Glossary
Packaging glossary
Terms you will meet when requesting quotes, evaluating samples and talking to suppliers: a short definition, where it matters and which product it relates to.
A
- Air pillows
- Inflated plastic film cushions; paper fill is the alternative for void fill.
B
- Biodegradable
- Material that microorganisms can break down over time in natural conditions; the time and conditions must be stated.
- Box compression test (BCT)
- The force a box can carry from above without deforming; the key measure for stacking.
- Burst strength
- The resistance of paper or board to bursting and puncture under pressure.
C
- Carbon footprint
- The greenhouse gas emissions caused by a product over its life cycle; a claim requires a life cycle assessment.
- Cardboard edge protector
- An L-profile protector placed on the vertical edges of a pallet load; it carries strapping pressure and adds stacking strength.
- Chain of custody (CoC)
- FSC® Chain of Custody: the certificate showing certified material is tracked at every stage, from forest to product.
- Compostable
- Material that breaks down under specific composting conditions according to a standard; not claimed without testing.
- Corrugated cardboard
- A lightweight, shock-absorbing box material made by placing fluted paper between two flat sheets.
- Cushioning
- Creating a flexible layer around a product to protect it from impact and vibration.
D
- Double wall corrugated
- Corrugated cardboard with two fluted layers (EB, BC), for high compression strength.
- Drop test
- A test in which a packaged product is dropped from a set height onto a corner, an edge and a face to check protection.
E
- Edge crush test (ECT)
- The resistance of a corrugated board edge to vertical load; used to estimate box compression strength.
- Embossed honeycomb paper
- Wrapping paper whose cuts and embossing expand it into a bulky layer that spreads impact across the surface.
- Empty space ratio
- The share of a carton’s total volume not occupied by the product; important for shipping cost and regulation.
- EPS foam
- Expanded polystyrene; a plastic cushioning material used as moulded foam and loose-fill foam particles.
- E-commerce shipping box
- A carton packed for a single product or small order, built to withstand the courier chain and opened by the customer.
F
- Flexographic printing
- A fast printing method for paper and board using flexible printing plates; common on corrugated boxes.
- Flute type (E, B, C)
- The letter describing the height of the fluted layer in corrugated cardboard: E thin, B medium, C thick.
- Fluting
- The paper that forms the corrugated layer in the middle of corrugated cardboard.
- Food contact compliance
- A declaration that a material is suitable for direct contact with food.
- FSC®
- Forest Stewardship Council®: the international certification system for responsible forest management.
G
- Grammage (GSM)
- The weight of paper per square metre (g/m²); the first indicator of thickness and strength.
I
- ISO 10002
- The standard for customer satisfaction and complaints handling.
- ISO 14001
- The environmental management system standard: managing waste, energy and resource use at the production site.
- ISO 45001
- The occupational health and safety management system standard.
- ISO 9001
- The quality management system standard: processes run in a defined, measured and improved way.
K
- Kraftliner
- A strong paper made mainly from virgin fibre, used on the outer face of corrugated cardboard.
- Kraft paper
- Packaging paper made from long cellulose fibres with high tear resistance, recognised by its natural brown colour.
- Kraft paper tape
- Carton-sealing tape with a paper carrier; it is recycled with the carton in the paper stream.
M
- Mono-material packaging
- A package whose components are all made of the same material (for example, all paper); no separation needed.
N
- Natural rubber adhesive
- A natural-rubber-based adhesive used in tapes; common on kraft paper tape.
P
- Packaging waste
- Packaging material generated after use; the subject of separation and recovery regulations.
- Pallet stabilisation
- The set of measures that stop a palletised load from shifting or tipping during transport.
- Paper bubble wrap
- The paper alternative to plastic bubble wrap: a shock-absorbing wrap made from honeycomb-textured or embossed paper.
- Paper honeycomb panel
- A lightweight, rigid panel with a core of hexagonal paper cells, faced with two sheets of paper.
- Plastic bubble wrap
- Polyethylene wrapping material with air bubbles; the paper equivalent is honeycomb-textured paper.
- PPWR
- The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation; it aims for all packaging to be recyclable by 2030.
- Printed packaging
- Packaging material printed with a logo, message or pattern; branding on boxes and tape.
R
- Recyclable
- Material that can enter an existing recycling stream after use; for paper packaging, single material and no coatings.
- Recycled paper
- Paper remanufactured from used paper and board; the basis of any “recycled content” claim.
S
- Sample
- A sample sent so the product can be tried in real conditions before the purchase decision.
- Shipping test
- Sending a sample pack by courier and inspecting it on delivery; the most reliable validation.
- Strapping
- Securing a pallet load by tightening a strap (band) around it; used together with edge protectors.
- Stretch film
- Stretchable plastic film used to wrap pallet loads; paper alternatives exist for wrapping individual items.
T
- Tape dispenser
- A hand-held or desktop device for applying tape or paper quickly and evenly.
- Testliner
- Facing paper for corrugated cardboard made from recycled fibre.
U
- Unboxing experience
- What the customer sees, and in what order, when opening a shipping carton; part of the brand.
V
- Void fill
- Material used to fill the space between product and box so that the product cannot move.
- Void fill paper
- Kraft paper that is crumpled or shaped to fill the empty space inside a carton.
W
- Water-activated tape
- Paper tape whose adhesive is activated by wetting with water; applied with a dispenser.
- Wrapping
- The first layer, covering the product surface and protecting it against scratches, abrasion and impact.