| Carton is the name of certain objects | | | | Despite the name, cartons can be made from |
| typically made from the material cardboard, | | | | many materials, and in fact are often a |
| the word's original (French) meaning. | | | | composite. |
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| Artistic design | | | | Most common is the familiar corrugated |
| | | | cardboard, made by folding cardboard into a |
| In art history, the carton (pronounced the | | | | rough semblance of a sine wave, and then |
| French way) was a drawing on ordinary | | | | pressing it between two more pieces of |
| cardboard, used as life-size design for the | | | | cardboard. Because of the triangular shape of |
| manufacture in an atelier of a valuable | | | | the cavities, the addition of corrugation |
| tapissery, such as a gobelin. During the | | | | greatly increases the strength of the |
| weaving it hung behind the tapissery in the | | | | container. |
| making, a time-consuming process thus in a | | | | |
| creative sense simplified to 'mechanical' | | | | Often, cartons are made out of a single piece |
| painting-by-numbers. | | | | of cardboard, when the strength of corrugated |
| | | | cardboard isn't needed. Quite often this |
| As these were extremely valuable, often | | | | cardboard is waxed to form a moisture |
| commanded by the very richest art-buyers, | | | | barrier. This may serve to contain a liquid |
| including princes who hung them in their | | | | product or keep a powder dry. |
| palaces and even took them on their travels | | | | |
| as prestigious displays of wealth, often with | | | | Plastics are another common packaging |
| a visual message, especially the world-famous | | | | material since they can be molded in to a |
| Flemish ateliers were deemed worthy to have | | | | container of almost any shape. |
| cartons made by some of the greatest graphic | | | | |
| artists of the time, including such | | | | Content |
| celebrated painters as Rubens. | | | | |
| | | | A wide variety of products, mainly foods, are |
| Packaging cartons | | | | sold in cartons. The following are a few |
| | | | examples: |
| Types of cartons | | | | |
| | | | Labeling |
| A carton is a type of packaging, generally | | | | |
| for food. They come in many different shapes; | | | | The labels on cartons generally contain |
| milk cartons are upright boxes with spouts, | | | | information. Much of this information is |
| egg cartons are long boxes with cups to hold | | | | considered useful by many people, because it |
| the eggs upright. | | | | is very informative. For example, many labels |
| | | | have featured the following: |
| Egg cartons or trays are designed to protect | | | | |
| eggs while in transit. There are three types | | | | label - indicative of the name, contents and |
| of raw materials which are used in the | | | | producer of the carton. |
| manufacture of egg cartons: recycled paper, | | | | |
| styrofoam and, more recently, PET. | | | | nutritional information |
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| In North America, the three largest producers | | | | contact instructions - how to contact the |
| of egg cartons are CKF Inc., Hartmann North | | | | manufacturer in a complicated way involving |
| America and Pactiv Corporation. | | | | hand-drawn facsimiles. |
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| Packaging history | | | | ingredients - exposes the public to terms |
| | | | like propylene glycol for the first time. |
| An early American packaging industry pioneer | | | | |
| was the Kieckhefer Container Company, which | | | | contests - again, hand drawn facsimiles are |
| was run by John W. Kieckhefer. The company | | | | involved. Self-addressed stamped envelopes |
| excelled in the use of fibre shipping | | | | are also often required. |
| containers, which especially included the | | | | |
| paper milk carton. In 1957, through an | | | | Faces of missing children |
| exchange of stock, the Kieckhefer Conatiner | | | | |
| Co. holdings were merged with the Weyerhauser | | | | Beginning in the 1980s, milk cartons in the |
| Timber Company of Tacoma, Washington. | | | | United States had faces of missing children |
| | | | printed on them with headlines such as "Have |
| Shape | | | | you seen me?" and descriptions of the |
| | | | children. The hope was that these photos |
| Although quite often shaped like a cuboid, it | | | | would lead to the recovery of the children, |
| is not uncommon to find cartons lacking right | | | | and over 1,400 children were found as a |
| angles and straight edges, as in squrounds | | | | direct result of this campaign. |
| used for ice cream. The number of corners on | | | | |
| any given carton is a function of the product | | | | Carton-pierre |
| it contains. For example, a product with | | | | |
| eight vertices would require a box also with | | | | Under the French name of carton pierre |
| eight corners. Exceptions to this rule are | | | | ('stone carton') a substance which is |
| irregularly shaped products, like | | | | essentially papier |
| televisions, in which case styrofoam inserts | | | | mâché is |
| are used to standardize the shape. | | | | also largely employed as a substitute for |
| | | | plaster in the moulded ornaments of roofs and |
| Materials | | | | walls. |
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