What is the difference between kraft paper and normal paper?
Kraft paper and plain paper are two common materials in the fields of packaging, printing and handicrafts, but they differ significantly in appearance, performance and environmental friendliness.
Production process differences
Kraft paper adopts sulphate method of pulping (Kraft Process), with coniferous wood pulp as the main raw material, the fibre length up to 2-3 mm, lignin retention is more, so the texture is tough and tear-resistant. Unbleached kraft paper has a natural brownish-yellow colour, i.e. ‘brown kraft paper’, while bleached kraft paper is ‘white kraft paper’, and both types of kraft paper have high strength.
brown kraft paper retains the original tone of lignin, showing tan or light brown, suitable for retro, environmental protection style packaging.
White kraft paper is bleached, pure white in colour, with a fine surface, suitable for full-page colour printing, highlighting high-end brand image.
Normal paper mostly uses mixed wood pulp or grass pulp, with shorter fibres (1-2mm), which need to be bleached (e.g. chlorine bleaching or oxygen bleaching) to improve whiteness. Its production process pays more attention to surface smoothness, but sacrifices some of its strength and environmental friendliness.
brown kraft paper sheets
Comparison of Performance Characteristics
Strength and Toughness
Kraft paper has a rough but absorbent surface, long-lasting ink adhesion, and excellent strength and toughness. It is able to withstand large tensile force and pressure without breaking easily, which makes kraft paper have a wide range of applications in packaging, printing and other fields. In contrast, although normal paper is smooth, some low-quality paper is prone to colour loss problems, and it is weaker in strength and toughness, more suitable for daily writing and printing.
Printing effect
Kraft paper has an even surface grind and good printing effect, suitable for a variety of patterns and text printing. This gives kraft paper a unique advantage in packaging, advertising and other fields. Although ordinary paper can also be printed, but the printing effect is relatively poor, and is not suitable for complex patterns and text design.
white kraft wrapping paper
Which keeps longer, kraft paper or normal paper?
Under normal conditions of use and preservation, kraft paper usually lasts longer. Because of its tough material and tight structure, kraft paper can resist the erosion of a variety of external factors, thus extending its service life.
Normal paper has a relatively short service life. When affected by external forces or environmental factors, normal paper is prone to breakage, discolouration and other problems, thus affecting its service life.
Generally speaking, the life cycle of paper is 3 to 5 years, depending on the quality of the paper and the storage environment. If the environmental conditions are not favourable, the quality of the paper will be affected, which will result in a shorter paper cycle.