Digital press paper compatibility chart for speciality paper maker

Background – Understanding which paper will work on which digital printing system has become increasingly difficult as the range of digital printing systems continues to grow. This is particularly the case for speciality paper manufacturers who have a very large number of different grades, many of which require special printing instructions.

The brief – A speciality paper manufacturer wanted to make a compatibility table of their products for a selection of the most relevant digital printing technologies.

What we did

Identified the most relevant digital presses for the client’s speciality papers
Recommended the key grades to test based on the market requirements
Planned trials on the various digital press systems with run lengths that were both appropriate to the end use application of the paper and were within the budget of the client
Organised and ran the controlled trials using standard test protocols to ensure consistent interpretation of the results
Did on-trial and full and thorough lab tests on the printed output to assess suitability of the paper for the press and the print applications for the tested paper
Supported the client in building the compatibility tables and a full range of marketing communication tools

The result – A compatibility table of several hundred grades/weights of speciality paper across ten key digital printing technologies. This is now a vital tool for the manufacturer that has been used in both internal sales tools and external range charts, swatches and promotions to successfully drive the sales of these products with the essential data giving confidence to the whole sales team.