HOW IS CORRUGATED CARDBOARD MADE?

 Corrugated cardboard is the world's most widely used packaging material. But not many people are aware that it is made of renewable material and is also 100% recyclable. Corrugated cardboard is a common material that most people encounter in their everyday lives. It is mainly used in the manufacture of packagings such as boxes and other Custom Packaging, which is then mostly used in transport and industry. Corrugated cardboard has several positive properties in addition to being available in a variety of variants and sizes. It is a durable and strong material that is at the same time shock-absorbing and flexible. It is without a doubt the optimal material to transport your goods in. The popularity of corrugated cardboard makes it the world's most used packaging material, which creates great opportunities for variation and adaptation to purpose. A large part of corrugated board production consists of creating customized corrugated boxes, for example through custom-made boxes or postal Custom Packaging with print.
Although corrugated cardboard is such a popular material, not many people know how it is made - so how is corrugated cardboard made?

How is corrugated cardboard made?

Corrugated cardboard is made from pulp that is either extracted from coniferous and birch forests, which is a renewable raw material, or from recycled custom cardboard boxes. To create corrugated cardboard from trees, sulfate pulp is extracted by dissolving the wood with the help of high temperature and white liquor. The pulp that is extracted continues in the process by being washed, pressed, and dried to become paper. The paper is then used to create different types of materials, including corrugated cardboard and cardboard. How is corrugated cardboard made from recycled material? Well, to create corrugated cardboard from recycled material, the recycled corrugated cardboard is dissolved in water to create pulp which then goes through the same process. Usually, the pulp does not fade, which gives the corrugated cardboard its characteristic brown color. If the mass is bleached and made white, it can be used to create boxes, for example, white inside or white outside.

The production of corrugated cardboard then goes on to glue two flat layers of paper together with a wavy paper in between. The flat paper is called liner and the wavy paper is called fluting. Corrugated cardboard is made in different thicknesses depending on how many layers of corrugated paper it has and is therefore usually referred to as a "sandwich construction". Corrugated cardboard with only one wave layer creates a flexible single wave, two wave layers create a more durable double wave and three-wave layers create an incredibly strong triple wave.

Environmental perspective

One of the great advantages of corrugated cardboard is that it is a material that can be recycled to 100%. In Sweden, we recycle about 98% of all packaging in corrugated cardboard. About 75% then go on to be used in the manufacture of new corrugated cardboard. The adhesive used in the manufacture of corrugated cardboard is mainly based on maize starch which is non-toxic, water-soluble, and also 100% biodegradable. Because the corrugated board is manufactured to such a wide extent, this means that the production of the corrugated board becomes more and more efficient and thus continuously reduces its environmental impact. SM Custom Packaging has a wide range of environmentally friendly packaging that is largely made from recycled materials.

What is the difference between corrugated cardboard and cardboard?

Dear child has many names! It's not entirely strange to call corrugated cardboard and cardboard the same thing, even though it really is not. The biggest difference between cardboard and corrugated cardboard is that corrugated cardboard consists of at least three layers of paper, while cardboard consists of several layers of flat, thin paper. Therefore, the production of cardboard looks similar to corrugated cardboard, except in the final stages of production when no corrugated paper is included. Cardboard and cardboard boxes, like corrugated cardboard, are also popular materials in transport and industry but are also used to create neater packaging such as boxes and gift boxes.