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Paperboard, Corrugated & Containerboard Packaging Industry Acronyms

Paperboard, Corrugated & Containerboard Packaging Industry Acronyms

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This glossary explains operational, technical, quality, regulatory, and commercial acronyms used in the Forest Products, Pulp, Paper & Packaging industry’s Paperboard, Corrugated & Containerboard Packaging Practice. It helps executives and practitioners interpret board specifications, converting processes, package tests, certification requirements, sustainability programs, and performance metrics.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W

A
AAR Association of American Railroads:
Its freight rules and loading guidance influence fiberboard-box construction, markings, and shipment practices for goods transported by rail.
AF&PA American Forest & Paper Association:
A United States trade association representing pulp, paper, packaging, and wood-products manufacturers and publishing industry data, policy positions, and sustainability metrics.
AICC Association of Independent Corrugated Converters:
The organization now operates as the Independent Packaging Association and provides technical education, benchmarking, advocacy, and networking for independent corrugated, folding-carton, and rigid-box businesses.
AKD Alkyl Ketene Dimer:
An internal sizing agent used to reduce water absorption and improve the moisture resistance of paperboard and containerboard.
APPITA Australian and New Zealand Pulp and Paper Industry Technical Association:
A professional association supporting technical knowledge, standards awareness, and workforce development across regional paper and board manufacturing.
AQL Acceptance Quality Limit:
A sampling-plan parameter used to determine whether a production lot meets an agreed quality threshold for defects such as print errors, dimensional variation, or poor bonding.
ASA Alkenyl Succinic Anhydride:
A reactive sizing chemical used during board manufacture to control liquid penetration and support converting and end-use performance.
ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials:
The standards organization now known as ASTM International publishes widely used methods for conditioning, testing, and evaluating corrugated boxes, paperboard, packaging materials, and distribution performance.
ATEX Atmosphères Explosibles:
European requirements governing equipment and workplaces exposed to explosive atmospheres, including areas where paper dust or solvent vapors can create ignition hazards.
B
BAT Best Available Techniques:
The most effective technically and economically viable methods recognized for controlling industrial emissions, resource use, and environmental impacts under European permitting frameworks.
BCM Billion Cubic Microns:
A unit used to specify anilox-roll cell volume, which controls the quantity of ink or coating transferred during flexographic printing.
BCT Box Compression Test:
A laboratory test that measures the load a finished corrugated container can withstand before failure, supporting stacking-strength and distribution-performance decisions.
BF Burst Factor:
A normalized relationship between bursting strength and grammage used in some markets to compare the strength efficiency of paper and board grades.
BfR Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung:
The German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment issues recommendations widely referenced when evaluating paper and paperboard intended for food contact.
BMC Box Maker’s Certificate:
A printed certification mark stating a corrugated box’s construction, size and weight limits, and either burst- or edge-crush-based performance rating.
BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand:
A wastewater metric indicating the oxygen microorganisms require to break down biodegradable material, making it important for mill effluent control and treatment-plant performance.
BOM Bill of Materials:
The controlled list of board grades, inks, coatings, adhesives, dies, plates, labels, and other inputs required to manufacture a packaging item.
BRCGS Brand Reputation through Compliance Global Standards:
A certification framework whose Packaging Materials standard is frequently required of suppliers serving food, beverage, pharmaceutical, and consumer-goods customers.
BREF Best Available Techniques Reference Document:
A European technical document defining benchmark techniques and associated emission levels used when permitting pulp, paper, board, and related industrial operations.
BST Burst Strength Test:
A test measuring the pressure required to rupture board, traditionally used to specify corrugated materials and verify resistance to puncture-like loading.
BW Basis Weight:
The mass of paper or board per specified area, used to define grades, estimate material consumption, and manage strength, cost, and machine performance.
C
CAD Computer-Aided Design:
Software-based structural design used to create carton and corrugated layouts, cutting-die files, prototypes, pallet patterns, and dimensional specifications.
CAPA Corrective and Preventive Action:
A structured quality process for containing nonconformities, identifying root causes, correcting failures, and preventing recurrence.
CCF Corrugated Common Footprint:
A standardized footprint for stackable produce containers that improves pallet compatibility, load stability, ventilation alignment, and handling across different suppliers.
CCNB Clay-Coated News Back:
A recycled paperboard grade with a coated printing surface and gray reverse side, commonly used for economical folding cartons.
CCT Concora Crush Test:
A laboratory test of the edgewise compression strength of fluted corrugating medium, used to assess its contribution to combined-board performance.
CD Cross Direction:
The direction across the width of a paper or board machine, in which stiffness, tensile strength, moisture profile, and dimensional response can differ from the machine direction.
CEN European Committee for Standardization:
The body that develops European standards affecting packaging performance, material characterization, safety, recovery, recycling, and environmental claims.
Cepi Confederation of European Paper Industries:
The European paper-industry association that develops sector data, policy positions, recyclability guidance, and circularity initiatives relevant to paper-based packaging.
CFR Code of Federal Regulations:
The codification of United States federal rules, including Title 21 provisions used to assess substances and components in food-contact paper and paperboard.
CHP Combined Heat and Power:
The simultaneous production of electricity and useful steam or heat, often used by board mills to improve energy efficiency and operating resilience.
CIELAB Commission Internationale de l’Éclairage L*a*b* Color Space:
A device-independent color model used to quantify color differences and establish measurable print and substrate color tolerances.
CMMS Computerized Maintenance Management System:
A system for scheduling preventive maintenance, managing work orders and spare parts, and analyzing equipment reliability in mills and converting plants.
CMT Concora Medium Test:
A test in which corrugating medium is laboratory-fluted and compressed to estimate its ability to resist crushing in finished corrugated board.
CMYK Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key Black:
The four-color process model used to reproduce graphics in flexographic, offset, and digital package printing.
CO2e Carbon Dioxide Equivalent:
A common unit that converts different greenhouse gases into an equivalent warming impact for product, facility, and supply-chain carbon accounting.
CoC Chain of Custody:
A documented system that tracks certified or controlled fiber through purchasing, production, inventory, sales, and labeling.
COD Chemical Oxygen Demand:
A wastewater measure of chemically oxidizable material used to monitor effluent loading and treatment effectiveness at paperboard and containerboard mills.
COF Coefficient of Friction:
A measure of resistance between contacting surfaces that affects sheet feeding, case handling, pallet stability, and performance on filling lines.
CONEG Coalition of Northeastern Governors:
The source of model packaging legislation limiting lead, cadmium, mercury, and hexavalent chromium, later adopted in multiple United States jurisdictions.
COPQ Cost of Poor Quality:
The combined cost of scrap, rework, downtime, complaints, returns, credits, and lost productivity caused by quality failures.
CPI Cells per Inch:
A measure of anilox-roll cell density that helps determine ink-film control, graphic detail, and suitability for line work or process printing.
CPI Confederation of Paper Industries:
The United Kingdom trade association representing paper manufacturing, corrugated packaging, recovered paper, and related supply-chain interests.
CRB Coated Recycled Board:
Paperboard made substantially from recovered fiber and given a coated printable surface for folding-carton and other consumer-packaging applications.
CSSC Center Special Slotted Container:
A corrugated box style whose inner and outer flaps are dimensioned to meet at the center, providing additional material and stacking strength where required.
CTP Computer-to-Plate:
A prepress workflow that images digital artwork directly onto a printing plate, reducing intermediate steps and improving registration and repeatability.
CUK Coated Unbleached Kraft:
A strong paperboard grade combining an unbleached kraft fiber base with a coated printing surface, often selected for beverage carriers and moisture-demanding applications.
D
DART Days Away, Restricted, or Transferred:
A United States occupational-safety metric tracking recordable cases that cause missed work, restricted duties, or job transfer.
DCS Distributed Control System:
An industrial automation platform used to coordinate process controls across stock preparation, paper machines, boilers, utilities, and related mill operations.
DfE Design for Environment:
A product-development approach that considers material use, emissions, manufacturing efficiency, transportation, recovery, and end-of-life impacts during packaging design.
DfR Design for Recycling:
The practice of selecting structures, coatings, inks, adhesives, and components that support collection, sorting, repulping, and recovery in existing recycling systems.
DGR Dangerous Goods Regulations:
Rules governing the classification, testing, marking, documentation, and transport of hazardous materials, including the use of certified fiberboard combination and single packagings.
DLK Double-Lined Kraft Cuttings:
Clean corrugated converting scrap consisting of kraft liners and corrugating medium, valued as a relatively high-quality recovered-fiber furnish.
DoC Declaration of Compliance:
A supplier document stating that a packaging material meets identified legal, customer, or food-contact requirements under specified conditions of use.
DOT United States Department of Transportation:
The federal authority overseeing hazardous-material transportation requirements that affect performance-tested corrugated packaging, markings, closures, and shipping documentation.
DPI Dots per Inch:
A resolution measure used for imaging, proofing, plate production, and digital printing, with higher values generally permitting finer graphic detail.
DS OCC Double-Sorted Old Corrugated Containers:
A recovered-paper grade subject to tighter sorting and contaminant limits than ordinary corrugated-container furnish, supporting cleaner recycled linerboard production.
DW Double-Wall Corrugated Board:
A combined board structure containing two fluted mediums and three liners, used when greater stacking, puncture, or handling strength is required.
E
ECHA European Chemicals Agency:
The European Union agency administering chemical rules that affect inks, coatings, adhesives, processing aids, and substances used in packaging manufacture.
ECMA European Carton Makers Association:
A folding-carton industry body known for standardized carton-style coding, technical guidance, market information, and representation of European converters.
ECT Edge Crush Test:
A test measuring the edgewise compression strength of corrugated board, widely used to specify box performance and predict stacking capacity.
EFSA European Food Safety Authority:
The European Union scientific body that evaluates food-related risks, including chemical migration and exposure issues involving food-contact packaging.
EN European Standard:
A standard adopted by European standardization bodies and national members, including methods and requirements relevant to packaging testing, safety, recovery, and compostability.
EPA United States Environmental Protection Agency:
The federal regulator overseeing air emissions, wastewater, chemicals, waste, and environmental reporting that affect mills, printing operations, and converting plants.
EPD Environmental Product Declaration:
A standardized, independently verified disclosure of life-cycle environmental impacts for a product or product category.
EPR Extended Producer Responsibility:
A policy approach that assigns producers financial or operational responsibility for collecting, sorting, recycling, or otherwise managing packaging after use.
EVA Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate:
A polymer commonly used in hot-melt adhesives for erecting, closing, and sealing cartons and corrugated cases.
F
FBA Fibre Box Association:
A North American trade association providing statistics, technical guidance, sustainability resources, training, and industry representation for corrugated packaging manufacturers.
FBB Folding Boxboard:
A multilayer cartonboard grade, typically combining mechanical-pulp middle layers with higher-quality outer plies to balance stiffness, printability, and weight.
FCM Food Contact Materials:
Materials and articles intended to contact food, for which composition, migration, traceability, and intended-use conditions require regulatory assessment.
FCN Food Contact Notification:
A United States regulatory pathway through which an authorized substance may be used in food-contact applications under defined conditions and limitations.
FCS Food Contact Substance:
A substance intended as a component of materials used in manufacturing, packing, transporting, or holding food without having a technical effect in the food.
FCT Flat Crush Test:
A test measuring the resistance of corrugated board flutes to crushing under a load applied perpendicular to the board surface.
FDA United States Food and Drug Administration:
The federal agency whose requirements and authorizations govern substances used in paper, paperboard, coatings, adhesives, and other food-contact packaging components.
FEFCO European Federation of Corrugated Board Manufacturers:
The European industry federation known for corrugated-box style codes, testing methods, sustainability work, technical guidance, and sector statistics.
FFG Flexo-Folder-Gluer:
An integrated converting machine that prints, slots, scores, folds, and glues corrugated sheets into finished knocked-down boxes.
FIRST Flexographic Image Reproduction Specifications & Tolerances:
Industry guidance defining process-control targets and communication practices for consistent flexographic design, prepress, platemaking, printing, and measurement.
FOL Full Overlap:
A corrugated container style whose major flaps substantially or fully overlap, providing added resistance to rough handling and concentrated loads.
FPF Five-Panel Folder:
A scored corrugated blank with five principal panels that wraps around long or narrow products and is closed with tape, staples, or adhesive.
FPM Feet per Minute:
A line-speed measure used to monitor corrugators, printers, die cutters, gluers, and other continuous converting equipment.
FPY First-Pass Yield:
The percentage of output meeting requirements without rework, rerouting, or repair, making it a useful indicator of process capability and conversion cost.
FSC Forest Stewardship Council:
A forest-certification system whose sourcing and chain-of-custody requirements support verified claims for paperboard, containerboard, and finished packaging.
FSSC 22000 Food Safety System Certification 22000:
A certification scheme combining food-safety management requirements with sector prerequisite programs and additional controls applicable to food-packaging manufacturers.
FTA Flexographic Technical Association:
A professional organization that develops training, process-control guidance, technical resources, and print-quality practices for flexographic operations.
G
GCC Ground Calcium Carbonate:
A mineral pigment or filler used in coated paperboard to influence brightness, opacity, smoothness, printability, and cost.
GFSI Global Food Safety Initiative:
A benchmarking initiative that recognizes food-safety certification programs frequently required of packaging suppliers serving food and beverage value chains.
GHG Greenhouse Gas:
A heat-trapping atmospheric gas measured in corporate and product inventories to assess energy, manufacturing, transportation, and supply-chain climate impacts.
GMI Graphic Measures International:
A packaging-graphics quality program used by brands and suppliers to qualify print facilities and manage measurable color and process requirements.
GMP Good Manufacturing Practice:
Documented hygiene, process-control, traceability, maintenance, and contamination-prevention practices used to manufacture packaging consistently and safely.
GRAS Generally Recognized as Safe:
A United States regulatory status based on qualified expert consensus for specified uses, sometimes relevant when assessing substances associated with food-contact applications.
GSM Grams per Square Metre:
The metric expression of paper or board grammage, central to grade specifications, material yield, strength comparisons, and purchasing.
GTIN Global Trade Item Number:
A standardized identifier encoded in retail and logistics barcodes to distinguish products and packaging levels throughout the supply chain.
H
HACCP Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points:
A preventive system for identifying and controlling biological, chemical, and physical hazards, often incorporated into food-packaging safety programs.
HMA Hot-Melt Adhesive:
A thermoplastic adhesive applied in molten form for high-speed carton erection, case sealing, tray forming, and packaging assembly.
HMI Human-Machine Interface:
The operator display used to monitor equipment status, enter settings, review alarms, and control automated mill or converting processes.
HSC Half-Slotted Container:
A corrugated case style with one set of flaps and an open opposite end, often paired with a separate cover or used as a tray-like body.
I
IATA International Air Transport Association:
The airline trade association whose dangerous-goods rules affect the qualification, marking, closing, and documentation of fiberboard packages shipped by air.
ICC International Color Consortium:
The organization behind standardized color profiles used to translate artwork predictably among monitors, proofing devices, prepress workflows, and printing systems.
ICCA International Corrugated Case Association:
A global association representing corrugated-industry organizations and supporting international cooperation, statistics, advocacy, and technical exchange.
ICPF International Corrugated Packaging Foundation:
An educational foundation focused on attracting, preparing, and retaining students and professionals for careers in corrugated packaging.
IMDG International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code:
The global maritime code prescribing how dangerous goods must be classified, packed, marked, documented, stowed, and transported by sea.
ISO International Organization for Standardization:
A global standards body whose management-system, testing, environmental, and packaging standards support consistent specifications and assurance across international supply chains.
ISTA International Safe Transit Association:
An organization that develops packaged-product test procedures simulating shocks, vibration, compression, handling, and environmental conditions in distribution.
J
JSA Job Safety Analysis:
A structured review that breaks a task into steps, identifies hazards, and specifies controls before maintenance, setup, cleaning, or production work begins.
K
KDF Knock-Down Flat:
A carton or corrugated case supplied collapsed for space-efficient transportation and storage before being erected and filled.
KLB Kraftliner Board:
A strong containerboard liner grade made predominantly from virgin kraft fiber, valued for strength, durability, and surface performance.
L
LCA Life Cycle Assessment:
A standardized method for quantifying environmental inputs, outputs, and impacts across raw materials, production, distribution, use, and end-of-life stages.
LCIA Life Cycle Impact Assessment:
The phase of a life-cycle study that translates inventory data into impact indicators such as climate change, eutrophication, acidification, and resource use.
LEL Lower Explosive Limit:
The minimum concentration of a combustible vapor or gas in air capable of propagating flame, relevant to solvent, ink, coating, and fuel safety.
LOTO Lockout/Tagout:
A hazardous-energy control procedure used to isolate and verify machinery before maintenance, cleaning, jam clearing, or adjustment.
LPB Liquid Packaging Board:
Paperboard engineered for beverage and liquid-food cartons, typically combining stiffness and printability with barrier layers and demanding converting performance.
LPI Lines per Inch:
A measure used for halftone-screen or anilox line count that influences tonal detail, ink transfer, and achievable flexographic print quality.
M
MACT Maximum Achievable Control Technology:
A United States regulatory standard defining emission-control performance for major sources of hazardous air pollutants, including applicable pulp and paper operations.
MD Machine Direction:
The direction in which board travels through the paper machine, generally exhibiting different strength, stiffness, and dimensional properties from the cross direction.
MEC Minimum Explosible Concentration:
The lowest airborne concentration of combustible dust capable of supporting an explosion under specified test conditions.
MES Manufacturing Execution System:
A plant-level system that manages production orders, material status, machine data, quality records, labor reporting, genealogy, and output.
MIE Minimum Ignition Energy:
The smallest spark energy capable of igniting a dispersed dust cloud, used when assessing combustible-paper-dust hazards and controls.
MMSF Million Square Feet:
A volume unit used to report corrugated shipments, converting output, sales, and production capacity.
MOAH Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbons:
A mineral-oil fraction monitored because potentially harmful constituents may migrate from recycled-fiber packaging, inks, or process contamination into food.
MOQ Minimum Order Quantity:
The smallest commercially viable order for a custom packaging item, reflecting setup time, tooling, substrate procurement, run speed, and inventory economics.
MOSH Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbons:
A mineral-oil fraction evaluated in food-contact risk management because it can migrate from recycled board, printing materials, or other sources.
MRF Materials Recovery Facility:
A facility that receives, sorts, and prepares collected recyclables, including corrugated containers and paperboard packaging, for sale to reprocessors.
MSF Thousand Square Feet:
A standard commercial and production unit for quoting, ordering, measuring, and reporting corrugated sheet and box volumes.
MSI Thousand Square Inches:
A unit commonly used to price, purchase, and calculate yield for paperboard and folding-carton materials.
MVTR Moisture Vapor Transmission Rate:
The rate at which water vapor passes through a material under specified conditions, used to evaluate barrier-coated paperboard and package shelf-life performance.
N
NCR Nonconformance Report:
A controlled record documenting material, product, or process results that fail requirements and the disposition or corrective action taken.
NESHAP National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants:
United States rules establishing emission limits and operating requirements for regulated hazardous pollutants from designated industrial source categories.
NFPA National Fire Protection Association:
A standards organization whose codes address fire protection, combustible dust, electrical safety, and other hazards present in mills and converting facilities.
NIAS Non-Intentionally Added Substances:
Impurities, reaction products, or degradation products not deliberately added to food-contact materials but requiring risk assessment when migration is possible.
NIR Near-Infrared:
A sensing technology used for rapid measurement or identification of moisture, coatings, composition, and contaminants in board production and recycling streams.
NMFC National Motor Freight Classification:
A North American freight classification system whose packaging rules and box-certification provisions influence corrugated shipping-container specifications.
NSSC Neutral Sulfite Semichemical:
A high-yield pulping process and fiber furnish traditionally used to produce strong corrugating medium with good compression performance.
O
OBA Optical Brightening Agent:
A fluorescent additive used to increase the perceived whiteness and brightness of coated or uncoated paperboard surfaces.
OCC Old Corrugated Containers:
A major recovered-paper grade consisting primarily of used corrugated packaging and serving as a principal fiber source for recycled containerboard.
OEE Overall Equipment Effectiveness:
A performance metric combining availability, speed performance, and quality yield to show how effectively production equipment is utilized.
OPF One-Piece Folder:
A corrugated package formed from a single scored and slotted blank that folds around the product, often used for books, frames, and shallow items.
OSHA Occupational Safety and Health Administration:
The United States agency that sets and enforces workplace standards covering machine guarding, hazardous energy, chemicals, noise, ergonomics, and recordkeeping.
OTIF On Time in Full:
A service metric measuring whether customer orders arrive by the promised date and in the complete ordered quantity.
OTR Oxygen Transmission Rate:
The quantity of oxygen passing through a material under specified conditions, used to assess barrier-coated board for oxygen-sensitive products.
P
PAM Polyacrylamide:
A family of polymers used as retention, drainage, formation, and dry-strength aids in paperboard and containerboard manufacture.
PAPTAC Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada:
A technical association that supports knowledge exchange, professional development, and standardized test methods used by paper and board producers.
PAT Pin Adhesion Test:
A test measuring the force required to separate corrugated liner from fluted medium, used to evaluate starch-bond integrity.
PCC Precipitated Calcium Carbonate:
A manufactured mineral pigment or filler used to manage paperboard brightness, opacity, smoothness, print response, and coating properties.
PCF Product Carbon Footprint:
The greenhouse-gas emissions associated with a packaging product across defined life-cycle stages, expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent.
PCR Post-Consumer Recycled Content:
Material recovered after its intended consumer or commercial use and incorporated into new board or packaging products.
PEFC Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification:
A global system endorsing national forest-certification schemes and enabling chain-of-custody claims for responsibly sourced fiber products.
PERN Packaging Export Recovery Note:
A United Kingdom evidence instrument issued for qualifying exported packaging waste and used by obligated businesses to demonstrate recycling compliance.
PFAS Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances:
A broad class of persistent fluorinated chemicals subject to increasing restrictions because some have been used to provide grease, oil, or moisture resistance in fiber packaging.
PfR Paper for Recycling:
The European industry term for separately collected paper and board used as secondary raw material, including recovered corrugated packaging.
PIR Post-Industrial Recycled Content:
Manufacturing scrap or by-product recovered before reaching an end user and reused as material in board or packaging production.
PM Paper Machine:
The integrated production line that forms, presses, dries, finishes, and reels containerboard or paperboard; individual machines are often identified by number.
PMS Pantone Matching System:
A standardized spot-color specification system used to communicate and control brand colors across proofs, inks, substrates, and printing processes.
PPC Paperboard Packaging Council:
A North American industry association serving folding-carton and paperboard packaging converters through technical resources, data, advocacy, and professional development.
PPM Parts per Million:
A defect-rate measure used to normalize quality failures across large production volumes and compare supplier or process performance.
PPS Parker Print-Surf:
An air-leak roughness test used to assess paperboard surface smoothness and its suitability for high-quality printing and coating.
PPWR Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation:
The European Union framework establishing requirements for packaging design, substances, recyclability, recycled content, labeling, reuse, and producer responsibility.
PRN Packaging Recovery Note:
A United Kingdom compliance document issued by accredited reprocessors as evidence that qualifying packaging waste has been recycled.
PRO Producer Responsibility Organization:
An entity that manages collection, recycling, reporting, fees, or compliance obligations on behalf of packaging producers under extended-responsibility programs.
PUR Polyurethane-Reactive Adhesive:
A moisture-curing adhesive offering strong, heat-resistant bonds for demanding carton, lamination, and package-assembly applications.
PVAc Polyvinyl Acetate:
A polymer widely used in water-based adhesives for folding-carton side seams, corrugated laminating, and other paper-to-paper bonds.
PVOH Polyvinyl Alcohol:
A water-soluble polymer used in coatings, adhesives, and barrier formulations to improve film formation, strength, and resistance to oils or gases.
Q
QCS Quality Control System:
A paper-machine system that measures and controls variables such as basis weight, moisture, caliper, ash, and cross-direction profiles.
QMS Quality Management System:
The documented framework of responsibilities, processes, controls, audits, records, and continual-improvement activities used to meet customer and regulatory requirements.
R
RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act:
The primary United States law governing solid and hazardous waste generation, storage, transportation, treatment, and disposal.
RCT Ring Crush Test:
A test measuring the edgewise compression resistance of a paper strip formed into a ring, historically used to characterize liner and medium strength.
RDC Rotary Die Cutter:
A converting machine that prints, cuts, creases, slots, or perforates corrugated sheets using rotating cylinders and shaped tooling.
REACH Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals:
The European Union chemicals framework affecting substances in inks, coatings, adhesives, additives, and finished packaging supplied into the European market.
RELF Roll-End Lock-Front:
A die-cut corrugated tray or mailer style with rolled side walls and locking front tabs, typically assembled without glue or staples.
ReMA Recycled Materials Association:
A United States trade association that publishes recovered-material specifications, including grades used in buying and selling corrugated fiber furnish.
RFT Right First Time:
A process-performance measure tracking work completed correctly without adjustment, rework, remanufacture, or repeat approval.
RH Relative Humidity:
The amount of moisture in air relative to its capacity at a given temperature, strongly influencing board moisture, dimensional stability, and box compression strength.
RIP Raster Image Processor:
Prepress software or hardware that converts digital artwork into screened output suitable for proofing, plate imaging, or digital printing.
RRP Retail-Ready Packaging:
Secondary packaging designed for efficient distribution, easy opening, rapid shelf replenishment, product identification, and shopper presentation.
RSC Regular Slotted Container:
The most common corrugated case style, with equal-length outer flaps that meet at the center and shorter inner flaps.
RTE Reverse Tuck End:
A folding-carton style whose top and bottom tuck flaps close in opposite directions, often chosen for efficient nesting and production.
RTO Regenerative Thermal Oxidizer:
Air-pollution-control equipment that destroys volatile organic compounds while recovering heat from the treated exhaust stream.
S
SBS Solid Bleached Sulfate:
A premium paperboard grade made from bleached chemical pulp, offering high brightness, cleanliness, printability, and converting performance.
SCT Short-Span Compression Test:
A test measuring paper’s compression strength over a very short unsupported span, widely used to predict containerboard performance.
SDS Safety Data Sheet:
A standardized document describing chemical hazards, composition, handling, storage, exposure controls, emergency measures, and disposal considerations.
SF Single-Face Corrugated Board:
A structure consisting of one fluted medium bonded to one liner, commonly used for protective wraps, laminations, and further conversion.
SFC Single Facer:
The corrugator section that forms flutes in the medium and bonds them to the first liner to create single-face web.
SFI Sustainable Forestry Initiative:
A forest and chain-of-custody certification program supporting verified fiber sourcing and on-product claims in North American packaging markets.
SPC Statistical Process Control:
The use of control charts and statistical methods to distinguish normal variation from special causes and maintain stable manufacturing performance.
SQF Safe Quality Food:
A food-safety and quality certification program with requirements applicable to manufacturers of packaging intended for food-sector customers.
SRP Shelf-Ready Packaging:
Packaging designed to move efficiently through distribution and be placed directly on a retail shelf with minimal handling.
SSCC Serial Shipping Container Code:
A globally standardized identifier assigned to a logistics unit such as a case, pallet, or mixed shipment for tracking and electronic data exchange.
STE Straight Tuck End:
A folding-carton style whose top and bottom tuck flaps close in the same direction, often providing a cleaner front display panel.
SUS Solid Unbleached Sulfate:
A strong virgin-fiber paperboard grade with a natural kraft appearance, used where strength, tear resistance, and moisture durability are priorities.
SVHC Substance of Very High Concern:
A European chemical-regulatory designation that can trigger communication, notification, authorization, or substitution obligations for substances present in packaging materials.
SW Single-Wall Corrugated Board:
A combined-board structure consisting of one fluted medium between two liners and used for a broad range of shipping cases and retail packs.
T
TAPPI Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry:
A professional organization that publishes widely used test methods, technical information, and training for paper, board, corrugated, and converting operations.
TDS Technical Data Sheet:
A supplier document summarizing material properties, recommended processing conditions, performance values, storage guidance, and intended applications.
TL Testliner:
A recycled-fiber containerboard liner grade available in multiple quality levels and commonly used as an alternative to virgin kraftliner.
TPCH Toxics in Packaging Clearinghouse:
A United States organization supporting implementation of state laws restricting heavy metals and other regulated substances in packaging and packaging components.
TPD Tons per Day:
A production-rate unit used to express paper-machine output, mill capacity, stock-preparation throughput, or converting volume.
TRI Toxics Release Inventory:
A United States reporting program requiring covered facilities to disclose releases and waste management of listed toxic chemicals.
TRIR Total Recordable Incident Rate:
A standardized occupational-safety measure expressing recordable injuries and illnesses relative to hours worked.
TSCA Toxic Substances Control Act:
The United States chemicals law governing reporting, evaluation, restrictions, and recordkeeping for substances used in industrial materials and packaging components.
TSS Total Suspended Solids:
A wastewater parameter measuring undissolved particles, used to control fiber losses, treatment performance, discharge quality, and sludge generation.
TUF Take-Up Factor:
The ratio of corrugating-medium length consumed to finished-board length, determined by flute geometry and used in material and cost calculations.
TVI Tone Value Increase:
The measured growth of printed halftone values relative to the source file or plate, used to control flexographic tonal reproduction.
TW Triple-Wall Corrugated Board:
A heavy-duty structure containing three fluted mediums and four liners, used for bulk, industrial, and high-load shipping applications.
U
UN United Nations:
Its Model Regulations underpin internationally harmonized performance testing, marking, and use requirements for packaging that transports dangerous goods.
UPC Universal Product Code:
A retail barcode identifier printed on consumer packaging and verified for data accuracy, contrast, dimensions, and scan performance.
URB Uncoated Recycled Board:
A recycled paperboard grade without a coated printing surface, used for partitions, backing, tubes, setup boxes, and selected packaging applications.
UV Ultraviolet:
High-energy light used to cure specially formulated inks, coatings, and adhesives rapidly during paperboard printing and converting.
V
VAE Vinyl Acetate-Ethylene:
A copolymer used in water-based adhesive and coating formulations where flexibility, adhesion, and film performance are required.
VOC Volatile Organic Compound:
An organic chemical that readily evaporates and may be regulated in inks, coatings, adhesives, cleaners, and converting-plant air emissions.
W
WCC Waxed Corrugated Containers:
Corrugated packaging treated with wax for moisture resistance; conventional wax coatings can impede repulping and require separate recovery or disposal routes.
WCO World Containerboard Organisation:
An international industry association supporting market information, cooperation, and representation among containerboard producers and regional associations.
WIS Web Inspection System:
A camera-based system that detects and records defects such as holes, streaks, coating flaws, dirt, and edge damage on moving board webs.
WLC White-Lined Chipboard:
A multilayer recycled cartonboard with a white printable top surface and typically gray inner or reverse plies.
WTL White-Top Liner:
A containerboard liner with a white outer surface engineered for enhanced graphics while retaining a kraft or recycled-fiber base.
WVTR Water Vapor Transmission Rate:
A measure of water vapor passing through a material under defined conditions, important for barrier coatings and moisture-sensitive packaged products.
WWTP Wastewater Treatment Plant:
The facility that removes solids, organic load, nutrients, and other contaminants from process water before discharge or reuse.