Distribution of Ink in Solid Prints Related to the Structure of the Paper, 1996 International Printing & Graphic Arts Conference Proceedings

P.Kristiansson (1) , K.Malmqvist (2) , L.Malmqvist (1,3) ,C.M. Nilsson (1,2,3) and W.Persson (1) -

1 University of Lund

2 Halmstad University

3 Swedish Newsprint Research Centre

The distribution of ink and the underlying structure of the paper in prints on newsprints have been measured simultaneously on a micrometer scale (10 µm) with a nuclear microprobe (NMP), combining the STIM and PIXE-techniques. The amount of ink transferred to the paper show correlation to the corresponding local paper grammage, i.e. the more ink transferred, the thinner paper. Three different news inks have been tested together with three different newsprints. For all three newsprints the number of very local excess of ink pigments as well as the number of local non covered areas diminish significantly when the ink with the smaller pigment particles are printed on the paper. A new analytical technique, ionoluminiscence is presented as a tool for paper and print analysis.