Packaging Material Calculator

What is the Packaging Material Calculator?

Before a big order or sale season, you need to know how much packaging to buy. The packaging material calculator totals the board, tape and void fill for a batch of boxes so you can order once and avoid running out.

For the cost of these materials per box use the Packaging Cost Calculator; for overall counts of boxes, pallets and labels see the Packaging Quantity Calculator. All calculators accept centimetres, inches or millimetres and kilograms or pounds, so you can use the units on your supplier's spec sheet.

How to use the Packaging Material Calculator

1. Enter box dimensions and quantity.
2. Enter board GSM and tape roll length.
3. Enter the product volume to estimate void fill.
4. Read totals for board, tape and fill.

Formula

Void fill = box volume − product volume · Tape per box (H-tape) ≈ 2L + 4W + 2H

Example

500 boxes of 30 × 20 × 15 cm need about 170 m² of board, around 1.5 km of tape (about 23 rolls of 66 m) and 4.5 m³ of void fill if the product takes half the box.

Reducing packaging waste

• Right-size boxes to reduce void fill.
• Use paper-based fill instead of plastic where possible.
• Choose the lightest board that passes your strength needs.
• Reuse inbound cartons for internal moves.

Related packaging and shipping tools

Packaging decisions are connected: the box size sets the volumetric weight, which sets the courier bill, and the carton size decides how many fit on a pallet or in a container. These related calculators help with the next step:

• Bubble wrap calculator: metres and rolls needed.
• Stretch film calculator: machine film per pallet.
• Pallet wrap calculator: hand wrap per pallet.
• Shrink wrap calculator: film size and rolls.
• Packaging tape calculator: tape per box and rolls.

Frequently asked questions