Why the board comes first
A gift box brief usually starts with the look: a printed lid, a window, a magnetic flap. The board underneath decides whether that look is possible. It sets how sharp the print is, whether the box folds cleanly at the crease, how much weight it carries in a stack, whether it can touch food and how it travels in a humid container. Choosing the board early saves a round of samples. Most paper boxes in this range come from the printing and packaging cluster around Longgang near Wenzhou, which local press reporting in 2024 put at about 20 billion yuan of printing and packaging output, more than 60 percent of the city's GDP.
The three families
White card and SBS
White card, close to what many buyers call SBS (solid bleached board), is a bright white board with a smooth printing surface. It takes fine print, full-color images and spot finishes well, and it is the usual choice for retail folding cartons, cosmetic boxes and printed bakery boxes. A variant with an aluminum film lining is used for click-lock takeout boxes where a barrier and a bright inside are wanted.
Kraft
Kraft board is brown, strong for its weight and reads as natural. It prints well in one or two colors and less well in full-color photography, because the brown base shifts the colors. Partner plant literature lists more than one kraft grade for click-lock boxes, with differences in shade and stiffness, which is why the desk always quotes against a named grade on the sample.
Greyboard
Greyboard is a thick, dense recycled board that is not printed directly. It is the core of rigid gift boxes: the greyboard is cut and assembled into a tray and lid, then wrapped in printed paper or specialty paper. It gives the heavy, premium feel of a rigid box, but it ships assembled rather than flat, which changes freight.
Grades side by side
| Point | White card or SBS | Kraft | Greyboard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Look | Bright white, smooth | Brown, natural | Grey core, wrapped |
| Full color, fine detail | One or two colors work best | Printed on the wrap paper | |
| Box style | Folding carton, bakery box, click-lock | Bakery box, click-lock, pizza | Rigid gift box |
| Ships | Flat | Flat | Assembled or nested |
| Food contact | Possible with declaration | Possible with declaration | Not for direct contact; use a liner |
Reference boxes from a paper packaging partner
A paper packaging partner supplies kraft and white card bakery boxes with a clear lid. The large rectangular size measures 190x85 mm and 35 mm high, the medium 160x85x35 mm and the small 135x73x35 mm; square sizes run 137x127, 117x101 and 107x92 mm. Click-lock takeout boxes run from 350 to 2,880 ml in kraft, white card and white card with an aluminum film lining, some with two compartments. Pizza boxes run from 6 to 12 inches, about 20x20x4.5 cm to 32x32x4.5 cm. The folding gift boxes page holds the cut sheet.
Finishes and what they change
The finish on top of the board can matter as much as the board itself. Film lamination, gloss or matte, protects the print and adds stiffness, but it also changes how the box is described: a laminated kraft box is no longer a plain paper surface, and that affects recyclability wording and, where the film is plastic, the food contact file. Varnish is lighter and keeps the paper feel. Hot foil and embossing add a premium look on white card and greyboard wraps and are less effective on rough kraft. Aluminum film lining on white card gives a barrier for takeout and a bright inside. Each finish adds a production step and should be on the dieline and the quote, so that two suppliers are compared on the same build. The printing and labeling page covers print routes.
Windows and lids
Clear windows and lids on paper boxes can be PET or PVC, because they are not heated and do not hold hot food. Where a bakery item touches the window directly, the desk recommends PET and asks for the food contact declaration on that part. A window also weakens the panel it sits in, so window size and position belong on the dieline before print. See where PVC belongs in packaging.
Food contact and PFAS
When a paper box holds food directly, as bakery boxes, click-lock boxes and pizza boxes do, the board and its coatings are food contact materials. For China, GB 4806.8 covers paper and board. For the United States, plant fiber and paper packaging falls under state PFAS rules: California AB 1200 has banned intentionally added PFAS in plant fiber food packaging since 1 January 2023, and at least 13 states restrict PFAS in food packaging in some form. Grease-resistant board is where the PFAS question appears, so ask for a written statement and a total organic fluorine result on the finished board. For the European Union, Regulation 1935/2004 is the framework; agree the test reports with your test lab. Documents are issued to the partner plant or your brand per project and verified by the desk.
Checks on paper boxes
- Board grade against the approved sample, including kraft shade.
- Burst strength and edge crush, agreed per order.
- Print adhesion and rub resistance, especially on kraft and on film-laminated boards.
- Crease and fold: no cracking at the fold line on dark prints.
- Carton stacking for shipping, and moisture in transit.
Test counts and pass rules are stated working defaults, confirmed per order.
Choosing the board
- Decide whether the box touches food. If yes, white card or kraft with a declaration, or a liner.
- Decide the print. Full-color photography points to white card; a one-color logo suits kraft.
- Decide the feel. A rigid premium box points to greyboard with a wrap.
- Check the market: PFAS rules for the US, the framework rules for the EU.
- Fix the grade, the window material and the finish on the dieline before printing.
Printed paper boxes typically start at 5,000-10,000 per design, confirmed in writing per program; see MOQ and lead time. For seasonal programs, plan the print slot early with seasonal gift box planning, and send the dieline or the box sizes through the quote form.