The influence of the through-thickness shear strength profiles on the short span compression test was examined. This was done both with experiments and finite element simulations on five industrial produced paperboards. It was concluded that the short span compression test is governed by in-plane stiffness and through thickness delamination. The delamination damage was in turn dependent on the local transverse shear strength and in-plane stiffness gradients. Furthermore, it was concluded that the pre-delamination mechanisms were elastic. Finally it was possible to alter the results from the test by altering the shear strength of the paperboard; this should be done uniformly over the entire middle ply of the board if an increased SCT value was what was sought after.