The research presented here show ways to improve wet strength by means of hot-pressing without strength additives when using lignin containing pulps as unbleached softwood chemical pulps (NSK) and lignin rich softwood chemithermomechanical pulps (CTMP). NSK (Northern Softwood kraft) laboratory scale produced pulps of 3 different levels of natural lignin (or kappa number) and two commercial pulps, NBSK (Northern Bleached Softwood kraft) and CTMP, were compared evaluating dry- and wet-strength properties. Staining methods and light microscope were used to study cross sections of paper sheets. The CTMP fibers collapse to an increasing degree with pressing temperature whereas NBSK/NSK do not change. The microscopy methods show the distribution of lignin within the paper structure. Sheets made from NSK show a significant increase in wet strength from 4kNm/kg to 23kNm/kg, when increasing temperature from 20°C to 200°C. CTMP show corresponding increase from 2kNm/kg to 16kNm/kg. No increase in dry strength or in density can be observed in case of NBSK/NSK, while the CTMP show an increase of 53% and 100% respectively. The SCT values show an increase up to 35% for lignin-rich NSK based paper sheets when hot-pressing.