Buyer's Guide · Rigid gift boxes
Short answer: a magnetic closure box is a greyboard shell, typically 1,000–1,500 gsm (about 1.5–2.5 mm), wrapped in 128–157 gsm art paper, with two to four N35–N42 disc magnets set into the front wall. Board caliper decides how solid it feels; magnet grade and countersink depth decide whether the lid closes with a click or a rattle.
Last updated: · 7 min read · By the Renjie editorial team
Wall thickness sets both the perceived weight and the compression strength, so fix it before artwork, finish or insert. Paperboard used as a rigid-box core, usually called greyboard or chipboard, is a multi-ply sheet of recycled fibre specified by grammage. In gift-box work 1,000–1,500 gsm is the normal band; below that the walls flex when a filled box is lifted by one corner, and above roughly 2,000 gsm you pay for stiffness the product does not need. Our rigid gift box range covers these formats.
| Box format (typical) | Greyboard core | Approx. wall | Where it earns its cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small item box, 100 × 100 × 50 mm | 1,000–1,200 gsm | 1.5–1.8 mm | Jewellery, small gifts, sample kits |
| Book-style box, 250 × 250 × 60 mm | 1,200–1,500 gsm | 2.0–2.5 mm | Book sets, corporate gifts |
| Presentation box, 350 × 300 × 100 mm | 1,500–2,000 gsm | 2.5–3.0 mm | Hampers, multi-piece sets |
Those bands are illustrative. Caliper is measured, not assumed: ISO 534:2011, the standard for paper and board thickness, specifies two laboratory methods and notes they generally produce different results — so “2 mm greyboard” means little until the method and tolerance are written down. Specify ±0.10 mm and check it on the sample with a dial gauge.
Magnets hold the lid against its own weight, the hinge's memory and whatever sits on top in a carton. Neodymium-iron-boron discs are the default, and the grade rises in steps of five — N35, N40, N42, N48, N52 — with higher grades giving more pull from the same disc size, as the reference entry on neodymium magnets notes. N35 is the packaging workhorse; N42 earns its premium when the lid is large or opened daily in retail.
Three numbers matter more than the grade. Diameter and thickness set the available force: a Ø10 × 2 mm disc is common on a 200 × 200 mm lid, and wider lids take four magnets rather than two stronger ones, because the goal is an even seal along the edge. Countersink depth sets the feel — the disc should sit roughly 0.5–1.0 mm below the wrapped surface, closing with a firm click but leaving no bump under the paper. Too deep and pull drops off sharply; set flush and the wrap telegraphs a circle within weeks.
The wrap is the only part a customer sees: 128–157 gsm coated art paper for four-colour work, 100–120 gsm textured or uncoated stock when tactile surface is the point. Two tolerances decide whether the box looks expensive. Corner squareness should hold within about ±0.5 mm across the run, and lid-to-base clearance should sit around 1.0–1.5 mm — tight enough to feel engineered, loose enough that air escapes when the lid goes on. A box built with zero clearance sucks shut, scuffs its own wrap, and in humid weather stops closing.
Wrap grain direction is the quiet failure mode: paper turned across the grain at a tight corner cracks along the fold, and the crack appears on the shelf, not the sample room. If the wrap carries a brand colour that also appears on a book cover or a spot colour, specify the ink once and proof both together — wrapped art paper and coated book stock render the same CMYK build differently. Finish logic matches covers (see our lamination comparison): matte and soft-touch hide handling marks, gloss holds saturation.
At 1,000 pieces, a 250 × 250 × 60 mm magnetic box with four-colour wrap and matte lamination typically lands around USD 1.20–2.60 per unit FOB China — illustrative, sensitive to caliper, magnet count, insert and print coverage. The structural die is a one-off of roughly USD 150–350, a pre-production sample takes 7–10 days, and bulk runs 15–20 days after approval. Minimums usually sit at 500–1,000 pieces, since the box is hand-assembled around a form.
Freight is where buyers get surprised: a rigid box ships assembled and therefore ships air, and 1,000 pieces of that size occupy several cubic metres a flat-packed carton would not. For a mailer rather than a shelf piece, compare a folding carton first, and run the volume through our shipping guide — freight often exceeds the unit-price gap.
If sustainability is on your brief: board and wrap can be specified as FSC-certified, and the Forest Stewardship Council runs separate labels for virgin, mixed and recycled fibre — the certificate code has to appear on your invoice and shipping documents. If the box carries a book or printed insert, keep the paper specification consistent across both so one compliance file covers the set. Send contents dimensions and a product photo on the quote form and we will return a caliper recommendation with a costed spec.
Spec review included
Send the product dimensions and weight — we'll recommend a board, magnet and wrap spec and quote it.