In both the shipping and packaging industries, corrugated flutes are extremely important. The flutes are typically used to construct boxes useful for shipping products or providing them with better protection.
Moving on, in this blog post, we will guide you through what corrugated flutes are and their importance in the packaging industry.
What are Corrugated Flutes?
A flute, or corrugation, is used to reinforce cardboard to produce corrugated mailers. Corrugation is also known as the process of strengthening cardboard with flutes to make corrugated material for product packaging.
Fluted boards are usually shaped like wavy lines that adhere to cardboard, forming corrugated boards later. Consequently, the packaging becomes more rigid, allowing it to withstand any mechanical shock it may get during transit.
Importance of Corrugated Flutes in the packaging industry
As mentioned above, corrugated flutes are a critical component of the packaging industry, providing durability, cushioning, and protection for products during transportation and storage.
These flutes act as shock absorbers, shielding products from impact and vibration while maintaining the integrity of the packaging. Corrugated flute boxes offer lightweight, customizable, and eco-friendly advantages, making them an excellent choice for businesses trying to reduce shipping costs and promote sustainability.
Boxes made out of these flutes can be used to package products of various sizes, and their customizability enables businesses to showcase their branding effectively.
Overall, corrugated flutes are essential in modern packaging, providing the strength and versatility to protect products while reducing environmental impact.
Different Types of Corrugated Flutes
A, B, C, E, and F corrugated flutes are five different types of cardboard flute sizes used in constructing corrugated fiberboard, each with varying thickness and compression strength.
- A-flute: The original fluted design for corrugated boxes, the thickest with the largest arch size, is good for fragile items. There are 36 flutes per foot.
- B-flute: Good for canned goods and POP displays, 49 flutes per foot, used for food/retail/customized print packaging, second largest arch size.
- C-flute: used most commonly for corrugated boxes, it has good cushioning, stacking, and printing properties and is ideal for shipping and corrugated box display packaging, as well as for glass, furniture, and dairy products.
- E flute: Among the most commonly used corrugated boxes, also eco-friendly, available in 90 flutes per foot, comes in die-cut boxes and retail packaging and is good for cosmetic, ceramic, and pizza boxes.
- F flute: Using 128 flutes per foot gives a minimalist look, looks valuable, provides solid structure, can be used for retail packaging and custom-printed boxes, and is great for cosmetics, jewelry, and shoes.
In Which Box Styles Are the Corrugated Flutes Used?
A corrugated flute may make you think that boxes made from them are square, but this is not the case. Instead, boxes made of flutes can be found in various styles.
Here are the popular box styles that go well with these flutes
Mailer box:
With simple features like dust flaps, mailer boxes protect their contents effectively and are designed to be efficient, protective, and stylish. Mailer boxes are frequently used by e-commerce and subscription businesses.
One-piece folder box:
An easy-to-assemble one-piece folder box looks sleek and is simple to construct and assemble. The box is made from a single piece of corrugated cardboard to ship out items like books or artwork.
Shipping box:
It features a single wall design with B fluting, making it classic and traditional but still protective. Almost anything can be shipped in this box.
Conclusion:
Lastly, these flutes make your packaging more rigid, giving them an edge in shipment. In addition, the flute you choose depends on your product’s needs; the better your choice, the more rigid your box.
Corey Andrew works as a Content Marketer at MailerBoxes.us. He writes on dieline designs, packaging materials, and print technologies and how they benefit customers, company owners, package designers, and industry specialists in their Packaging.
