Pigments and extenders for paper

Papermakers the world over turn to BASF for the performance characteristics that enable them to improve their products and lower their overall production costs. The company's mineral-based additives are used as coating and extender pigments to improve many paper performance characteristics, such as opacity, brightness, ink receptivity, fiber coverage and printability, as well as to enhance paper processing efficiency.

For example, BASF Mirafilm™ and Miragloss™ pigments not only help papermakers keep their production costs down, they also enhance brightness and ink receptivity. Other BASF paper pigment additives actually enhance paper processing through improved flow properties, fiber coverage, smoothness and printability. An example of this is the company's Mirana™ pigment, which brings unprecedented value to the manufacture of lightweight, coated papers. This breakthrough technology is the culmination of three decades of product and process improvement.

Mirana pigment offers excellent brightness, opacity, gloss and print opticals when used as a stand-alone pigment or in conjunction with other minerals. It also offers superior hiding power per dollar and can dramatically lower total coating color cost by reducing the need for titanium dioxide and/or plastic pigment in a formulation.

And Mirana is the rule, not the exception. Every day, BASF technical teams work to develop better performing paper products and improved processing techniques. From refining, logistics and delivery to applications expertise and advanced paper pigment research and product development, BASF scientists deliver the kaolin solutions needed for traditional paper grades and newer, brighter, more opaque and glossier brands.

This long-standing commitment to the paper industry is evident in BASF's close partnership with customers. Together, BASF and paper industry experts are working to find new and better ways to advance paper properties for lower overall cost, to drive greater profitability and to strengthen the industry as a whole.