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Finishes
Finish refers to the surface characteristics of paper. Paper can be used as it comes off the driers of a paper machine, or it can be machine calendered and later supercalendered. Uncalendered, machine-calendered and supercalendered papers vary greatly in smoothness. Coating further improves finish and smoothness. Some finishes are produced after the paper leaves the machine (i.e., offline) by a rotary embosser that presses a pattern into the dry paper.
Coated
- Gloss: Gloss is a shiny and reflective surface on one or both sides of coated papers, produced from compounds added during the papermaking process.
- Dull: Dull is a more evenly coated variant of matte, but is very similar to the same end product. The dull coating seems to be more consistently spread across the sheet vs. a matte coating, which is a little more uneven or mottled.
- Matte: Matte is a finish on certain coated papers that is smooth but gives a dull appearance. A good choice for print jobs in which high quality is required.
Uncoated
- Smooth: Smooth is the result of the paper passing through sets of rollers during papermaking. This process is known as calendaring.
- Wove: Wove is an even finish in uncoated paper with a slight texture made by a felt roller covered in woven wire.
- Vellum: Vellum has an eggshell appearance that is even and consistent, but not as much so as a smooth finish. Vellum is one of the most popular uncoated finishes and has a high ink absorbency rate.
Embossed
- Cockle: Cockle simulates characteristics of handmade paper with a way, rippled, and puckered finish. The effect is obtained by air-drying the paper under minimum tension.
- Felt: Felt is a soft texture on uncoated paper created during the papermaking process with either a felt-covered roller or rubber roller with a felt pattern. It can also be accomplished as an offline process.
- Laid: Laid has the appearance of translucent lines running horizontally and vertically and is produced during the papermaking process with a special roller that creates a pattern in the wet paper.
- Linen: Linen resembles linen cloth and is usually produced after papermaking as an offline embossing process.
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