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The rapidly changing
technologies used in the office mean that very
often traditional materials are forgotten in the
rush to embrace the latest in office automation.
Laser, ink jet and thermal transfer printers work
alongside familiar plain paper copiers and
typewriters, but the paper requirements are very
different if the best results are to be
achieved.
Wiggins Teape Fine Papers
marketing manager Margaret Baker explained that
different papers will give very different results,
according to the printing or imaging process used.
The wide variety of office printers now on the
market calls for decisions to be made on matching
the right paper to the right machine.
The result is that the
material looks cleaner, sharper and more pleasing
to the eye. The information conveyed is read more
easily because the image is projected 'off the
page' more effectively.
Machine manufacturers know
how paper affects performance-in fact an integral
part of the design and development of every machine
is an evaluation of the paper that should be used.
For this reason machine manufacturers specify which
grade will achieve the best results. There are many
times, however, when users ignore this advice and
use paper which is either cheaper or more
convenient.
Ink jet printers, as their
name implies, work by expelling droplets of ink.
The process requires the paper surface to have a
properly balanced chemistry to allow controlled ink
absorption and 'spread' that enables the droplets,
which are minute dots, to join and dry
quickly.
The result should be sharp,
well defined characters, that appear to be complete
images rather. than a series of dots. Thermal
transfer works by heating a series of thermal
needles which on contact with special ribbons
transfer an ink or dye to the paper surface. The
need here is for a particularly smooth paper
surface to allow maximum contact area with the
thermo-sensitive printing ribbon.
In addition, good
absorption characteristics are necessary to allow
the heated ink to key the sheet's surface and
provide a permanent image.
Laser printers employ what
is essentially a xerographic 'dry toner' printing
system. Therefore the properties needed in a paper
to achieve good quality 'xerographic' copies apply
here equally. It is a mistake to believe that any
office paper will perform satisfactorily on a dry
toner copier or laser printer.
The difference is
clear
Copier paper is
significantly different from standard office papers
in three distinct ways. Copier paper has a far
lower moisture content which combats curl from the
heat generated within the copier, thus avoiding
jamming. It also has controlled curl
characteristics which compensate for paper's
natural tendency to 'move' under heat. Finally the
copier paper surface is designed for good toner
adhesion, without flaking.
Each of these different
printing systems can produce images on other grades
of paper, although the results fall far short of
those achieved by the correct grades. The image is
not as sharp because the ink or toner will not have
formed correctly on the page.
This difference in quality
is not always realised until the results are
compared with those achieved by paper designed for
the printer.
New grades of paper such as
Courier have been developed to meet the various
needs of current office printers by bringing
together different papers into one range. Grades
like Courier offer the consumer the opportunity to
meet the needs of different printing processes
within one range which results in the right paper
being used for the right job.
The printed works. always
looks good if it is produced on paper that creates
the correct ink to paper contrast and therefore
enhances the printed word.
Wiggins Teape Fine
Papers
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