Developing optical efficiency through optimised coating structure, 2008 Advanced Coating Fundamentals Symposium

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Controlling the optical performance of coated papers requires detailed understanding of the coating structure in the finished paper. Careful design of the particle size distribution (PSD) of the constituent pigments enables very different pore structures to be created within the mineral matrix. It is this complex mineral/void matrix which dictates the interactions with incident illumination and gives the visual appearance to the finished sheet. In this work we vary parameters that underpin coating structure in a very controlled manner in order to explore in detail how coated paper optics can be controlled through suitable pigment choice. We concentrate on structures comprising calcium carbonate pigments, which are broadly isometric in dimension, in order to simplify the understanding and include a wide gamut of sizes and PSD widths to cover the likely industrial workspace. The work highlights that different pigments give rise to very different optical efficiencies, suggesting that equal optical performance may be obtained in lighter sheets through suitable pigment choice.