Chapter 2

Paper and Paperboard Packaging

After completing this chapter, the student will be able to:

• Define paper, coarse paper, and fine paper.

• Discuss the organic and inorganic materials used for the manufacture of paper.
• Describe the major uses of paper for packaging.
• Describe the Fourdrinier and cylinder processes.
• Apply standard paper and paperboard terms, such as ream, basis weight, points and so
on.
• Describe the process of manufacturing corrugated board.
• Identify four common box and carton styles.

I. A Brief History of Paper

Historians cannot state with certainty how or where paper was invented, but the year of
invention is often given as AD 105. “In that year AD 105, Ts’ai Lun, eunuch of the Imperial Court
of China, officially reported the invention of paper making to the Emperor.” It is reasonable to
assume that experiments must have been underway for some considerable time before the
process was perfected and announced.
The original raw materials for the manufacture of paper were rags and cloth but soon the bark
of trees and other plant materials were also used. Mulberry tree bark was used because the
trees, which were the food source for silkworms, were plentiful in China and because the bark
was porous and easy to break up.
The early papermaking process started try soaking the rags and/or bark in limewater and then
beating the mix with a wooden mallet or pestle and mortar to separate the fibers. A single
sheet of paper was formed by pouring the resulting mixture onto a screen that was fabricated
from a mat of thin reeds covered by a silk or horsehair filter. The water passed through the
screen, leaving a mat of fibers behind. The sheets of paper were dried by hanging them out in
the air or by pressing them on a slab of porous or absorbent material. The "dried" sheets were
then laid out in the sun to bleach. This process was kept secret in China for several hundred
years.
However, in the late 700s, a paper plant in Turkestan was captured by Syrian soldiers during a
battle. Several skilled papermakers were taken as prisoners to Samarkand. Using the knowledge
possessed by these prisoners, the Syrians built and operated papermaking facilities. Then,
through the normal process of trade, papermaking soon spread to Baghdad and on to Egypt,
Morocco, England, France, and the rest of the world.

Paper Demand
For centuries, the demand for paper was quite limited, mainly because: (1) writing was the only
use for paper, (2) there were no printing presses, (3) few people could read or write, and (4) the
primary raw material for papermaking was rags. However the situation changed around 1500,
when Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press.
At that time, paper was still being manufactured in the batch process, producing a single sheet
at a time – the same basic process that had been invented in China 1,600 years earlier. For
many years, the primary uses of paper had been for limited formal written communications, for
hand-lettered books, as a medium for painting, and so on. Gutenberg made it possible to
manufacture multiple copies of a book or other document. As a result, the demand for paper
increased rapidly and the rag supply quickly became inadequate. The increased demand forced
a shift to wood as raw material for manufacturing paper because trees ensured a generous and
reliable supply of fibers.

Continuous Papermaking Processes

The increased demand for paper could not be satisfied economically by the single sheet-batch
production process. There was a need for continuous processes for faster production. Two
processes, (1) the Fourdrinier process and (2) the cylinder process, were developed in France
and England during the late 1700s and the early 1800s. These processes are still in use.

Fourdrinier Process
In 1799, a machine system for making paper was invented by a Frenchman named Nicholas L.
Robert. After buying the invention, a group of English print engineers patented it in England in
1801. (Patent laws were apparently different at that time.) Eventually, the ownership of the
machine shifted to the Fourdrinier brothers, who further improved the design. Consequently,
the final machine/process became known as the Fourdrinier machine or the Fourdrinier
process.

Cylinder Process
In 1809. John Dickinson patented the first "cylinder or mould machine' which consisted of a
wire-covered cylinder revolving in a vat filled with pulp. By 1830, two-ply paper was being made
by using two cylinders and combining the wet sheets in a press. This was the forerunner of the
modem multicylinder machine.
Current status of the Paper Industry
Currently, the worldwide use of paper is continuing to increase, even as Internet-based e-mail
and e-commerce also are growing. Electronic communication is actually one of the biggest
factors causing the boost in paper consumption. Internet-based companies use direct mail,
catalogs, and print advertising to build brand awareness and increase sales and then use paper-
based packages to ship products to consumers.
At this time, the United States is the leading consumer of paper and paperboard, using
approximately 600 pounds per person-year. There are about 5,000 manufacturing plants that
make paper and paper products in the United States.
Canada is the biggest pulp producer, followed closely by Sweden, Finland, and other countries
in Scandinavia. It is easy to understand why Canada is the biggest producer. There are extensive
forests in Canada and the biggest market for the pulp, the United States, is right next door.
Today, paper is mostly made from wood, but rags and recycled fibers (used paper) are also
used in large amounts. Wood is typically 50 percent cellulose and 30 percent lignin. Softwood
3 1
(16" long fibers) makes the best paper for packaging purposes. Hardwood (16" long fibers) is
used to make stiffer paper. Rags are added to the pulp to make high-quality stationery and
other specialty papers. Paper for recycling is routinely collected by thousands of curbside and
drop-off recycling programs. Eventually, that material is returned to paper mills to be reused.

Recycling
Each time that paper is reprocessed, the fibers are damaged to some extent. Some of the fibers
are broken and some of the tiny projections are split off, making the fibers shorter and
smoother. Papermakers compensate for this damage by mixing the recycled fibers with virgin
fibers. This generally yields a satisfactory product. However, each time the paper is recycled,
the problem is more severe because of continuing damage to the fibers. Eventually, the fibers
are too short and smooth to make usable paper. They are then discarded, burned as fuel, or
made into other products, such as paper pulp cushions or egg cartons.
As a result of the damage to the fibers during recycling, most experts say that paper can be
recycled about 8 to 10 times. Today, this is generally accepted. However, 10 to 15 years ago,
this limit was disputed by some individuals who were active in the environmental movement
and were advocating much more active recycling programs. They claimed that paper could be
recycled indefinitely and that we could greatly reduce the harvesting of trees to be used as a
feedstock for paper manufacturing. They further claimed that paper companies were cutting
trees for paper simply because it was less costly than using recycled fiber. There was a vigorous
controversy for a time before the facts became clearer. Today, much of the paper that is
purchased contains recycled fibers. Many manufacturers, such as cereal companies, indicate
the recycled content in the packages used for their products. Further, the solid waste
management plans in most states mandate that a certain fraction of the paper and paperboard
must be recycled. The particular requirements vary from state to state.

II. Paper and Paperboard Terms and

Definitions
The following terms and definitions and sample calculations have been gathered for the
convenience of the reader.

Point
1
A point is equal to 0.001"(1000 inch) in thickness of paper and paperboard. Paper is generally
less than 10 points in thickness. Paperboard can be as thick as 60 points (0.060").

Paper Ream
A ream of paper is 3,000 square feet of paper, cut into sheets of a standard size. Some standard
sheet sizes are 5.5" × 8.5", 8.5" × 11", 11" × 17", 17" × 22", and so on .

Paperboard ream
A ream of paperboard is 1,000 square feet of paperboard cut into sheets of a standard size.

Basis Weight (BW) of paper

The basis weight (BW) of a particular type of paper is the weight in pounds of a ream. For
example, if a particular type of paper has a BW of 16 lb., then 3,000 square feet of that paper,
cut into sheets of a standard size, would weigh 16 lb. A square foot of the 80 pound paperboard
would weigh 0.0053 pound and a standard 8.5"×11" sheet of the material would weigh 0.00346
pound.
16 lb./ream = 16 lb./3,000 sq. ft. = 0.0053 lb./sq. ft.
8.5 in. × 11 in. = 93.5 sq. in. = 0.649 sq. ft.
0.649 sq. ft. × 0.0053 lb./sq. ft. = 0.00346 lb.
Basis Weight (BW) of Paperboard
The basis weight of a particular type of paperboard is the weight, in pounds, of a ream. For
example, if a particular type of paperboard has a BW of 80 lb., then 1,000 square feet of that
paperboard, cut into sheets of a particular standard size, would weigh 80 lb. A square foot of
the 80 pound paperboard would weigh 0.080 pound and a standard 25" × 40" sheet of the
material would weigh 0.555 pound.
80 lb./ream = 80 lb./1000 sq. ft. = 0.080 lb./sq. ft.
25 in. × 40 in. = 1,000 sq. in. = 6.944 sq. ft.
6.944 sq. ft. × 0.08 lb./sq. ft. = 0.555 lb.

Machine Direction or Grain

The machine direction is the direction of the grain of the fibers. During manufacturing, the web
of paper is usually pulled away from the head of the Fourdrinier machine. This process tends to
orient the paper fibers parallel to the length of the paper machine. In a paper roll or web, the
machine direction is the direction perpendicular to the roll axis. (This will be clarified in the
sections on paper manufacturing.)

Cross Direction or Cross Grain

The cross direction is the direction perpendicular to the machine direction.

Gloss
Gloss is the property of a surface that causes light to reflect specularly (like a mirror). Gloss
usually depends on the characteristics of the clay, plastic, wax, and so on used as a coating.

Opacity
Opacity is the property of a sheet that describes the resistance to light transmission. This
property is of great importance in printing and wrapping papers. It often depends on coatings,
paper thickness, surface condition, raw materials, and the like.
III. Paper Manufacturing Processes
Paper manufacturing is the process of separating wood or other fibers and then assembling the
fibers into a mat, which is dried, pressed, trimmed, and rolled up. The process starts with the
delivery of logs or wood chips and other fibrous materials to the paper mill. The bark is
removed from the logs.

Pulping

• Mechanical pulping
• Chemical pulping
• Combination of mechanical and chemical pulping

Mechanical Pulping
Mechanical pulping produces ground wood pulp by pressing the logs lengthwise against a large
cylindrical grindstone while water is sprayed over the surface of the stone to carry away the
fibers and cool the stone. All components of the wood are used in the paper because the
mechanical pulping process does not provide a means for separation of the wood constituents,
particularly lignin. Consequently, the lignin ends up in the sheet of paper. Over time, paper with
lignin turns yellow and gets brittle.

Chemical Pulping
Chemical pulping starts with wood chips about the size of a 25 cent coin and produces pulp by
cooking the wood with chemicals in large cylindrical or spherical pressure vessels called
digesters. The lignin and carbohydrates are removed, so the pulp is higher quality but is also
more expensive. There are three chemical processes.
• The soda process uses caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) and soda ash (sodium carbonate)
to dissolve the undesirable wood constituents. The soda process is generally used to
produce pulp from hardwoods.
• The sulfate process, also called the Kraft process, works with both hardwoods and
softwoods. The process is similar to the soda process except that the sodium carbonate
is replaced by sodium sulfide. The sulfate process produces the strongest paper
products.
• The sulfite process is an acid reaction, unlike the other processes that are alkaline based.
The sulfite process is used on both hard and soft woods. The process has limited
application, being used on only about 1 percent of all pulp. Paper made by the sulfite
 process has strength about midway between paper made by the soda process and the
sulfate process.

Semichemical Pulping
Semichemical pulp is produced by a combination of mechanical and chemical processes. The
wood chips are soaked in caustic soda or sodium sulfite to soften the lignin and other materials
that bind the fibers together. The pulp is then ground mechanically. The process is mainly
applied to hardwoods. The resulting pulp is low in cost and retains most of the lignin.
Semichemical pulp is often used to manufacture corrugating medium.

The Fourdrinier Process for Manufacturing Paper

As discussed previously, the Fourdrinier process is
used to manufacture paper and some forms of
paperboard. A Fourdrinier machine is a huge array of
equipment organized into sections to perform
various functions. A paper machine can be up to 20
ft. high, 30 ft. wide, and 300 ft. long. The paper
plant, along with the necessary land for producing
The slurry flows out in a horizontal direction
the trees that serve as raw material for the paper,
and lands on a copper screen. Most of the
can represent an investment of up to $1 billion. water drains through the screen.

The slurry used for making paper is a mixture of pulp and water.The slurry, composed of about
97 percent water and 3 percent solids, is fed into a beater where metal bars pound or rub
against the fibers, causing bundles of fibers to separate and individual fibers to hydrate (swell
up). The amount of beating and swelling affects the strength and other characteristics of the
paper sheet that is produced.
Sizing materials, such as resin, starch, and so on, are added in the beater to provide water
resistance, ink holdout, and other desirable characteristics. Sizing improves the printability of
the paper and the effectiveness of adhesives applied to the paper. Other materials may also be
added in the beater to affect opacity, stiffness, and color. The list of materials that can be
added includes sodium silicate, casein, wax, talc, sodium silicate, titanium dioxide, and others.
Additional water is added to the pulp to
make slurry that is approximately 99 percent
water and 1 percent cellulose. This mix is fed
into a device called a headbox. The headbox
is a large rectangular tank with a slot at the
bottom of one vertical panel. The slurry flows
out in a horizontal direction, landing on a
copper screen belt. The copper screen belt
moves at a horizontal speed somewhat faster
than the horizontal speed of the stream of slurry. The copper screen travels somewhat faster
This causes the fibers to tend to orient than the slurry producing the machine
direction in the paper.
themselves into a direction parallel to the
direction of movement of the screen, the
machine direction of the paper. The cross direction is perpendicular to the machine direction.
The screen is continuously shaken from side to side and vertically to disrupt some of this
orientation and randomize the orientation of some of the fibers, thereby producing stronger
paper.
The thickness of the web that forms depends on the flow rate of slurry and the speed of the
screen. If the flow rate is increased or the screen is slowed, a thicker mat is formed. In some
cases, the product produced in this way can be thick enough to be considered to be
paperboard.
It is also possible to manufacture a multilayer paperboard product by installing one to three
additional headbox and copper screen units. The webs from the separate headboxes are
brought together on a felt belt, forming a multilayer paperboard.
At the end of the copper screen, the web of fibers is transferred to felt belt, which is
approximately 100 ft. long. As the web travels along the belt, additional water is removed by
vacuum and heating. At the end of the felt, the paper web enters the drying section. The paper
passes over and between pairs of smooth, heated rolls. There can be as many as 150 rolls in the
dryer section. The rolls are heated by steam.
As the paper exits the dryer, it enters the calendering,
section, consisting of additional pairs of rollers. The
number of rollers, the pressure, and the heating all
affect the characteristics of the paper. Higher pressure
and a higher number of rollers produce smoother
paper with a denser surface.
The final step in the process is to wind the paper onto Calender section

rolls. The widest roll possible would be the width of the Dryer section
machine, commonly around 30 ft. A full 30′ roll can
The paper is dried further and calendered to
weigh up to 25 tons. More commonly, the web is split into two or more sections and rolled up
produce a smooth surface.
onto separate rolls. Paper rolls reach diameters of approximately 5 ft. and even a shorter roll of
paper still weighs several tons.
The speed of paper manufacturing varies, depending on the details of the machine, the raw
materials, and similar factors. A modern machine can produce paper at a rate above 30 miles
per hour. At that rate, a machine can make about 1,000 tons of paper in a day.

Dryer section
Headbox Heated air, vacuum,
1% fiber + 99% water And heated rolls
Side trimming,
Slitting and scoring

Dandy Calender
Water drains through rolls stack
The copper screen Paper roll

The entire Fourdrinier system. The pulp exits the headbox in a horizontal direction, onto the copper
screen which shakes from side to side. Water drains through the screen, leaving a mat of fibers. The rest
of the process involves drying, calendering, slitting, scoring, and collection onto one or more rolls.

Further Processing and Converting

The rolls of paper are transported to other plants or other parts of the same plant for further
processing, such as coating with wax, clay, oil and grease repellents, waterproofing agents, or
plastic film, further slitting and rewinding, converting into corrugated board or multiwall bags,
and so on. A common surface treatment is application of a clay/starch solution that improves
the printability and stiffens the sheet.

The Cylinder Process for Manufacturing Paperboard

A cylinder machine has a series of four to eight wire mesh cylinders. Each cylinder rotates in an
individual vat, similar to a headbox. As the cylinder rotates, it picks up a layer of pulp, carrying it
upward and applying it to the bottom of a felt blanket, moving at the same speed as the
periphery of the roller. The felt blanket is pressed against the cylinder by a rubber coated couch
roll. Each cylinder, in turn, adds another layer. In this way, a multilayer board is gradually
assembled. Frequently, the vats feeding the first arid last layers have a higher grade of pulp,
perhaps all virgin material, and the vats in between contain reclaimed pulp mixed with a
smaller amount of virgin material. This produces board with superior surface properties, but
with the bulk of the structure formed from cheaper material.
The printing surface that is made from the highest quality pulp is called the top liner and the
opposite surface is called the back liner. This careful and orderly assembly of materials is not
possible with the Fourdrinier machine. However, in some cases, an extra layer or two can be
placed on a Fourdrinier web through the use of one or two extra headboxes, as described
previously. Nonetheless, the trend is to make paperboard with the Fourdrinier process.

Felt conveyor

Excess water Dryers

drains out
Rotating cylinders
Trim sides
In vats of pulp

Dandy Calender
rolls stack
Paperboard
roll
The entire cylinder system. Each rotating cylinder picks up pulp from the mixture in the vat and deposits
the pulp in a layer on the underside of the moving left blanket making a multi-layer board. The
remainder of the process involves drying, calendering, trimming and rolling up the board.

Paper Use in Packaging

Depending on the specifics of the paper manufacturing process, many different types of paper
can be produced. The process variables include:
• Drying system
• Amount of calendering
• Calendering pressure
• Surface treatments
The details of the processing systems and process controls are beyond the scope of this
discussion. However, the following section presents brief descriptions and discussions of
several types of paper that are currently being used for various packaging applications.
IV. Paper Types
As discussed above, paper is available in several types, depending on the raw materials, finish,
thickness, coatings, and other characteristics. Each type of paper is suited to a particular set of
applications. There are two major classifications: fine and coarse.
• Fine papers, which are generally bleached to give a clean white appearance, are
typically used in applications involving writing or printing. Fine paper may also have
special functional characteristics, such as resistance to water. Label papers are a typical
example.
• Coarse packaging paper comes in several types, some of which are described below.

o Kraft paper: Kraft paper is made from at least 80 percent

wood pulp. It is a coarse paper particularly noted for its
strength. In fact, the name "kraft" comes from the German
word for strong. Kraft paper is usually made on Fourdrinier
machines. The natural unbleached color of kraft paper is
brown, but there are also bleached grades: white and mottled
white. Kraft paper is used for wrapping, bundling, making
grocery bags, envelopes, gummed sealing tape, and multiwall
bags, and for many other applications. It can have a rough surface, useful to keep
bags from sliding off a pallet stack, or it can have a smooth surface.

o Glassine, greaseproof, and grease-resistant paper: Glassine is

a smooth, dense, transparent or semitransparent paper.
Glassine paper is greaseproof arc, when waxed, is practically
impervious to air and vapors. It is made in white and other
colors. Glassine paper is used as wrappers for the preservation
of foods, tobacco, and chemicals and in the manufacture of
bags and envelopes. It is also called glazed greaseproof paper.
1
The bags in cereal boxes and the wrappers on 4 pound butter
sticks are common packaging applications of glassine paper.

o Tissue: Tissue papers are a special group of fine

packaging papers. Tissues range from semitransparent
to totally opaque. They frequently have a gauzy texture
and are fairly transparent, but there are other tissues
that have smooth surface. Tissues may be made of rag
pulp or mechanical wood pulp. They may be machine
finished or machine glazed. Machine finishing involves
 calendering between highly polished rolls that produce a similar smooth finish on
both sides of the sheet. Machine-glazing produces a smooth side and a rough back
side. A common packaging application of tissue is wrapping products that might be
damaged by the abrasive surface of other types of paper.

o Vegetable parchment: Vegetable parchment is made by

soaking the wood fibers in sulfuric acid. This treatment
causes the cellulosic fibers to swell and close up their
pores. The result is a type of paper that is strong when
wet or dry. Parchment is also lint free, odor free, taste
free, and resistant to grease and oil. It is usually used as a
wrapper for butter and margarine, meats, fish, and many
other moist food products.

o Cellophane: Cellophane is a thin, transparent,

flexible paper that was invented in the early 1900s
in France. It was the dominant flexible packaging
material during the 1930s to the 1960s. Plastic film,
particularly polypropylene, has largely replaced
cellophane. Today, there is only one plant
producing cellophane in North America.

V. Paperboard Use in Packaging

Paperboard is generally thicker and heavier than paper.
Although there is no strict definition, paperboard is generally
thicker than 0.010 in. Some cylinder board can be up to 0.060 in.
thick. In this book, we will differentiate between boxboard and
containerboard, as follows.
• Containerboard is paperboard used to manufacture
corrugated board. Containerboard includes: linerboard
(70 percent) and medium (30 percent). The raw materials
used to make containerboards may be virgin cellulose
fiber, recycled fiber, or a combinatio n of both. Various types Folding cartons are made up of
of corrugated board are described in the following section. a single piece of paperboard
• Boxboard is paperboard that is used to manufacture folding material
cartons. It is a single wall material, available in a range of
gauges (thicknesses), coatings, finishes, and so on.
VI. Corrugated Board
Corrugated board manufacturing is the single highest value
sector of the entire packaging material industry. A sheet of
corrugated board is assembled from three or more sheets of
kraft paperboard. The corrugated board manufacturing process
is a converting activity. The subsequent step of manufacturing
boxes, trays, and other products from the corrugated board is
also a converting step.
Corrugated board was first used in Victorian England. The tall
hats worn by gentlemen at that time were stiffened by rolled
sheets of flat paperboard. The hats were fragile and subject to
damage. Corrugated paperboard, which replaced the flat
paperboard, was stiffer and provided cushioning to prevent
damage. The paper was corrugated in small hand-cranked
corrugators. Today, the material would be called unfaced
corrugated.
A later application of the unfaced corrugated board was to
cushion glass bottles, glass lamp chimneys, and similar fragile
products. This application was given a U.S. patent in 1871. Corrugated boxes are made
As development proceeded, a second sheet of paper was up of corrugated board, which
glued to one side of the unfaced board. The second sheet has liners and medium
was called a linerboard. The resulting product could not he
stretched, but it could still be rolled up into a roll for
transport and handling and could be rolled around a fragile
product to provide cushioning for protection against
damage from dropping or rough handling. Today, this
product is called single faced corrugated.
In 1895, a continuous process was developed that added a
second liner on the other side, making a single wall
corrugated board. This development made a stiff board
that did not bend easily. Other inventors developed
systems of slots and scores to form the corrugated Types of the combined
paperboard into cartons or boxes. The boxes were corrugated board
lighter and cheaper than wooden boxes. Wells Fargo
conducted shipping tests and accepted the corrugated
cartons as shipping containers in 1895.
The development of corrugated board boxes to replace wooden boxes as shipping containers is
a good example of the way that a newer technology replaces an older technology. At the end of
the nineteenth century, railroads carried most freight because trucks and highways had not
reached the high state of development that they currently enjoy. At that time, the railroads
used only wooden boxes for shippers because of a close working relationship with the lumber
industry. Railroads applied a penalty rate on shipments in corrugated boxes, trying to maintain
a competitive advantage for the conventional wooden boxes. However, in 1914, the Interstate
Commerce Commission (ICC) ordered the railroads to stop the discriminatory pricing practices.
This action cleared the way for rapid growth in the use of corrugated boxes because they were
lighter, occupied less volume, could be discarded after use, and were generally more
economical.
During World Wars I and II, corrugated boxes were used to deliver rations and other war
materials. After the wars, the range of sizes and capabilities of corrugated boxes continued to
grow as the corrugated board manufacturers developed containers to fit the myriad of new
products that were produced by other industry sectors, including refrigerators, radios,
furniture, televisions, personal computers, and thousands of other items.
Corrugated boxes were adapted to use in wet conditions by coating with wax and plastic. This
made corrugated suitable for use with vegetables, meat, poultry, and similar, products.
New technology, such as packaging wine in a plastic bag inside a corrugated box (bag-in-box),
expanded the market further.

Corrugated Board Manufacturing

Corrugated board is manufactured on a large machine called a corrugator. Actually, a
corrugator is an assembly of several machines, which costs more than $5 million. Each part of
the machine and the process will be discussed in the following section that describes the
process of manufacturing basic single wall corrugated hoard. (Note: Some terms will be defined
further to later sections.)
Single wall corrugated, the most common form, as composed of three webs of paperboard: two
outside sheets, called linerboards, and an interior corrugated sheet called a medium. The
paperboard is delivered to the process in the form of large rolls of kraft paperboard taken from
the end of the paper machine. The corrugated board is removed from the other end of the
process in the form of corrugated board sheets of various sizes.
By adding extra equipment, the corrugator can be modified to assemble five webs of
paperboard into double wall board or seven webs of paperboard into triple wall corrugated
board.
Splicer and Roll Stands
The process begins with the rolls of paper that are loaded onto roll stands. A typical roll stand
holds two similar rolls of paper. Material is fed into the process from one roll until it has been
exhausted. Then a splice is automatically made and the paper is fed without stopping from the
other roll. While the second roll feeds the process, the machine operators have time to replace
the first roil on the stand. This process is used to continuously feed in each of the webs of
paper.

Corrugating Rolls
The corrugating process begins when the medium is fed into the machine. The medium is
"conditioned" by the application of steam. The moisture and heat soften the fibers and make
the paper malleable. The web then passes between a pair of corrugated rolls that form the
corrugations, simultaneously drying the material so that the corrugations are fixed. The
corrugated material at this stage is called unfaced corrugated. Each type of corrugation requires
a specific set of rolls.

Single Facer
As the corrugated medium exits from the corrugated rolls, glue is applied to the tops of the
corrugations on one side. Liner is then brought into contact with the corrugated medium. It is
held in place by a pressure roll long enough to "set" the glue. The material, at this stage, is
called single face corrugated. The equipment up to this stage is called the single facer.

Bridge
The single face material is fed onto a platform, located above the rest of the machinery, that
extends from the single facer to the next section of the machine. The single face, board is
flexible and accumulates in loose piles on the bridge. At the outfeed end of the bridge, the
single face material feeds into the second section of the machine, the double backer.

Double Backer
In the double backer, glue is applied to the tops of the exposed corrugations on the "other"
(unfaced) side of the single face material. Then, the second liner is guided into contact and held
in place long enough for the glue to take on an initial set. The completed board, called single
wall, is now a rigid material that cannot be bent or rolled without destroying it.
The corrugator makes board at speeds up to 20 feet per second, equivalent to about 14 miles
per hour. Obviously, the newly manufactured board cannot simply be allowed to run off the
end of the machine. After all, 14 miles of it would extend out of the machine in just one hour.
The solution is to cut the single wall board into sheets at desired sizes. This is done by cutting
the newly manufactured board in the machine direction and in the cross direction.

Slitter Scorer
In the machine direction, rotating knives called slitters trim the sides and cut the board into two
or more narrower strips. At the same time, if desi red, scores or creases are rolled into the
board by scoring rolls.

Cutoff knives
Cutoff knives “chop” the strips into boards of the desired length. The result is two or more
streams of corrugated boards of desired length arid width, with or without scoring. These
boards are collected and stacked at the output end of the machine.

Stacker
Stacking can be done by machine or by hand. An advantage of hand stacking is that alternating
handfuls of sheets can be flipped over in the stack. In this way, the weight of the stack of
boards prevents much of the warping and twisting that would otherwise occur as the board
dries and cools. The disadvantages of hand stacking, of course, are cost, potential for injury,
and unavailability of laborers.

Schematic Arrangement of steps in the Process of Manufacturing Corrugated Board

Corrugated Board Structures
Liner board is usually natural kraft, used to make the generic “brown boxes.” The most
common material for liners is 42 lb. kraft, but many other materials are available and can be
specified, including bleached (white), mottled, and colored liners and paperboard with higher
or lower basis weight. The liners can be coated with tissue, wax or plastic. The liner can also be
preprinted with graphics and then applied to the medium in the corrugating process.
The most common corrugated medium is semichemical
unbleached 26 lb. kraft.
The glue used to manufacture the corrugated board is based on
starch. In the United States, the starch is usually extracted from
corn. In other countries, starch from corn, wheat, or even
potatoes is used. One drawback to the use of starch-based
adhesives is that they are attractive to insects. However, the
benefits easily outweigh the disadvantages.
Single facer
For many years the glue was mixed on site, in the corrugated
plant. The proper preparation of the glue, particularly the
moisture content and temperature, is critical. They must be
controlled carefully to ensure the manufacture of high-quality
board with a minimum of warping and twisting. Frequently, a
long-term employee would be given the responsibility to prepare
the glue. These individuals tended to be secretive about
procedures and techniques used.
A problem arose in many companies when these critical individuals left the company for
retirement or other reasons. Frequently, there was no one available with the background,
interest, and detailed knowledge and experience needed to manage the process. As a result, a
new market was created and most companies now purchase premixed adhesives from
supplier.

Forms of Corrugated Board

As indicated in the previous section, there are several forms of single wall corrugated board. In
addition, there are multiwall constructions of various types. The following section describes the
common forms of corrugated board.
Unfaced corrugated is a single layer of corrugated paperboard without liners. Unfaced
corrugated is used to cushion fragile objects.
Single face corrugated is a combination of one
fluted corrugating medium glued to one flat facing
of linerboard. Single face corrugated is also used to
package fragile objects, such as light bulbs. It may be
used as cushioning around a product in a box made
of single or multiwall corrugated, or in a few cases,
the box itself may also be made of single face corrugated.
Single wall corrugated, also called double face
corrugated, is a combination of one corrugated
medium and two flat facings of linerboard, with one
linerboard glued to each side of the corrugated
medium. The primary use of single wall corrugated is
the manufacture of shipping containers.
Double wall corrugated is a combination of two corrugated medium layers and three flat
facings of linerboard, assembled in the following order: linerboard, medium, linerboard,
medium, linerboard.
Double wall board is used for applications where
extra strength or cushioning are required, such as
pallet-sized semibulk containers (“tote” boxes),
boxes for personal computers, and so on. There are
many double wall combinations, such as A/C, B/C,
E/A, and the like. The E-flute may be applied to the
outside of a container made of A or C-flute because it provides a superior surface for printing
on. (Note: The definitions of A-flute, B-flute, etc. are given in the following section.)
Triple wall corrugated is a combination of three corrugated medium layers and four flat facings
of linerboard, assembled in the following order:
linerboard, medium, linerboard, medium,
linerboard, medium, linerboard.
Unfaced and single faced material can be rolled up
for convenient storage and transport. Single,
double, and triple wall are rigid materials. The
multiwall materials are thicker and stronger than single wall materials and are used in
applications where strength and cushioning are important.

Flute Designations of Corrugated Board

Corrugated board is manufactured in several
standard styles. In the United States, these
styles are defined according to the number of
flutes (corrugations) per foot. The following
section defines and illustrates the most
common flute designations.

A-flute
A-flute was the first standard board style. A-
flute has 33 flutes (corrugations) per foot.

B-flute
A-flute worked well, but it was overly strong and
expensive for many applications, such as
packaging for small lightweight items, and
products that were not fragile. Accordingly,
the industry developed a new standard that was
designated B-flute. B-flute has 47 flutes per foot.

C-flute
After further evaluation and use, it was concluded that there were many applications for which
A-flute was too thick and B-flute was too thin. C-flute was developed to fill this void. C-flute
generally has 39 flutes per foot, but a few companies market a C-flute board that has 42 flutes
per foot. Experience has shown that C-flute is well suited to many applications. As a result,
about 80 percent of all single wall corrugated boxes are now made of C-flute board.

D-flute
Although various designs have been proposed, there is no commercial D-flute board.

E-flute
E-flute was developed as a first attempt to find a corrugated board alternative to paperboard
for carton manufacturing. E-flute has 90 flutes per foot. Software, cosmetics, and many other
retail products are now routinely packaged in E-flute.
F-flute
F-flute was developed initially to replace polystyrene and paperboard cartons for the fast-food
industry. Since then, the applications have expanded. The packages for many products that
were formerly packaged in paperboard have been redesigned and are now made of F-flute. The
F-flute material can be run on the same machines that were formerly used for the paperboard
cartons, a big benefit for users.

Other Designations
New board designs are routinely studied by individual or small consortiums of companies. An
example is K-flute (sometimes designated S-flute), which is a new board style that has fewer
flutes per inch and is thicker than A-flute. It is being studied as a lower cost replacement for
double wall board in some applications.

Board Thickness
In the United States, board designations are based on the number of flutes per foot, as
discussed above. The descriptions are similar, but different, in other countries because of the
use of the metric system of measurements and similar factors.
Most manufacturers can make several different boards of a particular flute designation. The
boards differ the specification (basis weight) of the linerboards and the medium. In addition,
some manufacturers provide double liner and other variations. As a consequence, board
thickness is not regulated by the definitions. However, the thickness variation is small. In
general, it is safe to assume that thickness of common boards varies in the following order,
from thickest to thinnest: A-flute, C-flute, B-flute, E-flute, F-flute.

Double Wall and Triple Wall

Double wall board and triple wall boards are made in various combinations, such as A/C, A/B,
C/B, A/E, C/C/E, A/B/C:, and so on.

VI. Box Design

The terms box and carton are somewhat interchangeable. However, in the interest of clarity, in
this book, the following definitions will be applied.
• A box is made of single wall, double wall, or triple wall corrugated board.
• A carton is made of a single sheet of paperboard.
Box Dimensions
Boxes are designed with internal dimensions large
enough to hold a product, which may consist of a
single item or several parts or pieces, and any
internal cushioning, bracing, separators, and so on.
For example, a box for a personal computer needs
to be large enough to contain the system unit with
cushioning, and several other smaller boxes that
hold the mouse, keyboard, other circuit
boards and components, power cord.,
system cables, software, manuals,
advertising, and anything else that the
manufacturer wishes to ship in the same
container.
Three dimensions, length, width, and
depth, are needed to describe a normal
rectangular box. The definition, of the
dimensions are based on the opening of
an assembled box. The opening can be on
the top, a side, or an end, depending on the Slots must be wide enough to provide room for flaps to
method of filling. The longer of the two sides close without interference. Typical slot is ¼” wide. Glue
of the rectangular opening is the length and flap is typically 1" to 2" wide and ends are sloped 5° to 15°
the shorter is the width. The side
perpendicular to the plane of the opening is
the depth.

Material Selection
As discussed previously, there are many types of corrugated board available. Boxes made with
thick board, such as A-flute, tend to have higher stacking strength. Stacking strength is very
important if products are to be stacked in a warehouse or on a truck. The container at the
bottom of the stack must support the weight of all of the unit, stacked on top. The thick boards,
such as A-flute or the double and triple wall constructions, have high "edge crush strength" and
provide the most stacking strength as a consequence.
However, the bottom of a box is flat and the thicker boards, such as A-flute, tend to have less
flat “crush strength.” They provide less cushioning than a box made of board with more
corrugations per foot. Thus, a fragile product is more likely to be damaged if the box is made of
A-flute than it would be in a box made of B-flute or C-flute. The material must be carefully
selected to ensure that it has the best mix of strength and cushioning properties along with an
acceptable cost.

Box Style
There are numerous standard box designs. The following section briefly discusses the most
common styles, with some illustrations and comments about other styles.

Regular Slotted Container

The regular slotted container (RSC) is the most common corrugated box style. It is strong, uses
material efficiently, and handles well on machinery. The distinguishing feature of an RSC is that
the inner and outer flaps are of the same length. The outer flaps are half as wide as the box, so
they meet in the center when closed. The inner flaps do not meet.
The box blank is cut at the
box plant on a machine
called a die cutter. The die
makes the outside cuts
and the slots. At the same
time the creases are
pressed into the material
to form the lines where
the board will be folded to form RSC box blank
the box. Depending on the
design, the glue flap (manufacturer's joint) may be
located inside or outside of the box. If the glue flap is to
be on the inside, glue is applied to the flap and the ends
of the blank are folded over and held in position until
the glue sets. This forms the manufacturer's joint. After
the manufacturing process is complete, the boxes are
stacked, palletized, banded, and shipped to the user.
At the user's plant, the boxes are set up. The bottom
inner flaps are folded into position, glue is applied, and
the bottom outer flaps are folded into position. The product is
An RSC partially set up. Glue
then placed into the box along with cushioning and any flap is on the inside
miscellaneous materials. Finally, the top inner and outer flaps
are folded into position and glued or taped shut.
There are three box designs that differ from the RSC in certain details. For example, the overlap
slotted container (OSC) has flaps of the same length, but the outer flaps overlap by 1 inch or
more and the full overlap slotted container (FOL) has all flaps of same length, but the outer
flaps come within 1 inch of full overlap. Finally, the center special slotted container (CSSC) has
flaps cut to different lengths so that both the inner and outer flaps meet at the center of the
box. There are even more variations on the CSSC.
In addition, there are many other basic designs, such as telescoping boxes, folders, rigid boxes,
self-erecting boxes, and tubes.

Paperboard Cartons

The first product sold in a paperboard

carton was Uneeda Biscuit, marketed by
the National Biscuit Company. Since then,
billions of cartons have been
manufactured. (A large model of the
Uneeda package hangs in the corrugated
lab of the Packaging building at Michigan
State University.)
Corrugated boxes and paperboard
cartons are similar in concept but there
are numerous differences. The following section makes some comparison between the two
types of packages
• Paperboard cartons are made of single layer paperboard. Common thicknesses are 16 to
26 point board.
• The distinction between cartons and boxes has become less clear in recent years as
manufacturers have substituted E-flute or F-flute corrugated for paperboard in some
cases.
• Decoration and print quality is usually more important for cartons. Cartons are usually
used for primary or secondary packaging, while corrugated tends to be used for tertiary
applications, such as shipping containers. Many cartons are elaborately decorated.
Accurate printing of logos and precise rendition of color are critical. While many
corrugated boxes are printed or labeled, the quality of printing is generally lower.
• Cartons arc usually smaller than corrugated boxes. In fact, 6 to 30 cartons of food
products or cosmetic products are often packed into a corrugated shipping container for
distribution to the market.
Computerized Designing and Prototyping
For many years, box designing was an individual or team activity carried out by designers
working with pencils, T-squares, and similar instruments. Most designers were promoted "from
the floor." They were people with a strong base of experience and familiarity with many box
designs.
Then, about 1990, computerized design systems came on the market. These systems included
libraries of standard designs and worked on a parametric system. The designer simply selected
a standard design, such as an RSC, and specified the material and the three basic dimensions of
length, width, and depth (height). The computer then drew up the design, complete with
dimensions and notes. Initially, the sample boxes still had to be cut out by hand workers using
knives, rulers, and similar equipment. However, computer-controlled sample cutting tables also
soon became available from several manufacturers.
Today, although some companies continue to utilize design, and sample it manufacturing by
hand workers, most companies use the computerized systems. The result has been faster
turnaround of the design process and the ability to explore variations to select designs that use
less material, weigh less, or have other advantages.

Reference: Introduction to Packaging by Harold Hughes, Chapter IV Paper and Paperboard

Packaging. Pages 47 to 69.
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