Single face laminate (SFL)

Single-face laminate (SFL) is a printing technique that enhances the print quality on coarse corrugated cardboard. Due to the thickness and sponginess of prefabricated corrugated cardboard sheets, they have typically been printed using a flexographic process, which can result in coarse and poorly registered prints. However, the SFL technique has been developed to address this issue.

To create SFL, a traditional fluted medium is adhered to a single liner board, and a pre-printed sheet of paperboard (such as SBS) is laminated to the outer facing instead of a second long-fibered sheet. This allows for excellent print quality, as SBS has superior printing properties that can be printed through an offset printer and processed with various finishing techniques.

Once the SFL sheet has been created, it can be converted into any desired form using the same processes used for other corrugated manufacturing. This makes corrugated packaging boxes visually appealing while still being sturdy and durable.

Diagrammatic drawing of the single-face-laminate process
SFL process

 corrugated box with single face laminate