FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SURFACE STRENGTH OF COATED PAPERS, 2011 PaperCon Conference

Please Note: This document will be available in PDF format in the "My Electronic Documents" link on the home page once your order has been completed. Please make sure you have the latest version of Acrobat Reader. Click on the Acrobat Reader icon to check for the latest version, it’s FREE. To print a hardcopy of a PDF file correctly you must have a postscript printer. If you are not sure if your printer is a postscript printer please refer to your owner’s manual.

Purchase of electronic (downloadable) documents made at www.tappi.org by credit cards, followed by instant download CANNOT be cancelled. We do not offer refunds on electronic download documents.

This paper focuses on the influence of different coating color parameters on the surface strength of pilot coated paper as determined in full-scale sheet-fed offset printing. A tailor-made printing method using a special printing plate and high-tack inks was developed with the objective to evaluate the impact of different coating parameters on surface strength, mainly in terms of edge picking. Evaluated parameters included the solids content of the coating color, the type, fineness and particle size distribution of the pigment, the binder level, and calendering.

The developed printing test method provided clear differentiation relative to the investigated parameters and it was possible to correlate these results with lab test data on ink-coating interaction and mercury intrusion porosimetry. It was shown that by maximizing the solids content of the formulation, the binder level could be optimized for cost savings while maintaining sufficient pick resistance. In addition, clear differences related to the type of pigment were detected. Other lab tests showed poor correlation with the observed degree of edge picking.