Cigarette assembling machines change. Speeds are increasing (14000 cig/min), which leaves shorter time for the coating of the glue over the tipping, then cutting and rolling it around the assembled cigarette. A poor control of the assembling will lead to a reduced productivity. Certain parameters can be mastered by the machine manufacturer, the glue supplier, or the machine operator, but also by the producer of the tipping paper. This is especially true for the absorption characteristics which play an important part. Classical methods for measuring absorption do not reveal what is going on during the first tenths of seconds following the contact of the glue with the paper. New equipment measuring the dynamic penetration of a liquid in a substrate brings a new light on the behaviour of tipping paper. We shall present this new equipment and the results obtained on a range of products.