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Optimization of print layout, estimation of paperboard requirements and vendor selection based on box orders and printing machine availability

  • US 9,663,261 B2
  • Filed: 11/12/2014
  • Issued: 05/30/2017
  • Est. Priority Date: 11/12/2014
  • Status: Active Grant
First Claim
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1. A method of optimizing production of packaging comprising the steps of:

  • (a) providing a source of a sheet of packaging material, which comprises a sheet of paperboard or box board with a defined fiber direction, that includes generating a packaging material requirements specification and selecting a packaging material vendor;

    (b) providing a printer having a printer plate that is configured to transfer images to the sheet of packaging material to yield a printed sheet with a predetermined box print layout arrangement;

    (c) providing a cutting system that converts the printed sheet into individual pieces of packaging material;

    (d) providing a packaging system that folds the individual pieces of packaging material, which are made in step (c), to construct individual boxes wherein the individual pieces of packaging material has a length with a direction that is parallel to the fiber direction so that the boxes that are constructed have grain directions that are parallel to the fiber direction;

    (e) aggregating customer orders subject to the constraints of order delivery timing and packaging material properties requirements; and

    (f) generating a printed sheet with a predetermined box print layout arrangement that minimizes packaging material wastage by nesting multiple customer orders into a single production run wherein the predetermined box print layout arrangement contains an arrangement of a plurality of box patterns and wherein the arrangement defines exterior un-utilized regions and interior un-utilized regions and the arrangement minimizes the area of the interior un-utilized regions wherein the predetermined box print layout arrangement is optimized by sequential optimization based on the design or type of boxes produced wherein the boxes are sequentially allocated in the predetermined box print layout arrangement first with boxes having up and down settings, second with boxes having normal settings and third with boxes having square settings.

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