History of Corrugated and the corrugated carton machine

1871
Unlined corrugated first appeared as a packaging material for glass and kerosene lamp chimneys. 1871unlinedCorru.jpg

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. 1895Wells.gif

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. 1909Rubber.jpg

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 linerboard emerged. 1980s.jpg

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 Rule 41 as an alternative to burst strength and basis weight, allowing the manufacture of lighter weight liners.