Under conditions of total reflectance, radiation penetrates a short distance beyond a boundary between media of higher and lower refractive indices into the latter. Since this phenomenon is completely independent of sample thickness, attenuated total reflectance has arisen as a novel method of producing useful infrared reference spectra of samples which can be adapted to the analysis of coatings of paper which cannot be identified in any other way of which, at best, would require a high degree of experience in chemical and in physical preparation. These spectra, which are easily prepared in a relatively short period of time, are similar to transmission spectra of the coatings under investigation so that collections of standard transmission spectra can be useful as a reference for identification by means of reflectance spectra. Reflectance and transmission spectra of papers coated with dyes, pigments, and polymeric substances are offered for comparison of absorption bands and ease of sample preparation.