embossing and debossing push the board into relief with a die, so the logo is felt as much as seen and appears only through light and shadow. Blind embossing with no ink is understated and works on plain board where print would look busy. Foil and embossing both require a die, which adds cost and a finishing pass.
How does kraft change the way my logo looks?
Brown board is not a neutral background, and it alters every ink laid on it. Full-color artwork on kraft boxes runs warmer and darker, and pale colors can disappear into the board entirely. Solid dark inks hold best. White ink on kraft is not paper white; it prints as a softer off-white and needs enough ink laid down to stay opaque, which is worth previewing before you commit to it. Knocking the logo out of a printed block so the board shows through is a good kraft-native move. Blind embossing on kraft sidesteps the color problem completely. Coated white board behaves much closer to what your screen suggests, which is why brands with a precise color choose it.
What file should I send for the logo?
A vector file, ideally with a one-color version and a transparent background. Do not send the logo saved off your website. It will be low resolution and usually carries a white box behind it that prints as a white box on a brown surface. Drop shadows and gradients do not translate to single-color printing, so those get simplified. If the brand color has to hold across future runs, name the Pantone rather than trusting a process build. Free design support covers cleaning up or redrawing a logo file, so a bad file is a delay, not a dead end.
What does it cost and how long does it take?
Orders start at a 100-unit minimum, and bulk pricing starts from $0.49 per unit at volume, with a single-color logo on kraft sitting at the affordable end of that spread. Production typically takes 10 to 14 business days after proof approval, plus delivery, and US shipping is free. If you want to see how your mark sits on real board first, the $19.99 sample kit is the fastest check. Send your logo and quantity and you will get a dieline with the logo placed on it to review.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I print a full-color logo on a kraft box?
You can, but expect it to look warmer and darker than the same file on white board, because brown board tints everything printed on it. Pale colors suffer most. If the logo has to stay accurate, use a white underlay, switch to white board, or print it in a single dark ink.
Does white ink work on kraft?
It works, with a caveat. Printed white on brown board is a soft off-white rather than paper white, and it needs enough ink laid down to stay opaque. It looks great when you expect that softness and disappointing when you were picturing the white of a coated sheet.
Should the logo go on the outside or the inside of the box?
Both, if the budget allows, because they do different jobs. The outside is seen on a doorstep and in transit. The inside of the lid is what the customer sees on opening and what gets photographed, which makes it the higher-value surface for a brand mark.
What is the cheapest way to get my logo on a box?
A single-color logo printed on kraft board, ordered at volume. The minimum is 100 units and bulk pricing starts from $0.49 per unit at volume, so quantity moves the number more than anything else. Skipping foil and embossing avoids tooling and an extra finishing pass.
How large should the logo be?
Scale it to the panel rather than filling it. On corrugated, very large solid areas show the flute texture underneath and every scuff from transit, so a moderate mark reads cleaner than a stretched one. Keep it clear of creases and glue tabs, which the dieline marks for you.
