Properties of Paper

Once the final product is made it has to be

tested for various physical and optical
properties according to the demand. If the
product is not up to the standard then the
product is recycled and changes are made
to it in terms of the chemicals used or the
amount of raw material used or the
changes in temperature, pressure, moisture
content etc.

Physical Properties
Grammage
The Grammage of paper is defined as the
mass per unit area. This can be expressed
in terms of grams per sq meter (GSM or
g/m2), pounds per 1000 sq .ft or pounds per
ream (500 sheets) of a specified size.
Typical Grammage Values
Grade

g/m2

Newsprint

40-50

Cigarette Tissue

22-25

Bond

60-90

Paperboard

120-300

Bulk
Bulk is another important physical property
of board. Bulk is a term used to indicate the
volume or thickness in relation to the mass
of the paper. It is the reciprocal of density.
It is calculated from calliper and the basis
weight.
Bulk (cm3/g) = Thickness (mm) x Basis
weight (g/m2) x 1000
Sheet bulk relates to many other properties
of paper. Decrease in bulk or increase in
density makes the paper smoother, glossier,
darker, less opaque etc.
Typical Thickness Values
Grade

um

Newsprint

60-80

Office paper

105-110

Blotting paper

540-590

Tracing paper

78

Label paper

63

Tissue

125

Curl
Paper curl can be defined as the systematic
deviation of a sheet from the flat form. It
results from the release of the stresses that
are introduced in the paper during the
manufacture and the subsequent use.
Paper curl has been a persistent quality
issue and is increasingly important for
paper grades being subjected to high speed
printing, xerography and high precision
converting processes.
Formation
Formation is an indicator of how uniformly
the fibers and fillers are distributed in the
sheet. Most of the paper properties depend
on this. A poorly formed sheet will have
more weak and thin spots. These affect the
calliper, opacity, strength, coating
capabilities etc.
Machine and Cross Direction
Papers have a definite grain direction due
to greater orientation of fibers in the
direction of paper machine run. The grain
direction is known as the machine

direction. The direction perpendicular to

this direction is known as the cross
direction. Some of the properties vary with
the MD & CD and hence the values are
reported in both the direction. The sheets
which have all the properties same in both
the directions is known as a Square Sheet.
Bursting Strength
The max hydrostatic pressure required to
rupture the sample by constantly
increasing the pressure a rubber diaphragm
on 1.20 inch diameter sample.

Moisture Content
The absolute moisture content expressed
as% of the paper/paperboard weight. The
sample is generally not conditioned while
doing this test.
Tensile Strength
The tensile force required to produce a
rupture in the paper strip in both MD & CD
of the strip.
Tearing Resistance

Tearing resistance is the ability of the

paper to withstand any tearing force
subjected to it in both the directions.
Water Absorption
The surface water absorption over 60
seconds in g/m2as measured by the Cobb
test.

Optical Properties
Brightness
It is defined as the %age of reflectance of
blue light or a wavelength of 457nm. The
unit in which brightness is measured is
%age.
Whiteness
The magnitude and the uniformity of
spectral reflectance measured as the %age
light reflectance for the whole wavelength
range.
Colour
Colour is related to perception and
therefore measured in terms of colour

space. A commonly used system is the CIE

L.A.B system.
L: Measure of the luminance which can vary
from 100 for perfect white and 0 for perfect
black.
A: Position of the colour between Red (+ve)
& Green (-ve)
B: Position of the colour between Yellow
(+ve) & Blue (-ve)
Fluorescence
Measure of the amount of fluorescent
whitening agent present in the paper.

Opacity
It is the measure of how much light is kept
away from passing through a sheet. Opacity
is measured as the %age of the light
absorbed by the paper.
Gloss
Gloss is the specular reflection of light
which is reflected at an equal and opposite
direction. Normally measured at 75or 20.