In 2015, Guangzhou Paper Infinity Cultural Products started to make innovative products, with a focus on animal-themed toys, out of paperboard. This is usually not a material that would be associated with toys or other kids products, due to its colour and relative fragility. But a quick look at Paper Infinity’s products on leading Chinese e-commerce websites will clearly show the careful details that the company has still been able to create.
Zhang Jian, founder and chief designer at Paper Infinity, says that they have made several series of animals in paperboard – often no bigger than the size of a hand – that can be used as toys or ornaments. And the ears of a rabbit, the tail of a dog or the head of a dragon all require solid yet formable material.
“It doesn’t work if the paperboard oxidizes easily because the toys have to stay in shape. But the material that we use cannot be too heavy either,” says Zhang Jian.
These factors are especially important for Paper Infinity as their most popular products are 3D animal face masks. “Our most popular mask resembles a panda,” says Zhang Jian. “We have produced several hundreds of thousands of these.”
Since the animal masks and other products made by Paper Infinity are often used outside or exposed to sunlight, it is also important that the paperboard they are made from doesn’t change colour. Apart from the yellow fur of the tiger or the pink skin of the pig, maintaining “stable whiteness” is also important, so that the fur of the panda, for example, doesn’t lose its whiteness with time.
“We use Invercote G for our products because it meets all of our requirements,” says Zhang Jian. He also describes Invercote G as a very safe and environmentally friendly material compared to other paperboards. This is important for Paper Infinity as the target group for their products is mainly young children.
Invercote G allows good foldability without cracking. Zhang Jian also points out how the paperboard is “extremely durable,” which is important for other products made by Paper Infinity such as houses for real animals. These are exposed, for example, to the sharp claws of cats.
Paper Infinity’s biggest customers are Alibaba and other similar online merchants. Online video game companies are a growing customer area using Paper Infinity products as prizes, while other companies make use of them for anniversary gifts or during other kinds of celebratory events.
The company’s products are popular partly because most of their good value, selling for only a couple of US dollars. Even so, thanks to Invercote G, the company doesn’t need to compromise on the quality of its products due to the high strength of the paperboard’s fibres and its good lightfastness.
This story is from Inspire Magazine 72 >>
Created 19 June, 2024.