The long journey to a genuine betubed cardboard tube: How heavy paper rolls become packaging sleeves.

At first glance, producing a paper tube seems like a simple matter. After all, its body is rolled in a machine and comes out as a finished tube at the end. But before it becomes a complete package, it requires several work steps. "Paper in, tube out" is not an option, especially for the high-quality packaging sleeves from betubed. In this making-of, we show which stations they must pass through to become a genuine betubed tube.

Human and Machine – A Perfect Match

The production steps on the way to the perfect packaging sleeve run by hand, semi-automatically, and automatically. Three different betubed tube models require varying levels of effort. This is mainly due to the number of parts they are assembled from. While the one-piece betubed cardboard tube (the so-called Golf class) consists of a body, bottom, and a lid made of plastic or metal, the structure of the other two models looks considerably more complex.

All Paper tube? Pure Paper for the Mercedes and Rolls-Royce Class

With slip lid and "be ready" tubes, literally everything is made of cardboard. As the name suggests, the lid of the slip lid tube is slipped over the body. It is the larger counterpart to the sleeve it seals. Aesthetes rave about the "be ready" tube. It combines functionality and homogeneous design because lid and sleeve body merge seamlessly and feature rounded edges.

In the Beginning was the Paper

For the production of our betubed tubes, only 100% recycled or FSC®-certified paper is used. We are FSC®-certified (FSC® C168359). This can be, for example, grass or natural paper; they are all EUTR-compliant. The papers arrive in the processing on ton-heavy rolls, where they are brought to a processing-friendly size and cut into winding strips about 10 centimeters wide.

From Paper to Sleeve

At our facility, a cardboard sleeve is created from three to four paper strips. Perfectly coordinated, they run simultaneously into the paper winding machine. The result is a spirally wound, two-meter-long sleeve blank that forms the basis of all betubed cardboard tubes. Before they are further processed, our cardboard tubes go into a resting phase. This ensures that glue and paper "settle" and the drying process is complete.

It's All About the Cut

While the winding runs fully automatically, the next step requires manual intervention. By hand, the cardboard sleeve is placed on the cutting machine and brought to the desired length by manually lowering a lever. This creates several tube bodies and lid necks in one operation.

Nothing Works Without a Bottom

An indispensable element of all paper tubes is, of course, the bottom. Pre-punched in cardboard sheets, they must be released and glued to the corresponding sleeve. Slip lid and "be ready" tubes need a second bottom as a lid insert for their covers, while the one-piece model makes do with just one bottom element.

Curling for Extra Comfort

Curled, i.e., rounded edges, are created semi-automatically in the curling machine. Through manual lever technology, its attachment lowers onto the cardboard sleeve and bends its edge inward. Curled edges are one of the unique selling points of our flagship, the "be ready" tube. Optionally, the bottom, lid, and the upper edge of the inner sleeve edge are available with curled edges.

The Finish – No Tube Goes "Without"

If the sleeve elements of the betubed tubes were now finished, they would at least visually resemble a toilet paper sleeve. With a finish of individually designable cover paper, they transport your demand for high quality, sustainability, and innovation to the surface as well.

Inserted by hand, the rollers of the gluing machine ensure that sleeve and cover paper connect with each other. Whether "plain" in one of the trendy colors from the betubed color palette or printed according to a self-designed print template – what goes on the sleeve is entirely at the customer's discretion.

be ready – From Three to One

The assembly of our paper tubes requires handwork. Because its body consists of an outer sleeve and a longer inner sleeve, the "be ready" tube requires the highest craftsmanship. Routinely, the sleeves are glued together by hand. Due to the special construction, the lid sleeve fits seamlessly onto the sleeve neck in the end. The three-part Rolls-Royce among the betubed models is ready!

Since the founding of their "betubed packaging GmbH" in 2019, Stefan Thiel and Demekssa Duresso have been committed to the perfect implementation of their innovative packaging ideas. In addition to the use of machines, handwork remains indispensable for the production of their high-quality cardboard tubes. The full range of their assortment can be viewed in the betubed online shop.