By varying the pigment composition a wide range of coating structures were produced and evaluated on their printing performance. The paper was produced on a pilot coater and the printing was carried out on a 6-colour sheet-fed offset commercial printing press. Both calendered and uncalendered paper were printed, in total 20 different papers ranging from 10 to 75% in paper gloss. Pore and surface structure had a great impact on printing properties such as print gloss, ink-set rate and rub resistance. Finer pigments and broad particle size distribution resulted in smaller pores. Smaller pores ga ve faster ink setting. Rub resistance was found to pass a minimum at gloss level corresponding to silk paper. Print gloss was determined by surface structure and pore structure. Ink drying, mottling, and surface strength were also investigated.