Today there is an ever increasing demand for soft, bulky tissue products, which also have sufficient tensile strength to withstand use. Traditionally the tissue maker has solved the problem of increasing sheet bulk without compromising strength and softness by adopting tissue making processes that only minimally compress the tissue web during manufacture, such as through-air drying. Although such techniques have improved sheet bulk, they have their limitations. For example, to obtain satisfactory softness the through-air dried tissue webs often need to be calendered, which may negate much of the bulk obtained by through-air drying. Calendering may also degrade strength to a point that the product fails in use. Thus the tissue maker, and particularly makers of through-air dried tissue products, is often faced with trading off important product properties such as strength, softness and bulk.
Complicating matters further is the consumer's desire for tissues that are aesthetically pleasing with good handfeel. Again, the tissue maker is forced to balance competing properties—provide a smooth sheet with good handfeel, but poor aesthetics or a visually appealing sheet having a high degree of topography, but poor handfeel.
Accordingly, there exists a need for tissue structures that are not only soft and strong, but also, smooth, bulky and aesthetically pleasing.