Abstract
According to a previous study, talc as a coating pigment can improve the viscosity and the water retention of coating color, the compressibility of coating layer, and hence gravure printability. Talc is also well known for its larger particle size than other pigments, which implies that less binder may be need due to its smaller specific surface area. This study investigated the possibility of reducing binder content for matte grade paper. Coating color was prepared with the Cotalc-2000, which showed the best properties in the previous study. The binder content was varied and the effect of binder content on the physical properties of coated paper and the gravure printability was investigated. It was shown that binder content could be reduced when talc was used as a coating pigment. The reduction in binder content did not influence gloss, roughness and the print density of coated paper but showed improvement in paper porosity, compressibility and missing dot.