Predictability of Printing on Linerboard Substrates, 1999 Corrugated Containers Conference Proceedings

George B. Cusdin--Printability has not been a major consideration of the corrugated inerboard industry in the past. Searching for articles through 15 years of TAPPI Journals yielded none that related to printability of linerboard. This project will be foundational because specific research related to measured linerboard characteristics and actual printability is severely lacking.

This assignment is to develop a test method that will determine the printability of linerboard both before and after it is laminated to form combined board. The first objective is to establish the critical factors that affect the way ink is transferred from the printing plate to the board fibers. There is also a need to correlate the laboratory test results to actual production print samples. Once these objectives have been reached, a correlation between printability and the measurable physical characteristics of the board can be determined.

Production press trials have long been one way factors related to printing have been tested but the inherent problems have been that the testing conditions were not well controlled and the results were rarely conclusive. To generate reliable printability results a stable testing environment, standardized equipment, controlled atmosphere, and the ability to control variables is necessary.