An off-the-shelf promotional pack from Ashton Corrugated (Midlands) in England, has been chosen to carry the new Government's first White Paper.

The Ashton "Promopack" box was chosen by the Department for Education and Employment (DFEE) to carry special mailings of the White Paper-a major consultation document outlining government intentions for schools over the next five years to all chief education officers and main education opinion-formers in England.

The diecut pack in E-flute was chosen because the special mailing of the White Paper was accompanied by a video explaining the major themes of the White Paper. The pack features post-print graphics in three colors. Artwork was sent directly to the Ashton, Clay Cross Derbyshire plant via ASDN link and the pack was printed in-house on Ashton technology.

"We needed the strength of corrugated to ensure that the video was not damaged in transit," said a DFEE spokesman. "We needed 500 of the boxes for this exercise, but we have ordered more so that we can use them for subsequent similar 'excellence in schools' branded exercises over the coming years."

The Promopack, measuring 297 mm x 207 mm x 45 mm was developed specifically for high-impact, high-protection transit purposes, due to the promotional marketing purpose of the materials.

"We have had a number of inquiries from companies about this particular pack because it provides everything a marketing company or marketing department is looking for," commented Ashton's sales manager, David Spencer. "Marketing uses a wide range of multimedia components including videos, audiotapes and CD-ROMs, all of which have to be carried securely. The E-flute design provides strength and rigidity, but the high-quality print quality we can achieve on the outside of the pack ensures that the Promopack itself can be used as part of the marketing promotional exercise."