How Paper Boxes Are Made / A practical and instructive book telling how the beginner may manufacture all kinds of paper boxes, with special chapters on the printing department for paper box plants, embossing, gold-leafing, label work, etc.

by Robert F. Salade

MAKING THE “DUMMY” FOR A FOLDING BOX.

The “dummy,” or pattern, for a folding box is the first requisite. For example, a carton is wanted for holding a glass jar of cold cream. If any printed matter, such as a booklet, directions for using the cold cream, etc., is to be packed with the jar, inside the carton, this must be considered when determining the size of the folding box.

Attach the printed matter to the jar, held with rubber bands. Then place two blocks of wood on either side of the jar, the blocks and jar standing on a table. The blocks should stand close to the jar and its printed matter. Now lay a ruler across the jar and blocks, and the ruler will give the dimensions for the top and bottom of the box. Next, lay the jar on its side, and set the two blocks at the top and bottom of the jar. Span the ruler across the blocks. This will give the dimensions for the height of the box. This same method is used in taking the measurements for all kinds of boxes.

By opening flat some carton which is nearly the size and style of the new carton desired, the box maker will have an idea of the layout for the die which will be necessary for the new carton. Follow the measurements taken with the aid of the blocks, and with pencil, ruler, penknife and blank sheet of stock, make up a dummy for the desired folding box. When completed, the flat dummy will appear like this diagram:

This dummy will serve the box maker in measuring off the sizes of steel cutting and creasing rule which will enter in the construction of the die. Before attempting to describe the building of the steel die, however, the writer believes that it would be well to give details about the furniture and other material used in the building of the die, so that the reader will become familiar with this material as it is handled in the proper order. Later on complete information will be given about the construction of the die, the make-ready of the forms on the presses, “corking,” striping, and so on.

KINDS OF FURNITURE USED IN MAKING DIES FOR
FOLDING BOXES.

Cherry, or black walnut, is excellent material for blanking out large steel dies, as cherry and black walnut are woods which are not greatly affected by atmospheric changes. A soft wood, like white pine, for example, would readily take moisture in damp weather, expanding enough to throw the rules in a die out of register with the make-ready on the press, and this would mean damage to the make-ready as well as changes in the sizes of the boxes which are being cut out. The Cherry Lumber Company, of Cincinnati, O., supplies first class cherry and black walnut wood in strips, and from these strips the box maker may cut the pieces of blanking-out furniture to the sizes required for the steel die. This wood is about ¹¹⁄₁₆ of an inch in thickness, which is the right height to hold the steel cutting and creasing rules firmly in a vertical position, and on extremely heavy forms it would prevent possible bending of the rules. The box maker uses a power circular saw in cutting this wood to the wanted sizes. The sawing must be done truly vertical, as even a slight angle on the end or side of a piece of wood furniture would cause the rule coming in contact with that end or side to have the same angle, resulting in that rule cutting lower than another rule which was absolutely true, vertically, and it would also affect the face-size of the die to some extent. This means that no furniture for die-blanks should be cut with a hand saw, as hand sawing is seldom accurate.

Showing one of the New Style Imposing Tables; iron top. Equipped
with complete fonts of wood furniture for locking up forms.
Also has racks for holding forms, or chases.

The box maker saves the pieces of cherry and black walnut, when old dies are broken up, and these pieces of wood are used again in building other dies.

Steel, iron and lead labor-saving furniture is also largely used in the construction of steel dies, and in many instances, series of small dies for drug cartons, etc., are entirely blanked out with labor-saving lead or iron furniture. What is called “improved metal furniture” (lead) in the printing trade is very useful for the box maker. This furniture comes in many different sizes—standard sizes—and is stored in cabinets which have compartments for each size. Within a short time the box maker becomes familiar with the standard sizes, and when blanking out a die he can tell at a glance what sizes of metal furniture are needed to fill in the blank places. The sizes of this improved metal furniture are known as “2 × 4 ems,” (pica); “3 × 4 ems,” (pica), and so on up to the larger sizes. Often, the smaller sizes of metal furniture are used in conjunction with larger sizes of cherry or black walnut wood to fill in the blank places of spacious dies.