Kraft Paper / Kraft Paperboard
Natural brown kraft paperboard is an unbleached board made without the bleaching step, so it keeps the color of the wood fiber. It suits cartons, bags, and tags that should look simple and natural, with spot colors, white ink, and hot foil doing the printing work. • Kraft paper for bags and wraps about 120 gsm; kraft paperboard for cartons from about 250 gsm to 400 gsm and above • Prints with spot colors, white ink, and UV ink, and takes hot foil, embossing, matte lamination, and die-cutting • Common on food, tea, and coffee cartons, gift and mailer boxes, paper bags, candle packs, notebook covers, and hang tags
What is kraft paperboard, and does natural brown kraft suit your packaging?
Kraft paperboard is a brown board made by the kraft pulping process without the bleaching step, which is why it keeps the natural color of wood fiber. It is chosen when a carton, bag, or tag should look simple, natural, and handmade rather than glossy and white. Printing on it works differently from printing on white board: the brown base is part of the design, and spot colors, white ink, and hot foil do most of the work.
Brown is the standard shade, and white-top kraft exists for jobs that need a lighter ground.
What gsm does kraft paper and paperboard come in?
Form | Typical weight | Common use |
|---|---|---|
Kraft paper | Up to about 120 gsm | Bags, wraps, labels |
Kraft paperboard | About 250–400 gsm and above; 250–350 gsm for many retail and gift cartons | Folding cartons, sleeves, hang tags |
Kraft liner | Commonly 125–280 gsm; 175–250 gsm typical for mailer and gift boxes, heavier grades available | Top layer of corrugated board |
Unbleached fibers stay long and strong, so kraft holds up well to handling and transit for its weight. That is one reason it is long established for paper bags and mailer cartons. The surface is uncoated and absorbent, which shapes how it prints. As with any board, quote gsm and caliper together, since mills differ.
How is natural brown kraft printed?
Ink sits on a brown, absorbent surface, so the artwork is planned for it from the start:
Pick the art approach: spot colors, white-only graphics, or fuller color over a white underbase.
Choose the ink route: offset spot colors, UV ink, or screen-printed white, depending on how solid the white needs to be.
Run a printed proof on the actual kraft grade, since the same artwork reads differently on each brown shade.
Print, with white laid down first wherever color should sit closer to its screen values. The underbase adds a pass, so it goes where it earns its place.
Add finishes: hot foil, embossing, or debossing, and matte lamination, or none at all.
Die-cut, crease, then fold and glue or form the carton, bag, or tag.
Foil in silver or black stands out well against brown. A single-color logo in white or black is the simplest route, and often the one that looks most settled on kraft.
Which products and industries use kraft paperboard?
Food and beverage packaging is the largest group: tea, coffee, chocolate, baked goods, and dry goods in kraft outer cartons, where the natural surface suggests a simple, honest product. The coating or inner wrap is confirmed against the food itself.
Personal care and wellness packaging follows, including soap, bath products, supplements, and herbal products. Candles and home fragrance pair well with kraft for a handcrafted look. Gift and retail packaging uses kraft folding cartons, mailer boxes, paper bags, and handle bags, often for lifestyle brands, subscription boxes, and e-commerce.
Stationery and apparel use it for notebook covers, envelopes, and garment hang tags. Kraft liner forms the top layer of corrugated boxes across all of these. And more besides, wherever packaging should read as deliberately plain and natural.
How does kraft compare with SBS, CCNB, and white-top kraft?
Alternative | What it offers | When kraft is the pick |
|---|---|---|
SBS | White, coated surface; the usual choice for photography and exact brand colors | A natural brand direction, with foil, white ink, and spot color designs |
CCNB | White coated face and grey back, built for standard CMYK printing | Brown throughout, so face, reverse, and cut edges all match; suits packs that stay natural inside and out |
White-top kraft | Kraft fiber under a lighter surface, so colors print with less base influence | When the brown is the point |
Which finishes work on kraft?
Finish | How it works on kraft |
|---|---|
Hot foil | The standard way to add shine; widely used on premium food and gift packs |
Embossing and debossing | Adds texture without ink and suits the tactile character of kraft |
Spot colors and white ink | Print well on the uncoated surface |
Matte lamination, or uncoated | Keeps the natural feel; gloss film is used less often because it changes that feel |
Die-cutting and creasing | Work as on other boards; tuck-end, crash-lock bottom, and mailer boxes all run on kraft |
What does natural kraft add to a brand or product?
It tells the customer something before they read a word: the pack is simple, natural, and made with care. Kraft with a foil logo reads as crafted rather than plain, and that contrast is why the combination keeps appearing on tea, candles, and artisan gifts.
Cost can work in its favor too. The base already carries the look, so a one- or two-color design on kraft can be economical, with colors and finishes placed only where they count.
What does JYLUXE print on kraft paper and paperboard?
JYLUXE is a packaging and commercial printing factory in Shenzhen, China. Kraft is one of the stocks used for folding cartons, gift boxes, mailer boxes, paper bags, handle bags, and garment hang tags, as well as corrugated boxes with a kraft top liner. An 8-color Heidelberg press with a UV unit handles UV ink, reverse UV, and metallic board, while hot foil, embossing, die-cutting, and folder-gluing machines complete the job.
Consultants help with the choices that matter most on kraft: brown or white-top stock, gsm, and where white ink or foil should go. They give structure and file adjustment suggestions, arrange a proof on the chosen stock, and follow the job through production and quality control. Custom orders stay flexible, from smaller to larger quantities.
How do you choose a factory for kraft packaging?
Ask which kraft grade will be used, brown or white-top, and at what gsm. Ask how white ink will be handled and whether foil can be proofed on that exact stock. Look for consistent color across the run, since brown shades vary from sheet to sheet more visibly than white does.
On credentials, JYLUXE was founded in 2005, works from a printing production facility of over 6,000 square meters with more than 30 pieces of printing equipment, including several Heidelberg presses, and is ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified. It is one of the leading custom packaging printing factories in China.
Is kraft paperboard right for your project?
Kraft fits when a natural look is part of the brief, the design can lean on spot colors, white ink, or foil, and the product falls in food, wellness, candles, gifts, e-commerce, or stationery. Go with SBS if photography and exact brand colors lead, and with white-top kraft if you want kraft fiber on a lighter ground.
Send the product, the kraft look you have in mind (a reference photo works), and whether the pack carries a foil logo or a fuller print, and JYLUXE will come back with stock and finish options. Get a custom quote, or contact JYLUXE for a solution.