Direct Printed Plywood Catering Boxes
Zucker’s & Murray’s Bagels asked us to fabricate catering boxes for it’s restaurants. Instead of using the typical wicker baskets, they wanted something custom their customers could keep and possibly re-use. We conceptualized wooden trays with their logo direct printed on the front. This look and feel aligns with their brand identity - old world, rustic and vintage.
We used ½” birch plywood for the side walls and ⅛” lauan for the bottoms. Our production designer strategically laid out the artwork to minimize waste, helping to control cost, keeping these boxes in budget. After file set up, this went immediately into production.
We direct printed the logos to plywood using our Oce Arizona Flatbed Printer. The client wanted to see the wood grain through the print so we used one layer of CMYK ink. White ink was not needed as the material’s color was light enough to get the desired effect. CNC Registration marks (called fiducials) were added to ensure a perfect cut using the router’s camera system.
While the fronts were printing, we routed the sides and bottom, a total of 107 sheets of 4’x8’ plywood. As the sheets came off the router, the pieces were passed to our finishing team for sanding.
Once all the components were ready, assembly was done using brad nails and pneumatic guns.
The final step was stacking the boxes onto a pallet and shrink wrapping for an easy and secure delivery.
We ended up producing 500 boxes in less than a week. The combination of our speedy equipment, a skillful staff, and the convenience of being close to our NYC suppliers allowed us to meet this tight deadline.
