Paper Gloss Levels

[JudP]

Does anyone have a listing of what the gloss ranges are for the various paper coating types - Gloss, Matte, Satin, Dull, Uncoated?

 

[gordo]

Does anyone have a listing of what the gloss ranges are for the various paper coating types - Gloss, Matte, Satin, Dull, Uncoated?

I don't think such a list exists as paper manufacturers are not consistent in their nomenclature. Your paper supplier should be able to give you the gloss index of their papers or you could get sample swatchbooks from your paper suppliers and use a glossmeter to make your own measurements.

 

[arossetti]

There once was a definition, and I had a book that described each in terms of a numerical value. I no longer have that book and it was probably written 20 years ago now. As Gordo mentioned I don't think the mills abide by those guides any more.

 

[JudP]

Yes, I pretty much came to the same conclusion. Haven't been able to find anything online which gives any sort of a standard or guideline. Seems like mills have their own percentages that they follow. I've reached out to our mill rep to get the listing from them. Thanks for responding!

 

[gordo]

Yes, I pretty much came to the same conclusion. Haven't been able to find anything online which gives any sort of a standard or guideline. Seems like mills have their own percentages that they follow. I've reached out to our mill rep to get the listing from them. Thanks for responding!

AFAIK there are still no standards, specifications, or tolerances in the paper industry. I've given educational seminars to TAPPI (technical association of pulp and paper industries) and those issues are not top of mind for them (or even on their radar).

 

[arossetti]

Slide 53 is similar to the chart I remember from the book I once owned. On this slide it clearly states that this is marketing jargon not a true specification. The book was written by Xerox wish I could remember the title.

 

[Sophia Alice]

Sparkle covered paper has a high sheen. Shine papers have less mass and murkiness and are normally more affordable than dull and matte paper of equivalent thickness. Shine coatings lessen ink ingestion which give the sheet a brilliant shading definition.

 

[Alois Senefelder]

Hello Sophia Alice,

We appreciate every indivduals comments posted on this forum ........ yours re- Paper Gloss is just "gobbledygook"

I suggest you learn some Printing and Papermaking Terminology.


Regards, Alois

 

[MailGuru]

Hello Sophia Alice,

We appreciate every indivduals comments posted on this forum ........ yours re- Paper Gloss is just "gobbledygook"

I suggest you learn some Printing and Papermaking Terminology.


Regards, Alois

Alois, I think it's a Bot. At least, his/her recent comments in this forum sounds a lot like a Bot.

 

[gordo]

Alois, I think it's a Bot. At least, his/her recent comments in this forum sounds a lot like a Bot.

The poster is from Australia.

 

[MailGuru]

The poster is from Australia.

Oh. That explains it.

 

[dabob]

The poster is from Australia.

and her "job title" is SEO . . . so shes a webbite and probably knows nothing about pigment on paper . . .

 

[MailGuru]

AFAIK there are still no standards, specifications, or tolerances in the paper industry. I've given educational seminars to TAPPI (technical association of pulp and paper industries) and those issues are not top of mind for them (or even on their radar).

It's probably not on their radar because, to do so, would impact branding/marketing leverage. IMHO, it really should be. It's gotten so bad that, on one of my monthly paper orders, I will specify "40,000 sheets of 23 x 35 80# Silk, Velvet, Satin, Whatever, Text". Seriously -- no kidding.

(Silk, Velvet, Satin are all trade names for the exact same finish. Just depends on the paper vendor)

 

[ljgoldberg]

There are standards describing gloss levels. One of the good things about standards is that there are so many of them.
The gloss of any sample will appear to change based on the viewing conditions.
There are at least five widely used gloss measuring angles kicking around these days; 20, 45, 60, 75, and 85 degrees.
Each angle sometimes requires using a different instrument.
The most commonly used angles of 20, 60, and 85 degrees are available in a Swiss-Army-Knife type of instrument that costs less than buying three separate units.

We happen to sell a very good unit available in every configuration;

https://betascreen.net/products/qip-gloss-meters?variant=1267498684

Materials of low gloss such as paper need to be measured with a low angle device. This is emulates the manual method of holding a sample in one hand, bending it to form a convex shape, and then holding it up to your eye pointing it towards a light source to catch the grazing reflection. Since the "low angle of incidence" is a high number when measured from the perpendicular to the sample surface, you would use a 75 degree instrument as shown below.

Shamelessly copied from Wikipedia;

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossmeter [h=2]Standards[/h]

Standard	20°	60°	85°	45°	75°
	High Gloss	Medium Gloss	Low Gloss	Medium Gloss	Low Gloss
	Coatings, plastics and related materials	Ceramics	Paper
ASTM C346				X
ASTM D523	X	X	X
ASTM C584		X
ASTM D2457	X	X		X
BS3900 D5	X	X	X
DIN 67530	X	X	X
DIN EN ISO 2813	X	X	X
EN ISO 7668	X	X	X	X
JI Z 8741	X	X	X	X	X
TAPPI T480					X

Comparison of standards for gloss measurement

If you are able to obtain a numerical Gloss Value from a paper or ink supplier, make sure that they specify the measuring angle under which the sample was tested.
You cannot simply apply a correction factor to one angle value to mimic another.

Our industry has a fairly easy job evaluating gloss of paper. Things get really scary when things like molded plastics, auto finishes, metal surfaces need to be evaluated for Haze, Distinctness of Image, Orange Peel, in addition to simple gloss. A goniometer might be your friend, not an STD.

I'll be at the FTA INFO*FLEX in Phoenix next week. Please stop by if you're in town for that or any better reason.

Larry

 

[ljgoldberg]

I guess my work here is done.

ljgoldberg

 

[gordo]

I guess my work here is done.

ljgoldberg

I think you just glossed over the subject.

 

[ljgoldberg]

Do I dare mention that we now also offer a new denso-spectro-colorimeter that allows the user to choose between the bad old Murray - Davies Dot Gain formula or the shiny new SCTV ISO 20654 method? Or just wait until someone asks why a checkerboard measures 68% or why M_D dot gain measurements don't seem to work on reflex blue and many other spot colors?

Just askin'...

 

[ljgoldberg]

Well, since you asked, the Beta Presto Spectro offers traditional Murray-Davies Dot Area calculation, or TVI, or Dot Gain as well as the shiny new SCTV (ISO 20654) . Details on our website;
https://betascreen.net/products/betacolor-presto-spectro