A windowed envelope is a conventional envelope with a transparent (typically PET or BOPS Bi-oriented polystyrene [1] plastic film) window to allow the recipient's address to be printed on the paper contained within.
A windowed envelope is a conventional envelope with a transparent (typically PET or BOPS Bi-oriented polystyrene [1] plastic film) window to allow the recipient's address to be printed on the paper contained within.
Americus F. Callahan of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States, received the first patent for a windowed envelope on 10 June 1902. Originally called the "outlook envelop", the patent initially anticipated using thin rice paper as the transparent material forming the window. That material was soon replaced by glassine and by the end of the century, clear plastics; some uses omit the film entirely, leaving an open cut-out. [2] The design has otherwise remained nearly unchanged. [3]
The design and patent letter were completed on 15 November 1901, with the patent filing occurring on 9 December 1901. The United States patent number for Callahan's design is 701,839. [4]
Callahan specifically recommended the use of Manila paper, which is considerably cheaper than thicker writing paper and also provides an opaque background for secure covering of the letter within. Callahan also recommends the use of black paper, which would likewise provide an opaque background whilst simultaneously increasing the contrast with the white address blocks. [4]
The window permits text on the letter itself to be used simultaneously as the address of the recipient and the return-address of the sender, reducing the need to print the addresses onto the envelope itself, which at the time of Callahan's invention was done with the aid of a typewriter. This arguably amounts to a savings in materials, particularly through the reduction in ink usage; but on the other hand the window has to be cut out and sometimes replaced by an additional material called a patch (originally glassine but now plastic). This makes the envelope more expensive. There is also the argument that the paper of the envelope can be substituted with lesser-quality paper as the envelope no longer must be written upon; [4] this perhaps was more relevant at the time of Callahan's invention but is a somewhat specious claim today. Over time the quality of paper generally has improved. Satisfactorily-strong envelopes for business and general-purpose domestic correspondence can be, and are, in fact made out of paper of various qualities. In Britain by the 1940s, during World War 2, envelopes were made out of newspaper because of the paper shortage.
Additional savings can be achieved by removing the time spent inscribing additional addresses upon the envelope. At the time, large business offices—particularly within the telegram industry—employed corps of envelope addressers who wrote the addresses upon envelopes. In addition to the labor costs, this method was prone to mismatches, where the address on the letter header within would not be the same as the address upon the envelope. [4]
Providing a windowed envelope for returning a bill payment forces the payee to return the bill's tear-off stub with the payment, making it easier to ensure the payment is credited to the correct account.
Owing to the benefits in both time, cost, and quality, the windowed envelope design has become nearly ubiquitous among modern commercial mailings. [5]
Regarding recycling after use: plastic windows are not normally a problem for paper mills as the window can usually be easily screened out during the manufacturing process. [6]
An envelope is a common packaging item, usually made of thin, flat material. It is designed to contain a flat object, such as a letter or card.
Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the properties it had in its original state. It is an alternative to "conventional" waste disposal that can save material and help lower greenhouse gas emissions. It can also prevent the waste of potentially useful materials and reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reducing energy use, air pollution and water pollution.
Corrugated fiberboard, corrugated cardboard, or corrugated 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.
Waxed paper is paper that has been made moisture-proof and grease-proof through the application of wax.
Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a coordinated system of preparing goods for transport, warehousing, logistics, sale, and end use. Packaging contains, protects, preserves, transports, informs, and sells. In many countries it is fully integrated into government, business, institutional, industrial, and for personal use.
Optical disc packaging is the packaging that accompanies CDs, DVDs, and other formats of optical discs. Most packaging is rigid or semi-rigid and designed to protect the media from scratches and other types of exposure damage.
Fibre-reinforced plastic is a composite material made of a polymer matrix reinforced with fibres. The fibres are usually glass, carbon, aramid, or basalt. Rarely, other fibres such as paper, wood, boron, or asbestos have been used. The polymer is usually an epoxy, vinyl ester, or polyester thermosetting plastic, though phenol formaldehyde resins are still in use.
Tyvek is a brand of synthetic flashspun high-density polyethylene fibers. The name "Tyvek" is a registered trademark of the American multinational chemical company DuPont, which discovered and commercialized Tyvek in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Vacuum forming is a simplified version of thermoforming, where a sheet of plastic is heated to a forming temperature, stretched onto a single-surface mould, and forced against the mould by a vacuum. This process can be used to form plastic into permanent objects such as turnpike signs and protective covers. Normally draft angles are present in the design of the mould to ease removal of the formed plastic part from the mould.
A materials recovery facility, materials reclamation facility, materials recycling facility or multi re-use facility is a specialized plant that receives, separates and prepares recyclable materials for marketing to end-user manufacturers. Generally, there are two different types: clean and dirty materials recovery facilities.
A paper bag is a bag made of paper, usually kraft paper. Paper bags can be made either with virgin or recycled fibres to meet customers' demands. Paper bags are commonly used as shopping carrier bags and for packaging of some consumer goods. They carry a wide range of products from groceries, glass bottles, clothing, books, toiletries, electronics and various other goods and can also function as means of transport in day-to-day activities.
Manila paper is a relatively inexpensive type of paper, generally made through a less-refined process than other types of paper, and is typically made from semi-bleached wood fibers.
A window screen is designed to cover the opening of a window. It is usually a mesh made of metal, fibreglass, plastic wire, or other pieces of plastic and stretched in a frame of wood or metal. It serves to keep leaves, debris, bugs, birds, and other animals from entering a building or a screened structure such as a porch, without blocking fresh air-flow.
Tracing paper is paper made to have low opacity, allowing light to pass through. Its origins date back to at least the 1300s where it was used by artists of the Italian Renaissance. In the 1880s, tracing paper was produced en masse, used by architects, design engineers, and artists. Tracing paper was key in creating drawings that could be copied precisely using the diazo copy process. It then found many other uses. The original use for drawing and tracing was largely superseded by technologies that do not require diazo copying or manual copying of drawings.
Laminated glass is a type of safety glass consisting of two or more layers of glass with one or more thin polymer interlayers between them which prevent the glass from breaking into large sharp pieces. Breaking produces a characteristic "spider web" cracking pattern when the impact is not enough to completely pierce the glass.
Glassine is a smooth and glossy paper that is air-, water-, and grease-resistant. It is usually available in densities between 50–90 g/m2 (0.010–0.018 lb/sq ft). It is translucent unless dyes are added to color it or make it opaque. It is manufactured by supercalendering: after pressing and drying, the paper web is passed through a stack of alternating steel- and fiber-covered rolls called a supercalender at the end of the paper machine so that the paper fibers are oriented in the same direction.
Bubble wrap is a pliable transparent plastic material used for packing fragile items. Regularly spaced, protruding air-filled hemispheres (bubbles) provide cushioning for fragile items.
Plastic is the generic name for a family of synthetic materials derived from petrochemicals. It is often product of two or more components.
Pressure-sensitive tape or pressure-sensitive adhesive tape is an adhesive tape that will stick with application of pressure, without the need for a solvent or heat for activation. It is known also in various countries as self-stick tape, sticky tape, or just adhesive tape and tape, as well as genericized trademarks, such as Sellotape, Durex (tape), Scotch tape, etc.
Pollination bags, sometimes called crossing bags, isolation bags or exclusion bags, are containers made of various different materials for the purpose of controlling pollination for plants.
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