Paper absorbency

Paper absorbency refers to the paper's capacity to absorb water or solvents. For ink, it denotes the paper's ability to absorb ink, or conversely, the ink's ability to penetrate the paper. This property is influenced not only by the paper's porosity and capillary state but also by the surface characteristics of the paper fibers, the content of fillers, pigments, and binders, the composition and properties of the ink, as well as the printing method and printing pressure. Paper requires a certain degree of absorbency to facilitate ink transfer. However, excessive absorbency causes excessive ink binder penetration into the paper interior, while pigment particles accumulate on the surface, hindering film formation. This results in lackluster prints and may even cause ink layer chalking. Generally, higher absorbency leads to more pronounced dot gain. When absorbency is excessively high, it can also cause ink show-through, severely compromising print quality.