cartonboards

Cartonboard, also known as folding carton board, is a type of thick paper stock used to make folding cartons and related packaging. It is typically produced in multiple plies and may be coated on one or both sides to improve surface smoothness, printability, and barrier properties. Cartonboard comes in a range of whitenesses, weights, and stiffness, allowing designers to balance print quality with structural strength. The main families include folding boxboard (FBB), which offers good printability and a smooth surface, and solid cartonboard variants such as solid bleached or solid unbleached cartonboard, used where high brightness or a natural tone is desired. Coated duplex and triplex boards pair a white top surface with recycled or core layers for cost efficiency and strength.

Cartonboard is produced from wood pulp, often with a high content of chemical pulps. The sheets are formed, pressed, and dried, and may be coated with pigments and resins to enhance brightness, barrier properties, and ink receptivity. The result is a rigid, printable sheet suitable for converting into cartons, lids, and trays. End-uses span cosmetics and pharmaceutical packaging, food packaging, and consumer electronics boxes. Properties such as opacity, brightness, stiffness, and surface finish are tailored through the choice of stock, coatings, and thickness.

Environmentally, cartonboard is commonly recyclable and is a major contributor to recycled packaging streams. The recyclability can be influenced by coatings and finishes. Many cartonboards incorporate recycled fibers and are sourced from forests with certifications such as FSC or PEFC.