The origin and development of carton packaging

Carton packing is both an old and new topic, and it is one that people are studying and researching from beginning to end. Packaging follows the evolution of human beings, the presentation of products, the development of production, and the advancement of scientific skills as they gradually develop, and a breakthrough is constantly made, from the ancient, primitive society of the farming era to the modern society with highly developed scientific skills. In general, packaging has progressed through three stages of development: original packaging, traditional packaging, and modern packaging.

1. Original packaging

The history of human use of packaging can be traced back to ancient times. There were still items to be stored and exchanged as early as 10,000 years ago in late primitive society, following the development of production skills and thus the beginning of original packaging. People tied up hunting items and wrapped them in plant leaves, shells, animal skins, and other items in the beginning, which is the embryo of the development of the original packaging. In the future, following the progress of labor skills, people with plant fibers and other manufacturing skills will make the most primitive baskets, such as baskets, fire-calcined stone, clay pots, clay bowls, and clay irrigation, etc., to hold and save food, drinks, and other items, so that the convenience of packaging delivery, storage, and storage functions will be the beginning of perfection. This is the original, ancient packaging.

2. Traditional packaging

About 5000 BC, mankind began to enter the bronze age. 4,000 years ago in China's Xia Dynasty, our people were able to exercise with bronze, and during the Shang and Zhou periods, their bronze exercise skills further developed. During the Spring and Autumn Warring States periods, people mastered the skills of casting iron and steel and lacquer painting, and iron and lacquered wooden containers were present in large numbers. In ancient Egypt, in 3000 B.C., people began to blow glass containers. Therefore, with ceramic, glass, wood, and metal processing, a variety of packaging containers have a thousand-year history, and many of these skills, through continuous improvement and development, have been used to the present.

Cai Lun invented clear paper-making in 105 BC during the Han Dynasty. China's papermaking technology spread to Japan via Goryeo in 61 A.D.; in the 13th century, Germany was the first to build a larger paper mill in Europe. 11 century, China's Bi Sheng developed clear movable type printing. In the 15th century, Europe began to present movable type printing and packaging printing, and the packaging decoration industry began to develop. The European ceramic industry began to develop in the 16th century; the United States built a glass factory and began to produce a variety of glass containers. The United States built a glass factory and began to produce a variety of glass containers. So far, the packaging industry began to develop with ceramics, glass, wood, metal, and other primary materials, and modern traditional packaging began to modernize.

3. Modern packaging

Due to the rapid development of industrial production, particularly in Europe during the 19th century, the packaging industry has been greatly accelerated since the 16th century, laying the groundwork for the emergence and establishment of the modern packaging industry and packaging technology.

French scientists developed a clear sterilization method for food packaging and storage at the end of the 18th century, which led to the introduction of glass food cans and tinplate food cans in the early 19th century and the rapid development of food packaging science. In the nineteenth century, the packaging industry began to develop comprehensively; in 1800, the mechanism of wooden boxes was presented; in 1814, Britain presented the first long network paper machine; in 1818, tin-plated metal cans were presented; in 1856, the United States invented clear corrugated paper; in 1860, Europe made the bag-making machine; in 1868, the United States invented the first plastic bag composition - celluloid; and in 1890, the first plastic bags. In 1890, the U.S. Railroad Yard Transportation Committee began to recognize corrugated boxes as the official transport packaging containers.

Polyethylene, paper, glass, aluminum foil, a variety of plastics, composite materials, and other packaging materials were widely used into the twentieth century. Aseptic packaging, shockproof packaging, anti-theft packaging, security packaging, combination packaging, composite packaging, and other skills are becoming increasingly sophisticated, in many aspects to strengthen the function of packaging.

Since the middle and end of the 20th century, international trade has been developing rapidly, and packaging has been the focus of countries around the world. Because about 90% of the products need to pass through different degrees and different types of packaging, packaging has become an important and indispensable link in the process of production and flow of products. Now that electronic skills, laser skills, and microwave skills are widely used in the packaging industry, packaging planning has completed computer-aided planning (CAD), and packaging production has also completed mechanization and automated production.

The advancement of the packaging industry and its talents encourage the formation of packaging science research and packaging science. A packaging discipline is an intermittent group of disciplines in general science that spans physics, chemistry, biology, the humanities, art, and other forms of knowledge. It naturally absorbs and integrates new ideas, new materials, new talents, and new processes from other disciplines from the standpoint of systems engineering to solve problems in product maintenance, storage, delivery, sales promotion, and other general circulation problems. Packaging disciplines are categorized as follows: packaging materials, packaging delivery, packaging technology, packaging planning, packaging management, packaging decoration, packaging testing, packaging machinery, and various sub-disciplines. More than 40 Chinese colleges and universities now offer packaging engineering specialties, and the pool of packaging talent is rising.