SBS - Solid Bleached Sulfate : Comprised of fully bleached virgin kraft pulp (sulfate process) fiber. Excellent coated printing surface. Typically available coated one side only.
White both sides, good folding characteristics, medium strength, low density. Available in the following thicknesses: .008, .010, .012, .014, .016, .018, .020, .024.

CNK - Coated Natural Kraft : Also made of virgin kraft pulp, but unbleached. It generally has a good printing surface. but the backside of the board is a natural color. It is a stronger board than SBS that can enable a caliper reduction of 2 to 4 points. Available in the following thicknesses:  .018, .020, .024, .028.

CCNB - Clay Coated Newsback : Acceptable coated printing surface. Recycled base fiber. Coated one side only, back side grey. Moderate strength, average folding characteristics. Less expensive than SBS. Available in .016, .018, .020, .022, .024, .026, .028, & .030. Please check with us for availability. Unless we have stock on the floor this item is subject to a minimum order size. Please see NOTE below.

CCWB - Clay Coated Whiteback - Acceptable printing surface, white both sides, but the backside is not as bright as the front side. Moderate strength, average folding characteristics. Available in .016, .018, .020, .024, .026, .028, .030. Minimum order 10,000 lbs. Please see NOTE below.

FULL BENDING CHIP - Uncoated surface, moderate strength, relatively inexpensive board. Available in .016, .018, .020, .022, .024, .026, .028, .030.

CAST COATED FOLDING BOARD - King James Cast Coated folding board, excellent high gloss folding board. Outstanding Printing quality, moderate folding capabilities and moderate strength. Best when spot varnished only and not recommended for U.V. Coating. Available in .014, .016, .018, .020.

BLISTER BOARD - Special surface coating for blister packs. The surface coating is very delicate and requires special handling to prevent cracking. The surface coating provides full fiber tear even over ink when removing the blister. The mill guarantees the sheet to heat seal unprinted with acetate, butyrate, and propionate blisters when coated with a compatible heat seal lacquer. Poor folding characteristics. Not available in small quantities.

SPECIALTY BOARDS -There are various special use boards also available, though usually subject to minimum order quantities. These include Poly Board, refrigerator board, foil board, and others.

PLEASE NOTE: If you choose one of the recycled boards such as CCNB or CCWB you must lower your expectations regarding the final print quality. Recycled boards have a less consistent substrate, and therefore a less consistent coating. There will substantially more hickeys in the finished product, since the coating will pick off more than would SBS. Also, since we have to stop the press more often to remove hickeys there will be more color variation. In addition, recycled boards are never as white as SBS and the colors (being transparent) will not come out as true as they would on SBS.

TOP

VARNISH

Varnishes are essentially “clear inks” with the same viscous quality as press inks. They come in gloss or dull finish and are most adaptable to creative design effects using combination spot finishes to contrast and highlight images. Press varnishes are solvent-based and dry relatively fast by oxidation. Varnishes are applied like ink, from roller, to plate, to blanket, to sheet, in-line, on press. Varnish, the least expensive final finish, is usually designed to seal the ink, and protect the carton during the final finishing stages and on the shelf. They can be formulated as “wax-free” to accept hot foil stamping, but will have less rub resistance that standard high gloss varnishes. High gloss box varnish provides moderate rub resistance, but caution should be used in shipping heavy products in varnished cartons to prevent scuffing.

AQUEOUS COATING

Aqueous coatings are waterbased liquid coatings similar to varnishes but with harder resins. These coatings can be applied either in-line, on press, or as a separate off-line coating. Aqueous coatings provide a slightly higher gloss finish and smoother feel than gloss varnish, as well as a greater rub resistance. Aqueous dries by oxidation and with the use of heated air can dry as quickly as 10-15 seconds, which reduces the need for non-offset powders. Aqueous is typically glueable and therefore can be applied to the sheet as an overall coating, but it can also be applied as a “spot” coating with the use of a relief plate or blanket.

U.V. COATING

This is Ultra-violet cured coating. It is a liquid coating that uses U.V. lights to harden the coating as opposed to drying by oxidation. It is generally either roller applied off press, or if spot U.V. is necessary can be applied by a type of silk screen process. Other than film lamination, Gloss U.V. gives cartons their highest rub resistance and highest gloss. It is also available in matte finish. It is higher in cost than regular press varnish, and specially formulated inks must be used if the colors would normally contain Rhodamine red or Reflex blue. UV coating is used for its high gloss and excellent rub resistance. ONE NOTE OF CAUTION: While UV coating will generally enhance the look of the colors on the printed sheet, it often affects the final color, even when specially formulated inks are used. We will take every precaution to minimize this change, but not even the coater can predict the final result since the color may change up to 12 hours after the coating is applied. PMS or specially matched colors are at particular risk, and the same ink on the same board will often come out a somewhat different color on different runs. The white of a board can also turn slightly yellow after UV coating. These are changes that the existing technology cannot yet overcome, and Sierra Packaging cannot accept responsibility for UV caused color changes.

FILM LAMINATION

A full-coverage, film-to-sheet, lamination process versus the roller-applied, liquid coatings. The film, of usually .0015” thickness is pulled over the sheet, laminated, and adhered to the stock. This process gives the greatest level of gloss, moisture and scuff-resistance and actually strengthens the sheet. Available in gloss and matte finishes, it can be used on folding cartons up to .024. The matte finish is more velvety than other matte finishes and imparts a “cloudy” effect softening the printed colors. Film lamination is the most expensive of all the final coatings mentioned.

NOTE:

These are general descriptions and are not an all inclusive list of the finishes available in the folding carton industry, just those available to Sierra Packaging, Inc. The most common and most cost effective is the aqueous coating, which is applied in house. The other finishes listed are applied by an outside supplier and do increase the cost. The relative costs of the other finishes will vary according to the sheet size, length of run, and any set-ups involved. U.V. coating is generally the most versatile and used more often than the others.

TOP

Folding cartons are usually classified into four basic styles: tubes, trays, multiple packaging, and specialty packaging. Included within those categories are the following basic designs

TUBES:

• Sleeve (or open end tube)
• Reverse Tuck End (RTE)
• Straight Tuck End (STE) or Standard Straight Tuck (STT)
• Snap Lock Bottom (SLB)
• Automatic Bottom Tuck Top (ABTT) or Crash Lock Bottom
• Full Seal End
• French Tucks - This term can apply to any of the above with tuck flaps - the top tuck flap comes from the front panel and folds to the rear - the opposite of the standard configurations.

TRAYS:

• Double Sidewall/Double Endwall or Double Sidewall Rollover End (DSWROE)
• Simplex (Kwikset)
• Glued Gusset Simplex
• Foot Lock Double Wall Tray
• Arthur Lock Tray
• Walker Lock Tray
• Four Corner Beers
• Six Corner Beers
• Frameview Tray

MULTIPLE PACKAGING:

• Divider Bottom/Tuck Top
• Basket Styles
• End or Side Loaded Styles
• Glued or Locked Wraps

SPECIALTY PACKAGING:

• Folders
• Mailers
• Pillow Packs
• Counter Display Packer
• Peters Lock
• Tapered Trays

The above list is representative of many of the more common styles we see. There are many variations not listed as well as many variations to the above styles.

Dimensions for cartons in the tube and tray styles are expressed as length, width, and depth. Length and width are measured at the open or fill end of the carton. Length is the larger dimension at the open end of the carton. Width is the smaller dimension at the open end and should be given second. Depth is the distance between the open ends of a tube, or from the open end to the bottom of a tray, and should be given third.

Cartons come in many shapes, sizes and styles, therefore it is important that art and graphics are placed on the appropriate panels and dimensions are given in the proper order. On the following pages are a variety of carton styles, their panel orientation and an example of proper dimensioning. Most folding cartons will fall into one of these categories.

If you have questions about a style that is not on these pages, contact our Customer Service Department.

Click on the Icons below to View Full Size
Sleeve	RTE	STE	Snap Lock Bottom
Auto Bottom	Airplane Style STE	Full Seal End	Auto Bottom Display
SLB Taper	A/B Bag Top	A/B Hex	Straight Tuck Mailer
Pillow Pack	Double Side Roll Over	Simplex Tray	Beers Tray
Frame View	Full A/B and Quad Lock	Divider Bottom	Mailer Envelope