VISCOELASTIC PROPERTIES OF PAPER COATINGS - RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COATING STRUCTURE-VISCOELASTICITY AND END-USE PERFORMANCE

Viscoelastic properties of paper coatings affect the end-use performan ce of coated paper. This study focuses on the relationship between coa ting structure-viscoelasticity and (a) gloss improvement during calend ering and (b) sheet bending stiffness. Viscoelastic properties were de termined by dynamic mechanical spectroscopy for a range of latex-based paper coatings. Results suggest that the effect of calendering on glo ss can be predicted based on the coating's elastic modulus. Sheet resp onse to calendering decreased with increasing elastic modulus. Sheet b ending stiffness showed the opposite trend and increased with increasi ng modulus.