Pizza box sizes: 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 in boxes
Pizza boxes are square and named by their inside size: the common ones are 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 in, about 2 in deep, with 7 in boxes for personal pizzas and 20 to 24 in boxes for the largest. Uline’s stock white pizza boxes, for example, are 12 × 12 × 2, 14 × 14 × 2 and 16 × 16 × 2 in. A box is larger than the pizza it holds, and suppliers pair sizes differently, so measure your largest pizza out of the oven. The printed piece is the box maker’s flat die-cut sheet; a 16 in lid is 4800 × 4800 pixels at 300 ppi.
Pizza box sizes: dimensions and pixels
Sizes are inside dimensions, length × width × depth. The inches, millimeters and pixels are the lid, where a printed pizza box carries its artwork.
| Box (inside L × W × D) | Inches | Millimeters | Pixels at 300 ppi | Notes and template |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 × 7 × 2 in | 7 × 7 in | 177.8 × 177.8 mm | 2,100 × 2,100 px | Personal pizzas |
| 10 × 10 × 2 in | 10 × 10 in | 254 × 254 mm | 3,000 × 3,000 px | |
| 12 × 12 × 2 in | 12 × 12 in | 304.8 × 304.8 mm | 3,600 × 3,600 px | Uline stock size |
| 14 × 14 × 2 in | 14 × 14 in | 355.6 × 355.6 mm | 4,200 × 4,200 px | Uline stock size |
| 16 × 16 × 2 in | 16 × 16 in | 406.4 × 406.4 mm | 4,800 × 4,800 px | Uline stock size |
| 18 × 18 × 2 in | 18 × 18 in | 457.2 × 457.2 mm | 5,400 × 5,400 px | |
| 20 × 20 × 2 in | 20 × 20 in | 508 × 508 mm | 6,000 × 6,000 px | Extra large |
| 24 × 24 × 2 in | 24 × 24 in | 609.6 × 609.6 mm | 7,200 × 7,200 px | Extra large |
Box size and pizza size
A pizza box is named by its inside size, and it is bigger than the pizza, so the pizza doesn’t touch the walls. How much bigger varies: WebstaurantStore’s guide groups 10 and 12 in boxes as small, for pizzas of about 9 to 10 in, 14 and 16 in boxes as medium, for 12 to 14 in pizzas, and 18 in boxes for 16 to 18 in pizzas. Other suppliers pair them more tightly, so measure your largest pizza after baking and check the inside size the supplier lists.
Most stock boxes are about 2 in deep, including Uline’s and the sizes in WebstaurantStore’s guide; deep-dish and heavily topped pizzas need a deeper box, so ask the supplier. Uline’s boxes are one piece, tab-locking, white outside and kraft inside. Pizza boxes are corrugated board, so they behave like any corrugated box on press.
Printing a pizza box
Long runs are printed on the lid by flexo, straight onto the board, usually in one or two spot colors on white or kraft; small runs often use a stock box with a printed sticker or a stamp. Flexo on corrugated thickens fine lines and fills in small reversed type, so keep the artwork bold, each color a spot color, and the type a generous size: see spot colors and lines too thin to print. For a sticker on a plain box, see sticker sizes.
The box maker supplies the flat die-cut sheet, with the lid, base, front flap, walls and locking tabs in one piece, so it is far larger than the lid. Place the artwork on their dieline at 100% and keep it clear of the creases and any vent holes: see setting up a dieline. Anything printed inside touches food, so ask the box maker about food-safe board and inks first. The menu that goes in the box has its own sizes: see menu sizes.
Questions
- What are standard pizza box sizes?
- 10, 12, 14, 16 and 18 in square boxes, about 2 in deep, are the most common, with 7 in boxes for personal pizzas and 20 to 24 in boxes for very large ones. Uline stocks white 12, 14 and 16 in boxes, each 2 in deep.
- What size box does a 12 inch pizza need?
- A box larger than the pizza, so it doesn’t touch the walls: WebstaurantStore’s guide puts 12 to 14 in pizzas in 14 or 16 in boxes. Suppliers pair sizes differently, so measure your pizza after baking and check the box’s inside size.
- How deep is a pizza box?
- About 2 in for most stock boxes, including Uline’s and the sizes in WebstaurantStore’s guide. Deep-dish and heavily topped pizzas need a deeper box; ask the supplier which depths it makes.
- What size is a pizza box lid in pixels?
- At 300 ppi, a 12 in lid is 3600 × 3600 pixels, a 14 in lid 4200 × 4200 and a 16 in lid 4800 × 4800. Pizza box artwork is usually vector in one or two spot colors, so the pixel size only matters for photos.
If the printer sends the file back
Terms on this page: Dieline, Die cut (die cutting), Scoring (creasing), Substrate, Pantone (spot color).
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