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What is “kraft paper,” and how can it help your company sell more products, save money, and create a more powerful brand image? Kraft paper is paperboard known for being very tear-resistant. It’s made from a special kind of pulp and often appears in product packages as a smooth, brown substance but can be bleached to appear white.

Sustainable packaging is big business, and companies in many industries are discovering that it pays to use high-quality sustainable paper in nearly every industry.

Kraft Paper is Everywhere

Kraft paper is everywhere in the packaging industry. Sellers and consumers have both fallen in love with it because it is sustainable, attractive, inexpensive, and extremely versatile.

Food retailers, for example, can use a number of different materials, including kraft paper, to make wrappers appear to be plastic. This technique works well in situations where consumers prefer plastic wrapping, like with candy bars and single-servings of fruit.

Every company owner should know the advantages of using kraft paper. The list below highlights some of the main reasons that this wonder-paper keeps gaining new supporters as time goes by.

The Wonders of Kraft Paper

What are the best words to describe kraft paper? Here are a few.

• Durable: In addition to being much stronger than it looks, kraft paper is highly resistant to creasing, which means it holds its shape and look until it’s i the hands of the buyer.
• Economical: Compared to dozens of other packaging choices of equal strength, kraft paper comes at a lower cost. This effect is magnified when merchants buy in bulk and use the material across several product lines.
• Lightweight: Being lightweight is one of the biggest advantages. Consumers prefer items that aren’t weighed down by their packages. Additionally, merchants know that lighter cargo can cut shipping expenses by huge margins.
• Versatile: The real beauty of the paper is that it has so many different kinds of uses. For example, companies can achieve across-the-board branding when they use kraft paper for business cards, flyers, product packaging, and mailers. This kind of all-around implementation of a single material tells customers that your organization is cost-conscious and avoids wastefulness at every turn.
• Attractive: Because kraft can be bleached or darkened to suit any taste, and because it offers a natural, sleek appearance just as it is, consumers tend to view it as an attractive covering for products of all sizes, shapes, and weights. It holds print of all colors well and looks equally classy as a small jewelry box or a bag for chips or fragile snacks.
• Sustainable: Because kraft paper is odorless and non-toxic, it has gained a large following. What many people don’t know is that it’s also a non-polluting substance that is fully recyclable.

Four Benefits of Smart Packaging

Business owners who consider using kraft paper for their packaging needs often wonder about its all-around usefulness. Does it meet the four main tests of smart packaging? The answer is yes, and if you’re wondering what the four criteria are, here is the short version:

• Usability: Smart packaging is fit for its purpose, and considered usable by customers. In other words, it’s simple to open, re-seal, fold, store, reuse, and recycle. It’s imperative for merchants to keep the usability factor in mind whenever they design a new package.
• Protection: Any package should be good at protecting the contents and keeping the consumer away from harm. That means things like snack chips and light bulbs have to be packed in a way that allows for transport and display without breakage.
• Appearance: A big part of the marketing effort is making products look good. Even top-quality, high-grade goods won’t sell if they’re packaged in dull, unattractive wrappings.
• Safety: Sellers have to make certain that potentially hazardous substances like bleach and razor blades must be packed in such a way as to prevent shoppers or buyers from becoming injured.

What’s Kraft Paper Made Of?

One of the interesting things about kraft paper is that you can’t really tell what it’s made of just by looking at it. This is especially true if it’s been bleached or colored. So, what’s in it?

It’s best to think of it as a very special kind of cardboard or high-quality paperboard. The whole journey begins with a chemical/mechanical process known in the paper business as “kraft pulping.” Chemists call the method the “sulfate process” because it uses both chemicals and mechanical techniques to turn ordinary wood into super-strong wood pulp, which consists of nothing other than strong, pure cellulose fibers. In short, it’s strong stuff.

In German, the word “kraft,” means strength, which is quite appropriate when describing the resulting wood pulp from the kraft process. There’s a specific type of kraft paper known as “sack paper,” a very porous substance the is strong enough to resist tearing. Sack paper’s elastic properties make it ideal for products that call for extra-strong holding power. If you’ve ever encountered one of those envelopes that you can’t tear in half, no matter how hard you try, it was likely made of kraft paper.

The special pulping method used to create kraft paper is what gives it its unique strength and makes it much more durable and elastic than regular paper products we use every day. Kraft is usually darker than standard pulped wood, but many producers use bleach to make it appear bright white. That way, it looks like regular paper even though it’s much stronger. Another quality of kraft paper is that once it is bleached, it does not yellow as quickly as normal paper.

How is Kraft Paper Used?

Chances are, you have used, bought, and encountered lots of kraft paper in your lifetime. Why? Because this strong version of paper appears in dozens of standard packaging processes. For example, the next time you purchase flowers and the florist wraps them up, the paper is probably kraft paper, commonly used in the floral business for its ability to resist moisture and hold up for a long time.

Have you ever used sandpaper? Then, you’ve used kraft paper. It’s the base of almost all sandpaper sold in hardware and hobby shops. And, if you buy particle board, you’ll likely notice that it’s lined with a protective sheet of paper. That lining is kraft paper. Go shopping for groceries, bags of mulch, big packages of pet food, cement powder, or envelopes. When you do, you’ll be getting kraft paper in those grocery bags, cement, pet food, mulch, and other strong bags. And all those envelopes you buy? Mostly, they’re composed of kraft paper.

It’s a simple fact of life that kraft paper is just about everywhere in the retail, wholesale, industrial, and home improvement space. You couldn’t go a day without kraft paper if you tried. However, most consumers don’t have a clue about what the stuff is, how it’s manufactured, or how widespread its use is.

For business owners, kraft paper is an ideal part of the product packaging mix, particularly when there’s a need for strength and durability to protect goods from damage and keep contents on the inside of the package, where they should be.

Let Kraft Paper Enhance Your Packaging

No matter what kind of business you run, kraft paper can be a part of your packaging equation. At Mid-Atlantic Packaging, we’ve been working with companies of all sizes and types for four decades. We know the ins and outs of using kraft paper to gain advantage in the marketplace and make products look fantastic on the shelf or in a display case.

If you have any questions about kraft paper, or any packaging topics, feel free to give us a call at our toll-free number, (800) 284-1332, and one of our experts will be happy to help you. There’s never an obligation for a phone consultation. Plus, you can peruse our website at your leisure and discover why we have built a reputation as the top source for retail and wholesale packaging supplies.