Paper Brightness: Why is it going up?

[IJ Reilly]

It wasn't too many years ago when the brightest general purpose xerographic paper I could buy was around 95 bright, and it was significantly more expensive. The "regular" paper was rated around 90 bright. This number has been creeping up steadily over the last few years, or so it seems. The case of paper I bought last week is rated at 108 bright ("was 106" it says on the box). The last case I bought before that was rated around 100 bright, IIRC. Now, I don't see paper rated much under 100 bright.

What's going on? Has the scale changed, or is the paper actually getting whiter?

I thought someone in the design and graphics forum might know...

 

[ppc_michael]

This is an interesting question! I noticed it too, but just assumed it was marketing.

 

[LeviG]

its probably getting closer to true 'white'. All the new papers being created for inkjets are a lot 'brighter' than the old stuff I used to use and I would say that the bleaching/colouring process has improved over time too.

 

[kitki83]

Just be careful, I ordered samples from Office Depot, HP and so on. Basically the numbers might have gone loose because I had OD paper at 102 and HP at 95, guess which one was close to white. I think the numbers might also be a way for companies to sell knock offs with "brightness higher than average"

Just a warning to all. Get samples before ordering bulk

 

[IJ Reilly]

At least I'm not the only one who's noticed this trend!

Does anybody know, is the brightness scale standardized?

 

[Toppa G's]

Here's a short write-up from International Paper that addresses brightness versus whiteness. Perhaps that's the difference you're seeing.

I did also find an article that discusses increasing brightness and whiteness in copy paper. They have some exciting graphs if you scroll a little bit down the page.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Here's a short write-up from International Paper that addresses brightness versus whiteness. Perhaps that's the difference you're seeing.

I did also find an article that discusses increasing brightness and whiteness in copy paper. They have some exciting graphs if you scroll a little bit down the page.

Better paper through chemistry!

I guess I'll have to stop eating my copy paper.

 

[Chen]

I believe its because over the years manufacturers add more compounds (flourescents and others) to paper. Any paper grade above 90 is high quality paper... but the thing is,,... adding too much compound to paper will cause your paper to yellow over time. So around 82-95 range should be what you are looking for?

 

[ID_Field_Blank]

I did also find an article that discusses increasing brightness and whiteness in copy paper. They have some exciting graphs if you scroll a little bit down the page.

That made me laugh out loud for the first time in a long time! You've brightened my day!

 

[alic57]

Note Difference between brightness and whiteness

There is a difference between whiteness and brightness when using paper to print color, although there is a relationship between the two in reflectivity.
The whiter the paper, the better it will display the printed color. The whitest theoretical paper is 100% dazzling, cannot look at it white. This God-like white paper is impossible to achieve and will reflect 100% of light shone and absorb 0% light.
Brightness has to do with the bleaching and fluorescing agents added to a paper to give the appearance of a dazzling white. If you hold such a white sheet under a black light, it will be brighter as compared to 100% cotton rag papers. Take a look at currency for an example. It does not fluoresce under a black light. That's how some people detect counterfeit bills.
There were/are different measurements for brightness, but the more acceptable scale is the CIE (Commission Internationale d'Eleclairage) since it more truly is associated with human vision of colors (or in the case of whiteness, the lack thereof).