The paper you choose is visible before your logo is. Two stocks dominate custom packaging decisions: kraft and art paper. They serve opposite instincts.
Kraft paper is the brown, unbleached stock you know from shopping bags and café packaging. Its appeal is honesty: visible fiber, natural texture, strong eco association. It is also genuinely strong for its weight. Kraft works beautifully with one- or two-color printing, especially black or white ink, and with hot foil accents. Try to print full-color photography on kraft and colors shift muddy — the brown base filters everything.
Art paper (C1S/C2S coated paper) is the smooth, white, coated stock that prints sharp CMYK images and fine text. It is the default for cosmetics cartons, product manuals, and anything with photography. Coated on one side (C1S) or both (C2S), it takes varnish, lamination, and foil cleanly.
How to decide
- Brand story is natural, organic, artisanal → kraft
- Brand story is polished, photographic, modern → art paper
- Budget tight, design simple → kraft is typically cheaper and skips heavy ink coverage
- Package needs to print a logo plus a single accent color → kraft + white ink or foil looks deliberate rather than cheap
The popular hybrid: kraft exterior, white interior. The outside carries the eco story; the inside prints instructions or brand color on clean white. Many food and candle brands use exactly this.
A note on food contact: both stocks have food-grade versions. If packaging touches food directly, say so at quotation — ink and certification requirements change.
FAQ
Is kraft paper always more eco-friendly?
Kraft is unbleached and often carries higher recycled content, but both kraft and art paper are recyclable paper. The bigger environmental factors are ink coverage, laminations, and coatings — a heavily plastic-laminated art paper box is harder to recycle than a plain kraft one.
Can kraft paper be white?
Yes — bleached kraft exists, and there is also "white kraft" with partial recycled fiber. It keeps some natural tone while printing better than unbleached stock.