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DEVELOPMENTS / NETS 1

V. Ryan © 2003 - 2022

 

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Look at a typical product on a supermarket shelf. It’s packaging started life as a flat development / net, probably printed on a piece of card. It was then cut out, folded and glued to form the package. A simple net / development for a cube like package is seen below.

 

The packaging of a modern mobile phone is seen below. Mobile phones arrive in the shops in stylish boxes / packaging. Each package is manufactured from a material such as quality card. The insert is normally made from either lower quality, recycled card or vacuum formed hi-density polystyrene. This protects the phone and charger inside the package.

   
MOBILE PHONE NET / DEVELOPMENT FOLDED TO FORM THE PACKAGING
packaging by V.Ryan
 
 
 
Card is popular packaging material because it is cheap and it can be recycled. Also, colour and images can be applied using a number of printing techniques. Normally the card is lacquered to give the box a gloss / satin finish.

Often the packages are cuboid in shape as this means that they can be transported and stacked on shelves easily, efficiently using space.

Below is a ‘development’ / ‘net’ of the mobile phone packaging.
 
 
Packaging for almost any product is made in multiples. The only time a single package / net is manufactured is usually when a prototype package is required, so that it can be tested and improved.
In industry a large, single sheet of card will be used to manufacture many individual developments / nets. The diagram below is a typical layout. It shows multiple nets of the mobile phone packaging, printed out on a single piece of card. This reduces waste and is a cost effective way of manufacturing packaging.
 
 
The mobile phone packaging has been arranged as multiple nets, with very little space between each one. This arrangement of shapes is called a tessellation. A tessellation is a shape that is repeated over and over again without creating gaps or spaces. A Tessellation is sometimes called ‘tiling’.
In industry it may be necessary to make thousands of the same type of package. In order that materials are not wasted, the developments / nets are organised on the card in such a way that there are only small gaps between each individual shape. Special cutters called Die Cutters,   are pressed into the material to stamp out the nets / developments, which are then folded by machines to from the packages. (CLICK HERE FOR EXAMPLE OF DIE CUTTERS)
   
 
   

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