Candy Boxes

[William Milligan]

I have a potential customer who is a candy maker. She wants us to fabricate her candy boxes and engrave her logo on the top. I figure I could try and find a box pattern somewhere and possibly use matt board or something similar (i.e. matt board that will show another color under the top surface).

Is anyone doing anything like this?...and if so do you have any pointers on where I might find some patterns for boxes?...thanks!...not even sure if this would be cost effective in the end but willing to give it a go and find out.

[Dan Ashlin]

This is a pretty useful site, should at least get you started. http://yayoi.senri.ed.jp/departments/OISTech/OISDT/gr7dt/templates.htm

I've had trouble engraving mattboard with one color on top and getting the background to show through without scorching. I would think the laser would be ok for a few here and there, but if she wants a run of 100 or more boxes, you're looking at some serious time involved on your end, it might be better to sub it out to a print shop.

[Michael Kowalczyk]

Hey Liam,
see if this link may have what you need. http://www.laserjumpstart.com/boxit-suite/
and good sig if I may say.
and may you also...

[Larry Bratton]

This is a pretty useful site, should at least get you started. http://yayoi.senri.ed.jp/departments/OISTech/OISDT/gr7dt/templates.htm

I've had trouble engraving mattboard with one color on top and getting the background to show through without scorching. I would think the laser would be ok for a few here and there, but if she wants a run of 100 or more boxes, you're looking at some serious time involved on your end, it might be better to sub it out to a print shop.

Dan, that is a good post for those templates. Liam has a 75watt machine, he can cut the time down substantially with that much power.

[Dee Gallo]

Liam or is it William?

I have played with making my own cardboard boxes and found several things out:
1. mat board is not good for box making since the core will show when the cap rips on the folds...
2. other companies make and sell nice boxes of all sizes and shapes for a lot cheaper than you can make them
3. it is very time consuming to design, cut and assemble boxes - not worth my time

This all said, I recommend you make a spectacular piece to glue on top of a store-bought box. They come in many colors and finishes. I like Uline, it's a first rate company to deal with. You can use unusual materials such as thin cork, wood veneer, fabrics, thin plexiglas, etc. to give your customer a really unique look.

Here are some pix of decorations I made which use layering. People love this look and it's very easy to get a rich look with simple elements.

:) dee

[Mike Null]

Another great idea from Dee!

[Dan Ashlin]

Those are awesome dee! Do you have a particular place you go for your Chinese inspired designs? I have a local Chinese restaurant interested in having me make some signage for them and I'm having trouble finding quality artwork to use.

[Dee Gallo]

Those are awesome dee! Do you have a particular place you go for your Chinese inspired designs? I have a local Chinese restaurant interested in having me make some signage for them and I'm having trouble finding quality artwork to use.

Thanks Mike and Dan,

I have books of Chinese art, pieces of Chinese art & sculpture and cruise the net for inspiration. I also collect Chinese paper cuts, which are of particular interest to me. There is a lot of pencil sketching and drawing on the computer before my designs make it to the laser. This is true of any kind of design genre I use. Sorry, there is no easy click'n'go answer here. But I find converting bitmaps and adjusting to vector lines to be a fun thing. Just my sickness, I guess!

cheers, dee

[Mike Null]

Dan

Take a hard look at your Corel book as there are quite a number of Chinese symbols and designs there or things you can create designs from. Some time back Frank Corker posted a number of dragon files so do a search for that as well.

[William Milligan]

Thanks everyone for the input...being new to this I always seem to have more questions than answers...someday I will be a Laser Ninja like the rest of you...

Nice Link Dan...some good stuff....

Mike...I've looked at that LaserJumpStart BoxIt Suite a bit...seems like a nice tool but it is also pretty darn pricey....if they bring the price down a bit perhaps I will consider it. I've found a few box making macros out that with which I've been playing...that fingerbox macro is pretty cool.

Dee...thanks once again for an informative post....that is pretty much what I was thinking and the more I've thought about it the more I've thought I'm just not sure I could make it cost effective...my daughter presented me with the project about a week ago...a friend of hers is a candy maker and gets boxes made somewhere now and thought it might be nice to have laser engraved boxes....my wife and I had the same thought you suggested...why not just create something really nice and distinctive to put on the top of the boxes?...That is probably the way we are going to end up going.

BTW...Liam/William is fine...started going by William because, interestingly, many people with whom I come in contact look at me funny when I say Liam...like they've never heard the name...sometimes I say "Like Liam Neeson"...sometimes that helps but there are actually folks who haven't heard of him.......actually I prefer William anyway...I guess I should ask to get my sign-on changed...:)

[Dan Hintz]

Dee,

If you're ever in Florida, you need to make a side trip to my parent's place... dragon's galore :) Everything from 3' long paper cuts and rice paper drawings to jade/bone ceremonial pieces and granite "protectors" hovering by the pool. You'd get a lot of ideas walking in and around the house...

This is what happens when a family collects emperor dragon paraphernalia for 30+ years.

[Dee Gallo]

Thanks Dan, I'd love to see what they have collected - must be impressive! That's a very well protected house, too!

William, one more idea for you: take a pre-made box and make a cutout on the top, then glue a matboard piece underneath to show color through the cutouts... would look nice! You could do the company name this way, then also add a layered decoration for the top.

I've also gotten boxes with a clear plastic top and made removable (re-usable!) decals to stick on top so you can see the contents but also have the company name show.

:) dee