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In selecting one of our papers, or any other, manufacturer’s paper for digital color copying, be aware that the color or shade of the paper strongly influences the eye’s perception. When selecting a paper, choose a sheet that has good brightness as well as sufficient whiteness to provide good color reproduction. The closer to true white the paper is, the more accurately a given color will be rendered. All of the papers we offer have a high level of brightness, whiteness, opacity and smoothness as well as a percentage of post-consumer waste (PCW). Each of these important characteristics are factors in achieving truly exceptional print quality. To help you understand these factors we have described each below: Making your selection When you need Paper, What you need to decide! B RIGHTNESS

R ECYCLED P APER Environmental consciousness and a sense of public responsibility have resulted in the increased use of recycled papers. Recycled papers are manufactured using some percentage of post-consumer waste fiber instead of virgin fiber. With advances in wastepaper sorting and processing, recycled content can be found in many types of paper products, including multipurpose bonds and other digital papers. There are two types of recycled fiber: post-consumer waste and preconsumer industrial waste. Post-consumer waste is the fiber recovered from papers that have been used for their intended end-use, for example a brochure or document that has been printed and discarded in an office environment. Pre-consumer/industrial waste is the fiber recovered from papers that have been discarded during a manufacturing process, for example, the waste such as hole punches or excess trim collected during a paper converting operation. Opacity is an important consideration in duplex/perfecting (two-sided) printing. Good digital paper must be sufficiently opaque to prevent show through from the reverse side of a duplexed page, or from the subsequent pages in a set. Usually, the lighter in weight a paper is, the less opacity it has. Opacity is especially important when printing color since multiple layers of toner are placed on the paper. Brightness is a measure of the amount of light, of a specific wavelength, a sheet reflects. The more light it reflects, the higher the brightness. Brightness, to a large extent, dictates the cost of the sheet, but has no relationship with functionality. Brightness has no bearing on sheet feeding performance but does have a significant impact on image quality. High-brightness papers give more contrast, allowing colors to stand out; low brightness papers are easier on the eyes for periods of extended viewing or reading. Higher brightness papers do not necessarily perform better in your digital printing system but add value to your print jobs. Adequate paper brightness enhances the contrast between the paper and the image, thus improving readability. Brightness is especially important for color printing to ensure images are vivid. S MOOTHNESS A paper’s smoothness has a significant impact on image quality. If paper is too rough, image quality degrades; with increasing roughness, expect a loss of print quality in solids and halftones resulting in graininess. Extremely rough paper does not allow toner to fuse properly, which results in an image that may rub or flake off. Digital color grades are smoother to meet the more demanding print quality requirements with coated paper being the smoothest grade. W HITENESS (Shade) Whiteness is an important property of paper as it relates strongly to the visual appeal of the printed product. Whiteness is a measure of the light reflectance of paper across the whole visible spectrum as opposed to brightness, which is measured at only one wavelength. In this way, it more closely matches the viewer’s perception of how white a sheet of paper is. Whiteness has no impact on sheet feeding performance, but whiteness and brightness do play an important role in the visual appeal of the sheet and printed product. G LOSS L EVEL The gloss level of paper is measured as the ratio of reflected to incident light. It is the reflectance of the surface that is responsible for its shiny or lustrous appearance. A higher gloss is achieved by making the surface more reflective through a combination of calendering (pressing) and/or coating choices. O PACITY

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