The production of cardboard boxes is – step by step – very precise design and creation of packaging so that it provides perfect functionality. The durability and strength of the cardboard box depends on how the individual elements are prepared, and as a result – the safety of the transported or stored item.
Carton – regardless of whether it is a small package or a large box adapted to heavy loads – requires several production stages. The accuracy of their execution from the technological and design side affects the final result. What does the production of high-quality cardboard boxes look like step by step?
The basis of production – the preparation of cardboard
Im więcej warstw lineru, tym bardziej wytrzymała jest sama konstrukcja. Minimalna opcja to dwie nałożone warstwy. Należy to jednak traktować jako rozwiązanie bardzo podstawowe. Wobec coraz większych wymagań co do jakości opakowań warto kierować się zasadą: im grubsza warstwa opakowania, tym lepsze zabezpieczenie produktów w jego wnętrzu.
O ile pudełko kartonowe nie jest produkowane z myślą o dużych ciężarach wystarczają standardowe etapy produkcji. W przypadku bardziej zaawansowanych projektów niezbędna jest tektura falista oraz wielowarstwowość ostatecznego produktu. Standardowy karton powinien charakteryzować się gramaturą tektury od 160 do 315 g/m2. Wybierając dostawcę opakowań z kartonu warto zwrócić uwagę m.in. właśnie na te parametry.
The strength of cardboard boxes depends on the durability of the cardboard used for their production. It is the result of a combination of, for example, wastepaper and wood pulp ensuring its optimal stiffness. As a result of heat and chemical treatments, a single layer is created, referred to as a liner. It can be compared to a relatively thin plane, which – after combining several layers – turns into a rigid cardboard.
The more layers of liner, the more durable the structure itself. The minimum is two layers applied. However, this should be treated as a very basic solution. In perspective of the increasing demands on the quality of packaging, the principle should consider: the thicker the layer of packaging, the better the protection of products inside it.
Unless the cardboard box is manufactured with heavy weights in mind, standard production steps suffice. For more advanced projects, corrugated board and multilayering of the final product are necessary. Standard cardboard should have a grammage of 160 to 315 g/m2. When choosing a supplier of cardboard packaging, it is worth paying attention to these parameters among others.
Types of cardboard for packaging
When choosing the type of packaging, attention should be paid to the mentioned type of cardboard, because it affects the quality of the packaging produced. The basic solutions are corrugated and solid cardboard. The first consists of a minimum of seven layers of liner; the second – created exclusively from recycled waste paper – perfectly fits into the ecological requirements, which are increasingly common on the market today.
Cutting parts for cardboard boxes
When the material for cardboard boxes is already prepared, the cardboard is cut to the specified dimensions. This is provided by a die cut – a tool designed for trimming sheets. It is not a machine that can usually be seen through the prism of one project. Due to the specificity of the execution, the dies provide for the preparation of one type of blank. As a result, their purchase makes sense only in the case of mass and reusable cutting of cardboard for packaging.
Automation of cardboard packaging production
Automation of production at every stage of creating boxes from cardboard works perfectly in this respect. Devices such as the Boxmat PRO – machines tailored to produce corrugated cardboard packaging – work differently than most, revolutionizing the market. Tool-free setting changes on the touch panel mean that BOXMAT can – in just a few seconds – program any size of the final product in one hundred standard FEFCO types. Therefore, it perfectly fits into the requirements of both the creation of fast and short series as well as mass production. The operation of BOXMAT covers all key activities: from cutting off excesses to creasing.
Cutting the cardboard to the size of a specific cardboard box leads to the achievement of a duplicate template, which – in the pressed version – can be stored for e.g. shipment of goods. The pattern of such a cardboard packaging contains all the elements connecting the individual wings so that they form a uniform and durable cubic capacity.
Personalization of cardboard packaging
An increasingly popular service expanding the production of cardboard boxes is their individualization. Unusual design and custom prints are perfect for building an e-commerce brand. A more advanced technique is the additional wrapping of a cardboard box with a layer of paper that is pleasant to touch, e.g. with a company logo – this increases the sense of contact with a premium class product. However, it is not only about aesthetics and visual sensations. Cardboard boxes finished with decorative smooth paper are even more durable than their standard counterparts.
Assembling cardboard from a cut template
The production of cardboard – in terms of preparation for the final version – ends its assembly. For storage purposes, both the templates themselves can be delivered – for self-creation – or ready-made cardboard boxes. Regardless of the variant, the features are the same: strength, quality, adaptation to loads.
These are key features both in the context of security and the company’s image. Especially in the manufacturing and e-commerce industry, the packaging of the delivered goods is – as industry research shows – one of the factors influencing the overall assessment of the product hidden inside the box.
