Talc for paper and board

A mineral with multifunctional high-performance applications

Soft, platy talcs* make excellent environment-friendly pitch-and-stickies control agents, wet-end fillers and coating agents in pulp and paper production.

Deposit control

Talc has a high specific area and low surface energy and shows an affinity for organic substances such as wood pitch, and stickies such as wood resins, adhesives, inks and waxes. Talc pacifies pitch and stickies throughout the papermaking process, during flotation, cleaning and in the finished paper.

Talc can be added to the process at different points depending on processing factors, the nature of the fibre and the size of contaminants. It is chemically inert and will not pollute process waters, disturb other process parameters or react with other additives, enabling papermakers to work in closed-water circuits. 

Talc is effective for pitch-and-stickies control in both chemical and mechanical virgin pulp deinked (DIP) and recycled fibre (RCF) pulp. It is ideal for newsprint SC and LWC paper, wood-free printing grades, tissue paper and board.

We recommend our Steanite™ and Steanite™ Prime talcs for pitch and stickies control.

Wet-end fillers

Our talcs make excellent low-abrasion, high-retention filler grades for paper, where they:

• Provide high retention
• Impart good mechanical properties to the paper
• Provide fast dewatering
• Improve wet web strength
• Reduce drying time
• Can be used under acid and neutral conditions
• Reduce dye usage.

Our wet-end filler ranges include:

• Luzenac
• Mistrofil

Coating applications

We offer a range of coating talcs for rotogravure and offset printing papers that enhance runnability and the quality of the finished paper.

Rotogravure

In rotogravure applications, our coating talcs:

• Reduce core bursts and crepe wrinkles, improving printing press runnability
• Improve smoothness, lowering surface friction and enabling jumbo roll production
• Strengthen resistance to fold breaks during reel changes reducing broke levels
• Maximise ink transfer, bringing better image quality in the halftone area and reducing missing dots
• Allow increased usage of high brightness pigments – including calcium carbonate – in coating formulations in mills operating under alkaline conditions
• Give low high shear viscosity, allowing higher solids and improved fibre coverage – crucial for mail-order catalogues and ULWC papers
• Confer good coating hold-out

The excellent runnability of our rotogravure coating talcs match the high production speeds used at LWC plants and print houses.

We recommend our Helicoat® range for rotogravure coated paper.

Matte offset

In matte offset applications, our coating talcs:

• Solve ink scuff problems in papers with a high calcium carbonate content
• Provide a silky feel to matte paper, improving readability and touch
• Provide a matte effect (lower sheet gloss, higher print gloss)
• Control ink drying speed, decreasing print mottle and improving opacity

We recommend our Lithocoat® range for matt offset coated paper. It is also an excellent solution for solid board coatings.

* Talc products are not available in the US and Canada. Contact us for an alternative range.