Cheese Safes - Little Miss Moffat Must Have Had One!

The art of Cheese making goes back at least 4000 years, although no-one knows who the first person to make cheese was.

It is thought that an Arab merchant who was about to cross a desert put some milk in his pouch, so he could quench his thirst during the crossing.

 Polmac Cheese Safe For: Harrods Ltd

However, because of the intense heat, the milk turned to curd and whey during the crossing. In the evening he tried the resulting mixture.

The whey satisfied his thirst and the curd his hunger. The curd had an unusual but delightful taste which he liked!

Since then, cheese making has turned into a huge, global industry, which in some countries consumes a third of all milk production. 

Cheese of course is best eaten fresh and keeping it fresh has always been a challenge. 

Most people today in the know, keep their cheese in the fridge, wrapped in paper, or parchment to allow it to 'breathe' and to protect it from other strong food odours!

Cheese safes are used when the cheese is taken out of the fridge, to bring it up to room temperature, so it will taste at it’s best.

Once the cheese is inside the cheese safe, it can be stored in a cool pantry or cellar, for short periods until ready to be eaten!

Polmac (UK) Ltd cheese safes are made from food compatible, natural beechwood, with fly proof, metal mesh sides.

There are four, raised legs at the corners, to allow air circulation around the whole of the cheese safe. 

The hinged lid is located at the top and is secured with a metal ‘hook’ fastener, for ease of opening.

Inside the cheese safe there is a natural beech, cheese board with a long handle grip at the centre, to allow the cheese to be quickly and easily taken out, when required!

Polmac cheese safes are custom made to order and can be overprinted with a logo or text, using screen printing, metallic foil blocking and laser engraving techniques, if a more personalized, branded finish is required! 

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Laser Engraving Colour Infill - Printing At It's Best!

Laser engraving is a specialised printing method used to apply company logos or text onto wood and acrylic products, for an exquisite and personalised branded finish.  

Laser engraving however, can be enhanced considerably by adding colour and is just one of the printing techniques Polmac (UK) Ltd uses to print onto it’s custom made, wood presentation boxes and packaging.

 Laser Engraving Over Masking Tape

The surface of the wood is first sealed with a clear lacquer finish to prevent the paint ‘bleeding’ onto the wood. 

Masking tape, with a weak adhesive application, used to mask paintwork, is an excellent masking medium. However, it's important to ensure the masking tape can be removed quickly and easily after painting, to prevent the paint lifting.

A special paper mask can also be applied to the engraving area and smoothed down with a squeegee to remove any air bubbles underneath. This is done by applying pressure at the centre of the paper mask and working out towards the edges.  

After laser engraving, the squeegee is used again to remove any air bubbles that may have been missed and to smooth down any paper edges that have curled up.

 

The depth of the engraving should not be too shallow or too deep. If too shallow, the paint may not be deep enough to hold the paint filling. If too deep, it may be difficult to work into the engraved crevices.

On average, the depth of the engraving should be about the thickness of a standard metal staple.  

Heavy body, acrylic paint in various colours is then carefully applied to the engraving, using a flat head paint brush, a large ‘Q-tip’ cotton swab, or a squeegee.

                                                  Applying Acrylic Paint With A Squeegee              

 

The paint is carefully worked into the engraving, to ensure all the crevices are filled with acrylic paint. Once this process is completed the engraving is set aside and the paint allowed to dry.

Before the paint is completely dry, the masking tape, or paper mask is carefully removed by lifting the corners and working towards the centre. If the paint is completely dry, there is a danger it will adhere too strongly to the masking tape, or paper mask and may ‘lift’ the paint from the engraving. 

                                                             Removing Masking Tape

After the masking tape, or paper mask is removed, ‘weeding’ takes place, using a sharp scalpel, or craft knife. This process removes any excess paper mask, or paint still on the wood surface. 

 Weeding Excess Masking Tape & Paint

Excess paint can also be removed by careful scrubbing with a damp cloth, if the paint is not too dry. However, if this process is unsuccessful, excess paper, or paint can be removed by careful, fine sanding. 

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Corrugated Carboard - A Dynamic Packaging Solution!

Corrugated cardboard packaging is used around the world today because it is cost effective, has good impact and vibration resistance for goods in transit and can easily be over-printed.

 The term ‘corrugated’ comes from the fluted and sandwiched inner layer of cardboard. Corrugated cardboard is made of two to seven layers of corrugated paper. These corrugated layers are glued together with layers of straight paper. 

Corrugated Cardboard Boxes

In 1871 an American, Albert Jones, inspired by the pleats in women's skirts patented the first corrugated board, as a creative way of packaging glass bottles.

It was thought that the first corrugating cardboard machine was made from old Civil War cannons.

Three years later Oliver Long improved the Jones design by adding a solid board, creating a two-ply solution. The first European factory began producing cardboard in London, in 1883.

Since then, new technology has considerably improved quality and introduced innovations in cardboard design.

Individually Wrapped Wooden Boxes

Corrugated cardboard has good impact and vibration resistance because the corrugations can absorb    severe impact, which minimizes the chances of damaging the goods inside.

Corrugated cardoard is designed for stacking. It withstands top and side pressure, is crush-resistant and has tear, tensile and burst strength, to withstand shipping pressures. 

Corrugated cardboard provides uniform stacking and weight distribution. For additional 'stackability' stiff, vertical plastic strips are sometimes provided, to reinforce the corners of palleted loads.

Cardboard has low water resistance, which can be overcome by treating the cardboard with a water resistant solution, or by shrink wrapping the cartons with water-proof polythene sheeting, on pallets.

Corrugated cardboard is the most re-cycled, packaging material by weight in the world, greatly reducing the amount that’s discarded, so provides an effective, environmental packaging solution. 

Polmac (UK) Ltd uses five-ply, impact resistant, corrugated cardboard cartons, shrink wrapped and paletted as standard, to transport your custom made, wood presentation boxes to the UK. 

To prevent abrasion damage in transit, your wood boxes are also individually wrapped in white paper. This ensures they are delivered in pristine condition!

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Promotional Products: The Marketing Evolution!

Promotional products are generally inexpensive useful and / or fun items with the company's name, logo, message or offer imprinted on them and are often given away free. This form of marketing is sometimes called 'speciality advertising'.

A wide range of promotional products are manufactured today, including calendars, mugs, t-shirts, pens, coasters, key rings etc. The list comprises literally 1000's of products and if you look around your office, or home you'll probably find one.

With the advent of the Internet and social media, promotional products are often overlooked as part of a business marketing campaign. However, it's been shown that an effective promotional product campaign can boost a company's good will standing with it's customers by as much as 52%!

Smart marketers realize that promotional products can be very effective in reaching a specific target audience, which is one of the key objectives of marketing, whether online or offline.

 

Polmac (UK) Ltd Promotional Playing Card Boxes

Promotional products are designed to be useful, or fun because the goal is to keep them and the branding they represent in front of the customer/ prospect for as long as possible.

Promotional products work on the principle that if you give someone a gift, they'll feel the need to give something back in return. This could be customer loyalty, repeat business, testimonials and recommendations to other businesses.

The best promotional products are those that allow the customer/ prospect to interact with the item. Puzzles and playing cards are a good example of promotional products that allow good interaction.

Promotional products are often given away free at trade shows to draw people in and increase excitement and effectiveness.

Polmac (UK) Ltd supplies, custom made, wood presentation boxes including promotional boxes for a wide range of marketing products. They're beautifully made, versatile and terrific value, which means they help boost product sales!

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Flock Fabric Linings: Tough, Durable & Visually Appealing!

Flock fabrics are made by adhering short, coloured nylon, rayon or polyester strands directly on to a flexible substrate such as paper, to provide a material that looks something like wallpaper when finished. 

Making The Flock Side Elements

The fine flock strands, which are usually between 0.25 mm - 0.5 mm in height, are electrically charged to keep them upright. This provides a tough, durable and visually appealing material with that classic ‘suede’ effect for which flock fabric is well known. 

Applying flock fabric linings is a craft skill which takes several years to perfect and is always undertaken by hand. The skill is similar to that of a tailor cutting fabrics for suits etc, although on a much smaller scale.

Adding The 'Flock Hinge' & Side Elements

 

Flock fabric linings are normally applied flat and glued to the inside surfaces of wooden boxes, using a glue gun. Glue guns work by inserting a clear glue rod into an appliance that looks a bit like a small electric drill. The glue is melted by an electrical heating element and is then discharged at the nozzle, using a trigger.

Individual pieces of flock fabric are first carefully cut with a sharp knife or scissors and stretched over the joint between the lids and the bases of the wood boxes. The flock fabric pieces are then stapled in position on both sides of the joint, providing  what is essentially a ‘flock hinge’. 

Adding The Final Flock Lined Base Element

Individual elements for the bases, lids and sides of the wooden boxes are then made up and comprise flock fabric stretched over and around stiff cardboard pieces that are carefully cut to size and glued in position, to provide a smooth, even finish.

The final inspection ensures the flock fabric linings are finished to the required high standards and the wood boxes function correctly. This may involve a degree of ‘fabric tucking’ which is usually undertaken with a sharp scalpel knife. 

The Finished Flock Lined Polmac Box

Polmac (UK) Ltd flock lined, wood presentation boxes are beautifully made, versatile and terrific value, which means they boost company branding and product sales.

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From Russia, The USA & Elsewhere With Love!

Caviar is fish roe or eggs, which is slightly salted. The salt helps to cure and preserve the caviar and is a  method that is still used today.

Female fish reproduce by laying eggs but not all fish roe is considered to be caviar. To a connisseur, however, real caviar comes only from the sturgeon.

 Large Sturgeon

The sturgeon is a saltwater fish but spawns in freshwater and is found in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea between Europe and Asia. It's also found in the Pacific Northwest and Southern Atlantic coasts of the USA.

The sturgeon can grow to over 3,000 pounds but usually the average weight is about 60 pounds. The flesh of the sturgeon is also highly prized.

Caviar from the beluga, osetra and sevruga sturgeon are the most highly prized. However, today 'caviar ' is also available from other fish varieties, such as salmon, lump fish and tuna.

Caviar

The word caviar comes from the Turkish word 'khavyar' which first appeared in print, in 1591 England. However, the sturgeon has been a part of the Middle Eastern and Eastern Europe diet for centuries.

Caviar was once reserved just for royalty but in early nineteenth century America, it was routinely served free of charge in saloons. The saltiness of caviar made people more thirsty and this increased beer sales, much as salted snacks in public houses do today.

Back then, America's waters were full of sturgeon and by the end of the nineteenth century the USA was the largest exporter of caviar in the world.

Polmac Caviar Box

However, during this period, a great deal of the caviar shipped to Europe was exported back to the USA and labelled as 'Russian caviar'. This was because higher prices could be charged for Russian caviar which was considered the best quality.

This kind of sharp practice continues today as can be seen from the recent European, horse meat scandal, where inferior and cheaper quality horse meat was substituted for beef..

Sturgeon stocks in the USA were decimated by over fishing, almost to the point of extinction and the sudden shortage in the early 1900's meant that prices rose sharply. The prices for premium quality caviar remain high today.

Polmac (UK) Ltd supplies custom made, wood presentation boxes for caviar and other premium quality food products. They're beautifully made, versatile and terrific value and are designed to boost company branding and sales!   

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Hessian: The Fabric That Goes Marching On!

Hessian is a woven fabric, that's usually made from the fibres of the jute plant. However, sisal fibres may also be used, or combined with other vegetable fibres to make rope, nets, and other similar products. In the USA and Canada hessian is called 'burlap'.

The Jute Plant

Hessian has always been a coarse fabric but today it's being produced as a more refined material to make bags, rugs and other products and is known simply as jute. Because it's an eco-friendly material, it's becoming more popular.

It's not know exactly where the word 'burlap' came from but it's thought it could mean 'coarse piece of cloth', or something similar. The name 'hessian' however, comes from the uniforms of German soldiers who came from Hesse and were known as 'Hessians'.

Jute Fibres Drying In The Sun

Hessian has many uses including bags and sacks, known as 'gunny bags, that were used to ship goods such as tea and coffee.

Hessian is also used to wrap the exposed roots when transplanting trees and shrubs and to prevent soil erosion on steep slopes.

Hessian is rarely used today to make clothes but it was used in the past, in Christian communities, where individuals wore a "sackcloth" on Ash Wednesday, as a kind of 'penitence'.

Bunnahabhain Whisky Box With Hessian Fabric Lining

Hessian has been used by many artists in the past as a stretched surface for painting and in the 1968 Georgie Fame song 'The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde', there is a line that reads '...while Bonnie loaded dollars into the burlap bag'.

Polmac (UK) Ltd uses hessian fabrics extensively to line their custom made, wood presentation boxes, promotional boxes and gift boxes, where a more traditional, rustic quality is desired.

The hessian fabric is applied flat on the base and sides of our wooden boxes, or on moulded inserts, to the shape of the product/ s to be accommodated.

The lids are also lined with hessian fabric, on a foam base, to provide additional protection for the wood boxes inside, against impact damage in transit.

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