As shown in Fig. 5, plasticizer concentration affects tearing resistance (p < 0.05). The tearing resistance of coated papers increased as the amount of plasticizer in the coating increased. However, no significant differences were observed between the tearing resistance of HPMC-paper films without plasticizer and those at 20% plasticizer. HPMC-coated papers with PEG as a plasticizer showed significantly higher tearing resistance compared with the other plasticizers at 30% to 50% plasticizers (p < 0.05)