Wrapping papers are manufactured specially to wrap the particular type of product they are designed to wrap. The paper used to wrap bread serves both sanitary and aesthetic purposes. Waxed paper and cellophane were once used custom wrapping paper manufacturer but polyethylene and polypropylene are preferred today, and laminates combine both. Also commonly used is foil overwrapping.
Raw Material Required to Wrap a Paper
The paper that is used for wrapping begins as wood pulp that is processed in special mills. As a rule, the pulp is made from softwood trees, often bleached for gift wrap but unbleached for other papers like kraft wrapping (familiar as grocery store bags). The dyes used in ink are natural and synthetic. Paper and ink manufacturers recognize the importance of protecting the environment by using recyclable paper and choosing bleach and pigments that are easily recyclable.
Paper and ink are not necessarily the strengths of gift-wrap manufacturers. A gift-wrap company buys ink and paper from a company specializing in high-quality wrapping papers (known as “gift Cote” in the industry), heavier kraft sheets, and tissue paper. Some wrapping papers have finished surfaces imprinted on the paper during printing, such as foils.
Manufacturing Process of Paper Wrapping
Once a gift wrap design has been developed and approved, the manufacturing process is fairly straightforward.
- Paper and ink vendors provide the design line with paper, ink, special finishes, and other items. Material is received and inventoried at the printing plant of the manufacturer. A machine engraves the image onto a printing cylinder from the digitized artwork in a computer file from the design team.
- On a printing press, the printing cylinder is carefully inspected and mounted. Rotogravure and flexography are the processes used. Flexography uses rubber plates attached to rotating cylinders, while rotogravure uses etched cylinders. This type of printing is used to decorate wrapping paper. Different printing processes require different inks. In addition to applying up to six colors simultaneously, gift-wrap manufacturers can apply iridescent, pearlescent, and foil finishes. After the paper comes out of the press, it is rolled onto large rolls and taken to another part of the factory. A machine cuts and wraps the paper in smaller rolls for sale or formats it for folding and selling in flat packages.
- A clear wrap bearing the manufacturer’s information and the price is immediately shrink-wrapped around each roll of gift wrap. Flat packages, too, are wrapped and sealed. These gift wrap types are bulk-packed in cartons for shipment to card shops, department stores, and other retail outlets.
Quality Control During Manufacturing Process
Since gift wrap is so design-intensive to manufacture, much of the product’s quality is determined before it reaches the manufacturing plant. In all processing areas, workers are responsible for the quality of the product. Additionally, quality control experts are involved in the design and approval process and are on-site for the entire production process.
Aftermarket Products
There are gift-wrap manufacturers who produce products for birthdays, weddings, Christmas, and many other occasions. A line should include all the accessories customers may need for each occasion, and cables should be designed to appeal to a wide range of tastes.
In the US, waste paper is the largest waste item, and it is sold to recyclers who grind it up, mix it with appropriate types of pulp, and remanufacture paper from it. The result of ink waste is excess ink that has not been fully used during printing. We chemically transform the inks into new colors and reuse them. American Greetings, for instance, produces all its own inks to make the most of this reformulation process as well as to create a unique color and quality inks. Manufacturers who purchase ink from subcontractors recycle leftover ink through them.
