Description of Cartonboard
Cartonboard, or cardboard as it is sometimes called, is the essential raw material for carton production. In Europe about 7 million tonnes of this material is manufactured each year and whilst there are a large number of variants, most of the cartonboard used falls into one of four distinct types. All cartonboard is manufactured from renewable resources.
All the grades manufactured are made using a multiply construction and the differences in what is used to make each layer creates the differences between the four basic grades. Some use 100% pulp as a raw material, some use 100% recovered fibre and some use a combination of both. On the following pages are illustrations of the four basic types of cartonboard along with a brief indication of what they are called, how they are made and what they are generally used for.
Virtually all the cartonboard manufactured in Europe has a coating on the top or printing surface. This is designed to enhance gloss and print quality. It is however possible to get uncoated cartonboard for specialised uses such as blister cards. Cartonboard comes in many different weights or grammages. It is generally accepted that cartonboard begins at a grammage of around 160 gm2 and it can go up to weights of over 600 gm2.
In addition to the basic grades there are many different variants that are adapted for special uses. For example, special additives can be included in the cartonboard to make it resistant to water and moisture for use in the chilled and frozen food sector. Plastic coatings can be applied, usually by extrusion coating, directly onto the cartonboard to provide a waterproof and grease proof barrier for use, for example, in pet food packaging. Cartonboard can also be laminated with either foil or metallised polyester giving a metallic finish to the material. These types of specialised boards are becoming more widespread and there are also others such a specific material for microwaves, security board and a great many others.
