Paperboard-based composites, typically in the form of carton plies, polyethylene, and aluminum foil, are widely used for food packaging applications. The main goal of packaging converting procedures is to create robust and well-shaped commercial packages. This high speed process is very dynamic, resulting in enormous deformation rates within a few milliseconds. In contrast to previous quasi-static investigations, the envisaged dynamic material characterization for soft and thin paperboard plies will help understand and predict the material response during this high speed packaging process. Even though several experimental standards are already available for paperboard tensile tests, these standards are limited to conventional quasi-static test procedures. Specific cylindrical clamps made of aluminum were designed to prevent samples with a thickness of 100 m from slipping. By means of accurate measuring techniques, a maximum strain rate of 80 s^-1 was achieved, which effectively corresponded to actual strain rates that occur in paperboard converting procedures. It was shown that paperboard plies exhibited anisotropic properties and rate-dependent characteristics. Compared to quasi-static properties, the dynamic experiments revealed stiffer hardening properties at higher strain rates. A rate-dependent material model based on Cowper-Symonds and Johnson-Cook analytical laws was generated to formulate a paperboard dynamic constitutive model. Experimental investigations towards analytical material formulations were successfully conducted to predict and determine the rate dependent material characteristics of paperboards plies at high strain rates.