A diffractive gloss meter for local gloss measurements of papers and prints

Abstract

Specular gloss is widely used in the paper industry to assess surface quality. Although specular gloss is defined as the ratio of light fluxes from the inspected surface and a reference surface, the measurement of minute changes in local gloss has not been presented in international standards due to the lack of suitable gloss meters. Our studies of local and average gloss from papers and prints using a highly sensitive diffractive gloss meter (DOG) yielded information on local and global gloss that can help papermakers in the research and development of optimal paper surface quality, which is crucial in obtaining optimal print quality.