A material processing system, comprising: material processing equipment configured to create box templates; and a cable-based measuring system, comprising: a cable, the cable comprising an inner cable member positioned within an outer cable housing, the inner cable member configured to move linearly within the outer cable housing; a measuring device, the measuring device configured to generate measurement information regarding movement of the inner cable member relative to the outer cable housing; and a computer system, the computer system configured to perform the following: (i) receive the measurement information from the measuring device, obtain measurements for an item to be packaged, and communicate those measurements to the material processing equipment to initiate creation of a box template based on the measurement information; and (ii) receive the measurement information from the measuring device for a physical item and update an existing entry in an item database for the physical item, wherein updating the existing entry in the item database comprises updating dimensional information previously stored in the item database for the physical item. material processing equipment configured to create box templates; and a cable-based measuring system, comprising: a cable, the cable comprising an inner cable member positioned within an outer cable housing, the inner cable member configured to move linearly within the outer cable housing; a measuring device, the measuring device configured to generate measurement information regarding movement of the inner cable member relative to the outer cable housing; and a computer system, the computer system configured to perform the following: (i) receive the measurement information from the measuring device, obtain measurements for an item to be packaged, and communicate those measurements to the material processing equipment to initiate creation of a box template based on the measurement information; and (ii) receive the measurement information from the measuring device for a physical item and update an existing entry in an item database for the physical item, wherein updating the existing entry in the item database comprises updating dimensional information previously stored in the item database for the physical item. a cable, the cable comprising an inner cable member positioned within an outer cable housing, the inner cable member configured to move linearly within the outer cable housing; a measuring device, the measuring device configured to generate measurement information regarding movement of the inner cable member relative to the outer cable housing; and a computer system, the computer system configured to perform the following: (i) receive the measurement information from the measuring device, obtain measurements for an item to be packaged, and communicate those measurements to the material processing equipment to initiate creation of a box template based on the measurement information; and (ii) receive the measurement information from the measuring device for a physical item and update an existing entry in an item database for the physical item, wherein updating the existing entry in the item database comprises updating dimensional information previously stored in the item database for the physical item. (i) receive the measurement information from the measuring device, obtain measurements for an item to be packaged, and communicate those measurements to the material processing equipment to initiate creation of a box template based on the measurement information; and (ii) receive the measurement information from the measuring device for a physical item and update an existing entry in an item database for the physical item, wherein updating the existing entry in the item database comprises updating dimensional information previously stored in the item database for the physical item.