The Colibri lighter has had a long and illustrious history ever since its start in 1928, it was founded by Julius Lowenthal who started with the idea of a lighter which would help people avoid the contact of the thumbs to the flint wheel. From this idea came the Colibri Original, though there were technical difficulties to the original design, it was eventually overcome and some of the Colibri Originals are still serving their owners until today.
In 1933, Julius was able to establish Colibri Lighters Ltd in London, and after the war, the company was able to establish its own Development Department that produced and are still producing a wide range of lighters until today.
With the Colibri lighter, one can always expect functionality with quality, and added to that, lighter designs that would fit any personality. Just to name a few of their lighters, there are Colibri Cigar Lighters, Colibri Windproof Lighters, Colibri Women’s Lighters, Table Lighters, and All Purpose Lighters. And that’s not even a complete list, to say that their Development Department have been busy since its founding is quite the understatement. It was even Colibri who produced the ingenious design for the golden gun in the James Bond film “The Man with the Golden Gun”; this was assembled from a Cobliri 88 lighter, cigarette case, cuff links and fountain pen.
Pricewise, these lighters can range from the under to 0. The choices presented would be from your All Purpose Colibri Lighter priced at .99, to the Colibri Miata Lavender Silver Lighter at .99, then there’s the Colibri Wellington Basket Silver Lighter at .99, then the Colibri Hybrid Lighter with brushed chrome finish at .99, to the Colibri Carbon Fiber Humido 3-Piece set at 8.99. Needless to say, the Colibri Lighter doesn’t just present a wide-range of designs; it also gives choices depending on the budget.
With that said, the Colibri Lighter is a definite must-have for lighter aficionados, and for people who can appreciate quality design and engineering. It’s history is also one guarantee of any Colibri lighter as a keeper and one that will definitely live up to expectations that only this brand can deliver.
Vincent owns a network of stores. The inspiration for this article came from a store called the where he sells .
Many companies 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 . 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. 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.
Paul Fleming represents Packaging who have been supplying and other promotional marketing materials since 1988. Don’t hesitate to contact us (1-800.654.6660) if you need further clarification or customization or visit
How to prepare the cigar wrap in this free smoking video. Expert: Matthew Driggers Bio: Matthew Driggers is known to his peers as the “Cigar Rabbi.” He trains trade show models and attendants in the art of cigar smoking and etiquette. Filmmaker: Adolph Ramirez
How to wrap a cigar in this free smoking video. Expert: Matthew Driggers Bio: Matthew Driggers is known to his peers as the “Cigar Rabbi.” He trains trade show models and attendants in the art of cigar smoking and etiquette. Filmmaker: Adolph Ramirez
Many novice smokers have embarrassed themselves trying to smoke a cigar with the same frantic, huff-and-puff energy that goes into cigarette smoking. But cigars aren’t cigarettes, any more than cheap beer is fine wine, and just as you’d never guzzle a fine Cabernet Sauvignon, you shouldn’t just inhale a cigar.
The first question to consider is, of course, the quality of the cigar. Handmade cigars are generally considered best. Machine-rolled cigars use scraps and bits of tobacco, rolled together, while handmade cigars use entire leaves, blended with specially-picked filler leaves to create a rich, full, subtle taste. Otherwise, remember the “wrapper rule”: cigars wrapped in darker paper will tend to be sweeter, while lighter wrappers often denote a drier taste.
The second question for many cigar smokers is whether to smoke with the band on or off. The bands, which wrap around the cigar and give the cigar’s brand name or manufacturer, was first introduced in 1850 by manufacturer Gustave Bock to set his high-quality Havana handmade cigars apart from knockoff brands. If you’re smoking in the UK, where smoking with the band on has long been considered gauche, a form of bragging, you’ll want to remove the band. Some smokers also collect bands, as a way of remembering all the different experiences they’ve had with cigars. Otherwise, it’s up to you.
The next step is to cut the cap of the cigar, which must be removed so that air can flow through. Most cigar fans have small guillotines, which cut right across the top of the cigar. (You can usually purchase one from the same place where you your cigars – or bum one from a friend.) Some smokers still bite off the top of cigars, an unappetizing and possibly unhealthy alternative. Cigar “punches” and “piercers” (or V-cutters) are also available. Choose the method that’s best for you, and keep your cutter sharpened.
How to light? Steer clear of paper matches, which will only stay live long enough to light a small portion of the cigar. You need a full flame that will cover the entire head of the cigar. Wooden matches may work, though it’s recommended that you let the sulphur burn off the tip of the match before lighting.
Butane lighters are free of odor and taste and are the favorite method for many smokers, as are “torch” lighters. Whatever you prefer, make sure you turn the cigar as you light it (“turn and burn,” experienced smokers say), so that the entire cigar is lit. Some aficiandos believe it’s a bad idea to let the flame touch the cigar and prefer to use a lit cedar strip, but many American smokers argue that this is just a bit of unnecessary European pretension.
Inhaling the smoke is unnecessary and dangerous. Once again, cigars are not cigarettes. You pull the smoke into your mouth and, like a wine taster, allow its flavor to saturate your palate, without allowing the smoke into your lungs. For this reason, cigar smoking is more taste-oriented and less harmful to your health than cigarette-smoking.
The taste of the smoke varies depending on the tobacco type and the sorts of flavors added by the makers, as well as the age of the cigar, the conditions in which it’s been stored, and many other factors. Regardless, the taste is richer, fuller and subtler than that of cigarettes, and many people who don’t enjoy cigarette-smoking have found that they like the taste or odor of cigars.
The cigar can be stopped from burning and “finished” later, though its taste quality quickly declines (like that of an open bottle of wine) the longer it’s left half-smoked. It’s a better idea to wait until you have time to fully savor the taste, beginning to end.
As for the aftertaste, try a drink containing citric acid (such as orange juice or lemon-flavored liqueurs), followed by a hard cheese and, eventually, a good tooth-brushing. (You’d be brushing your teeth anyway, right?) After-dinner mints can help, too.
Most of all, remember what worked this time. Cigar smoking – again, like wine – is a pleasure that should improve with age.
provides you the opportunity to build your own sampler of the finest cigars that include cigar brands like Montecristo, Romeo & Julieta, H Upmann, Macanudo, Cohiba, Gurkha and many more. Choose from more than 1000 different brands! Other cigar products include cigar humidors, cigar boxes, and cigar accessories like Zippo Lighters.