Manufacturing

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 linerboard 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.

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