Abstract
The conventional way to evaluate dimensional stability, regardless of end-use purpose, is to measure the change in dimensions when the moisture content is changed by changing the relative humidity. Sorption of moisture from moist air is a relatively slow process and for the evaluation of printing papers this may not be the most appropriate method.
In the present work, data from conventional hygroexpansion measurements has been compared with data from hydroexpansion measurements, i.e. expansions caused by the sorption of liquid water, sprayed onto papers printed with a random speckle pattern, the expansion being monitored by electronic speckle photography.
Sheets made from different pulps, with different fines contents and different modifications were studied at different grammages and water-transfer levels. The effect of drying-mode, i.e. restrained drying or free drying, was also studied. It was concluded that sheets expand less with a given amount of adsorbed water when it is sorbed in liquid form rather than from moist air. Chemical treatments known to increase both the dry and the wet strength, e.g. polyelectrolyte multilayers and cross-linking through periodate oxidation, did not significantly improve the dimensional stability when the papers were exposed to liquid water.
Download PDF