with a five foot ground glass to insure fidelity of
reproduction hecame famous as the largest in the
World, requiring wheels on rails for focussing.
The pressure for faster production, closer register
and lower costs eventually caught up with lithog-
raphy and about 1930 it was replaced with a battery
of Miehle two color presses augmented afterward by
high speed multi-color rotary presses.
ART REPRODUCTION
It should be borne in mind that at this stage all
folding box printing was being applied to the com-
paratively rough surface of raw paperboard. Offset
printing was one answer to this. Another was
brushed clay coating which Gair was applying as a
separate Operation at the New London, Conn., plant.
However, its high cost meant intermittent Operation
and because of that the clay coating equipment, in-
cluding cumbersome festoon driers, was disposed of
about 1922 and more attention was given to pro-
ducing a smoother, whiter sheet right on the paper
machine. Again this move was forced on the in-
dustry by the continued demands for better art
reproduction at lower prices. By 1935 Gair de-
veloped a smooth, white coated sheet known as
"Gairwite" and this was followed by "Gairglow",
which involved a new treatment on the paper ma
chine to prevent gloss inks from penetrating un-
evenly with a resulting mottled effect.
Still the search for better quality and lower costs
continued so Gair took a revolutionary step and
installed clay coating equipment on the paper ma
chine without reducing production speeds, and called
the product Gaircote' Gair adopted the idea in its
early stages and the successful technique worked out
at one mill was transferred to other of the company's
plants.
GRAVÜRE PRINTING
The final step in this never ending contest was
Gair s recent installation of gravure printing, cutting
and creasing and Stripping in one Operation, which
necessitates a long and expensive makeready. Sheet
fed gravure, however, is not applicable to short runs,
but the process results in such a high fidelity repro
duction of sketch and color that it is hard to realize
the impression was made on boxboard and not on
fine paper. It not only permits delicate color grada-
tions but also bold solids and even fine type matter,
2 2
FOL DIN© ^"V
PAPE« BOX - x
ASSOClAT IQ
Black and blue on gold carton poinls up luxury item.
since the entire design is etched onto the printing
roll. Incidentally, these Gair sheet fed gravure presses
are unique in that they were the first to be used in
this country for folding carton work.
Other recent developments of this case history
Company in the search for "something better and
different" include cartons with transparent Windows
(essential in seif service markets)cylindrical cartons
which can be collapsed for shipment and which are
used for men s hats and millinery; and aluminum
foil laminated packages for eye appeal and protec
tion of contents. The latest step has been the dc-
velopment of a completely transparent folding carton
which is cut, creased, printed and glued on Standard
folding box equipment and which can be filled and
tucked on conventional filling machines.
At the last Folding Carton Industry Exhibit and
Competition, held each year in Chicago, over 4500
handsome and unusual paperboard packages com-
peted for 400 class awards and for "Best in Show".
This exhibition illustrates thc magnitude of the in
dustry. The graphic arts can be proud of its con-
tribution to this development.
