Pizza Box Liners, Plain or Printed, Square or Round

What are pizza box liners and who uses them?

A pizza box liner is a sheet of corrugated board that lies flat in the bottom of the box, under the pizza. It is single-face board: a smooth paper face on top, with a row of fine flutes underneath.

Those flutes lift the base a little off the floor of the box. The small gap gives steam and oil somewhere to go, rather than pooling under the crust.

Pizzerias, takeaways, market stalls, pubs and dark kitchens use liners for oily toppings, thin bases and longer delivery runs. They sit alongside trays and separators in the full Pizza Box Sides and Extras range.

The photos on this page show plain white sheets. Brown kraft and printed liners are cut in exactly the same way.

What size liner does each pizza box need?

A liner should match the inside of the box, not the pizza. Each standard box is a quarter inch wider than the pizza it holds, and the liner is cut to drop inside the walls without bending up at the edges.

We cut liners to suit every standard UK takeaway box in the table below. If your boxes come from another supplier, measure the inside and we cut to that.

For a deep pan box, a long box or any size not listed, send the inside length and width. You can check your boxes against our pizza box sizes in inches and mm first.

Which board works best for a pizza box liner?

Liners are single-face corrugated in a fine E-flute profile, so the sheet stays thin and lies flat. The smooth face goes up under the pizza and the flutes rest on the box floor.

You can choose white or brown kraft. White looks clean when the lid opens on a margherita, while brown kraft matches a kraft box and shows oil marks a little less.

A liner does not need to be thick. Its job is to hold the base up and take up oil, and a fine flute does that without eating into the depth of the box.

If you are still choosing the box itself, the E-flute vs B-flute guide explains the difference.

Can you print on a pizza box liner?

Yes. Liners come plain, or printed in one colour, two colours or full colour on the smooth face.

A small logo in one colour shows up nicely when a customer lifts the last slice. Full colour suits a repeat pattern, a thank-you line or an offer for their next order.

Oil and sauce will mark any liner. Keep fine detail and small text toward the edges, where the crust sits, rather than in the middle under the toppings.

Every printed liner gets a free design proof by email, and nothing is printed until you approve it. Matt or gloss varnish is available if you want a different finish.

How does a liner help with steam and oil?

A hot pizza keeps giving off steam after it leaves the deck. In a bare box, that moisture hits flat board under the base and has nowhere to go.

On a liner, the flutes underneath form small channels. Steam moves along them toward the walls and out through the side vents, instead of sitting under the crust.

The paper face takes up oil from toppings such as pepperoni, nduja or chilli oil. Less of it soaks into the box floor, so the base rests on a drier surface on the way to the door.

A liner will not stop all moisture, but it changes where it goes. For vents, bag stacking and timing, see keeping pizza hot and crisp in delivery.

Square or round: which liner cut suits your box?

Square liners cover the box floor corner to corner. They suit a standard square takeaway box and catch oil from a slice that slides into a corner.

Round liners follow the shape of the pizza and leave the corners bare. They suit round or eight-sided boxes, and some kitchens like the tidier look in a square box too.

A liner has no folds, flaps or glue. It lies flat, the pizza goes on top, and the lid closes and locks with its tuck-in flaps as normal.

Because nothing folds, a liner adds no extra step at the boxing station beyond dropping it in.

How do liners arrive and store beside the oven?

Liners arrive flat, banded in bundles by size and packed in outer cartons. A bundle takes far less room than flat boxes, so it fits on a shelf by the cutting table or on top of the box stack.

Each size is banded separately, so the 12 inch liners never end up in a 9 inch box during a rush.

Keep bundles away from the oven mouth, the dough proofer and the sink. Dry board lies flat; board that picks up steam starts to curl at the edges.

Production takes 4 to 6 working days after you approve the proof. Free tracked UK mainland delivery then takes 2 to 3 working days.

Packing a pizza on a liner, step by step

Most kitchens add the liner to their boxing routine within a shift. This order keeps it quick on a busy Friday night.

1. Fold the box up and check the walls stand square.
2. Drop a liner in, smooth face up, so it lies flat inside the walls.
3. Slide the pizza off the peel onto the liner, not onto bare board.
4. Slice before boxing, or cut gently on the liner with a rocker blade.
5. Close the lid and push the tuck-in flaps home so it locks.
6. Stack boxes flat in the delivery bag with the side vents clear.

With the pizza on a liner, the last slice lifts out easily and the customer opens a cleaner box.

Mistakes to avoid with pizza box liners

Most liner problems come from size or placement rather than the board itself.

• Ordering liners to the pizza size, so the edges ride up the box walls
• Laying the liner flutes up when the print is on the smooth face
• Storing bundles next to the oven, where steam curls the sheets
• Putting small print in the centre, where sauce and oil cover it first
• Using one liner size for every box when you sell several pizza sizes
• Expecting a liner to make up for a box with blocked vents

Not sure which size or cut to choose? Send a photo of your box on WhatsApp and we will suggest one.

How to order Pizza Box Liners

Tell us which box sizes you use, square or round cut, white or brown kraft, and plain or printed. Add a rough quantity for each size.

Pizza Box Liners are priced on your quote, which comes by email within one working day. Low minimums are quoted per job, so a market stall can order as easily as a busy takeaway.

Printed liners get a free design proof before anything is made. Misprints or damage reported within 10 days are reprinted or refunded.

Start with a quote for your pizza box liners, or call +44 7578 382054. You can also email info@thepizzaboxes.co.uk with your box sizes.