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Conformance of Imported and Indian Newsprint to DIN … · Conformance of Imported and Indian...
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Conformance of Imported and Indian Newsprint to DIN 19306-4
Regional ReseaRch india
Shaping the Future of the Newspaper
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conformance of imported and indian newsprint to din 19306-4
Published by WAN-IFRA South AsiaIII Floor, SIET Admin. Building54 KB Dasan Road, TeynampetChennai 600018Tel. +91.44.4211 0640Fax +91.44.2435 9744www.wan-ifra.org
CEO: Christoph Riess
www.wan-ifra.org
impRint
intRoduction
IntroductionIn the recent years, the complexities of produc-
tion have increased in the Indian newspaper in-
dustry, due to growing circulations and introduc-
tion of more editions and supplements. Printing
plants have to cope with higher print runs and
more numbers of editions and supplements – all
with the same available time. Indian publishers
are increasingly investing in high speed presses
to meet these growing needs. Apart from this,
the expectation on print quality is also very high
in the newspaper industry. Thanks to the stand-
ardization efforts of WAN-IFRA and the growing
participation of Indian newspapers in INCQC (In-
ternational Newspaper Color Quality Club), the
entire newspaper industry is trying to achieve in-
ternational standards in print quality.
The need for the day is consistent, efficient and
high quality newspaper production. As with
other modern industries, the quality of raw ma-
terials play a major role in determining the qual-
ity and efficiency of the production. Newsprint
is the most important raw material along with
newsink in our industry.
Newsprint forms the bulk of production cost and
is the most important raw material in newspa-
per production. Therefore, it is very important for
publishing houses to develop purchasing speci-
fications and study the properties of incoming
newsprint batch to batch.
The demand for newsprint in India is met by both
Indian and imported newsprint. In the current
scenario, many newspapers in India use more
imported newsprint than Indian newsprint. It
is a common trend in many newspapers to use
imported newsprint for color pages and Indian
newsprint for black and white pages. Several ad-
vanced printing plants with high speed presses
runs only imported newsprint – the reason cited
is the better runnability characteristics of import-
ed newsprint.
With this background, WAN-IFRA Research and
Material Testing Centre (RMTC) conducted a re-
search study on the conformance of the news-
print used by Indian publishers, both Indian and
imported newsprint, to DIN 19306-4. There is no
comprehensive ISO standard for newsprint and
the German standard for newsprint is the only
one that is available. Since the paper business is
a global business, we can apply the DIN standard
internationally.
The objective of the study is to
� Find the quality levels of Indian and Imported
newsprint in comparison with DIN 19306-4
� Identify the problem areas
� Find out the effect of the problems in the
productivity of newspaper production
A total of 17 newsprint samples, 9 Imported and
8 Indian, were tested for the parameters speci-
fied in DIN 19306-4.
Anand Srinivasan
Research Engineer
WAN-IFRA South Asia
Tel: +91.44.4211 0640
www.wan-ifra.org/rmtc
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table of contents
1.0 An introduction to DIN 19306-4 ............................................... 5
2.0 Study at WAN-IFRA Research and Material Testing Centre ......... 6
2.1 Test conditions .................................................................. 6
3.0 Conformance of tested newsprint to DIN 19306-4 .................... 7
3.1 Conformance of imported newsprint at a glance ............ 7
3.2 Conformance of Indian newsprint at a glance ................. 7
3.3 Conformance of newsprint to standard in detail ............. 8
3.3.1 Grammage ..................................................................... 8
3.3.2 Newsprint shade ............................................................. 9
3.3.3 Tensile strength and Elongation ..................................... 10
3.3.4 Opacity .......................................................................... 10
3.3.5 Tearing strength ............................................................. 11
3.3.6 Roughness ..................................................................... 11
4.0 Printability of Newsprint ........................................................... 12
4.1 Ink consumption ............................................................ 12
4.2 Set-off and Print-through ............................................... 12
4.3 Pick test ......................................................................... 13
5.0 Conclusion ............................................................................... 15
6.0 Appendices .............................................................................. 16
6.1 Abbreviation list ............................................................. 16
6.2 References ..................................................................... 16
6.3 Acknowledgement ......................................................... 16
1intRoduction to din 19306-4
1. An introduction to DIN 19306-4There is no dedicated ISO standard for newsprint.
ISO 12647-3, the ISO standard for cold-set news-
paper production, only specifies the shade requi-
rement for newsprint. However, apart from sha-
de, there are other important parameters that
are relevant to a newsprint buyer.
The properties of newsprint can be broadly clas-
sified as
� Basic properties: grammage, moisture con-
tent and ash content
� Optical properties: shade, brightness and
opacity
� Structural properties: surface roughness and
porosity
� Mechanical properties: tensile strength, elon-
gation and tearing resistance
Each of these properties directly affects the prin-
tability and runnability of newsprint and we need
specifications for these parameters as well.
The German standard DIN has a dedicated stan-
dard for newsprint – DIN 19306-4. This standard
provides comprehensive delivery specification for
newsprint. It specifies minimum requirement for
� Grammage
� Relative equilibrium/moisture content
� Roughness
� Tensile strength
� Elongation
� Specific volume (Bulk)
� Opacity
� Tearing strength
� Printability - Picking
� Oil absorption
DIN 19306-4 can be universally adopted by pu-
blishers to develop purchasing specifications for
newsprint
Table 1: Specifications of DIN 19306-4
S.No Parameter Mimimum requirement Test according to1 Relative equilibrium moisture
content (%)50 +/- 6 DIN 53118
2 Grammage, g/m2 for 45 GSM 45 +/- 2% DIN EN ISO 536
3 PPS Roughness, microns 2.0 to 6.0 DIN ISO 8791-4
4 Tensile strength MD (kN/m) ≥ 2.0 DIN EN ISO 1924-2
5 Elongation MD (%) 0.9 to 1.4 DIN EN ISO 1924-2
6 Specific volume, Bulk (cm³/g) 1.2 to 1.6 DIN EN ISO 534
7 Opacity % 40 g/m²: >9142.5 g/m²: >9245 g/m²: >92.548.8 g/m² > 9452 g/m²: >94
ISO 2471:1998
8 Tearing strength CD (mN) >250 DIN EN 21974
9 Printability. No paper dependent dusting, picking or linting may occur
Due to missing test methods the minimum number of impressions before paper-related cleaning should be agreed upon as criteria.
10 Oil absorption (g/m²) 10 - 25 DIN EN 20535, but medium is Castor oil
MD - Machine Direction, CD - Cross Direction
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2 study at wan-ifRa ReseaRch and mateRial testing centRe
2. Study at WAN-IFRA Research and Material Testing CentreAt WAN-IFRA RMTC, we collected samples of 17
newsprint varieties, 9 imported and 8 Indian, and
tested them for selected parameters specified in
DIN 19306-4. Apart from that, we also tested
them for additional printability parameters. The
following tests were carried out
� Grammage
� Newsprint shade (according to ISO 12647-3)
� Printability - Ink consumption, Set-off, Print-
through and pick test (Linting)
� Roughness
� Tensile strength
� Elongation
� Bulk
� Tearing strength
In addition to testing, a questionnaire was sent
to those publishers, who sent the samples, to get
the user feedback about the varieties tested. The
test results were compared with the user feed-
back to see if there was a correlation between
test results and the actual performance in pro-
duction. The details of the study are the subject
of this report.
2.1 Test conditionsAll the tests were carried out in accordance to
the recommended test procedures as specified in
DIN 19306-4.
The grammage, shade and all the printability
tests were carried out at RMTC and the other
tests were done at the newsprint testing facility
at ABP Pvt. Ltd.,
Table 2: Testing equipment details
Characteristics Equipment detailsGrammage Mettler Toledo precision balance
Newsprint shade X-rite 530 spectrodensitometer
Printability testing
IGT AIC 2-5T 2000
Roughness Bendtsen Roughness Tester
Tensile Strength MD [kN/m]
Tensile Strength Tester (Vertical, Microprocessor based)
Elongation MD [%]
Tensile Strength Tester (Vertical, Microprocessor based)
Specific Volume, bulk [cm3/g]
Thickness Micrometer
Opacity [%] Reflectance Meter
Tearing Strength CD [mN]
Elmendorf Type Tearing Strength Tester
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3confoRmance of the tested newspRint to din 19306-4
Table 3: Conformance of Imported newsprint at a glance
Sample name
Test parameters and the newsprint‘s conformance to DIN 19306-4
GrammageShade (ISO 12647-3)
Tensile strength Elongation Bulk Opacity
Tearing strength
Imported 1 No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Imported 2 Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Imported 3 Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Imported 4 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Imported 5 No Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Imported 6 Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Imported 7 Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Imported 8 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Imported 9 Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Table 4: Conformance of Indian newsprint at a glance
Sample name
Test parameters and the newsprint‘s conformance to DIN 19306-4
GrammageShade (ISO 12647-3)
Tensile strength Elongation Bulk Opacity
Tearing strength
Indian 1 No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Indian 2 Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes
Indian 3 No Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Indian 4 Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes
Indian 5 No No No Yes No Yes Yes
Indian 6 No No No No No Yes Yes
Indian 7 No No No Yes No Yes Yes
Indian 8 No No No Yes No Yes Yes
3. Conformance of the tested newsprint to DIN 19306-4
3.1 Conformance of imported newsprint at a glanceA simple analysis of table 3 shows that imported
newsprint can be characterized by
� Adequate grammage control in the manuf-
acturing process
� Shade in conformance with ISO standards
� Excellent mechanical properties, except for
overall non-conformance in elongation and
bulk
3.2 Conformance of Indian newsprint at a glanceA simple analysis of table 4 shows that Indian
newsprint can be characterized by
� Inadequate grammage control in the manuf-
acturing process
� Non-conformance with ISO 12647-3 shade
specification in many of the varieties
� Non-conformance to standards in the mecha-
nical properties, especially in tensile strength
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3 confoRmance of the tested newspRint to din 19306-4
3.3. Conformance of newsprint to standard – in detail
3.3.1. Grammage
Imported newsprint: From table 5, we can
see fairly good grammage control in imported
newsprint. The grammages are around 45 gsm
mostly. There are two instances of non-confor-
mance. GSM lower than 45 (Imported 1) is ad-
vantageous for newspapers as long as it does
not affect the runnability of a newsprint. Con-
sidering that, we can infer that there is only one
instance of higher gsm (Imported 5), which is of
concern.
Table 5: Grammage of imported newsprint
Sample name
Grammage (gsm)
Deviation from target 45 gsm in %
Imported 1 44.07 -2.07%
Imported 2 45.57 1.27%
Imported 3 44.61 -0.87%
Imported 4 44.92 -0.18%
Imported 5 46.04 2.31%
Imported 6 44.73 -0.60%
Imported 7 45.56 1.24%
Imported 8 45.09 0.20%
Imported 9 44.33 -1.49%
Indian newsprint: From Table 6, we can in-
fer that the grammage control overall in Indian
newsprint, is inadequate. Except for two samples
that showed good grammage, others showed
too high or too low grammage. Sample, Indian
3 showed 10.6% higher grammage and sample,
Indian 5 showed 7.2% higher grammage than
the specification, which is unacceptable. Similar-
ly two other samples showed nearly 5% higher
grammage – unacceptable too.
Table 6: Grammage of Indian newsprint
Sample name
Grammage (gsm)
Deviation from target 45 gsm in %
Indian 1 45.92 2.04%
Indian 2 44.58 -0.93%
Indian 3 49.77 10.60%
Indian 4 44.58 -0.93%
Indian 5 48.22 7.16%
Indian 6 47.25 5.00%
Indian 7 47.53 5.62%
Indian 8 42.93 -4.60%
Grammage is certainly a big issue, as newsprint is
procured based on weight. A 10% higher gram-
mage than specification is as good as 10% high-
er cost. Neither the paper manufacturer nor the
publisher benefits from such a deal. This issue
has to be addressed immediately.
In the user feedback questionnaire, all the 8 In-
dian varieties were reported for batch to batch
variation in the grammage, while 3 out of 9 Im-
ported varieties were reported for grammage
variation batch to batch. This is another area
of improvement for both Indian and imported
newsprint.
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3confoRmance of the tested newspRint to din 19306-4
3.3.2. Newsprint shadeThe shade of newsprint is an important parame-
ter as it is a key element in determining the the
color gamut of a printing process. ISO 12647-3
has specified the shade of newsprint.
Table 7: Specification for newsprint shade
L* a* b* ΔL Δa* Δb*
82 0 3 4 2 2
Imported newsprint: The shades of all the te-
sted imported newsprint were in conformance
within the tolerances specified in ISO 12647-3.
Four newsprint samples had L* value above L*80
and four newsprint samples above L*79. One of
them had a value below L*79.
Table 8: Shade of Imported newsprint
Sample name
Shade (Topside) Confor-manceL* a* b*
Imported 1 79.83 -0.07 1.34 Yes
Imported 2 80.97 0.45 3.59 Yes
Imported 3 78.74 0.28 3.40 Yes
Imported 4 79.58 0.29 1.25 Yes
Imported 5 83.02 0.09 4.15 Yes
Imported 6 79.23 0.76 3.18 Yes
Imported 7 79.90 0.49 4.52 Yes
Imported 8 82.53 -0.09 2.86 Yes
Imported 9 81.92 0.03 4.16 Yes
The remarkable feature of all the newsprint
samples is that the surface of the samples looked
clean with very less colored specs in the surface.
Moreover, no variation was observed between the
shade of top side and the bottom side. Both sides
looked and measured similar.
Indian newsprint: Four newsprint samples
were in conformance within the tolerances of
ISO 12647-3. However, out of the four samples
that were in conformance, two of them mea-
sured below L*79.
Table 9: Shade of Indian newsprint
Sample name
Shade (Topside) Confor-manceL* a* b*
Indian 1 74.39 0.06 5.20 No
Indian 2 79.80 -0.30 2.06 Yes
Indian 3 78.81 0.30 2.39 Yes
Indian 4 80.12 0.12 2.43 Yes
Indian 5 78.33 1.10 2.25 Yes
Indian 6 75.88 0.84 3.52 No
Indian 7 73.14 1.75 4.61 No
Indian 8 77.25 1.90 2.94 No
Except for samples Indian 2 and Indian 3, the
other samples had many colored specs on its sur-
face. Because of this, some of the samples loo-
ked even darker than what they measured.
Another important observation is that some of
the newsprint samples had too much difference
in shade between the top side and the bottom
side (Refer Table 10)
Table 10: Difference in shade between top and bottom side
Newsprint
Shade (Topside) Shade (Bottom side) Difference in L*
L* a* b* L* a* b*
Indian 1 74.39 0.06 5.20 75.64 0.20 4.92 1.24
Indian 4 80.12 0.12 2.43 78.57 -0.37 3.02 1.55
Indian 7 73.14 1.75 4.61 70.68 1.61 4.99 2.46
9
3 confoRmance of the tested newspRint to din 19306-4
3.3.3. Tensile strength and Elongation
All the tested imported samples were found in
conformance with DIN 19306-4 specifications for
the tensile strength, while six out of eight tested
Indian samples did not conform to the standard.
Table 11: Tensile strength of Imported newsprint
Newsprint
Tensile strength, kN/m
Elongation %
Web break/100 reels
Imported 1 2.40 1.41 0.5
Imported 2 2.15 1.12 Not recorded
Imported 3 2.35 1.12 1.3
Imported 4 2.36 1.49 0.5
Imported 5 2.05 1.04 2.5
Imported 6 2.06 1.12 1
Imported 7 2.34 1.21 1.5
Imported 8 2.44 1.48 2
Imported 9 2.12 1.43 0.5
Table 12: Tensile strength of Indian newsprint
Sample name
Tensile strength, kN/m
Elongation %
Web break/100 reels
Indian 1 1.56 1.3 10
Indian 2 2.45 1.63 1.5
Indian 3 3.04 1.72 1
Indian 4 1.65 1.43 5
Indian 5 1.79 1.41 Not recorded
Indian 6 1.96 1.43 15
Indian 7 1.66 1.26 25
Indian 8 1.57 1.35 25
It should be noted that several researches in the
past did not show a direct correlation between
the laboratory test results of mechanical proper-
ties and the actual performance of newsprint in
production. However, if we compare between the
tensile strength measured and the number of web
breaks per 100 reels, as reported in the user feed-
back questionnaire, we can see that the number
of web breaks in imported newsprint is far lesser
than the Indian newsprint. Web breaks can hap-
pen due to several reasons that are not related
to the tensile strength. In fact, the major reasons
cited for high web break in samples, Indian 1, 6,
7 and 8 are torn paper, pin holes and poor reel
joints. However, the relation between low tensile
strength and high web break is hard to ignore.
3.3.4. OpacityOpacity of all the samples, except two Imported
and one Indian samples, were in conformance
with DIN 19306-4. The imported newsprint, “Im-
ported 3“ was fractionally short of conformance
and “Imported 5” was nearly close to the target
with opacity of 92%, while the opacity of the In-
dian newsprint, Indian 2 was very low at 81.2%
Table 13: Opacity of Imported newsprint
Newsprint Opacity %Imported 1 93.1
Imported 2 92.7
Imported 3 92.4
Imported 4 93.8
Imported 5 91.9
Imported 6 93.5
Imported 7 93.7
Imported 8 94.5
Imported 9 92.7
Table 14: Opacity of Indian newsprint
Newsprint Opacity %Indian 1 96.3
Indian 2 81.2
Indian 3 93.1
Indian 4 92.4
Indian 5 94.9
Indian 6 95.8
Indian 7 96.1
Indian 8 92.4
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3confoRmance of the tested newspRint to din 19306-4
3.3.5. Tearing strengthThe tearing strength of all the tested samples
were above the minimum requirements and no
problems noted both in Indian and Imported va-
rieties.
Table 15: Tearing strength of Imported newsprint
Newsprint Tearing strength (CD mN)Imported 1 380
Imported 2 290
Imported 3 350
Imported 4 370
Imported 5 280
Imported 6 270
Imported 7 310
Imported 8 320
Imported 9 300
Table 16: Tearing strength of Indian newsprint
Newsprint Tearing strength (CD mN)Indian 1 350
Indian 2 330
Indian 3 350
Indian 4 300
Indian 5 340
Indian 6 340
Indian 7 300
Indian 8 300
3.3.6. RoughnessFor the research, the roughness of the newsprint
samples was also tested. But the instrument that
we used can only measure roughness in terms
of ml/min (Bendtsen) and not as microns. So
we could not use it to find the conformance of
roughness (PPS) of newsprint to DIN 19306-4.
However, there is a direct relationship between
ml/min and microns. Rougher the substrate, hig-
her will be the depth and height of valleys and
peaks in the surface of the newsprint and higher
the volume of air that will escape in the instru-
ment.
Table 17: Roughness of Imported newsprint
Sample name Roughness ml/minImported 1 160
Imported 2 125
Imported 3 125
Imported 4 145
Imported 5 115
Imported 6 130
Imported 7 145
Imported 8 135
Imported 9 135
Table 18: Roughness of Indian newsprint
Sample name Roughness ml/minIndian 1 180
Indian 2 125
Indian 3 100
Indian 4 220
Indian 5 280
Indian 6 450
Indian 7 380
Indian 8 325
Indian newsprint, apart from Indian 2 and 3,
were rougher compared to Imported newsprint.
Roughness of newsprint had a direct impact on
the printability of newsprint, they are discussed
in the next section.
11
4 pRintability of newspRint
4. Printability of NewsprintThe printability properties of newsprint de-
pend mainly on the structural characteristics of
newsprint. For the research, ink consumption,
set-off and print-through and pick resistance of
the newsprint were measured.
4.1 Ink consumptionThe ink consumption is calculated as the amount
of ink required to produce a standard Solid Ink
Density. In this case, an ISO 2846-2 compliant
black ink is used for testing in the IGT Printability
tester. Solid Ink Density achieved was 1.10.
Table 19: Ink consumption of Imported newsprint
Sample name Ink consumption g/m2
Imported 1 1.41
Imported 2 1.37
Imported 3 1.39
Imported 4 1.42
Imported 5 1.28
Imported 6 1.44
Imported 7 1.40
Imported 8 1.32
Imported 9 1.25
Table 20: Ink consumption of Indian newsprint
Sample name Ink consumption g/m²Indian 1 1.50
Indian 2 1.34
Indian 3 1.44
Indian 4 1.46
Indian 5 1.54
Indian 6 1.52
Indian 7 1.51
Indian 8 1.44
Though it is difficult to see a direct relationship
between roughness and ink consumption case-
to-case, it is interesting to note that the newsprint
that needed 1.50 g/m2 or above are the samples
that were noted, in the roughness section, as
rougher compared to other newsprint. and they
are Indian newsprint samples.
Fig 1: Roughness Vs Ink consumption plot
4.2 Set-off and Print-throughSet-off and Print-through tests were carried out
in the IGT printability tester. The samples were
printed at SID 1.10 and then rolled over a plain
sheet of same newsprint at a specific pressure
after 3 seconds. Set-off density is then measured
in the paper that’s been rolled over. For print-
through, the samples were printed with black ink
with SID 1.10 and the print-through density is
measured at the back side of the paper.
Generally, set-off and print-through are inversely
proportional. Higher the set-off, lower the print-
through and vice versa.
Table 21: Set-off and print through of Im-ported newsprint
Sample name
Set-off density (After 3 seconds)
Print-through at 1.10 SID
Imported 1 0.07 0.03
Imported 2 0.10 0.03
Imported 3 0.11 0.03
Imported 4 0.06 0.03
Imported 5 0.10 0.03
Imported 6 0.10 0.02
Imported 7 0.10 0.02
Imported 8 0.06 0.02
Imported 9 0.08 0.02
Roughness Vs Ink consumption
1.20
1.30
1.40
1.50
1.60
0 100 200 300 400 500Roughness
Ink c
on
sum
pti
on
Roughness Vs Ink consumption
1.20
1.30
1.40
1.50
1.60
0 100 200 300 400 500Roughness
Ink c
on
sum
pti
on
12
4pRintability of newspRint
Table 22: Set-off and Print through of Indian newsprint
Newsprint Set-off density (After 3 seconds)
Print-through at 1.10 SID
Indian 1 0.07 0.03
Indian 2 0.08 0.04
Indian 3 0.09 0.03
Indian 4 0.05 0.05
Indian 5 0.03 0.05
Indian 6 0.05 0.03
Indian 7 0.06 0.04
Indian 8 0.06 0.04
A simple comparison between the two tables
shows that the Indian samples produced lesser
set-off and higher print-through compared to the
Imported samples, which showed higher set-off
and lesser print through Newsprint that absorbs
ink faster has less ink on the surface to set-off.
The absorbed ink, however, tends to show in the
other side as print through. On the other hand,
newsprint that does not absorb ink faster, sets
off more and shows lesser print through.
There is no standard that sets any limit for these
two parameters. Therefore, a comparative model
should be adopted and the paper that produce
least set-off and print-through can be said as the
best paper that can produce cleaner print.
For example, in this case, Sample, “Imported 8”
produced low set-off as well as print-through. It
is the best paper of the lot in these two parame-
ters.
While analysing the user experience, 6 out of 8
Indian newsprint were reported for print through
and only 2 out of 8 newsprint were reported for
set-off, which is in-line with the laboratory fin-
dings.
Fig 2: Set-off and Print Through in Indian newsprint samples
In the Imported newsprint category, only one
newsprint was reported for Print through and
three newsprint were reported for set-off.
4.3. Pick testPick test is used to get an indication of the sur-
face strength of a paper and thereby gauge the
fluff accumulation possibility in the production.
As any other printability parameter, there is no
standard for this. In a printability tester, a medium
viscosity oil is printed in the paper at an increasing
speed, i.e. the printing disc (Aluminium disc) starts
at 0 m/s and steadily accelerates to the set speed.
The printed paper is then evaluated under a light
source. The spot where the de-lamination of the
top surface of the paper starts is marked and the
distance between the start point and the de-lami-
nation point is measured. From the measurement,
it is possible to calculate the speed of the disc at
that point and that is the pick velocity.
Indian newsprint Samples reported for Print through
Indian newsprint Samples reported for Set-off
13
4 pRintability of newspRint
Table 23: Pick velocity of imported newsprint
Sample name Pick Velocity (m/s)Imported 1 0.47
Imported 2 0.58
Imported 3 0.30
Imported 4 0.65
Imported 5 0.68
Imported 6 0.37
Imported 7 0.41
Imported 8 0.73
Imported 9 0.86
Table 24: Pick velocity of Indian newsprint
Sample name Pick Velocity (m/s)
Indian 1 0.36
Indian 2 1.06
Indian 3 0.37
Indian 4 0.52
Indian 5 0.99
Indian 6 0.37
Indian 7 0.28
Indian 8 0.68
Since there is no standard, the average pick velo-
city, 0.57 m/s, is taken as the reference and the
samples were compared with it. We could see
that many of the imported and Indian newsprint
had low pick velocity.
When we tried to compare the user feedback with
the test results, the user feedback did not corre-
late with the test results. Some of the newsprint
with higher pick velocity were also reported for
linting. It should be noted that the samples were
collected from different publishers and the pres-
ses in which these newsprint run are also diffe-
rent. The benchmark figure for the target pick
velocity depends on the presses and press con-
ditions in which the newsprint is used. However,
out of the 17 newsprint varieties that were te-
sted, 11 varieties were reported for picking and it
is an indication that many of the newsprint used
by Indian publishers fall short of expectations of
the printers in the pick resistance.‘
Fig 2: 65% of the tested newsprint varieties
were reported for linting
It can be recommended that each printing cen-
tre must test the newsprint that they use and
establish a specification for pick resistance and
compare the incoming newsprint with the esta-
blished specification.
Samples not reported for linting
Samples reported for linting
Samples not reported for linting
Samples reported for linting
14
5conclusion
5. ConclusionThe test results of Indian and imported newsprint
showed several areas that needs improvement,
especially in Indian newsprint.
The user feedback of all the imported newsprint
are good and so are the test results. One area for
improvement is linting. The surface strength of
most of the newsprint does not match the ex-
pectations of the printers. Another area is shade.
Five out of 9 varieties had L* value below L*80
and could be improved.
On the other hand, Indian newsprint need im-
provement in several areas. Grammage control
needs immediate attention. It causes huge loss
to the publishers even before the newsprint re-
ach the printing site. Shade of the newsprint,
variation in shade on topside and bottom side,
tensile strength and roughness are also of con-
cern. For several Indian newsprint, the publishers
complained about torn papers, pin holes and
poor reel joints as main reasons for web breaks.
These points have to be addressed too.
In this scenario, the publishers can work closely
with the newsprint manufacturers and provide
constructive feedback for the improvement of
the quality of newsprint.
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6 appendices
6. Appendices
6.1 Abbreviation list
ΔE*ab Delta Eab 1971
SID Solid ink density
GSM Grams per square metre
g/m2 Grams per square metre
m/s Metre/second
ml/min Milli litre per minute
ISO International Organisation for
Standardisation
DIN German Institute for Standardisa
tion
6.2 References
[DIN 19306-4] Technical delivery specifications
for newsprint
[ISO 2846-2] ISO 2846-2:2007 Graphic tech-
nology - Colour and transparency of printing
ink sets for four-colour printing - Part 2: Cold-
set offset lithographic printing.
[ISO 2834-1] ISO 2834-1:2006 Graphic tech-
nology - Laboratory preparation of test prints
- Part 1: Paste inks.
[ISO 12647-3] ISO 12647-3:2005 Graphic tech-
nology - Process control for the production of
half-tone colour separations, proofs and pro-
duction prints - Part 3: Coldset offset lithogra-
phy on newsprint.
[SRE 1.16] IFRA special report, Runnability
and printability of newsprint.
6.3 Acknowledgement
ABP Pvt. Ltd., for offering us to use their newsprint
testing facility for the research and providing us
with several newsprint samples.
Kasturi & Sons Pvt. Ltd., Amar Ujala Publications,
Express Publicatons (Madurai) for providing
newsprint samples.
16