Corrugated Board

Why use corrugated board?

We use corrugated board in our Learning from Play product themes because it is one of the most environmentally sound materials to use in the classroom. It is non toxic, easily recyclable and produced mainly from recycled paper.

Characteristics of corrugated board

Corrugated board has unique characteristics that allow our designers to create ingenious structures that are suitable for the classroom and because it is:

• light
• strong
• safe and a non-toxic material
• painted with water based paint
• low cost
• recyclable and used again and again

Where does it come from?

About 25% of the woodpulp fibre used in production comes from new timber fibre.  To help ensure that the woodpulp fibre comes from managed woodland, timber certificates are supplied to verify its source as the timber is sold.  Only softwood such as Pine or Larch is used in the production of woodpulp. Tropical hardwoods are never used.

In the UK some two million tonnes of corrugated board is produced each year and more than 75% of the total is recycled to make new corrugated board. This level is a higher recycling percentage than any other product.

What is Corrugated Board?

To corrugate means to wrinkle, to draw up into folds, to pleat.

Corrugated paper was first used in the USA in 1871 by a Mr. Albert L. Jones to protect the glass bottles he was transporting to the shops.

Corrugated board was first used in the UK in 1895. Now, well over 100 years later, it has become the most popular material used for packaging in the world. Nearly 70% of all products bought, sold and transported are packed in it.

Corrugated board structures can:

• protect goods in transit
• hold heavy industrial products
• be made waterproof
• have microchips built-in to help locate products
• improve the ability to stack and store products
• be colour printed for brand advertising or to show product information
• be cut, folded, glued or scored

Corrugated board consists of three layers of components called containerboard materials, structured to be light yet strong.

The layers are called:

• outer liner
• inner liner
• fluting medium
  (which is the wrinkly bit in the middle)

The terms most often used to describe the containerboard material are:

• Kraft - originally made from 100% wood pulp but now Kraft mills increasingly use recycled waste as a proportion of the fibre content.
• Test - made entirely from recycled fibres with selected waste papers combined to produce different grades of board.

The Outer Liner:

Often high quality and printed with company branding or advice. This is the outside of our product themes and the side that is usually painted or decorated.

The Inner Liner:

The inner liner is important for strength. This part of the board is the inside and you may have direct contact with it and so we ensure it conforms to our special requirements. 

The wrinkly middle is called the Fluting Medium:

The fluting separates the inner and outer liners and gives corrugated board its strong, rigid properties. The fluting is manufactured by using specially formulated recycled paper and adding chemicals and starch. This produces a strong ‘flutability’ sheet that can be readily corrugated (wrinkled) in a machine with special wrinkly rollers when heat and pressure are applied, but becomes ridged when cool.

Environmentally friendly material

Continued advances in production technology are helping to make corrugated board more energy efficient.  Advanced engineering designs using CAD also mean that the structures being produced are becoming lighter and stronger.  At the same time they provide better protection for products. This is especially true for protecting heavy weights such as engine components and boats, or creating large freestanding structures such as our Learning from Play products.

At Learning from Play we love corrugated cardboard, not only because we make nice shapes from it but also because it is an environmentally friendly material and it can be recycled and reused again - and again - and again – and again.