CARTONS

A carton is one of those everyday items you might take for granted, or perhaps
you have asked yourself as you push your shopping cart past aisle after aisle of
products on the shelves. It is a standard sheet of corrugated board is made from
three components; a sheet of corrugated fluted paper sandwiched between an
outside liner.

Corrugated board
A standard sheet of corrugated board is made from three components; a sheet of
corrugated fluted paper sandwiched between an outside liner. Each side of the
fluting (medium) is glued to a sheet of flat liner paper. This gluing fixes or anchors
the flutes to the linear boards with adhesive, it resists bending and pressure from
all directions thus capable of supporting considerable amount of weights and also
gives the lightweight paper especially high stability. Albert L. Jones is the father
of corrugated board. Born in America, Jones discovered the idea while
manufacturing neck ruffs and frills on a pleating machine. Instead of using fabric
he put paper through the milling cylinders to produce an elastic packaging
material. In December 1871 he was granted a patent. In 1874 Oliver Long
achieved a considerable improvement by gluing a fluted sheet of corrugating
medium onto a linerboard, thus creating single face corrugated board. The first
attempts to make corrugated board in Europe were started in 1883, in London.
This was followed three years later, in 1886, by the first corrugated board factory
on the continent at Kirchberg in Germany .

Types of Paper used for making Cartons

Basic material for the production of corrugated board is the paper-board. There
are two main type of paperboard. There are two main types of paperboard: Kraft
and Test. Kraft Paper: Comes from softwood trees - the strongest form of paper
and the best to print on this is the most common outside liner for corrugated
boxes. Test Paper: This is so-called double layer paperboard (duplex paper).
Most standard cartons use recycled paper for the fluting and the inside liner.
Each sheet of liner paper is commonly composed of two layers. The finer cover
layer is ideal for printing and aesthetics, and the basic layer is excellent for
adhesion strength. Thickness: After the paper type, the next thing to look at is the
Thickness. This is measured the same way for all papers. Take one square meter
of your paper and weight it. The result is XX grams per square meter (which is
abbreviated to GSM). Example photocopy paper = 80gsm

Board Grades
Combining all of the above, it is possible to specify a simple short description that
defines the board grade of a box. For example 125K/B/125T. This means a
corrugated box, made from 125gsm Kraft outer liner, B fluting and 125gsm Test
inner lining.

Types of Cartons

Regular Slotted Carton (RSC)

Also called shipping boxes, RSCs are the most commonly used boxes. They are
usually Kraft brown in color, have four flaps on the top and bottom and the side
walls are sealed at one corner known as the "Manufacturer's Joint". This design
is highly functional for most packing applications.

Full Telescope Design Carton (FTD)

A two-piece box with a separate lid that that fits over a bottom tray. For telescope
type boxes the height (h) of the upper part (lid) should be given as a fourth
measurement after an oblique stroke i.e. 350 (L) x 200 (B) x 120 (H) / 40 (h)
Two-Piece Carton with Separate Lid (CSL)
The "Manufacturer's Joint" is where the two ends of the side panels meet to form
the box. At the point, the panels are fastened together with tape, staples or glue.
The side panel thickness and content weight determine the type of seal used for
the manufacture's joint. For example, glue is used for most single was boxes, but
staples are found in some double was and in most triple wall boxes.

International Fiberboard Case Code

This code which is prepared in collaboration with ESBO (The European Solid
Board Organization) contains a methodical presentation of all existing box design
styles, a code number being assigned to each design. As a reference document,
the code is used world-wide and it has been adopted by the United Nations.
Manufactures Stamp
A way to be sure that the material of the box that youre purchasing meets
industry standards is to look for the Manufactures Certification Stamp, usually
printed on one of the bottom flaps of the box. The stamp identifies the material as
single wall, double wall or triple wall. It also certifies the Mullen Bursting Test
(most common in 200 lbs. per square inch) or the Edge Crush Test (ECT 32 lbs.
per inch). The Mullen Test measures the bursting strength of the corrugated
linerboard while the Edge Crust Test measures linerboard stacking strength.
Carton Dimensions
All dimensions are expressed as internal dimensions and can be specified in
mm, cm, or inches depending on buyer's specs.

Carton Markings
Carton markings are printed in clear black lettering and must be in
accordance with the given layout. The contents of each export
carton must be clearly indicated that the front end and at the back
end. Generally the info contains info like Shipper's Address and
Consignee Address, PO No. Style No., size