Home » Solid Bleached Sulfate (SBS) Folding Cartons Explained: Properties and Packaging Applications
Solid Bleached Sulfate (SBS) Folding Cartons Explained: Properties and Packaging Applications

Solid Bleached Sulfate (SBS), often used under the umbrella term “paperboard,” is a common packaging material used in North America to package everyday consumer good products such as personal care, pharmaceuticals, snacks, confectionery, electronics, and other items. Typically, SBS material is used to manufacture folding cartons in addition to pads and packaging inserts.
What is Solid Bleached Sulfate?
SBS material is manufactured from hardwood and chemically pulped fibers that are bleached, refined, and formed into one or multi-ply board on fourdrinier-type paperboard machines. Once processed, the material is produced in to double sided white plain sheets.
They are coated 1 side or both sides. Coating helps to create a better surface for printing. It can be manufactured into a variety of densities to help manage material costs and strength required for product support.
Solid Bleached Sulfate Properties
SBS folding cartons have an ultra-smooth surface since the material is made with short hardwood fibers that are coated and polished, which makes a high level of quality offset lithography, flexography, and digital printing. SBS material is extremely versatile, high in quality and can be used for films, metalized foil laminations, embossing and other finishes, gluing and high-speed filling. In addition, this material can easily be manufactured in to a folding carton as it can be cleanly cut and printed with high speed.
Solid bleached sulfate is typically more costly to produce than other folding carton materials such other paperboard substrates. The durability of SBS folding cartons is adequate to hold small and lightweight items for long periods of time. However, overtime the material is susceptible to yellowing if exposed to sunlight or UV rays. Despite have good stiffness and compression capabilities, SBS folding cartons are not the most prominent in being tear resistant.

Solid Bleached Sulfate Folding Carton Applications
SBS folding cartons are highly versatile and made with quality material which makes it popular in a wide variety of packaging applications. However, due to its durability and strength limitations, SBS folding cartons are primarily used to package non-expensive, nonfragile, lightweight, and small items.
SBS folding cartons can come in many styles to help accommodate products. The most popular styles include straight tuck end (STE), reverse tuck end (RTE), auto bottom and full seal. See images below to compare the visual differences between the styles.

Straight Tuck End (STE) Folding Carton with hanging tab

Reverse Tuck End (RTE) Folding Carton with locking tab

Auto Bottom Folding Carton

Full Seal Folding Carton
Many industries such as food, electronic, medical, cosmetic use these folding cartons to display, ship and protect their products, as SBS material provides an ultra-surface and high-quality print options.
Common food packaging applications include: snacks, confectionary, cereal, bakery products and other items. For food applications, there are versions which are laminated with poly film for grease resistance.
Electronics packaging applications consist of accessories, toys, devices and more. Medical applications include medicine, devices, and other consumer goods. Beauty and personal care products supply such as eyeshadow, lipstick, lotion, face cream, serums and oils are packaged into SBS folding cartons.
Summary: Solid Bleached Sulfate Folding Cartons
Ultimately, SBS folding cartons are extremely versatile in customization and are primarily used by different industries to package a wide variety of items in highly competitive retail environment with its high visual graphics and smooth quality surface.
If you are interested in folding cartons, bringing your product to retail or improving an existing product’s packaging, then contact Brown Packaging today to get started.
Freight is one of the largest cost drivers in retail packaging programs. Point-of-purchase (POP) displays that look impressive on the floor may be inefficient to
Incorporating recycled fiber into corrugated board is essential for sustainability goals, but it directly affects the mechanical properties of packaging. Understanding how fiber composition influences
Score cracking—visible fiber breakage along a fold—can ruin a carton’s appearance, weaken its structure, and cause failures on automated lines. Understanding the causes and engineering
E-commerce packaging for pet products must endure far more stress than traditional retail packaging. Shipments face repeated drops, vibration, compression, and environmental fluctuations. Structural design,
Corrugated boxes lose a significant portion of their original compression strength during prolonged storage, especially under load. Understanding the mechanics of compression creep and the
E-commerce exposes folding cartons to more handling points, longer transit times, and harsher mechanical stresses than traditional retail distribution. Designing for these conditions requires careful
Home » Solid Bleached Sulfate (SBS) Folding Cartons Explained: Properties and Packaging Applications

Packaging is an essential aspect of the modern supply chain, serving as a protective shield for products, preserving their quality, and enhancing their marketability. Among

The packaging sector has undergone a considerable transformation in the last few decades, with flexible packaging taking a significant lead. The shift is primarily due

In the world of logistics and e-commerce, shipping is a critical aspect of business operations. Among the various packaging options, the Regular Slotted Container (RSC)