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It is well known that papermaking was one of the four great inventions of ancient China. Around 3,500 years ago during the Shang Dynasty, Chinese characters were engraved on turtle shells and animal bones, which were called oracle bones. In the Spring and Autumn Period, bamboo and wooden strips replaced turtle shells and animal bones, and were called bamboo tubes and wooden slips. Both oracle bones and bamboo slips were very cumbersome. During the Warring States Period, the thinker Hui Shi loved reading and always had five carts filled with bamboo slips following him when he went on academic tours. Thus, there was a saying that he was as learned as five carts full of books. In the Western Han Dynasty, in the court and among the nobility, silk thread or cotton paper was used for writing. When writing on one of these materials, it was convenient for writing, and not only could more be written than on bamboo slips and wooden tablets, but also could be painted on them. However, it was expensive and could only be used by a few members of the royal court and nobility. By the early 2nd century BC, paper had already existed in the Han Dynasty. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, it was rumored that Cai Lun invented paper, but in fact, Cai Lun merely improved paper-making techniques. However, archaeologists have found earlier paper. The four great inventions of China were successively introduced to the West before the emergence of modern European civilization. Papermaking was introduced to Japan via Korea in the 7th century, and to the United Arab Emirates in the mid-8th century. By the 12th century, Europe began to imitate the methods of China and set up paper-making factories. By the 16th century, paper had become popular in Europe. The invention of paper provided extremely favorable conditions for the vigorous development of education, politics, and business activities in Europe at that time.
In the mid-19th century, the British first developed a coated processing paper. They mixed white and fine porcelain clay into a coating and evenly applied it to the surface of the original paper (either on one side or both sides), thereby creating high-quality printing paper. Because the process was similar to how a woman applies powder to her face, it was called powder paper, which is what we refer to as copperplate paper. The original English name for copperplate paper is Art Paper, which is a common name for an imported product. In fact, Art Paper was translated as "art paper" in China in the 1930s (a direct translation). Because when this paper was used to print exquisite paintings in Europe, the sun-drying process used was a copperplate corrosion printing plate. Therefore, following the convention of naming based on usage, the art paper used for copperplate printing was called copperplate (printing) paper. In the printing industry in the Chinese mainland, colleagues in the paper business all call Art Paper "copperplate paper", rather than "powder paper".
Corkboard paper, also known as coated printing paper, is called powder paper in regions such as Hong Kong. It is a high-grade printing paper made by coating the original paper with white paint. It is mainly used for printing the covers and illustrations of high-end books and periodicals, color pictures, various exquisite commercial advertisements, samples, product packaging, trademarks, etc.
Let me also clarify that copperplate paper can indeed be used in inkjet printers. There is a special coated copperplate paper that can be output on ordinary machines, while regular copperplate paper requires a dedicated machine and ink! Copperplate paper can also be used in modified color inkjet printers (HP DeskJet D2368), but the printing cost is particularly high and it is generally not recommended to use it. Copperplate paper comes in several thicknesses: 100, 157, 200, 250, 300, 400, and 450 grams. Currently, all of these can be used in inkjet printers. HP's printers use thermal bubble printing technology, and the printhead is a consumable, so the cost calculation is: cost = printhead consumption + paper + ink; EPSON uses micro-electro-mechanical printing technology, and the cost calculation is: cost = paper + ink. (The color gamut of HP is to some extent inferior to EPSON. Although HP has launched 12-color printing, in large part, it still does not have the wide color gamut of EPSON.)
Copperplate paper is a type of flat paper with dimensions of 787×1092mm or 880×1230mm and a basis weight ranging from 70 to 250 grams per square meter. Copperplate paper can be classified into single-sided copperplate paper, double-sided copperplate paper, matte copperplate paper, and textured copperplate paper based on different applications. It is also classified into three grades: A, B, and C based on quality. The main raw materials of copperplate paper are copperplate base paper and coatings. Copperplate base paper is made by beating bleached chemical wood pulp or a mixture of partially bleached chemical straw pulp on a paper machine. The requirements for copperplate base paper are uniform thickness, low elasticity, high strength, and good water resistance. The paper surface must not have stains, wrinkles, holes, etc. The coating used for application is composed of high-quality white pigments (such as kaolin, barium sulfate, etc.), adhesives (such as polyvinyl alcohol, casein, etc.), and auxiliary additives. This highly fluid and high-solid-content coating is applied evenly and thinly by a coating machine onto the base paper, then dried, rolled into a roll on a paper roll machine, sent to a super calender for lamination and finishing, and finally cut, selected, and packaged.
The requirements for coated paper include a high coating strength, a thin and uniform coating without bubbles, an appropriate amount of adhesive in the coating to prevent paper powdering and fraying during printing, and an appropriate absorption of xylene by the coated paper, which is suitable for printing with a mesh count of 60 lines per centimeter or higher.
Copperplate paper includes glossy powder copperplate paper and matte powder copperplate paper. Generally speaking, matte powder paper refers to matte powder copperplate paper, while copperplate paper usually refers to glossy powder copperplate paper. The printing prices of the two are the same. The printing industry requirements for matte powder paper are slightly higher, which may cause the printing to be too dark. The surface of "matte powder paper" does not reflect light, has good ink absorption, and the printing ink is relatively thick, so the drying time after printing needs to be longer. However, if a certain type of ink is used for printing, the problem of long drying time can be completely solved (this type of ink is slightly more expensive than ordinary ink).
Generally, high-quality printed materials are printed on coated paper. Coated paper developed along with screen printing. Since the surface of the uncoated paper is uneven and much larger in degree than the diameter of the dots, some dots are precisely located in the gaps between the fibers and cannot transfer the ink onto the paper, resulting in the inability to reproduce image pixels at these locations. After the paper is coated with a slurry and then polished, the particles on the surface are smaller than the diameter of the dots, and the slurry's ink absorption property is also better than that of cellulose fibers. Therefore, the dots can be accurately reproduced. Clearly, the printing performance of coated copperplate paper is superior to that of uncoated offset paper. The base paper of coated copperplate paper is made of high-quality rolls of newsprint or offset printing paper, while high-grade coated copperplate paper uses specially formulated base paper. The surface coating is firmly adhered to the base paper. The paper surface is further super-polished, resulting in a firm coating without bubbles, streaks, strong gloss, and high smoothness. The smoothness of coated copperplate paper is generally above 600s, which is more than 10 times higher than that of offset paper. Thus, coated copperplate paper can closely contact the printing plate and clearly reproduce the dots. The pH value of coated copperplate paper is around 7, which has no adverse effect on the water-based ink for offset printing and has no adverse effect on the drying process of the ink. On coated copperplate paper, the ink adheres quickly, dries quickly, and can still reflect the gloss after drying. The dot reproduction is good, the ink layer is thin and the image is clear, and the dots are smooth. The dimensional stability of coated copperplate paper is also superior to that of offset paper. When printed on coated copperplate paper, it can meet the requirements of precise registration. The tensile strength and surface strength of coated copperplate paper are also very high, capable of resisting the large tension generated by the relatively viscous ink film used.
