DRUGGISTS’ PILL AND POWDER BOXES.

ONE of the most important branches of the paper box industry is that which is devoted to the manufacture of druggists’ pill and powder boxes. Only a comparatively few concerns are engaged in the production of these specialties, and at the present time these firms are practically in control of this class of business, for the reason that their plants have been especially equipped for the production of this line. In some instances these manufacturers have had special machinery built for the particular needs of their factories.

While it is true that a great many of the small pill and powder boxes are made by hand, by skilled workers who have had long experience on this kind of work, it is also a fact that large numbers of small pill and powder boxes are being made on machines. In one large plant, of Philadelphia, there are several specially-built machines which are being used for the making of round pill boxes of various sizes. The owners of this plant will not allow strangers to see these machines in operation; in fact, only certain loyal employes of the firm are permitted to enter the department where these machines are located.

Another concern, who for the last sixty years has been making a specialty of druggists’ pill and powder boxes, will not allow visitors in the mechanical departments of the plant under any circumstances. All “secrets” in the processes of manufacture are carefully guarded, and only certain employes have admittance to the work-rooms where round pill and face powder boxes are put together. The manufacturers of pill and powder boxes in general seem to have erected a “Chinese Wall” around their industry, and they should not be blamed for this, as in some instances the manufacturers have spent thousands of dollars in perfecting machines and processes, and these of course are their own private property.

Nevertheless, the writer is of the opinion that no manufacturer will lose anything by allowing visitors to walk through all departments of his factory. Personality in business and quality of product are things which cannot be stolen. You cannot steal a man’s ideas, or rather his brains. Consider the business methods of the Curtis Publishing Company, of Philadelphia, for example. This company is said to have the best-equipped printing plant in the world. Doubtless the reader knows about the superior quality of The Ladies’ Home Journal, The Saturday Evening Post, and The Country Gentleman—the three famous magazines produced by the Curtis Publishing Company. This company invites the public to go through all departments of its wonderful plant. This great $25,000,000 concern is not afraid of anybody stealing its “secrets.”

“Competition is the life of trade.”

ROUND PILL AND POWDER BOXES.

Through the courtesy of one manufacturer of druggists’ pill and powder boxes, the writer was permitted to see how this line of work is produced, so far as the plant in question is concerned, and the writer will attempt to explain the practical side of this work in the following paragraphs. The reader will be particularly interested in this subject, no doubt, when it is mentioned that some of the facts presented have never before appeared in print, to the writer’s knowledge. This is a bold statement, but we believe that it is well supported.

Round and oval paper boxes, especially the smaller sizes such as are used for face powders, pills, capsules, etc., are made by highly-skilled labor and this class of work is considered to be the most difficult in the paper box industry. Round work is far more intricate than square-box work of any kind. It requires years of practical experience for one to become a first class round or oval box maker. Round work is an art, and many of the fine pill and face powder boxes which are seen in drug stores are beautiful works of art. The greater portion of round and oval work is done by hand, although as stated, some round pill boxes are made on machines.

Round pill and powder boxes are made in a considerable number of sizes and in a great variety of colors and trims. Round pill boxes are made as small as three-fourths of an inch in diameter and with a depth as low as eight-sixteenths of an inch. Then there is a full range of sizes all the way up to three and five-sixteenths inches in diameter, and even larger.

Plain, round, shouldered pill boxes are made from two round pieces of box-board, two “rings” of equal size, made from paper, and one larger “ring” which forms the shoulder or neck.

Note that a round box of this type does not have projecting edges at the top of the lid and at the bottom of the box. The round top and bottom pieces set within the rings. The ring is first placed over a form; glue is applied to the edge of the round piece of box-board, and this is then set inside the ring. A strip of thin trim paper—gold, white or colored—is then pasted around the side of the ring, the strip of trim paper being wide enough to extend slightly over the top of the lid, or over the bottom of the box. This extension of the trim paper helps in holding the round piece of box-board to the edge of the ring and produces a smoothly-covered edge.

THE FINISHED BOX.

Both the lid and the bottom of the box are made in the same manner as described. After the trim-paper has been applied to the sides and edges of the rings, strips of white or colored glazed paper are then pasted around the sides of the rings (over the trim-paper), these strips not being as wide as the strips of trim paper. The finished box shows four edges of the trim, one at the top of the lid, one at the bottom of the lid, one at the top of the box and one at the bottom.

The shoulder ring, or neck, is nearly double the height of the ring which forms either the box or the lid. Paste is applied to one edge of the neck-ring and the neck-ring is then placed inside one of the box-rings, the end containing the paste adhering to the bottom of the box. It is well also to put a small portion of the paste on the side of the shoulder-ring which goes down inside the box. The lid, of course, fits snugly over the neck.

Some round, shouldered boxes of this type are covered on the inside with colored glazed paper, others have merely the tops and bottoms lined with white paper. In the latter case, the box-board used for the round top and bottom pieces is lined on one side before being cut into circles.

The rings for the lids, boxes and shoulders, when made of white paper, are naturally white on the inside. We will explain how the tubes for the rings and shoulders are made later on.

BOXES WITH PROJECTING EDGES.

Round, shouldered pill boxes with projecting edges are made in about the same way as the plain, round boxes, with the exception that greater care must be taken by the operator in wrapping the trim paper around the projecting edges of the lids and boxes. Particular care must also be taken in placing the round pieces of box-board accurately in position over the edges of the rings.

For trimming the edges of boxes with projecting edges, light-weight paper having special stretching qualities should be used. In the trade this stock is known as “Round-work Glazed.” A. Hartung & Company, of 506 Race street, Philadelphia, are in a position to furnish this paper on special order. It can be supplied in white, gold and in various colors. It comes in rolls 24 inches wide.

Many expert operators on round box work are capable of making boxes with projecting edges without using forms for placing the tops and bottoms of the boxes accurately into position. Some operators make use of metal rings which are placed over the box-rings after the round pieces of box-board have been attached to the glued edges of the box-rings. According to the size of the boxes being made, the metal ring’s outside dimensions are the same as the diameter of the round pieces of box-board. The inside of the metal ring fits closely around the outside of the box-ring. By careful manipulation with the fingers, the operator with the aid of the metal ring, obtains an even margin on the projecting edge all around.

Other operators do not use glue in applying the edges of the rings to the round pieces of box-board, the strips of trimming paper serving to hold the material together firmly. The strip of trimming paper, with paste applied to one side of it, is neatly wrapped around the outside of a box-ring and around the edge of the round piece of box-board. One edge of the trim paper is then turned over the edge of the round piece of box-board, and the other edge of the trim paper is then turned over the edge of the ring. It requires experienced fingers indeed to accomplish this tedious work without causing the turned edges of the trimming paper to wrinkle. “Practice makes perfect.” The skilled operator can produce a surprising amount of this class of work during the course of a day. The finished product shows the trimming paper smoothly wrapped around the boxes and lids, and where the paper passes over the projecting edges of the boxes and lids, not the smallest wrinkle in the paper is to be seen. The turned-in edges of the trimming paper are even and smooth.

EDGES LEFT EXPOSED.

The operator holds in proper position one of the box-rings, and one of the round pieces of box-board, as the trimming paper is applied. After the trimming paper has been put on, strips of glazed paper, of the color desired, are pasted to the sides of the boxes and lids, leaving the edges of the trimming paper exposed.

Round, shouldered pill boxes with projecting edges are made in many different sizes, some as small as one and one-sixteenth inches in diameter, and with a depth as low as one-half of an inch. These boxes are trimmed and covered with papers of various colors, and beautiful effects are obtained when correct color schemes are chosen. White or gold trimming paper harmonizes well with all other colors of paper. A box covered with white trimming paper and bronze enameled paper, leaving four white edges, forms a pleasing color combination. Bronze and gold, light blue and white, red and gold, light blue and gold, are only a few of the many good color schemes which are being used.

Some of the fine, round, shouldered pill boxes with projecting edges are lined inside with silver, gold, colored or tin foil paper. Some of these boxes are covered entirely with gold paper, others are covered entirely with white or colored paper. Others again are covered with fancy embossed, or watered paper, after gold or silver trimming paper has been applied.

The tops of the lids for these boxes are not covered by the box-maker as a general rule. Druggists who buy these boxes paste their own printed round labels to the lids of the boxes as physicians’ prescriptions for pills, capsules, etc., are filled.

One can form some idea of the large number of round pill boxes which are being consumed in this country when considering the number of drug stores that are located in all sections of the United States. The demand for high grade round pill boxes is constantly increasing. At the present time, the supply of fine, hand-made pill and powder boxes is not equal to the demand, as only a few manufacturers are specializing in this class of product.

SHOULDERED MAGNESIA BOXES.

Among the other kinds of small paper boxes which are used extensively by pharmacists are plain, round, shouldered magnesia boxes, as they are termed in the trade. Round boxes of this variety are higher in form than the pill boxes which have been described, and they are used for holding other powders in addition to magnesia. (Insect powder, for example). Some boxes of this model have a depth of three inches, while the diameter of the lid is one and fifteen-sixteenths inches.

Round, shouldered boxes of this class are made in about the same way as plain, round pill boxes, the round pieces of box-board being glued to the inside edges of the rings. In some instances, the sizes of the rings for the lid and box are both the same. In other cases the depth of the ring for the box is considerably larger than the depth of the ring used for the lid.

The shoulder, or neck, for this kind of box consists of a tube which is almost the same height as the interior of the box. One edge of this tube is glued to the bottom of the box. Some glue is also applied to the side of the tube, so that it will hold firmly to the inside of the box. On account of the neck on this style of box being higher than the neck on a pill box, some slight difficulty would be experienced in placing the lid of the box over the neck. To overcome this, a slit, running slightly on an angle, is cut into the neck with a sharp knife. This slit causes a lap-over of the neck, at the edge, making it an easy matter to slide the lid on.

PURPOSE OF HOLES

Before cutting the slits in the necks, some operators punch small holes, with a bodkin or an awl, in the sides of the necks, at a point where the length of the slit is to be determined. The hole serves two purposes: First, it acts as a guiding mark when the operator cuts the slit; second, it has an influence on the lap-over, allowing it to be moved freely as the lid is placed over it.

Round, shouldered magnesia boxes are covered with glazed or enameled paper, white or colored. Trimming paper is seldom applied. When tubes, or rings of white paper have been used in the construction of these boxes, the covering paper for the side of the box and side of the lid may be cut to widths that will permit four white edges of the box to show. These white edges make the box and lid appear as though they had been trimmed with white paper. The reader is to understand, however, that in the case of a round box with projecting edges, it would be necessary to apply trimming paper, before pasting on the regular covering paper, as the trimming paper serves to hold the round piece of box-board to the edge of the ring.

In the case where the tops and bottoms of plain, round boxes are to be covered with glazed or enameled paper, there are two methods of covering: One method is in having one side of the box-board (which is to be used for the tops and bottoms of the boxes) covered with glazed or enameled paper before the box-board is cut into round pieces. The other method is in having round pieces of the paper, of desired size and color, cut out with a die, and the round pieces of paper are then pasted to the tops and bottoms of the boxes.

Labels for round magnesia boxes are usually pasted to the sides of the boxes, and for this reason the tops and bottoms of these boxes are frequently covered with glazed or enameled paper, the same color as that applied to the sides of the boxes.

As mentioned in a previous paragraph, some plain, round boxes, not having projecting edges, are trimmed on all four edges with “Round-Work Glazed Paper” before regular glazed or enameled paper is applied to the sides, but as a general rule, only round boxes with projecting edges are treated in this manner.

HOW THE “BARRELS” ARE MADE.

To a person not familiar with the process of manufacturing round and oval paper boxes, it would appear that the sides of the boxes are formed of light-weight cardboard, rolled to the required shape. Such is not the case. The tubes, or “barrels” from which the rings for the boxes are cut, are made of paper. The tubes from which the shoulders or necks are cut, are also made of paper. Manila stock is used for tubes of the cheaper grade. Machine finished book paper is used for tubes of good quality, and the tubes which are used for the making of the finest face powder boxes are constructed of white coated or enameled paper. This will explain the beautiful gloss-white surface which may be seen on the inside of expensive face powder boxes.

The various kinds of paper used for the making of tubes comes in rolls, and can be supplied by any of the well known paper dealers in rolls of standard widths. What is known in the printing trade as 50-pound manila, 50-pound machine finished book, and 80-pound enameled or coated-one-side, are the kinds of paper generally used for making the different varieties of tubes. These papers can be furnished in all of the standard weights or thicknesses.

Parallel tube rolling machines are necessary for this class of work. James Brown, Jr., & Sons, Manayunk, Philadelphia, Pa., have invented a tube rolling machine which is capable of turning out twenty-two “barrels,” sixteen inches long, per minute. This machine is equipped with a paste tank, a steel mandrel of the desired size, a cut-off device, and a roll of the paper, say sixteen inches wide. Adjustments can be made so as to roll the tube to any required thickness. Three or four complete revolutions of the mandrel are all that are necessary for a tube which is to be used for small pill boxes. Flour paste is recommended in making tubes of the kind in question, but dextrine or any of the patented cold glues on the market may be used for the purpose.