The automatic box: a practical, time-saving helper for smooth shipping

Shipping goods presents companies with a number of logistical challenges. The packaging material must be suitable for transporting the goods in question. Packaging should also be environmentally friendly in order to promote customer confidence in the company. Social commitment and the assumption of responsibility for an intact environment are components of the corporate philosophy that many customers take into account when making their purchasing decisions. Certain requirements for the stability of the cardboard boxes must be met in order to avoid damage to the goods. In addition, the boxes must be easily stackable for smooth shipping and also for storage.

In companies that have a high shipping volume, high efficiency and a speedy time flow play a central role. Nowadays, customers expect fast delivery of ordered items. If a company wants to remain competitive and maintain a good reputation, it should consistently meet this expectation. When selecting cardboard boxes for shipping, it is therefore extremely important to give preference to those that are easy to handle and ensure quick packaging of the items. This is where the folding box with automatic base comes into play. The automatic carton, also called automatic bottom carton or lightning bottom carton, saves time when set up. Thanks to its practical erecting function, it can be set up much faster than a conventional shipping carton. It is said that you can prepare the box and goods for shipping in about half the time.

How does an automatic bottom carton save time compared to conventional folding cartons?

Setting up a conventional folding carton or tuck-bottom carton requires several manual operations. After the folding carton has been unfolded, the two bottom parts have to be folded down by hand and joined together with adhesive tape. In the case of the plug-in bottom carton, the components of the bottom have to be plugged together manually. Extra adhesive tape is also required to close the lid, which is difficult to apply with a dispenser. The automatic bottom carton differs in a few essential details from the standard carton and the tuck-bottom carton, which makes it easy to quickly assemble and close the versatile packaging. Its base closes automatically when the automatic carton is opened. This is because it consists of two layers of corrugated cardboard that overlap each other as soon as you unfold the box. The lid usually has double-sided adhesive tape on the underside, which allows it to be closed quickly. Often, there is also an integrated tear strip that allows the recipient to open the box easily without a knife or scissors. Alternatively, there are lids that have insertable closure tabs, which do not require any adhesive tape at all. Automatic bottom boxes that have a double-walled lid are particularly convenient, because this reinforces the top and bottom of the flash bottom boxes. This means that it is no problem if things of a heavier weight are transported in them and the lightning-bottom box is turned around several times or handled slightly roughly during transport. Thanks to the practical mechanism, the automatic bottom carton saves an enormous amount of time during assembly, filling and closing. Using the described automatic carton is a great advantage, as the automatic bottom carton is usually ready for dispatch almost twice as fast as a classic folding carton.

Folding cartons with single wall corrugated board are light, flexible and yet resilient

Cardboard has proven itself as a material for packaging, storing and transporting goods and objects of all kinds. It consists of the raw material cellulose, wood pulp or waste paper, which is compressed by pressing or formed into a stable packaging material by gluing several layers together. A distinction is made between solid board and corrugated board. Solid cardboard is characterised by its higher weight. It can be single-layered, multi-layered or multi-layered. Corrugated board consists of at least two layers of paper or cardboard, between which a corrugated paper layer is glued.

Automatic cartons consist of single wall paperboard, i.e. a corrugated paper web glued between two smooth webs of paper or cardboard. The corrugated layer is classified as E-flute, microwave or fine flute. The E-flute has a flute pitch and flute height that is in the middle range in each case. This gives it good properties in terms of stability and stackability of several flash bottom boxes and makes it suitable for transporting goods of normal weight. Single wall board is ideal for flash bottom cartons as it makes the carton flexible and pliable enough to allow the cartons to be easily unfolded. It also has a relatively low weight, which helps to save on shipping costs and makes transport easier. The bottom consists of two layers of corrugated cardboard that slide over each other during assembly, giving the flash bottom carton a double bottom. This helps make the automatic bottom carton more stable. When shipping in an automatic carton, there is therefore increased transport security compared to the standard carton, which is particularly advantageous when transporting sensitive goods.

This is how an automatic box is set up without any adhesive tape

Setting up an automatic box is very simple and effortless. No additional material is needed to assemble the shipping box as long as its height is not reduced and part of the lid is cut off in the process. Varying the box height sometimes requires the use of cutting tools. Tape dispensers may be required to close the cut lid.

To set up and stabilise the automatic box, it is sufficient to press together the side edges that are opposite each other. This causes the carton to expand, the bottom unfolds first and then closes automatically by overlapping the two layers of corrugated cardboard that form the bottom. The carton is then immediately ready for filling. It is possible to get cartons ready for shipping much faster thanks to this automatic system. There is no need for time-consuming fixing of the base with adhesive tape or laborious assembly of the base parts. The environmentally friendly automatic carton is often equipped with a self-adhesive closure or a plug-in closure on the lid, which makes closing the lid very convenient and also quick. The goods can be inserted directly. If the items could be damaged during transport, they should first be wrapped in tissue paper or bubble wrap. If necessary, it is advisable to spread styrofoam filling material on the bottom of the flash-bottom box and bed the item on it.

Automatic boxes & flash bottom boxes are available from us in these colours and sizes

Environmentally friendly folding boxes with automatic bottom are available in different colours and sizes. Standard for the shipping carton is the colour brown. This colour gives a pleasant, natural impression and has established itself in the use of all types of cardboard boxes. However, the automatic erecting boxes are also available in other colours and designs. Single-colour cartons with automatic bottom are also available in white or bright white as well as many other colours and shades. Individualisation of an automatic carton by means of an attractive pattern or the company logo and certain lettering for advertising purposes is conceivable. These are effective branding measures that really resonate with the recipient. The use of folding boxes with automatic base designed in this way gives the customer the impression of uniformity, which has a recognition value and puts the company's image in a positive light. In most cases, individualisation is possible from a certain purchase quantity of automatic cartons.

Just like standard cartons, automatic bottom cartons are available in different sizes so that they can be adapted to the volume of the goods to be shipped. They are available in dimensions that comply with the common DIN standards for boxes made of solid board and corrugated board, i.e. DIN EN 14054. It is common for small automatic boxes to have an external dimension of 238 x 170 x 60-130 mm, which corresponds to an internal dimension of 230 x 165 x 55-125 mm. A medium shipping box has an outside dimension of 336 x 227 x 95-200 mm, which corresponds to an inside dimension of 330 x 220 x 80-190 mm. Larger shipping boxes have an outside dimension of 396 x 297 x 115-250 mm. This corresponds to an internal dimension of 390 x 290 x 100-240 mm. The size of the shipping box can be selected according to the size of the goods to be shipped.

Optimise shipping costs thanks to cartons with variable heights or with height groove

A variable filling height is a feature that gives a carton a lot of flexibility. Especially when shipping different types of goods, it is extremely practical to be able to adjust the height of the packaging precisely. Material to fill empty spaces in the package is thus often superfluous or a smaller quantity is sufficient. Adjusting the height of the box may save weight and optimise shipping costs.

There are various methods for adjusting the filling height, depending on the design of the flash-bottom carton. Vertical incisions of equal length can be made along the four outer sides of the cardboard box using a special height scorer, allowing them to be folded down further. Any overhangs on the lid can then be trimmed accordingly. In this case, however, the lid has to be closed conventionally with adhesive tape. A little more convenient and not quite as time-consuming is the adjustment of the height with grooves already pre-cut in the automatic box. If two grooves are made parallel to each other, the carton must be folded over at the upper indentations to obtain a higher shipping box. If it is folded along the lower indentations, a package with a lower filling height is created accordingly.

Accurate adjustment of the box height can help save shipping costs and, as far as possible, avoids empty spaces that cause the contents to slide back and forth. If there is still a gap in the shipping box, this can be easily compensated for with filling material.

The flash-bottom box for commercial and private use

If you read the words "automatic bottom box" in an article description and ask yourself whether the box is suitable for you, you can be sure that the answer is yes. A carton with an automatic bottom is just as suitable for shipping goods of all kinds as any folding carton or tuck-bottom carton. The reinforced bottom makes it even stronger and better protects the contents from damage in transit or loss if the box tears.

The flash bottom box is mostly used in the commercial sector. The self-closing automatic base makes it much easier and faster to assemble and close the box, which means that more goods can be shipped. Especially online mail order companies or other companies with a high volume of shipments appreciate the labour saving and time saving that comes with using the fast unfolding box. In commercial enterprises that ship many fragile goods and other sensitive items, this type of packaging is also appreciated because the bottom and often also the lid are reinforced.

The use of the advantageous automatic boxes is also quite conceivable in private households. They facilitate the dispatch of gifts, which can be a valuable support especially at Christmas time when presents are to be sent to numerous friends, acquaintances or family members living further away. For people who like to send used items that they no longer have a use for in their own household to charitable institutions, the automatic box is also a suitable packaging. There is room for clothing donations as well as household goods of all kinds, toys or food donations.

Even as a storage box for all kinds of household items or documents, an automatic bottom box can prove useful. Quickly set up, it creates space to store things safely in the basement or attic. For storing folders with documents, automatic boxes are also a good choice as the strong base holds them well. A folding box with an automatic bottom thus offers you many diverse application possibilities.

The automatic opening system makes the folding box an ideal packaging for shipment

The folding box with automatic base is ideal for all goods shipments of a normal household size, i.e. with an average weight that does not exceed the maximum limit for parcel shipments of around 30 kilograms. The different box sizes can be used for specific product groups. For example, cosmetics are usually transported in the smallest available packaging unit, while the medium box size may be preferred for a larger delivery. Gift articles, electronic goods and other goods from all categories can be transported in the appropriate flash-bottom carton, depending on size and weight. An optimal adjustment of the filling height to the size of the items saves material for stuffing the box and prevents the goods from slipping and hitting the walls of the shipping box during transport. Matching the size of the packaging precisely to the contents therefore reduces the risk of damage in transit and also helps to reduce postage costs. It is a great advantage if the box has an automatic bottom, as this not only makes it easier to pack the goods, but also adds stability and strength. This means that even heavy items can be shipped using flash-bottom cartons. Damage caused by tearing open the shipping envelope is therefore not to be feared.

The automatic box is also recommended for shipping light goods such as textiles or handicraft items, especially yarn or tapestry embroidery pictures. Because the carton has an automatic bottom, the goods are packed quickly and the recipients receive their desired articles for leisure and hobby purposes more quickly.

The automatic bottom carton leaves a positive impression on recipients

An automatic carton has numerous advantages that make it an extremely popular packaging for shipping goods or in the private sector for sending gifts, donations in kind or other shipping items. One of the invaluable advantages is not only that the automatic box folds itself, saving you valuable time, but it also has other special features that make it unique.

In particular, we should think of the positive impression that the practical automatic box leaves on recipients. Customers appreciate both the neat look of the flash-bottom box and the practical mechanism for opening it. It is a nice experience for them when they only have to lift inserted flaps or can simply open the automatic-bottom box along the integrated tear-open perforation. This gives recipients immediate access to the contents of the box they have been eagerly awaiting, without having to laboriously search for and handle a tape opening tool. Such a pleasant experience creates a sense of satisfaction among customers that reinforces their good impression of the shipping service provider. This is a form of customer loyalty that should not be underestimated. Even in the event of a return, the automatic box is often well equipped, because some models include a self-adhesive strip for resealing the lid. The use of the automatic carton for the standard dispatch of goods often contributes to an increase in sales success and helps to bind customers to the company in the long term. Thus, the folding boxes with automatic bottom not only have advantages for the customer, but also for the company, which makes the automatic bottom box a solid product all around.