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

A folding box, or carton, is made from a single piece of cardboard, cut and scored in such a manner that it may easily be folded and glued together so as to form a complete box. The cutting and creasing dies are made by the box maker, from steel cutting and creasing rules. The blank sheets of stock are cut and creased, with the steel dies, on either platen presses or cylinder presses. The cut out sheets are then glued together at two ends on a gluing machine.

EQUIPMENT REQUIRED FOR A SMALL CUTTING AND
CREASING PLANT.

One Cutting and Creasing Press, size of platen, 14 × 22 inches.
One Cutting and Creasing Press, size of platen, 21 × 30 inches.
One Steel Rule Bending Machine.
One Steel Rule Cutter.
One Power Circular Saw.
One Power Jig Saw.
One Imposing Table.
One Power Gluing Machine.
Supply of Cherry and Black Walnut Board, in strips of various widths for blanking out large steel dies.
Supply of Laminated Wood for holding Steel Cutting Rules in Odd-Shaped Dies, such as Circles, Ovals, Hearts, etc.
Supply of Labor-saving Wood, Lead, Steel and Iron Furniture, in assorted sizes, for blanking out space in Steel Dies.
Supply of Steel (Hard) Cutting Rule, in full-length strips.
Supply of Steel (Soft) Cutting Rule, in full-length strips.
Supply of Steel Scoring Rule, in full-length strips.
Cabinets for holding Furniture.
Work Table, fitted with vise for bending Soft Steel Cutting Rule.
Supply of Corks in assorted sizes.
Supply of Cork in strips.
LePage (or fish) Glue for make-ready on presses.
Box-Makers’ Glue for gluing Folding Boxes on Gluing Machine.
Set of tools, including Pliers, Files, Hammer, Mallet, T-Square, L-Square and Steel Straight-Edge.

With this equipment, the box maker would be in a position to make all kinds of steel cutting and creasing dies for every variety of folding boxes, also all shapes of steel cutting dies for cut-outs of advertising novelties, cardboard fans, odd shapes for fancy boxes, etc. With this equipment, the box maker could also manufacture all sizes and all styles of folding boxes up to those requiring blanks of cardboard as large as 20 × 28 inches. It is the writer’s purpose to explain all the technical work necessary in the making of the steel dies, made-ready on the presses, and other practical work relating to the making of folding boxes, cartons, advertising novelties and so forth, and if this information is carefully studied and followed, the apprentice in box making should have no difficulty in producing all of the work in question.

KIND OF PAPER STOCK USED FOR FOLDING BOXES.

The ordinary news-board, chip-board and straw-board, such as used for the manufacture of set-up boxes, is not adapted to folding boxes for the reason that these boards have a tendency to break when folded. The stock used for folding boxes includes Manila tag-board, bristol-board, clay coated Manila, Manila-lined board, and other kinds of pasted boards which are tough and flexible. Coated box-board comes in white, colors and tints. One side is coated in white, color or tint, the other side being of Manila. When the box is to be printed, the printing is done on the coated side. This stock comes 500 sheets in a ream, size 22½ × 28½, the weight running from 90 pounds to 200 pounds per ream. This stock also comes in rolls, and may be run in rolls on rotary printing presses.

Among the well known firms who supply folding box-board of all kinds, are the following: A. Hartung & Company, of Philadelphia; Berton C. Hill Company, of New York City; Baird & Bartlett Company, of Boston, Mass.; C. L. LaBoiteaux Company, of Cincinnati, Chicago, Cleveland and New York City, and the White Pigeon Coated Paper Company, of White Pigeon, Mich.

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.