YouCare Global™FBB vs SBB vs GC1: Paperboard Grades Made Simple
Buyers sourcing folding carton board from China often meet a confusing alphabet soup: FBB, SBB, GC1, GC2, C1S, ivory board… Here is how these grades relate.
The international grading family (CEPI / ProCarton)
- SBB / SBS — Solid Bleached Board: bleached wood pulp throughout. Top quality, highest cost. Used for pharma and premium cosmetics.
- FBB — Folding Box Board: multi-ply board with bleached top and a mechanical (or mixed) inner ply. Balanced stiffness and printability at a moderate cost — the workhorse of folding cartons.
- GC1 / GC2 — Coated Duplex Board: grey-backed coated board. GC1 is the higher grade; GC2 is a lighter/standard version. Common for food trays, shoe boxes, e-commerce boxes.
How Chinese "white cardboard" (白卡纸) fits in
Chinese mills produce most of their coated white board in two variants sold as C1S (Coated One Side):
- Ivory board, standard bulk — comparable to FBB with a white, coated top and a cream/white back. Our FBB-1 and FBB-2 grades sit here.
- High-bulk ivory board — thicker at the same grammage (lower density), saving fibre cost for cups, trays and cartons.
Quick selection table
| Your requirement | Grade to ask for |
|---|---|
| Pharma, premium cosmetics, laser coding | SBB or top FBB (e.g. our FBB-1, ≥250 gsm) |
| Standard folding cartons, printing | FBB (our FBB-1 / FBB-2) |
| Grey back OK, cost-sensitive packaging | GC1 / GC2 (coated duplex) |
| Maximum stiffness at low weight | High-bulk board (high-bulk FBB) |
Practical tip
Always send your supplier: grammage, whether the back side must be white, printing process (offset/UV/foil), and whether laser coding is required. These four answers decide the right grade — and usually the price.
Buying C1S / FBB board?
We supply FBB-1 and FBB-2 with full technical data and converting services.
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