Review: Interaction between Offset Ink and Coated Paper – A Review of the Present Understanding

Abstract

The printing speed of offset presses has increased significantly during the last decade and this puts increasing demands on the interaction between the paper and ink. Poor interaction may
result in runnability problems and low quality of the printed product. The research in this area has been intensive during many years and the knowledge of important phenomena has been significantly improved, although a full understanding is still missing.

This review concentrate on offset printing of coated paper with special focus on sheet-fed offset. Properties of coatings and composition of offset inks are briefly discussed. Some data on ink film thickness and its lateral distribution is presented. Ink setting is reviewed in some detail and the effect of important coating properties (e.g. porosity, pore size, latex properties) and ink properties (ink oil viscosity and surface tension) are discussed. The interaction between latex binder and ink oil is given special attention.

The impact of coating structure and ink setting on print quality is covered in some details. The importance of ink filament formation and levelling as well as coating topography and ink film thickness on print gloss is well established. Recent findings on relations between mottle tendency and non-uniformity of coating structure and ink setting are included.