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 The Paper Box Making 
 Industry m Philadelphia 
 
 ISSUED BY 
 
 THE EDUCATIONAL COMMITTEE 
 
 OF THE 
 
 PHILADELPHIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 
 
PRESENTED TO 
 
 THE SCHOOLS OF PHILADELPHIA 
 
 BY THE 
 
 PAPER BOX MANUFACTURERS 
 
 OF PHILADELPHIA 
 
 QiP 
 
 PobMeh',. 
 
 JUL 2P WU 
 
 Copyright, 1918, Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce 
 
TS\zoO 
 
The Paper Box Making Industry in Philadelphia 
 
 THE IMPORTANT POSITION OCCUPIED BY 
 THE PAPER BOX. 
 
 It is probable that very few people, upon receiving an article 
 packed in a paper box, stop to consider the importance of this modest 
 container or the size and importance in our community of the Paper 
 Box Industry. 
 
 Though often discarded and receiving slight attention the paper 
 box has today assumed a place of tremendous importance in the mar- 
 keting of products of almost every description from tacks to candy and 
 from socks to silk hats. 
 
 Not only are paper boxes necessary to protect the goods packed 
 in them from becoming soiled or otherwise damaged, but they are 
 equally necessary and important as a guarantee of the character or 
 quality of the contents. The use of trade-marked or generally known 
 paper boxes also prevents unscrupulous dealers from substituting in- 
 ferior articles in place of those asked for by the purchaser. 
 
 The improvement and development in merchandising methods is 
 evidenced in all lines by the increasing attractiveness of the containers 
 in which the goods are packed. 
 
 In days gone by the purchaser of an article was content to re- 
 ceive it wrapped in paper or placed in a bag, but not so today. The 
 critical public when making a purchase must now have the goods de- 
 livered in a box, clean, well made and indeed often a work of art in 
 itself. To such an extent has the paper box become a real factor in 
 making sales that today every user of boxes is competing with his rival 
 forJhe honor and increased business resulting from the more attractive 
 packages. This unquestionable point, of the package actually selling 
 the goods, in some lines has been so forcibly driven home that the 
 manufacturers of these articles actually employ artists and designers 
 to work up in the most painstaking way the boxes in which their goods 
 will be displayed and sold to the consumer. Probably the confectionery 
 business affords the best and most familiar example of the demand 
 for fine paper boxes and the importance which the candy makers at- 
 tach to the selection of their packages proves that the box is more 
 than a mere container for the candy and is in reality the silent sales- 
 man. The same thing is true of an ever-increasing number of articles 
 sold to a discriminating public, who will no longer accept their pur- 
 chases in common and unattractive packages. 
 
The Paper Box Making Industry in Philadelphia 
 
 GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDUSTRY. 
 
 The Paper i>ox liidiistiy is an iiiipoitaiit one, and it is interesting 
 to know tliat there are in lMiiladeli>hia alone S(^nne sixty factories de- 
 voted excliisivei.v to tlie niannfaetnre of paper boxes and employing 
 over 5000 hands with an averaj^e weekly pay roll amonnting to nearly 
 141,000. These factoiies, with their equipment represented, in 1916, 
 an investment of .fl, 000.000 and ]>i-odnced daily approximately 2,000,000 
 boxes which were sold for the yearly sum of -f 8.000,000.* 
 
 The ev<dutioii and development from the few simple boxes of the 
 past to the artistic i>ackages (»f the present with an ever-increasing 
 demand was caused l)y and is causing constant changes in the meth- 
 ods of manufacture. 
 
 In the early days of the box-making industry there were no power 
 machines an<l the few machines then used were (»])erated by haiul. In- 
 deed many of the simpler and smaller boxes were made in the homes 
 of the workers, the whole family at times taking ])art in tiie Avork. 
 The manufacturer would distribute the cut stock by wagon or push 
 cart to the homes, at the same time collecting the tinished boxes which 
 had been made from stock previously delivered. This method allowed 
 the box makei- to carry on his business without the necessity of a large 
 building or the suiiervision and overhead expenses otherwise necessary. 
 But these primitive methods limited production and made the price 
 too high for tlie universal use of boxes, such as we see today. 
 
 Gradually, h(»wever, better methods and the rai)id develoi»ment of 
 machinery, working hand in hand with an increasing market, forced 
 the ]iroduction of boxes on a quantity basis and a new era set in. 
 Thenceforth the invention of new machinery and the develo])ment of 
 better grades of boxes, for commercial uses, became very rapid and in 
 turn caused the growth of other industries to supjdy the box makers. 
 So today we find a tremendous investment in factories supplying ma- 
 chinery and materials solely for the manufacture of ]>aper boxes. 
 
 There are in machines, alone, some thirty-five different kinds, at 
 least eight of which are necessary for the jiroduction, in any consider- 
 able (luantity, of even the plainest covered boxes, while most or all of 
 the various machines are recpiired to manufacture the high-grade and 
 fancy boxes used for such things as candy, etc. 
 
 The materials for pa])er boxes are almost endless in number, be- 
 ginning with the basic raw material, "box boai-d." which is the body of 
 the box, on through the great variety of cover ]>apers, printed wraps, 
 lace ])a])ers, ghie and paste, stay paper, cotton, etc., and ending with 
 the beautiful liand jiainted jdctures oi- wra]»s and the silk or satin rib- 
 bons used to comjdete the decorative effects. 
 
 'Figures here given were gathered for the year 1916. 
 
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The Paper Box Making Industry in Philadelphia 
 
 HOW BOX BOARD IS MADE. 
 
 It will be interesting to turn aside for a moment to the materials 
 and processes used in manufacturing the basic raw material of all 
 boxes, '*box board." Of this there are three principal kinds as follows : 
 "News Board," made from old newspapers; *'Chip Board," made from 
 all kinds of paper waste, and "Straw Board," manufactured from 
 straw. 
 
 "Chip Board," being the most commonly used material, will serve 
 to describe very briefly the conversion of waste paper into the finished 
 box board of various thicknesses or weights. 
 
 Into a beater, partly filled with water and coloring matter and 
 equipped with revolving arms, which tear the stock into small par- 
 ticles, is thrown waste paper of all kinds. From the beater this semi- 
 liquid mass is pumped to the Jordan engine where the stock is again 
 ground into finer particles. From here it goes to the stuff chest or 
 storage tank, whence it flows upon a wire screen, which is the be- 
 ginning of the board machine proper. The thickness of the sheet of 
 board is determined by the amount of material allowed to flow on to 
 this screen in a given time. The screen is agitated or shaken in a 
 horizontal direction to drain off the surplus of water and knit the re- 
 maining fibre together. From this screen the mass is carried in a solid 
 layer on to a traveling felt blanket which carries it again to the dry- 
 ing cylinders. These cylinders are a series of heated drums or hollow 
 rolls filled with steam, which extend one after another in close suc- 
 cession about 300 feet and are for the purpose of drying out the board. 
 Upon leaving the last cylinder the stock passes to the finishing calen- 
 dar which is a series of steel pressure rolls between which the board 
 interwinds. This gives the board a smooth finish, the smoothness de- 
 pending upon the pressure of the calendar rolls. Passing from the 
 calendar the board is slit into widths, sheeted into desired lengths and 
 tied into bundles weighing fifty pounds each. 
 
 Lastly, a white or colored paper, when desired, may be pasted to 
 one surface of the sheet, this afterward appearing as the inside lining 
 of the finished box. 
 
 THE MAKING OF A PAPER BOX. 
 
 Having decided upon the proper measurements, length, width and 
 depth, together with complete specifications covering all the details 
 of paper, printing, inside parts, etc., the actual manufacture of the 
 box is commenced. Let us follow a box through the developing proc- 
 esses with a brief description of each. 
 
10 The Paper Box Making Industry in Philadelphia 
 
 A ^'Scoring Machine'' is used to cut the box or lid ''blank'' from 
 the sheet of box board and as many can be cut from this sheet as the 
 length or width of the blank will divide into the dimensions of the 
 sheet of board. The rotarv knives on the "Scoring ^lachine'' are now 
 set at the proper distances apart so as to cut and score the sheet into 
 the blanks as shown in Fig. 1. The corners of the blanks are then cut 
 out on the "Corner Cutting Machine" and the sides or edges of the 
 blank are bent up to form the sides of the box. At each corner a 
 piece of strong Kraft paper or Stay paper, as it is called, is attached 
 by means of the "Staying Machine.'' so that the corners of the box 
 are held together. The blank has now taken definite form and the 
 box or lid, as the case may be, is ready for covering with ]»a}>er of the 
 <lesired quality and color. 
 
 The cover pajter can be put on in several ways. If manufactured 
 and tinished in rolls the roll may be cut down or "slit" into smaller 
 rolls of the i)ro]ier width which are placed on the "Covering Machine" 
 reel and the i»aper drawn as a continuous strip over a glued roller, 
 Fig. 2, and attached to the si<les and top of the box or lid. This is 
 the "Covering Machine" method. Or else the covering may be carried 
 out by means of the Stokes & Smith Wrapping Machine, Fig. 3. The 
 latter is a very interesting machine in its operation and almost human 
 in the results acconi] dished. The wrap or cover jtaper is passed through 
 glue rollis. only <»ne side <»f the paper receiving a thin coating, and 
 I)lace(l glue side uj) on a revolving table. From this the machine opera- 
 tor jiicks off the wia]» with one hand, at the same time with the other 
 hand taking an uncovered box which she immediately places bottom 
 down on the glued wrap, care being taken to have it accurately cen- 
 tered. The box is then lifted on to a close-fitting form which passes, 
 with wrai> })artly attached to the box, down and througli a series of 
 brushes and rolls which draw the wraj) closely to the sides of the 
 box, neatly folding the paper at the corners and ends and turning the 
 edges into the inside of the box. Thus the box emerges from the ma- 
 chine, at the end of a complete revolution, in a finished condition, so 
 far as the covering is concerned. If a simj)le one the box and lid may 
 be made in this fashion and c(»nsidered complete, but the more com- 
 idicated boxes pass on to other processes, perhaps to have a "neck" in- 
 serted. This neck is a part consisting of joined sides and ends but no 
 bottom. It is deej>er than the box so that it extends above the box 
 sides and is for the ])urpose of fitting into the lid so that when lidded 
 the sides of the box and lid are flush. This style of box is familiar to 
 all. 
 
 Many boxes are fitted with fiies or laces, which are the jilain or 
 
12 The Paper Box Making Industry in Philadelphia 
 
 fancy papers glued to the inner edges of the box and laying over the 
 goods when the box is packed. These are glued in either by hand or 
 machine, according to which method the size, shape or quantity of the 
 box is best adapted. Unless the production of flied or laced boxes is 
 quite large the hand method is the usual one, but those factories turn- 
 ing out this class of work in large volume have found the machine 
 method to be by far the more rapid and economical. 
 
 The finishing operations may consist of putting in trays, parti- 
 tions, etc., and decorating with ribbons. 
 
 The boxes with extended or "French" edges and perhaps padded 
 tops are covered and finished very much in the same manner as just 
 described, but with the additional operations of attaching the extended 
 edges and the cotton padding, etc. 
 
 HAND-MADE BOXES. 
 
 Of course there are many styles of boxes of complicated construc- 
 tion, such as the very fancy ones and those with hinged lids, falling 
 sides, compartments, etc., so that it is impossible to make them en- 
 tirely by machine. Boxes of this kind must be made partially or en- 
 tirely by hand, requiring workers of long experience and often experts 
 in some special operation. This work naturally is the most exacting 
 and yet often extremely interesting and draws upon probably the most 
 expert and experienced box makers in the trade. Many of the silk and 
 satin and hand-painted boxes, seen so often in the confectioners' win- 
 dows, are real works of art and bring from fl.OO to |20.00 each. 
 
 REQUIREMENTS AND FACTORY CONDITIONS 
 
 We hear much nowadays about vocations, life work, business op- 
 portunities and other terms, used by the student of sociology which, 
 in a nut shell, mean to the prospective worker but two things; work- 
 ing conditions and wages. The very nature of paper box making and 
 the uses to which the boxes are to be put demand clean, light, sanitary 
 conditions, and an inspection of the factories in Philadelphia will con- 
 vince one that our box makers have made or are striving to make con- 
 ditions in their shops agree with the most modem ideas of pleasant 
 and sanitary working conditions. The manual work of box mak- 
 ing is peculiarly suited to the rapid and delicate handling of women 
 and girl workers, excepting, of course, in the cutting processes, which 
 are performed by men and boys. There are none of those disagreeable 
 or objectionable features in box making which in so many kinds of 
 
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14 The Paper Box Making Industry in Philadelphia 
 
 manufactiiring cause the so-called occupational diseases or serious dis- 
 comforts to the workers, but on the other hand the work is compara- 
 tively light and the principal qualifications of a good box maker are 
 speed, cleanliness and accuracy. 
 
 Safety has received unusual attention so that a device has now 
 been designed for practically every kind of machine to insure the 
 safety of life and limb under normal working conditions. 
 
 Chances for advancement and the wages paid are the equal of those 
 found in the great majority of industries, while the working con- 
 ditions are good. 
 
 In fact, for the ambitious and intelligent worker, who intends to 
 make of his or her work something more than a mere "job." the paper 
 box industry otfers many opportunities. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 017 574 188 4 
 
 EDUCATIONAL PAMPHLETS 
 
 ISSUED BY THE 
 
 PHILADELPHIA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE 
 
 PLTRPOSE — To make Philadelphia's life, industry, history and 
 government known, understood, and appreciated by all its citizens. 
 
 No. 
 
 I 
 
 No. 
 
 2 
 
 No. 
 
 3 
 
 No. 
 
 4 
 
 No. 
 
 5 
 
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 6 
 
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 7 
 
 No. 
 
 8 
 
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 9 
 
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 lO 
 
 No. 
 
 II 
 
 No. 
 
 12 
 
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 13 
 
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 14 
 
 No. 
 
 15 
 
 Thrift — a short text-book 
 
 The Trust Companies of Philadelphia 
 
 The Rug and Carpet Industry of Philadelphia 
 
 The Locomotive Industry in Philadelphia 
 
 Truck Farming in Philadelphia County 
 
 Candy Making in Philadelphia 
 
 The Leather and Glazed Kid Industry in Philadelphia 
 
 Milk and Its Distribution in Philadelphia 
 
 Telephone, Telegraph and Wireless Systems in Philadelphia 
 
 The Manufacture, Distribution and Use of Gas in Philadelphia 
 
 Department Stores of Philadelphia 
 
 Commercial Banking in Philadelphia 
 
 The Paint and Varnish Industry in Philadelphia 
 
 Commercial Value of Music to Philadelphia 
 
 The Paper Box Making Industry in Philadelphia 
 
 Other pamphlets in course of preparation 
 
LlBRftR^ „. 
 
 OF CONGRESS 
 
 f"^^ 188 A<