Have you ever thought about how carton manufacturers and printers from different countries and languages communicate with each other when it comes to plans for folding cartons? How can cooperation be arranged for everyone in such a way that misunderstandings about the appearance of folding cartons and cardboard boxes are avoided as far as possible?

Answers to these questions are provided by standardization. This is precisely what the European Carton Makers Association (ECMA) has been doing since 1960. With a collection of codes, it still creates the basis for standardization of folding carton designs today.

This has the great advantage that the folding boxes become comparable according to the corresponding standards for manufacturers, distributors and buyers, which facilitates international sales, among other things. You can find out more about this unique ECMA system in this article.

What is ECMA - and what is the ECMA catalog?

ECMA sees itself as a private standardization organization that offers design standards for folding cartons without prescribing them. With its headquarters in The Hague and a branch office in Brussels, it not only feels connected to the European packaging industry.

It also has contacts in other continents and countries outside Europe that also use ECMA codes. In the packaging industry, reference to ECMA codes is now a kind of seal of quality.

ECMA provides its codes in a catalog that is constantly updated. It is now also available in digital form and adaptable to computer-aided desgin (CAD) applications. Folding carton designs are defined in a catalog as a design sketch.

Each design is associated with a combination of letters and numbers. The different letter classes have different meanings to further categorize the possible folding boxes.

Dimensions are not included in the ECMA catalog. It is about the basic design, which can be adapted to individual dimensions at any time. Of course, users of the ECMA code can also make individual changes in the design. The organization itself does not claim any property rights for its designs. It would like to make them available to interested parties and those involved in the industry.

As a private standardization organization, ECMA provides industry participants from packaging, production and printing with standards for folding cartons and die-cut packaging.

For which packaging is the catalog relevant?

The ECMA codes are applicable to die-cut packaging and folding cartons. Basically, this opens up a huge area of application that includes cardboard packaging and outer packaging of all kinds. Perhaps you are not yet aware of the areas in which such standardized packaging is necessary.

Let's take a look at the cardboard packaging in which bottles are sold, such as the familiar six-pack of beer. The bottles are in a four- or six-pack in a so-called bottle carrier, which is cut exactly to size so that the drinks can be conveniently transported after purchase.

The range of cartons covered by the ECMA Code extends from the simplest to very complex outer packaging. New packaging designs are also being added all the time.

What categories does the catalog offer?

The current ECMA catalog includes category groups from A to X by letter. The letters define certain groups with specific properties. For example, group A stands for rectangular folding cartons with longitudinal seam gluing as the construction type. The overview shows the following breakdown:

• A Folding boxes rectangular with longitudinal seam gluing
• B Folding boxes rectangular without longitudinal seam gluing, folded
• C Folding boxes non-rectangular, with longitudinal seam gluing
• D Folding boxes non-rectangular without longitudinal seam gluing
• E Folding boxes with product reference or integration
• F Other folding boxes
• X Closures/auxiliary devices for all groups.

In group X there are additions to the other construction types.

There is also a rough distinction between food packaging and non-food product types. The numbers assigned to the letters stand for further properties that the respective packaging has.

The packaging for the beer bottles described above is in group E, which is about folding cartons with a close product reference. Different variables of letters and numbers result in a further, self-contained system:

A pair of digits following the letter can describe, for example, the closure, the bottom surface and many other properties that are detailed in the ECMA catalog.

Examples of concrete codes for folding boxes

The ECMA codes vary in complexity. A code with many numbers is, for example, A01.15.00.03. This defines a folding box in a rectangular basic shape, with a complex folding lid and base. E12.30.00.00 describes an outer packaging for four bottles.

X23 is a simple upright rectangular box with a bottom and a closure with a tuck-in flap.

After a while, anyone who works with the ECMA code on a daily basis will know the meaning of the various pairs of numbers that follow the group of letters. This again makes it much easier to assign folding carton constructions.

What are the advantages of such cataloging for manufacturers and buyers?

Any form of standardization facilitates cooperation in

productions, printing and logistics. Packaging is a particularly sensitive issue when it comes to standardization. Often, all logistics capacities and even the range of products in the store itself are tailored to specific packaging. Here, it is precisely the respective form and design that counts.

Outer packaging is ordered separately by food manufacturers, for example. Here, there should be no misunderstandings about the respective form of packaging. The ECMA code gives the parties involved greater certainty that they have correctly understood the business partner's design ideas. The codes can also be understood outside of language barriers and cultural differences.

It is the unique combination of drawing and an assigned code that eliminates errors. Industry partners predominantly benefit from the fact that

• the communication processes among all parties involved are simplified and standardized.
• expensive mistakes about shapes and constructions are avoided.
• production routines and logistics processes can align with standard folding carton designs.

Shoppers also get used to certain packaging that has a practical connection in everyday life. For example, when transporting the packaged beer bottles, the finger engagement holes for carrying are an important element of the buying experience.

Products also become clearly identifiable via this folding box. Here, the packaging has a recognition value that goes beyond the actual product.

How do ECMA codes stay current and adapt to the times?

In the ECMA organization, representatives of the industry are organized in specialist groups. They keep the ECMA codes up to date. Some time ago, the catalog was digitized so that there is also digital access to the codes.

Likewise, the codes have been made compatible for CAD applications. This makes it even easier for industry players to work together, for example between producers and print shops. Other new packaging forms are also being added in this way. These come directly from the companies of the members organized by ECMA.

The close proximity to industrial production, packaging and printing is one of ECMA's strengths. It does not make theoretical specifications that could not be applied in industrial practice.

On the contrary, ECMA is geared precisely to the needs and ideas of industrial companies. This is also a major advantage of a private standards organization that sets itself up independently.

It is independent of official bodies and does not claim to be binding. This makes its offer all the more interesting for many industrial companies. In times of globalization and even more international business relations, ECMA and its work are more important than ever.

Conclusion: The ECMA codes remain relevant

For decades now, ECMA has maintained its important position in the industry with its standards for folding cartons and die-cut packaging. Many companies in the packaging, production and printing sectors make extensive use of ECMA codes.

In the process, companies also advertise their use of the codes. This highlights the importance of the coveted standards. Communication within the industry with various stakeholders is made easier, more effective and more targeted by the ECMA codes.

It is hard to imagine everyday life for people and industry without packaging. They ensure the availability of products because they are what make logistics possible. Without outer packaging, most products would not be able to reach end consumers.

We often don't realize the importance of outer packaging like folding boxes. Can you imagine Amazon delivering a product to your home without it having a folding box as outer packaging? The entire online mail order business in both the private and B2B sectors is unimaginable without outer packaging.

Of course, there must be standards for the folding cartons, because otherwise each individual company would invest a lot of time and money in designing folding cartons. Here, a glance at the ECMA catalog is enough to select suitable properties for the respective purposes.

There are now so many variations that hardly any wish remains unfulfilled. In addition, individual modifications are possible at any time. The ECMA codes are an example of what private standardization organizations can ideally achieve. It could be a model for other areas where standardization is important.

It is particularly interesting that the ECMA codes, despite their private and non-binding nature, enjoy a high level of acceptance in the industry sectors involved. It does not always have to be the legislator who sets standards.

FAQ

1. Are the ECMA codes mandatory for industry participants in the packaging industry?
   No, they are not. Each company has the choice of whether to use ECMA codes. In practice, however, orientation to the ECMA proposals is widespread because it greatly simplifies the everyday industrial life of the industrial companies involved. Above all, it makes cooperation across language barriers free of misunderstandings.
2. Does ECMA protect its design proposals for folding cartons with patents and trademarks?
   The organization deliberately does not assert any industrial property rights on the designs. It wants to keep the ECMA codes freely available to all market participants.
3. Does ECMA have a future?
   The organization itself ensures that it is and remains fit for the future. It makes adjustments to changing technical requirements, such as digitization, on its own. The ECMA codes should therefore be among the standards whose significance is likely to increase in the medium and long term.