Art Workshop - Munken Guide To Uncoated Paper

ENGLISH
MUNKEN PURE ROUGH 120 g/m²
The Munken Guide

to Uncoated Paper
– A workshop of common
understanding for better results
At the mill in Munkedal, we believe every part of the production
process is equally important for achieving a quality result. And
while we all know the definition of quality may vary from one
person to the next, the way we see it, clear communication is
key to achieving a common goal.
This guide contains detailed information that will help you

avoid taking chances when it comes to producing printed
matter on uncoated paper. By having a single reference
document, there can be better communication in each step
of the process, ensuring all parties have the same expec-
tations on the final artwork.
The guide is divided into four workshop sessions. While

some of you may know the content inside out, others
may be understanding it for the first time. The aim is that
by using this guide, all the questions – such as, “Am I using
the right ICC profiles?”, “Is the image adjusted for uncoated
paper?”, “Does the printer need additional information?”
– may be better answered to obtain the desired results.
So, equip yourself with the knowledge provided in this guide,

and use it to enhance your next project. Because, as you
probably agree, when it comes to producing great artwork,
the common language we should all be speaking is quality.
Table of contents
– Art Workshop
Session 1 – The paper Session 2 – The repro
Session 1:1 The makeup of paper Session 2:1 Main paper issues in repro
p. 10 Pulp p. 34 How does the repro affect the result?
p. 10 Fillers p. 34 Screen/Raster
p. 10 Water & moisture content p. 36 Dot gain
p. 10 Chemicals p. 36 Total ink coverage
Session 1:2 Production Session 2:2 Image

p. 11 Production p. 40 Image types
p. 40 Image format & quality
Session 1:3 Paper properties p. 40 Image resolution & pixels
p. 12 Wood-containing & woodfree paper p. 41 RGB & CMYK
p. 12 Grammage, thickness & bulk p. 41 File types
p. 13 Roughness p. 42 Paper & colour space
p. 13 Brightness & shade p. 43 Spot coloured areas & images
p. 14 Opacity p. 43 Black & white images
p. 14 Porosity & absorption p. 43 Six-colour separation
p. 43 Image preparation
Session 1:4 Fibre direction & format p. 43 Short summary
p. 16 Fibre direction
p. 16 Format Session 2:3 ICC profiles
p. 16 Reel formats p. 46 Overview
p. 16 Sheet formats & sizes p. 46 Calibration
p. 46 Characterisation
Session 1:5 How to choose paper p. 46 Conversion
p. 22 The paper choice p. 46 Paper perspective
p. 22 The choice of shade when creating an ICC profile
p. 22 Opacity in your printed matter p. 48 A paper ICC profile
p. 22 The paper feeling p. 48 Different types of ICC profiles
p. 23 Images on different paper p. 49 Basic & special ICC settings
p. 23 Text on paper
p. 23 Lifespan Session 2:4 Production flow
p. 24 The environment & recycling p. 50 Production flow & colour management
p. 50 CTP & paper types
Session 1:6 Storage handling & conditioning p. 51 ISO Standard
p. 25 Temperature & humidity p. 53 Image references
p. 54 Image optimization
p. 56 ICC uncoated profile
p. 58 ICC coated profile
p. 60 Colour separation
p. 66 Screens
p. 68 Black & white/duplex/triplex
p. 70 Ink drying
2 — Art Workshop Table of contents

Table of contents
– Art Workshop
Session 3 – The printing Session 4 – The post production
Session 3:1 Printing methods Session 4:1 Effect enhancing & post production
p. 80 Offset p. 100 Foil blocking
p. 80 Sheet offset p. 100 Embossing
p. 80 UV sheet offset p. 100 Varnishing
p. 82 Web offset – heatset & coldset p. 100 Relief printing
p. 82 Flexographic printing p. 101 Laminating
p. 82 Digital printing p. 101 Die cutting
p. 83 Inkjet, digital printing with ink p. 101 Hole punching
p. 83 Digital printing with p. 101 Perforation
toner/xerography & laser
p. 83 Pre-print in a conventional press Session 4:2 Binding
p. 102 Bookbinding
Session 3:2 Offset printing & uncoated paper p. 102 Folding & scoring
p. 90 The offset principals p. 102 Binding
p. 90 Water, ink & paper interaction p. 102 Trimming
p. 90 Different inks
p. 91 Ink density & uncoated paper Summary – Bear in mind
p. 92 Back pressure p. 114 Key points
p. 92 Print powder & after print stocking p. 115 Summary charts
p. 92 Ink drying & paper p. 116 Your own key points
p. 93 Press varnish p. 126 Munken Design Range
p. 93 Print quality on paper
Table of contents Art Workshop — 3

4 — Art Workshop Session 1 — The paper
Session
– The paper
1
Paper is an extremely broad concept. The variations are
almost limitless, and it is not only the visual impression
but also the tactile qualities that make each paper unique.
This is why paper is far more than just a surface.
Paper can convey feeling and add an extra dimension to your

printed message. Our aim is to give you the knowledge to be
able to distinguish one paper from another, but with particular
reference to uncoated paper. “Uncoated” simply means that
the paper has no added layer on the surface and is completely
natural. We hope this knowledge will help you select the best
paper for your particular end-use by being able to recognise
the individual qualities and properties of the paper you see.
Session 1 — The paper Art Workshop — 5


The paper master

– Leif Lundgren
A great mill is nothing without its paper machines. And the
paper machines are nothing without the skilled craftsmen
running them.
Leif Lundgren is a paper master at the mill in Munkedal.

The 80-metre-long paper machine he is in charge of during
his shift produces some 50 000 metres of paper every hour.
Being a bit of a control person, Leif and his team hang up
a huge sheet of paper on the lightbox every twenty minutes
and slowly search the surface to make sure the paper
is up to Munken’s high standards.



Session 1:1
The makeup of paper

— In simple terms, paper consists of pulp, filler, water and chemicals.
The ingredients are combined according to the unique recipe for each
particular paper, and the grades are then produced in a way that
ensures they have the desired properties.
Pulp Fillers
In school, we used to learn that paper comes Pulp made of fibres therefore represents the most Relative moisture is a quota figure that defines
from trees. This is of course true, but also an important ingredient in paper, although it alone is existing water and the paper’s (water) saturation
extreme simplification. It would be more correct not enough. Additives are also required, one being at one and the same temperature, e.g., 50–55%
to say that pulp consists of cellulose fibres that filler. As the name suggests, the task of the filler at 20°C.
usually come from pulp wood – which in turn is to fill in the gaps in the complex fibre network.
comes from trees. Cellulose can also be extracted A paper made with filler is softer and more even. If the temperature or air humidity in the paper’s
from cotton or grass, but here we will be focusing It has better formation, higher opacity, better ink- surroundings change, the paper will either release
on pulp made from wood. The most common setting properties, a smoother and more flexible or absorb moisture. This in turn means that the
wood types used for pulp are hardwoods, such surface – all of which make for better printing paper may change format or become wavy during
as aspen, eucalyptus and birch, and softwoods, characteristics. exposure – resulting in poorer printing properties.
like pine and spruce. Different types of wood are It is therefore essential to handle and store paper
used because the properties of the fibres vary. There are various types of fillers, the most com- in the correct way. This is discussed later in this
For example, hardwood fibres are shorter and give mon being calcium carbonate (e.g., limestone) session.
the paper good opacity and formation, while fibres and clay (e.g., kaolin or china clay). The choice
from softwood trees are longer and make for a of filler depends both on the desired paper param-
strong paper. eters and on the type of production system.
Chemicals
The filler will affect certain paper parameters Paper production also requires other chemicals in
There are two main ways of producing cellulose like shade, opacity, porosity, stiffness, etc. For addition to fillers. These are necessary primarily
fibres from wood: a chemical method and a this reason, different types of calcium carbonate for the paper to be made, but also to ensure that
mechanical method. are also used. They vary depending on how they the finished product has the desired properties,
are ground, original brightness and if they are such as extra strength, better water resistance
With the chemical method, which produces treated in different ways. Some common names and the right shade.
chemical pulp, cellulose fibres are released from are GCC and PCC.
the other constituents in the tree trunk by first For instance, stock-sizing is used to stop the paper
being ground into chips and then digested using Each mill has a very sensitive production system absorbing too much moisture, while the manufac-
chemical additives. This method produces strong, with process water, and this can be acid or alkali/ turing of surface-sized fine paper also uses a
almost pure cellulose fibres which are highly neutral. Calcium carbonate is only used in a alkali starch additive to make the paper more print-
resistant to ageing. Since this method almost /neutral system and results in a paper with a high friendly and durable.
exclusively uses the tree’s cellulose – around pH value, i.e., an alkali/neutral paper. Kaolin filler
50-55% of the tree’s volume – the resulting is normally used in an acid system and produces Furthermore, shading dyes are also usually
product is often called woodfree pulp. The other a paper with a low pH, i.e., an acid paper. required so that the paper maintains a consistent
constituents in the tree are instead used as many colour from one production run to the next, as
different kind of raw materials or energy, which A paper’s life span partly depends on whether it the shade of the pulp frequently varies. In order
also means that many modern pulp mills are is manufactured in an alkali/neutral or an acid to achieve higher brightness, an OBA, or Optical
more than self-sufficient in terms of energy. system; if it’s acid-free or not. This is because Brightening Agent, is also used. The OBA and
a paper made in an acid system is broken down dying inks will also interact to gain a final perfect
The production of mechanical pulp, on the from within by the low pH value, while the oppo- shade.
other hand, involves grinding the tree in a mill site applies for an alkali/neutral paper: the high
or between grindstones until the cellulose fibres pH value helps the paper better withstand exter- Production chemicals will always be necessary
have been separated. Thus the name – mechanical nal acid stress. This is a requirement for an to obtain a stable chemistry in the production
pulp – as the fibres are extracted using a mechani- age-resistant paper. process, and then a stable product quality.
cal method. Moreover, unlike the chemical meth-
od, mechanical pulp production also utilises other Paper is almost a 100% natural product, but as
parts of the tree – such as lignin and resins – so Water & moisture content always when chemicals are used, it is essential
that almost 95% of the tree’s volume is exploited. Paper also contains some moisture in the form to use the right type of chemicals to avoid envi-
Mechanical pulp is therefore often called wood- of water, commonly between 3–7% of its weight. ronmental impact and also get a final product that
containing pulp, as all the wood-containing sub- The moisture level depends on the application is harmless. For this reason, there are very strict
stances are still there. and printing process the paper is intended to controls today both by local authorities and the
be used in. EU via the REACH system. Paper grades can
There are several different variations of chemical also be tested for compliancy with food contact
and mechanical pulp. Also, combinations of the The water content of paper is expressed in two as well as for safety of toys, and these should be
two methods are used to produce a third type measurements: absolute humidity (AH) or relative the best guarantees for a safe paper choice.
of pulp, semi-chemical pulp, one example being humidity (RH). Absolute moisture refers to water
Chemo Thermo-Mechanical Pulp, known as content as a proportion of the paper’s weight, for
CTMP. In CTMP production, the tree is turned example, 5.5% of the total paper weight.
into chipwood in the same way as in the chemical
method, and the chips are then partially treated
with heat and chemicals before the fibres are
separated mechanically.

Session 1:2
Production
— Once the pulp has been produced, paper is manufactured
in two stages: stock preparation and on the paper machine.
Production
In stock preparation, the fibres in the pulp are The next stage is the drying section, where the Before the paper is completely ready and wound
beaten to give the paper special properties, such paper passes over a number of steam-heated cyl- onto a large reel called a tambour reel, it is often
as optimum strength and fibre binding. In addi- inders, and the majority of the remaining water calendared and pressed between cylinders, where
tion to pulp, the stock ingredients usually com- is removed. Only now, after the drying section in pressure and friction are applied to reach the
prise of stock size, calcium carbonate, shading which almost all the moisture has been removed, desired surface smoothness and the final thick-
dye and 99% water. can the word paper be used in its true sense. As ness. In the final stage of the process, the finished
the paper comes out of the pre-dryer, it is often paper is wound onto large tambour reels, and
Paper production begins with the stock mixture surface sized. Surface sizing means that a thin then cut down into smaller reels or sheets.
being fed into the head box, which is the starting film of a sizing agent, most often starch, is applied
point of the paper machine, and sprayed onto to the surface for extra strength and printability. The entire process in the paper machine takes
what is called the wire. The wire section is basi- very little time, between 10 and 30 seconds from
cally the paper machine’s first dewatering process. The paper then goes on to the after-dryer still at stock to finished paper. During this brief sequence
Using one or two wires or straining cloths, the the same high speed, where it is dried after starch of events, the stock is dewatered and becomes
water in the stock is removed with dewatering has been added. This stage is omitted if the paper paper. The paper machine is therefore, quite
elements and vacuum, and the moisture content is an unsized quality. simply, a large dewatering machine.
of the mixture decreases considerably. It is also
in the wire section that the paper begins forming,
and the fibres orientate themselves mainly in the
direction of the fast moving paper web.
From the wire, the still wet pulp moves on to

the press section, where it is dewatered further
using pressure between cylinders and felts. The
pressure in the press section also influences the
finished paper’s bulk, stiffness, opacity, strength
and roughness.
WIRE SECTION PRESS SECTION DRYING SECTION
Head box Upper wire Pre-dryer Surface sizing After-dryer Calendering/smoothing Tambour reel
Lower wire

Session 1:3
Paper properties
— All papers are unique and have different properties – properties that are
crucial to the final result of a piece of printed material, how it is perceived
and the feeling it conveys. Choosing the right paper is therefore important
and requires some knowledge. Quite simply, you have to understand the
preconditions and properties of the paper in order to make the correct choice.
Wood-containing Grammage,
& woodfree paper thickness & bulk
Earlier in the section, we explained the two prin- Grammage, thickness and bulk are three impor- Bulk is a very important factor when producing
cipal ways of manufacturing pulp, the chemical tant and common paper properties. The three are books, and is crucial to how the final result is
method and the mechanical method. The chemi- often mentioned in the same breath, for the sim- perceived. If the aim is to convey an impression
cal method removes practically all wood-contain- ple reason that they are mathematically linked. of a thick book rich in content, a high-bulk paper
ing substances from the wood, apart from the Thickness and grammage are defined indepen- should be used. If the idea is to fit in a lot of text
cellulose. This is why paper that contains wood- dently of one another, while bulk, sometimes also but still keep the book thin, a low-bulk paper is
free pulp, i.e., chemical pulp, is called woodfree. referred to as volume, is the relationship between more appropriate.
Woodfree paper properties include high strength grammage and thickness. This section defines
and good permanence. each term more closely. Bulk can also, in many cases, be a question of
saving costs. For example, when setting up a mail
A woodfree paper can fulfil the requirements of Grammage=thickness / bulk campaign and using a paper with a slightly higher
permanent paper, the ISO 9706, if certain param- Grammage is the most common measure of a bulk, a lower grammage can usually be used with-
eters are fulfilled. The parameters are maximum paper’s weight, and is given as weight per square out detracting from the feeling. This could save
permitted lignin content, an alkaline buffer of metre, e.g., 130 g/m². The concept is fundamental a lot of money in distribution costs.
calcium carbonate and high enough strength. when choosing a paper, although it is often used
somewhat carelessly to refer to a paper’s thickness, We often talk about what yield we get per m² and
The production of mechanical pulp exploits the which is misleading as thickness actually depends the result is that you get a higher number of print-
majority of the tree volume, which means that on the paper’s bulk. ed books, brochures, DMs, etc., with same weight
parts other than the pure cellulose are added to of paper, a better yield of paper and money.
the pulp mixture. A paper with mechanical pulp Thickness=grammage x bulk
is therefore called wood-containing paper. The A paper’s thickness is measured in micrometres We recommend that you compare different papers
properties of a wood-containing paper include (µm) – thousandths of a millimetre – and is the according to the image and see for yourself that a
good strength, high opacity and a natural feel. distance between the paper’s two surfaces. Thick- bulkier paper dramatically increases stiffness and
ness is in many ways an important consideration rigidity. When comparing an uncoated paper with
Paper grades, which mainly comprise of semi- in paper selection, as it affects the stiffness, a coated, the coated is, in general, more floppy
chemical pulp (CTMP), change the traditional stability, feel and, of course, thickness of the final than its uncoated equivalent in grammage.
distribution of woodfree and wood-containing printed product. This is particularly true in books,
paper because benefits are gained from both which can contain hundreds of pages of sheets. This sheet has a high bulk – it is airy, light and thick.
types of pulp. By definition, these are often Bulk 1.8 x grammage 130 g/m² gives a thickness
referred to as wood-containing paper, although Bulk=thickness / grammage of 234 micrometres.
they are often more similar to woodfree grades, As the above formula shows, bulk defines the
depending on the desired function. relationship between a paper’s thickness and its
grammage. The dimension refers to the volume or
The definitions of woodfree and wood-containing compactness of a paper, which is then cm3/g. The
paper differ between standards, but the most correct definition of bulk is in fact “the reciprocal
common is that woodfree paper can consist of up value of density,” (g/cm3). These formulae show
to maximum 10% mechanical fibres. Paper made that the bulk is actually the volume divided by the
to meet the requirements of the various standards weight and not the thickness divided by the gram-
for age-resistant paper (such as ISO 9706) can, in mage. However, when the weight and the volume
principle, not contain any mechanical fibres at all. of the paper are both per m², the calculation will
give the same result. This sheet below has a low bulk – it is thin and
heavy. Bulk 1.1 x grammage 130 g/m² gives a
thickness of 143 micrometres.
A paper with a low bulk is more compact than one
with a high bulk, and contains less air. A low-bulk
paper is therefore thin and heavy, while a high-
bulk paper is light, airy and thick.
Compare bulk 1.4 and 1.13 on pages 16–17

Session 1:3
Paper properties
Roughness Brightness & shade

In some way, the surface of a sheet of paper is Just like the Innuits have many different words Shading dyes are also added to most papers. For
like the topography of a landscape, with peaks, for the colour and consistency of snow, so paper example, a blue shade is often added to a paper
troughs and minor bumps. The term used to has a broad spectrum of brightness and shades. when the aim is to give a whiter impression,
define a paper’s deviation from an absolutely All with one thing in common: they enhance while a touch of yellow will make the paper
smooth surface is roughness. the impression of the finished printed product. appear more natural.
Because as we know, there is a great difference
Roughness is expressed in ml/min, referring to between white, natural and coloured paper. Therefore, it is common to describe the shades
the volume of air that passes between the paper of the paper in words such as white, natural
and the flat surface of a measuring device in one However, all pulp of the same type basically has white, bluish white or cream. The shade of
minute. This measurement is called the Bendtsen a similar brightness and shade. For this reason, a paper can actually be well-described in a
value. different chemicals and dye colours are added common colour model called CIE Lab, which
to distinguish the finished papers’ brightness gives the level of the blue, yellow, red and green
In general, uncoated paper has a higher roughness and shade. Adding OBAs (Optical Brightening shades and also the lightness. This is often used
– more peaks and troughs on the surface – than Agents) to the mixture also increases the final when controlling quality during production,
coated paper. In order to reduce roughness, the brightness of the paper. OBA works by converting but is not as common for explaining paper
paper is compressed and smoothed in a calendar. reflected invisible UV light into a visible blue parameters.
This makes for a certain link between bulk and white light, which makes the paper look brighter
roughness, as a smooth, compressed paper will than it actually is. This effect can easily be As you have already understood, the colour
have a lower bulk. verified by using a UV-lamp. of paper is a science in itself. However, the
information provided in technical specifications
So to achieve a higher bulk, the evenness of The most common way to describe a paper’s is very helpful. But two fundamental things
the paper surface will have to be compromised optical parameters are with the CIE whiteness, are needed to make a good visual comparison
to some degree, and the paper will be rougher.
ISO brightness and the shade. Although between paper shades: samples and the right
And this is, of course, significant to the final
whiteness, brightness and shade are visual lighting conditions.
result. In some cases, the aim is a nice, even
properties that may seem hard to distinguish
surface, while in others, the printed matter is
at first sight, they do in fact describe different Samples with different shade levels and
intended to convey more of a coarse, robust
impression.
things. references are normally needed when visually
determining the paper’s optical parameters.
Surface roughness also affects the printing pro- Brightness is expressed as a percentage of how Without comparing references, it is very hard
cess, especially in high-roughness papers where much light of one particular wavelength, in the to do a proper evaluation.
irregularities can affect the graphics. blue area of the daylight spectra, the 457nm, is
reflected from the paper. Whiteness is a related When evaluating shades, you should also use
There are also other standards with similar parameter, although this is gauged over several the correct lighting conditions. In the paper
methods to measure the paper surface roughness wavelengths, also in the blue area, it gives a value industry, we use D65 as an illuminant, while
as Bekk, Sheffield and Parker Print, etc., and closer to what the eye actually perceives. The in the evaluation of printed colours, D50 should
when measuring coated paper the “smoothness” fact that these two most common parameters be used. In most cases, these specific lights are
is normally defined according to Parker Print more or less express the different levels of not available at hand, and then the best practice
Smoothness PPS. blueness in the paper means we often need some would be to use and compare the samples
supporting information when papers differ in with several different light sources.
other colours. In fact, two papers with the same
whiteness or brightness can have differences in Compare paper shades on pages 96–97
yellow, red or green.

Session 1:3
Paper properties
Opacity Porosity & absorption

Another word for opacity is non-transparency. Porosity and absorption are two important factors On uncoated paper, the actual fibres absorb liq-
Therefore, the higher a paper’s opacity, the less where coated and uncoated paper differ. These uids as well. This is often called the micro-porosi-
transparent it is. A paper with 100% opacity is two parameters have a major influence in the way ty, which affects the way liquids are absorbed into
therefore completely non-transparent, while one paper absorbs the printing ink, and we would the paper.
with a low opacity, such as greaseproof paper or therefore like to spend some time reflecting on
tracing paper, lets a much higher proportion of these. The total absorption on uncoated paper occurs
light through. both in the paper and on the surface, creating
Porosity and absorption are not normally consid- a bleeding effect in all directions.
Opacity depends on how well the paper surface ered when choosing a fine paper, and therefore
can scatter and absorb light. The perceived opaci- these parameters will seldom be found in techni- On coated paper, the surface coating will cause a
ty is altered during printing, after which we refer cal specifications. They are more related to the totally different absorption behaviour. The coating
to print opacity. This is an important factor to way ink is absorbed and how images will turn layer consists of pure minerals like calcium car-
consider, as printing ink penetrates the paper and out on the paper. bonate and/or china clay with a certain amount
reduces its opacity, which could result in the print of binders.
being visible through the sheet. This is especially It is not easy to imagine that a paper, which
important in double-sided printing, particularly is based on cellulose fibre, is a porous material This layer is much more compact than the fibre
on low-grammage paper, when images or text of which 70% of the volume could be air. As we network, but this layer is also highly porous on a
on one side can disturb the other. It is therefore explained earlier, the cellulose fibres form a web fine micro-porosity level. This porosity is created
important to think about where on the page the with gaps and pores in between. Even if the gaps by the gaps between the mineral particles, which
text and graphics should go. are filled with fillers, the paper will still be a are very small. The coating layer is developed to
porous material, where air can pass through and interact with the offset printing inks. It will have
liquids can be absorbed. The way paper absorbs a kind of filtering effect that keeps the colour
liquids is due to the porosity, but also the way the pigment, together with some amount of ink bind-
paper is surface sized and the surface is treated. ers, on top of the surface.
Uncoated and coated surfaces are fundamentally

But the main part of the solvent and liquids will
different. The surface of uncoated paper is made be absorbed into the coating layer. The colour
of pure fibres, and the porosity and absorption are pigment particles should be bigger than the
caused by the gaps between fibres and the fibres’ micro-porosity gaps to be kept on the surface.
own absorption. The absorbtion of liquids is very quick with the
main part soaking into the surface with a minimal
bleeding effect.
To summarise the absorption of ink; on uncoated

paper, both the solvents and pigments will be
absorbed into the paper’s surface. This will also
cause the ink dots to grow and more colour pig-
The coated paper has a surface of mineral coating ments to be absorbed into the paper, resulting in
on top of the base paper, and absorption is caused a lower ink gloss. Coated paper will, instead, very
by the micro porosity in this coating layer. quickly absorb the ink straight into the coating
layer, keeping the pigment more or less on top
of the surface and providing a high ink gloss.


Session 1:4
Fibre direction & format

— In much the same way as fish in a school orientate themselves to swim in the
same direction, most fibres point in the same direction as the paper web during
production. The fibre direction is a crucial parameter in the printing and in post
production, but most important in printed matter. A book or brochure with the
wrong fibre direction will immediately give the feeling that something is wrong.
Therefore, getting the fibre direction right is one of the first things that needs
to be learned when working with paper.
Fibre direction Format

The direction the fibres orient to during paper As the paper comes off the paper machine, it
production is simply called the paper’s fibre is wound onto a large reel called a tambour reel. Two common standards are the A series and the
direction and sometimes the machine direction If the paper is to be used in a web offset press it B series, and below you can see the similarities and
(MD), the opposite direction is called the cross is cut down into smaller reels, otherwise it is differences. There are also versions of these standard
sizes that are adapted for local demands or for
direction (CD). In the fibre direction, the paper cut into the required sheet sizes. special applications.
will be stiffer and thereby harder to bend across.
This has implications in the feeling of printed Sheets and reels are the main paper formats,
matter. For example, a brochure with the wrong but there are a great many different formats with- 1000
fibre direction feels less stable, and in a book, in each primary group that are either standard 62 125 250 500
the pages feel stiff and are harder to open. or customised depending on the customer and B8
intended use. A paper buyer can be relatively B6
B7
B4
88
It is easy to find out in which direction a paper’s certain that standard formats are in stock with
fibres run by laying a sheet over the edge of a the supplier. However, if a customised format is
B5
176
table. Across the fibre direction, the paper will be required there may be a slightly longer delivery
stiffer and harder to bend and fold. Another way is time, as it first has to be ordered and then
to drag hard with your thumbnail and index finger produced at the mill.
B2
along the paper’s edges. The edge that distorts
B3
353
most runs across the direction of the fibres.
The paper supplier’s size information also reveal
Reel formats
1414
the fibre direction, as the figure given first (e.g., Like sheets, reels are cut into the diameters
the 210 in 210 x 297) refers to the length of the and widths ordered by the customer, and also
side running across the fibre direction. There are according to weight and length. However, standard
several other ways to note fibre directions, as for formats are less common in reels, although they
B1
example, noting the fibre directions’ size in bold do exist. All paper reels also have a core in the
707
or adding a term like “long grain” when a paper centre so that they can be brought into the print-
sheet is longer in the fibre direction or “short ing press. Common standard core diameters
grain” when it is shorter in the fibre direction. are 70, 76 and 153 mm.
Fibre direction. Sheets can be cut so that the fibre Sheet formats & sizes
direction runs along the short or long edge of the
paper, thus influencing the way the size figures
The sheeting machine cuts the paper into sheets
are given. according to the customer’s ordered dimensions
or a standard format, and the paper is then either 841
delivered on pallets – usually in a bulk pack where 52 105 210 420
all the sheets are stacked up – or in smaller packs, A8
where sheets are wrapped in reams of 500, A6
A7
A4
74
for example.
A5
148
A2
As we mentioned before, the sheet dimensions
are given depending on fibre direction. The first
Direction through paper machine
figure is the length of the side that runs across

the direction of the fibres. There is also a wide
A3
297
assortment of formats in standard use in different

countries. Suppliers normally offer these as stand-
1189
ard stock at a fixed number of sheets per pallet.
A1
594
297x210 210x297

MUNKEN LYNX 150 g/m²


The selector
– Örjan Öhman
Most printers have their house paper. Still, keeping updated and
informed about what paper can do is what every successful
printer continuously needs to do.
Örjan is a classic jack-of-all-trades character. With eleven years

in the craft, he is involved in processes spanning from paper
purchasing to overseeing the post production work. This holistic
view on the production and the in-depth understanding of
all stages is invaluable when choosing and purchasing paper
to the printing house. Being a keen golfer, he also understands
the virtues of keeping up quality every single step of the way.



Session 1:5
How to choose paper

— In some cases, the paper is only a means of carrying information, and very
little attention is given to the paper itself. So then, the standard house paper is
the obvious choice. But often, the ambition of the total impact of printed matter
is higher. The paper then becomes a key part of the whole message – the feeling,
shade, environmental aspects and the way images are reproduced need to
interact.
The paper choice The choice of shade The paper feeling

Deciding whether printed matter actually is need- For some paper grades, standard shades have One of the most important and talked about
ed is not as obvious today as it was in the past. been developed, as for example, standard offset aspects of paper is the physical feeling. The paper
These days, there are many alternative ways of grades or A4. But for some grades a unique shade feeling can, of course, mean different things to
spreading information and reaching the target is developed so that the paper will stand out. different people. But in simple terms, it is the way
group. There-fore, the first decision is whether to paper feels when you touch and hold it. It can be
choose a unique shade or not. warm or cold, smooth or rough tactile, soft or stiff,
However, the decision to use paper as the material thick or thin.
is often an easy choice, due to many obvious rea- Whites and creams are very common paper
sons. The actual choice of a specific paper grade shades. But the most common papers today are The first thing you will react on when touching
will affect the impact of the printed matter in white, which normally have different levels of a a paper is whether it’s warm or cold. This is an
many ways, and therefore needs to be very care- slightly bluish tone. The blue tone in white paper subconscious, physical reaction to how different
fully considered. If chosen correctly, the paper will often give a slightly colder impression than paper surfaces draw heat away from your finger-
can boost the impact, but interpreting different a cream shade paper, which has a warmer, yellow tips and although obvious, is not often considered.
technical paper parameters into the effect in your tone. White paper will give more contrast in imag- Uncoated paper is a wood-fibre material and will
own printed matter requires some reflection and es. Whereas a cream shade paper is recognised as therefore feel warmer. Whereas a coated paper,
knowledge. friendlier to read on, and that’s why most novels which has a surface of minerals, will feel colder.
are printed on a cream shade.
If the paper choice is not well made, the whole Natural feeling, tactile, robust and abrasive are
concept can be lost. On the other hand, the The paper shade we see is actually a reflection words we use to describe the feel of paper. Howev-
perfect choice of paper can support the purpose of the surrounding light on the paper. This means er, it’s the paper roughness that we usually try and
of the content and the total sum may be greater that the lighting conditions will heavily affect the put words to. A smooth surface is often considered
than the sum of each individual part. shade we perceive. So, it’s always a good idea to to give a more exclusive touch, whereas a rougher
consider where the printed matter will be used surface has a more tactile and natural feeling. The
When choosing paper for a graphical production, and to test the paper in different lighting condi- surface roughness will also, to some extent, affect
there are two main parameters to consider; the tions, for example, daylight, tube light and bulb printed images and it will be slightly harder to get
technical criteria required for functionality and, light. You will notice a big difference when chang- the best result on a really rough paper. However,
the more subjective, how the paper suits the idea ing the light. Note that the paper shade measure- a rough surface will often give the image a very
of the end product. There are, of course, other ments, such as ISO brightness and CIE whiteness, special character.
parameters, such as price and availability, etc., will not cover all the colour aspects of a paper and
but the aim of this guide is to focus on the paper therefore the visual comparison between paper Stability, stiffness and the perceived thickness
itself. should support your final decision. will all come from the actual paper thickness.
Papers containing the same grammages can be
Earlier, we explained the technical parameters produced in different thicknesses, and this is
of paper. In this part of the session, we will aim
Opacity in your printed matter defined as bulk levels. A bulkier paper has a high-
to link them to a more subjective parameter in the Another obvious visual effect when something is er thickness, at a given grammage, and will feel
paper choice. If we, from a subjective parameter, printed on paper is the opacity. Remember that more stable and robust than a low bulk paper.
were to divide the paper choice, we would start on a computer screen, there is no disturbance The thickness of a paper will also give a different
with visual appearance in shade, the tactile paper from the backside, however on paper, the text impression on how solid the printed matter feels.
feeling, how paper can reproduce images, reada- and images on one side of the sheet may show If the thickness is too low, it will give a floppy and
bility in text and finally the lifespan of the paper. through, creating unwanted effects on the other sub-standard impression. If it is too high, it can
When you have obtained the basic knowledge on side. Therefore, it’s important to choose a paper have an unpleasant feel and can result in pages
how paper can be perceived, your experience of with an opacity level that’s high enough for your in a book or brochure not opening in a nice way.
how paper characteristics can be used will add to needs.
this knowledge for many years to come. So don’t Very often, the format of the printed matter,
hesitate on exchanging experiences with others. The opacity level is influenced by the grammage in terms of height and width, is well defined.
– the higher the grammage, the higher the opacity. However, the thickness also greatly affects our
Therefore, sometimes there needs to be a compro- initial impression. A thick, heavy brochure or a
mise between the grammage and opacity you thin, light one will communicate different things.
choose. However, the measured paper opacity is There are great opportunities to make the best
only part of the visual opacity in printed matter. first impression by choosing the right grammage,
How ink-heavy the images are and how the layout thickness and bulk.
is structured both play large parts in the final, so
called, print opacity. So we strongly recommend
that you consider the layout and image types, and
the show-through effect they will have, and select
the grammage and opacity level based on these.

Session 1:5
How to choose paper
Images on different paper Lifespan

So how will images turn out on different paper? Is the lifespan in a paper a subjective parameter?
This is a wise question to consider at an early We would say yes, because a paper will not just
stage. And you will get the best answers by look- break or “die” of old age after a certain point.
ing at good printed references for the specific However, all paper will age over time, and this will
grade. These should be confirmed as having top become obvious from two main aspects, yellowing
quality in the repro and print, otherwise you and decreased strength. The effect of this will
might get the wrong impression of the possibili- be that at some point, you will think the printed
ties. When you are searching for the paper feeling matter is not as fresh as you would like it to be. In
you want, it’s important to know how different your planning of a production, you should normally
papers will affect the printed images. For example, consider the time the paper is required to stay
coated and uncoated papers will show colours in fresh. For example, a direct mail just needs a few
very different ways. This will be explained in days, but an advertising brochure may need a year
more depth later in this guide. or two. Whereas a schoolbook, a cookbook or a
novel should be able to be passed on to future
Another factor that will affect images is the generations.
paper shade. The base shade of the paper will give
a certain tone to the image. For example, a yellow Yellowing is an aspect that usually needs to
toned paper will give a slightly warmer feeling, be considered when selecting a wood-containing
and a blue tone a slightly colder one. At the same paper. However, all paper will change colour to
time, the blue will increase the feeling of white some extent. For example, the OBA in white paper
and often give a higher contrast. will fade somewhat, and even woodfree paper will
become slightly more yellow over time. Whereas,
while the effect on wood-containing paper can
Text on paper start after just a few days, depending on what
We already mentioned that cream shade paper lighting conditions it is exposed to, with woodfree
is considered to be more reader friendly. Several we’re talking decades or even several hundreds
studies have shown this to be true, and black text of years.
with good contrast on cream shade paper enables
you to keep concentration levels up for a longer Regarding strength in the paper, there are two
period of time with your eyes becoming less tired. issues to consider: the binding and how the paper
Specular reflections from paper cause major dis- will withstand the handling it is supposed to
turbances when reading text. Coated paper has a endure. In the binding, the paper strength plays
certain gloss level, which you will find in the tech- a great part – actually keeping it all together.
nical specifications. This value gives information
about the actual reflection at a specific angle A few basic rules can be applied: woodfree paper
– the higher the value, the higher the reflection. is stronger than a wood-containing one, higher
Uncoated paper tends not to reflect directly due grammages are stronger than lower grammages
to the light being scattered so much. The absence and uncoated paper will be stronger than a coated
of reflections enhances readability to a greater one at the same grammage. There is, however, an
extent. In most printed material, there is a combi- additional strength aspect – how the paper chang-
nation of text and images. Therefore, you should es when it is exposed to moisture. Paper can
consider whether the importance of the text is remain strong in wet conditions from different
greater than that of the images, and if it is, then sizing and surface treatments. Therefore, it’s
readability is a vital parameter. important to consider whether the paper will
be exposed to humidity in some way.
Finally, it can be interesting to reflect over the

lifespan of your information when choosing a
long life paper. You can probably no longer use
the content of a floppy disk created 15 years ago,
but you can still read a book published then. Do
you think you will be able to read the information
you store digitally today in 30–50 years? Perhaps,
but today there is still no future-safe digital media.
By choosing the right paper, however, you can
ensure your information lasts several hundreds
of years.

Session 1:5
How to choose paper
The environment & recycling

Caring for the environment has become a natural Since the cellulose fibres are processed and circu- Therefore it could be a good recommendation
part of our everyday life. An increased number lated several times, they eventually wear out. This to focus on a limited number of environmental
of reports about global warming, waste mountains is why new or “virgin” fibres will always be neces- aspects or certifications, the ones which feel most
and polluted waters has made us more and more sary in the paper industry. From an environmen- important and relevant for you, and make the
environmentally conscious. We are faced daily tal perspective, it makes most sense to use the vir- comparisons and choices based on those.
with large and small environmental choices and gin fibres in paper grades of highest quality and
as a producer of printed matter, the paper choice each time the fibre is recycled, to use it in paper So, what are the most common environmental
is one of them. grades with lower quality requirements. In this aspects and certifications for paper? We can
way, the fibre will be used to its maximum poten- recommend looking for the following:
Essentially, paper is a product with many environ- tial with minimal input of chemicals and energy
mental benefits and to use paper as a media carri- for the recycling process. So, for high quality —— FSC or PEFC certification – certifications that
er is, most of the time, the obvious and most envi- printed matter, it is a good environmental choice guarantees that the forests have been managed
ronmentally friendly choice. Paper is a renewable, to use paper made of virgin fibre – when it is used in a responsible way.
recyclable and biodegradable material. and recycled, it will be a necessary input of fresh —— Nordic Ecolabel (Svanen) or EU Ecolabel –
fibre into the paper recycling system and can be paper which is certified or approved according
What makes paper so unique from an environ- re-used for production of new paper. to these environmental labels meets strict
mental perspective is that it is produced from environmental criteria from a life cycle per-
cellulose fibre. The cellulose fibre used in paper Even this guide, which has been made from virgin spective and with a wide range of environmen-
has a life cycle in balance with nature and it is an fibres and broke, is on its way into an eco-cycle. It tal aspects taken into account.
amazing material for many reasons. First of all, it may be recycled and become a newspaper in just —— TCF and ECF – means that the paper has not
is chemically built up by carbon, which the trees, a few years’ time, when you think you know eve- been bleached with chlorine gas. The bleach-
as they grow, take up from the atmosphere in the rything about paper and printing. But what we ing actually takes place during the pulp pro-
form of carbon dioxide. In return for the carbon really want is for you to keep it for many years to duction and nowadays most pulp mills have
dioxide, the trees give back oxygen, which is come, which is why we have made it from wood- stopped using chlorine gas for bleaching.
essential for all life on earth. The fact that the free grades. If you do choose to keep it, it can last Instead oxygen, ozone, hydrogen peroxide or
trees take up carbon dioxide makes the cellulose for several hundred years. chlorine oxides are common methods. TCF
fibre a carbon-neutral raw material and this is one stands for Total Chlorine Free and means that
of the main reasons why the carbon footprint of Everything has an end and so does the life cycle the pulp has been bleached without any chlo-
paper and printed matter is very low. of the cellulose fibre. Even though it can be recy- rine compounds. ECF stands for Elemental
cled many times, it will eventually reach its Chlorine Free and means that the pulp is
One other advantage with the cellulose fibre used end-of-life phase. But here the benefits of being bleached without chlorine gas but that chlo-
in paper is that it can be recycled and re-used a natural material are also evident. Paper can be rine oxide is used in combination with, for
many times. These days, paper can be almost incinerated to generate electricity or central heat- instance, oxygen and hydrogen peroxide.
100% recycled, and to minimise the paper indus- ing for houses. The carbon in the cellulose fibre is —— ISO 14001 and EMAS – these are Environmen-
try’s impact on the environment, it is essential then released and goes back into being the carbon tal Management Systems (EMS) which many
that the fibres are recycled to the greatest extent dioxide it once was before taken up by the grow- mills have in place in order to work with envi-
possible. ing trees. If the paper by accident ends up in ronmental issues in a structured way. One
nature, the same thing will happen as the cellu- important principle in such work is to set and
In the paper manufacturing process, the paper lose fibre degrades naturally – that is the advan- follow up environmental targets in order to
waste from quality changes and trimming is effi- tage of a biodegradable material. continuously improve the environmental per-
ciently taken care of by recycling it directly back formance.
into the process. This is possible because this Indeed, paper is essentially an environmentally —— Paper Profile – this is an environmental prod-
paper is “clean” – which is to say that it has no friendly material, but to make the best paper uct declaration (EPD) for paper where the most
printing ink on it – it is ground down, added to choice from environmental perspective there are important environmental parameters are giv-
the pulp stock and used again. This type of re-used a number of aspects to consider. What are the en, such as emissions to air and water, waste to
surplus paper is called “broke”, and it ensures impacts on water from the paper production? landfill and purchased electricity. Declarations
that everything in the process is exploited to the What is the carbon footprint of the paper? Does according to Paper Profile follow a well-defined
maximum. the wood raw material originate from sustainable method in order to provide comparability of
forestry? What environmental certifications does the data.
But maybe the greatest gain in terms of reduced the paper have? All of these are relevant questions
environmental impact is the collection and recy- to ask. So there are many certifications and tools to help
cling of all sorts of printed matter and packaging you find the most environmentally friendly paper.
paper in our community. Paper that has been To analyse and compare in detail all different For us, as a paper producer, the most important
printed on or used in some other way nearly environmental parameters is however a complex thing is probably to have an open approach in the
always contains impurities that a normal paper task and it does not always give an easy answer. contact with our customers; it is through continu-
mill cannot deal with. In this case, it is sent to a One paper grade can be better from one perspec- ous dialogue and openness around environmental
special recycled-paper mill that has the necessary tive, a second paper grade from another issues that you can feel confident that you have
cleaning systems. The paper undergoes several perspective. made the right paper choice from an environmen-
stages of cleaning before being used to make new tal perspective.
paper. Recycled paper is primarily used for news-
print or cardboard, but is also found in some
other grades of paper.

Session 1:6
Storage, handling & conditioning

— Like almost all other materials, paper will change due to ageing and the
surrounding environment. Paper is a natural, living material that creates the
final artwork. The understanding of these fundamental, changeable parameters
is vital both during production and in the final printed product.
Temperature & humidity

All paper contains a small amount of moisture, There are several different kinds of wrapping,
and is highly sensitive to changes in temperature the most common being paper and plastic. Paper
and humidity in the surrounding air. In humid wrapping usually consists of a special type of kraft
environments, the paper’s fibres expand and make paper with a thin embedded plastic film, and this
the sheet swell. If on the other hand the environ- is wrapped around the reel of paper. This main-
ment is dry, the opposite occurs and the paper tains the existing moisture level while keeping
releases moisture. These phenomena can cause water out. Corrugated board end-discs are used
dimensional changes and waviness, which in turn to cover the ends of the reels.
can lead to printing problems. In order to reduce
this external influence, and to protect the paper There are also several types of plastic packaging.
against dirt, damage and other wear before it One of these is stretch film, whereby thin plastic
reaches the customer, the paper is wrapped. wrap is wound several times around a pallet or
reel to ensure a stable parcel. The film also pro-
However, the wrapping should be kept on even vides protection.
after the paper reaches the customer, as it will
begin to interact with the surrounding humidity Another plastic wrapping is shrink film. The pallet
level as soon as the wrapping is opened. If the is wrapped in plastic – polythene – which then
premises do not have the right temperature and shrinks after passing through an oven. Finally,
humidity, this can lead to the problems mentioned any air is removed by compression. Following this
above. process, the pallet is practically vacuum-packed
and very steadily supported and well protected.
To reduce the risk of dimensional change, the
paper should be stored in the same environment Below are suggested conditioning times, in hours,
as it will be used in, to make sure it adapts to the of original wrapped paper depending on temperature
right temperature. This is, of course, especially differences between paper and environment.
important if the paper has been transported over
a long distance or has previously been stored in
a cooled warehouse or over the winter. Temperature Volume of paper (m3)
differences between
Humidity, after temperature, is the second major paper and environment 0,2 0,4 0,6 1,0 2,0
factor which influences the behaviour of paper. 5°C 6 8 10 11 12
The suggested maximum difference between the
relative humidity of paper and the printing hall, 6°C 7 9 11 12 13
shouldn’t exceed 10%. Otherwise, paper process-
ing problems might occur. In the case of standard 7°C 8 10 12 13 14
offset paper, the suggested humidity of the print-
8°C 9 11 13 14 15
ing house environment should be in the 40–60%
range at a temperature of 22–23°C. 9°C 10 14 17 18 21
Also bear in mind, that once the dimensional 10°C 11 15 20 22 24

changes caused by excessive humidity differences
have occurred, the paper will never return to its 15°C 16 23 28 32 36
original shape, even if the correct air humidity
20°C 22 33 45 52 60
level is restored.
25°C 27 43 64 77 100
Conditioning time (h)



28 — Art Workshop Session 2 — The repro
Session
– The repro
2
Not so many years ago, the graphical reproduction of images,
as we normally just refer to as “the repro”, was a manual
craft. The repro was very complex work that needed years
of experience and very special equipment.
Today, the complex part of the work is done “under the hood”
of any modern computer with the right software. The repro
is today possible for anyone to do. However, to reach the
level of quality that is needed in a high quality production,
craftsmanship and skilled art workers are needed more than
ever. A well done repro and a repro adapted to the paper will
enhance the images and will use the full capacity of each
paper grade.
This session covers the most general aspects that occur in

prepress from a paper perspective and particularly for sheet
fed offset. The topics explained evidently occur in all printing
techniques, but to a different extent. The recommendations
given are mainly for sheetfed offset in order to achieve the
highest quality.
Session 2 — The repro Art Workshop — 29


The magician
– Hasse Axgren
Understanding how a specific paper behaves in a printing
machine and how different inks act in the same process
is key to successful retouching and repro.
Having an interest in photography helps Hasse to do a better

job as a retoucher. But retouching for printing is something
completely different from improving your personal images in
Photoshop®. In printing, the magic lies in meeting the attributes
of the chosen paper, the printing press and inks. Still, the most
important aspect of Hasse’s job is to be accurate and never,
ever cut corners. And the biggest reward? A great result,
of course.


MUNKEN LYNX ROUGH 120 g/m²

Session 2:1
Main paper issues in repro

— Often the smallest changes have the greatest impact. The essence of years of
experience with uncoated paper could be condensed into a few main issues. The
handling of these main issues; dot gain, total ink coverage and screen can be the
difference between a true artwork and a disappointment. Of course, other parts
in the process are also important, but they might not differ between paper types.
How does the repro affect

the result?
The aim of a good repro is to reproduce an image, A few small changes in the repro will have a huge giving a very light hint of colour on the paper.
most often printed on a paper, in the best possible effect on the entire production and end result, and 50% dots cover half of the paper surface and then
way. The repro should handle the most important will also be the difference between a true artwork give a mid tone of colour. When the dots are at
parameters that will affect the final result. Keep in and a disappointment. It is not more difficult to 100%, for instance, they have completely run over
mind that it is the actual repro that sets the main perform a correct repro, but to understand cause into each other to produce a fully covered surface,
quality level on the end result, not the actual and effect might require some study and experi- which is called a full tone area. A full tone area
printing. ence. Therefore, we recommend that anyone will not show any details, because it’s only when
working with production of printed matter tries to there is space between the dots, the screen is
The repro will affect two important things: the understand the basics, so that each person knows open and it’s possible to show details. Offset inks
printability and the runnability. The printability, what is important to communicate and when. are transparent, so the paper always acts as the
or as we normally say, the print quality, is the fifth colour. But it’s when a screen is “open” that
actual visual quality of the image. To some extent, the paper surface and colour will really give
this is a subjective term – whether it’s visually
Screen/Raster brightness and detail to the image, between
similar to the original image, or it’s a certain Raster dots and raster density are traditionally the printed ink dots.
desired effect in print. But it is also measurable used terms in the graphic design and printing
on certain parameters, such as dot gain, density, industry, although, these days, we tend to refer On a conventional screen, also called AM screen,
misregistration, etc. to the “screen”, “screening”, “screen ruling” and the screen dots are arranged in lines or rows. The
“screen density” of a digitally processed image. density of these lines is called the screen ruling
When the repro is done incorrectly for uncoated The word raster comes from the Latin word or screen density, and is normally measured in lpi
paper, what you often see is that images are dark- rastrum, meaning to divide. (lines per inch) or l/cm (lines per centimetre). The
er then expected. Dark areas can also lose details denser the screen ruling, the harder it is to distin-
and contrast. Another common effect is that col- A normal, classic photograph consists of continu- guish between the dots and the detail of the image
ours are not as clean and bright as they could be. ous tones or gradients of colour. However, these improves. When the ink dots representing each
The main impact on print quality in connection tones cannot be reproduced in print – quite colour are printed on paper, they jointly make
with uncoated paper and repro is due to dot gain, simply, a printing press cannot handle the task. up the final image. In order to avoid unwanted
and the chosen screen ruling and screen type. In order to make the images printable, they are pattern distortion – the Moiré effect – the dots
This will be described in more detail later in this therefore screened, i.e., divided into a multitude need to be placed at specific screen angles.
session. of microscopically small dots. The dots in a
screened image therefore give the eye the illusion In a stochastic screen, also called FM screen, the
Runnability is when we talk about the actual of a single continuous image, with tone values of dots are all the same size. They are very small,
production in the press, which involves stability differing strengths, just like a “normal” image. 10–30 microns, and they are placed randomly
in the press, ink drying time and problems like and with different frequencies in darker and light-
smearing and set off. It also consists of problems Screen dots are created in a computer called er areas. A dark area means that a lot of dots are
in post production, like binding. Different papers Raster Image Processor (RIP), and then exposed added and in light areas just a few. The benefit
absorb ink very differently, meaning the possible to the printing plate in the CTP, which will be of stochastic screen is that it can reproduce very
amount of ink that can be applied is different. further explained later in this session. fine detail and eliminate the Moiré effect.
If a paper is over inked, it may cause several prob-
lems, such as prolonged drying, smearing and set The size of conventional screen dots ranges from
off, both in press and in binding. The biggest 1 to 100%, creating a perception of half tones.
impact the repro has on the runnability is in the Tones of colour can be obtained by changing the
Total Ink Coverage (TIC), the density value for size of the dots. A 5% dot is just a very small dot
each process colour and the balance between
the TIC and density.

Session 2:1
When talking about screen dots, resolution must

also be mentioned. This is because screen dots are Conventional screen A screen rose. In a conventional screen the lines are
represented by the small pixel dots in the digital placed at different screen angles, one for each process
file, whose proportional size define the printout colour. The colour tones are varied by varying the
size of the dots. When the dots are laid overlapping
resolution. This is usually measured in dpi (dots one another, a new colour is created. The illusion of
per inch), or ppi (pixels per inch) Producing a high different colours is also created when the screen dots
screen density will also require a high printout are close to each other.
resolution. This will be further explained later
on but it should be mentioned here that the higher
the screen ruling, the higher the number of pixels
needs to be, and stochastic screen normally
demands much higher resolutions due to the
very small dots in the raster.
Today, a new type of screen, called a “hybrid

screen” is becoming more commonly used. The
hybrid screen combines the conventional AM
screen and the stochastic FM screen into one.
Normally, the stochastic FM screen is used for
lighter tones and the conventional AM is preferred
for darker tones. This enables a higher screen
resolution and finer reproduction of details in
print, all of which enhance the overall print image
quality.
When printing four colours, four different screens Stochastic screen

are printed on top of each other. Therefore, to
ensure each of the four screens is positioned cor-
rectly, there are several control lines or crosshairs
of each process colour in the edges of the printed
sheet. These lines should perfectly fit over each
other, otherwise there will be a certain degree of
misregistration and the image will appear to be
slightly blurry.
Compare different screens on pages 66–67

Session 2:1
Dot gain
Dot gain, or dot expansion, is a necessary concept The compensation curves that come from test Therefore, in order not to over-ink the paper,
to know about in printing on any paper, but espe- prints on specific paper grades can also be embed- a maximum limit for total ink coverage in the
cially on uncoated. Dot gain occurs in all printing, ded in the ICC profiles or used in different ways image needs to be set when separating the image.
but is greater on uncoated than coated grades, due in the process. In some cases, the ISO standard Assuming the printing equipment is precisely cali-
to the rougher surface on uncoated paper and its curves or similar standard curves can be used brated and the repro and plate have been prepared
ability to absorb ink. The phenomenon occurs in to compensate the print process and additional to perfection, the ink coverage on uncoated paper
the various stages of the printing process. First of curves for each paper can be used. It is then can be a maximum of 280%. However, a general
all, digital information is converted into dots on important that these interact correctly. guide limit is 260% , as the results are rarely
the actual printing plate. improved if the quantity is increased. Instead,
If the print processes are kept stable and calibrat- there will be problems with ink drying, set-off and
The plate picks up ink which is transferred onto ed, the main variations in print production will smearing, and the detail definition in the image
a rubber blanket, and finally onto paper. At each be due to different paper. This will also be very will certainly be compromised. The values given
stage, the diameter of the dots increases slightly, obvious in dark and blurry images if the wrong above refer to the total ink coverage percentage
and as a result the dots – and therefore the col- compensation is used. Therefore, we strongly obtained on plate and transferred to the paper.
ours – bleed out and the images lose both cover- recommend that you ensure both that the correct
age, particularly in the dark areas, and detail defi- ICC profile is used but also that the correct com- This is important, as it can affect the final total
nition. In practice, the images often come out too pensation curves in the CTP are used, and that ink coverage percentage, depending on how dot
dark and drab, and this must be taken into con- these all work well together. gain is compensated for and how the image is
sideration during the repro. processed. So what can you do to reduce the total
Compare the effects of dot gain between uncoated ink coverage without detracting from the image’s
In the past, dot compensation was relatively com- and coated repro on pages 58–59 quality? A common solution is Under Colour
plicated to handle and it was often very imprecise. Removal (UCR) or Grey Component Replacement
Today, it can be very exact, but the challenge is (GCR).
to add the right correction for the specific paper Total ink coverage
grade. For a digital RGB image to be printed, it needs to And how do you do that? Tradition has taught us
be transformed into four process colours, which, that equal parts of cyan, magenta and yellow will
The dot gain will vary greatly depending on the when mixed correctly, can recreate all printable create grey, which means that there is always a
paper grade, but also on screen type, screen rul- colours. The four colours are called CMYK (Cyan, common grey component in all shades that use
ing, press, ink and several other aspects that can Magenta, Yellow and Key-colour, i.e., Black), and all three colours. Let’s look at an example: if you
be hard to grasp. To handle each step separately these days you can generally choose at the scan- have a shade that requires 70% cyan, 50% magenta
would be very tedious. Therefore the way to han- ning stage to separate a digital image into CMYK and 50% yellow, the three 50% proportions actual-
dle the total dot gain is by doing a test print in straight away, or keep it in RGB throughout the ly only create the grey shade in the colour. You
each different environment with all parameters process and separate it in the final phase. can therefore replace 3 x 50% with 50% black/grey.
well considered. Then a total dot gain will be Add the remaining 20% cyan and you obtain the
defined in what is called a dot gain compensation When the image is separated, it is divided into desired colour.
curve. the four constituent colours, and reproduced
again as an image on the printed paper, with all The difference is that the overall colour saturation
The test is done by printing bars in each percent- the colours and shades of the original. Each of decreases by 100 percentage points. Of course, all
age of the entire half tone range, from 1 to 100% the CMYK colours is transparent, and the various parts of an image never require high ink coverage,
dot size, and also one set of bars for each of the shades are blended to form a colour image, as the but in most cases, there are one or more dark
process colours. The unavoidable dot gain will dots are printed directly on top of each other, ink shaded areas. UCR/GCR therefore allows you to
show in the form of a difference from the original on ink. keep the total ink coverage below the recommend-
size of each dot. The dot gain will not be the same ed 260% limit for uncoated paper, while at the
over the whole range; there will be no dot gain at In screen-dot printing, dots of different colours same time, you achieve a more even degree of ink-
all, in 0% or in 100% dots due to obvious reasons. side-by-side also create an illusion of a new colour. ing and avoid problems with long drying times,
It will be less in lower half tone areas, increase However, this stage demands thought and care. set-off and smearing.
in the middle part and the decrease again in the Because the four colours are printed onto one
higher range of the halftone area. The result is another, in extreme cases this may mean you are Compare the effect of four-colour separation
a curve, with a certain percentage difference in using 100% ink in each layer, giving a total ink with a total ink coverage of 260% and 320% on
each percentage of the halftone range, from coverage of 400%. pages 62–63
1 to 100%.
The total percentage of ink that will add up on
These dot gain curves can be used in different the paper is called the Total Ink Coverage (TIC).
ways, but should be implemented in some way As the quantity of ink is also increased when
during the process. We have not explained all printing on uncoated paper, the result will be far
parts of this process yet, but we will give a short too much ink to produce a satisfactory printing
introduction anyway. We will also explain further result. Had the material been printed anyway, the
about ISO-standard paper curves that are a set result would very likely have been a worse image
of standard dot gain curves, which normally are with bleeding, reducing coverage in dark seg-
used in the CTP. ments. Also, the ink would have smeared and
the drying time would be far too long.

Session 2:1
100% 50% 0%
Dot gain
The illustration shows dots in three different halftone
areas, ranging from 0 to 100 % in a digital version,
on the printing plate and finally on the paper. Digital
Digital – The first halftone area shows blue and
yellow marked dots at the original and intended
sizes in the light, medium and dark areas of the
digital image.
Plate –The second halftone shows two alternative

dot sizes on the printing plate, the yellow dots are
without any dot gain compensation and the blue
dots have been made smaller by the dot gain Plate
compensation for the specific paper.
Paper –The third halftone shows the two alternative

dot sizes and the effect of the dots on the paper.
The yellow dots have expanded much more than the
original values. This means that in light and medium
areas, the colour tones will become much darker. In
the area above a certain point, 85–90%, the dots have
merged into a full tone area, meaning that all details
have been lost. The blue dots that represent the Paper
compensated dots however, have regained their
intended size and will reproduce a perfect colour
tone without any loss of detail in the dark areas.
100% 50% 0%
The dot gain is not adjusted for uncoated paper The dot gain is adjusted for uncoated paper The dot gain is adjusted for coated paper
and the dots are greater than intended. and the dots have the correct size. and the dots have the correct size.
On the uncoated surface, the ink dots are absorbed

slowly into the paper surface and dots expand in
size. This makes the dots less sharp and colours
slightly dull. Compensating for dot changes is
important, otherwise the ink dots will not give the
intended colour. The coated surface quickly absorbs
the ink dots. The ink pigment mainly stays on top
of the coating but the ink solvents are absorbed into
the coating layer with less dot gain. Therefore, the
dots get sharper and the ink pigment adds a certain
gloss to the colours, however, the right compensation
is still important.

Ever considered
the maximum
percent of ink
coverage you
should use on
uncoated paper?
Find out on page 36!


Session 2:2
Image
— A picture speaks a thousand words, as the cliché goes. But is it true?
Well, true or not, few would dispute the fact that images are an extremely
important and central part of the graphic production process. In other words,
the choice of images is important and should not be taken lightly. Images
in combination with the paper quality are very much the “first impression”
of a printed product.
Image types Image format & quality

What is a good image and what is a high quality From a paper perspective, you could use the Today, most images are taken by digital cameras,
image? These may partly be in the beholder’s eye, following categorisation as a starting point: even if analogue film cameras are still used. Nev-
but also very much depend on your knowledge in ertheless, if the image should be printed, sooner
the art form of photography. We will not go into —— Dark and heavy with a large part close or later it needs to be converted to a digital form,
this art form in such, but will, from a paper per- to full coverage and later also into a printable form. When printing
spective, give some thoughts and recommenda- —— Mid tone with the majority of colours on uncoated paper, maintaining high quality
tions. in mid tone standards throughout the whole process
—— Light and bright with minimal colour coverage is important.
When it comes to image reproduction, one will —— Colourful images with clean colours
have to answer a fundamental question: is photo- —— Less colourful images with less clean colours A camera can capture millions of colours.
realistic reproduction really needed? In many cas- —— High contrast and definition or low contrast However, the challenge of retaining as many of
es, perfect realism is not needed, or even wanted. and definition those colours as possible starts when the image
It’s true that coated paper was originally invented —— High degree of fine details or less or no details is stored on a device. When images are handled,
for photorealistic reproduction. However, coated —— Bright and shiny – metal, chrome, gold, etc. stored and compressed, there is a risk of losing
grades are often considered to have a plastic-like essential colour information.
feeling, and lack many of the tactile qualities While most images are a blend of two or more
of uncoated grades. In the past, when repro was of the above, considering the different categories
done by hand, it was difficult to achieve nice makes it easier to prepare for and prevent surpris-
Image resolution & pixels
results on uncoated paper. However, as we intend es, so that difficulties can be overcome – whether There are two types of images: vector-based
to demonstrate in this guide, a few simple clicks it’s the whole image or just one part that needs and pixel-based.
and the settings will steer the process in the right special attention.
direction. Vector-based images, also called vectorgraphics or
Uncoated papers absorb ink very differently linework, are based on simple geometric shapes,
For every art worker and creative artist, it’s essen- to coated papers. The effect is less ink gloss, ink or vectors, in two dimensions. These are normally
tial to have basic knowledge about the material density and contrast. On the other hand, uncoat- used for lines, text, drawings, CAD images, etc.
you work with. The original image is actually only ed paper creates a much more natural image and
one part of the final image since the material it is tactile feeling. You could say that when printing Pixel-based images comprise of pixels, which
printed on will add another dimension – not just on uncoated paper, you are actually colouring a stand for “picture elements”. These are the small-
visually, but the tactile feeling. Everyone will be natural material, therefore, the image and paper est parts of an image and are a numeric mapping
able to touch and feel the image. Therefore, it is merge into one common expression. of colours and lightness arranged in a matrix,
important to consider, when shooting or selecting where each single “cell”, the pixel, contains the
images, how the final images will turn out when The first and most obvious effect on uncoated necessary information. This enables an image to
printed on uncoated paper. Print references of paper is that the colours appear more matt and be digitally stored and displayed on digital equip-
high quality images will be good tools to be able dull. In some cases, this is seen as a negative. ment, such as a computer screen, as dots of
to fully understand what the end result will be. While, sometimes achieving the true “uncoated colour.
effect” with matt colours and less contrast is the
By selecting images with knowledge of how aim. But often, great colourful images are desired. The resolution of an image represents the number
they will turn out on different paper, it can help In those cases, we recommended using extra of pixels per unit of length – one inch. For exam-
to make the best choices, and allow you to use colourful images with higher definition and con- ple, an image consisting of 300 pixels per inch
the paper’s own characteristics to enhance the trast. This will enhance the contrast between the (ppi) would have a resolution of 300 ppi. The num-
desired effect. Knowledge and experience are uncoated paper surface and the image, and a more ber of pixels within a defined area is normally
often the most important factors when selecting colourful result will be easier to achieve. Dark and counted in megapixels (MP), i.e., millions of pix-
images for a certain paper, but a good image heavy images can have a tendency to lose details. els. This is obtained by multiplying the image size
classification is also very helpful. Therefore it is important to consider the end in both directions (height and width) by the ppi.
result more carefully and see to it that the repro For example, an image on an A4 (210x297mm)
is prepared with extra care. with a resolution of 300 ppi will have 2480 pixels
in the width direction (210mm) and 3504 pixels
in the height direction (297mm). So if we multiply
2480 by 3504, we see that the image has a total
of 8.7 MP.
When an image is enlarged, its pixels will also

scale accordingly; and the larger the pixels, the
less of them can fit into one inch, resulting in a
lower resolution. Therefore to keep a resolution
of 300 ppi on a larger image, the total amount
of MP needed will increase.

Session 2:2
Image
File types
On a computer screen, the demand for ppi is There are several RGB standards and types, and When it comes to storing RGB or CMYK images, it
quite low. For example, an image with a resolution these will provide different possibilities to handle can be done in a variety of file types. The different
of 72 ppi will display well and image sizes are the total colour space – the actual amount of col- file types are developed to compress an image and
often reduced to minimize the file size. Print on ours shown. Therefore, when taking pictures, it is make it possible for the image to be handled by
paper, however, needs a resolution of around 4–5 important that the camera is set to the RGB mode different software.
times higher. The reason is that print screen dots that will give the largest possible colour space.
are normally created from 2x2 pixels (4 pixels). Otherwise, the number of possible colours will When it comes to image quality, it is important to
A basic recommendation then is to have at least be lower from the beginning. distinguish between destructive and non-destruc-
double the screen ruling. For example, 2x150 lpi tive file formats (also called lossy and lossless).
screen ruling gives 300 ppi. Also note that the A common RGB mode for computers and screens The destructive format will cut data and colours,
dots in stochastic screens require a higher value is sRGB. This has a smaller colour space than and non-destructive will keep data and colours.
because they are much smaller than in conven- newer versions. For example, AdobeRGB has a In the graphical industry, it is best to save images
tional screens. The recommendation is to com- larger colour space and is more suitable for images in non-destructive formats. Common non-
pare with at least 175 lpi of conventional raster. used in graphical production. There are also other destructive formats include TIFF and RAW, and
modes that can be used, but a recommendation a common destructive format is JPEG. Some for-
From a paper perspective, this is important is to use the mode with the largest possible colour mats are specially developed for use on computer
because if an image is prepared for one type of space. screens, such as GIF and BMP, and should not
paper, it may not work on another type.For exam- be used in graphical productions.
ple, in newsprint, where a screen ruling of 80 lpi Colours on the screen means that coloured light is
is sufficient, an image may be saved in 160 ppi. transmitted from the computer screen. This means Today, most of the work on images and text is
This image will then not work if printed on a high- that if the screen is not calibrated correctly, the done in software such as Adobe Photoshop® and
er quality paper that can handle 150 lpi or more. wrong colours can be shown. InDesign, but usually, final artwork is saved and
Therefore, we recommend keeping images, delivered in PDF (portable document format) that
whenever possible, in a resolution high enough embeds all content into a single document. PDF
to handle all paper types, and in turn the highest has become a world standard for saving and dis-
screen rulings. tributing documents. PDF/X is a describing stand-
ard protocol that is good to follow when creating
a PDF, securing that the PDF delivered to the
RGB & CMYK printer fulfils the needs for printing.
The pixel numeric data contains the colour infor-
mation for each pixel – whether it’s described in
RGB or CMYK. In the graphics industry, RGB and
CMYK are the two main colour models used to
handle the colours in images.
RGB is often called the “additive colour model”

because it uses different proportions of Red,
Green and Blue colours’ light from, for example,
a computer screen, to visualise all the other col- Colours printed on paper means that CMYK ink
ours. No light gives black and all three in full gives reflects the incoming light as colours from the
white. CMYK is often called the “subtractive col- paper surface. Therefore, the type of light source is
important as it will affect the appearance of colours.
our model” because a colour on a material means
the material is only reflecting part of the incom-
ing light and cancelling the rest.
In the same way, printed ink filters the incoming

light and visualises a colour by reflecting only that
part of the spectrum. If it reflects the entire spec-
trum, you see white, and if no colours are reflect-
ed, you see black. The colours used when printing
in CMYK are often called the process colours.
Devices that emit light, like a computer screen,

will always show images in RGB, and ink is print-
ed in CMYK. The RGB colour model is the regular
and best way to store digital images, because it
contains a higher amount of possible colours than
CMYK. The total amount of possible colours in
images can be presented in a colour space and
shown on a chart.

Session 2:2
Image
Paper & colour space

In pure physics a colour is defined as light from The standard unit between two colours in the One of the tasks done in recalculations is han-
a mixture of wavelengths within the visible light CIE Lab colour space which can be distinguished dling the colour tones that don’t fit into the CMYK
spectrum. Humans don’t see wavelengths as such; by the human eye, has been set to equal 1. The colour space. In principle, there are three ways to
humans actually only ‘see’ red, green and blue boundaries are set to 100 units for each axis (L, do this. One is by simply cutting off the colours
with the ‘cones’ on the retina and black and white a and b), giving 100³ possibilities and distinguisha- and not actually handling them at all, this is
with other receptors called the rods. The human ble colours. This has been shown to work pretty called the “relative” way. Another is to recalculate
eye is extremely sensitive and can distinguish well in practice. However, it is still an approxima- the closest visual colour and replace the non-pos-
between a huge amount of colours. This was stud- tion for the human eye, so it’s hard to say exactly sible colours with the closest possible ones, or the
ied in an experiment called ‘Standard Observer how many colours we actually can see. The math- “perceptual” way. One of the more common ways
Experiment’, done in 1931 by the International ematical model in itself can be divided in an end- today is to actually use a version of the relative
Commission on Illumination (in French, Commis- less numbers of colours, but humans will not be way and to cut the colour off, but also compensate
sion Internationale de l’Eclarage, CIE). From this able to distinguish between all of these. the colour tone with more or less black, also known
experiment, colour models were derived to be able as “relative with black point compensation”.
to describe the colours we can see and approxi- In a digital file, the amount of colours can be cal-
mate the perception of the human eye. culated. For example, in an 8-bit colour file, 16.7 Different papers will have different colour spaces
million colours can be defined. All of these col- and different ways to calculate CMYK. Therefore,
The basic colour model is the CIE Lab colour ours can, theoretically, be shown by a modern we recommend keeping an image in RGB mode
space, a mathematical model containing all visible computer screen, but are not all visible to the for as long a possible, preferably in AdobeRGB.
colours that can be seen by humans, showing col- human eye. Not all of these colours are distin- If the colour separation is done as late as possible,
ours in three dimensions “L” Lightness from total guishable on a screen, and only a fraction will be you will be able to obtain the best possible colours
white to total black, “a” axis from red to green and possible to render on paper. One way to estimate regardless of paper choice.
“b” axis from yellow to blue. This is the Cartesian the amount of colours is by calculating the colour
definition like in a graph. The alternative way is to gamut volume. On coated paper, we can see This diagram illustrates the range of colours
describe a colour with so-called polar coordinates approx 50% of the AdobeRGB colours compared that various medias can distinguish between.
i.e., the Hue [the angle measured counter-clock- to a screen, and on uncoated, it is about 40%.
wise starting at red], the saturation or Chroma The reason is that CMYK inks on paper cannot
(the distance from the centre of the space) and reproduce the colour tones precisely enough for
the Lightness range. This is also defined in the the eye to be able to distinguish between them. CIE Lab / Human eye
CIE Lab system as Lch. One specific colour is The rougher the paper is, the higher the dot gain
referenced in the colour space by one set of is and the more imprecise the rendering will be, Computer monitor, RGB
coordinates, Lab or Lch. so it is harder to show a large amount of colour
tones.
The CIE Lab colour space is illustrated below in two Paper in CMYK
dimensions with the coordinates of “a” and “b” and In practice, colour devices like cameras, scanners,
the range from 0 to ±100. All colours will have a printers, etc. are not able to handle all CIE Lab
position in these coordinates. If the third coordinate colours. Instead, these devices and techniques use
“L” (lightness) is added, the three dimensions will sRGB, AdobeRGB color models or, for printing
cover all the colours you can imagine. This means inks, CMYK.
that all colours can be given a numeric value in Lab
coordinates that can be used in technical devices.
As an example, the yellow in the printed colour strip When converting colours between different
in the image part has an approx. value of L=86, a=4, devices or from RGB to CMYK, the CIE Lab
b=68. Try to find the a and b position in the chart. colour space is often used in an intermediate step
because its device independent. The aim when
converting is also to maintain as large a colour
space as possible throughout the whole process
to be able to reproduce a wider range of colours
in the end as there can be a risk that some colours
are lost.
The total number of possible colours for one medi-

um is called the “Gamut” of, for example, a paper
grade printed in CMYK. When measuring the total
amount of colours for different papers, it becomes
obvious that the biggest differences are mainly
between coated and uncoated grades. When sepa-
rating an image from RGB to 4 colours, the col-
ours will be recalculated to the possible CMYK
colour per each paper grade. And because each
grade has its limitation, and CMYK can handle
fewer colours from the beginning, colours will
© 2009, X-Rite, xrite.com inevitably be lost.

Session 2:2
Image
Spot coloured areas & images Six-colour separation

If an image or drawing needs to be in an exact There are also a number of more advanced colour This often means increasing the saturation on
or very unique shade, it can be hard to reproduce separations that will increase the colour range basic colours to keep them cleaner. Increasing the
in regular CMYK. For example, logos often need compared to the normal four-colour one. For contrast slightly will also often improve the final
to be in a very precise colour. Then a ready-made example, Hexachrome – with six colours by adding results as some of the contrast and definition will
spot or index colour can be the solution. Indexed orange and green or using different Hexachrome be lost on uncoated paper. Increasing brightness
colours are specially pre-blended colours available colours. should also be considered to compensate for the
in a host of different shades. The most common risk images becoming slightly darker. These
colour system is the Pantone Matching System The art form of photography has entered into a adjustments will give the illusion of more colour-
(PMS), but silver, gold and other metallic colours digital era. In earlier days, the repro was more ful images, a larger colour space and higher con-
are also indexed colours. When selecting and or less a straightforward task of showing an image trast on the printed image. These tasks can be
checking PMS colours, it is important to check as close to the original as possible. Today, a large done in, for example, Photoshop® in RGB or
against the right sample charts – a chart for part of the art form is more and more moving into CMYK, and actually involve altering part of the
uncoated paper – to ensure the correct colour and the computer, and most of the work takes place colour space to achieve a better perception on
shade reproduction. When printing gold or silver after the picture is shot. This means that the pho- paper.
on uncoated paper, apply a suitable base colour tographer will often change and adapt the image
first to make a good foundation for enhancing the to obtain a certain artistic look and feel before
gold and silver. delivering to the repro. This however, creates new
Short summary
challenges for the repro work and the printers, —— Printing on paper will reduce the colour space
because the changes and effects may be hard to in an image to a great degree, but if it is as
Black & white images handle or print. Therefore, it’s extremely impor- large as possible in the source file, it will
Not all images will be printed in four colours. As tant that photographers are aware about which increase the final possible printed colour
we know, beautiful, well-reproduced black & white effects are best to be shown on screen and which space.
images are aesthetically effective. However, it is print well on paper. —— Keeping the resolution in ppi at 2x the screen
essential that they are reproduced and printed in ruling is recommended.
the right way. This can be a problem, as it is some- —— RGB or CMYK? It’s normally best to keep an
times difficult to reproduce fine details, blackness Image preparation image in RGB mode as long as possible, then
and depth by using only various shades of black ink. The image preparation for print should be done convert to CMYK in the final step of the
to ensure the best possible image reproduction on process.
In order to produce a softer result, with a broader each type of paper, not to show a unique effect on —— File format will to some extent depend on the
spectrum of fine details, one option is to use screen or in digital proof that can never be recre- software used, but we recommend using a non-
duplex or triplex, i.e., tinted grey-scale images. ated on paper. There is no digital proof that can destructive file format as much as possible.
Indeed, the fact is that four-colour printing is also fully render an image exactly the same way it will —— Size of the final printed image – if an image is
often used even for black & white images – as we appear printed on uncoated paper. Therefore, it’s enlarged, make sure a high ppi is maintained.
explained earlier, the same amount of each colour essential to have a clear understanding on how
gives a grey or black shade. you want the image to be perceived in a printed Compare the different image adjustments on
form. When preparing an image for print, the pages 54–55
As the name suggests, duplex involves using two main choices to consider are if the image should
printing inks rather than one, often black in com- be kept as original as possible, be altered to show
bination with another colour or an index/PMS col- a certain effect, or be altered to improve the final
our. With triplex a further colour and ink is used, result on paper.
and usually one or two blacks are mixed with one
or two index/PMS or process colours. Image preparation is usually done in several
stages, and involves many different tasks, such as
Both duplex and triplex are suitable for uncoated adjusting the colour balance, saturation, contrast,
paper, as it can otherwise be difficult to achieve brightness and a huge amount of possibilities to
enough black in the dark areas. They also improve manipulate and improve the image. In the past,
detail definition, and the image can be given that this was often done in the CMYK mode, but today
black feel which the aim is probably. it is normally done in RGB. As described earlier,
there are some basic parameters that will affect
One tip to increase the blackness in for example the image when it’s printed on an uncoated grade.
a headline is to add 40–60% cyan or another Our recommendation should then be to compen-
process colour. sate the parameters that are affected by paper to
minimise the negative effects and enhance the
Compare the different black & white images positive.
on pages 68–69


Ever wanted
to know what
difference ICC
profiles can
make?
Find out on pages 48–49 and 58–59!

Session 2:3
ICC profiles
— An ICC profile is making something extremely complicated very simple. It will
show your pictures with the same colours in any device or media you choose to
use; the screen, the proofing or finally on paper. Most of the time, you don’t even
know it is used, for example on your screen,TV or camera. In this session, we
focus on the output paper profile that, when correctly handled adjusts the image
to the specific paper characteristics.
Paper perspective when

Overview Characterisation creating an ICC profile
It all started in 1993; the ICC (International You can actually create an ICC profile by testing As mentioned earlier, the creation of a profile is
Colour Consortium) brought together a handful how your media (the screen or the paper) will called the “characterisation” on a media. When a
of companies with a view to simplifying the change colours, by comparing the colours in your perfect ICC profile is used, it should, in principle,
exchange of colour data in the graphics chain. media with a standard reference. This is called the make it possible to print a perfect image. However,
This means that ICC knowledge and use of ICC characterisation of a media. In offset printing, this this isn’t entirely true. There will always be varia-
profiles is mature and even papermakers are well means printing a test chart in one specific press tions in the process and mainly in the printing
aware of its importance in enhancing the quality on one specific paper. This test chart consists of press, due to different paper types. To limit these
of the end-product on paper. several hundreds of colour bars that will be meas- variations, a paper ICC profile comes with a set of
ured by a photo-spectrometer and analysed by certain added “repro” functions to handle differ-
To make this possible, there are three principals specific ICC profile-generating software. This pro- ent paper parameters. These are extremely impor-
that need to be understood and handled in a cor- cess will determine how your equipment repro- tant to be aware of, because they are actually
rect way by everyone involved in the production duces and presents colours under the current a very big part of what in the past has been the
flow. From the scanner or digital camera to the settings. The result of this characterisation is the actual “repro” work, and these are today handled
screen; from the screen to the proof; then from actual ICC profile. The ICC profile is a translation by the ICC profile automatically.
the proofing to the offset press – the colours must table that allows the digital values in your image
be respected and managed correctly. file to be transferred into correct ones. On a Below is a set of “decisions” and repro settings
paper ICC profile, this translation table will be that, due to paper type and paper quality, need
Regardless of where you are in the graphics chain, used when the RGB image is converted to a CMYK to be considered both before the ICC profiles are
there are a number of steps that needs to be taken image. We recommend that you test and secure created and also when they are used. It is of the
into consideration. These steps are: which ICC profiles will work for your chosen greatest importance that these are chosen cor-
paper and if there is a need for creating new ones. rectly, mainly when using different paper types,
—— Calibration This should be done before the actual production such as uncoated and coated.
—— Characterisation starts.
—— Conversion (Separation) These settings are just as important when you
create an ICC profile as when you are using it. If
Conversion the choices, for example, differ in screen rulings
Calibration Conversion means applying the actual corrections or density values between the creation and use,
Calibration actually means to set the systems to of the ICC profile from your image file to the four- they will not give the expected result.
the correct and ideal setting. If your screen is not colour separation (CMYK). Whether it’s done in
properly calibrated, it will not show colours cor- Photoshop®, with an image-by-image approach or From a paper perspective, the most critical
rectly. What’s worse is that if you make colour as a batch in a more developed workflow, it means choices are:
adjustments in the image, they will most likely that the colour values from your document are
be the wrong ones. Calibrating equipment in the translated. The values from the workspace in —— The screen ruling and screen type
graphics chain means taking it to a chosen operat- which the documents were created are translated —— Density value
ing state and ensuring that it remains in this into values that allow the “right colours” to be —— Total ink coverage
state. obtained with the selected printing system and —— Which CTP curves that should be used
paper. Each conversion is a mathematical trans-
For example, calibrating a screen consists of using formation of the files and the values that are If these choices are not handled with care and
software and the correct measuring equipment changed or lost can no longer be recovered by also communicated, it will be hard to reach the
(called a colorimeter) to set the screen’s physical reversing the process. desired quality and levels.
parameters; the white point, the contrast and the
brightness. Calibrating an offset press consists of A conversion is done every time a file is trans- A typical example of a critical situation is when
choosing precise parameters, for example, the dot ferred and processed from one type of equipment different people in the process comment on the
gain, colour readings and greyscale, etc. These to another; e.g., while being transferred from the actual printing, and have a strong opinion about
should then be monitored during printing to scanner or camera to your computer. However, how strong or dense the colours should be. If the
ensure they remain within an acceptable range. when you open an image on your screen, a virtual profiles are set to a certain density value, it might
This is often done today by reaching the ISO conversion is carried out as a background task create problems if these differ from the actual
12647 standard. We strongly recommend that and doesn’t change the file. If you use a software ideal profile values.
calibrations on screen and presses are done like Photoshop®, you can decide to convert your
on regular basis to be able to maintain a stable files yourself from RGB to CMYK, and the full sep- Our recommendation is to clearly communicate
quality. aration is done with all the consequences of this. which settings should be correct and have this
as a starting point when printing starts. It is, of
Our most important recommendation is that you course, perfectly okay if all stakeholders agree to
ensure the correct ICC profile is used and also in deviate from these settings, as long as everyone
which stage it should be applied. If a separation is knows the consequences of it. We have explained
done, the following person in the production flow these critical “main paper issues in repro” and the
needs to have this information. Otherwise, they consequences of them in more detail earlier in
will have no knowledge of any changes that have this session.
been made before, with the risk of doing the com-
pensation twice.


Session 2:3
ICC profiles
A paper ICC profile

A major part of this guide focuses on the ICC pro- These parameters are roughly the parameters that The more specific a profile is, the more exact it
files. This is due to a very important reason – the the ISO 12647 is meant to secure, but these will will correct for deviations. This means that the
main parts of the repro adjustment have been vary even if they are strictly secured and moni- more general the profile is, the greater the need
moved into the paper ICC profiles. Even if ICC tored. In every production and also in the graphi- will be to secure it by other means. This can be
profiles should be standardised, the main issues cal business, there is a set of tolerances that done by, for example, a real on-press proof print-
and core settings to handle dot gain and total ink should be acceptable and this is also defined by ing or through experience from previous print
coverage, etc., are open to anyone who creates the the ISO standard. The basis of understanding jobs. Note that a soft proof on screen will not help,
actual profile. This means there will be a number normal variations, to a degree, also depends on because it doesn’t take into consideration the pro-
of profiles for the same paper that will be more or the experience in working with printed matters. cess steps after the image leaves your computer.
less specific to a paper and more or less adapted Therefore, it is very important that everyone
to different types of printing processes. First of agrees at an early stage on what quality level is So our recommendation is to use as specific pro-
all, there are different kinds of ICC profiles, such required, and which deviations from an agreed files as possible, and when more general profiles
as input profiles from the cameras or scanners, proof should be accepted. are used, test them to ensure how they will work
display profiles for computer screens, and output and if they are able to reach your ambitions on
profiles for printing and proofing. We will focus An important part of this is also agreeing to what quality.
on the output paper profiles. degree a chosen profile handles the chosen print
environment. This is most crucial when profiles It’s important to remember that using a general
The output ICC profiles are unique per paper type are added outside the control of the printer and profile doesn’t mean that the results are always
and therefore, there is a need to understand the when the printer receives a print-ready document of less quality, but just that they will be harder to
basic variables that can be set on available paper in CMYK. predict. We would also recommend that the print-
ICC profiles. er has final control of what profiles should be used
There is no defined categorisation of paper ICC because the aim of the profile is to correct for the
profiles, but if we were to roughly categorise the print environment in combination with a specific
Different types of ICC profiles levels, they would be as follows: paper.
A very important perspective on a paper ICC pro-
file is how specific it is set to be. In simple terms, General Compare the printing result between two
we could say that a general profile will adjust for —— General press and general paper type – general uncoated ICC profiles on pages 56–57
any press and any paper type. A specific profile profiles that will handle a general offset press
will adjust for one unique press and one specific and defined paper type. If the profiles are
paper quality. developed in an ISO certified environment,
it will be a more well-defined process.
Every profile will have a level of generalisation,
and it’s crucial to know to what extent. Just Part specific
because a profile is used, doesn’t mean that every- —— General press and specific paper quality –
thing will be correct. A paper ICC profile is actu- general profiles that will handle a general
ally set exactly to the environment it was devel- offset press but a specific paper quality. If the
oped in. Every deviation from this will make the profiles are developed in an ISO certified envi-
compensation less exact, and you cannot predict ronment it will be a more well-defined process.
the result to 100%. —— Specific press and general paper type – general
profiles that will handle a specific offset press
Profiles will be more specific or general according to: and a defined paper type.
—— Paper type, e.g., coated, uncoated, LWC, Specific

paper quality, grammage, etc. —— A truly specific profile that will handle a spe-
—— The print process and calibration, CTP cific offset press and a specific paper quality.
condition, settings and plates press setting, —— Specific press and specific paper quality plus
blankets, ink, etc. project adaption – in addition to being truly
specific, it is also adapted to, for example,
a special request or a specific image.

MUNKEN POLAR 150 g/m²
Session 2:3
ICC profiles
Basic & special ICC settings

ICC profiles are developed for, and used in differ- These choices should be made carefully, because However, a word of warning: colour proofs on
ent situations. So there are several choices that they will be a part of the actual repro to adapt for uncoated paper can be quite misleading, as the
can be made, both when creating the profile and certain paper characteristics. repro adjustments for dot gain, paper, shade,
also when using the profile. definition, screen ruling, etc. may be impossible
Later when the profiles are used to make the actu- to reproduce on a colour proof. This is especially
When a profile is created, there are a number al CMYK separations from RGB, there is an option true if the proof is made on a medium with a very
of on-press and CTP test chart choices: how to finally handle colours outside the CMYK smooth or coated surface. Then the colours and
colour space: the image will be perceived in a completely differ-
—— Screen ruling ent way compared to the actual end result.
—— Back pressure —— Perceptual
—— Density value —— Relative The best solution is to run the test in the actual
—— CTP paper type compensation —— Relative with black point compensation press that will be used, using the same paper
grade. Then you’ll have an ideal basis for making
When creating the profile in the actual profile- We will not go into each setting and explain the any final repro adjustments, to ensure the end
creating software, there are more choices: pros and cons when using the actual profile. This result is completely in line with your expecta-
would be going too far for a paper company. How- tions. This may seem like quite a costly affair at
—— Total ink coverage (TIC) – in percentage ever, we need to mention that these are important first sight, but in the long run and in high-volume
and also how it achieved with GCR/UCR, and will affect the final end result on paper, and productions, it often ends up being the most cost-
and if this setting is light, medium or heavy that variations in the results are often influenced effective option. It does not only reduce the risk
—— OBA compensation by the different choices made at this stage. of errors, but also eliminates any misunderstand-
—— How to handle neutral grey ings that can so easily occur when checking and
—— If perceptual or relative mode should Colour proofs approving proof outputs by other methods.
be default When an ICC profile is chosen, always output a
—— The number of bits used to build the profile colour proof before the printer starts up the press- After all, always going for the cheap option
es, to make sure everything looks right. Proofing can sometimes end up being very expensive.
is normally done with some kind of digital proof-
ing equipment that can usually be adjusted to
obtain the final end result on the chosen paper.
In most cases, a soft proof (on-screen) is also
possible.
IMAGE INPUT IMAGE CONVERTING FOR PRINT

ADJUSTMENT OUTPUT MEDIA
RGB SOURCE MONITOR PROFILE SEPARATION BY OUTPUT PAPER COMPENSATION PRINTING ACCORDING TO
PROFILE PAPER ICC PROFILES CURVES RECOMMENDATIONS

Session 2:4
Production flow
— The lead time in graphical production is extremely short. This is made
possible by new work processes and production flow systems. They bring
a whole new challenge, of steering and controlling the process, but also of
securing the best possible input quality. It is very important that the knowledge
about each single task is not lost in the process-based work flow, as well as
to which degree the paper itself will affect the result.
Production flow & colour

management
From a paper perspective, there are a few very The two most important developments, besides All image and repro adjustments should be made
good tools that ensure paper types and paper the development of computers and software, has before the CTP, or left to be defined partly or
qualities can be embedded in the production flow. been the development of the industrial printing totally in the CTP itself. The most common com-
However, they come with some principals and standard, ISO 12647, and the development of pensation in the CTP is dot gain compensation.
steps that needs to be understood and handled – a common colour space as CIE Lab, which is It’s important to note that today, almost all CTPs
ISO 12647 print standard, ICC profiles and the handled by ICC profiles. have a set of, so called, compensation curves or
CTP are the most important to understand. paper types settings, that will compensate the
ISO 12647 defines the main part of the colour image to one of five ISO standard paper types.
Throughout the production process, there are management flow, but limits the adjustment to It is also possible to develop dot compensation
many stages where the material is handed over five predefined paper grades and doesn’t provide curves that are unique for the specific printer
from one step to the next. Therefore, clear defini- any details about the actual colour management instead. If nothing else is selected, all images will
tions of the requirements of these steps are the itself. ICC profiles don’t define the process or work normally go through this paper type compensa-
most crucial and to be communicated. flow, but will define how colours are visualised tion automatically.
and presented on different media and also give the
There are different kinds of production flow sys- possibility to adjust colours for each media. This Together with an ICC profile, the paper type set-
tems developed to create the actual documents at makes it a good tool for adjusting images for each ting is fundamental to the whole process of repro.
repro companies and printers. These systems can paper type and grade. Today, most printers also This means that the paper type should be known
be stand-alone or integrated and linked to exter- use specific production flow systems. The purpose before the repro is started. One increasingly com-
nal parts in the production chain – from idea of these systems is to make the process as smooth mon way is to have the CTP compensation curves
to final printed product, even to the actual end as possible. The production flows can also incor- do the compensation for the print process and
user. It is important to understand and define the porate the ISO 12647 and ICC profiles, but will leave out the dot compensation in the ICC pro-
requirements for each next step in order to obtain differ from printer to printer. files. Or just do the paper specific compensation
the final desired quality. for the ISO paper type. Then the ICC profiles
perform the final compensation for the differences
This part of the session will mainly cover the
CTP & paper types between the specific paper quality versus the ISO
internal processes in repro and printing, but the When a document is ready, approved and the page standard paper.
incoming requirements of material such as docu- layout is completed, it can be prepared for print-
ments and images is, of course, extremely impor- ing. It can be digitally printed in either a laser or Our recommendation is to check what kind of
tant to communicate to everyone. inkjet printer, but if it is going to be printed in off- repro compensation will be done, and where and
set, it is in the CTP (Computer to Plate) the digital how this will affect the CTP.
Colour management in a production flow will life of an images ends. The CTP consists of a RIP
mean standardizing to as high a level as possible, (Raster Image Processing) unit and a platesetter. If the repro compensation is done in earlier stag-
but also managing parameters that vary between The RIP unit converts the digital information so es, for example, on images embedded in a PDF,
different productions. Two very important param- it can be used by the Platesetter. check what parameters will be affected by the
eters that will vary to a great extent are the type paper type setting in the CTP.
of image and the type of paper used. The question As mentioned before, an image can be saved in
is, where in the process will this be handled and two different colour models: RGB or CMYK. This
how? can be handled in several different stages in the
process. But in the CTP it will finally be converted
The main parts in a production flow and colour to CMYK. The platesetter will use laser beams or
management are: UV light to “print” out the whole document onto
four aluminium plates. These are the actual print-
—— A well defined production process such as, ing plates used in the offset printing press, one
for example, the ISO 12647 for each process colour.
—— Colour management tools like compensation
curves or ICC profiles. It is in the CTP workflow that the final repro
—— A production flow system or process, whether compensation to the image is done, and no chang-
it’s a single system or a set defined work es can be made on the actual plate later on. The
process. images are fixed and the only way to change them
is to replace them with new ones.

Session 2:4
Production Flow
ISO standard
Today, standards are increasingly being used in One of the parameters is the paper – primarily the
every business to secure and stabilise production paper types, the colour or optical parameters and
and quality. Standards also play a key role in the the surface of the paper. The five standard paper
on-going development of the graphical industry. types defined in ISO 12647 are:
The ISO standard 12647 is defined as “Graphical 1 — Gloss-coated woodfree paper

technology-processes control for the manufactur- 2 — Matt-coated woodfree paper
ing of halftone colour separation, proof and pro-
duction”, where part 2 covers the offset process. 3 — Gloss-coated web
4 — Uncoated white
The ISO 12647 is a printing standard that is
5 — Uncoated yellowish
meant to guarantee a stable and predictable qual-
ity in print. Today, most printers are able to
obtain this standard and more and more printing Note that two types are for uncoated paper, i.e.,
companies are actually taking the step to be certi- 4 or 5. These paper types are normally handled in
fied according to the standard. For the end cus- the process by the CTP. However, in some cases,
tomer, it is a guarantee that an even and good printers may decide to make the whole compensa-
standard is reached. But it doesn’t always mean tion through an ICC profile, regardless of paper
the optimal quality is reached. The main goal is type, and then use the default paper type settings.
stable and predictable printing. However, most
often, it’s also useful to have when a special If no paper choice has been made, the CTP will
requirement is demanded. In principle, it should use the default paper type anyway, normally
not make any difference in print quality whether resulting in a compensation for coated paper.
an image is printed in one print shop or another. In that case, when printing on uncoated paper,
the repro will be set for the wrong paper.
The purpose of the standard is to define and
explain a set of primary process parameters that We would strongly recommend that all printing
have an effect on the process and final result, and processes are as well-calibrated and controlled
suggest targets and values that should be reached. as possible, and this can, of course, be performed
by other means than the full certifications on
It covers the whole process, from the digital mate- ISO 12647.
rial received, your screen, proofs and print forms,
to print process and quality control. It also takes However, when processes are automated, it
into consideration the colour temperature of the becomes more important to have an identical
observer light used when analysing images. It reference base for communication.
defines what targets should be acquired and what
differences will have an impact when trying to
reach a certain end result.


Image references
– Compare the results of different
prepress techniques
Image optimization
p. 54 close to the original
p. 55 higher saturation and contrast
ICC uncoated profile

p. 56 with a Munken Polar profile
p. 57 with an uncoated ISO ICC profile
ICC coated profile

p. 58 with a Munken Polar profile
p. 59 with a coated ISO ICC profile
Colour separation
p. 60, 62 with a total ink coverage of 260%
p. 61, 63 with a total ink coverage of 320%
Screens
p. 66 conventional and hybrid screens
p. 67 conventional and stochastic screens
Black & white/duplex/triplex

p. 68 black & white in CMYK
p. 69 greyscale, duplex and triplex
Ink drying
p. 70 UV inks in a H-UV press
p. 71 normal oxidation ink in a conventional press

Start 100 5 95 25 75 50 50 75 25 95 5 100 100 5 95 25 75 50 50 75 25 95 5 100 cmy100 C+Y cmy50 M+Y cmy75 P C+M cmy25 Stop
X-Rite unified wedge PSO JCS2007 v1.0
Image has been adjusted to match the original as closely

as possible. Screen: 150 lpi. Total ink coverage: 260%.
No adjustment in RGB image. For more info see page 43.

Image has been prepared to lend the image new qualities

such as higher colour saturation and contrast. Screen: 150 lpi.
Total ink coverage: 260%. For more info see page 43.

Image is separated to CMYK with a specifically developed

ICC profile for Munken Polar. Screen: 150 lpi. Total ink
coverage: 260%. For more info see page 48.

Image is separated to CMYK with an ISO ICC uncoated

V2 profile. Screen: 150 lpi. Total ink coverage: 300%.
For more info see page 48.

Image is separated to CMYK with a specifically developed

ICC profile for Munken Polar. Screen: 150 lpi. Total ink
coverage: 260%. For more info see page 48.

Image is separated to CMYK with an ISO ICC profile

for coated paper. Screen: 150 lpi. Total ink coverage: 320%.

These four images show a four-colour separation

with medium GCR and a total ink coverage of 260%.

These four images show a four-colour separation

with medium GCR and a total ink coverage of 320%.

Image is the result of the four-colour separation with

a total ink coverage of 260%, Medium GCR (TIC) 260%.
For more info see pages 36 and 60.

Image is the result of the four-colour separation with

a total ink coverage of 320%. Medium GCR (TIC) 320%.
For more info see pages 36 and 61.


Want to see the

effects of different
screen types on
uncoated paper?
Go to pages 66–67!

Conventional screen 100 lpi. Conventional screen 133 lpi.
These three images show one image with three

different screens.
Images on the opposite page show one image

with four different screens. For more info about
different screens see pages 34–35.
Hybrid screen.

Conventional screen 150 lpi. Stochastic screen 30 µ.
Conventional screen 175 lpi. Stochastic screen 20 µ.

Black & white in CMYK.

Black & white in greyscale. Black & white as duplex (black + Pantone 430).
Black & white as triplex (black + black + Pantone 430).

Image is printed with UV inks in a H-UV press.

Total ink coverage 320%. For more info see page 80.

Image is printed with normal oxidation/setting ink

in a conventional press. Total ink coverage 260%.

Can you tell the

difference between
a correctly repro-
adjusted image for
uncoated paper
and one that is not?
Find out on pages 58–59!


74 — Art Workshop Session 3 — The printing
Session
– The printing
3
We are now rapidly approaching an important milestone in the
production of a printed product – the printing itself. The image
adjustment has been done, the right ICC profile been selected
and tested, via soft proof on screen or a digital colour proof.
So it’s time to make an imposition – i.e., arrange the pages so
they are printed in the right order – and produce the plate by
using Computer to Plate (CTP) to make flexo stereotypes or
print directly in a digital press.
Since this guide is about printing on uncoated paper, the focus

will be on adjustments that are particularly important when
working with uncoated paper grades.
Session 3 — The printing Art Workshop — 75


The purist
– Katja Viklund
A great printing result often comes down to something as
abstract as perfect flow. A flow between the paper, inks,
printing machine and the person running it.
Katja Viklund has been running the Komori Lithrone S40

for many years now, and she knows what it feels like to be
in the flow. She also knows that it takes confidence and
experience to control a printing press, which over Katja´s
shift can print 100 000 sheets in four colours on both sides
in one go. To maintain her flow at work, Katja uses her
spare time to work out, often many times a week.



Session 3:1
Printing methods
— Regardless of which printing method you choose, your material and images
will now end up on paper. The choice between different printing methods is
determined by the quantity that should be printed, the cost, the type of post-
production and the quality demanded. In this session, we cover some common
printing methods. And we have highlighted some of the most important factors
to consider when printing on uncoated paper.
Offset Sheet offset

Offset is the predominant printing technique in Sheet offset is, together with web offset, the most The ink used in sheet feed offset normally needs
use today, and there are several variations of the common printing method, and it is used with all to dry over a certain period of time by setting and
method. Whatever the variation though, all offset kinds of paper grades in today’s industry. Sheet oxidation. As the sheets leave a normal sheet feed
is based on the lithographic principle. This princi- printing can be run in everything from small to press one by one, they each have to dry one by
ple, in turn, is based on the opposition – or seen very large volumes, and always with the possibili- one, but on the pallet. And since the drying time
from another perspective, the interplay – between ty of reaching the highest results. Sheet printing can vary by up to 24 hours or more, some precau-
water and ink. The method is therefore also some- is therefore popular for various kinds of advertis- tions need to be considered.
times called wet or water offset. ing, posters and books, especially as the tech-
nique allows advanced post production. In order to avoid set-off, spray powder is sprayed
The process basically works as follows: ink is onto the sheets to ensure they do not come into
transferred onto the paper via a rubber blanket, Briefly and in greatly simplified terms, sheet contact with each other. This also creates an air
which picks up the ink from a printing plate. How- offset involves placing a pallet of sheets at one column between the sheets, which helps the ink
ever, the printing plate has first been exposed to end of a printing press, feeding them into the dry. It is important to use quite a coarse-grain
light to make certain areas repel water but absorb machine, and collecting the printed sheets at powder, otherwise the fine granules can get stuck
ink, and other areas to do the opposite. The ink the other end. in the rough structure of the uncoated paper
attaches to the dots, and is transferred onto the – this eliminates the air column while also
rubber blanket and then onto the paper. Of course, all kinds of things happen in the pro- potentially producing a dull image.
cess. The suction nozzle picks up one sheet at
The basic offset principles are the same, regard- a time and feeds it into the press. The sheet then When the printed sheets are moved onto pallets
less of the type of press or specific techniques that passes through one or more printing units. As to dry, there is a risk of ink setting off if the sheets
are used, but the major differences are in speed, mentioned, one colour or ink unit is needed per are piled too high. It is therefore vital to keep the
finishing and quality levels. We will cover these colour and the number of printing units varies, pallets as low as possible until the ink has com-
basic implications and shortly explain this princi- but in four-colour printing there are, of course, pletely dried.
ples and how they interact with paper. four units needed to create a four-colour image.
However, it is very important to first understand However even if only four colours actually are
UV sheet offset
the main types of offset techniques: needed to create an image, presses have today There are also sheet feed presses with UV drying
often more print units. 5, 6, 8 colour, 10 colour that dries, or actually cures, the ink instantly.
—— Sheet offset or even 12 colour presses are common. Some of Thus avoiding all normal drying problems and set
—— Web – Heatset these presses will be able to print both sides of off risk. These UV presses have been rather rare
—— Web – Coldset the sheet at once. This is done by printing the first because of difficulties with handling the ink and
four colours and then, with a turning drum in the heat in the press. But new UV techniques are
Offset is used for both mono-colour and four- middle of the press, turning the sheet and printing being developed that minimize the problems, and
colour printing (using one or four colour units). the next four. These presses are often called per- this can have a great impact on sheet feed printing
In offset, one ink unit per colour is needed, but it fector presses. It is also possible to add, for exam- in the future.
is also possible to add extra colours and varnish, ple, varnish and/or index and PMS colours at the
increasing the possibilities of offset a great deal. same time. This means that very advanced and These new techniques are so rapidly developing,
These principles will be explained in more detail complex print jobs can be done in one press in it will mean a lot of progress in print and print
in the next session. one run. quality and could, in fact, make several parts of
this guide unnecessary. The UV ink is cured
The possibilities of controlling and adjusting directly meaning that the dot gain is far less and
the print in a feed press are also great, meaning no drying problems will occur. These two are the
a very high quality can be reached. The printing main problems with sheet feed offset with the
units are set to determine how much ink should current process and inks.
be transferred to the printing plate, then to give
a certain density value, per colour. The back Compare conventional sheet fed offset to UV sheet
pressure is also adjusted, i.e., the pressure fed offset on pages 70–71
between the two cylinders the paper passes
through.


Session 3:1
Printing methods
Web offset – heatset & coldset Flexographic printing

For high-volume printing, such as brochures, daily Flexographic printing works in much the same In traditional offset printing, the start-up cost is
newspapers and weekly magazines, web offset is way as a stamp, i.e., with raised areas and depres- high, due to the cost of the plates and long start-
the most common printing method. However, sions between the parts that print and those that up time. This means that the price per copy is
printing “from the reel” does not really produce don’t. Plastic or rubber stereotypes with different initially high, but decreases when the number
the same high-quality results as sheet offset, and level variations attached to a cylinder or a belt of copies increases. In the past – and still, to some
lower grammages are often used. Moreover, web are used. Flexography is a typographic printing extent, today – digital printing has mainly been
offset does not offer the same opportunities for method. used for low volumes, but as technology and qual-
advanced post production. The main advantage ity has improved, so have the opportunities.
is that the unit cost for large volumes is far lower The flexographic method is used for reel formats
than sheet printing. and prints at very high speeds. It can print on The breaking point, where digital printing is less
most materials and is therefore often used in the expensive than offset, has, however, moved higher
In web offset, a large reel of paper is fed into the packaging industry and book production. Flexog- and higher due to a growing capacity and lower
press in a long web, and it runs through the entire raphic printing is also an excellent method for print costs of the digital presses. Within inkjet
printing press at very high speed. It is common uncoated paper. printing especially, the development in recent
that printing and often the post production – such years has been focused on increased printing
as folding, cutting and stitching – are done in the speed, and today, the capacity of an inkjet press
press in one process.
Digital printing is comparable with sheet fed offset.
Digital printing is the collective name for a range
There are two main types of web offset presses: of printing methods, where text and graphics are Digital printing has also opened it up for totally
heatset and coldset. The main differences transferred directly from computer to paper with- new business models. One example is the possibil-
between the two types are the way the ink is out any interim media, such as printing plates. ity to use variable data, which allows a more
dried and to some extent the quality required. Moreover, information is freshly transferred for efficient use of printed media. Instead of mass
The speed of the web process places great each individual print, which means that sections production and mass distribution of, for example,
demands on short drying times so that the of text and images can be replaced each time direct marketing material, selected messages
ink doesn’t set-off. without compromising the printing speed. The adapted for each specific receiver or group of
altered information is called variable data, and receivers can be printed. In this way, the total vol-
A heatset press therefore uses a heat-dryer or used correctly, dramatically increases the value ume of material can significantly be reduced and,
infrared light to dry the ink. The results are of a of printed matter. at the same time, a higher response rate reached.
high quality and there is no problem printing on
uncoated grades. There are also web presses that There are two main types of digital printing meth- Another opportunity with digital print is what
use the special UV-inks that don’t dry under nor- ods – laser (xerography), which uses dry toner is commonly known as on-demand production,
mal conditions, but are instead cured by ultravio- distributed by electrical charges to generate and which means that instead of producing a high
let light in less then a second, with no risk of set- transfer the print, and inkjet, where drops of a number of copies of, for instance, a book in one
off or other ink drying problems. very fine liquid ink are sprayed onto the paper go, the initial production can be smaller and
surface. There are also special techniques, which, complemented with additional print productions,
The coldset method uses a different ink setting in one way or another differ, from these two main depending on the demand at a given time. In this
process – drying by absorption. Coldset uses a types of digital print. HP Indigo is one such way, the cost for stock keeping will be lower, and
very fast-setting ink, and it is essential to check example. the risk of ending up with a high number of
that the chosen paper is compatible with the ink unsold copies is eliminated. In its extreme, on-
and allows it to set quickly. Due to the type of Even though the digital printing methods have demand production can mean the production and
fast-setting ink, the print quality is also most distinct differences, which put unique demands distribution of single copies of a book after it has
often lower than in heatset and the most common on the paper compared to the traditional printing been purchased in a web shop by the consumer.
application is newsprint or mono-colour book methods like offset and flexo, the technical devel-
production. opment of both the digital printing machines and Digital printing has also its given place in the
paper grades has gone in the direction of multi- office environment. Whether it is in the form of
In web offset, both sides of the paper are usually functionality. Most new digital printing presses small desktop printers or larger central printers,
printed simultaneously in a perfector press, by can handle a wide range of papers, and many most of us, more or less daily, take advantage
blanket to blanket. With this method, the oppos- papers are, in addition to the traditional printing of the digital printing techniques to print out
ing printing unit’s rubber blanket is used to pro- methods, also compatible with one or several documents.
vide back pressure, so you can’t set the back pres- digital printing methods.
sure for each side individually. This differs from Here, we describe the two main types of digital
a sheeted perfector, where each side is printed One of the benefits with digital printing is the low printing – using toner in xerographic and laser
separately. As with sheet printing, the ink density start up costs. In principle, the cost per copy is printing, and using ink in inkjet printing – and
should be kept rather high when printing on the same, regardless if you print an edition of clarify the issues that are particularly important
uncoated paper. ten, a hundred or a thousand copies. to consider when printing on uncoated paper.
Another technique we outline here is pre-print,
a combination of digital and conventional
printing.

Session 3:1
Printing methods
Inkjet, digital printing with ink

As the name implies, inkjet printing involves Because heat is a central factor in the process, the There are also digital methods that use wet toner,
spraying liquid ink onto the paper in drops, and moisture content of the paper is very important. i.e., liquid ink as the HP indigo press. The process
this forms dots in roughly the same way as in Too much moisture in the paper means a lot of it is however much the same as with dry toner – the
offset printing. will leave the surface in the fusing process, result- liquid ink is transferred by electrical charges, but
ing in a warped, curled paper. Too dry a paper, on first to a rubber blanket and then onto the paper.
Today, there are two main types of inkjet printers. the other hand, can cause problems with static
One is called “Continuous inkjet’, whereby high electricity.
pressure is used to form drops and electrical
Pre-print in a conventional press
charges are used to guide them. The other is The paper’s conductivity is also very important. You are probably familiar with balance statements
called “Drop on Demand’, where the drops are If the conductivity is wrong, the toner will not and invoices, etc., that contain “variable data”,
added one by one. The latter method is most com- attach to the paper. Conductivity is also influ- i.e., text and figures customised for your particu-
mon in office and text printers, while continuous enced, to a certain degree, by the paper’s mois- lar message. These documents are usually pro-
inkjet is more suitable for faster, more advanced ture content. duced in a monochrome digital press, where the
productions. Inkjet technology is developing rap- black text and figures are printed on sheets or
idly, and there are many different machines on Bear in mind that the printing temperatures reels which are pre-printed with colour – usually
the market today – from inexpensive home print- can vary widely between the different types and logos or similar – in a conventional printing press.
ers to very high-quality large-format printers and makes of machine, and that some presses use heat This method is called pre-print.
extremely high output machines. But progress is in direct contact with the paper while others do
not likely to stop there. not. This means that the effects of incorrect mois- Remember, that when using pre-print, it is
ture levels can vary according to the machine extremely important to choose an uncoated paper
Most uncoated grades are suitable for the various being used. that can deal with both printing methods. The ink
inkjet methods. Since ink is a liquid and relatively must also be compatible with both methods and
thin, it has to be absorbed – soaked up – and set In order to retain the proper moisture level – i.e., often a longer drying time of the offset inks is rec-
on the paper in the right way. A normal uncoated the level to which the paper has acclimatised at ommended. As with several other digital tech-
paper has quite a high absorbency level, but the mill or with the supplier – it is extremely niques, the moisture content of the paper is
because the drops flow out, there is roughly the important to reseal the packaging and to maintain important. Pre-printing in offset adds a damping
same effect as dot gain in offset printing. In order a controlled humidity level in the print house. solution and ink to the paper, thereby increasing
to achieve truly fine results, the paper surface Also, make sure that the paper’s moisture content its moisture content. Therefore, if the original
should therefore be treated in a special way to is compatible with the type of machine being moisture content of the paper is high – before the
allow it to quickly absorb and set the ink. used. Sometimes there are even “script files” for damping solution is added – this can cause prob-
each paper grade, which ensure the press has the lems in the next stage, i.e., digital printing.
correct settings. Also bear in mind that this type
Digital printing with toner/ of digital printing method dries the paper out Therefore, we recommend that the proportion
xerography & laser slightly, and this should be taken into account of the damping solution in the initial offset run
Digital printing methods based on xerography before post production. be kept to a minimum, even if the paper is
are often used in laser printers and photocopiers. designed for pre-print.
They involve using a dry toner, i.e., a powder of Digital methods based on dry toner are ideal
the colour to be printed. The number of colours for uncoated paper, as the toner powder is not Find out more about digital print on Munken
absorbed into the paper so dot gain is not an Design Range at www.arcticpaper.com/digitalprint
in the press varies, some using only black
(or “monochrome”) and others using several issue. It is also possible to print with a higher ink
colours. coverage than in, say, offset printing, which can
produce better image reproduction.
The xerographic process begins with the toner
being electrically charged. When, for instance, However, it is not a good idea to use uncoated
an image is being printed, the areas on the paper paper grades that are too rough, especially not in
that are to be printed are also given an opposite colour printing, as with current technology, it is
charge to the toner’s, so that the powder particles difficult to achieve an even layer of toner on very
are electrically attracted and attach to the rough surfaces.
charged areas on the paper. Once the powder is
in place it is fixed onto the paper, heat is applied,
which melts it onto the paper surface. Toner pow-
der rests on the surface of a paper rather than
being absorbed, and you can actually feel it if you
run your finger across the surface of a printed
material.



Curious to know
what ink density
level is best for
uncoated paper?




Session 3:2
Offset printing & uncoated paper

— Every printer is their own art worker, but knowledge and experience always
differs. Some printers say it is hard to print on uncoated paper and some say it
is easy. Actually, printing on uncoated paper is not more difficult than printing
on coated. It just needs some different basic settings.
The offset principals

As an introduction to printing on uncoated paper In order to maintain the delicate ink/water bal- Damping/fount solution plays the most vital role
in sheet feed offset, it is a good idea to have a clos- ance, an offset press has a set of rollers for each
in the lithographic printing process. Most print
er look at the actual principle of offset. Covering that will cover the printing plate with water and problems in offset are caused by an imbalance
the background in earlier sessions, about uncoat- ink in a very exact and controlled way. in the water and ink chemistry. Therefore, we
ed paper and the main issues in repro, will make recommend that the fount water is carefully moni-
the following recommendations a lot easier to An important part is also the impression pressure, tored; this will secure stable and problem-free
understand. or back pressure. The paper sheet will pass printing. Both the incoming water and the final
through the rubber blankets and a counter press blended mix are very important. Often, there are
The main and basic principle of offset is that cylinder, sometime called the back pressure cylin- variations in the water quality that can change the
oil-based ink and water don’t blend, which means der. In sheet feed, this is normally a steel cylinder. printing conditions on very short terms, even if
that ink will separate from water. But in web offset, this is often the rubber blanket the added fount solution is kept constant. One tip
from the print unit on the other side. The colours is to check the water if the fount solution sudden-
The printing plate consists of two different layers, used in the offset process are the four CMYK col- ly interacts badly with the ink and paper.
one that attracts oil and one that attracts water, ours (cyan, magenta, yellow and black), often
with both layers repelling their opposites. In the called the process colours. These process colours An alternative method to wet offset is dry or
CTP, one of the layers of the printing plate is burnt are transparent and are laid on top of each other waterless offset, where the damping solution is
off. The effect is that the exposed print plate has in layers, so that each layer shows through the replaced with chemical substances on the printing
two different surfaces – one picks up ink where others to jointly form the different shades in the plate’s surface. However, this technique is not
the image should be and the other picks up water image. widely spread today.
where no print should appear. This ensures that
ink hits the paper at exactly the right areas while
the other areas remain blank.
Water, ink & paper interaction Different inks
Paper, ink and water all meet in the press, If you want to repaint your house or paint a paint-
Offset is an indirect printing method, meaning meaning they will interact in several ways. ing, there is a huge number of different colours
that the printing plate will not transfer the ink and inks to choose from. However, for the printer,
directly onto the paper, but instead onto an inter- As mentioned earlier, the principles of offset are choosing the type of ink is actually more impor-
mediate rubber blanket. The rubber blanket will built on the physics that oil and water don’t blend. tant than the actual colour itself. The ink area is
set off the ink onto the paper. Also, the soft sur- To make the balance work, the water needs to an entire science and would need a whole book for
face of the blanket enables it to follow an uneven have certain characteristics controlled precisely. itself, so we will only give you a short introduction
paper surface in the best way. This indirect tech- Pure tap water will not work, it needs to be treat- from a paper perspective.
nical or offset technique is why this printing ed and have certain chemicals added to it. The
method is named offset. chemicals will control the viscosity, pH, hardness While there are many different types of inks,
and conductivity. If these are not correct, the ink- when printing on paper, the process is based
water balance will not work. The treated water is on the four process colours CMYK. It stands for
The top cylinder has a printing plate, which takes up
the damping solution and printing ink (A). The ink is
called fount water. Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key-colour, which nor-
set off onto the rubber blanket on the cylinder in the mally is black. These process inks are transpar-
middle (B), which in turn transfers the ink onto the We have also explained that ink and water ent, which means that when they are printed on
paper. At the bottom is a back pressure cylinder (C). shouldn’t blend, but, to an extent, some mixing top each other in various dot sizes, they will opti-
will always occur anyway. Even small variations in cally mix and create a huge amount of different
the water balance can cause the water and ink to colours.
start mixing too much – this is often called emul-
gation. This can cause a number of problems, such Each printing method also has its special ink
A as low print quality and long drying time. Incor- type. But also within each print method, there are
rectly set water could also begin dissolving the special inks depending on specific processes for
paper surface and could cause paper picking and the drying and on which material the print would
set off. be on.
B The paper also needs to interact well with water

and ink. The paper needs to pick up some degree
The colour itself in the ink is made up of small
particles of solid pigments.
of the water to keep a good balance of ink and
water, and also to keep the blankets clean in the
non-printing areas. It is important to find the
right mix of water and ink for each paper type
C and quality.

Session 3:2
Ink density & uncoated paper

The offset printing inks are pigment based, but The human eye is very sensitive and it can easily When a paper is over-inked, it cannot absorb more
the big differences are in the solvents and chemi- tell whether one colour is denser than another. ink, and the drying time can be very long, mean-
cal contents used, depending on print techniques As mentioned, the density values decide the actu- ing a greater risk for set offs. However, if the repro
and other requirements. The main part of the ink al colour density. There are often strong opinions is properly done and the total ink coverage (TIC)
is the solvent – a blend of mineral oil and vegeta- about the levels, because even the slightest shift is set low, this will limit the layer-on-layer effect
ble oil. The inks also consist of other ingredients, will become very obvious. and the actual amount of ink in the risk areas.
like resin, wax, etc. To control the drying proper- Then the paper can better absorb all the ink in
ties, chemicals such as cobalt and manganese Therefore, this is one of the most crucial factors each remaining layer, and it’s possible to reach a
are also used. to consider when evaluating a print result. Ink relatively high density on uncoated paper without
density is the measurement of the thickness of an the risk of over-inking.
The printing mechanism in offset is quite fascinat- ink layer on the paper. The thicker the ink layer,
ing. The ink has to be able to withstand contact the denser the colours. This means there is a very strong link between the
with water while keeping the pigment bound to total ink coverage (TIC) and the ink density, and
the oil. As we want the ink to dry as quickly as The ink density is actually an indirect way of that the solution to over-inking is not in the press
possible, the pigment concentration in the ink has measuring the actual ink thickness that you put but in the repro. The over-inking problems will
to be as high as possible, in order to keep the ink on paper. It is measured with special equipment, normally only occur in four-colour print, because
film very thin. Offset ink usually contains ±25% like a densitometer or a photo spectrometer. the four colours will be printed on top of each other.
of pigment, while flexo ink only contains 10–12%. These devices measure the differences in colour
The moment the ink touches the paper, the ink density between the paper you print on and each We recommend keeping the total ink coverage
splits into two parts. The thinner (mostly mineral of the four CMYK colours. For this reason, there relatively low and the density relatively high. If
oil) then rapidly penetrates the paper, reducing is always a set of process colour bars, the colour ink coverage is kept at 250–260%, it will enable
the volume of ink that stays on top. strip, on the edge of each printed sheet. an increase in density to 0.2–0.3 units or more
per colour from the ISO standard targets. This
This process is called the ink setting. The pigment The density range in offset printing goes from will provide more colourful images, but also better
that is bound to the resin and vegetable oil remains 0.0 up to over 2.0, this is far less than in analogue flexibility for increasing the density in the press,
on the surface to dry, mostly by oxidation (hence photographs where densities can be up to 4.0. if needed.
the importance of air between the printed sheets). There are different recommendations given in the
Oxidation of oils is a slow process that takes many ISO standard and printers often have their own In recent years, we have seen numerous develop-
hours and depends on the temperature. targets set. For each ICC profile created, there ments in colour matching and process control.
should also be a target set. Note that the ink den- The ‘common’ approach of measuring density
Slow or fast setting inks are chosen depending on sity will decrease as the ink dries, so measuring values of the process colours is less accurate than
the substrate – a very open surface like an uncoat- directly at the press when the ink is still wet will direct Lab measurement. Spectrometers, measur-
ed paper requires a slower setting (less thinner or result in a higher value than the final printed ing Lab values continuously and feeding this data
mineral oil), and a synthetic paper, which allows matter would. into automated press control systems, have
for no setting at all, requires an ink that dries become affordable. Hence, CIE Lab measurement
exclusively by oxidation. On coated paper, the pigment layer stays on top has become an alternative way of controlling the
of the coated surface, so a high density is very amount of ink on paper during printing instead
Each ink has a unique formulation to suit the easy to reach even with a rather small amount of of the density value. The ISO 12647 standard
printing technique, the type of substrate and any ink. On uncoated paper, however, the ink pigment itself is defined in CIE Lab, not density. In the
special requirements, such as drying and setting soaks into the paper. To reach the same ink years to come, we will see a major shift towards
time, tackiness, gloss, rub-resistance and colour density values, more ink is needed. CIE Lab colour matching, simply because it is
intensity. Ink suppliers offer a large number of closer to the human perception.
different inks to suit the process, but also to meet Very often, the density level recommendations
the demands of certain end results. What’s inter- for uncoated paper are rather low, because there Below shows a typical colour bar that is used to
esting is the current development of higher pig- is a risk of over-inking the paper. check the density value. The colour bars contain all
ment content, which can boost the colours in the colours used in the process, as the CMYK and/or
a nice way. PMS colours, and often also show screens in a mid
tone as 40–50% and in an upper tone as 75–80%.

Session 3:2
Back pressure
Back pressure refers to the pressure between However, if you see a solid area that is not even Also note that there are two environmental
the rubber blanket and the impression cylinder enough and showing a mottling effect, it is a good aspects that will influence the drying time: tem-
between which the paper passes in the press. idea to increase the pressure. There is one risk perature and moisture. A lower temperature and
Reducing the distance between the two increases with increasing the pressure too much and that higher relative humidity will increase the drying
the pressure; pushing the ink into the irregular is that dot gain slightly increases at some point. time. Therefore, it’s important that printed mate-
surface of the paper. rial is kept in an ideal environment during the
Example A: the back pressure is low and the ink
drying time.
In a modern press, there is normally a default set does not cover the whole paper surface structure.
pressure that makes the gap between these cylin- The illustration shows two sizes of spray powder.
ders slightly less than the actual paper thickness The above is too small and does not create the needed
setting. Because the rubber blankets are made space between the printed sheets. The below shows
from soft rubber, this creates pressure on the a coarser grain that create a sufficient space to
paper, making the ink cover every small irregular- eliminate the risk for ink set offs and creates an air
ity in the paper surface evenly. column that enables the ink to dry well by oxidation.
On uncoated paper, the irregularities in the sur-

face are much higher than on coated paper. The
default settings in the press is for coated paper.
Example B: the pressure is higher and the flexible
This means that the rubber blankets will not be
rubber blanket follows the rough uncoated paper
able to push the ink into the deepest irregularities surface. The ink covers the whole surface and
of the surface, resulting in dropped out dots and also presses the ink more into the paper.
a mottling effect. Ink drying & paper
In offset printing, there are, as we explained,
It is very important to increase this pressure to three main different offset techniques that have
a level where the whole paper structure will be very different ways of drying the ink. In addition
covered in a good way. When the back pressure to this, there are also UV-inks that are cured
is increased, ink is also pressed into the paper instantly with UV light. In web offset the drying
better, improving the drying capabilities.
is a minor issue due to the special solutions that
dry the ink at once. There are, of course, other
The default setting in a press is often set to be
important aspects to consider, but for uncoated
10 microns less than the paper thickness. The
back pressure can be altered by increasing the
Print powder & after print paper, the main challenge is with sheet feed
actual back pressure value. In some cases, it can stocking offset.
be easier to just enter a lower paper thickness in As the sheets leave the press one by one, they
the press. Depending on how rough the paper is, In sheet offset, the drying is an essential aspect
have to dry. And since the drying time can vary because the ink will dry over a certain time after
the needed value can differ, but a recommenda- by up to 24 hours or more – and in order to avoid
tion is to have the back pressure increase with the printing, and the capacity to dry is actually
set off – print powder should be sprayed onto the
20–30 microns as a starting point. In some in the ink, in combination with paper. The repro
sheets to ensure they do not come into contact
cases, more is needed, and in others less. plays a large part in the way ink is applied on the
with each other. This also creates an air column
paper and then also how the ink dries. But as
between the sheets, which helps the ink to dry
long as the repro is correct, the different ink will
by oxidation.
have the main impact on drying on uncoated
It is important to use quite a coarse-grain powder, paper.
otherwise the fine granules can get stuck in the
rough structure of the uncoated paper – eliminat- Ink in sheet offset will dry in two steps:
ing the air column while also potentially produc- setting and oxidation. Setting means that the
ing a dull image. ink solvents are absorbed into the paper and
then leaving the pigment and binders more
When the printed sheets are placed onto the pal- or less dry on the top. Oxidation of the solvent
lets to dry, there is a risk of the ink setting off if means that the solvents (oils) will be oxidised
the sheets are piled too high. This is due to the into a dry condition due to a reaction with
pressure created in the lower end of the pallets. oxygen.
It is therefore vital to keep the pallets as low as
possible until the ink has completely dried. The different inks for sheet offset could be
categorised in levels, depending on how large
a part of the drying will be done by the setting
and the oxidation.

Session 3:2
Print quality on paper

The non-oxidation inks, sometimes called “over Evaluating the print quality on paper is not easy C — The colour strip – is the density correct
night inks” or “duct fresh inks,” are meant to not and is quite subjective. However, it is also a matter and high enough?
dry in the press or in the can. The benefit of this of perspective and profession. A printer will look D — Neutral grey tones – areas that should be
is in the starting and stopping time for the press. at print in one way, a graphical designer in their grey can easily show a hint of red, blue or
own way and an end user or a consumer in anoth- yellow, and checking the grey areas in imag-
Partly-oxidising inks are called “semi overnight” er. The important aspect is that each party is sat- es is a good way to know if the colour bal-
or “semi duct fresh inks.” The benefit of these isfied with the final result. And that’s why a com- ance has been handled well.
are that they are meant to dry, to some extent, mon understanding on what will be achieved is
by oxidation, but still do not dry in the press or crucial. Therefore, some kind of colour proof is E — Details in dark areas – are details lost in the
can too quickly. very good to have as a reference at an early stage very darkest areas? On uncoated paper,
of the process. image details will always be lost to some
extent, but a well-handled dot gain will
Oxidation inks that mainly or completely dry by
There are also some good tips to bear in mind minimise that.
oxidation are often just called “oxidation drying
inks” or “quick drying inks.” when actually looking at print quality. The whole F — Fine details – these will be harder to repro-
repro and print aims to handle a number of duce on uncoated paper, but is it possible
Choosing an ink often means a compromise parameters, and if everything is well-handled, to see the fine details or are the details lost
on different aspects, such as the drying time, focusing on these will enable you to evaluate and the contrast low?
cleaning in the press and the functionality and print on uncoated paper:
G — Highlights – if dot gain is too high, support-
impression on paper. ing dots can be increased to such a level that
A — Colour similarities to real life – skin tones,
bright areas are no longer bright.
On uncoated paper, we strongly recommend that fruits, trees, skies, etc., are easy to recognise
and these should look as close to normal as H — Full tones – are they even without mottling?
duct fresh inks are not used. The reason is that
possible, if realism is the aim.
on uncoated paper, the oxidation is the most
important drying step. As the non-oxidation ink B — Clear and bright colours – if dot gain is not Below is a test sheet used by Arctic Paper.
normally needs the coating layer to set in a treated well, bright colours could feel slightly
proper way, there is a large risk that part of the dirty.
ink will not set fully on uncoated and the wet ink
will remain on the surface – and if no oxidation
drying occurs, the ink can stay wet for a very
long time.
Press varnish H C
A very common way of protecting a printed sheet, A B A D
both as a final product and for the upcoming post
production, is press varnish. On uncoated paper,
the visual effect is almost none, but is often used
as protection. The press varnish can be either oil
based or water based.
Press varnish means covering the whole printed G F E

sheet with varnish, which can be dried in the
press by infrared light or in the same way as nor-
D
mal ink. This then dries on top of the ink and pro-
tects the ink during post production. It will also
protect the paper surface in the ready printed
material. It is important to remember that while
on uncoated paper, the effect will only be protec-
tive, it can also, to some extent, change the shade
of the paper slightly in the unprinted areas.

94 — Art Workshop Session 4 — The post production
Session
– The post production
4
A printed product is not finished just because it has come off
the press. There is still post production, a collective term for
several different stages and processes that take place after
printing. Although post production comes last in the printing
process, it has to be decided at an early stage, as the choice
of post production methods often governs other factors, such
as choice of paper.
It is therefore a good idea to have post production in mind early

on. We are now going to take a closer look at the most common
post production methods for uncoated paper.
Session 4 — The post production Art Workshop — 95


MUNKEN POLAR ROUGH 120 g/m²
The wrapper
– Dennis Johansson
The finishing touches and the bookbinding are keys to excellent
results. And however odd it may sound, if the post production
is not immaculate, it can ruin the whole impression of a printed
product.
Dennis has been working with paper for all of his life. He has
always enjoyed his job and is happy to see that papers are
actually evolving and becoming better. The quality of paper
plays a central role when varnishes are applied, scoring is
performed and the cutting is done at the post production
workstations. Having been a sports fan since childhood,
Dennis recognises the value of a strong team both in athletic
arenas, but also on the printing floor.



Session 4:1
Effect enhancing & post production

In the total design, it must not be forgotten that there are several ways to
—
finally enhance and make printed matter really stand out – by adding foil,
embossing and cutting the paper into unique shapes. All of this is done after the
print, however, it needs to be planned in advance and knowledge about what is
possible is crucial. Here is a short introduction to the world of paper creativity.
Foil blocking
Foil blocking involves adding a thin layer of foil Recently, a new embossing technique has been UV varnishing often requires a primer be applied
to the paper with the aid of heat and pressure. The introduced based on laser cutting. Instead of com- on the uncoated paper, this (water based) primer
plastic foil is usually metalised with gold or silver, pletely cutting through the paper, the laser only is often applied in an inline flexo varnish unit, as
although there are also other shades, mother-of- cuts half way through it, creating a bas relief. described above. All techniques allow spot var-
pearl and structured versions. If more than one nishing, but in flexo it is more expensive because
foil is being used, they should not overlap, and the of the 3D flexographic plates that are required.
ink must have dried properly before foil blocking
Varnishing
begins, otherwise the print will not adhere correctly.Together with laminating, varnishing is the most Uncoated paper grades can be UV varnished for
common method of surface-treating a paper. an extra effect, although it is important to bear
One tip is to also avoid using too much spray pow- There are several varnishing methods, the most in mind that the effects are different to those seen
der when printing. This also applies in other cases common being spot UV varnishing in a screen on coated paper. The porosity of uncoated paper
of post production, like offline varnishing or lami- press, full varnishing and protective varnishing enhances the penetration of varnish into the
nating. Sometimes it is necessary to remove the direct in the printing press. paper, destroying the visual effect. Therefore,
spray powder by passing it through a printing multiple layers are needed. The first layer (prim-
press without ink or water. The powder is then There are two categories in varnishing: protective er) provides a barrier, and the top layer will be
picked up by the rubber blankets. varnishing and embellishment. The first should the actual varnish.
not produce any visual effect, but create a sealing
In the context of foil blocking, another term some- effect, avoiding rub off and allowing quick finish- Since fully varnishing a sheet is rarely a complete
times heard is foil embossing – i.e., embossing the ing and folding. The second type aims for a strong success, spot UV varnishing is preferred. This
paper at the same time as foil blocking. There is visual effect, but other effects like odour/per- entails varnishing selected parts of the paper,
also a type of foil blocking where different fumes, heat sensitive or pearlescent varnishes such as an image or logo. Very special, exciting
amounts of pigment are used, called tint foil are common. results can be created using spot UV varnishing
blocking. on uncoated paper. However, it is essential to first
Varnishes can be applied in several ways, the prime the sheet and then varnish once, or in some
most simple technique is to use a printing unit cases twice, for the perfect result.
Embossing with varnish (i.e., colourless ink). Varnish layers
The process of creating differences in the level can be printed just like any other image, but the Also bear in mind, that folding after varnishing
of the paper’s surface – known as reliefs – with varnish layers are usually thin (max 3 g/m²) and may cause problems. Varnish is hard and not as
depressed and raised areas is called embossing. the visual effect not very strong. But the tech- flexible as laminate, so the outer layer may crack
The pattern is created in an embossing machine nique works well for protective varnish. In this case, when the paper is folded. This can be avoided
using stereotypes or embossing plates. the difficulty is to produce a specific varnish thick- by scoring the paper where the fold should be.
ness consistantly, because there is no easy way to
There are basically two different kinds of emboss- determine the varnish thickness like, for instance,
ing: positive and negative. Positive embossing with a densitometer. Relief printing
involves raising a section up out of the paper, while The method calls for the printing press to be
negative entails depressing a section. Moreover, Nowadays, varnishing is often done in a dedicated supplemented with a relief aggregate and a heater.
sculpted embossing can be used to create several inline varnishing unit, which does not work like After the normal printing process, a chemical
different levels. This method is the most advanced, an offset printing unit but, in fact, uses the flexo powder is sprayed over the ink on the sheet. The
and can only be achieved using embossing plates. technique. The varnish can be a water based sheet then goes into the heater where the ink and
When ordering embossing plates, it is particularly emulsion (acrylic dispersion) that is cured with powder melt together and swell up into a relief.
important that the paper has been selected and to a hot air knife, which provides instant drying. This then dries and hardens. The process is also
be extremely clear about the desired effects. Paper called thermographic printing and all PMS colours
grade is a vital factor in embossing. As a general This technique gives a very even varnish layer can be used. Relief printing is most suitable for
rule, the thicker and softer the paper the better because of the anilox roll, which provides a con- thin lines and texts. It is not possible, however, to
the results. stant flow in the system. But even here, the visual emboss or foil block over relief print. Nor is it pos-
effect is not very strong and the varnish layer is sible to relief print over foil blocking. This method
The strength of the paper is also significant, and of a medium thickness (max 10 g/m² wet, equals is mostly used on business cards and celebration
woodfree grades are generally recommended as max 6 g/m² dry). Water-based varnishes give a cards.
they have better bursting resistance. To avoid flexible, medium gloss result, causing no problem
bursting, it is also important to use the right pres- in folding or binding afterwards. Another method that gives a similar effect is
sure when embossing. Careful testing – on the embossing varnish. This is more widely used for
right paper – is essential when embossing, and a Screen print varnishing can be done on any covers and headlines. The varnish is applied in
good working relationship should be established substrate in very thick layers. The varnish can screen printing on top of texts and logos that have
with the engraver and printer before the actual be water-based, solvent-based or UV cured. UV first been printed in the conventional press.
embossing phase. Also note that embossing on curing provides instant drying, but also a very
coated paper is more difficult due to the less hard varnish layer which could crack when folded. The cover of this guide is decorated with
flexible surface. embossing varnish to enhance the graphic.

Session 4:1
Effect enhancing & post production
Laminating Die cutting

Laminating involves applying a thin, plastic film Die cutting is a common method of enhancing the
or foil to the paper’s surface. The method works appearance, feel and message of a printed prod-
well with smooth uncoated paper and is used in uct. Die cutting involves using a die form to cut
the same way as varnishing for greater protection a pattern out of the paper such as a round window
against dirt and wear, as well as giving increased on the cover that reveals parts of what is on the
folding strength. first page. This can also be used for indexing fold-
ers, for instance. Die cutting is also used to pro-
Laminating the paper also produces a different duce self adhesive labels while leaving the release
surface finish compared to varnishing. This partly paper intact. Today there are also possibilities to
depends on which laminate you use, for example, cut complicated patterns and forms by laser-cut-
there are matt, gloss or patterned laminates. ting the paper.
It also depends on the roughness of the paper.
For optimum laminating results on uncoated

Hole punching
paper, select a grade with low roughness, since Hole punching is pretty much self explanatory.
a rough paper surface makes it harder for the film Holes are punched into the outer edge of a docu-
to adhere, and may produce a slightly milky, grey- ment so that it can be kept in a ring binder. Rath-
ish appearance especially when laminating dark er than a conventional office hole punch, the
surfaces. graphics industry instead uses a special drill
to create holes in the sheets.
Just as with varnishing, it is important to use a
minimum of spray powder in the printing process, Perforation
as this too can result in reduced adhesion and
detract from the appearance. If users need to be able to tear pages, coupons or
similar from a document, perforation is a common
There are two kinds of laminate: pre-sized lami- way of making this easier by providing a row of
nates, and those which are sized during the lami- small holes. Perforation is often performed on a
nating process. The non pre-sized laminates are flat bed press with a perforation rule, or using a
generally preferable when working with uncoated scoring tool – which is not unlike a toothed saw
paper. There is however an exception, i.e., when blade.
laminating digitally printed matter. Owing to
the fact that inks in a digital press contain toner
and silicone oil, it is difficult for the laminate to
adhere properly. In this case, use pre-sized lami-
nate and a high temperature.
Speaking of high temperatures, bear in mind that

paper alters with changes in temperature and
atmospheric humidity, yet a plastic laminate does
not. In other words, laminating a sheet of paper
before the ink has dried or if it is subject to abnor-
mal moisture can cause problems.
There is another kind of lamination which differs

to that described in the section above, and it refers
to glueing together several sheets to produce a sin-
gle thicker one. For example, two 150 g/m² sheets
can be joined to form a sheet weighing just over
300 g/m² (the glue also weighs a few grams).
The laminated sheet can be made of various

materials such as liner, cover paper, plastic film
or metal foil.
The cover of this guide is matt laminated

to provide sturdiness and extra protection for
frequent use.

Session 4:2
Binding
— In most types of productions, there is an assembly line and it is not usually
until the end stage that you finally see the result of all the hard work. In a
graphical production, the assembly line ends with the binding. It is here that
all the printed sheets and covers turn into a book, magazine or other product
in the final step of the process. And it is now you really hope that you have
thought about everything mentioned in this guide.
Bookbinding Binding
Before discussing the various binding, folding The final phase in putting together paper, normal- —— Thread-binding – also called textile binding –
and scoring techniques, we need to go back a few ly the folded sections, to form a book or other is the very strongest binding technique, as well
steps. Before the sheet is printed, imposition is printed product, is called binding. Binding encom- as being one of the oldest and most expensive.
carried out. This entails organising the pages so passes a wide range of methods, each with its own Take an old book down from the shelf and
that they end up in the right order. The number particular conditions. Here we will be covering check the binding and it is very likely to have
of pages that fit on each sheet varies depending on some of the most common methods. been stitched with a linen thread in the spine.
the size of the printing press and the format of the The method involves putting the printed and
printed matter. In some cases only 4 pages might Some remarks on combining different paper folded sheets in the right order and then,
fit, in others 8, 16, 32 and even 64. The pages then grades in books. As described in previous ses- rather than gluing or stapling them together,
have to be combined in the right order to form sions, paper is very sensitive to changing humidi- stitching them together at the spine.
a printed product. ty. If for some reason different grades are com- The cover is then glued on. The inside pages
bined in one book, it is important to ensure that are first trimmed down to the required size,
the humidity of all sections is the same. Other- depending on whether the cover is hard or soft.
Folding & scoring wise books will have bent covers, wavy book Thread-binding is suitable for all paper grades
Folding can be divided into two separate processes, blocks or stepping edges. as no adhesive is used. Thread-binding has
folding the inside pages and folding the cover. been used for this brochure but with an open
—— Wire-stitching – also called stapling – is the spine. This kind of binding is often called
Folding the inside pages of the printed matter is most common and, in fact, the cheapest bind- French binding.
done in a special folding machine with a feeder ing technique, and is used primarily in the —— Thread-sealing is a combination of thread-
just like the printing press, and in the other end production of brochures and other simple binding and perfect binding. Each sheet sec-
ready-folded sections will come out. printed matter. Apart from being cheap, the tion is individually stitched on the spine side
advantage of the method is that it is fast and using a plastic thread, which melts together
The printed sheet is normally printed and folded, easily manageable, and is suitable for all grades with the adhesive. Once all the sheet sections
as mentioned above, in 4–64 pages per printed of paper. As the name implies, the product is have been stitched, they are glued to the cover.
sheet; with the most common being 16 or 32. bound by passing one or more metal wires or As with perfect binding, uncoated paper works
The higher the number of pages, the more folds staples through the pages and covers, just like well with thread-sealing, as the glue absorbs
are done and at certain point the risk for creases stapling together office documents. The two into the sheet and ensures a stronger adhesion
on the pages increases. To avoid this, the paper most common methods are spine stitching and with the cover.
needs to be cut in the folds to let air slip out and flat stitching. In spine stitching, the staples —— Spiral binding comes in several different varia-
to allow the paper to fold. Depending on the gram- are driven through the folds on folded sheets, tions: wire-o binding, classic spiral binding
mage, bulk and number of pages, the need to han- whereas in flat stitching they go through and GBC binding are just a few. Two things
dle this in a correct way will be greater. It is easy the outer edge of flat sheets. they all have in common are the fact that they
to realise this risk by manually testing different —— Perfect binding – or adhesive binding – is a are trimmed down to the right format before
papers in different amounts of pages. common binding method in products of many binding, and consist of loose sheets that are
pages, and it is ideal for uncoated paper grades hole-punched and bundled together. The spiral
It is also important to ensure that the fibre direc- as the paper absorbs the glue well, which binder is then attached, and these come in
tion runs parallel to the final spine of the printed ensures good adhesion. There are many types all kinds of shapes and colours.
matter so that it opens nice and easily. If this is of glue depending on the equipment and paper
not done, the pages will feel stiff and there’s also that are chosen. Some digital printing tech-
a risk that waviness will occur – which is certain- niques apply silicone oils or waxes on the
Trimming
ly not the desired effect. paper, making it water or glue repellent. The very last stage in most print productions is
Special types of glue have to be used in such the final trimming. The sheets have already been
Folding the cover normally means folding it once cases to prevent the books from falling apart. cut and trimmed several times depending on the
and the sheet ending up in four pages. The cover The actual binding process involves first col- size and method, but not to the exact format. Now
is also normally paper or board of high grammage lecting together the inside pages of the prod- that the product has been printed and bound, it
and occasionally, the paper is so thick that it can uct, and then shaving off three millimetres or has to be given a final trim to ensure the edges
be difficult to fold it without causing cracks and so on the spine side. Adhesive is then applied are attractive and even.
unevenness. The risk starts at a paper grammage and the cover is attached. Perfect binding is
of approx 150–170 g/m2 but it will, of course, differ a common technique in hardback and paper-
from paper grade to paper grade. To avoid this, back book production.
the paper is scored before folding, which basically
involves pressing a channel into the paper where
the fold is to run.
It is especially important to score paper where

images or tint plates run across the fold, as cracks
are more noticeable in tints and images. For print-
ing processes which involve drying the paper,
such as in digital presses, even low thicknesses
and grammages should be scored before folding.




Have you ever

wondered how to
best spot varnish
on uncoated
paper?






112 — Art Workshop Summary — Bear in mind

MUNKEN PURE 150 g/m²
Now that you’ve

gone through the
sessions, here are
some key points
to bear in mind.
See page 114!
Summary — Bear in mind Art Workshop — 113

Bear in mind
Key points
— The knowledge in this guide can be summarised in a few short tips.
This information can be used as a checklist or an introduction to a topic
you may find useful. To fully understand each tip, we recommend studying
the whole guide.
Paper & image material Ink & damping water Drying time
—— Image adjustments can improve perceived —— Use the correct ink type for the paper to avoid —— Drying environment, temperature and humid-
quality, so consider increasing saturation and prolonged drying, set off and runnability prob- ity in the press and storage environment after
contrast. lems. It is optimal to use a specially adopted print will influence the ink drying time dra-
—— Total ink coverage (TIC) as part of the repro ink for uncoated that dries mainly by oxida- matically. If the temperature is too low and
adjustment must be decreased to suit uncoat- tion. Universal inks can be used, but duct the relative humidity too high, it will slow
ed paper. Ensure that the ICC profile has the fresh inks should be avoided. down the drying process.
correct TIC value. —— Ink tack should be normal, ink tack can vary —— Offset ink dries in two ways: ink setting and
—— Dot gain as part of the repro adjustment needs and if it is too high, it might cause picking the oxidation, and the importance of them
to be compensated for. Ensure that the correct and linting. will differ on uncoated and coated.
curves are used in the ICC profile and/or paper —— Damping water properties are very important —— The ink setting is the actual absorption of ink
compensation curves in the CTP. for good functionality in the press. Securing into the paper. On uncoated paper, the first
—— Screen ruling should not be too high, and an the correct pH, hardness and conductivity is setting phase will take up to 6–8 hours. During
alternative is to use a stochastic screen for crucial, because it will influence the printabil- this time, the ink is still wet and the ink tack
better definition. ity and the drying process. is low, but it’s most often still possible to print
—— Proofing should be done before printing, how- the second side, printing “wet in wet”. At a
ever a soft proof on screen or on a digital proof, See more in the printing session certain point, the ink gets too tacky and then
does not show the final result, only a true it will not be possible to handle the paper until
press proof will show that. it’s completely dry.
—— Communication is vital to ensuring it is clear During printing —— Oxidation of ink means that the ink will react
how the above will be handled and by whom, —— On uncoated paper, a higher back pressure is with oxygen in the air and create a solid, dry
so that all involved get the right information needed. Too low a pressure can cause the ink ink. Most offset inks have a certain level of
and documentation. to not fully cover the surface, resulting in loss drying by oxidation. Depending on the level
of definition and mottling. If this happens, of oxidation in the ink type, this phase and
See more in the repro session increase the pressure until you reach an drying time will vary. The oxidation of ink can
even print. normally take up to 24 hours, but depending
—— Low back pressure will also make more ink on the level of oxidation in the ink, up to 48
Paper & print room stay on the paper surface and this can increase hours may be needed. Ink that is developed for
before printing the risk for set off and a longer ink drying uncoated paper has a high degree of oxidation,
—— Humidity and temperature in the print room time. meaning a shorter drying time, whereas duct
should be as close to the paper as possible. —— When dealing with ink density in the press, fresh inks have very low oxidation, meaning
A good print and storage environment is at a remember that uncoated paper needs more a very long drying time. During the oxidation
relative humidity of 40–60% and at a tempera- ink to reach the same density as on a coated phase, all handling of the printed paper should
ture of 20°C. paper. Therefore, the recommendation for be avoided.
—— Condition paper in the original wrapping uncoated paper is a lower density to avoid over
before printing. Differences in temperature inking. However, if the repro is correct and the See more in the printing session
between the paper and the print environment total ink coverage is low, the ink density can
could easily give runnability problems. be kept relatively high.
—— Cold paper will also influence the paper and —— Print powder should be used for uncoated
ink interaction, the ink will be colder and the paper, and it is important to use quite a coarse
tack and absorption will not be normal. grained powder. The right sized granulates
—— A cold press and cold ink after a long stand create a good air column between the sheets,
still can give a higher ink tack, which can which improves the drying and oxidation, as
cause picking and linking during a start up. well as avoids ink set off between the sheets.
—— After stocking the printed pallets, it is vital to
keep the stacks as low as possible until the ink
See more in the paper session
has completely dried. Otherwise, there is a
risk of ink set off due to the pressure created
in the lower end of the pallets.
See more in the printing session

Bear in mind
Summary charts
Preparation & prepress

Uncoated Uncoated Coated Coated Coated Coated
High bulk Low bulk Bulky Matt Silk Gloss
Total ink coverage –260% –260% –270% –280% 280–320% –320%
Raster lpi 85–120 133–150 150–175 175 175 200
Dot gain According to own test or ISO 12647 standard paper curves
Ink type Preferably oxidative Preferably oxidative Normal setting inks Normal setting inks Normal setting inks Normal setting inks
drying inks for drying inks for for coated paper or for coated paper or for coated paper or for coated paper or
uncoated paper. uncoated paper. universal inks. universal inks. universal inks. universal inks.
Universal inks work Universal inks work
but might give longer but might give longer
dry time. Avoid duct dry time. Avoid duct
fresh ink. fresh ink.
Damping/fount General recommendation:
solution Secure a clean and stable system.
IPA: max. 10% or preferably lower (Temperature is also important, otherwise the alcohol will evaporate too quickly).
Damping water solutions: ca. 2–3%.
Conductivity: 1000–1500 μS. (Too high normally means that the fount water is contaminated or has a too high salt level).
Hardness: 8–12dB
pH: 5.0–5.6
Important:
There are different types of damping solutions that might need different targets and settings, as for example, the IPA free damping solution.
Follow the fount solution suppliers’ recommendations.
Conditioning of paper
Temperature differences 5°C 6°C 7°C 8°C 9°C 10°C 15°C 20°C 25°C
Hours for 500kg paper 10h 11h 12h 13h 17h 20h 28h 45h 64h
This table is a simplification but gives a hint of the time needed for a normal pallet to reach equilibrium between
the paper and the environment.
In the press
Uncoated Uncoated Coated Coated Coated
High bulk Low bulk Bulky Matt & Silk Gloss
Back pressure 20–30µ 20–30µ 20–25µ 15–25µ 10–20µ
Ink density K: 1.5 K: 1.5 K: 1.75 K: 1.85 K: 1.85
C: 1.25 C: 1.25 C: 1.45 C: 1.55 C: 1.55
M: 1.25 M: 1.25 M: 1.40 M: 1.50 M: 1.50
Y: 1.15 Y: 1.15 Y: 1.25 Y: 1.35 Y: 1.35
Note: density will differ due to different targets, but these levels will enable good runability in the press and a good print quality.
Also note that the values will decrease in dry conditions compare to wet, and the difference between dry and wet ink will be higher
on uncoated than on coated paper. These targets are for wet ink.
Print powder Min 30µ Min 30µ Min 30µ 20–30µ 20–30µ
Ink drying
Uncoated Uncoated Coated Coated Coated
High bulk Low bulk Bulky Matt & Silk Gloss
Setting Up to 6h Up to 6h - - -
Oxidation drying 6–24h (48h*) 6–24h (48h*) Up to 24h (48h*) Up to 24h (48h*) Up to 24h (48h*)
Printing second side Wet in wet, during the Wet in wet, during the - - -
first few hours. first few hours.
After drying completely After drying completely
up to 24–48 hours. up to 24–48 hours.
When printing very heavy and dark images, and when using a very high ink density, a longer drying period should be planned for.
Note that the oxidation phase on coated paper will only affect the post production; the ink will be dried on the surface within a few hours.

Bear in mind
Your own key points:

Bear in mind

Bear in mind

Bear in mind

Bear in mind

Bear in mind

Bear in mind

Bear in mind

Bear in mind

Bear in mind

Bear in mind
Munken Design Range

qualities used in this guide
Cover Pages 1–16

MUNKEN PURE 400 g/m² MUNKEN PURE ROUGH 120 g/m²
Pages 17–32
Pages 33–48 Pages 49–64 Pages 65–80

MUNKEN LYNX ROUGH 120 g/m² MUNKEN POLAR 150 g/m² MUNKEN POLAR 170 g/m²
Pages 81–96

Pages 97–112
Bear in mind
Key knowledge
— The key knowledge in this guide can be summarised in a few short tips. This
information can be used as a checklist or an introduction to a topic you may find
useful. To fully understand each tip, we recommend studying the whole guide.
Paper and image material Ink and damping water Drying time
— Image adjustments can improve perceived — Use the correct ink type for the paper to avoid — Drying environment, temperature and humidi-
quality, so consider increasing saturation and prolonged drying, set off and runability prob- ty in the press and storage environment after
contrast. lems. It is optimal to use a specially adopted print will influence the ink drying time dra-
— Total ink coverage (TIC) as part of the repro ink for uncoated that dries mainly by oxida- matically. If the temperature is too low and the
adjustment must be decreased to suit uncoated tion. Universal inks can be used, but duct fresh relative humidity too high, it will slow down
paper. Ensure that the ICC profile has the cor- inks should be avoided. the drying process.
rect TIC value. — Ink tack should be normal, ink tack can vary — Offset ink dries in two ways: ink setting and
— Dot gain as part of the repro adjustment needs and if it’s too high, it might cause picking and the oxidation, and the importance of them will
to be compensated for. Ensure that the correct linting. differ on uncoated and coated.
curves are used in the ICC profile and/or paper — Damping water properties are very important — The ink setting is the actual absorption of ink
compensation curves in the CTP. for good functionality in the press. Securing into the paper. On uncoated paper, the first set-
— Screen ruling should not be too high, and an the correct pH, hardness and conductivity is ting phase will take up to 6–8 hours. During
alternative is to use a stochastic screen for bet- crucial, because it will influence the printabili- this time, the ink is still wet and the ink tack is
ter definition. ty and the drying process. low, but it’s most often still possible to print the
— Proofing should be done before printing, how- second side, printing “wet in wet”. At a certain
ever a soft proof on screen or on a digital proof, point, the ink gets to tacky and then it will not
doesn’t show the final result, only a true press See more in the printing session be possible to handle the paper until it’s com-
proof will show that. pletely dry.
— Communication is vital to ensuring it’s clear During printing — Oxidation of ink means that the ink will react
how the above will be handled and by whom, so with oxygen in the air and create a solid dry
— On uncoated paper, a higher back pressure is
that all involved get the right information and ink. Most offset inks have a certain level of dry-
needed. Too low a pressure can cause the ink
documentation. ing by oxidation. Depending on the level of oxi-
to not fully cover the surface, resulting in loss
dation in the ink type, this phase and drying
of definition and mottling. If this happens,
See more in the repro session time will vary. The oxidation of ink can nor-
increase the pressure until you reach an even
mally take up to 24 hours, but depending on
print.
Paper and print room before — Low backpressure will also make more ink stay
the level of oxidation in the ink, up to 48 hours
may be needed. Ink that is developed for
printing on the paper surface and this can increase the
uncoated paper has a high degree of oxidation,
risk for set off and a longer ink drying time.
— Humidity and temperature in the print room meaning a shorter drying time, whereas duct
— When dealing with ink density in the press,
should be as close to the paper as possible. A fresh inks have very low oxidation, meaning a
remember that uncoated paper needs more ink
good print and storage environment is at a rela- very long drying time. During the oxidation
to reach the same density as on a coated paper.
tive humidity of 40–60% and at a temperature phase, all handling of the printed paper should
Therefore, the recommendation for uncoated
of 20°C. be avoided.
paper is a lower density to avoid over inking.
— Condition paper in the original wrapping
However, if the repro is correct and the total
before printing. Differences in temperature
ink coverage is low, the ink density can be kept
between the paper and the print environment
relatively high.
could easily give runability problems.
— Print powder should be used for uncoated
— Cold paper will also influence the paper and
paper, and it’s important to use quite a coarse
ink interaction, the ink will be colder and the
grained powder. The right sized granulates cre-
tack and absorption will not be normal.
ate a good air column between the sheets,
— A cold press and cold ink after a long stand still
which improves the drying and oxidation, as
can give a higher ink tack, which can cause
well as avoids ink set off between the sheets.
picking and linking during a start up.
— After stocking the printed pallets, it is vital to
keep the stacks as low as possible until the ink
has completely dried. Otherwise, there is a risk
See more in the paper session
of ink set off due to the pressure created in the
lower end of the pallets.
See more in the printing session
Pages 113–128

Colophon
The Munken Guide

to Uncoated Paper
Munken Design Range Grammage g/m2 Shades Bulk
Munken Polar Rough 90 100 120 150 170 300 b Crisp white 1.4
Munken Polar 80 90 100 120 130 150 170 200 240 300 b 400 b Crisp white 1.13
Munken Lynx Rough 90 100 120 150 170 300 b Natural white 1.4
Munken Lynx 70d 80 90 100 120 130 150 170 200 240 300 b 400 b Natural white 1.13
Munken Pure Rough 90 100 120 150 170 300 b Cream 1.4
Munken Pure 80 90 100 120 130 150 170 200 240 300 b 400 b Cream 1.13
b
Laminated paper.
d
Not standard production. Minimum 10 tonnes order. Please contact your sales representative.
The information provided in this publication is considered to be true and correct at the time of printing. However, Arctic Paper reserves the right to make any changes that may
be precipitated by unforeseen circumstances, without prior notice, which may impact on the accuracy of this information, and is therefore intended to be used as guidance only.
If you want to order samples or a dummy for your next project, go directly to www.arcticpaper.com/dummyshop
© Arctic Paper. Design: Grow, Sweden. Printer: Göteborgstryckeriet. Printing press: Komori Lithrone S40. Screen: FM 20µ. Ink: Hostmann-Steinberg Resista Eco.
Bookbinder: Förlagshuset Nordens Grafiska.
All standard Munken products are available as FSC TM and PEFC certified.
Certificates and reports: FSC TM, PEFC, ISO 14001, EMAS, Paper Profile.
128 — Art Workshop Colophon

EN
Design is in our nature.

Munken is all about commitment – to design, to nature and to
detail. And you can always trust Munken for 100% design on
100% natural papers. Or to put it another way, with the choice
of design or environmental concern – choose both!
www.arcticpaper.com

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ENGLISH

MUNKEN PURE ROUGH 120 g/m²

The Munken Guide

This guide contains detailed information that will help you

The guide is divided into four workshop sessions. While

So, equip yourself with the knowledge provided in this guide,

Session 1:2 Production Session 2:2 Image

2 — Art Workshop Table of contents

Table of contents Art Workshop — 3

Paper can convey feeling and add an extra dimension to your

Session 1 — The paper Art Workshop — 5

6 — Art Workshop Session 1 — The paper

The paper master

Leif Lundgren is a paper master at the mill in Munkedal.

Session 1 — The paper Art Workshop — 7

8 — Art Workshop Session 1 — The paper

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The makeup of paper

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From the wire, the still wet pulp moves on to

WIRE SECTION PRESS SECTION DRYING SECTION

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Compare bulk 1.4 and 1.13 on pages 16–17

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Roughness Brightness & shade

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Opacity Porosity & absorption

Uncoated and coated surfaces are fundamentally

To summarise the absorption of ink; on uncoated

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Fibre direction & format

Fibre direction Format

figure is the length of the side that runs across

assortment of formats in standard use in different

ard stock at a fixed number of sheets per pallet.

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Örjan is a classic jack-of-all-trades character. With eleven years

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How to choose paper

The paper choice The choice of shade The paper feeling

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How to choose paper

Images on different paper Lifespan

Finally, it can be interesting to reflect over the

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How to choose paper

The environment & recycling

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Storage, handling & conditioning

Temperature & humidity

Also bear in mind, that once the dimensional 10°C 11 15 20 22 24

Conditioning time (h)

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