The cardboard that is not recycled always has a piece of virgin paper, that is, of pulp taken directly from the wood, the main raw material of the paper. The recycled cardboard is 100% composed of used paper, which after being properly treated, is able to be reused. Due of using recycled paper, the recycled cardboard is more environmentally friendly.

There is a wide variety of cardboards in the market, but the most usual are:

– Micro corrugated cardboard: composed of three sheets of paper, about 2 mm thickness, which gives it a great adaptability for small and self-locking boxes.

– Thin corrugated cardboard: composed of three sheets of paper, about 3 mm thickness.

– Wide corrugated cardboard: composed of three sheets of paper, about 4 mm thickness.

– Double corrugated cardboard: composed of five sheets of paper, about 6 to 7 mm thickness.

– Double micro corrugated cardboard: composed of five sheets of paper, about 5 mm thickness. It is distinguished from the double corrugated cardboard by having one of micro corrugated, which gives greater resistance to the cardboard wall and enables higher quality prints.

– Triple corrugated cardboard: consisting of seven sheets of paper, approximately 10 mm thick, is used in cases requiring high stacking resistance (heavy materials, for example) and those requiring high protection against shocks (machinery, for example).

The outer and inner sheets of the cardboard use different papers.

a) The most frequent papers for the outer sheets of the cardboard are:

– Recycled paper: 100% paper reused. It is poorly resistant to water and moisture.

– Testliner paper: combined with paper reused and virgin paper, to provide an intermediate resistance to water and moisture.

– Kraft paper: 100% pure paper. With a great resistance to water, it is ideal for winter or cold and humid climates. It has higher resistance to overflow. b) In relation to the inner sheets of the carton, the most usual papers are:

– Fluting paper: paper 100% recycled with poor finish. – Kraft paper: 100% virgin paper.

– Semi-chemical paper: paper of differentiated composition, absorbs little water and has high resistance to humidity and stacking. Therefore, when cardboard boxes are subject to long periods of stock or transport, or when stored materials are heavy or risky, semi-chemical integration is critical.

The difference between cards with the brown and white exterior is essentially in appearance. Brown cards are used for products that don’t need to convey a very neat picture on the box, being more used for packaging, storage and transport. White cards, in addition to allowing higher quality prints, are usually used for packaging that needs a cleaner and more careful image, such as food or pharmaceutical products.

FEFCO code is the internationally applied system for corrugated packaging design.

This Code has been developed by FEFCO (The European Federation or Corrugated Board Manufacturers) and ESBO (The European Solid Board Organisation) as an official system to substitute long and complicated verbal descriptions of fibreboard case and packaging constructions with simple symbols internationally understood by all, regardless of language and other differences.

FEFCO Code contains the design of the most common box types with a code number assigned to each design, making it an easy tool for the paper packaging industry.

You can check the most up-to-date version of the FEFCO catalog here (only available in English) or the previous version here (available in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish).

The size of the bags shall be as follows: width x height.

In case it is a bag with side bellows we should consider the measurement as follows: width + left bellows + right bellows x height. We should measure with the bag closed. Example: a bag with a width of 30cm, a bellows of 8cm each and a height of 50cm, we should present the measurement as follows: 30+8+8x50cm.

For bags with bottom bellows, add the bellows measurement when it is closed. That is: width x height + bottom bellows (example: 30×50+8cm).

Be sure to indicate the thickness of the bag in all situations.

There are three main qualities:

– PP tape: tape of smaller thickness and with noisy rolling. It’s the cheapest on the market and works well on automatic packaging machines.

– PPN tape: base tape equal to PP, but silent when unfolding and a litle more expensive.

– PVC tape: tape of greater thickness and quality. Currently less used, because it has non-recyclable characteristics. As PPN tape, it’s quiet as it unfolds.

By smell and elasticity. PVC is more elastic and smells more intense. The PP and the PPN are very little elastic and have a less aggressive smell.

The acrylic glue is made of water and is therefore less polluting and toxic, but less resistant to low temperatures. Solvent glue has the advantage of being more resistant to low temperatures, but on the other hand loses quality at higher temperatures. It is also more polluting and toxic. The main factor of differentiation is the more aggressive smell of solvent glue.

No. At José Neves we produce adhesive tapes by measure, both in width and in length.

Yes. At José Neves we can customize the tapes with the image of your company. We just need a sample to do the same or you describe to us what you want in order to develop the drawing for approval.

Yes. All adhesive tapes have expiration dates, depending on the type of tape and the storage conditions. If the storage conditions are not respected, the adhesive strength may be reduced and the quality of the tape will be compromised.

There are several types of plotter paper, namely:

a) White or recycled paper without glue: used mainly in hand cutting tables, it is fixed onto fabric or knitted with pins or by another method.

b) White or recycled paper with glue (also known as heatseal): used for hand or semiautomatic cutting tables, is fixed on fabrics or meshes by the action of heat.

It is a very used paper in the textile sector to separate fabrics or knits and also to place between the table of extension or cut and the fabric / mesh. It is suitable to facilitate the sliding of the fabric / mesh on the cutting table.

Sulphite paper and silk paper are widely used in the textile and footwear sector for packing garments and footwear.