Patent ID: 8684896

Claim:
A method of forming a carton comprising: obtaining a blank having a plurality of panels comprising a top panel, a bottom panel, a first side panel, and a second side panel; coating at least one panel of the plurality of panels of the blank with a protective coating including a plurality of discrete protective elements selectively applied to an interior surface of the at least one panel, the interior surface of the at least one panel has a plurality of uncoated portions, wherein the plurality of uncoated portions are free from coverage by the protective elements and are interspersed with the plurality of protective elements, and wherein each of the protective elements of the plurality of discrete protective elements comprises a ring and is in contact with at least one adjacent protective element of the plurality of discrete protective elements; forming the blank into a sleeve after the coating the at least one panel; and inserting a plurality of containers into the sleeve such that external surfaces of the containers respectively contact the protective elements, and each respective container is in contact with a single protective element of the plurality of discrete protective elements and is free from contact with adjacent protective elements of the plurality of discrete protective elements.