Chipboard is solid paperboard made from recycled paper fibre. It is the grey or brown board you find inside a cereal box, behind a notepad, under a pack of shirts and at the core of a rigid gift box. Because it is a single solid layer rather than a fluted sandwich, it folds and creases cleanly, holds print reasonably, and provides structure rather than cushioning.
Reading the caliper numbers
Chipboard is specified by thickness, quoted in points. A point is one thousandth of an inch, so the conversion is arithmetic rather than a table you have to trust.
| Caliper | Inches | Millimetres, approximately |
|---|---|---|
| 14 pt | 0.014 in | 0.36 mm |
| 18 pt | 0.018 in | 0.46 mm |
| 24 pt | 0.024 in | 0.61 mm |
| 30 pt | 0.030 in | 0.76 mm |
Heavier calipers are used for rigid box cores and backing boards, lighter ones for folding cartons and inserts. Outside the US the same board is more often described by grammage in grams per square metre, so if a supplier quotes gsm and you think in points, ask for both.
Chipboard against the other boards
- Chipboard. Recycled, grey or brown through the body, economical, prints acceptably once a white liner is applied. Structure without cushioning.
- SBS. A bleached board that is white through the thickness, with the best print surface of the common grades. Chosen when the carton is the product's face. See what SBS board is.
- Kraft. Unbleached, brown, strong for its weight, used when the natural look is wanted. See kraft against white board.
- Greyboard. A dense, heavy recycled board used as the rigid core of set-up boxes and then wrapped. See what greyboard is.
- Corrugated. A fluted layer glued between liners. Cushions and stacks, but does not fold as crisply at small sizes.
Printing on chipboard
Raw chipboard is grey and absorbent, so ink on it goes dull and muddy. The usual answer is a clay coated news back or a white-lined chipboard, where a white liner is applied to the print side so colours sit up. You can also print onto a separate sheet and laminate it to the board, which is standard on rigid boxes. If you want the board to look recycled, leave it raw and print a single colour, which reads as deliberate rather than as a compromise.
Where chipboard is the right call
Choose it for folding cartons that do not need a bleached white face, for inserts and dividers, for backing boards behind blister packs, and for the core of a rigid box. Do not choose it where the pack has to cushion an impact, where it will get wet, or where you need a brilliant white background for photographic artwork. Chipboard absorbs moisture readily and loses stiffness as it does, which matters for storage as much as for use.
Ordering chipboard packaging
Minimum order is 100 boxes. Pricing starts from about $0.48 per unit at bulk volumes and is confirmed on your written quote, with the cutting die, the printing plates, design support, US shipping and a digital proof included. Three lanes are available: rush (expedited production plus air freight), standard (air) and cost saver (sea), from about 7 business days, plus 2 to 5 for delivery. We make chipboard cartons at West Chicago and at Guangzhou.
Tell us the product, the caliper you have in mind and whether the print face needs to be white, and a quote can come back with a board recommendation. If you are still choosing a construction, what a folding carton is is the place to start.
