Paperboard

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Paperboard, within the commercial papermaking industry, is simply the term used to describe a thick sheet of paper. Because of this simple definition, there is some confusion in the industry as to what qualifies as paperboard. The term is not familiar to many English speakers, who use the broader non-technical term cardboard instead. Paperboard is not usually corrugated, but the term cardboard definitely does include corrugated-sandwich forms. So, a technical person would call thick paper "paperboard" and the corrugated-sandwich composite construction "cardboard", but an ordinary speaker would refer to them both as "cardboard".

Thickness, bulk and caliper are significant aspects to paperboard manufacture, as the end product must be able to withstand the bending forces of packaging, load carrying, shipping etc., while still maintaining their shape. Consequently, these paperboard products are usually comprised of two or more plies to provide the required stiffness.

Within the industry, paperboard is referred to by weight (pounds per square foot or grams per square metre), by thickness (by thousandths of an inch, or 'points' - i.e. 0.009" thick paperboard is also known as 9-point) or by name (foodboard, corrugating medium, boxboard etc.).