What is an unprinted pizza box?
An unprinted pizza box is a plain corrugated box with no printing at all. It holds the pizza, keeps it warm and stacks for delivery, but it carries no logo, no colours and no branding. It is the most basic version of the box your pizza travels in.
Most pizzerias reach for an unprinted pizza box in two situations: when they are just starting out and testing a location, or when they run a high-volume takeaway where branding matters less than cost. Because there is no printing, there are no plates to make and no ink to pay for, which makes it the cheapest box per unit.
Unprinted vs printed pizza box
The difference between an unprinted pizza box and a printed one comes down to three things: cost, branding and minimum order quantity. A plain box costs less per piece because you skip the plates and the ink. A printed box costs more per piece but turns every delivery into a small billboard for your brand.
The trade-off is real and worth thinking through. If you are a delivery chain, a printed box pays for itself in repeat orders and brand recognition. If you are a single takeaway competing on price, an unprinted pizza box keeps your costs down and your margins up.
When to choose an unprinted pizza box
- You are testing a new location and do not want to commit to plates
- Your customers do not see the box for long, such as walk-in takeaway
- You want the lowest possible unit cost
- You order in small, frequent batches and value flexibility
When to upgrade to a printed box
- You deliver and the box is seen at the customer’s door
- Customers share photos of your pizza on social media
- You have more than one location and need brand consistency
- You want the box itself to work as marketing
MOQ and cost, explained
An unprinted pizza box often has a higher minimum order quantity than a printed one, because the price advantage of a plain box only appears at real volume. A printed box can start from around 1,000 pieces, while a plain box may need a larger run to be economical. That sounds backwards until you remember that printing plates are a fixed cost, and a plain box has no fixed cost to spread — it is simply cheaper once the quantity is large enough.
See the full pizza box range, or learn how printing works in our pizza box printing guide.
General background on pizza boxes.
