Rigid boxes
Greyboard wrapped in printed paper, assembled and shipped made-up. They hold their shape permanently, which is why premium gifting defaults to them. The cost is volume: a rigid box ships as air, so freight on 1,000 units is significant. Specify 1200gsm for anything going to a client, 800gsm only where the box is a carrier rather than part of the gift.
Folding cartons
Printed board creased and glued, shipped flat and made up on your packing line. Roughly a third of the landed cost of a rigid box at the same footprint, because you are not shipping empty space. The trade-off is perceived value — a folding carton reads as retail packaging, not as a gift.
Drawer boxes
A sliding tray inside a sleeve, usually with a ribbon pull. The most theatrical of the three, and the standard choice for dates, chocolate and jewellery. More expensive than rigid because it is two boxes, but the reveal is slower and that is the entire point.
How to choose
If the box is the gift, rigid or drawer. If the box carries the gift, folding carton. If you are shipping more than 2,000 units across emirates, run the freight numbers before committing to rigid — the saving on a folding carton often exceeds the difference in board cost.
The service behind this
Gift box manufacturing