One of the most essential tools you can use to keep your products safe when palletizing them is cornerboard. It’s a versatile packaging material that is sometimes referred to as “angleboard” or “edge protectors.” Regardless of what you call it, cornerboard will help you better protect your products during shipping.
Why Use Cornerboard?
When used in tandem with palletized loads, cornerboard reduces the amount of damage caused by shipping hazards, stretch film, strapping, and more. It’s used across a wide variety of industries for many different types of products. Common applications include protecting food and produce, building components, the edges of metal components, and beyond.
Cornerboard is placed lengthwise along the corners of a pallet to stabilize the entire load and improve stacking strength. It also limits direct contact with harmful exterior elements, which allows you to ship your products safer over longer distances without worrying.
What Kind of Cornerboard Can I Buy?
Cornerboard comes in a diverse range of lengths and widths and is even available with custom printing options. There are also types resistant to rain and moisture, which makes them an excellent choice for anyone who has products that may be stored or travel outside during different points of the supply chain process.
While some attributes such as length and width are easier to determine, thickness, on the other hand, may be more difficult to determine appropriately. While there are situations that call for high thickness edge protection, frequently, cornerboard is purchased in thickness that is overkill for the given application. Down-gauging the thickness of cornerboard will still offer superb protection of your products while providing substantial cost savings.
To further support down-gauging, Korpack offers “multifold cornerboard” that mitigates the difference in thickness in the following ways:
- Utilizes paper that continuously wraps around itself, improving strength
- Leads to 20% more strength than regular cornerboard
- Increased stacking strength allows for potential in wingspan reduction
- No exposed edges to improve moisture resistance which combats stacking weakness
- More skids per load due to decrease in thickness
- 40% less paper with same protection permits cost/material savings
Industries Using Cornerboard
- Metal Manufacturing
- Lighting and Appliances
- Furniture and Doors
- Construction and Windows
- Paper and Plastics Industries
- And Many More
The Construction of Cornerboard
Standard cornerboard is designed and constructed with protection as it’s goal. It’s made out of solid fiber material that can prevent much of the damage caused by a forklift with bad aim or being dropped accidentally from a forklift. The reason is fiber components can absorb impacts and pressure over a large surface area that would otherwise damage your palletized loads.
- The Advantages of Using Cornerboard
- Improve stacking ability and column strength
- Outstanding container stability
- Internal pallet reinforcement
- Protection against strapping damage
- Extra edge protection for products like wood furniture or lumber
- Protects your bottom line by minimizing product damage
- Reduces customer complaints
- Has printable surfaces for enhanced marketing capability
How Do I Get Custom Printed Cornerboard?
Printing on cornerboard is a simple and effective way to provide instructions to package handlers or market your business. Many companies forget to consider cornerboard as a marketing tool, but it can easily be printed on since it’s made from fiber components. Important messages like “HANDLE WITH CARE” or “FRAGILE” can be shown, as well as your logo displayed.
Strapping Protectors
One version of cornerboard you may have heard referenced before is a strapping protector, also referred to as a “strapping guard.” Smaller than the average edge protector, they’re designed to fit over certain angles or corners of your pallet or container, unlike angleboard that takes up the entire length of the item it protects. Strapping protectors can be applied efficiently by using an automatic strapping machine.
Contact a Korpack representative today and see how using cornerboard with the correct gauge can protect your shipments, leading to happier customers and adding to your bottom line.
