Bleached & unbleached hardwood pulp

Also known as Northern Bleached Hardwood Kraft (NBHK), its most common use is for high quality specialty, and more specifically, gravure paper. It allows for engravings of images and texts and less so ink. Common gravure uses are packaging, wallpapers and gift wraps. NBHK pulp utilizes short fibres sourced from northern deciduous tree species.

The process used to convert wood into NBHK pulp is a sulphate (kraft) cooking process. The woodchips are chemically cooked to separate the cellulose (the fibres) from the hemicellulose, lignin and extractives (the chemical compounds that hold the fibres together). Once the fibres are separated, they are washed, bleached and formed into sheets and dried.