Carton

Last updated

Examples of several types of cartons for different products Several Cartons.jpg
Examples of several types of cartons for different products

A carton is a box or container usually made of liquid packaging board, paperboard and sometimes of corrugated fiberboard. Many types of cartons are used in packaging. Sometimes a carton is also called a box.

Contents

Types of cartons

Folding cartons

Typical blank for folding carton Reverse Tuck Carton.jpg
Typical blank for folding carton

A carton is a type of packaging typically made from paperboard that is suitable for food, pharmaceuticals, hardware, and many other types of products. [1] Folding cartons are usually combined into a tube at the manufacturer and shipped flat (knocked down) to the packager. Tray styles have a solid bottom and are often shipped as flat blanks and assembled by the packager. Some also are self-erecting. High-speed equipment is available to set up, load, and close the cartons.

Egg carton

Molded pulp egg cartons, Japan You Jing Luan .jpg
Molded pulp egg cartons, Japan

Egg cartons or trays are designed to protect whole eggs while in transit. Traditionally, these have been made of molded pulp. This uses recycled newsprint which is molded into a shape which protects the eggs. More recently, egg cartons have also been made from expanded polystyrene and PET.

Aseptic carton

Cartons for liquids can be fabricated from laminates of liquid packaging board, foil, and polyethylene. Most are based on either Tetra Pak or SIG Combibloc systems.[ citation needed ] One option is to have the printed laminate supplied on a roll. The carton is cut, scored, and formed at the packager. A second option is to have the pre-assembled tubes delivered to the packaging plant for completion and filling. These are suited for aseptic processing and are used for milk, soup, juice, etc. Paperboard-based cartons are lighter compared to a similarly sized steel can, but are harder to recycle. Some open-loop recycling operations pelletize or flatten ground-up cartons for use in building materials; closed-loop recycling is possible by separating the layers before processing, though some recyclers only recycle the cardboard fibers. [2]

Perga carton

Perga cartons entered production in 1932 as a leak-proof can during World War I. Jagenberg Werke AG, in Düsseldorf, Germany, patented the design. The carton had a ribbed texture and paper sleeves covered in paraffin material, which provided a seamed structure from base to lid. Most cartons had a capacity of 200 mL. Development of the carton slowed during World War II, but the design would see a revival within European markets in the 1960s.

Gable top

Gable top carton of cream Meiji brand fresh cream.JPG
Gable top carton of cream

Gable top cartons are often used for liquid products such as milk, juice, etc. These use polyethylene-coated paperboard [3] or other liquid packaging board and sometimes a foil laminate. Most are opened by pushing open the gables at the top back and pulling the top (spout) out. Some have fitments to assist in opening and eating the contents. [4] [5] [6] [7]

Waxed paperboard beverage carton (historical)

Cuboid waxed paperboard beverage, a formed waxed paperboard plug crimped and sealed, preceded gabled polyethylene-coated paperboard cartons. [8] Waxed paper straws were used to drink. [9] Borden distributed milk in this way. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] [ excessive citations ]

Packaging history

Robert Gair was a Brooklyn printer and paper-bag maker during the 1870s. While he was printing an order of seed bags, a metal rule normally used to crease bags shifted in position and cut the bag. Gair concluded that cutting and creasing paperboard in one operation would have advantages; the first automatically made carton, now referred to as "semi-flexible packaging", was created. [21]

Folded carton

In 1817, the first commercial cardboard box production began in England. [21] In 1879, Robert Gair, in Brooklyn, New York, operated a factory that die-ruled, cut, and scored paperboard into a single impression of a folded carton. [21] By 1896, the National Biscuit Company was the first to use cartons to package crackers. [22]

During the first decade of the 1900s, G. W. Maxwell developed the first paper milk carton. [5]

Milk carton

In 1908, Dr. Winslow, of Seattle, Washington, described paper milk containers that were commercially sold in San Francisco and Los Angeles as early as 1906. [8] [23] The inventor of this carton was G.W. Maxwell. [8] Later, in 1915 John Van Wormer of Toledo, Ohio, received the a patent for the gable-topped, wax-coated, "paper bottle," a folded blank box for holding milk, calling it the "Pure-Pak." [24] The milk carton could be folded, glued, filled with milk, and sealed at a dairy farm. [25] In 1953, Seok-kyun Shin introduced the gable-topped milk carton to Korea. [26] In the 1960s, Mario Lepore, a Detroit engineer designed a machine to fold and seal a gable top paper carton.[ citation needed ]

In 1957 paper milk carton company Kieckhefer Container Co. merged with the Weyerhauser Timber Company of Tacoma, Washington.[ citation needed ]

Shape

Tetrahedral carton of milk Tetra Classic of milk Tomoe.jpg
Tetrahedral carton of milk

Although quite often shaped like a cuboid, it is not uncommon to find cartons lacking right angles and straight edges, as in squrounds used for ice cream.

Tetrahedrons and other shapes are available. Cartons with a hexagonal or octagonal cross sections are sometimes used for specialty items.

Materials

Cartons can be made from many materials: paperboard, duplex, white kraft, recycled and many more various plastics, or a composite. Some are "food grade" for direct contact with foods. Many cartons are made out of a single piece of paperboard. Depending on the need, this paperboard can be waxed or coated with polyethylene to form a moisture barrier. This may serve to contain a liquid product or keep a powder dry.


Artistic design and other imagery

In art history, the carton (pronounced the French way) was a drawing on heavy pasteboard or paperboard, used as life-size design for the manufacture in an atelier of a valuable tapestry, such as a gobelin. During the weaving it hung behind the tapestry in the making, a time-consuming process thus in a creative sense simplified to 'mechanical' painting-by-numbers.

As these were extremely valuable, often commanded by the very richest art-buyers, including princes who hung them in their palaces and even took them on their travels as prestigious displays of wealth, often with a visual message, especially the world-famous Flemish ateliers were deemed worthy to have cartons made by some of the greatest graphic artists of the time, including such celebrated painters as Rubens.

In the 1980s, milk cartons in the United States often printed photos of missing children with the hope that someone would recognize the photograph and provide information to police.

Many milk cartons also included advertisements and sponsors. These images and sponsors ranged from DVDs, Cereal, Cartoons, Frozen Dinners, and Albums. [27]

Carton-pierre

Carton-pierre was a material used for the making of raised ornaments for wall and ceiling decoration. It is composed of the pulp of paper mixed with whiting (ground calcium carbonate) and glue, this being forced into plaster moulds backed with paper, and then removed to a drying room to harden. It is much stronger and lighter than common plaster-of-Paris ornaments, and is not so liable to chip or break if struck with anything.

Beverages & snacks found in cartons

There's a plethora of beverages and snacks found within carton-packaging. This includes milk, juices, egg whites, coffee, protein shakes, water, and even snacks like Goldfish and Whoppers. [28]

See also

Notes

  1. "Guide to Carton Boxes and Packaging". Refine Packaging. 10 November 2020. Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  2. Jacewicz, Natalie (9 March 2018). "In The Recycling World, Why Are Some Cartons Such A Problem?". NPR. Archived from the original on 22 September 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  3. "Carton Recycling". Carton Council. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  4. "A consumer favourite for more than a century". Elopak. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Folded Paper Milk Carton – Ohio History Central". ohiohistorycentral.org. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  6. Leahy, Cory (8 January 2016). "Food Movers: Paper or Plastic?". Food+City. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  7. "Surprisingly History Facts of Paper Bottle and FFS Machine | John Van Wormer". 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021.
  8. 1 2 3 "The Paper Beverage Carton: Past and Future". Institute of Food Technologists . Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021. The first records of paper being used to carry liquids on a commercial scale are found in reports, dated 1908, of a Dr. Winslow of Seattle. He remarked on paper milk containers which were invented and sold in San Francisco and Los Angeles by a G.W. Maxwell as early as 1906.
  9. "1888 Heavy-Duty Paper Drinking Straws (Pack of 24)". Archived from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  10. "Wax Paper Milk Carton". 8 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021.
  11. "Wax Paper Milk Carton". 8 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021.
  12. "Skookum Milk Waxed Carton". iCollect247. 8 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021.
  13. "Antiques, Art, Vintage". go Antiques. 8 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021.
  14. "2 Vintage Waxed Paper 1qt Milk Cartons Rocky Forest Dairy, Laceyville, Pennsylvania". eBay. 8 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021.
  15. "Knudsen 1950's Dairy Half Pint Wax Paper Milk Carton". eBay. 8 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021.
  16. "Wax Paper Milk Carton". eBay. 8 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021.
  17. "Vintage Kitchen Décor Knudsen 1950's Dairy Half Pint Wax Paper Milk Carton". eBay. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  18. "Wax Paper Milk Carton". eBay. 8 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021.
  19. "Wax Paper Milk Carton". eBay. 8 August 2021. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021.
  20. "2 Vintage Waxed Paper 1qt Milk Cartons RockyForest Dairy Laceyville Pennsylvania". eBay. Archived from the original on 8 August 2021. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  21. 1 2 3 "A History of Packaging". Archived from the original on 25 November 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  22. The packaging designer's book of patterns. Bilimsel Eserler. 11 July 2000. ISBN   9780471385042. Archived from the original on 10 August 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  23. Sullivan, Karla Sullivan (26 December 2019). "The best chocolate drinks". Karla Sullivan. Lifetime Chicago. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021. (Photo) Bordens Dutch Chocolate
  24. "History". Elopak. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2021. 1915 Patent for the gable-topped Pure-Pak granted 1936 First machines installed in US market
  25. Food packaging: principles and practice. CRC Press. 22 September 2005. ISBN   9780849337758. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  26. Hence, the Edison of Korea, Doctor Shin Seok-kyun, suggested creating packages that would store milk for a prolonged time Archived 18 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine .
  27. Gray, Philip (27 August 2009). "Using Milk-Carton Ads to Build Strong Brands". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 17 April 2023.
  28. admin (7 December 2016). "Food and Beverages You Didn't Know Come in Cartons". Carton Council – Consumer. Retrieved 21 April 2023.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corrugated fiberboard</span> Composite paper material

Corrugated fiberboard or corrugated cardboard is a type of packaging material consisting of a fluted corrugated sheet and one or two flat linerboards. It is made on "flute lamination machines" or "corrugators" and is used for making corrugated boxes. The corrugated medium sheet and the linerboard(s) are made of kraft containerboard, a paperboard material usually over 0.25 millimetres (0.01 in) thick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ultra-high-temperature processing</span> Food sterilization process

Ultra-high temperature processing (UHT), ultra-heat treatment, and ultra-pasteurization is a food processing technology that sterilizes a liquid food by heating the food for two to five seconds to a temperature greater than 140 °C (284 °F) to kill bacterial endospores. In the production of food products, UHT processing is applied to milk and milk products, and to the production of fruit juices, soy milk, wine, savoury canned foods, and honey. UHT milk was first developed in the 1960s and became generally available for consumption in the 1970s. The heat used during the UHT process can cause Maillard browning and change the taste and smell of dairy products. An alternative process is flash pasteurization, in which the milk is heated to 72 °C (162 °F) for at least fifteen seconds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Box</span> Type of container

A box is a container with rigid sides used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small or very large and can be used for a variety of purposes, from functional to decorative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paperboard</span> Thick paper-based material

Paperboard is a thick paper-based material. While there is no rigid differentiation between paper and paperboard, paperboard is generally thicker than paper and has certain superior attributes such as foldability and rigidity. According to ISO standards, paperboard is a paper with a grammage above 250 g/m2, but there are exceptions. Paperboard can be single- or multi-ply.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amcor</span> Packaging company

Amcor plc is a global packaging company. It develops and produces flexible packaging, rigid containers, specialty cartons, closures and services for food, beverage, pharmaceutical, medical-device, home and personal-care, and other products.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cardboard box</span> Type of packaging

Cardboard boxes are industrially prefabricated boxes, primarily used for packaging goods and materials. Specialists in industry seldom use the term cardboard because it does not denote a specific material. The term cardboard may refer to a variety of heavy paper-like materials, including card stock, corrugated fiberboard, and paperboard. Cardboard boxes can be readily recycled.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glass milk bottle</span>

Glass milk bottles are glass bottles used for milk. They are reusable and returnable - used mainly for doorstep delivery of fresh milk by milkmen. Once customers have finished the milk, empty bottles are expected to be rinsed and left on the doorstep for collection, or rinsed bottles may be returned to a participating retail store. Bottle sizes vary depending on region, but common sizes include pint, quart or litre.

RockTenn was an American paper and packaging manufacturer based in Norcross, Georgia. In 2015, it merged with MeadWestvaco to form the WestRock company.

Coated paper is paper that has been coated by a mixture of materials or a polymer to impart certain qualities to the paper, including weight, surface gloss, smoothness, or reduced ink absorbency. Various materials, including kaolinite, calcium carbonate, bentonite, and talc, can be used to coat paper for high-quality printing used in the packaging industry and in magazines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Molded pulp</span> Packaging material

Molded pulp or molded fiber is a packaging material, that is typically made from recycled paperboard and/or newsprint. It is used for protective packaging or for food service trays and beverage carriers. Other typical uses are end caps, trays, plates, bowls and clamshell containers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tetra Pak</span> Swedish-Swiss multinational food packaging and processing company

Tetra Pak is a multinational food packaging and processing company headquartered in Switzerland. The company offers packaging, filling machines and processing for dairy, beverages, cheese, ice cream and prepared food, including distribution tools like accumulators, cap applicators, conveyors, crate packers, film wrappers, line controllers and straw applicators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Folding carton</span> Type of paperboard packaging

The folding carton created the packaging industry as it is known today, beginning in the late 19th century. The process involves folding carton made of paperboard that is printed, laminated, cut, then folded and glued. The cartons are shipped flat to a packager, which has its own machinery to fold the carton into its final shape as a container for a product. An example of such a carton is a cereal box.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Juice box</span> Type of beverage packaging

A juice box, also called a carton (BrE) or popper (AuE), is a small container used to conveniently carry and consume drinks. They are frequently made of paperboard with an aluminum foil lining, but variations exist. Juice boxes are most popular with children, although other uses include emergency drinking water, milk, and wine.

Elopak is a Norwegian company producing cartons for liquids, starting with aseptic gable top cartons for milk. The company was founded in 1957 by Johan Henrik Andresen and Christian August Johansen as a European licensee of Pure-Pak, the Elopak name standing for European License Of PURE-PAK. In 1987, Elopak bought the Ex-Cell-O Packaging Systems Division from which it was originally a licensee, and hence got full ownership of Pure-Pak.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liquid packaging board</span>

Liquid packaging board is a multi-ply paperboard with high stiffness, strong wet sizing and a high barrier coating, e.g. plastic. Only virgin paper fibers are used. The barrier coating must hold the liquid and prevent migration of air and flavors through the paperboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solid unbleached board</span>

Solid unbleached board, also known as SUB, is a grade of paperboard typically made of unbleached chemical pulp. Most often it comes with two to three layers of mineral or synthetic pigment coating on the top and one layer on the reverse side. Recycled fibres are sometimes used to replace the unbleached chemical pulp.

Ecologic Brands Inc. is a United States company that specializes in creating eco-friendly packaging solutions for consumer products. The products are made from sustainable materials and are designed to be recyclable or compostable. The company also provides branding and marketing services to help companies promote their environmentally conscious products.

Cardboard is a generic term for heavy paper-based products. The construction can range from a thick paper known as paperboard to corrugated fiberboard which is made of multiple plies of material. Natural cardboards can range from grey to light brown in color, depending on the specific product; dyes, pigments, printing, and coatings are available.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elmhurst 1925</span> Food and beverage company

Elmhurst 1925 is a plant-based food and beverage company located in Elma, New York. The company manufactures and sells non-dairy, plant-based milks made from nuts, grains, and seeds. The first four nutmilks – almond, cashew, hazelnut, and walnut – debuted at Natural Products Expo West in March 2017. A number of additional products have launched since, including their line of unsweetened plant milks made with only two or three ingredients, award winning barista editions, dairy-free creamers, and single serve ready-to-drink options.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Packaging waste</span> Post-use container and packing refuse

Packaging waste, the part of the waste that consists of packaging and packaging material, is a major part of the total global waste, and the major part of the packaging waste consists of single-use plastic food packaging, a hallmark of throwaway culture. Notable examples for which the need for regulation was recognized early, are "containers of liquids for human consumption", i.e. plastic bottles and the like. In Europe, the Germans top the list of packaging waste producers with more than 220 kilos of packaging per capita.

References

  1. "Gable Top Cartons | Gable Top Packaging". Carton Service. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  2. Kirwan, M. J. (17 March 2011), "Paper and Paperboard Packaging", Food and Beverage Packaging Technology, Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 213–250, doi:10.1002/9781444392180.ch8, ISBN   9781444392180 , retrieved 16 April 2023
  3. Chertoff, Emily (1 August 2012). "The Surprising History of the Milk Carton". The Atlantic. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  4. admin (7 December 2016). "Food and Beverages You Didn't Know Come in Cartons". Carton Council – Consumer. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  5. Gray, Philip (27 August 2009). "Using Milk-Carton Ads to Build Strong Brands". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 16 April 2023.