Influence of Gloss and Surface Roughness of Coated Ink Jet Papers on Print Uniformity

Abstract

The final print quality depends on the quality of the digital image as well as the
properties of the printing system, the inks and the paper used. One of the most
widely used digital printing technologies is ink jet, where ink is ejected directly
onto a substrate from a jet device driven by an electronic signal. Most ink jet inks
have low viscosity and low surface tension, which pose high demands upon the
surface properties of the paper. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence
of paper properties of commercially available papers suitable for ink jet
printing on print mottle, non-uniformity. We used two high glossy, one glossy, one
semi-glossy and two matte papers. For the assessment of the surface properties, we
measured surface roughness with the portable Roughness Tester TR 200. We also
measured surface gloss with QIP Glossmaster. To characterise the print mottle we
used the image analysis method – Gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM). Print
mottle was estimated according to five GLCM parameters: Contrast, Correlation,
Entropy, Energy and Homogeneity. Results obtained in this paper showed that the
surface properties of paper are not in any direct relation with print uniformity.