Digital Prints

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Mastering Digital Printing
Types of Paper
Paper for inkjet printing falls into two main camps: uncoated and coated.
Uncoated Paper
Uncoated paper is the paper that we all know. This is the plain “bond” paper used in laser
printers and copiers in every office around the world. On the opposite end of the quality
scale, uncoated paper also includes those beautiful, mouldmade (made on a cylinder mould
machine) fine-art papers that have been lovingly used for centuries for watercolors, drawing,
and traditional printmaking (see Figure 7.10).
There are two main components of uncoated paper: (1) the base or substrate, and (2) any
sizing. The substrate forms the structure of the paper and determines its thickness, weight,
and strength. Sizing can be added either internally to the substrate or to its surface to seal
or bind the fibers and to provide resistance to the absorption of moisture.
Uncoated paper substrates such as newsprint are produced with an acidic process and
made up of wood pulp, which contains cellulose fibers and lignin, a natural glue that
holds the fibers together. The main problem with lignin is that it builds up over time
and ultimately destroys the paper along with any image printed on it (lignin is what
causes newspapers to yellow).
The majority of bond paper is produced via an alkaline process with AKD or ASA sizing,
and it does not contain lignin. Bond paper is also calendared (sometimes spelled calendered)
or smoothed between two metal rollers. However, bond paper is still not a good
choice for inkjet printing except for solid-ink printers and for some inkjets like Epson’s
C84 and C86, which are designed to handle this bottom-of-the-barrel paper medium.
Bond papers do not have an inkjet receptive coating, which leads to poorer image quality
due to ink wicking or bleeding (see Figure 7.11).
Figure 7.10 Arches uncoated
watercolor papers in different
weights and finishes can be
printed on with inkjet.