Release Corrugated Cartons Against the Right Test Results

Release a corrugated-carton lot against the test results required by the customer’s specification. In Optiwise, we connect the job, material lots and quality record so a matching paper weight does not stand in for missing board or finished-box evidence.

GSM means grams per square metre: the mass of a stated paper or board area. A supplier’s paper GSM, the basis weight of the combined corrugated board and the performance of the finished carton describe different things. Start by identifying which material or product the requirement refers to.

Match the test to the question you need to answer

FEFCO’s testing-method list separates basis weight, edgewise crush resistance, glue-bond tests and packaging compression resistance. These are different measurements. A satisfactory weight result cannot supply a missing strength or bonding result.

Different levels of carton-quality evidence

Record	What it addresses
Component-paper basis weight	Mass per area of the specified paper
Board edge-crush result	Resistance of the tested board edge under the stated method
Glue-bond result	The specified bond property under its test method
Finished-box compression result	Compression performance of the tested packaging under stated conditions

Your customer’s agreed specification determines the applicable tests, sample preparation, conditioning, units and acceptance limits. Select the tests required by the agreed specification. Keep the sample and test conditions with the result, particularly when the carton’s use includes stacking, moisture exposure or a specific packed load.

SATRA’s carton-assessment guidance also treats weight, edge crush and box compression as separate properties and discusses how the packaging and its contents affect stacking assessment. Use the method and conditions appropriate to the product you are supplying rather than calculating a universal stacking limit from GSM.

Put the required evidence on the production job

In Optiwise, keep the customer’s product and specification reference with the job and its material and process instructions. Record the paper or board items and lots issued to that work. If an artwork, board construction or required test changes, identify which revision the released job is following before another team uses an old instruction.

Configure the inspection form and quality process for that customer requirement. A useful result record identifies the job and production lot, specification revision, sample reference, test method, result and unit, test date, responsible person and supporting report. Include the conditioning or sample details required by the agreed method.

The laboratory or authorised tester performs the test. Your quality user enters the result and attaches the report in the configured form, then records the outcome through the quality workflow. Keep the instrument and sample references required by your test procedure with that evidence.

Keep a missing result separate from an accepted lot

Consider an illustrative order with two lots of the same carton design. Lot C-61 contains 600 cartons and Lot C-62 contains 400. Their paper specification carries the same GSM. The agreed release requirements include a specified edge-crush result and a finished-box compression result.

C-61 has its paper-weight and edge-crush records, but the required finished-box result is missing. C-62 has the required results, and the authorised quality user has accepted that lot under the customer’s rules. There are 1,000 cartons physically present, 400 accepted for this decision and 600 awaiting the missing evidence. The matching GSM does not transfer C-62’s acceptance to C-61.

Record C-61’s outstanding test, the person responsible and the next action. Keep the lot distinguishable while the evidence is obtained. Production and dispatch should use the accepted quantity when reviewing the delivery commitment, rather than treating “manufacturing complete” as “released”. A release may also depend on other agreed checks, such as artwork or dimensions.

Resolve a failed test against the affected lot

If C-61 later fails the required test, retain the actual result and its conditions. Quality decides the disposition under the customer’s specification and the factory’s approved process. Record the affected quantity and whether further assessment, rework or rejection is authorised. Do not change the requirement or attach C-62’s report to make the pending line disappear.

When additional samples or retesting are permitted, retain their relation to the original lot, result and authorised decision. A test on a new sample does not by itself erase the first failure or prove every carton is acceptable. The responsible quality team determines what the evidence allows.

Our production records retain the material issues, process quantities and job context behind that investigation. The inventory movement history connects the physical lot with its receipt, issue or transfer. We configure the required fields and inspection steps around your product and customer requirements, keeping the next decision connected to the same work.

Questions about GSM and carton release

Does matching GSM prove a corrugated carton is strong enough?

No. GSM describes mass per area of the stated paper or board. Use the customer-required board and finished-box tests to assess the relevant performance, with the specified sample conditions and limits.

Can we use another lot’s report if the paper specification is the same?

Only where the agreed specification and sampling rules allow that evidence to represent the lot. Do not assume that matching GSM or design makes two production lots interchangeable for release.

Bring one carton specification, two production lots and a missing-test exception to an Optiwise walkthrough. We will connect the job, material record, inspection evidence and dispatch decision.