Square Press Vs. Box Press

[Angry Bill]

Someone asked what the difference, so I thought I would post up a simple definition about the two terms. There is a difference though.

Square press (Factory press) means a mold is used to shape a cigar. By placing a cigar that has been rolled into a "square mold" and then placing it into a cigar press, a desired shape is achieved. In this case, a perfect square shaped vitolla.

Box press is the method a cigar maker uses to get a certain shaped. They are pressed into a box, which allows for a somewhat square shaper to occur. Simply the cigars are placed into a box that may have lesser area, which causes a press to occur amongst the cigars.

It is said that box and square pressed cigars burn better. That's a subjective thought though.

 

[dpricenator]

addon

Square press is also know as Factory Press.

 

[Soundwave13]

The term 'square press' bothers me. Have you ever seen a square cigar? The closest to it would be the end of a AF Shark. All 'factory pressed' cigars I've seen are in fact rectangular. Sorry - small pet peeve...

I think there may be something to the factory press - marrying the flavors between the leaves or something - when they blend pipe tobacco, they often press it and leave it for a while to have the blended tobacco become more uniform in flavor, humidity, etc. perhaps the 'factory press' achieves something similar?

I have no preference between the two - perhaps round by a small margin - but there are plenty of box-pressed & factory-pressed cigars that I like all the same.

 

[Angry Bill]

addon

Square press is also know as Factory Press.

That's why I had Factory Press in paranthesis.. lol

 

[dpricenator]

That's why I had Factory Press in paranthesis.. lol

oh, I guess I FAIL:disappoin

 

[Jwrussell]

And as a side note, while some manufacturers may "box press" cigars purposely nowadays to get said shape, I don't believe it was originally meant to intentionally change the shape. It was just something that happened to cigars that were packaged in a certain type of box.

 

[LiLo]

And as a side note, while some manufacturers may "box press" cigars purposely nowadays to get said shape, I don't believe it was originally meant to intentionally change the shape. It was just something that happened to cigars that were packaged in a certain type of box.

Exactly, it's simply something that happened to cigars that were placed tightly in dress boxes. Till this day i simply love the subtle box press of Bolivar royal coronas. That natural box press is lovely.

 

[theshoreways]

Very cool. I often wondered about the difference. Whether intentional or not, I love the look of a box-pressed cigar. Something special about it...

 

[Dave]

hmmm.....I always believed that it was intentional, so as to use smaller boxes and save storage/shipping space and cost.

 

[Jwrussell]

Sorry, by "intentional" I meant that the intent was to shape the cigars.

 

[dpricenator]

hmmm.....I always believed that it was intentional, so as to use smaller boxes and save storage/shipping space and cost.

I heard also to prevent damage during shipping from loosely packed cigars rattling in the box.

 

[SmokeProper]

The term 'square press' bothers me. Have you ever seen a square cigar? The closest to it would be the end of a AF Shark.

Shark and 5vegas Cask Strength II are the ones I think of.

 

[Thunder.Gerbil]

Shark and 5vegas Cask Strength II are the ones I think of.

Sancho Panza (NC), JAVA, Santa Clara Havana, Gispert (NC) are a few more I can think of offhand.

 

[Thunder.Gerbil]

hmmm.....I always believed that it was intentional, so as to use smaller boxes and save storage/shipping space and cost.

Doubtful. The size/volume difference between a dress box that could hold the cigars as rounds and the dress boxes that press the cigars slightly is minimal.

Allegedly it was done for looks, when one opens the box, it would present a very nice, crisp, attractive appearance. The prevention of damage in shipping and handling as mentioned previously in the thread could very well have also been a reason. Of course, there is no official record, so it's all just speculation and word of mouth stories passed down over generations.

 

[Le Buzz]

I love box pressed smokes like padron annis and la riqueza. Factory press im not a fan of as they dont look "natural." The sancho panzas nc's for example dont do it for me.