Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use

Corrugated Packaging

Objective of studyThe objective behind the study of this topic was the hunger of knowledge about a completely new industry viz Corrugated Packaging.

There are studies been made on packaging industry but the corrugation sector was not given so much importance, I wanted to bring it to everyones notice that an industry known as corrugated packaging not only exists but also yields great returns and has a lot of scope for development.

Chapter IPackaging Industry Packaging overview

History of packaging

Factors to consider when making packaging decision

Packaging an overview

Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of design, evaluation, and production of packages. Package labelling (BrE) or labeling (AmE) is any written, electronic, or graphic communications on the packaging or on a separate but associated label.

Packaging is heavily integrated into our daily lives, we see it all around us, on everyday items such as chocolate bars and potato chip (crisp) packets- As explained below, the main use for packaging is protection of the goods inside, but packaging also provides us with a recognisable logo, or packaging, we instantly know what the goods are insideA Brief History of Packaging

Introduction

From the very earliest times, humans consumed food where it was found. Families and villages made or caught what they used. They were also self-sufficient, so there was little need for packaging of goods, either for storage or transportation. When containers were needed, nature provided gourds, shells, and leaves. Later, containers were fashioned from natural materials, such as hollowed logs, woven grasses and animal organs. As ores and chemical compounds were discovered, metals and pottery were developed, leading to other packaging forms.

Packaging is used for several purposes:

Contain products, defining the amount the consumer will purchase.

Protects products from contamination, from environmental damage and from theft.

Facilitate transportation and storing of products.

Carry information and colorful designs that make attractive displays.

For each product's needs, there are good packaging solutions. Though packages are often taken for granted, they are the result of many years of innovation -- in some cases accidental. A brief review of the more popular packaging developments are included in this fact sheet.

Paper and Paper Products

One way of placing packages into categories is to describe them as flexible, semi-flexible, or rigid. Flexible packaging includes the paper sacks that dog food comes in, the plastic bags that hold potato chips, and the paper or plastic sacks in which we carry home our purchases. An example of semi-flexible packaging is the paperboard boxes that cereal, many other food products, small household items, and many toys are packaged in. For many non-food items, the packaging is made more rigid by formed packing materials that slip inside the box and hold the product and its accessories or components in place. Forms of rigid packaging include crates, glass bottles, and metal cans.

Cloth or paper may be the oldest forms of flexible packaging. Flexible packaging is the most "source-reduced" form of packaging, that means that a flexible package has the least amount of material compared to other forms of packages that would hold the product. This also means that flexible packaging adds very little weight to the overall product, and there is very little to discard when the package is empty.

The use of flexible packaging materials began with the Chinese, They used sheets of treated mulberry bark to wrap foods as early as the first or second century B.C. During the following centuries, the Chinese also developed and refined the techniques of paper making. Knowledge of how to make paper gradually moved west across Asia and into Europe. In 1310, paper making was introduced to England. The technique arrived in America in Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1690.

Paper is basically a thin sheet of cellulose. Cellulose is a fibrous material derived from plants. Early paper was made from cellulose fibers derived from flax, the plant that also gives fibers for linen cloth. As demand for paper grew, old linen rags were sought as a source of fiber.

In 1867, the process for deriving useful cellulose fiber from wood pulp was developed. Because wood was so cheap and plentiful, this fiber source rapidly replaced cloth fibers as the primary source of paper fiber. Today, virtually all paper has wood pulp as the source of cellulose fiber.

An important step for the use of paper in packaging came with the development of paper bags. Commercial paper bags were first manufactured in Bristol, England, in 1844. Shortly thereafter, in 1852, Francis Wolle invented the bag-making machine in the United States. Further advancements during the 1870s included glued paper sacks and the gusset design, producing the types of paper bags used today. In 1905, machinery was invented to automatically produce in-line printed paper bags.

With the development of the glued paper sack, the more expensive cotton flour sacks could be replaced. But a sturdier multiwalled paper sack for larger quantities did not replace cloth until 1925, when a means of sewing the ends was finally invented.

Another important use of paper in packaging came with the development of paperboard -- the kind of paper that packages a box of cereal. The first paperboard carton -- often called a cardboard box -- was produced in England in 1817, more than two hundred years after the Chinese invented cardboard or paperboard.

Another common form of "cardboard" based on corrugated paper appeared in the 1850s. Basically, this form of cardboard is made from thin sheets of paperboard that are molded into a wavy shape and then "faced" or sandwiched between two flat sheets of paperboard. The strength, lightness, and cheapness of this material make it very useful for shipping and storing. However, replacing wooden crates with the new paper alternative would prove to be something of a battle. Nevertheless, about 1910, after much litigation between manufacturers and the railroads, shipping cartons of faced corrugated paperboard began to replace self-made wooden crates and boxes used for trade. Today, cardboard boxes -- more accurately called "C-flute corrugated paperboard cartons" -- are used almost universally for product shipping.

As with many innovations, the development of the carton was accidental. Robert Gair was a Brooklyn printer and paper-bag maker during the 1870s. While he was printing an order of seed bags, a metal rule normally used to crease bags shifted in position and cut the bag. Gair concluded that cutting and creasing paperboard in one operation would have advantages; the first automatically made carton, now referred to as "semi-flexible packaging," was created. Such folding cartons or "tubular cartons" dominate the dried, processed food market.

The development of flaked cereals advanced the use of paperboard cartons. The Kellogg brothers were first to use cereal cartons. The Kelloggs operated a sanatorium at Battle Creek, Michigan. They developed flaked cereals as a health food for their patients, but soon began marketing this new food product on a mass scale. Their original packaging was a waxed, heat-sealed bag of Waxtite wrapped around the outside of a plain box. The outer wrapper was printed with the brand name and advertising copy. Today, of course, a plastic liner protects cereals and other products within the printed carton. Some cereal manufacturers have attempted to sell cereal in flexible pouches, like snack foods. However, U.S. consumers have only marginally accepted cereals in a pouch only, so we continue to see a bag-in-box format for cereals.

Paper and paperboard packaging increased in popularity throughout much of the 20th century. Then with the advent of plastics as a significant player in packaging (late 1970s and early 1980s), paper and its related products were replaced in many uses. Lately that trend has slowed as designers have tried to respond to the perception that plastic is environmentally unfriendly. The fact is that decreasing that amount of material in packaging is usually more important than the composition of the package to get the most environmentally friendly form of packaging.

Glass

Although glass-making began in 7000 B.C. as an offshoot of pottery, it was first industrialized in Egypt in 1500 B.C. Made from base materials (limestone, soda, sand and silica), which were in plentiful supply, all ingredients were simply melted together and molded while hot. Since that early discovery, the mixing process and the ingredients have changed very little, but the molding techniques have progressed dramatically.

At first, ropes of molten glass were coiled into shapes and fused together. By 1200 B.C., glass was pressed into molds to make cups and bowls. When the blowpipe was invented by the Phoenicians in 300 B.C., it not only speeded production but allowed for round containers. Colors were available from the beginning, but clear, transparent glass was not discovered until the start of the Christian Era. During the next 1000 years, the process spread steadily, but slowly, across Europe.

The split mold, which was developed in the 17th and 18th centuries, further provided for irregular shapes and raised decorations. The identification of the maker and the product name could then be molded into the glass container as it was manufactured. As techniques were further refined in the 18th and 19th centuries, prices of glass containers continued to decrease. Owens invented the first automatic rotary bottle-making machine, patented in 1889. Suddenly, glass containers of all shapes and sizes became economically attractive for consumer products, and from the early 1900s until the late 1960s glass containers dominated the market for liquid products. A typical modern bottle-making machine automatically produces 20,000 bottles per day.

While other packaging products, such as metals and plastics, were gaining popularity in the 1970s, packaging in glass tended to be reserved for high- value products. As a type of "rigid packaging," glass has many uses today. High weight, fragility and cost have reduced the glass markets in favor of metal and plastic containers. Still, for products that have a high quality image and a desire for high flavor or aroma protection, glass is an effective packaging material. The packaging glass used today is the only type of glass accepted in US recycling programs.

Metals

Ancient boxes and cups, made from silver and gold, were much too valuable for common use. Metal did not become a common packaging material until other metals, stronger alloys, thinner gauges and coatings were eventually developed.

One of the "new metals' that allowed metal to be used in packaging was tin. Tin is a corrosion-resistant metal, and ounce-for-ounce, its value is comparable to silver. However, tin can be "plated" in very thin layers over cheaper metals, and this process made it economical for containers.

The process of tin plating was discovered in Bohemia in 1200 A.D., and cans of iron coated with tin were known in Bavaria as early as the 14th century. However, the plating process was a closely guarded secret until the 1600s. Thanks to the Duke of Saxony, who stole the technique, it progressed across Europe to France and the United Kingdom by the early 19th century. After William Underwood transferred the process to the United States via Boston, steel replaced iron, which improved both output and quality. The term 'tin can' referred to a tin-plated iron or steel can and was considered a cheap item. Tin foil also was made long before aluminum foil. Today many still refer to metal cans as 'tin cans' and aluminum foil as 'tin foil', a carryover from times well past.

In 1764, London tobacconists began selling snuff in metal canisters, another type of today's "rigid packaging." But no one was willing to use metal for food since it was considered poisonous.

The safe preservation of foods in metal containers was finally realized in France in the early 1800s. In 1809, General Napoleon Bonaparte offered 12,000 francs to anyone who could preserve food for his army. Nicholas Appert, a Parisian chef and confectioner, found that food sealed in tin containers and sterilized by boiling could be preserved for long periods. A year later (1810), Peter Durand of Britain received a patent for tinplate after devising the sealed cylindrical can.

Since food was now safe within metal packaging, other products were made available in metal boxes. In the 1830s, cookies and matches were sold in tins and by 1866 the first printed metal boxes were made in the United States for cakes of Dr. Lyon's tooth powder.

The first cans produced were lead-soldered by hand, leaving a 1 1/2-inch hole in the top to force in the food. A patch was then soldered in place but a small air hole remained during the cooking process. Another small drop of solder then closed the air hole. At this rate, only 60 cans per day could be manufactured.

In 1868, interior enamels for cans were developed, but double seam closures using a sealing compound were not available until 1888.

Aluminum particles were first extracted from bauxite ore in 1825 at the high price of $545 per pound. When the development of better processes began in 1852, the prices steadily declined until 1942, when the price of a pound of aluminum was $14. Although commercial foils entered the market in 1910, the first aluminum foil containers were designed in the early 1950s while the aluminum can appeared in 1959.

The invention of cans also required the invention of the can opener! Initially, a hammer and chisel was the only method of opening cans. Then in 1866, the keywind metal tear-strip was developed. Nine years later (1875), the can opener was invented. Further developments modernized the mechanism and added electricity, but the can opener has remained, for more than 100 years, the most efficient method of retrieving the contents of a can. In the 1950s, the pop top/tear tab can lid appeared and now tear tapes that open and reseal are popular.

Collapsible, soft metal tubes, today known as "flexible packaging," were first used for artists paints in 1841. Toothpaste was invented in the 1890s and started to appear in collapsible metal tubes. But food products really did not make use of this packaging form until the 1960s. Later, aluminum was changed to plastic for such food items as sandwich pastes, cake icings and pudding toppings.

Plastics

Plastic is the newest packaging material in comparison with metal, glass, and paper. Although discovered in the 19th century, most plastics were reserved for military and wartime use. Plastics have become very important materials and a wide variety of plastics have been developed over the past 170 years.

Several plastics were discovered in the nineteenth century: styrene in 1831, vinyl chloride in 1835, and celluloid in the late 1860s. However, none of these materials became practical for packaging until the twentieth century.

Styrene was first distilled from a balsam tree in 1831, but the early products were brittle and shattered easily. Germany refined the process in 1933 and by the 1950s styrofoam was available worldwide. Insulation and cushioning materials as well as foam boxes, cups and meat trays for the food industry became popular.

Vinyl chloride, discovered in 1835, provided for the further development of rubber chemistry. For packaging, molded deodorant squeeze bottles were introduced in 1947 and in 1958, heat shrinkable films were developed from blending styrene with synthetic rubber. Today some water and vegetable oil containers are made from vinyl chloride.

Celluloid was invented during the American Civil War. Due to a shortage of ivory, a United States manufacturer of billiard balls offered a $10,000 reward for an ivory substitute. A New York engineer, John Wesley Hyatt, with his brother Isaiah Smith Hyatt, experimented several years before creating the new material. Patented in 1870, "celluloid" could not be molded, but rather carved and shaped, just like ivory.

Cellulose acetate was first derived from wood pulp in 1900 and developed for photographic uses in 1909. Although DuPont manufactured cellophane in New York in 1924, it wasn't commercially used for packaging until the late 1950s and early 1960s. In the interim, polyethylene film wraps were reserved for the military. In 1933, films protected submarine telephone cables and later were important for World War II radar cables and drug tablet packaging.

Other cellophanes and transparent films have been refined as outer wrappings that maintain their shape when folded. Originally clear, such films can now be made opaque, colored or embossed with patterns.

One of the most commonly used plastics is polyethylene terephthalate (PETE). This material only became available for containers during the last two decades with its use for beverages entering the market in 1977. By 1980, foods and other hot-fill products such as jams could also be packaged in PETE.

Current packaging designs are beginning to incorporate recyclable and recycled plastics but the search for reuse functions continues.

Labels and Trademarks

It now seems obvious that product containers will bear the identification of the maker alongside pictures, nutritional information, ingredients, etc. However, this seeminlgy obvious feature of packaging has its own history.

In the 1660s, imports into England often cheated the public and the phrase "let the buyer beware" became popular. Inferior quality and impure products were disguised and sold to uninformed customers. Honest merchants, unhappy with this deception, began to mark their wares with their identification to alert potential buyers.

Official trademarks were pioneered in 1866 by Smith Brothers for their cough drops marketed in large glass jars. This was a new idea - using the package to "brand" a product for the benefit of the consumer.

In 1870, the first registered U.S. trademark was awarded to the Eagle-Arwill Chemical Paint Company. Today, there are nearly three-quarters of a million (750,000) registered trademarks in the United States alone. Labels now contain a great deal of information intended to protect and instruct the public.

A Review

From containers provided by nature to the use of complex materials and processes, packaging has certainly changed. Various factors contributed to this growth: the needs and concerns of people, competition in the marketplace, unusual events (such as wars), shifting lifestyles, as well as discoveries and inventions. Just as no single cause influenced past development, a variety of forces will be required to create the packages of the future, but a very important factor will always be consumer choice. Ultimately, only the packaging that our society demands is produced. We choose by the products we purchase.

Factors to Consider When Making Packaging DecisionPackaging decisions are important for several reasons including:

Protection Packaging is used to protect the product from damage during shipping and handling, and to lessen spoilage if the protect is exposed to air or other elements.

Visibility Packaging design is used to capture customers attention as they are shopping or glancing through a catalog or website. This is particularly important for customers who are not familiar with the product and in situations, such as those found in grocery stores, where a product must stand out among thousands of other products. Packaging designs that standout are more likely to be remembered on future shopping trips.

Added Value Packaging design and structure can add value to a product. For instance, benefits can be obtained from package structures that make the product easier to use while stylistic designs can make the product more attractive to display in the customers home.

Distributor Acceptance Packaging decisions must not only be accepted by the final customer, they may also have to be accepted by distributors who sell the product for the supplier. For instance, a retailer may not accept packages unless they conform to requirements they have for storing products on their shelves.

Cost Packaging can represent a significant portion of a products selling price. For example, it is estimated that in the cosmetics industry the packaging cost of some products may be as high as 40% of a products selling price. Smart packaging decisions can help reduce costs and possibly lead to higher profits.

Expensive to Create - Developing new packaging can be extremely expensive. The costs involved in creating new packaging include: graphic and structural design, production, customer testing, possible destruction of leftover old packaging, and possible advertising to inform customer of the new packaging.

Long Term Decision When companies create a new package it is most often with the intention of having the design on the market for an extended period of time. In fact, changing a products packaging too frequently can have negative effects since customers become conditioned to locate the product based on its package and may be confused if the design is altered.

Environmental or Legal Issues Packaging decisions must also include an assessment of its environmental impact especially for products with packages that are frequently discarded. Packages that are not easily bio-degradable could draw customer and possibly governmental concern. Also, caution must be exercised in order to create packages that do not infringe on intellectual property, such as copyrights, trademarks or patents, held by others.

Chapter IICorrugated Packaging Industry

Corrugated Packaging overview Industry Info Corrugated packaging industry overview

125 Years of the Corrugated Packaging IndustryThe booming Indian economy and a flourishing organised retail have raised the expectations that consumption of corrugated packaging will begin to expand again as the number and volume of goods packaged in corrugated increases. MNCs are demanding corrugated boxes of international standards and the pattern of buying the packaging is changing.

Prices of corrugated sheet and converted boxes have remained low due to the over-capacity, manual operations and low productivity. Besides, transport constraints and high freight costs have meant that small to medium sized corrugated box plants are located near the customers.

The over 4,000 corrugated board and sheet plants are highly labour-intensive, employing over half a million people both directly and indirectly. The industry is converting about 2 million tons of Kraft paper into corrugated boxes. Factories are spreadout in all parts of India, even in the remote industrially backward areas.

This present scenario is already being challenged by the sweeping changes that are beginning to take shape. More and more in-line automatic plants are being set up, as corrugated box makers gear up to meet the new demands for high precision boxes with attractive graphics and large integrated production capacities.

Corrugation Industry .Corrugated boxes industry is a packaging industry. Corrugated boxes are manufactured from paper. Initially the paper used for manufacturing was obtained from wood pulp which is known as virgin paper. Now a days, in order to reduce the wastage and make optimum utilization of resources, recycled quality paper is also used which is known as non- virgin paper. Boxes were also made from bagasse (by product of sugar cane), but it was not environment friendly. Thus, due to the above reasons recycled paper is being largely used by the industries today to manufacture corrugated boxes.

Corrugated boxes are required by all types of industries no matter whether it is a large/small/medium-scale industry. They are required by the wholesalers and retailers. Corrugated boxes are even used by Movers and Packers. Therefore, there is a huge market for corrugated boxes.

Chapter III

History of Corrugated Packaging Industry History of Corrugated

950 BCThe ancient Egyptians produced the first writing material by pasting together thin layers of plant stems..

100 BCThe Chinese created the first authentic paper from bamboo and mulberry fibers.

1400s ADPaper mills appeared in Spain, Italy, Germany and France

1690The first sheet paper mill in North America was built near Philadelphia.

1767England wanted to regain their loss of colonial paper exports. They imposed the Stamp Act, which included a tax on all paper made in the colonies. Many consider this fuel for the American Revolution.

1803The first continuous papermaking machine was patented.

1854In England, the first pulp from wood was manufactured

1856The first known corrugated material was patented for sweatband lining in tall hats of Victorian Englishmen.

1871Unlined corrugated first appeared as a packaging material for glass and kerosene lamp chimneys

1874

A liner was added to one side of the corrugated material to prevent the flutes from stretching.

1894Corrugated was slotted and cut to make the first boxes. Wells Fargo began using corrugated boxes for small freight shipments.

1903Corrugated was first approved as a valid shipping material and was used to ship cereals.

1909Rubber printing plates were developed which allowed for greater design creativity.

1914Tariffs imposed on corrugated shipping containers were ruled discriminatory.

1957Flexographic printing virtually replaced letterpress and oil-based ink.

1960sThe flexo folder-gluer was invented.

Early 1980sPreprinted linerboard emerged.

Late 1980sNew developments in the anilox roll, plate and press design drove the industry into short-run, high-graphic products.

1991The edge crush test was added to Item 222 and Rule41 as an alternative to burst strength and basis weight, allowing the manufacture of lighter weight liners.

Chapter IV

Corrugated Packaging

What is Corrugated packaging Why Corrugated Packaging

Corrugation

An introduction

Corrugated board is essentially a paper sandwich consisting of corrugated medium layered between inside and outside linerboard. On the production side, corrugated is a sub-category of the paperboard industry, which is a sub-category of the paper industry, which is a sub-category of the forest products industry. Traditionally, corrugated is best known for its structural strength that offers protection to packaged products throughout the transportation cycle. However, it has evolved over the course of time and today it is a much more versatile product. It can be easily cut to any shape and creased to fold in any direction. Thus, corrugated boards can be further converted to produce cartons, boxes, cases, containers, inherent fitments/ accessories such as interlockers, partitions, dividers, pads, plates, supporters, fillers etc. which provide internal cushioning and restrict movements. The various shapes and forms described above are referred to as corrugated boxes for sake of brevity.

Packaging done by corrugation helps in the movement of goods from the manufacturer to the seller to the buyer without any hassles of breakages, pilferage etc. Therefore the importance of corrugation is not only to the seller but also to the buyer as it gives a form of safety satisfaction to both.

Corrugated boxes are easy to recognize. Corrugated is made of paper and has an arched layer, called "fluting," between smooth sheets, called "liner." The corrugated most commonly used to make boxes has one layer of fluting between two smooth sheets. But there are many types of corrugated available, each with different flute sizes and thicknesses.

Corrugated is an extremely durable, versatile, economical and lightweight material used for custom-manufactured shipping containers, packaging and point-of-purchase displays, in addition to numerous non-traditional applications ranging from pallets to children's toys to furniture.Why Corrugated?

Corrugated. It's not just a brown box.

Corrugated is a complete, high-performance material design, manufacturing and delivery system. Corrugated is the preferred packaging material because it is: Versatile

Lightweight

Sustainable

Environmentally Responsible

Made from a Renewable Resource

Customizable

Protective and Durable Graphically Appealing

Cost-Effective

Chapter V

Features Of Corrugated Packaging

& Raw Materials Used

Features of corrugated box

A High-Tech Engineered Material.

What may come as a big surprise to many is that the ever-present corrugated "cardboard box" is high-tech:

Ongoing R&D programs continuously improve such characteristics as strength-to-weight ratios, printability, moisture barriers and recyclability.

Corrugated components, designs and end products are manufactured on sophisticated, automatic equipment that reduces costs and ensures consistent performance.

The vast majority of corrugated products are designed and prototyped with advanced, computer-aided design and manufacturing systems, providing customers with the best and most cost-effective solutions to their packaging challenges.

Infinitely Customizable.

Corrugated offers thousands of possible combinations of board types, flute sizes (caliper), basis weight, adhesives, treatment and coatings, including flame retardant and static control protection.

Corrugated is the only rigid shipping container and packaging medium that can be cut and folded into an infinite variety of shapes and sizes and direct-printed with high-resolution color graphics (including lithography, flexography and silk screening). And corrugated is not just for displays and boxes. Other uses include low-cost, one-way recyclable pallets, retail bulk bins, and lightweight castles that children can build themselves.

There are hundreds of basic designs and thousands of adaptations, each chosen on the basis of proven experience and the proposed use of the product.

Corrugated is routinely custom-designed to fit specific product protection, shelf space and shipping density requirements (including inner packaging that prevents shifting).

Tenaciously Protective.

Corrugated combines structural rigidity with superior cushioning qualities. Containers, packages and pallets nest products in an optimally protective environment, so even heavy or fragile contents arrive undamaged.

Corrugated offers excellent tear, tensile and burst strength to withstand shipping pressures. It resists impact, drop and vibration damage while offering uniform stacking and weight distribution so the load stays put, regardless of the form of transportation.

Corrugated can be designed to contain flowable, granular or loose bulk products and even hazardous materials. It is also used to ship liquids and fresh foods, with the addition of removable plastic or waxed liners which serve as moisture barriers.

All this from a material that is lightweight, low-cost, reusableand recyclable.

Graphically Appealing.

Corrugated containers and packaging are mobile billboards that create product image wherever they travel. Corrugated displays are eye-catching modular units that can be set up quickly and recycled at the end of a promotion.

Corrugated is a very flexible medium that accommodates a wide range of printing options to support the end-use requirement: Offset lithography and rotogravure (high-volume).

Flexography or letterpress (shorter runs)

Silk screening (displays)

Corrugated can be direct printed in plant or manufactured with high-end process color graphics.

Preeminently Cost-Effective.

One of the least expensive containers ever developed, the overall cost of corrugated shipping containers is usually between one percent and four percent of the value of the goods they carry.

The cost of labor and tools required to produce, fill, and move the container is low. The cost of shipping is low, due to lower weights and higher fill densities than alternative packaging. The trend toward lightweighting will continue to drive down shipping costs. Low raw material costs and mass production of corrugated containers makes them particularly cost-efficient.

The ultimate contribution to cost reduction is when corrugated is used as an all-in-one shipping, storage, advertising and display medium - a growing trend both in warehouse and other retail stores.

Environmentally Responsible.

Corrugated, made from a natural renewable resource, has a great environmental record. Corrugated is frequently manufactured using high percentages of secondary fiber (including old corrugated containers, kraft, old newspapers and even straw), thereby diverting these materials from the municipal solid waste stream.

In 2005, 24.7 million tons of corrugated were recovered and recycled in the U.S. -- that's 76.6 percent of all containerboard produced in the same year. Corrugated has the best recycling rate of any packaging material used today. And that's what happens after the corrugated box has been used and reused time and time again to store and move items around the home, store and office.

In addition, the use of corrugated constructions with high-performance linerboard has led to a significant overall reduction in basis weight and a significant source reduction of raw materials.

Water-based inks are now used almost exclusively for printing graphics on corrugated containers, avoiding the use of lead-based inks and solvents which pollute the air and the water used to wash down printing equipment between color changes.RAW MATERIALS

1 Craft paper: Craft paper used is recycled paper. The quality of the craft paper depends upon the burst factor( BF). This burst factor is of A, B and semi A grade. A grade is the best quality paper made of wood pulp. It is also called virgin quality paper. But since it is not environment friendly, it is not used. B grade is indigenous recycled paper of 12 BF while semi A grade is imported recycled paper between 16- 25 BF. These two types are called non virgin quality papers. Customers order craft papers from these two grades and the BF entirely depends upon the customers and so, no specific quality craft paper is recommended. Also the papers are ordered according to the cut size or the deckal as we know it in the corrugation industry. It varies according to customers requirements. He can order accordingly. Also gram per sq.m. (GSM) also varies in craft paper. GSM varies from 80-200. what the customer wants depends entirely on his choice.

2 Gum: Gum is basically used for corrugating and pasting machine. There are two different gum used for these machines. One is corrugation gum for corrugating machine and another one is pasting gum for pasting machine. Both are starch based. Silicate based gum is also available, but it is hazardous to workers hands as it contains pieces of glass. Corrugating gum used in corrugation machine is half cooked. The reason for this is when it goes through the heater, it gets completely cooked and fully effective. Pasting gum is completely cooked and contains 18- 20% starch.

3 Pins: for pinning machine, pins are required. There are two types of pins- aluminium and rust proof pins. Basically, rust proof pins are recommended as it is cost effective and also because it does not rust. Aluminium pins cost Rs. 50/ kg. while rust proof pins cost Rs. 38/ kg. and 1 kg. contains around 2000 pins. Also the wires used for these pins is MS Galvanised. The thickness of the pin is around 16 guage.

4 Binding cloth and fevicol are other raw materials used. These are not the main raw materials but value adding materials. Binding cloth required in a day is 20 m.

These are some of the basic raw materials used for the manufacture of the corrugated packaging.

Chapter VICorrugated Box Structure

All About Corrugated Cardboard Boxes

Design of Corrugated Boxes Corrugated boxes are made of corrugated paperboard.

Corrugated paperboard has a sequence of air columns, parallel to each other, running across the surface of the box. The air columns serve as cushioning and the series of paper columns is what makes the material durable.

The design of the box varies depending on the purpose of its use. A manufacturer might choose to design corrugated boxes to be sized and/or shaped to best suit the purpose it will be used for.

Structure of Corrugated BoxesThere are two basic components of c Fiberboard, also known as Combined Cardboard, those components are:

Linerboard

Medium

These two components are made of a unique type of heavy paper, referred to as container board.

What is Linerboard? Linerboard is the flat cardboard surface that adheres to the medium and acts as liners.

What is Medium? The medium is the grooved corrugated paper channels in between the liners.

The images below illustrate four kinds of COMBINED CARDBOARD: Single Face:

A medium is glued to a linerboard. Single Wall: Similarly referred to as, Double Face. A medium is glued between two linerboards.

Double Wall:

Designed like a double cheeseburger, with a linerboard glued above and below each of two mediums

Tripple wall:

Designed like a triple cheeseburger, a linerboard is glued above and below each of the three mediums.

The purpose of FLUTES

The concept of an arch is that if shaped properly, it maximizes the strength of the area it spans. The design of FLUTES, when attached to linerboards in a cardboard box, adheres to this concept by being shaped in such a manner as to allow it to withstand immense force and extreme pliability.

The layers of flutes combine together to form an abundant series of arched columns that act as a stabilizer in supporting heavy loads. At the same time, the space beneath the arches of flutes serves its purpose by acting as cushioning for whatever is placed in the cardboard box. The linerboard attached is essential to the upkeep of the flutes for the purpose of protecting it from damage as well as adding to its strength.

Interestingly enough, the flutes also provide some level of protection from abrupt temperature adjustments in its surroundings area. Please note, to the right, the diagrams indications of the various flute sizes currently manufactured on the market:

F is the smallest flute size shown.E is the second to smallest flute size.C is considered the medium flute size.B is smaller than the C size and bigger than the E size.A is the largest flute size and most commonly used on the market.

While there are a number of new specialized flute sizes currently being worked on for production, the ones listed above are the most common ones available and as noted above, already on the market for purchase. The largest and larger flutes tend to be used for handling boxes since it can handle more pressure on top of it and the smaller flutes are used mostly for smaller retail cardboard box purposes.

Depending on the purpose the cardboard box is used for, various sizes of flutes can be combined in creating the particular box in such a manner as to cause the box to adjust its handling ability as a result of the particular combination of different sizes of flutes attached to the linerboard in creating the cardboard box.

Box Dimensions

Dimensions are given in the sequence of length, width and depth. Internationally, the words length, breadth and height may be used to express these dimensions. The dimensions of a box are described based on the opening of an assembled box, which can be located on the top or the side, depending on how it is to be filled. The opening of a box is a rectangle; that is, it has two sets of parallel sides. The longer of the two sides is considered its length, the shorter of the two sides is considered its width. The side perpendicular to length and width is considered the depth of the box.

Dimensions can be specified for either the inside or the outside of the box. Accurate inside dimensions must be determined to ensure the proper fit for the product being shipped or stored. At the same time, palletizing and distributing the boxes depends on the outside dimensions. The box manufacturer should be informed as to which dimension is most important to the customer.

Chapter VIIProduction Process of Corrugated PackagingProduction Process

Paper for Corrugated Board

Fluting Paper(a)Recycled:Made from recycled paper. The fibre content, quality and hygiene is vary. With certain process this recycled paper could match the semi-chemical fluting it is more abrasive. (b)Semi-Chemical: Made from virgin fibre hardwood & mixed with recycled paper (