Key Takeaway
Kraft boxes pair an unbleached natural board with modern print: full-color CMYK sits readably on brown kraft, and white-ink underlays keep logos crisp. Teal Packaging is a US manufacturer producing kraft boxes in 300 to 400gsm board and corrugated grades, with FSC-certified and recyclable options by specification and soy and water based inks. Free dieline design and free US shipping come with every order, with volume pricing from about $0.44 per unit at scale. Suits coffee, soap, candle and ecommerce brands wanting a natural look.
Questions or ready for a quote? Contact Teal Packaging at info@tealpackaging.com or (224) 546-8325.
Kraft is a family of materials, not a single board. Three grades cover almost every order: solid unbleached sulfate at 14pt to 24pt, kraft back chipboard with a grey interior face, and kraft corrugated in E or B flute. Pick by two questions. Does the inside face show, and how much weight does the box carry?
The three grades side by side
| Grade | Range | Inside face | Where it belongs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solid unbleached sulfate | 14pt to 24pt | Brown, same as outside | Retail cartons where the box is opened in front of the buyer |
| Kraft back chipboard | 16pt to 24pt | Grey | Budget cartons that hold a bagged or wrapped product |
| E flute kraft corrugated | 1/16 in wall | Brown liner | Gift sets, sturdier retail boxes, light shippers |
| B flute kraft corrugated | 1/8 in wall | Brown liner | Shippers and anything that stacks on a pallet |
| Kraft paper, 60 to 120gsm | Sheet or roll | Not applicable | Wraps, bands, void fill, tissue substitute |
Board thickness is quoted in points, where a point is one thousandth of an inch, so 18pt board measures 0.018 inches. Some suppliers quote kraft in gsm instead, which measures weight rather than thickness. If you receive a gsm figure, ask for the caliper as well, since two boards at the same weight can differ in stiffness.
Sizes that already exist for common products
| Product | Inside box size | Style |
|---|---|---|
| Wedding or party favor | 2 x 2 x 2 in or 3 x 3 x 3 in | Tuck top or lid and base |
| 8 oz candle jar | 3.25 x 3.25 x 3.75 in | Tuck top with a collar insert |
| Gift box, mixed contents | 8 x 8 x 4 in | E flute lid and base |
| Popcorn, 46 oz | Tapered, roughly 5.5 in tall | Open top scoop style |
| Takeout meal | 8 x 5 x 3 in | Tuck top with vent slots |
| Cookies or pastries | 6 x 6 x 2.5 in | Tuck top with a window option |
Printing on an unbleached surface
Brown fiber absorbs ink and shifts every color toward warm. A blue prints slightly green, a red prints slightly rust, and a pale tint may vanish entirely. Designers who work with kraft regularly stop fighting this and use it. One or two strong spot colors, a heavy black, and plenty of bare board reads as intentional. Photographs on kraft need a white base layer first, which adds a press pass and a line to the quote.
- Foil stamps read strongly against brown. Matte gold, copper, and black foil all hold their edge on kraft.
- Blind emboss with no ink at all works on kraft in a way it never quite does on coated white.
- Aqueous coating protects the surface without the plastic look of gloss lamination.
Recycled content and shade drift
Kraft board that includes recycled fiber varies in shade between mill batches. The difference is small on a single order and obvious when a reorder sits next to last season's stock on the same shelf. If shade consistency matters, order the season in one run and take staged deliveries, or specify virgin unbleached board, which holds a more even tone.
Kraft is widely accepted in curbside paper recycling when it is left uncoated. Gloss lamination changes that, since the film has to be separated. Aqueous coating or a matte varnish keeps the board in one material stream and still gives a surface that resists scuffing.
Matching a kraft carton to a kraft shipper
Two kraft surfaces rarely match each other exactly. A folding carton in solid unbleached sulfate has a smoother, lighter face than the kraft liner on a corrugated shipper, and the two sitting together look like different browns. Buyers notice this most in unboxing photographs. Either lean into the contrast by printing the shipper with white ink and leaving the carton bare, or specify both from the same fiber source and accept a small variance.
Inside a shipper, kraft tissue and kraft paper void fill hold the same tone family and cost less per cubic foot than air pillows. Shredded kraft looks generous and packs quickly, though it settles in transit, so allow for it when you set the box depth.
Where kraft is the wrong choice
- Bright pastel branding. Pale colors need a bleached white surface to read the way they do on screen.
- Wet or oily contents in direct contact, unless you specify the liner you need in the quote request.
- Long term exposure to strong fragrance oils, which can darken uncoated board where they touch it.
- Fine four color photography, unless the budget covers a white underprint.
Minimums, pricing, and lead time
Kraft folding cartons and mailers begin at 50 units, and specialty rigid builds begin at 100. Kraft board itself costs less than bleached white in most calipers, so an uncoated kraft carton with one spot color is usually the cheapest branded box on the menu. Longer programs are costed from about $0.44 per unit at volume.
| Quantity | Print route | Typical decision at this level |
|---|---|---|
| 50 to 250 | Digital | One size, one artwork, prove the fit |
| 500 to 1,000 | Digital or offset | Add a second spot color or a foil die |
| 2,500 to 10,000 | Offset | Lock PMS numbers and order the season together |
Eligible in house production may complete in about 7 business days from proof approval, while specialty imported work may take about 12 weeks, both as planning ranges rather than fixed commitments. Teal is a US company producing from two facilities, West Chicago, Illinois and Guangzhou, with each job routed to the line that suits its board and date.
What to send
Give the product dimensions and weight, the grade of kraft you want, the style, the quantity, and vector artwork. Dieline drawing is included at no cost, a digital proof arrives before print, and US shipping is covered. The $19.99 sample kit is credited to your first order if you want to compare 18pt against 24pt in your own hand. See what is already tooled on the kraft box range, the favor box page, and the popcorn box page.
Ben Russell
Ben is a Senior Packaging Strategist and writer at Teal Packaging, covering packaging materials, design strategy, and practical branding insights.
