Kraft vs White Board: Which Look Sells Your Product?

The board colour is a brand decision

Kraft is unbleached brown board; SBS is bleached white paperboard. The choice is not just aesthetic — it sets your print ceiling, your cost base and the signal the box sends. Kraft says natural, sustainable, handmade. White says clean, modern, mass-market premium. Neither is better; each is right for a different brand truth.

The practical differences

• Print — white board carries vivid full-colour CMYK; kraft mutes colour and suits one or two inks
• Cost — kraft usually costs less than bleached SBS
• Sustainability — both recyclable; uncoated kraft is also home-compostable
• Shelf tone — kraft reads artisan; white reads polished retail
• Ink on kraft — dark inks and white ink pop; pastels disappear

The hybrid move

Many brands run kraft structure with a white-printed panel where vivid product photography matters — the natural look outside, the colour accuracy where it sells. Or white board with a kraft-textured print for the reverse. We quote both boards with the print consequence shown, because the wrong board for your artwork is a reprint, not a preference.