Choosing Paperboard and Packaging Materials for Your Product

How do I choose paperboard for custom packaging?

Choose the construction and required surfaces first, shortlist specific board grades, then compare thickness, directional stiffness, printing/converting requirements and sample performance. For a printed folding carton, SBS/SBB and the appropriate FBB grades can both be candidates; a recycled-content brief may also bring a specified WLC grade into the comparison. The family name or GSM alone does not select the grade or prove product protection.

Before comparing quotations, describe what the package must do: hold the product securely, present it on a shelf, withstand delivery, or combine these jobs. Then specify the board, surface treatment and construction together. This guide explains the main options and the information buyers should confirm before approving a material.

Choose the construction first

A folding carton, corrugated mailer and wrapped rigid box need different specifications. If the format is still undecided, start with our guide to rigid boxes versus folding cartons.

Folding cartons use board that is cut, creased, folded and glued. Corrugated board combines flat liners with fluted paper; single-, double- and triple-wall constructions are available. For a corrugated quotation, identify the flute and liner construction alongside the required finished-pack performance. A flute letter alone leaves the paper combination unspecified. FEFCO explains corrugated construction.

For a wrapped rigid box, separate the structural board from the decorative covering in your brief. Solid board suppliers such as Eska publish caliper, grammage and stiffness as distinct properties. Specify the core thickness, wrap paper and assembled dimensions separately, then check lid fit, corner appearance and product retention on a physical sample. See the Eska solid board specifications.

Ask how the finished boxes will be delivered and packed. Compare freight and storage requirements alongside the unit quotation.

Understand the main paperboard families

Pro Carton's grade overview describes the layered construction of the main cartonboard families. Use those families to create a shortlist, then confirm the exact grade and intended use.

SBS or SBB

Solid bleached sulfate, also described as solid bleached board, uses bleached chemical pulp. It commonly offers a white coated printing surface. Consider it when the brief puts particular emphasis on printed appearance or detailed converting work.

FBB

Folding boxboard typically has mechanical-pulp middle layers between chemical-pulp outer layers. Its construction provides bulk; the reverse appearance varies by grade. Confirm the exact product rather than assuming every FBB has a white back.

Recycled board

White-lined chipboard, or WLC, incorporates recovered-fiber layers and typically has a coated face. Recycled content, reverse color and surface specification vary. Ask for the declared fiber content and exact grade instead of treating “recycled board” as one interchangeable material.

Kraft options

Clarify whether the supplier proposes an uncoated brown board, a white-faced kraft-back board or a corrugated liner. Stora Enso's kraft-board range illustrates both white-faced and all-brown constructions. Request printed samples on the proposed stock before approving brand colors. A brown appearance alone establishes neither recycled content nor environmental performance.

SBS vs FBB vs recycled board: what should change my shortlist?

Specify GSM, caliper and stiffness separately

GSM describes mass per square meter. Caliper describes thickness. Bending stiffness describes resistance to bending. These are separate measurements in Holmen's technical information. Fiber composition and layered structure also influence stiffness and bulk, as described in Holmen's paperboard performance guidance. When comparing grades, do not assume that equal GSM establishes equal thickness or stiffness.

Request the technical data sheet with nominal values, tolerances and measurement methods. Where stiffness matters, ask for both machine-direction and cross-direction values and compare results obtained using the same method. Mill specifications can list different bending measurements and directions separately; see this Metsä Board technical specification as an example.

Use these figures to compare candidates, then test the actual structure. A heavier sheet should not become the automatic answer to a fit, folding or protection problem.

Example: two suppliers quote 350 GSM. How do I compare their specifications?

All entries below are hypothetical quotations for teaching the comparison, not mill data, recommended specifications or PACKRIVA client results. A buyer needs a printed folding carton with foil for a glass bottle. Both offers state 350 GSM, but the available information differs.

Offer B is incomplete, not automatically a worse material. Ask for its missing grade, measurement basis and surface/finish evidence before comparison. Do not select B merely because the quoted sheet is thicker, or A merely because its paperwork is more detailed. If both meet the agreed fit, appearance, converting and distribution requirements, compare the complete price and supply scope on that common basis.

The real Metsä Board product sheet illustrates why method matters: it lists MD/CD values for Taber 15° and DIN 5° separately. That source is an example of a data-sheet structure, not the source of the hypothetical values above. Obtain the current sheet for the exact grade proposed for your order.

What should a material comparison sample actually prove?

For the hypothetical foil carton, compare the proposed stocks in the intended construction: load the product/insert, check closure and removal, review creases after finishing, and assess the agreed appearance, scuffing and foil detail. Record the stock and artwork/dieline versions. If the material is substituted after approval, reassess the affected structural, printing and converting scope; the earlier sample does not silently approve the new stock.

Review finishes and converting together

Choose the surface before finalizing artwork. Our packaging artwork guide covers related file preparation. Varnishing, film lamination, foil stamping and embossing require decisions about both appearance and production. Holmen's Graphics Handbook treats finishing and converting performance as connected parts of paperboard selection.

Ask for a sample with the proposed printing and finish combination. Inspect color, rubbing or scuffing, foil detail, embossing definition and glue areas. Agree on observable acceptance criteria instead of relying on terms such as “luxury finish”.

Creasing deserves attention during sampling. Holmen's paperboard handling guidance notes that excessively dry board can become brittle and difficult to crease satisfactorily. Check folds after the intended finish has been applied, especially where artwork crosses a crease. If the material changes, ask the converter whether tooling or production settings need adjustment.

Make environmental claims specific

Assess the complete package, including coatings, laminates, adhesives, windows and inserts. Cepi's recyclability guidance notes that treatments and material combinations can complicate paper recycling, and that collection systems and assessment protocols differ between markets. Check the intended destination and obtain appropriate evidence before approving a recyclability statement.

Keep recycled-content evidence, fiber-sourcing documentation and recyclability evidence separate in your purchasing records. Avoid broad claims such as “eco-friendly” without a clearly defined, supportable meaning. For US-facing claims, consult the FTC's environmental marketing guidance.

Your material specification checklist

Include these points in the inquiry and approved specification. Use our packaging RFQ guide to organize the wider supplier brief:

• Product dimensions, weight, fragility and contact requirements.
• Box style, internal dimensions, insert design and closure.
• Material producer and grade, with proposed substitutions identified.
• GSM, caliper, relevant strength or stiffness values, methods and tolerances.
• Coated sides, reverse color, surface texture and grain direction.
• Printing process, color references, finishes and glue areas.
• Storage, humidity exposure, transit route and handling conditions.
• Required compliance documents and evidence for environmental claims.
• Sample approval criteria and agreed finished-pack testing.
• Order quantities, delivery format and destination.

Keep the approved material and sample reference with the purchase specification. Require proposed changes to be reviewed before production rather than accepting an undocumented “equivalent”.

For packaging sourcing, compare proposed materials on a documented, like-for-like basis. Ask a custom packaging supplier in China to identify the board producer and grade, provide relevant technical data, and explain how material substitutions will be reviewed against the approved specification and sample.

A useful sourcing inquiry separates required performance from an open material choice: “Printed folding carton for the identified bottle and insert; visible reverse appearance and foil treatment as referenced; please propose a grade and provide its technical data, sample route and substitution approval process.” Add confirmed dimensions, quantity per version and destination to that brief. The sample approval guide explains how the selected material becomes part of a controlled approval record.

Discuss your material brief with PACKRIVA

PACKRIVA is a China-based packaging development and sourcing coordination partner. Share your product details, target appearance, order quantities and delivery market to discuss a material brief and the sample checks needed before production. If you already have a reference box, include photographs and any available specifications to make the comparison more useful.