Optical paper properties and their influence on colour reproduction and perceived print quality

Abstract

The repeatable quality of colour reproduction is a growing challenge for producers of digital printing devices as well as for paper producers. The properties of the printing substrate such as whiteness, brightness, gloss, opacity, porosity, surface roughness, etc., the colourants and the printing technology in different combinations together are all factors that influence the overall print quality. Paper properties are one of the most important factors affecting the completeness of the image transfer and image appearance. As a crucial variable, paper has significant influence on the print quality. It affects print contrast, colour reproduction and surface uniformity. The goal of this paper is to better understand the impact of optical paper properties (whiteness, brightness and opacity) on colour reproduction in digital printing as well as on the human perceived print quality. In this study, ten different uncoated and coated papers were used. For characterization of the optical paper properties we had used software BabelColor CT&A. We also measured the printed samples with directional 45°/0° spectrophotometer to provide spectral reflectance of different tone values. A visual assessment of the printed samples was carried out in order to relate the influence of the optical paper properties to perceived colour reproduction quality under different light sources. As results suggest, unlike opacity, whiteness and brightness of paper are in correlation to perceived print quality.