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If you have several cufflinks that you use everyday, then it is very important to provide a safe storage for them.  This will protect your cufflinks from possible damages and you can avoid losing those valuable clothing accessories.  What you need are cuff link boxes.  But before you buy a cuff link box, it is important to understand the different types of cuff link cases available in the market.  

Cuff link boxes come in different sizes.  There are cuff link cases that can hold just a few or a dozen cufflinks.  These are small box type storage far smaller than a cigar box or watch box.  If you own few cufflinks, then these types of cuff link cases would be ideal for you.  You can also use these cuff link boxes when you travel.  They are slim so you can easily put them in your pocket.  There are also cuff link boxes that can store hundreds of cufflinks.  These are big boxes and ideal for home use only.  They have several compartments and holding areas for your cufflink collection.

Aside from their sizes, cuff link cases are also categorized according to the material used for their production.  The most popular cuff link boxes you can find are leather cuff link cases.  These types of cuff link boxes are lightweight and have shiny leather exterior.  Usually, the materials used for making these cuff link cases come from cow hide.  The leather is properly treated, aged, and designed to suit different preferences.  There are dark leather cuff link cases.  There are also cases with lighter hues.  If you love leather, these kinds of cuff link boxes would be perfect for you.

Wood is also a popular material for making cuff link cases.  Wood provides many design varieties.  So it is not surprising to see wooden cuff link boxes with different look, designs, and styles.  Most wooden cuff link cases are made from burlwood, teakwood, maple, and fiddleback maple.  These are hard wood which makes the cuff link box extremely durable and strong.  The natural patterns and designs of wood also provide unique look for the cuff link boxes.  Wood also provides a more traditional style for cuff link cases.

Cuff link boxes also come in different colors.  Leather cuff link cases usually sport darker hues and black colors.  Wooden cuff link cases offer different color variations.  Sometimes, the natural color of the wood is used by the manufacturer.  So it would be typical to find brown or dark brown cuff link cases.  It is also common to find reddish colored cuff link boxes because some hard wood have this kind of hues.  There are also wooden cuff link boxes that have creamy white colors.

When choosing the right cuff link box for you, you have to know what are the types of cuff link cases are available in the market.  You have to consider your needs in choosing a cuff link box.  You can also choose a cuff link box that will match your personality and design preferences.

The simple cardboard box plays an important, but unsung role in our modern society. It’s hard to imagine how we ever got along before they were invented but they have only been in common use for the last hundred years or so. The story of this simple but important invention follows.

Cardboard boxes are industrially prefabricated boxes, which are primarily used for packaging goods and materials or for moving. The first commercial cardboard box was produced in England in 1817 by Sir Malcolm Thornhil and the first cardboard box manufactured in the United States was made in 1895.

By 1900, wooden crates and boxes were being replaced by corrugated paper shipping cartons. The advent of flaked cereals increased the use of cardboard boxes. The first to use cardboard boxes as cereal cartons were the Kellogg brothers.

In France the cardboard box has an even longer history. The Musée du Cartonnage et de l’Imprimerie (Museum of the Cardboard Box) in Valréas, France traces the history of cardboard box making in the region and notes that cardboard boxes have been used there since 1840 for transporting the Bombyx mori moth and its eggs from Japan to Europe by silk manufacturers. In addition, for more than a century the manufacture of cardboard boxes was a major industry in the area.

Cardboard boxes and children

A common cliché says that if a child is given a large and expensive new toy, he/she will quickly become bored with the toy and play with the box instead.

Although this is usually said somewhat jokingly, children certainly enjoy playing with boxes, using their imagination to portray the box as an infinite variety of objects.

One example of this from popular culture is Calvin of the Calvin and Hobbes comic strip. He often used a cardboard box for imaginative purposes from a “transmogrifier” to a time machine

So prevalent is the cardboard box’s reputation as a plaything that in 2005 a cardboard box was added to the National Toy Hall of Fame. It is one of the very few non-brand-specific toys to be honored with inclusion. In addition, a toy cardboard box “house” (actually a log cabin) made from a large cardboard box was also added to the Hall, housed at the Strong - National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.

Another more somber use of the cardboard box is the stereotypical image of homeless people living in a cardboard box. In 2005 Melbourne architect Peter Ryan actually designed a house composed largely of cardboard.

A vital item of commerce, a toy for children, a home of last resort, these are just some of the roles played by cardboard boxes in the last two hundred years.

Many companies order custom boxes to house information and announcements about new products, to package software, CD/DVD’s and other electronic media, or to have an option over brochures, pocket folders and binders. This article will help you understand your vast options when requesting custom boxes.

Some typical types of boxes include:

- Corrugated

- Plastic

- Turned edge,

- set up boxes

- Aluminum

- SBS

- wood

Most people are familiar with shipping cartons made out of thick brown (or kraft) C-flute corrugated board. Inspecting a side cut of C-flute corrugated, you notice it is very wide and thick; good for shipping things but not good for accepting the kind of graphics required to market a product.

E-flute corrugation is only 1/16th ” thick, much thinner than the C-flute mentioned above. On some requirements, F-flute or B-flute corrugated may be used. F-flute is very thin (even thinner than E-flute) and is used for very small boxes or boxes that require intricate die cutting. Surprisingly, B-flute is thinner than C-flute but thicker than E-flute. B-flute is about 1/8th” thick and is used for heavier weight projects.

Corrugated board is usually stocked by the mill and is defined by colors. Brown, Oyster White, White.

White is the most expensive board and most sought after for graphic usage.

Combinations are available, by special order. Oyster over Kraft or Bleached over Kraft are common. Normally the wavy part of the corrugated board is Kraft.

Decoration of Corrugated

Litho lam: Many customers prefer their corrugated boxes have the graphics printed on 80# litho paper, which can be film, laminated and mounted to the corrugated. (we call this labeling). Film lamination seals the printing and enables the box hinges to be bent without cracking. The label is attached to the corrugated board before die cutting. The film lamination can be either glossy or matte (also called de-lustered). A label can be applied to the outside or the inside of the box (also called the liner) or both. The label usually covers the entire box.

Flexo printing: Imagine a big rubber stamp and you now have a good idea of flexo printing. If complex 4 color process graphics is not required then flexo printing may be an alternative to consider. Because flexo printing is not sophisticated, you can only expect the quality of a 65 line screen. This differs dramatically from the 150 line screen quality common in litho printing (labeling). The most cost efficient type of flexo printing is a flood coat (overall coverage) of a color. Stock printing plates can be used to put the color on the board. However, if graphics or type is required to be reversed out of the solid field or you want to have positive type or graphics, a custom printing plate will have to be made. Flexo plates are priced per square inch. The more graphics or type, the more expensive.

Silk screen: For quantities too low to create expensive flexo plates, silk screening can be a cost effective alternative. Modern technology has made silk-screening almost as clear and sharp as offset printing. We start with your artwork either on a computer disk or good black and white copy. A film positive is made from the art and mounted on to a screen that has been coated with an emulsion. The screen and artwork (on a film positive) are exposed to light for a few minutes. The black of the artwork blocks the emulsion from hardening. The film positive is removed from the screen and the screen is washed with a high-speed water spray. The emulsion where the artwork was is washed away leaving a stencil of the artwork on the screen. The screen is mounted to a press and a squeegee pushes special paints through the screen onto the material for your box.

Silkscreen paints are hand mixed to come as close as possible to a specified color but it is not an exact science. We silk screen on many different color materials and a hand mixed Pantone color match will look different when put on colors other than white.

Turned edge boxes and set up boxes: Whereas corrugated boxes have “raw edges” where you can see the corrugation, turned edge differ because the board is covered by the wrap. Instead of using corrugated board, we use different weights of chip board. In small quantities, these boxes are made by hand. In larger quantities, box making machines are used. Turned edge boxes tend to cost more than corrugated boxes but they have a more finished look. Because chip board is used, these boxes tend to weigh more than the equivalent corrugated box. Set up boxes are in the category of turned edge boxes. These boxes are commonly referred to as gift boxes and jewelry boxes. Both turned edge and set up boxes can be wrapped in a variety of coverings, film laminated printed paper, linen cloths, fancy paper stocks.

Plastic boxes:

Plastic boxes generally are available in either injection molded plastics or die cut sheet plastics. Injection molded boxes tend not to be used for custom purposes as tooling to make custom sizes and shapes is expensive and they are difficult to decorate. Most of our discussion will be on converting sheets of plastic into boxes.

The most common sheet plastics used are polyethylene and polypropylene. Both of these materials can be constructed to form boxes with tuck tabs or can be sonic welded. Sonic welded boxes ship to the customer already assembled. Tuck tab boxes can be shipped flat and assembled by the customer. Both materials come in a variety of thickness’ starting at 16 gauge and going up to as high as 75 gauge. The most popular thickness’ are 35 and 55 gauge for polyethylene and 30 gauge and 55 gauge for polypropylene. Polyethylene has been around longer than polypropylene and comes in a wide variety of stock colors and natural (milky clear). Polypropylene is sometimes preferred by customers seeking clear boxes because it can be made crystal clear. Polypropylene tends to be more expensive than polyethylene and has a greater tendency to show scratches and marks with use. For this reason, polypropylene is made on one or both sides with a matte finish or lines to hide the scratches. Clear polypropylene can also come with color tints.

As boxes made of plastic begin as flat sheets they are relatively easy to decorate.

Decoration of plastic

Silk screening is the most popular technique used on polyethylene and polypropylene. Both these materials have very flat, non porous surfaces, ideal for silk screening. With modern screening methods, a wide variety of half tones, graduated screens and process printing can be accomplished at a reasonable price. Small to moderate quantities of product with complex printing, lend itself to silk screening. See details of silk screening above.

Litho (offset) printing can be accomplished on lighter gauges of material in larger quantities. In this case you would ideally begin with a white substrate. Quality can be as good as on coated paper stock.

Hot Stamp: This is the transfer of a color (usually metallic silver or gold) mounted to a roll of plastic on to the poly by use of a heated metallic die. The metal die is made from your artwork and is mounted to a stamping press. The colored foil on the roll is transferred to the material in the shape of your art on the die. For pricing advise the number of square inches of leaf to be used. Multiply width by height of the imprint area for the square inches of leaf. Frequently you may wish to combine several methods of decoration, such as silk screening and stamping.

Aluminum boxes: A relatively new option are boxes made out of Aluminum or a combination of Aluminum and Acrylic panels. Boxes can be constructed in tote box style, two piece set up box style or as CD/DVD boxes. Many customers opt for silk screen decoration on their boxes but more exciting options such as laser etching, anodizing and powder coating are also available.

SBS or paper boxes:

Paper boxes options could fill a manual by themselves. Sales Packaging has produced many options for customers. Most frequently, we take 20 to 24 point SBS (single bleached sulfite) white board, litho print and film lam before die cutting into a variety of products. Popular items are VHS sleeves and boxes, totes, product sample boxes, CD and marketing mailers to name a few options.

Wood boxes: When a certain elegance is required, wood boxes fit the bill. From highly lacquered cigar type boxes to natural finished wood boxes.

Hopefully this has shed a little light on custom boxes for promotional marketing. It can be a fairly complex process but don’t feel overwhelmed, there are organizations to help you through.

A fantastic place to find cool broadband quality sports video and audio clips to view online for free is the BBC sports website which you can find at http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport They also have lots of great sports content for you to enjoy including the latest sports news, the latest sports results, photo galleries, scores & fixtures information and lots more besides. The BBC sports website also has dedicated sections on their website for football, cricket, tennis, golf, rugby union, rugby league, motorsport, boxing, athletics, cycling, snooker and horse racing.

Eurosport.com is another great place to find free sports clips to watch online and they have excellent sports news coverage of a range of sports including football, cycling, motorsports, basketball, athletics, golf, winter sports, boxing, baseball, cricket, field hockey, handball, NFL, Olympics, Rugby, Rowing, Sailing, Snooker and Swimming. One thing I really like about the Eurosport.com website is the “Live Score” feature which you will find on the homepage and shows you the live current scores on a range of different sports including football, tennis, cycling, motorsports, field hockey, basketball, rugby, athletics, snooker and winter sports. This site is very well designed, is constantly updated and is easy to navigate. It will definitely keep sports buffs busy for days!

SportsNews.com has a huge range of detailed and up to date sports news coverage from around the world. It is a very well laid out website which as well as having all the sports news you can handle, it also has extensive entertainment news, regional news, business news and science news.

A quality sports site which is especially good for American sports fans is Fox Sports which can be found at http://msn.foxsports.com It has detailed extensive sports news coverage of NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, golf, tennis, football, NCAA FB, Winter Olympics, Boxing, Horse Racing, F1, WNBA and beach volleyball.

Another good sports site which covers American sports is ESPN which you can find at http://espn.go.com They mainly cover MLB, NFL, College Football, NASCAR, NBA, Golf, Tennis, NHL, Soccer, Boxing, College Basketball and Women’s Basketball. They have all the scores, teams and standings for all these sports. I like the design of this site which is neat and clear.

Well that’s all the sites I think you sports fans will need to feed your hunger for more info on your favourite sports and teams, I hope you like them and have lots of fun on them!



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There are literally thousands of places on the web to get your sports news information. Whether you want the latest headlines, up to the second scores, editorials, or in depth analysis, there are a myriad of choices for you. While some sites only offer one or two of those things, there are several that offer all of those and more. My Top 5 are below:

5. Yahoo! Sports (sports.yahoo.com) - this site is all substance and no flash. It looks essentially the same as it did five years ago. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, it just doesn’t knock your socks off. Any information that you need is readily available and up to date. Columnists aren’t as well known as the top sites, but they are solid.

4. FOX Sports (msn.foxsports.com) - a few years ago this site was a mess. It was the anti-Yahoo! - all flash and no substance. In the past few years they’ve toned down the flash and increased the substance. The live gamecasts at the top of the page are extremely innovative. For example, for a baseball game you not only see the score, but also an overview of the diamond and what runners are on base. If you are interested in a specific game you can roll your mouse over it and get more details. If FOX keeps innovating like that, they won’t be number 4 for long.

3. Sports Illustrated (sportsillustrated.cnn.com) - this site excels in two things - editorials and rumors. They have THE best writers (they are Sports Illustrated after all) and they do an excellent job of providing tons of content. Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback column is absolutely priceless. They also compile a ‘Truth and Rumors’ section for each of the major sports. It’s essentially a compilation of all of the rumors from local newspapers across the country. The best part about it is it’s free, unlike ESPN’s rumors.

2. CBS SportsLine (cbs.sportsline.com) - everything is great about SportsLine - they are often the first to break news, gamecasts are innovative and effective, and for what it’s worth the fantasy sports are the best on the web. Well, they are great at everything except editorials and analysis, and they are horrible at that. Tony Mejia, Dennis Dodd, Pete Prisco, and Greg Doyle are the worst group of sports writers on the web. Where are the editorials from their on-air personalities like Jim Nantz and Billy Packer? ESPN and FOX manage to get their on-air personalities to write, maybe CBS should consider it. Read the comments at the bottom of any article by any of the aforementioned writers and you’ll realize that I’m not the only one that thinks they are horrible.

1. ESPN (www.espn.com) - they are consistently ahead of the curve in every one of the important aspects. They are the worldwide leader in sports and they show no signs of giving up that crown on the web. I commend them for getting their best personalities - John Clayton, Steven A. Smith, Barry Melrose, and Peter Gammons - to write consistently good articles. The only downside is that too much information is hidden in the ‘Insider’, ESPN’s paid service. It’s frustrating to read a headline, click, and then realize that you can’t read the story because you have to pay for it.