Investigation into Coating Surface Free Energy and Microstructure of Coated Paper Related to Pigment

The physical structure of coating layer have an important influence on transferring and setting of the printing ink. In this study, the effect of pigment on surface microstructure and surface free energy was investigated. The findings indicated that the pigment affected the pore size, depth and distribution of the coated paper surface. Kaolin pigment compared with calcium carbonate pigment was good to improve the paper surface smoothness. Surface free energy of kaolin pigment coating was higher than calcium carbonate pigment coating, which showed that surface wettability of coating with kaolin pigment was better than calcium carbonate pigment.