Graphical papers for print, publishing and business use — woodfree coated and uncoated, LWC, copier and envelope reels.
Learn more about PaperCarton Board and Packaging Board Supplier
Scalderhurst is a board merchant, not a board mill. Folding boxboard, solid board, white lined chipboard and speciality packaging grades are bought from mills worldwide, held in stock in Kent and sold in the quantities a converter actually needs rather than the full-container minimums a mill will quote. GC1 and GC2 food-grade boards are held for rapid dispatch, and stock can be cut to your sheet size on site before it ships. Buyers who cannot meet a mill minimum, or who need one grade this week and a different one next month, are the reason merchants exist.
Buying Board from a Merchant at a Glance
| What you are checking | Position |
|---|---|
| What Scalderhurst is | A paper and board merchant. Board is bought from mills worldwide, held in Kent and resold. Scalderhurst does not manufacture board and does not make finished cartons |
| Grades held | Folding boxboard GC1 and GC2, solid board, white lined chipboard, and speciality packaging grades sourced to order |
| Food contact | GC1 and GC2 food-grade boards held in stock |
| Formats | Reels and sheets. Stock can be sheeted, slit or guillotined to your size on site before dispatch |
| Who it suits | Converters, printers and brand owners buying below mill minimums, or needing several grades rather than one in volume |
| Who it does not suit | Buyers with the volume and storage to take full mill containers of a single grade, who will buy cheaper direct |
| Where it ships from | Kent, to the UK mainland, Ireland and overseas |
| What determines the price | Grade and grammage, quantity, whether conversion to size is needed, format, and delivery destination. Quoted per enquiry against your specification |
| Minimum order quantity | Ask. Not currently published |
| Grammage and caliper ranges held | Ask. Not currently published per grade |
Grade definitions, fibre composition and the European GC, GD and UD codes are set out in full on the board grade reference. Machine limits for cutting board to size are on the conversion page.
Key Benefits
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Broad Carton Range
Folding boxboards, solid boards, white-lined chipboard and speciality packaging grades are sourced from leading global manufacturers and held in stock at the Kent warehouse. Holding the range rather than one grade is the point: a converter running several jobs can draw against all of it on a single account.
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Global Sourcing Network
If a grade is not a core stock item, we source it on your behalf from our global supplier network. You get specialist material without buying direct from a mill.
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Fast, Reliable Delivery
With up to 9,500 tonnes held in Kent, most standard grades are available for dispatch within days. We deliver full and part loads anywhere in the UK, Ireland and overseas.
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In-House Conversion
Reels and sheets are cut, slit, rewound or repackaged to your specification on site rather than sent out to a third party. Most conversion work is cut and delivered within 48 hours, which is what removes the mill lead time from a job that only needs a different size.
Our Board Range
Every grade is available in reel or sheet form, and our in-house conversion facility cuts, slits, rewinds or rewraps to your exact dimensions. If you need something that isn't a core stock item, our global supply network means we can source it for you.
Folding Boxboard (GC1 & GC2)
Coated virgin-fibre boards from leading global manufacturers, with food-grade GC1 and GC2 held in stock. The standard choice for carton manufacture wherever print quality, whiteness and food-contact compliance matter.
Scalderhurst is the exclusive UK distributor of April products. The appointment was reported by Print Monthly, and it is why the April range is available here on UK stock rather than on a mill lead time.
Download spec sheets: GC1 Hi-Bulk (PDF) · GC2 (PDF)
Applications for Folding Boxboard
- Greeting cards and postcards
- Cosmetics and personal-care cartons
- Pharmaceutical cartons and patient leaflets
- Food cartons, sleeves and retail-ready packaging
- Premium retail packaging
Solid Board
Rigid virgin-fibre boards are supplied in sheet and reel form across a full thickness range. Solid board is specified where stiffness, strength and a substantial feel in the hand matter more than cost, which is why it dominates premium card and rigid box work.
Applications for Solid Board
- Greeting cards and high-end invitations
- Set-up and rigid gift boxes
- Luxury cosmetic packaging
- Book covers and board-backed binders
- Point-of-sale and display work
White-Lined Chipboard
White-lined chipboard is recycled fibre carried under a white printable top liner. It suits everyday packaging where print appearance matters but a virgin grade would be paying for brightness the product does not need, which is most dry-goods and household retail work.
Applications for White-Lined Chipboard
- Retail and grocery cartons
- Secondary packaging for branded goods
- Household product cartons
- Transit and display boxes
Speciality Packaging Grades
Metallised, embossed, barrier-coated, fire-retardant and other specialist boards sourced through our global buying relationships for customers whose work demands a particular finish, barrier property or tactile effect. Our full range of speciality papers and boards covers food-contact, fire-retardant, coated and laminated grades.
Applications for Speciality Grades
- Premium cosmetics and fragrance packaging
- Pharmaceutical barrier packaging
- High-end food-contact applications
- Luxury gift and promotional packaging
- Exhibition, POS and creative display
Non-stock items. If the exact grade you need isn't in our core stock, we source it through our global supplier network — typically faster than ordering direct from a mill.
Which Board Grade Suits Which Market?
The market a carton serves usually decides the board family before weight or size is discussed. Presentation-led markets take the brighter virgin grades; volume retail markets take the recycled and general-purpose grades. The mapping below is where most specifications start.
| End market | Board family normally specified | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Greeting cards | Solid board and coated folding boxboard | Stiffness, whiteness, print quality and feel in the hand |
| Cosmetics and fragrance | Premium coated boards and speciality finishes | Colour fidelity, surface and tactile quality; presentation governs |
| Pharmaceuticals | Folding boxboard | Batch-to-batch consistency, traceability and reliable print performance |
| Food and beverage | Food-grade GC1 and GC2 | Food-contact compliance and full traceability |
For how we work with converters serving each of these markets, including the end-market detail behind the grades, see paper and board for carton manufacturing. For the grade definitions themselves, see the board grade reference.
When You Should Not Buy Board from a Merchant
Buyers taking a single grade in mill volumes should go direct to the mill. A merchant buys at mill prices and resells with a margin, so on one grade in container quantities, with somewhere to store it and the cash to hold it, direct will be cheaper. The merchant case rests on breaking those quantities down, not on beating them.
Scalderhurst does not manufacture board and does not make finished cartons. Searches for a cardboard manufacturer or a carton manufacturer are usually looking for one of those two things, and neither happens here. Board is supplied to the converters who make the cartons, and if you need finished packaging rather than the material, a converter is the right call.
Corrugated board and corrugated cases are also outside the range. The grades held are folding boxboard, solid board, white lined chipboard and speciality packaging boards, which are the cartonboard family rather than the corrugated one. Anyone needing corrugated shipping cases is looking at a different material and a different supply chain.
Two figures a buyer will reasonably want are not published: the minimum order quantity, and the grammage and caliper range held per grade. Both vary by grade and by what is in stock at the time, so both are answered against a specific enquiry rather than listed.
Other Scalderhurst Services
In-house sheeting, slitting, rewinding and guillotining. Cut and delivered in 48 hours, direct from our Kent facility.
Learn more about Conversion
Buying and selling surplus stock into the global market. Expert handling of non-standard and redundant material worldwide.
Learn more about Export
Over 100,000 sq ft of storage in Kent with 24-hour security, full inventory management and UK-wide distribution.
Learn more about WarehousingNeed Board or Packaging Materials?
Tell us what you need and our team will come back to you with pricing, availability and lead times. From a single pallet of folding boxboard to a long-term supply agreement across multiple grades, we are here to help.
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