Kraft board for printed packaging

Kraft comes from the German word for strength. The kraft (sulphate) pulping process keeps wood fibres long, which gives kraft board and paper good tear and fold strength. Left unbleached, the fibre stays brown, and that natural brown is the kraft look. The shade varies from light tan to deeper brown between mills and batches, and kraft with recycled content can show darker flecks.

Kraft appears in several forms. Solid kraft carton board is used for folding cartons, pillow boxes and gable boxes. Kraft liners form the outside of brown corrugated board, including most kraft mailer boxes. Kraft paper is used as a wrap on rigid greyboard boxes. White-top or coated kraft has a white printing face on a brown back, for brands that want bright print outside and a natural brown inside.

Printing on kraft works differently. Standard printing inks are translucent, so the brown shows through them: colours print darker and warmer, pale tints almost disappear, and white cannot be printed with ordinary process colours. Black, deep blues, greens and reds, and one or two Pantone colours give the cleanest results. Where white is essential, it needs a white ink underlay or a white-top board, which we confirm on your quotation.

Finishes behave differently too. Foil blocking in gold, copper or white shows strongly against brown. Spot UV soaks into uncoated kraft and gives little contrast. Lamination protects the surface from scuffs and grease but darkens the board slightly and flattens some of the raw texture, so many kraft buyers leave it off. Free Lamination is standard on every order, so the choice is yours.

Brown does not automatically mean greener. Kraft can be virgin or recycled fibre, and white board can be recycled too. If recycled content or recyclability is part of your brief, say so at specification stage so that the board, any coating and the finishes are chosen with it in mind, and so that anything printed on the box about the material is accurate.