Cardboard is the most popular packaging material today. It stands out for its low cost, light weight, good strength and suitability for structural design. Thanks to this, cardboard containers are used to pack both inexpensive items and premium goods.
Cardboard products are generally made from coarse-fibre raw materials. These can be recovered paper, brown groundwood pulp, semi-chemical pulp or sulphate pulp.
Most often, cardboard is a multi-layer material consisting of two or more layers. As a rule, the inner layers of multi-layer board are made of inexpensive materials (recovered paper, waste, mechanical pulp), while the outer layers are made of more expensive and stronger ones (bleached and unbleached pulp, groundwood).
Cardboard: Types by Application and Composition
Depending on where cardboard is used, the following types are distinguished:
- Packaging board: used to make not only various types of packaging but also covers, postcards, folders and other products. This type of board is valued for its affordable price and good consumer qualities combined with printability.
- Designer board: this high-quality material can be white or coloured, coated or uncoated, smooth or textured. A characteristic feature of this type of board is its highest price.
- Corrugated board: used to make various types of containers.
- Special boards: this group includes various types of board: core board, bookbinding board, card stock and other special-purpose boards.
Types of Cardboard by Composition:
- Pulp board. Made from mechanical and high-quality chemical pulp. It has good strength and rigidity, so it is used for packaging medicines, cosmetics and food. It is relatively expensive.
- Kraft board. A pure-pulp type of board with a cream-coloured reverse side. Thanks to its high rigidity and barrier properties, it is used to produce extra-strong containers for oversized electrical equipment, premium spirits and various fragile items.
- Recycled board. Made from various types of recovered paper, which gives it a low cost. Its strength characteristics are not the best, so recycled board is used for packing inexpensive goods such as tobacco products, washing powders and others.
- Corrugated board. This resilient and strong material is used for packing ceramic and glass products, crystal items and other fragile goods.
- Chromo-ersatz board. Its distinctive feature is a groundwood middle layer. It is used as packaging for medical and electronic equipment, household appliances and other parts.
Cardboard: Types and Properties of the Packaging Material
The properties of cardboard include rigidity, barrier properties, strength and structural stiffness.
The main property of cardboard is its rigidity, which shows itself in resistance to various deformations. Different types of board have different rigidity properties. The rigidity and barrier properties of cardboard can be increased by impregnating it with special compounds, such as paraffin or polymer emulsion, or by using combined materials with aluminium foil or metallised film.
Read also:
- Types of Cargo Packaging
- Types of Cargo Packaging for International Shipping
- Cardboard or Plastic: Which Packaging Is Better?
Related products: cardboard boxes.
