History of Corrugated

Courtesy of corrugated.org / paperonline.org

*950 BC* The ancient Egyptians produced the first writing material by pasting together thin layers of plant stems..
*100 BC* The Chinese created the first authentic paper from bamboo and mulberry fibers.
*1400s AD* Paper mills appeared in Spain, Italy, Germany and France.
*1690* The first sheet paper mill in North America was built near Philadelphia.
*1767* England wanted to regain their loss of colonial paper exports. They imposed the Stamp Act, which included a tax on all paper made in the colonies. Many consider this fuel for the American Revolution.
*1803* The first continuous papermaking machine was patented.
*1854* In England, the first pulp from wood was manufactured.
*1856* The first known corrugated material was patented for sweatband lining in tall hats of Victorian Englishmen.
*1871* Unlined corrugated first appeared as a packaging material for glass and kerosene lamp chimneys.
*1874* A liner was added to one side of the corrugated material to prevent the flutes from stretching.
*1894* Corrugated was slotted and cut to make the first boxes. Wells Fargo began using corrugated boxes for small freight shipments.
*1903* Corrugated was first approved as a valid shipping material and was used to ship cereals.
*1909* Rubber printing plates were developed which allowed for greater design creativity.
*1914* Tariffs imposed on corrugated shipping containers were ruled discriminatory.
*1957* Flexographic printing virtually replaced letterpress and oil-based ink.
1960s The flexo folder-gluer was invented.
*Early 1980s* Preprinted liner board emerged.
*Late 1980s* New developments in the anilox roll, plate and press design drove the industry into short-run, high-graphic products.
*1991* The edge crush test was added to Item 222 and Rule41 as an alternative to burst strength and basis weight, allowing the manufacture of lighter weight liners.

2000 and Beyond

The new Millennium will be dominated by the tremendous progress that has been made in computer science, thus triggering a complete change in our commercial and private communication and information behavior.

Does this mean that the paper era will come to an end? The answer is most definitely "No".

Clearly there will be a huge amount of data being generated electronically, but the issue is how to preserve it. The difficulties of data storage over a long period of time are well known (for example, the durability of disks; frequent changes of hard and software, electronic breakdowns etc.). Once again, paper offers the most convenient and durable storage option. The advance in technology will affect only the printing of items like short-lived handbooks and encyclopedias.

Reading a book will remain a great pleasure into the future and paper, as a ubiquitous material with its many uses, will continue to play an influential role. Many artists will continue to express themselves by using this most versatile material.