Parker Print Surface Roughness Tester

The USDA Forest Service, based at the Forest Products Laboratory in Madison, WI, needs to purchase a Parker Print Surface Roughness Tester. This equipment measures the surface roughness of various materials, including paper, board, films, and foils. It simulates printing press operations and is also useful for food and medical packaging, as well as for evaluating surfaces for electronic circuit printing. The tester employs an air-leak method with adjustable pressure to mimic ink application, ensuring consistent and relevant smoothness testing. This testing is essential for maintaining print quality and ink holdout. The current Parker Print Surface Roughness Tester is inoperable and no longer supported. For calibration purposes, the samples should be organized into a single set of calibrated paper references, consisting of 10 pieces each for the following categories: Low (1.47 microns), Medium (3.21 microns), and High (4.30 microns).