Papermaking: Transforming wood into paper

Creating performance and appearance

How paper gains its look, feel and functionality

Once the base sheet is complete, papermakers begin refining its surface characteristics. Depending on the product, the paper may receive sizing, coatings, surface treatments or mechanical finishing that dramatically changes how it looks and performs.

These finishing steps transform paper from a simple fiber sheet into a highly engineered printing surface designed for specific applications, whether that’s publishing, packaging, labels, direct mail or premium commercial printing.

Sizing and surface treatments

Sizing controls how quickly liquids penetrate the paper. Without it, inks would spread into the fibers, producing fuzzy text and dull images. Internal and surface sizing help create crisp print reproduction while improving resistance to moisture.

Additional surface treatments can provide specialty properties such as increased strength, improved adhesion, water resistance or compatibility with digital printing technologies, expanding paper’s performance far beyond traditional printing applications.

Coating technologies

Coated papers receive a carefully formulated layer of pigments, binders and specialty additives that create an exceptionally smooth and printable surface. The coating improves ink holdout, image sharpness, color reproduction and overall print quality.

Different coating formulations produce different visual effects, from high-gloss finishes that maximize image impact to matte surfaces that reduce glare while maintaining exceptional readability. Each is engineered for a specific balance of appearance and performance.

Calendering

Calendering passes paper through highly polished rollers that compress and smooth the surface under carefully controlled pressure. This process improves surface uniformity while adjusting thickness, density and gloss.

For premium papers, supercalendering produces an even smoother finish with exceptional print definition. The amount of calendering is carefully balanced because increasing smoothness can also reduce bulk and stiffness.

Gloss, smoothness, brightness and opacity

These four properties largely determine how a printed piece will look. Gloss influences reflectivity and visual impact, smoothness affects image sharpness, brightness enhances color contrast and opacity prevents show-through from the opposite side of the sheet.

No single property is more important than the others. Papermakers carefully balance all four to create papers optimized for specific printing processes, design objectives and customer expectations.

Converting rolls into customer-ready products

The final stage transforms massive parent rolls into the sizes customers actually use. Large rolls are slit, rewound, sheeted, wrapped and packaged according to precise customer specifications before being prepared for shipment.

By the time paper reaches a printer, designer or converter, it has undergone hundreds of carefully controlled manufacturing steps. Every roll and every sheet represents the combined science of fiber engineering, process control and finishing technology—all working together to deliver consistent performance from the mill to the press.