Sizing is the mill’s water-and-ink control layer. If Cobb, feathering, or corrugator wet-strength is off, adding more starch rarely fixes it. This guide explains how Esteem sizing chemicals—waxes, polyoxyethylene derivatives, fixators, and strength resins—fit beside classic AKD/rosin programs used in paper manufacturing.
What “Sizing” Means on a Paper Machine
Unsized fiber wets like a blotter. Sizing chemicals slow penetration of water, fountain solution, and aqueous coatings so the sheet prints, converts, and survives humidity. Two application points exist:
- Internal (wet-end) sizing — chemistry attached to fiber in the stock, measured by Cobb and ink penetration through the sheet.
- Surface sizing — size-press or calender application for smoothness, scuff, and extra barrier. VENPAPER VV LIQUID (synthetic waxes for surface application) sits here.
Print mottle with a good Cobb often means surface energy or formation, not “more internal size.” Pair sizing with clean clothing—see felt cleaning—so vacuum and dryness stay consistent.
Esteem Sizing-Related Grades by Job
| Product | Chemistry (as listed) | Typical mill job |
|---|---|---|
| VENPAPER GLZ | Polyoxyethylene derivative | Wetting/auxiliary in sizing and related wet-end systems |
| VENPAPER VV LIQUID | Synthetic waxes, surface apply | Surface holdout, slip, print feel |
| Synthetic wax | Self-emulsified wax | Emulsified wax without a separate emulsifier package |
| Product C 40 | DADMAC-based fixator | Anionic trash / dye / size fixation to fiber |
| Product SK | Polyamine fixator | Corrugated and related anionic control |
| DSR 100 | Dry strength enhancer | Tensile/burst in live pulp |
| Product WSR | Wet strength / retention | Wet strength plus flocculation/retention |
These are not drop-in AKD replacements. If your mill already runs AKD or fortified rosin, use Esteem waxes and fixators to close surface, trash, or strength gaps. If you are building a new recycled liner program, start with Cobb target, pH, and whether you need wet strength for converting.
Cobb, Printability, and Over-Sizing
Over-sizing wastes money and can hurt glueability, corrugator bonding, and coating holdout in the wrong direction (too hydrophobic for the next station). Specify:
- Cobb 60 (or mill standard time) and which side of the sheet.
- Print process (offset, flexo, inkjet) and whether feathering or set-off is the complaint.
- pH of the wet end—cationic fixators and some sizes are pH-sensitive.
- Recycled vs virgin furnish; OCC carries more anionic trash, so Product C 40 / SK type fixators often come first.
Foam from size-press starch still needs a paper defoamer chosen for coating/size kitchens, not a brown-stock washer grade.
Strength Aids vs Sizing
Dry and wet strength resins change converting, not Cobb by themselves. DSR 100 is a dry-strength enhancer for live pulp. Product WSR combines wet strength with retention/flocculation. Tissue grades that want softness may reject high wet-strength; liner and sack grades often need it. See also paper improvement aids for sheet-making auxiliaries.
Fixators, Wax, and What Esteem Does Not Publish as AKD
Esteem’s published sizing range is synthetic wax emulsions, polyoxyethylene derivatives, cationic fixators (DADMAC and polyamine types), and dry/wet strength aids. It is not a published AKD, ASA, or fortified-rosin drop-in. If you already run those sizes, treat Esteem products as complementary surface, fixative, or strength chemistry unless a mill trial says otherwise. VENPAPER GLZ is the polyoxyethylene derivative row—an auxiliary, not “the size.” VENPAPER VV LIQUID is synthetic waxes for surface application. The self-emulsified Synthetic Wax row is for mills that do not want a separate emulsifier package.
Product C 40 (DADMAC) and Product SK (polyamine, corrugated) bind anionic trash so size, dye, and drainage are not stolen by dissolved and colloidal material. Recycled OCC usually needs this step before you raise wax. They improve first-pass retention of anionic materials; they are not a complete Cobb program. Over-sizing wastes money and can hurt glueability and corrugator bonding. If Cobb is good but print feathers, you may need surface sizing or better formation—not more wet-end size.
Measure Cobb, Then Decide Strength
Use Cobb (water absorption), Hercules size test or ink penetration, print mottle, and converting dust. Name which side of the sheet. Offset, flexo, and inkjet fail for different surface-energy reasons. Wet-end pH matters: cationic fixators and some sizes are pH-sensitive. Foam from size-press starch still needs a paper defoamer chosen for coating/size kitchens, not a brown-stock washer grade.
DSR 100 improves tensile, burst, and converting in the dry sheet in live pulp. Product WSR helps the sheet survive water and may also act as a flocculant/retention aid. Tissue that wants softness may reject high wet-strength; liner and sack often need it. Sheet-making SC 1 / AST stay on the paper-improvment table—do not order a retention flocculant from the sizing page because WSR mentions retention. Share grade, Cobb target, pH, and whether you need surface wax, fixative, or strength, then request a trial set from the sizing table rather than a single generic “size.”
What a Sizing Trial Must Record
Cobb without a side and a print process is not a brief. Name writing/printing, liner, corrugated, or bag; Cobb target and which side; wet-end vs size-press vs both; pH; and current size (AKD, ASA, rosin, none). VENPAPER VV LIQUID and the self-emulsified Synthetic Wax row are surface-wax jobs. Product C 40 and Product SK are fixators for anionic trash, not Cobb by themselves. DSR 100 is dry strength in live pulp; Product WSR is wet strength plus retention language—do not swap them 1:1. VENPAPER GLZ is a polyoxyethylene auxiliary. If Cobb is good but ink feathers, you may need surface holdout or better formation, not more wet-end size.
How to Specify with Esteem
- Name the grade (writing/printing, liner, corrugated, bag, board).
- Give Cobb or ink-penetration target and current size chemistry (AKD, ASA, rosin, none).
- State surface vs wet-end vs both, and size-press solids.
- Flag converting issues: glue, corrugator, dust, wet-break.
- Request wax emulsion vs fixator vs strength resin as separate trials.
Related reading: deinking chemicals for recycled furnish, bleaching aids for brightness after sizing is stable, and the full sizing chemicals table.
Contact Esteem formulators for mill samples, or custom synthesis when you need a non-catalogue wax or fixative window.