Complementary microscopy techniques for surface characterisation of uncoated and mineral pigment coated paper

The quantification of surface structure is of major importance for several industry sectors. For the paper industry, the surface topography is essentially important for securing a good print quality of various paper grades. The surface affects various print quality parameters such as ink transfer, ink distribution, gloss and missing dots. It is thus important to have a detailed assessment of surface topography to be able to understand its influence on paper and print characteristics. In this study, several complementary characterisation techniques are reviewed and demonstrated, including scanners, optical microscopy, laser profilometry, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The techniques prove to be complementary and adequate for structural quantification at various scales, from the millimetre to the nanometre levels.