ForMatter/Materials/paper/Kraft Paperboard
mat_paperboard_kraft

Kraft Paperboard

wood-fiber paperboard, sulfate process · kraft board, SBS (solid bleached sulfate), corrugated linerboard, natural kraft
highlast updated 2026-04-26
metallic 0.00
hue shift +0°

The brown cardboard of shipping boxes, the white-faced board of cereal cartons. Made by cooking wood chips in alkaline sulfate (kraft = strength in German). Strong, foldable, printable, the most-recycled material by tonnage in the household waste stream.

Kraft pulp from softwood (long fiber, strength) or hardwood (short fiber, smoothness). Common product weights 200–600 g/m² for boards. Layered constructions: linerboard (faces) plus corrugating medium (flutes) for shipping cartons; SBS (solid bleached sulfate) for printed retail packaging. Coated grades (C1S, C2S) take litho printing.

mechanical

  • density_kg_m3800
  • tensile_strength_md_kn_m8
  • bursting_strength_kpa700
source: TAPPI standards; manufacturer datasheets (Stora Enso, WestRock)

Sustainability

  • embodied carbon kg co2e per kg1.1
  • sourceEditorial estimate from ICE / Granta CES EduPack class databases — industry mean, with cradle-to-gate boundary unless otherwise noted. Embodied carbon for any specific product depends on supplier mix, recycled content, and energy grid; verify against a primary source before using these numbers in a sustainability claim.
  • embodied carbon recycled kg co2e per kg0.65
  • recyclabilityvery high — most-recovered packaging material (>70% in OECD); fiber survives 5–7 cycles before length degrades
  • biodegradableTrue
  • certificationsFSC, PEFC, SFI
  • localityglobally produced; major mills in Nordics, Brazil, US Southeast, China
visual
natural brown to bleached white, faint visible fibers, takes ink crisply when coated
tactile
fibrous edge unless die-cut, slightly absorbent unless calendered
weight perception
very light
acoustic
soft rustle, no resonance

PBR starter values

Principled BSDF defaults derived from the sphere fibrous finish. Reasonable seed for Blender, Substance, Keyshot, Rhino — tune per material.

# finish:      fibrous
albedo        #b89868
metallic      0.00
roughness     0.70
ior           1.45
transmission  0.00
clearcoat     0.00
sheen         0.70
anisotropic   0.50
copy as JSON 
{
  "albedo": "#b89868",
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.7,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "transmission": 0.0,
  "clearcoat": 0.0,
  "sheen": 0.7,
  "anisotropic": 0.5
}
Blender 4.x Python 
# Blender 4.x — Principled BSDF
# Kraft Paperboard · finish: fibrous
import bpy
mat = bpy.data.materials.new(name="mat_paperboard_kraft")
mat.use_nodes = True
bsdf = mat.node_tree.nodes["Principled BSDF"]
bsdf.inputs["Base Color"].default_value         = (0.4793, 0.314, 0.1384, 1.0)
bsdf.inputs["Metallic"].default_value           = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Roughness"].default_value          = 0.700
bsdf.inputs["IOR"].default_value                = 1.450
bsdf.inputs["Transmission Weight"].default_value = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Coat Weight"].default_value        = 0.000
bsdf.inputs["Sheen Weight"].default_value       = 0.700
bsdf.inputs["Anisotropic"].default_value        = 0.500
KeyShot Python (lux) 
# KeyShot 11+ — lux Python API, Generic material
# Kraft Paperboard · finish: fibrous
# Run from Window → Scripting Console
import lux
mat = lux.createMaterial(name="mat_paperboard_kraft", materialType="Generic")
mat.setProperty("diffuse",      (184, 152, 104))   # 8-bit sRGB
mat.setProperty("metallic",     0.000)
mat.setProperty("roughness",    0.700)
mat.setProperty("indexOfRefraction", 1.450)
mat.setProperty("transparency", 0.000)
mat.setProperty("coatingWeight", 0.000)
Substance pbrMetalRough 
{
  "_format": "Substance Designer / Painter \u2014 pbrMetalRough constants",
  "_about": "Kraft Paperboard \u00b7 finish: fibrous",
  "baseColor": {
    "r": 0.4793,
    "g": 0.314,
    "b": 0.1384
  },
  "metallic": 0.0,
  "roughness": 0.7,
  "ior": 1.45,
  "opacity": 1.0,
  "anisotropyLevel": 0.5,
  "_notes": "Channels listed are the standard Substance pbrMetalRough output. Drop into a Uniform Color node per channel, or as the constant input on a layered stack."
}
glTF 2.0 Metallic-Roughness 
{
  "asset": {
    "version": "2.0",
    "generator": "ForMatter"
  },
  "materials": [
    {
      "name": "mat_paperboard_kraft",
      "pbrMetallicRoughness": {
        "baseColorFactor": [
          0.4793,
          0.314,
          0.1384,
          1.0
        ],
        "metallicFactor": 0.0,
        "roughnessFactor": 0.7
      },
      "extensions": {
        "KHR_materials_ior": {
          "ior": 1.45
        },
        "KHR_materials_sheen": {
          "sheenColorFactor": [
            1.0,
            1.0,
            1.0
          ],
          "sheenRoughnessFactor": 0.7
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}
USD Preview Surface 
# USD Preview Surface — UsdShade.MaterialLook prim attributes
# Kraft Paperboard · finish: fibrous
def Material "mat_paperboard_kraft" {
    token outputs:surface.connect = </mat_paperboard_kraft/PreviewSurface.outputs:surface>

    def Shader "PreviewSurface" {
        uniform token info:id = "UsdPreviewSurface"
        color3f inputs:diffuseColor = (0.4793, 0.314, 0.1384)
        float   inputs:metallic     = 0.000
        float   inputs:roughness    = 0.700
        float   inputs:ior          = 1.450
        float   inputs:opacity      = 1.000
        float   inputs:clearcoat    = 0.000
        token   outputs:surface
    }
}
↓ download glTF material
ProcessLaser Cutting · Adhesive Bonding
Used inFood Packaging
Substitutes
Mycelium Composite (Grown)

Citations