The cars are nice. The cell phones cool. Electricity, indeed, helps us get things done. But where would we be without the foldable, flat-bottomed bag? A hundred and fifty years ago you had to bring your own bag, take stuff home in a rolled up cone of paper, or use one of the inefficient mass-produced envelopes that passed for bags&#;glued at the bottom in a V-shape. The flat-bottomed paper bags that were in use were made individually, by hand. And re-using one at the grocery store would not earn you back a nickel.

If you are looking for more details, kindly visit our website.

Margaret Knight was one of the first women to receive a patent, most notably for her invention of the flat-bottomed paper bag machine.

Yes, today's children owe their brown paper puppets, and cheap BANGs to Margaret "Mattie" Knight ( &#; ). But long before she turned her mind to the personal transportation of small goods, Knight was visiting the cotton mill where her brothers worked as overseers. One day she saw a shuttle break free from its spool of thread and stab a young boy, a fairly common occurrence, apparently. Knight, having had some experience cobbling together kites and sleds, decided to end the shuttle's danger and devised a device (the details of which are lost to history) to prevent such accidents. She was 12 and knew nothing, yet, of patents and lawsuits. The device was adopted by cotton mills throughout the country, but Knight did not profit from her work.

Knight later left her family in New Hampshire for a job with the Columbia Paper Bag Company in Springfield, MA. Presumably stupefied by the slowness of the manual process required to assemble flat-bottomed bags, Knight began toying with the idea of a machine that would make them. Within a month she had a sketch of one, and within half a year she had a working wooden model that would cut, fold, and glue the bags together with the turn of a crank. Though "rickety" as described by a witness later in the courts, it pumped out more than 1,000 bags.

Knight took the model to a local shop and, working closely with the machinist, put together an iron prototype. She then moved to Boston to refine the invention with two machinists. While work proceeded at the second of the shops, another machinist, Charles Anan, stopped by to examine the proceedings, with Knight's permission. When, some months later, Knight filed for her patent for the now complete flat-bottom-bag-making machine, she was surprised to find her application rejected. A patent for such a machine had already been granted to one Charles Anan.

Patent Model for Margaret Knight&#;s paper bag machine.

Knight sued Anan with as much vigor as she applied herself to invention. With witnesses from each of the three machine shops testifying to her vision and careful instruction, coupled with several years worth of drawings and plans, Knight won hands down. Anan's only argument was that his modifications (presumably changes introduced because he could not perfectly remember the details of the model) made his a different machine. Subsequently, the use of her bags spread throughout the world. Queen Victoria decorated her in .

After making the machine, she formed the Easter Paper Bag Company. But before long she had turned her mind to other manufacturing problems. She created a machine for cutting the soles of shoes, a sewing machine reel, a pronged spit, a paper-feeding machine, an "automatic tool for boring concave or cylindrical surfaces," a numbering mechanism, a skirt protector, and a sleeve-valve engine, among many other inventions.

Knight, "at the age of seventy, is working twenty hours a day on her 89th invention," reported the New York Times on October, 19, . The next year she would be dead, leaving behind an estate valued at $275.05.

Myth&#;and children's books&#;claim that few took her inventions seriously because of her gender, and that Anan argued in court that Knight couldn't have invented the flat-bottomed paper bag machine because she was a woman. The recorded facts show otherwise, but, late in life, Knight did bemoan: "I'm only sorry I couldn't have had as good a chance as a boy, and have been put to my trade regularly."

Michael Abrams is an independent writer.

I'm only sorry I couldn't have had as good a chance as a boy, and have been put to my trade regularly.Margret "Mattie" Knight

All About The Paper Bag: Its History, Inventors and Types Today

The big brown paper bag has a long, interesting history.

Brown paper bags have become a fixture in our daily lives: we use them to carry groceries home, tote our department store purchases, and pack our kids&#; lunches. Retailers use them as a blank canvas for their branded product packaging. Creative trick-or-treaters even wear them as masks for Halloween. It&#;s easy to forget that someone, long ago, had to invent them!

 

 

As with the best inventions, the paper bag filled a need people didn&#;t know they had. Before the paper bag, baskets, bowls, and other containers were the main storage solution in every home and store. You can imagine, then, that the creation of a convenient, disposable container was revolutionary. Business owners could stock stacks of these bags at their stores, and their low cost and ease of use made them widely accessible for shoppers of even modest means.

So, just how did this seemingly ordinary invention earn its place in the hearts (and hands) of the everyday consumer? A glimpse back at the history and evolution of the paper bag offers a clue.

 

The Innovators Who Gave us the Paper Bag

For centuries, sacks made of jute, canvas, and burlap were the primary method of holding and moving goods throughout the British Empire. The main benefit of these materials was their sturdy, durable nature, but their production proved both time-consuming and expensive. Paper, on the other hand, could be produced at a much lower cost, and soon became the preeminent material for portable bags along trade routes.

Since its introduction in the s, the paper bag has undergone numerous upgrades thanks to a few clever innovators. In , Francis Wolle invented the first machine to mass-produce paper bags. While Wolle&#;s paper bag looked more like a large mailing envelope than the grocery store mainstay we know today (and thus could only be used to tote small objects and documents), his machine was the catalyst for the mainstream use of paper packaging.

The next important step forward in the design of the paper bag came from Margaret Knight, a prolific inventor then working for the Columbia Paper Bag Company. There, she realized that square-bottomed bags, rather than Wolle&#;s envelope design, would be more practical and efficient to use. She created her paper-bag making machine in an industrial shop, paving the way for the widespread commercial use of paper bags. Her machine proved so profitable that she would go on to found her own company, the Eastern Paper Bag Company. When you bring food home from the supermarket or purchase a new outfit from the department store, you&#;re enjoying the fruits of Knight&#;s labor.

These square-bottomed bags were still missing a classic component of the paper bag that we know and love today: pleated sides. We can thank Charles Stillwell for this addition, which made the bags foldable and thus easier to store. A mechanical engineer by trade, Stillwell&#;s design is commonly known as the S.O.S. bag, or &#;self-opening sacks.&#;

But wait &#; there&#;s more! In , two St. Paul grocers by the names of Lydia and Walter Deubener came up with an idea for yet another improvement to the original design. By punching holes into the sides of paper bags and attaching a string that doubled as a handle and bottom reinforcement, the Deubeners found that customers could carry almost 20 pounds of food in each bag. At a time when cash-and-carry groceries were replacing home delivery, this proved a crucial innovation.

 

What Paper Bags Are Made Of

So just what materials is a paper bag actually composed of? The most popular material for paper bags is Kraft paper, which is manufactured from wood chips. Originally conceived by a German chemist by the name of Carl F. Dahl in , the process for manufacturing Kraft paper is as follows: the wood chips are exposed to intense heat, which breaks them down into solid pulp and byproducts. Then the pulp is screened, washed, and bleached, taking its final form as the brown paper we all recognize. This pulping process makes Kraft paper particularly strong (hence its name, which is German for &#;strength&#;), and thus ideal for carrying heavy loads.

 

What Determines How Much A Paper Bag Can Hold?

Of course, there&#;s more to picking the perfect paper bag than just the material. Particularly if you need to carry bulky or heavy items, there are a few other qualities to consider when selecting the product that will best serve your needs:

 

If you want to learn more, please visit our website Bage Machinery.

Paper Basis Weight

Also known as grammage, the paper basis weight is a measure of how dense paper is, in pounds, related to reams of 500. The higher the number, the denser and heavier the paper.

 

Gusset

A gusset is a strengthened area where material has been added to reinforce the bag. Gusseted paper bags can accommodate heavier items and are less likely to break.

 

Twist Handle

Made by twisting natural Kraft paper into cords and then gluing those cords to the insides of the paper bag, twist handles are typically used with gussets to increase the weight a bag can carry.

 

Square-Bottomed vs. Envelope-Style

While Wolle&#;s envelope-style bag was later improved upon, it&#;s still very useful for certain businesses and widely used in our postal system. If you&#;re looking to accommodate larger items, Knight&#;s square-bottomed paper bag may be a better fit for your needs.

 

A Style for Every Need: The Many Types of Paper Bags

The design of the paper bag has come a long way since Francis Wolle, continuing to evolve to meet consumer demands for a more streamlined, easy-to-use product. Here&#;s a taste of the wide selection of paper bags that are available for business or personal use:

 

S.O.S. Bags

Designed by Stillwell, S.O.S. bags stand on their own while items are loaded into them. These bags are school lunch favorites, known for their iconic Kraft brown tint, though they can be dyed a variety of colors.

 

Pinch-Bottom Design Bags

With open-mouth designs, pinch-bottom paper bags stay open just as S.O.S. bags do, but their base features a pointed seal similar to an envelope. These bags are widely used for baked goods and other food products.

 

Merchandise Bags

Merchandise bags are usually pinch-bottom paper bags and can be used to hold everything from craft supplies to baked goods and candy. Merchandise bags are available in natural Kraft, bleached white, and a variety of colors.

 

Euro Tote

For added sophistication, the Euro Tote (or its cousin, the wine bag) comes decked out with printed patterns, embellished glitter, corded handles, and lined interiors. This bag is popular for gift-giving and special packaging at retail outlets and can be outfitted with your brand&#;s logo through a custom printing process.

 

Bakery Bags

Similar to pinch-bottom bags, bakery bags are ideal for food products. Their design preserves the texture and taste of baked goods, such as cookies and pretzels, for longer.

 

Party Bag

Celebrate a birthday or special occasion with an attractive, fun party bag filled with candy, mementos, or small toys.  

 

Mailing Bags

Francis Wolle&#;s original envelope-style bag is still used today to protect mailed documents or other small items.

 

Recycled Bags

For the environmentally minded, the Kraft bag is an obvious choice. These bags are generally composed of anywhere from 40% to 100% recycled materials.

 

The Paper Bag Continues to Make Waves

Throughout its history, the paper bag has passed from one innovator to another, improved again and again to make it easier to use and cheaper to produce. For a few savvy retailers, however, the paper bag represented more than just a convenience for customers: it has also become a highly visible (and highly lucrative) marketing asset.

Bloomingdale&#;s, for example, breathed new life into the classic with its take, known simply as the &#;Big Brown Bag.&#; Marvin S. Traub&#;s twist on the Kraft bag was simple, attractive, and iconic, and its creation transformed the department store into the behemoth it is today. Meanwhile, Apple opted for a sleek, white version embossed with the company&#;s iconic logo (so groundbreaking was the design, they ventured, that it deserved its own patent).

Even as plastic floods the market, paper bags have stayed the course and proven their value as a dependable, cost-effective, and customizable solution for small businesses and behemoths alike. Feeling inspired? Create your own customized paper bags with Paper Mart today!

Want more information on paper bag making machine? Feel free to contact us.