Paper Finishes
Chromo paper
A paper which is coated and then supercalendered (polished) on one side
only. Used for greetings cards and label stock.
Cast-coated paper
A paper which is coated in the conventional way but with the coating dried
by passing the wet-coated web around a highly polished drying cylinder.
This form of coating gives an improved gloss finish to the surface of the
web. A variant of this process is known as Trulux, which uses a calendering
process in which the soft coating is encouraged to flow under pressure and
heat.
Kraft (bleached or unbleached)
Produced from sulphate woodpulp, it is the strongest of all papers. Used
mainly for wrappings but kraft pulp can be added to other furnishes to
increase strength.
Hand-made paper
Furnish is usually cotton, in the form of rags or cotton linters. Hand-made
paper has good dimensional stability, random fibre orientation and good
permanence and durability. It is extremely expensive to make, so is
mostly used by artists for watercolour painting or for other specialist jobs.
Carbonless paper
Produces copies when writing pressure is applied to the top sheet of a set.
The set is made with special coatings on the appropriate sides of the
sheets. Coated front (CF) is a receptive clay, while coated back (CB) contains
microcapsules which break under writing pressure, releasing a
colour former which reacts with the clay to form an image where the two
coatings are in contact. Used for delivery notes, invoices, order forms etc.
Heat-sealable paper
Uses a coating of heat-activated adhesive. Activation can either be instantaneous
or delayed (useful where direct heat may damage the surface or
product). Used for labels etc.
Pressure-sealable paper
Uses a special polymer coating which is printable but bonds under pressure.
Used for mailers.
Self-adhesive paper
Applied to a silicone-coated backing sheet from which the permanently
sticky paper can be peeled off when ready for contact application.
Machine-finished (MF)
A paper which has been dried in contact with the drying cylinders on the
papermaking machine to create smoothness and uniformity on both sides.
Matt-coated
The base paper is coated with a coating mix which usually contains a mixture
of latex/starch and ground calcium carbonate/china clay. The best mattcoated
papers give a smooth non-reflective surface with low abrasivity and
good ink hold-out. Typical descriptions are velvet, silk or matt art.
Gloss-coated
Paper which has received this type of finish is also known as gloss art
paper. The coating is applied, then the web is passed between two rollers,
one highly polished steel, the other fibre packed. This gives the paper a
very smooth surface with a high-gloss finish. Most high-quality art papers
are coated at least once and sometimes three times on each side.
Machine-glazed (MG)
A paper which has been dried against a highly polished drying cylinder
known as a MG cylinder. This gives one side of the paper a smooth,
glossy appearance while the other remains relatively rough.