REDUCTION OF OFFSET LINTING - A COMPARISON OF 6 MILLS .2. WOOD FURNISH, PULP AND PAPER-MACHINE EFFECTS

Linting of sheets from six eastern Canadian twin-wire machines making newsprint from TMP was assessed by printing heatset and conventional o ffset on two commercial-scale presses. Low linting sheet surfaces were uniform and well compacted without obvious holes between fibres on th e surface. Low linting is therefore not achieved by washing fines from the surface but rather by interaction of pulp quality and papermaking to retain fine material in the sheet surface during forming and ensur e that iris well compacted during pressing. Low linting was associated with stable refining conditions as indicated by a high long fibre con tent.