Printing / Graphics Grade
Printing And Writing Papers
Indenting And Stockists
Printing and writing papers are paper grades used for newspapers, magazines, catalogs, books, commercial printing, business forms, stationeries, copying and digital printing. The pulp or fibers used in printing and writing papers are extracted from wood using a chemical or mechanical process.
Printing and writing papers are separated into four main categories:
Uncoated Freesheet Paper or Uncoated Woodfree Paper
Woodfree uncoated paper (WFU) or uncoated fine papers are manufactured using wood that has been processed into a chemical pulp that removes the lignin from the wood fibers and may also contain 5–25% fillers. Both softwood and hardwood chemical pulps are used and a minor part of mechanical pulp might be added (often of aspen or poplar). These paper grades are calendered or surface sized as per the requirements.
Uncoated Mechanical Paper such as Newsprint, Super calendered Bulky Book papers etc.
Newsprint is inexpensive paper made primarily of ground wood pulp. It is most recognizable for its use in daily newspapers, although some comic books and trade magazines also use it. It has a shorter lifespan than other papers, but it is cheap to produce in bulk and is the least expensive paper that can withstand the normal printing process.
Supercalendered magazine paper is an uncoated grade containing mechanical pulp and fillers. It is probably the most economical magazine paper if its price-to-information-capacity ratio is taken as the yardstick. This grade is made for HSWO and Gravure Presses.
SC is particularly suitable for mass-circulation and full colour magazines. SC offset is used for TV programme magazines, direct advertising products, newspaper supplements and other printed articles in which high information capacity is an essential requirement.. Powerful supercalander rolls give this paper a dense, smooth and glossy finish.
Coated Freesheet Paper-Coated two side papers / Woodfree Art
Coated fine paper or woodfree coated paper (WFC) are primarily produced for offset printing
Standard coated fine papers
This paper quality is normally used for advertising materials, books, annual reports and high quality catalogs. Grammage ranges from 90–170 g/m2 and ISO brightness between 80–96%. The fibre furnish consists of more than 90% chemical pulp. Total pigment content are in the range 30–45%, where calcium carbonate and clay are the most common.Art Papers
Art papers are one of the highest quality printing papers and are used for illustrated books, calendars and brochures. The grammage varies from 100 to 230 g/m2. These papergrades are double or triple coated with 20–40 g/m2/side and have matte or glossy finish. Higher qualities often contain cotton.
Coated Mechanical Paper-Light weight Coated papers./Medium Weight Coated papers
Light-weight coated printing paper combines low-freeness mechanical pulp with, long fibre cellulose fibres to achieve superior strength. Excellent printability is then added by coating both sides of the paper to give it a high degree of smoothness and gloss.
LWC main uses are for catalogues and magazines with a high advertising content. The higher the basis weight, the higher the brightness level. LWC comes in different versions suiting heatset web offset printing. A matt-surfaced version is very popular for offset printing of textbooks. A hybrid grade is available in the 60-75gsm range commonly called LWC Hi-Brite.
Double Coated Mechanical, MWC is a medium-weight coated paper grade with a medium-thickness coat and a basis weight in the over-80gsm range.
Its double coat gives this paper a consistent surface texture and excellent smoothness, ensuring high gloss colour printing. This good surface ensures low dot-gain in offset printing and explains why MWC is so popular for demanding full-colour applications. MWC boasts the highest information capacity of all the mechanical-pulp-based grades. It is most suitable for perfect-bound speciality magazines and advertising articles in which quality demands are exceptionally high.