Products
The history of corrugated cardboard
- Early Corrugated Paper (1856): The first patent for corrugated paper goes to England in 1856. The inventors, Edward G. Healy and Edward E. Allen, designed it as a liner for tall hats. The corrugations helped the hats maintain their shape and provided some comfort for the wearer’s head.
- Single-Faced Corrugated Board (1871): Across the Atlantic, Albert Jones in the US receives a patent in 1871 for single-faced corrugated board. This was the first time corrugated paper was envisioned for a packaging purpose.
- The Cardboard Box Arrives (1874 & 1890s): Oliver Long improves on Jones’ design in 1874 by creating double-faced corrugated board, the form we know today. Industrial production for corrugated board begins in the late 19th century, and by the 1890s, the first commercially produced corrugated cardboard boxes are manufactured in the US.
Corrugated cardboard’s rise in popularity is due to several factors. It was lighter and cheaper than traditional wooden crates, easier to handle and store, and offered sufficient protection for many goods. Over the early 1900s, corrugated cardboard boxes steadily replaced wooden ones as the go-to shipping material.
Making of corrugated cardboard
Corrugated cardboard is made from multiple layers of paper.
Making the paper: First, wood chips are broken down into pulp. This can be done using mechanical or chemical pulping processes. In mechanical pulping, the wood chips are grinded between stones or discs. Chemical pulping uses chemicals to dissolve the lignin that binds the wood fibers together. The resulting pulp is then formed into sheets of paper on a paper machine.
- Forming the corrugated medium: Large rolls of kraft paper are fed into a corrugator machine. The machine passes the paper between heated rollers that press it into a wavy shape called flutes. The flutes help to increase the strength and rigidity of the cardboard.
- Adhering the layers: A flat liner is then glued to the tops and bottoms of the fluted medium. This creates a three-layer structure with the fluted medium sandwiched between the two flat liners. There are different types of adhesives used, but a common one is starch-based.
- Cutting and converting: The corrugated board is then cut into sheets of the desired size. It may also be printed on or folded into boxes.
There are different flute shapes available, which affect the rigidity and strength of the finished cardboard.
Do you need help with your current or a future project?
Contact us
Send us your inquiry