Measuring boxes may seem simple, but in the realm of custom packaging, it’s crucial for the safety and quality of your product. 

The dimensions of a box are critical for all packages since they oftentimes do have an impact on the materials and costs, along with shipping and costs for storage at warehouses. 

But if you do know the dimensions of a box, you’re able to give a little bit of room, reducing the overall costs, and by accurately measuring this, you’ll definitely be able to provide full and accurate boxes. 

But how do you do it? Let’s go over this now, including just what types of measurements are needed when choosing packaging boxes. 

The Three Measurements 

First, we have three measurements to take, since this does play a part in how to accurately measure a box. 

So what are the dimensions? 

They are length, depth, and width. 

Length of course is the longest side of the box. 

Width is the shorter part of this when you look at the top, oftentimes directly to the right and to the left. 

The depth is the height, which is the side that’s perpendicular to the length along with the width, and really is where most of the contents get filled. 

Usually, depth is the largest when you have a box that’s taller and more upwards, such as maybe a box that has a bigger product. 

But for items such as clothing racks, the depth is usually the smallest, while the length is very long, and the width is quite smaller too. 

Square boxes are a little bit different. 

They have equal sides, but for packaging, that’s not necessarily true, and it’s partially why you must measure every dimension for your product. 

For a lot of longer boxes, the width and the depth are a lot smaller than the length. 

The kind of box that you use is dependent on the size and the shape of it too. 

But you must repot all of these measurements when producing custom boxes, regardless of the boxes that you have and all of them of course will be in length, width, and the depth too. 

Internal Dimensions 

The big thing to understand though is that the box dimensions that you see are not based on outside measurements. 

But instead, internal ones. The external ones are good for packaging, but for the product, you want the internal dimensions to fit that better. 

Remember, this is where you’ll cushion most of the product, so if the internal dimension is too small, it’ll crush it. Too big, and it’ll get jostled about during transit. 

Calculating volume 

Then when you’ve done that, you need to calculate the volume of this. 

This doe smoke distribution a lot better, and it’ll tell others how exactly the box will fit within the packaging. 

This is integral for structural engineering and optimization of the packaging too. 

So make sure you do not skip over this step. 

Now that you know the dimensions of the box, both external and internal, you need to understand the volume of the box. 

This is simple multiplication, which involves length, width, and depth, all of those multiplied together. 

If you need it, get a calculator to properly do the measurements of this. 

And there you have it, all that you need to know in order to measure a box, and of course how you can apply the dimensions to all sorts of packaging. 

This does work for everything, and that’s why when you’re looking to get boxes, you definitely measure the costs of these as well.