Graphical papers for print, publishing and business use — woodfree coated and uncoated, LWC, copier and envelope reels.
Learn more about PaperBoard Supplier to UK Carton Manufacturers
Carton manufacturers buy board from Scalderhurst and convert it themselves. Scalderhurst is a merchant supplying the material, not a converter competing for the same work: folding boxboard, solid board and speciality packaging grades are held in Kent and released against a production schedule rather than dropped in one delivery. Converters serving greeting-card publishers, cosmetics and fragrance brands, pharmaceutical manufacturers and food and beverage producers are the core of that trade. GC1 and GC2 food-grade boards are held in stock, with global sourcing for substrates outside the standard range.
Supplying Carton Manufacturers at a Glance
| What you are checking | Position |
|---|---|
| What Scalderhurst is | A board merchant supplying carton manufacturers. Scalderhurst does not make cartons and does not compete with its customers for converting work |
| Grades supplied | Folding boxboard GC1 and GC2, solid board, white lined chipboard, and speciality packaging grades sourced to order |
| End markets served | Greeting cards, cosmetics and fragrance, pharmaceuticals, food and beverage |
| Formats | Reels and sheets, cut to your size on site before dispatch |
| How stock is released | Against your production schedule as call-off, rather than one bulk drop you have to store |
| Stock holding | Board held in Kent, so replenishment does not carry a mill lead time |
| If you need finished cartons | Scalderhurst supplies the board, not the carton. A converter makes the finished pack |
| What determines the price | Grade and grammage, quantity, conversion to size, format and delivery schedule. Quoted per enquiry |
| Minimum order quantity | Ask. Not currently published |
Grade definitions and the European GC, GD and UD codes are set out on the board grade reference. The full range and the grade-to-market mapping are on the board and packaging page.
End Markets We Supply
Our carton-manufacturing customers serve a wide range of consumer end markets. We match grade, weight, finish and format to each sector's requirements, with up to 9,500 tonnes in stock for rapid dispatch and global sourcing for anything that isn't a core stock item.
Greeting Cards
Solid and coated boards supplied to greeting-card publishers, postcard producers and independent card makers. We work with both high-volume commercial publishers and smaller creative studios, matching board stiffness, whiteness, print receptivity and tactile feel to the final product.
Board for this market is chosen on stiffness, whiteness and how it feels in the hand, because the buyer picks the card up before deciding. Typical applications:
- Everyday and occasion greeting cards
- Premium and hand-finished cards
- Postcards and invitations
- Gift tags and gift-wrap inserts
- Boxed card ranges
Cosmetics
Premium coated folding boxboards and speciality finishes for cosmetic, fragrance and personal-care cartons — where brand presentation, colour fidelity, whiteness and tactile finish matter as much as structural performance. We supply converters producing packaging for prestige beauty, mass-market personal care and indie brand launches.
Presentation governs the specification here more than structure does, so colour fidelity, surface and tactile finish drive the grade choice. Typical applications:
- Fragrance and prestige beauty cartons
- Skincare and personal-care outer packaging
- Make-up palettes and compact cartons
- Gift-set outers and seasonal promotional packs
- Luxury rigid-box liners and wraps
Pharmaceuticals
Consistent, traceable folding boxboard for medicine cartons, patient information leaflets and secondary packaging. Supply reliability, batch consistency and documentation are essential in an industry where every carton has to meet strict quality and regulatory requirements.
Consistency between batches matters more than appearance in this market, because a carton line running to a validated process cannot absorb variation. Typical applications:
- Over-the-counter medicine cartons
- Prescription and hospital-dispensed packaging
- Patient information leaflet stock
- Secondary and transit cartons for pharmaceutical products
- Veterinary medicine and healthcare-brand packaging
Food & Beverage
Food-grade GC1 and GC2 folding boxboard for cartons, sleeves and retail-ready packaging across the food and beverage sector. All food-contact grades are fully traceable and meet current UK and EU food-contact requirements, supporting manufacturers, processors and co-packers alike.
Food-contact compliance and traceability set the boundary here before any other property is considered. Typical applications:
- Cereal, confectionery and snack cartons
- Frozen and chilled food packaging
- Tea, coffee and drinks cartons
- Retail-ready sleeves and shelf-ready packaging
- Multi-pack outers and promotional cartons
When Scalderhurst Is Not Who You Need
Buyers searching for a carton manufacturer usually want finished cartons, and those are made by converters rather than by Scalderhurst. Board is supplied here to the converter who does that work. If you have artwork and a specification and want boxes delivered, a carton converter is the right supplier and this is one step further back in the chain.
Corrugated cases sit outside the range. The grades held are the cartonboard family, folding boxboard, solid board, white lined chipboard and speciality packaging boards, rather than corrugated fluting and liner. Anyone specifying shipping cases is looking at a different material.
Converters with the volume and storage to take full mill containers of one grade will buy more cheaply direct from the mill. A merchant earns its place by breaking those quantities down, holding several grades at once and cutting to size, which is worth paying for only when a mill minimum does not fit how you run.
Other Scalderhurst Services
Folding boxboards (GC1 and GC2), solid boards, white-lined chipboard and speciality packaging grades from leading global manufacturers.
Learn more about Board & Packaging
Parent reels and sheets cut, slit, rewound or rewrapped to your exact specification — cut and delivered in 48 hours.
Learn more about Conversion
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 for Carton Manufacture?
Tell us the grade, weight and format you need and our team will come back with pricing, stock availability and lead time. If it's not on the floor, we source it from our global supply network.
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