Plastic storage boxes can be put to use in a wide range of areas. Since they are strong, durable and waterproof, they can withstand a great deal of abuse when being used to pack away small items during a house move, for example. In the home itself, plastic storage boxes are useful, depending on their size, for the storing of anything from books, paper or documents to food both in the fridge and the freezer.
The material, plastic, is remarkably versatile and is used in the manufacture of thousands of products, toys, medical equipment and even clothes, for example. In the 1970s, items made out of plastic were thought of as being “cheap and nasty” – the way this attitude has changed as the age of Information Technology has come upon us with PDAs, mobile phones, personal and laptop computers, is truly amazing.
Before the first synthetic plastic was developed, naturally occurring substances such as gutta-percha, derived from the sap of certain trees, shellac, produced from the secretions of a tiny scale insect were used as plastic material. The horns of animals could also be used, but would need to be softened by being boiled in water.
The first synthetic plastic was developed by an American inventor, John Hyatt, in 1869. He found that the plant material cellulose when plasticised with the addition of camphor could be used as a cheap substitute for ivory. The material became known as celluloid and for 30 years was the only plastic of any importance for commercial uses. As a storage solution, plastic boxes are affordable, very practical and can look great too.
In the workplace, storage is always a problem. Managers need to balance the documents and paperwork to be placed in archive and items that will they will want to be available for day to day use. They should also take into consideration the amount of space taken up by any storage system.
One storage system that may be ideally suited for this purpose consists of a frame with the potential to store as many or as few items as necessary. The frame fits against a wall and once secured will provide a sturdy and yet lightweight basis for the storage.
Several storage units are typically available to be attached to this particular frame. An open storage unit, for example, usually has plenty of room for the storage and organisation of files, documents, envelopes, items of stationery and so forth.
If they are stacked vertically, a lid is only needed for the top unit. Sometimes there is an open storage unit with a fixed centre shelf. This provides more flexibility and better storage for small items.
For the storage of larger items, work wear, tools or reams of photocopy or pc printer paper; there are bulk storage units. Lightweight but strong, these usually have adjustable shelves which may stored flat when not being used.
Wire baskets, made from heavy duty steel mesh are ideal for the storage of items that may need to be easily seen. Bottles, mail and work clothing are some of the things perfect for this sort of storage unit.
You may smile at the films from the 1950s featuring the ultimate in electronic sophistication, computers that filled a room and wouldn’t hold enough data to even worry the desktop or laptop computers these days.
However that smile might slip a little when you are told that the punch card method of holding data dates back to the 19th century. Charles Babbage, an English mathematician started designing a machine called the Analytical Engine. He experimented with different designs up until his death in 1871. He realised that the design could be programmed with the use of punch cards. The engine used loops of the cards to control a mechanical calculator. The calculator formulated results based on the results on the results of preceding calculations.
One of the early massive uses of punch cards as file storage devices took place in the American Census of 1900. After the census data was gathered, the facts recorded were transferred to cards, one card per person. The holes would be punched in the cards according to the possible answers to questions asked on the forms. Each card had 240 different places that any one hole may be punched.
Then the cards were counted using an electrical counting machine invented by Herman Hollerith. The machine is set up so that needles passing through the holes on each card make an electrical connection to operate clock faced dials showing numbers corresponding to each datum or combination of data. A truly innovative method of file storage that happened before the 20th century began.