Concentrations of Risk - Additional Information (Details) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022 USD ($) Employee	Dec. 31, 2021 USD ($)
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Accounts receivable, net, current	$ 1,031.8	$ 1,071.0
Number of employees of PCA \| Employee	15,100
Percentage of hourly employees represented by unions	61.00%
Office Depot \| Credit Concentration Risk
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Accounts receivable, net, current	$ 52.4	$ 49.8
Workforce Subject to Collective Bargaining Arrangements \| Customer Concentration Risk \| Labor
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Concentration risk, percentage	43.00%
Workforce Subject to Collective Bargaining Arrangements Expiring within One Year \| Customer Concentration Risk \| Labor
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Concentration risk, percentage	29.00%
Total Company Sales Revenue \| Office Depot \| Customer Concentration Risk
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Concentration risk, percentage	4.00%	4.00%
Total Company Sales Revenue \| Office Depot \| Customer Concentration Risk \| Paper
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Concentration risk, percentage	48.00%
Paper Segment Sales Revenue \| Office Depot \| Customer Concentration Risk \| Paper
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Concentration risk, percentage	48.00%	51.00%
Total Company Receivables \| Office Depot \| Customer Concentration Risk
Concentration Risk [Line Items]
Concentration risk, percentage	5.00%	4.00%

Number of persons employed by the Entity

No definition available.

Name:	dei_EntityNumberOfEmployees
Namespace Prefix:	dei_
Data Type:	xbrli:decimalItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Represents percentage of hourly employees represented by unions.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	pkg_PercentageOfHourlyEmployeesRepresentedByUnions
Namespace Prefix:	pkg_
Data Type:	dtr-types:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Amount, after allowance for credit loss, of right to consideration from customer for product sold and service rendered in normal course of business, classified as current.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 310
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 2
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=124259787&loc=d3e4428-111522

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 310
-SubTopic 10
-Section 45
-Paragraph 9
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=124259787&loc=d3e4531-111522

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_AccountsReceivableNetCurrent
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant

- Definition

Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ConcentrationRiskLineItems
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:stringItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Definition

For an entity that discloses a concentration risk in relation to quantitative amount, which serves as the "benchmark" (or denominator) in the equation, this concept represents the concentration percentage derived from the division.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 42
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=126901519&loc=d3e9054-108599

Reference 2: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 275
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 18
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99393423&loc=d3e6351-108592

Reference 3: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 825
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 20
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123594938&loc=d3e13531-108611

Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 825
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 21
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=123594938&loc=d3e13537-108611

Reference 5: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 275
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 20
-URI https://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=99393423&loc=d3e6404-108592

+ Details

Name:	us-gaap_ConcentrationRiskPercentage1
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	dtr-types:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

- Details

Name:	srt_MajorCustomersAxis=pkg_OfficeDepotMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_ConcentrationRiskByTypeAxis=us-gaap_CreditConcentrationRiskMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_ConcentrationRiskByBenchmarkAxis=us-gaap_WorkforceSubjectToCollectiveBargainingArrangementsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_ConcentrationRiskByTypeAxis=us-gaap_CustomerConcentrationRiskMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	srt_ProductOrServiceAxis=pkg_LaborMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_ConcentrationRiskByBenchmarkAxis=us-gaap_WorkforceSubjectToCollectiveBargainingArrangementsExpiringWithinOneYearMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_ConcentrationRiskByBenchmarkAxis=pkg_NetSalesRevenueGoodsMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_StatementBusinessSegmentsAxis=pkg_PaperMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_ConcentrationRiskByBenchmarkAxis=us-gaap_SalesRevenueSegmentMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type:

- Details

Name:	us-gaap_ConcentrationRiskByBenchmarkAxis=us-gaap_AccountsReceivableMember
Namespace Prefix:
Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
Period Type: