Board product and method for making the same

A method of forming a coated boxboard product, comprising:

• precalendering a boxboard product with a surface conditioning device comprising a heatable counter-roll disposed adjacent to a tubular flexible jacket extending around a fixed support element and having a load element disposed therebetween for biasing the flexible jacket against the counter-roll, the flexible jacket having opposed ends and being mounted to at least one end wall at each end, the flexible jacket and the at least one end wall at each end being rotatingly driven by a drive mechanism operably engaged therewith, the boxboard product being directed between the flexible jacket and the counter-roll so as to be precalendered thereby, the boxboard product having a top side, a back side, and being formed without being processed by a Yankee dryer, the boxboard product further comprising a plurality of fiber plies, including outermost plies forming the top and back sides and comprised of bleached chemical pulp, and medial plies disposed between the outermost plies and comprised of at least one of groundwood, pressure groundwood, chemithermo-mechanical pulp, recycled pulp, and broke;
• and
• coating the boxboard product following precalendering thereof such that the coated boxboard product has a density of between about 500 kg/m3 and about 1000 kg/m3, and a basis weight of between about 150 g/m2 and about 400 g/m2, and the top side of the coated boxboard product has a PPS-s10 roughness of between about 0.5 μm and about 2.0 μm and a Hunter gloss of between about 35% and about 80%.