From the previous installment on corrugated boxes used as packaging in logistics, we discussed the importance of corrugated boxes in the industry. We also mentioned a silly-sounding term – “fluting”, when describing corrugated boxes.
WTF – What’s The Flute?
The flute, or fluting medium, is the wavy paper in the walls of the corrugated box. It is glued to a paper liner to produce a combined board, resulting in the defining feature in distinguishing a corrugated box from other types of cardboard boxes. The flute is the basis of all the benefits of the corrugated box as packaging. It makes a lightweight box both rigid and flexible enough to withstand crushing and cushion its contents from harm (with limits, of course). Generally, a corrugated box is made stronger with more layers of combined boards glued to each other.
Combined boards, alternating layers of fluting medium and paper liner, give strength to the corrugated box. These are a few types of combined boards, with the single face type mostly used as a separator inside a box and the wall types as the shell of the box.
Fluting Profile
The type of corrugated box is determined by something known as the fluting profile and the number of combined boards. When describing it, a prefix with a single alphabet or a combination of multiple alphabets is used. A single alphabet describes a corrugated box with a single wall, while the combination of multiple alphabets is a corrugated box with multiple walls. Different alphabets correspond to different fluting profiles, which correspond to the number of waves per linear foot.
Some of the common prefixes seen in the supply chain are A, B, C, E, F, and AB. So an A-flute corrugated box has a single wall with 33 flutes (or simply “peaks”) sandwiched between two one-foot long paper liners and an AB-flute corrugated box has a double wall, one wall with 33 flutes per foot and the other with 47 flutes per foot.
The fluting profiles of some of the commonly used types of corrugated box. The fluting profile of a particular designation may vary from different producers. The values used for this illustration are based on information from the Fibre Box Association.
Although theoretically the thickness of a single wall combined board may be adjusted to one’s request, in reality however, the thickness reduces with increasing number of flutes per foot and vice versa. But why would anybody prefer a thinner wall over one that is thicker? After all, a thicker wall from a lower count of flutes per foot would give the best protection to the contents of the corrugated box.
The larger number of flutes per foot creates a smoother surface than smaller number of flutes per foot. A smooth surface is perfect to be printed upon, allowing for beautiful and attention-grabbing graphics to don the exterior of a corrugated box with high quality printing. Therefore, the thinner wall of a multiple-walled corrugated box is generally the outer layer.
World of Possibilities
So which flute profile is best for your goods? Ultimately, it depends on what the corrugated box is used for.
Need to safely store and deliver fragile goods? Perhaps the A-flute is best suited for this scenario. Want to have beautiful graphics and your eye-catching logo of the brand on the packaging of your fragile goods? Maybe an AB-flute would be the better option. Need to stack the goods over a long period of time? Give a triple wall corrugated box like the EBE-flute a go for increased sturdiness.
Mexpower is a customer-centric logistics solution provider. We have partners who manufacture packaging like corrugated boxes to support our suite of services. Your relationship with Mexpower does not have to only begin when a contract is signed. We are open to collaborate with you during the product development stage to create the best suited packaging for the safe storage and delivery of your products. For instance, we advice our current customers to use a standard of triple wall corrugated box for wares entering the distribution centre due to the possibility of prolonged holding period but single or double wall corrugated boxes for fast-moving goods passing through our cross-docking facilities. For e-commerce services, we generally use a single wall A- or C-flute corrugated box to pack high quantity orders to avoid bursting of plastic mailer bags while being relatively lightweight. Contact us today for a world of possibilities.
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