The magic of translucent paper

Translucent paper is a very magical thing. It allows you to see what's hidden behind it, but it doesn't make the image appear too clear, so it creates a very embarrassing feeling for us.

When they appear in front of you as an advertisment page for a booklet or as a full-length cover of a book, you may immediately feel a sense of difference and believe that someone must have worked hard behind these unique effects. s hard work.

What is translucent paper?

Out of curiosity about life, I always wanted to know how this translucent paper was made. To solve this mystery, like most people, I first entered "translucent paper" in Google. But I didn't find much explanation there.

In fact, there was only one website that introduced them. This may be the most unsuccessful search I have ever done for a long time. So I had to go to Phil Schumacher, the R&D manager of CTI Papers, to find the answer.

It turns out that the wood pulp used to produce translucent paper is exactly the same as the paper used to produce conventional opaque paper. Only in the production of translucent paper, these pulps have to be specially filtered in order to create a fine filament on each fiber and use them to produce a large number of closely interwoven pulp.

Pulp for producing opaque paper needs to be filled with a large amount of filler before it enters the real papermaking process. In the production of semi-transparent paper, this link is eliminated. People only need to repeatedly heat and pressurize the pulp, removing the inside of the pulp. Bubbles make it more compact.

If we compare the translucent and opaque papers with the same weight, we can easily find the difference between them: the thickness of opaque paper is significantly higher than translucent paper.

Natural translucent paper and chemical translucent paper
Where there is a natural manufacturing method, there must be a corresponding chemical manufacturing method. Any paper produced by the second method is called "chemical translucent paper" or "offline transparent paper."

In this case, the paper is first made opaque and then converted to translucent by a process based on petrochemicals.

This process tends to make the fibers more brittle, and since the resin is added, the processed paper cannot be recycled.

How do you distinguish between natural paper and chemical paper?

If the paper itself is a natural product and can be recycled, most paper mills will take the initiative to explain clearly to consumers. Another relatively simple method of identification is to look at the samples provided by the manufacturer. Chemically produced translucent papers are generally fragile and can crack when folded. Therefore, they cannot be used to produce folded products, and saddle stitches cannot be used. In addition, you cannot use them to produce envelopes.

Environmental characteristics of translucent paper
When it comes to recycling, any natural translucent paper can be recycled. If you prefer FSC-certified paper, Reich Paper's CT product line and CTI Paper's Glama Natural product line are your best bets.

Of course, all translucent paper that is not sold in the North American market is made by natural methods. If you are in doubt, you should immediately consult your paper manufacturer and dealer representatives.