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

AFTER the work of staying the corners of a plain set-up paper box, and its lid, has been completed, the next operations are to cover the sides of the box, and the sides of the lid, with paper of the desired weight, color and finish. The kinds of paper which are generally used for covering plain paper boxes are, white glazed, cheviot, and colored glazed. This stock may be bought from the manufacturers in either the form of large rolls, or in the form of flat sheets. When the ordinary power covering machine is used, the paper is applied to the sides of the boxes from rolls of the proper width.

The slitting and rewinding machine is used for the purpose of cutting the large rolls of paper into rolls of various sizes. The cutting wheels on the slitting and rewinding machine can be “spaced apart” to any width required. They may be set as close together as ½ inch apart. Conveniently located on the machine is a steel bar containing a scale, marked off into inches and fractional parts of inches. This scale makes it an easy matter for the operator to fix the slitting wheels in the positions wanted for cutting the large roll of paper into smaller rolls. As the wide sheet of paper unrolls and passes the slitters, the smaller strips of paper are rewound on spindles.

There are several good slitting and rewinding machines on the market which may be operated by hand or power, as desired.

Cameron Cutting and Rewinding Machine.

When the sides of paper boxes are to be covered with the aid of a covering machine, a roll of paper of the necessary size and kind is first placed on the machine. The width of the roll of paper is about an inch wider than that of the surface of the box which is to be covered, for the reason that about one-half inch of the paper is turned in and over on the inside of the box, and about one-half inch of the paper is turned in over the bottom of the box. One operator attends to the covering operation, while another performs the work of “turning-in.”

Knowlton Power Covering Machine.

SOME OPERATORS CARELESS.

The standard covering machine is equipped with a glue-pan, heating apparatus, gluing roller, glue scraper, a table, and a cut-off device. The gluing roller revolves in the glue pot, in such a manner as to apply the glue to one side of the paper as the paper passes over the surface of the roller. The glue pan may be heated by steam, gas or electricity. The scraping device regulates the amount of glue applied to the paper. When the machine is in action the operator simply wraps the strip of paper around the four sides of the box, allowing a “lap-over” of the paper, at one corner of the box, of about one inch. Some operators are careless, and they often allow “lap-overs” of several inches of paper, which of course results in considerable wastage of paper during the course of a day. The carefully-trained operator will try to save as much paper as possible. Another important point which the efficient operator will consider is in having the “lap-over” occur at one corner of the box, and not in the center of one side of the box. When the “lap-over” is made at one corner of the box, the work looks neat and finished, but when the seam is made on one side of the box, the work presents a poor appearance.