Just when you think that paper can’t possibly get any smoother, someone goes and hips you to the fact that there are things out there called “nanoclays” that can give your next paper project an even slicker quality. The final 2013 issue of North Carolina University’s online, peer-reviewed journal BioResources has all the science-y bits for those who feel up to the task of exploring it.
The long and short of it is this: Using a combination of nanoclays (ultra-tiny layered mineral silicates) and calcium carbonate, researchers were able to improve the smoothness and printability of paper by filling in the microscopic holes that make a sheet rough and that soak up water in the printing process.
Now if only science could come up with something that made your client presentations as slick as the paper they’re printed on…
