Substrate guides, carton styles, finishing options, file specs, certifications, and answers to the questions we hear most — all in one place.
The substrate you choose affects print quality, structural performance, retail presentation, and cost. Here's how the three most common folding carton boards compare — and where each one excels. These three are the workhorses, not the whole menu: we also run other substrates including poly-coated, kraft, chip, plus micro-flute corrugated, when the application calls for them.
The premium choice for retail packaging. SBS is made from virgin bleached wood pulp, giving it a bright white surface that delivers exceptional print quality and vivid color reproduction. It's the go-to for brands where shelf presence matters most.
A cost-effective and sustainable option made from recycled fiber with a coated surface for good print quality. CRB is widely used for dry grocery, cereal, and general consumer goods where budget efficiency and recyclability are priorities.
The strongest of the three, CUK is made from unbleached kraft pulp and is particularly well-suited for frozen food and applications that require structural rigidity through temperature extremes, moisture exposure, and rough distribution.
The right carton structure depends on your product, your filling line, and your retail environment. Here are the most common styles Graph-Pak produces — along with where each one performs best.
Top and bottom tuck flaps fold in the same direction. Simple, fast to erect, and well-suited for lightweight products. Common in supplements, nutraceuticals, and retail consumer goods.
Top and bottom tuck flaps fold in opposite directions. Provides a more secure closure and is widely used across food, beverage, and consumer packaged goods categories.
Top and bottom ends are glued shut with flat sealed panels rather than tuck-in flaps. Provides a very secure, tamper-evident closure. Common in food, health and wellness, and any application requiring a strong, clean end panel.
All four bottom corners fold inward and are glued, creating an exceptionally strong and rigid base. Ideal for heavy products, retail display boxes, and any application where bottom integrity under load is critical. Ships flat and glued from our line, then squares open at the point of use.
An extension of the 4-corner infold with two additional center panels that fold in, creating six glue points and an even stronger, more rigid base. Used for larger or heavier products where maximum bottom strength and stability are required.
A lightweight printed paperboard top sheet laminated to a single-face corrugated sheet, forming a rigid, retail-ready structure built for club store environments. The printed top sheet carries the brand graphics while the corrugated backing provides the strength needed to handle bulk quantities and pallet display. Designed for high visibility at shelf and durability through the supply chain.
The bottom is glued in advance and locks itself the moment the carton squares up — no flaps to fold, nothing to assemble. The go-to style where product is packed and filled by hand: the packer pops the carton open and the bottom is already done. Strong enough for heavier products, too.
Four flaps fold in sequence and snap locked — the fold pattern is why the trade also calls this a 1-2-3 bottom. With no bottom glue pass it costs less to produce than an auto-bottom; the trade is a few extra seconds of assembly per carton.
Unique closures, unusual footprints, multi-panel structures, or retail-ready configurations. If you can design it, we can engineer and produce it. Talk to our structural design team.
The right carton structure depends as much on your product category as it does on your filling line. Here's how common folding carton styles are applied across the categories we serve most.
Finishing isn't just cosmetic — the right coating protects your carton, enhances durability, and influences how a customer perceives your brand the moment they pick it up.
A water-based coating applied inline that gives the printed surface a bright, reflective sheen. Protects against scuffing and fingerprints while enhancing color vibrancy. The most common choice for food and consumer goods packaging.
A flat, non-reflective finish that gives packaging a sophisticated, premium appearance. Increasingly popular for health and wellness, specialty food, and brands positioning toward a natural or organic aesthetic.
A velvety matte coating that creates a distinctive tactile experience — smooth, almost rubberized feel that signals quality the moment a consumer picks up the package. Often combined with UV spot coating for maximum contrast.
A high-gloss ultraviolet-cured coating applied to specific areas of the design to create contrast, highlight logos, or draw attention to key elements. Produces a dramatic tactile and visual effect that commands attention at retail. Depending on the effect, it runs inline on press or as its own finishing operation.
Raises (emboss) or recesses (deboss) a design element into the board itself, creating a three-dimensional tactile effect. Frequently used on logos, brand marks, and decorative elements to communicate quality and craftsmanship.
Metallic foil applied under heat and pressure to create brilliant gold, silver, or custom color metallic accents. A proven technique for conveying premium quality and brand prestige — particularly effective on dark backgrounds.
Graph-Pak's window patching machine applies clear plastic windows in a wide range of sizes — from small product-view cutouts to large display panels. The film material you choose affects clarity, food contact suitability, recyclability, and cost. Here's how the two most common options compare.
The most widely used window film in folding carton applications. Polypropylene offers excellent clarity, strong moisture resistance, and broad compatibility with food packaging requirements. It's cost-efficient, widely available, and the default choice for most retail windowed cartons.
Acetate produces exceptional optical clarity — often described as glass-like — and is preferred for premium applications where product presentation is paramount. It has a higher cost than polypropylene and is more sensitive to moisture, but delivers a visual quality that's difficult to match for high-end retail packaging.
Our window patching machine handles a wide range of window sizes — from small product-view cutouts to large display panels spanning most of the carton face. Consult our structural design team for size constraints based on your specific carton configuration.
Both PP and acetate are available in food-contact approved grades. If your product will be in direct or indirect contact with the window film, specify food-contact grade material when requesting your quote. Our team will confirm compliance with your application requirements.
Polypropylene film is generally considered more recyclable than acetate in most municipal streams — though whether a finished windowed carton is accepted for recycling depends on the construction and the local program. If your brand has recyclability or sustainability commitments that affect packaging specifications, discuss film selection with our team early in the structural design process.
Artwork set up correctly from the start saves time, avoids reprints, and gets your job to press faster. Follow these guidelines when preparing files for submission to Graph-Pak's prepress team.
If you don't see your question here, call us at (847) 451-7400 — we're happy to talk through your specific situation.
No minimums on the first conversation. Tell us about your project and we'll get back to you within one business day.