There is much more to a cardboard box than one might realize. These prefabricated boxes come in many types and within industry, they are not referred to using the term "cardboard" because that does not denote their material composition. Cardboard is used to refer to different paper-type materials like corrugated fiberboard, paperboard, recycled, and card stock. Getting a brief education on box materials allows consumers to know exactly what they are using.
Corrugated fiberboard consists of one or two flat linerboards encasing a fluted corrugated sheet. This paper-based material is used to manufacture shipping containers and corrugated boxes. The linerboard and corrugated sheet are made from containerboard, which is a paper-like material measuring more than 0.01 inches thick. Corrugated boxes originated in the mid-19th century and were initially used to package pottery and glass containers.
