PaperMaterial

Kraft vs Test liner

Virgin Kraft outperforms recycled Test in strength and moisture, at higher cost and CO₂.

Paper Library
7 minintermediate·Updated 2026-05-30

Overview

Liners give the corrugated board its faces. Kraft (virgin) uses long softwood fibers producing higher tensile and burst strength. Test (recycled) uses mostly recovered paper — cheaper and greener in CO₂, but with shorter fibers and lower wet resistance.

Comparison

PropertyKraftTest
FiberVirgin softwoodRecycled
BurstHighMedium
CostHigherLower
MoistureBetterWeaker

Applications

  • Kraft: export, cold chain, heavy loads
  • Test: domestic, dry, high-volume

Common mistakes

  • Choosing Test for humid warehouses without moisture control
  • Assuming Kraft always looks premium — surface still needs coating for HQ print
AI Summary

Kraft = long virgin fibers, brown, strong, moisture-tolerant. Test = recycled fibers, cheaper, lower strength, sensitive to humidity. Blend choice is driven by target ECT, print requirement and sustainability policy.