Influence of surface structure on wetting of coated offset papers

To obtain more knowledge of the properties affecting print quality and adhesion characteristics in the printing process, attention has been directed to the nature of surface energy. The aim was to compare different surface-energy calculation models and to investigate the influence of surface roughness on wetting of coated offset papers. The wetting process was studied by static contact angle measurements using a series of reference liquids. Topographical characterization was carried out using atomic force microscopy. Surface energy components were determined using different calculation models. The determination can be considerably simplified using a mono-monopolar model, which has been proven in previous studies. The surface energy components were derived from both apparent and topography-corrected contact angles. The surface topography had a significant effect on wetting of the samples studied.