Paperboard

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It has been suggested that Card stock be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

Paperboard is a paper-like material, usually over ten mils (0.010 inch, or 0.25 mm) in thickness. Some types of paperboard (corrugating medium and linerboard) are used in the construction of Corrugated fiberboard. Other types of paperboard are used for folding cartons, set-up boxes, carded packaging, etc.

(Cardboard is a generic, non-specific, lay term used to refer to any heavy paper-pulp based board, such as card stock.)

Thickness, bulk and caliper are significant aspects to paperboard manufacture, as the end product must be able to withstand the bending forces of packaging, load carrying, shipping etc., while still maintaining their shape. Consequently, these paperboard products are sometimes composed of two or more plies to provide the required stiffness.

Within the industry, paperboard is referred to by weight (grams per square meter, pounds per 1000 square feet) or by thickness (mm or thousandths of an inch, or 'points' - i.e. 0.009" thick paperboard is also known as 9-point) or by name: foodboard, chipboard, solid bleached sulphate, clay coated, corrugating medium, boxboard etc.

Will Keith Kellogg first used paperboard folding cartons to hold flaked corn cereal, and later when he began marketing it to the general public, a heat-sealed waxed bag of Waxtite was wrapped around the outside of the box and printed with their brand name. This marked the origin of the cereal box, though in modern times the sealed bag is plastic and is kept inside the box rather than outside.

Today paperboard packaging in general, and especially products from certified sustainable sources, are receiving new attention, as manufacturers dealing with environmental, health, and regulatory issues look to renewable resources to meet increasing demand. It is now mandatory in many countries for paper-based packaging to be manufactured wholly or partially composed of recycled material.