Understanding Carton Board

The material used in the manufacturing process is a huge part of the eventual success of a product.

Carton board represents a large proportion of the total materials used in our manufacturing; offering customers a better understanding of the material can de-mystify the whole process.

We explain some of the key carton board terms below:

 

Folding Box Board (FBB):

FBB is a particular grade of carton board, typically made up of layers of mechanical pulp sandwiched between outer layers of chemical pulp with up to three coating layers on the printing surface (face) and one coating layer on the reverse

 

Thickness (Microns/µm):

The thickness of the board is the distance from one surface to the other, measured in thousandths of a millimetre (µm). Most carton board used for packaging has a thickness of between 300 to 800 microns

 

Grammage:

The grammage or weight of the carton board is measured in grams per square metre (g/m²)

Paper with a weight greater than 150-160 g/m² is typically referred to as carton board as it is usually stiff enough to function as packaging

Most carton board packaging has a grammage of between 160 and 600 g/m²

 

Machine/Grain Direction:

During the board manufacturing process the pulp fibres are aligned parallel to the direction in which the carton board web is moving - this means that the carton board is always stiffer and stronger in that direction

A crease across the machine direction is better than a crease parallel to the machine direction

Machine/Grain direction can be important during our manufacturing in cases where a curved surface (e.g. a lid) is required and the material cannot crease/crack along this curve