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What is Corrugated Flutes? (Complete Guide)

What is Corrugated Flutes? (Complete Guide)

Corrugated flutes are an important part of the corrugated packaging used to efficiently protect the products inside the box. You can not judge the availability of flutes inside the corrugated cardboard with the very first sight.

Corrugated cardboard boxes hold various layers, which makes them quite difficult to understand. Their structure is quite different from the custom mailer boxes, making it the best choice for the brands. The complicated design of the flutes is vital to offer padding within the sturdy packaging material. To better understand the corrugated fluting, let’s start with their definition.

What are Corrugated Flutes?

corrugated flutes

Corrugated flutes are waves-like shapes formed between the layers of the liner. These layers perform the role of padding, ultimately keeping the products safe from damage or destruction during the shipping procedures. They are difficult to recognize from the outside but make the corrugated packaging material best to accomplish the transit goals.

What’s the Main Purpose of Corrugated Flutes?

The flutes used in corrugated cardboard enhance the durability of the packaging material. It is a great way of augmenting the corrugated fiberboard thickness for achieving protection purposes. The padding between the layers of the corrugated structure keeps the products inside the packaging material safe from shock, damage, or puncture. These are perfect for heavy-weight articles and allow them to move to the warehouse without getting broken.  

Selection of Thickness Depending on Box Style

Kraft paper, test paper, and recycled fibers are mostly glued in the manufacturing of corrugated cardboard. The outer surface of the corrugated box carries the Kraft paper while the inner surface is lined with the test paper. The fluting between the layers is done using recycled fibers.

This is the process that actually produces the thickness of corrugated cardboard, but is all cardboard holds the same thickness? Not at all. The market is stuffed with corrugated packaging materials that are available in different thicknesses.

The custom box style usually decides the thickness of corrugated cardboard. The box style is determined by the following important factors:

  • Type of Product
  • Production Cost
  • Shipping Cost
  • Printing Method

The selection of the appropriate box style is done using the above-mentioned factors. The selection then leads to another selection of the thickness of corrugated cardboard.

Different Corrugate Thicknesses for Different Uses

wall boards

Distinct corrugated thicknesses are used to achieve different packaging purposes. Let us have a look at the arrangement of flutes or lining to achieve the corrugated cardboard of distinct thicknesses:

Single Face Board

Single-face cardboard holds a single liner glued with only one flute. The arrangement holds less durability as compared to the other arrangements of liner and flutes creating different thicknesses. These are mostly used to give products a great cushioning effect.

Single Wall Board

Single-wall corrugated cardboard is created with the use of one flute having two outer linings. This is also called corrugated fiberboard. The medium flute provides padding between the two outer surfaces, eventually increasing the thickness of the packaging material. These are utilized as delivery cartons.

Double Wall Board

In simple words, a double wall board is produced by gluing one single-face board and one single-wall board. This type of board is created using three liners and two flutes, which makes it quite thick and durable. These are frequently used as industrial cartons. 

Triple Wall Board

Triple wall board is manufactured using one single wall board in between two single-face boards. The three boards are glued to each other for exceptional thickness and durability. The strength of this cardboard could replace a wooden carat. These are used for the shipping of chemical substances.

Types of Corrugated Flutes

types of flutes

The corrugated cardboard is divided into distinct types using the letters as their designations. The types vary depending on the number of flutes and the flute height. The names are given as per the size with A being the thickest while F being the thinnest of all. Let’s read about the types of corrugated flutes starting with the A flute:

A flutes

This is the thickest corrugated flute with a depth of about 5 millimeters or ¼ inch. A flute is ideal for the packaging of fragile products. This is mostly used to keep the shipment boxes protected during transit procedures. The thickness supports heavy articles with 36 flutes.

B flutes

B flute holds brilliant resistance against crush and damage. This type of cardboard is mostly used as partitions in custom packaging boxes. B-flute is a medium-sized cardboard with a thickness of 3.2 millimeters or ⅛ inch. This offers a satisfactory printing surface for graphics, logos, and words with 49 flutes.

C flutes

C flute is the second thickest corrugated cardboard with a thickness of 3.2 millimeters or 11/64 inches. This type of corrugated cardboard is resistant to crushing and punctures with 41 flutes. This holds an amazing printing surface, mostly used to fulfill marketing purposes. This is used for the shipping of glass, food items, and furniture.

E flutes

The E flute is one of the thinnest corrugated flutes with a thickness of 1.6 millimeters or 1/16 inch. It is quite thin with 90 flutes and demands less storage space in the warehouse. This is mostly used for the packaging of glass, cosmetics, food products, and ceramics. Less thickness also leads to low shipping costs.

F flutes

The F flute is the thinnest of all with a thickness of 0.8 millimeters or 1/32 inch. This holds 128 flutes and is ideal to achieve excellent printing results. The boxes generated with this type of corrugated flute are quite stiff and best used for fast food packaging. This is also used in the production of jewelry, cosmetics and shoes packaging. 

Stephan Benjamin

Stephan Benjamin, is a packaging expert at Box Agency, specializes in crafting durable solutions. With extensive experience in manufacturing, he knows the perfect materials for various packaging needs. He shares his expertise on all things packaging-related through his articles.

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