Printing Terms
AA
Authors Alterations. Changes other than corrections, made by a client after the proofing process has begun. AAs are usually charged to a client as billable time.
Absorbency
The capacity a paper has for accepting liquids, like the inks or water used to run offset lithographic presses. See also ink absorption, ink holdout.
Acid-Free Paper
Manufactured on a paper machine with the wet-end chemistry controlled to a neutral or slightly alkaline pH. See also alkaline papermaking, archival, permanence, pH, wet end.
Actual Weight
The true weight of any volume of paper. The actual weight of paper is used to determine both purchase price and shipping costs. See also basic size, basis weight, weight.
Additives
Ingredients of paper other than pulp. Additives include clay fillers, dyes, sizing, and other chemicals. See also clay, ingredients of paper, papermaking, and sizing.
Alkaline Papermaking
The manufacture of paper under alkaline conditions using additives, caustic fillers like calcium cand neutral size. Alkaline paper is usually used where aging resistance is desired. It’s the logical choice for documents, books, and maps. All of Champion uncoated premium papers are made with an alkaline process, so they’re long-lasting and well-suited for permanent record applications. See also acid-free paper, archival paper, calcium carbonate, lignin, papermaking, permanence, pH, and sizing.
Alum
Also called hydrated aluminum sulfate or papermaker’s alum. A papermaking chemical that’s typically used when adding rosin size to pulp, alum imparts water-resistant properties to paper. In practical terms, it keeps paper from clinging to the presses, see also rosin, sizing.
Aqueous Coating
A water-based coating applied after printing, either while the paper is still on press (“in line”), or after it’s off press. An aque- ous coating usually gives a gloss, dull, or matte finish, and helps prevent the underlying ink from rubbing off. Unlike a UV coat- ing or a varnish, an aqueous coating will accept ink-jet printing, making it a natural choice for jobs that require printing addresses for mass mailings. See also coated paper, finishing, UV coating, and varnish.
Archival Paper
Paper that is that’s alkaline and won’t deteriorate over time. Archival papers must meet national standards for permanence: they must be acid-free and alkaline with a pH of 7.5 to 8.5; include 2% calcium carbonate as an alkaline reserve; and not contain any ground wood or unbleached wood fiber. The expected life of archival paper is more than 100 years. See also acid-free, alkaline papermaking, permanence, and pH.
Art Director
The individual responsible for overseeing the creative and production process and managing other creative individuals.
B
Backing Up
Paper that’s alkaline and won’t deteriorate over time. Archival papers must meet national standards for permanence: they must be acid-free and alkaline with a pH of 7.5 to 8.5; include 2% calcium carbonate as an alkaline reserve; and not contain any ground wood or unbleached wood fiber. The expected life of archival paper is more than 100 years. See also acid-free, alkaline papermaking, permanence, and pH.
Basic Size
The customary sheet size used to establish the basis weight of a ream (500 sheets) of a given grade of paper. Standard basic sizes vary by paper grade. For example, the basic size of book paper is 25“ x 38″ while the basic size of cover stock is 20″ x 26″. See also basis weight, weight.
Basis Weight
The weight, in pounds, of a ream (500 sheets) of paper cut to a given standard (basic size). Each major paper grade, like cover, bond, or offset, has its own basic sheet size, which determines its basis weight. For example, the basic size of book paper is 25 in x 38 in for 500 sheets; therefore, 500 sheets of 70lb. Offset book paper in 25 in x 38 in will actually weigh 70 pounds. See also basic size, ream weight, weight.
Binding
Fastening papers together for easy reading, transport, and protection.. Papers may be bound together with a variety of materials, like wire, thread, glue, and plastic combs. For types of see finishing, folding, imposition, scoring, signature.
Blade-coating
Amethod of coating paper and paperboard using a flexible blade to control the amount of coating applied to the paper. The coating is made of pigments, additives, and adhesives. Blade-coating can take place either on the papermaking machine or on an off-machine coater. While paper may be coated on one side (C1S) or both sides (C2S), blade-coated paper is usually calendared. This helps create a compressed sheet with a glossy surface, reduced bulk, and enhanced printed properties. See also bulk, calendaring, clay, coated paper.
Blanket
See Impression Cylinder, Offset.
Bleaching
A chemical treatment used to whiten and purify pulp. Bleached pulp is known for being strong and durable. See also Elemental Chlorine-Free (ECF), OD100 Process, Papermaking, Pulp.
Bleach Filtrate Recycling (BFR) Process
A process that recycles process wastes from the bleach plant instead of discharging them to the waste water treatment facility. See also Elemental Chlorine-Free (ECF), OD100 Process
Bleed
An image or printed color that runs off the trimmed edge of a page. Bleeding one or more edges of a printed page generally increases both the amount of paper needed and the overall production cost of a printed job. Bleeds are created by trimming the page after printing.
Blind Embossing
Stamping raised letters or images into paper using pressure and a die, but without using foil or ink to add color to the raised areas. Braille is an example of blind embossing.
Blue line
A printer’s proof, actually blue on white paper. All AAs and corrections should have been made prior to seeing a blueline.
BMP
A computer graphics format “Bitmap IBM format” not generally used in professional printing.
Bond Paper
A type of office reprographic paper, widely used for letterheads and business forms. Bond papers are characterized by strength, durability, and performance during electronic printing. They are manufactured with a basic size of 17 in x 22 in. See also basic size, electronic printing, office reprographic paper, and xerography.
Bonding Strength
The internal strength of a paper; the ability of the fibers within a paper to hold to one another. Bonding strength measures the ability of the paper to hold together on the printing press. Good bonding strength prevents fibers from coming loose, known as picking. See also picking, pick out, sizing.
Book Paper
A type of offset paper with a basic size of 25″x38″. The primary applications for these products are book publishing, commercial printing, direct mail, technical documents, and manuals. See also basic size, offset papers, text papers.
Brightness
The reflectivity of pulp, paper, or paperboard under test conditions, using a specially calibrated measuring instrument. If paper lacks brightness it will absorb too much light, so little will reflect back through the ink. See also fluorescent dye, refractoriness, whiteness.
Bristol Paper
Solid or laminated heavyweight paper made to a caliper thickness of .006 in or higher. Bristols are generally used for tags, covers, and file folders and have a basic size of 24.5 in x 30.5 in. See also basic size, cover paper, and tag paper.
Bulk
The thickness of a stack of paper, technically measured as the thickness of a specified number of sheets under a specified pressure. For example, using the measurement of an inch, it may take less than 100 Bristol sheets to make an inch deep pile. On the other hand, it might take hundreds of sheets to make an inch of a lower bulk text paper. Where thickness or the illusion of substance is a desired effect, bulk is a key factor. See also caliper, thickness.
Burn
To expose photo sensitive media to light. i.e. burning a negative or burning a printing plate. To dodge and burn a photo makes the image darker in an area that is exposed to more light. and adds detail to less exposed areas.
C
C1S
Paper that is coated on one side only - Coated 1 Side.
C2S
Paper that is coated on both sides - Coated 2 Sides
Calcium Carbonate
CaCO3 is a naturally occurring substance found in a variety of sources, including chalk, limestone, marble, oyster shells, and scale from boiled hard water. Used as filler in the alkaline paper manufacturing process, calcium carbonate improves several important paper characteristics, like smoothness, brightness, opacity, and affinity for ink; it also reduces paper acidity. It is a key ingredient in today’s paper coatings. See also alkaline papermaking, ingredients of paper.
Calendaring
The process of finishing a sheet of dried paper by pressing it between the highly polished metal cylinders of a calendar “stack”. The calendar smoothes the paper by compression. See also finish, papermaking, smoothness, supercalendering.
Caliper
The thickness of a single sheet of paper, as measured with a sensitive tool called a micrometer, and expressed in units of thousandths of an inch. Caliper is a critical measure of uniformity. Excessive variation in caliper can lead to print variation, undesirable visual effects, and uneven stretch or press-feeding problems. It can also create problems in folding and binding. See also bulk, thickness.
Case Binding
See binding.
Cast-coating
Paper produced with a surface that is a reasonably accurate replication of some other surface. To manufacture cast-coated paper, a paper web with wet or moistened coating is brought into contact with a polished chrome drum surface, which is replicated in the coated sheet. There are two basic cast-coating technologies: the wet process and the re-wet process. Both methods remain in use to produce the world’s output of cast-coated products. Cast-coated papers uniquely combine a superior flat surface with excellent ink receptivity, making them the best of printing surfaces, regardless of the type of printing process. See also coated-paper, dot gain, finish, smoothness, wet trap.
Cellulose Fiber
The main component of the walls of all plant cells, cellulose gives plants their structural support and makes plant material fibrous. Both cotton and wood fibers are mostly made up of cellulose. See also fiber, ingredients of paper, paper, and pulping wood.
Chemical Pulping
Manufacturing pulp by pressure cooking wood or other raw fibrous material into its component parts with solutions of various chemical. The predominant chemical pulping process is the sulfate (Kraft) process. See also Kraft, papermaking, pulping wood.
Choke
When trapping color closing in an area that has another color inside so the choked color overlaps, also spreading.
Chromalin
A color proofing system, usually the final color proof before going on the press.
Clay
A naturally occurring substance commonly used as both filler and a coating ingredient in paper making.. By adding clay, papermakers can improve a paper’s smoothness, brightness, opacity, and affinity for ink. See also additives, coated paper, filler, ingredients of paper, opacity.
CMYK
Abbreviation for the four process color inks: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black.
Coated Paper
Paper with an outer layer of coating applied to one or both sides. The coating may be added while the paper is still moving through the papermaking machine, or after it comes off the machine. Coated papers are available in a variety of finishes, like gloss, dull, and matte. They tend to have good ink holdout and minimal dot gain, which can be especially important for recreating sharp, bright images, black and white halftones, and four-color process images. The smooth surface of coated papers also helps to reflect light evenly. See also cast-coating, clay, dot gain, dull coated, four-color process gloss, halftone, ink holdout, matte coated, off-machine coating.
Color Key
A printer’s proof usually used for viewing the individual layers of CMYK.
Color Separation
Separating the areas of a piece to be printed into its component spot and process ink colors. Each color to be printed must have its own printing plate. Usually referred to in a photographic sense a color separation of a photo done either digitally or traditionally on a scanner.
Colorcurve System
A color matching system based on light reflectance curves rather than on ink formulations. It is intended to coordinate colors across a variety of surfaces and materials and to reduce mesmerism. See also match color, mesmerism, Pantone Matching System, Toyo.
Colorfastness
Color that won’t run when wet, and won’t fade in bright light.
Comp
A comprehensive is a complete but prospective example of a design project, demonstarting size, layout of images and type, use of color, and paper. See also dummy.
Composite Image
A photograph or other graphic image that is made of a combination of multiple images.
Continuous Tone
Having an unbroken range of intensities, as found in black and white photographs. Continuous tone images have not been screened, and contain gradient tones from black to white. See also halftone, screen, stochastic.
Contrast
The degree of difference between light and dark areas in an image. Extreme lights and darks give an image high contrast. An image with a wide tonal range has lover contrast.
Conversion
The process of creating a three dimensional item from a flat sheet of paper. For example envelope conversion or box conversion
Copy
The written information and other text used in advertising and printed material.
Copyright ©
A group of legal rights granted to the author or creator of written or visual work. All work appearing with the copyright symbol or the word “Copyright” is protected by its creator or his heirs. For more information, contact an attorney.
Copy Writer
The individual who writes the written information or copy for an advertisement, newsletter, publication or brochure.
Cotton Paper
Paper made with a minimum cotton fiber content of 25% and a maximum fiber content of 100%. When fiber other than cotton is used, the balance comes from wood pulp. Cotton pulp is made from rags or clippings from textile mills, raw cotton, and cotton linters. Cotton papers are primarily used as writing papers.
Cover Paper
Heavier, generally stiffer paper commonly used for book covers, folders, greeting cards, business cards, and brochures. Uncoated cover papers generally match the color and finish of corresponding text papers. The basic size of cover stock is 20 in x 26 in. See also basic size, text paper.
Curl
The waviness of a sheet of paper generally seen along its edges. Curling is generally the result of physical stresses or changes in humidity, and may occur at the paper mill, in the pressroom, on press, or after binding. Paper tends to curl along, rather than across, the grain of the paper. Recycled and recycled content papers have fewer tendencies to curl than virgin fiber papers because their fibers are shorter. See also grain, relative humidity.
Cut-size
Writing or business papers that are cut to a finished size of 8.5 in x 11 in, 8.5 in x 14 in, or 11 in x 17 in.
Cylinder Machine
A type of papermaking machine. Wire covered cylinders are rotated through a vat of pulp, and paper is formed as the water drains from the cylinder. Cylinder machines are mostly used for manufacturing paperboard. Multi cylinder machines are capable of producing multi-layered paperboard (one layer for each cylinder). See also paperboard, papermaking.
D
Dandy Roll
A wire mesh cylinder used to smooth the top of paper as it forms. Enhancing surface smoothness and formation, the dandy roll may also carry a design, which will create a water mark, identifying the sheet. See also laid finish, papermaking, and watermark.
Debossing
Pressing letters or illustrations into a sheet of paper using a metal or plastic die to create a depressed, lowered image. See also embossing.
Deckle Edge
The feathery edge on a sheet of paper, created as the paper machine sprays a stream of water or a jet of air across the paper as it’s being formed. Deckle edges can also be created after the paper is made, using a die. This method creates a less feathery, harder-edged deckle.
De-inking
Removing ink and other finishing materials, such as coatings, sizing, or adhesives, from printed paper. The complex de-inking process is what makes recycling paper difficult and ultimately adds to the cost of a recycled sheet of paper. To produce high quality recycled or recycled content papers for printing and writing, the de-inking process needs to be thorough. The goal is to end up with reusable fiber that has few impurities, since impurities lower the quality of a recycled sheet and can sometimes damage equipment in the papermaking and printing process. Modern offset and flexographic ink, laser printing toner, ultraviolet coating, thermography coatings, and adhesives make it increasingly difficult to de-ink paper. See also bleaching, flotation, pulping wood, recycled paper.
Densitometer
An instrument used throughout a print run to measure the optical density of ink on paper.
Density
The weight of a sheet of paper as compared to its bulk. For example, a paper that weighs more than another paper but is thinner has a higher density. Compacting the fibers creates a dense paper. See also bulk, weight.
Die-cutting
Using a formed, metal edged die to precision cut shapes into a piece of paper. If a printing project requires a custom-made die, the total cost of the job will increase.
Digital Imaging
The process of creating a digital output of an illustration, photographic image, computer file or other computer generated materials. Output media can be film, paper, transparencies, vinyl and other materials.
Digital Printing
A type of printing which uses digital imaging process that transfers the image directly onto plain paper immediately, without traditional offset rollers and plates.
Dimensional Stability
A measure of paper’s tendency to stretch or shrink, especially when affected by changes in moisture content from humidity, the printing process, or even the passage of time. Paper that maintains its original dimensions has a high degree of dimensional stability. See also grain, relative humidity, resilience, run ability.
Dispersion
See de-inking
Dot Compensation
Adjusting the size of the dots in halftones or four-color images to allow for dot gain and to ensure that the color and detail of the image print as intended. See also dot gain, four-color process, halftone, ink holdout, screen.
Dot Gain
A printing term which describes wet ink coming in contact with paper and spreading as it is transfers. As the halftone dots are applied to the paper, the wet ink spreads, causing the dots to increase in size and halftones to appear darker. Paper weight, type of paper and press type can affect the amount of dot gain in a given printed piece. You may compensate for dot gain by calculating the dot gain before a print job and lessen the density of the images to be printed before you output film. See also dot compensation, four-color process, and halftone.
DPI
Dots per inch is the number of dots that fit horizontally and vertically into a one inch square. Generally, the more dots per inch, the more detail is captured and the sharper the resulting image. See also halftone, lines per inch, screen.
Dry End
Is the drying section of the papermaking machine, after the press section, at which point most water has been removed from the paper. As paper moves through the dry end, the drying process is completed and the paper reel is wound. See also drying, felt, papermaking, wet end.
Dry Trap
A layer of wet ink being applied over a previous layer of dry ink in a separate run of the printing press. Dry trapping usually produces sharper images than wet trapping because subsequent layers of ink aren’t diluted by prior wet or damp layers. Dry trapping is also more expensive because the paper travels through the press more than once. See also trapping, wet trap.
Drying
The step in the papermaking process that brings the moisture content of paper to approximately 5%. This is done by moving the web of paper around a series of heated iron drums in the dry end of the paper machine. See also dry end, papermaking.
Dryography
Waterless offset lithography. This printing process is able to use extremely fine line screens to produce high resolution printing. See also offset, waterless printing.
Dull Coated
A coated paper finish that falls between glossy and matte. See also coated paper, gloss, matte coated.
Dummy
An unprinted mock-up of a book, brochure, or to-be-printed piece. A dummy is made of the same paper stocks that will be used in the finished piece, and serves as a reference for the client, designer, printer, mailing, house, or distributor. The printer, paper, merchant, or paper consultant generally provides the dummy at the request of the designer. See also comp, paper consultant.
Duotone
A two-color halftone of the same images created with two screens, two plates, and two colors. Most halftones are one-color halftones, printed with black ink on white paper. By blending the black of the tiny ink dots and the white of the paper, the human eye sees shades of gray. Duotones are made by printing an image with two colors, generally black and a second color. The full range of tones is printed black and the middle range of tones is printed in the second color. The result is a striking image with more richness and depth that a one-color halftone. The image can be further enhanced by printing a tri-tone or a Quadra tone; these are also reproductions of black and white images, perhaps with a touch of color. The cost of printing tri-tones or Quadra tones may be as high as or higher than four color process printing. See also four color process, halftone, Quadra tone, screen, and tri-tone.
Dust
Tiny, free pieces of fiber, filler, and/or coating on paper. During printing, dust may adhere to the blanket and create imperfections by not allowing ink to reach the paper surface. See also hickey, jog.
E
Electronic Printing
A printing method that creates images using electrostatic charges, rather than by pressing ink onto a plate. Photocopiers and inkjet or laser printers use electronic printing. See also electro photography, printing methods, and xerography.
Electrophotography
A printing process that uses principles of electricity and electrically-charged particles to create images. In photocopiers and laser printers, electric charges create the image on an electrophographic surface that works as a printing plate. This surface is cleared after each image or copy is made, and is used over again for the next copy. See also electronic printing, printing process, and xerography.
Elemental Chlorine Free
(ECF) the more common name for molecular chlorine free process. See also bleaching, OD100 process, papermaking.
Em Space
A lateral space equal to the width of the lower case letter m. Likewise, En space is the space of the lower case n. Used in typography and typesetting.
Emboss
A process by which a dye is used for raising an area of paper to create letterforms, shapes and textures. The dye can be made of magnesium, which is created from exposing light to the magnesium and leaving only the form of the artwork to be pressed into paper. Brass can also be used but is hand done and therefore more expensive. It looks very good with beveled edges and fine detail. See also blind embossing, debossing.
Emulsion
The chemically treated side of photographic film.
Enamel
A general term referring to coated paper that has a higher basis weight than coated publication paper, but a lower basis weight and caliper than coated cover paper. See also C2S, coated paper.
Engraving
A printing process using intaglio, or recessed plates. Made from steel or copper, engraving plates cost more than plates used in most other printing processes, such as lithography. Ink sits in the recessed wells of the plate while the printing press exerts force on the paper, pushing it into the wells and onto the ink. The pressure creates raised letters and images on the front of the page and indentations on the back. The raised lettering effect of engraving can be simulated using a less costly process, called thermography. See also intaglio, plate, printing process, and thermography.
Envelope
Paper that is folded and glued in a wide variety of sizes and shapes. Many printing jobs will end up in an envelope. The closer a finished piece is to an envelope size, the easier it will be to mail and the less chance it will be damaged by jostling around inside the envelope. An envelope maker can make just about any size envelope needed, but a custom envelope requires a custom die and carries a custom price.
EPS
Encapsulated Postscript File. A vector based, computer graphics file format developed by Adobe Systems.
F
Felt
A fabric of natural or synthetic fibers used in the press section of a papermaking machine to absorb water from the paper as it is manufactured. See also felt finish, papermaking.
Felt Finish
A soft texture that affects the look but not the strength of an uncoated paper. A felt finish can be created at the wet end during the papermaking process in one of two ways; either with a roll that is covered with a felt, or with a rubber roll with a felt-patterned finish. An embossed felt finish is created off the machine, after the paper has dried. See also felt finish, finish, papermaking, wet end.
Felt Side
The top side of the paper, which comes in contact with the dandy roll and felts during the papermaking process. The bottom side of the paper, which comes in contact with the wire or the papermaking machine, is called the wire side. The felt side of a paper may appear to be softer, while the wire side of a paper may have more tooth. During printing, the softer texture of the felt side of an uncoated paper may pick up slightly more ink than the wire side of the same sheet, and the printer may have to adjust ink densities to compensate for this. Paper is generally packed and shipped as it is made, felt side up. See also finish, papermaking, tooth, two-sidedness, wire side.
Fiber
filaments of plant tissue, such as cotton fiber and wood fiber. Some specialty papers may contain synthetic fibers, such as rayon or nylon. See also ingredients of paper.
Fiber-added
Paper with visible fibers, flecks, and specks. The term may be a bit misleading because all paper is made from fiber. The most common fiber additives are wood chips, colored cotton fibers, and colored rayon fibers. See also recycled paper, recycled-content paper.
Filler
Materials like clay added to pulp before it’s formed into paper. Fillers improve a sheet’s smoothness, brightness, and affinity for ink. See also clay, ingredients of paper.
Finish
The surface characteristics of a paper. Finishes may be created on-machine or off-machine. On-machine finishing can be done two ways: for a smooth or vellum finish, pressure is imparted on the sheet with a finishing stack. Laid or felt finishes are made with a marking roll, which actually presses the pattern into the paper while it’s still wet. Off-machine finishes are called embosses. This is a separate step that presses the paper between a steel pattern roll and either a hard cotton backing roll (to create the finish on both sides), or a plastic roll (for smoothness on one side). Several generic terms describe the various finishes of uncoated paper, such as vellum, smooth, and lay. Individual paper manufacturers may not use these terms consistently, instead using unique finishes or unique names for common finishes. See also calendaring, embossed, papermaking…
Finishing
Preparing printed pages for use. Most printed jobs require one or more finishing steps, such as trimming, folding, or binding. See also binding, folding, trimming.
Flexography
A direct, not offset, printing method that uses relief plates, similar to rubber stamps, which are made from rubber or photopolymer. The flexible plates are wrapped around a cylinder on the printing press. Flexo works best when printing large areas of solid color, making it popular for printing plastic bags, wrapping paper, and milk cartons. See also four-color process, offset, plate, printing process, registration, relief.
Floatation
A method for removing ink from paper during the de-inking process by floating it off the paper. See also de-inking.
Fluorescent Dye
A coloring agent added to paper to increase its brightness. Fluorescent dyes give white papers added brilliance in natural light and may add a slight cast like blue or green. See also brightness, refractive ness, whiteness.
Fluorescent Inks
Printing inks that both emit and reflect light. Generally, these inks are brighter and more opaque than traditional inks. Using one or more fluorescent inks can actually brighten a printed image – especially four-color process printing on uncoated stock. On the down side, fluorescent inks are not colorfast and will fade in bright light and sunlight over time. They can also have a negative effect on dot gain and trapping, making the printing less sharp and without as much detail. See also dot gain, trapping.
Focaltone
A color matching system featuring 763 specific four-color combinations (CMYK) that enable precise process color specification, often used for predicting results in print. It helps in selecting tints (5% to 85%) for accurate color reproduction in standard printing processes.
Foil Stamping
To cover paper with a thin, flexible sheet of metal or other material. The foil, which may be clear or opaque, comes in a range of colors, and is carried on a plastic sheet. Stamping separates the foil from the plastic and makes it adhere to the paper. Foil stamping can be combined with embossing or debossing as an added design element. See also debossing, embossing.
Folding
Doubling up a sheet of paper so that one part lies on top of another. Folding stresses the paper fibers. To create a smooth, straight fold, heavy papers, like cover stocks and bristles, need to be scored before they’re folded. Multiple fold strength is important in printed pieces like books, maps, and pamphlets. It’s far less important in one-fold operations like greeting cards or envelops, where fold cracking is the vital consideration. Folding strength is negatively affected by the drying heat of various printing and finishing operations. See also binding, finishing, gatefold, imposition, scoring, and signature.
Form
The assembled pages and images as printed on a single large sheet, before trimming. With the correct imposition, the pages of a form will be in correct order after folding and trimming. Once folded and trimmed, a form becomes a signature. See also folding, imposition, signature, trimming.
Formation
The uniformity of fibers in a sheet of paper. For example, paper with fine formation has evenly dispersed fibers, and will be smoother and more uniform than a paper with uneven formation. The tighter the fibers are bound, the more uniform the surface, and the better the printed sheet usually look. See also fiber, grain.
Four-color
Process a method that uses dots of magenta, cyan, yellow and black to simulate the continuous tones and variety of colors in a color image. Reproducing a four-color image begins with separating the image into four different halftones by using color filters of the opposite (or negative) color. For instance, a red filter is used to capture the cyan halftone, a blue filter is used to capture the yellow halftone, and a green filter is used to capture the magenta halftone. Because a printing press can’t change the tone intensity of ink, four-color process relies on a trick of the eye to mimic light and dark areas. Each halftone separation is printed with its process color (magenta, cyan, yellow, and black). When we look at the final result, our eyes blend the dots to recreate the continuous tones and variety of colors we see in a color photograph, painting, or drawing. See also color separation, continuous tone, dots per inch, halftone, screen subtractive color, touch plate.
Fourdrinier
A papermaking machine with a horizontal continuous wire belt. Slurry of pulp is poured or sprayed onto the wire, the water is then drained off and pressed out and the paper is dried. See also papermaking.
Freesheet
Paper that contains no more than 10% mechanical wood pulp. Most freesheet papers are free of ground woodpulp. See also pulping wood, uncoated freesheet, uncoated paper.
G
Gatefold
Two or more parallel folds on a sheet of paper with the end flaps folding inward. See also folding.
GIF
An eight bit, 256 colors or shades of grey, or less computer file format by CompuServe. Commonly used to post photographic images on the internet. GIF files are almost never used for professional printing.
Gloss
The property that’s responsible for coated paper’s shiny or lustrous appearance; also the measure of a sheet’s surface reflectivity. Gloss is often associated with quality: higher quality coated papers exhibit high gloss. See also cast coating, coated paper.
Grade
A type or class of paper identified as having the same composition and characteristics. Grade is a generic paper category, such as writing, offset, cover, tag, and index paper. It can also refer to the quality level of the paper.
Grain
The direction in which more fibers lie in a sheet of paper. As paper is formed, the slurry of fibers moves forward on the forming wire at high speeds, aligning the fibers in the direction of the movement and creating the grain. At the same time, the machine shakes the slurry of fibers from side to side, so that the fibers crisscross. This crisscrossing creates a web of fibers, and gives the paper strength in both directions while maintaining a predominant grain, or direction. As the moisture in the air changes, the individual fibers take in moisture and swell sideways, rather than from end to end; this explains why paper will expand or shrink across the grain, and is more flexible along the grain and stiffer against the grain. For books and other bound work, the grain should run parallel with the binding, creating a smoother fold, making the pages easier to turn, and allowing the paper to swell across the grain. If the binding runs across the grain, the free ends of the paper will swell or shrink with moisture changes, but the bound ends will not. The book will buckle and the binding will weaken. With sheet paper, the grain direction is indicated by underscoring the dimension along which the grain lies, or by changing the order of the numbers. For example, a 23 in x 35 in sheet is grain long; a grain short sheet is indicated by 25 in x 35 in, or 35 in x 23 in. On web paper, the grain runs along the length of the paper web. See also binding, formation, grain long, grain short, papermaking, slurry.
Grain Long
Grain running along the length, or long side, of a sheet of paper. Fibers line up parallel to the long side of the paper. See also grain, grain short.
Grain Short
Grain running along the width, or short side, of a sheet of paper. Fibers line up parallel to the short side of the paper. See also grain, grain long.
Grammage
Weight in grams of a quantity of paper cut to sheets that measure one square meter. See also weight.
Graphic
A non text item, illustration, photograph or artwork.
Graphic Design
A way of communication with visual elements and information to present an idea or concept.
Gravure
A printing process that uses intaglio, or recessed, image carriers. The image carrier, which is flat or cylindrical, moves through an ink pool. A blade scrapes excess ink off the plane of the plate, leaving ink in the recessed wells. A second cylinder presses the paper onto the plates, where it picks up ink from the wells. The high speed of gravure presses and the durability of the metal intaglio plates make gravure an economical printing method suitable for large print runs (more than two million copies). See also intaglio, plate, printing methods.
Greek
Usually nonsense words and letterforms that are not legible, used in a design to approximate the flow of text on the page. Used primarily before final text is available for a client comps.
Gripper
The row of clips holding the sheet of paper as it speeds through the press. See also gripper edge.
Gripper Edge
The leading edge of paper that moves through a printing press or folding machine. No printing can take place on the outside 3/8 in of the paper on the gripper edge. See also gripper.
Groove Finish
A textured paper with shallow, parallel furrows or grooves running along the surface. This finish is created by embossing the paper after it comes off the paper- making machine. See also embossing, finishes.
Ground Wood Paper
Paper that contains between 10 and 75% of ground wood pulp. The ground wood pulping process, also know as mechanical pulping, leaves many natural impurities, like lignin, in the paper. As a result, ground wood paper is less bright and ages faster than free sheet paper, which is made from chemical pulping. Ground wood paper isn’t recommended for any printed matter that is expected to last over time. The advantages of ground- wood are that it’s lightweight, bulky, and economical. See also bulk, free sheet, lignin, pulping wood, uncoated ground wood.
Guillotine
A machine used to trim stacks of paper. A cutting blade moves between two upright guides and slices the paper uniformly as it moves downward. See also trimming, trim size.
H
Halftone
A printed picture that uses dots to simulate the tones between light and dark. Because a printing press cannot change the tone of ink, it will only print the ink color being used on press. This works well for printing text or line art: the press simply puts a full dose of ink for each letter or line on the paper, creating small solid areas of ink. But black-and-white photographs are continuous tone images, and printing a photograph this way would have the same result: large solid areas of ink. White areas of the photograph would have no ink; black areas would have black ink; and gray areas would have black, not gray ink. The halftone mimics the continuous tone of a black-and-white photograph by converting the picture to dots. Photographing a continuous tone image through a screen creates a duplicate image made of dots. Darker areas of the photograph have bigger dots and lighter area of the photograph have smaller dots. To the human eye, the black of the dots blend with the white of the paper to create shades of gray. The result is strikingly similar to the continuous tone of a photograph. See also continuous tone, duotone, four-color process, Quadra tone, screen, and tri-tone.
Hardwood Pulp
Paper made from deciduous trees. Hardwood pulp has short fibers, which give paper bulk, body, and smoothness. Papers are often made from a blend of hardwood and softwood pulps, combining the qualities of both into a single paper. See also softwood pulp.
Head box
The compartment that holds pulp slurry before it is sprayed or poured onto the paper-forming wire of a papermaking machine. See also papermaking, slurry, wet-end.
Hex chrome
A proprietary color separation process, developed by Pantone, that uses six (6) instead of four process colors.
Hickey
An irregularity in the ink coverage of a printed area. Hickeys are caused by paper or pressroom dust, dirt, or pick out on the printing blanket, all of which prevents the ink from adhering to the paper surface. See also dust, picking, pick out.
Hydropulper
Equipment used to slurry pulp. Water is added to dry pulp and fillers, and agitated until the mixture becomes about the consistency of oatmeal cereal. See also papermaking, slurry.
I
Illustrator
An individual who draws or paints images for use in commercial art.
Image setter
A high resolution device that prints directly to plate ready film. Many imagesetters output film at 2400 DPI.
Imposition
Also called image assembly. Refers to assembling printed matter in a way that results in pages appearing in correct sequence. Imposition process see also backing up, folding, form, make-ready, manufacturing order signature.
Impression Cylinder
The cylinder or flat bed of a printing press that holds paper while an inked image from the blanket is pressed upon it. See also offset Plano graphic.
Inch
A unit of measurement equal to six picas or seventy two points.
Index Paper
A stiff, inexpensive paper with a smooth finish with a high bulk but low weight. The basic size of index paper is 25.5 in x 30.5 in. See also basic size.
Ingredients
The materials used to make the mat of fibers that make up paper. The one essential ingredient is cellulose fiber. The rest of the ingredients enhance the paper adding body, reducing cost, or changing color. See also cellulose fiber, clay, filler, furnish, papermaking, pigment pulp, resin, sizing.
Ink
A combination of pigment, pigment carrier or vehicle, and additives. Careful ink formulation by the printer can reduce or prevent smudging, unevenness, picking, and additional printing problems associated with ink. The ink used for a particular job depends on the paper specified and the printing process used. See also dry trap, tack, UV ink, vegetable-based ink, wet trap.
Ink Absorption
Capacity to accept or absorb ink. See also absorbency, ink holdout.
Ink Holdout
Resistance to the penetration of ink. Coated papers tend to have good ink holdout. The ink pigments sit on the surface of the coating, and are not absorbed into the spaces between the paper fibers. This minimizes dot spread and results in a sharp image. Uncoated papers tend to absorb ink into the sheet, but printers can compensate for this and still produce a very bright, sharp image on uncoated paper. See also coated paper, dot compensation, and ink absorption.
Intaglio
A method of printing in which an image or letter is cut into the surface of wood or metal, creating tiny wells. Printing ink sits in these wells, and the paper is pressed onto the plate and into the wells, picking up the ink. See also engraving, gravure, printing methods.
J
Jog
To shake a stack of papers, either on a machine or by hand, so that the edges line up. Printers jog the paper to get rid of any dust or particles, and to ensure proper feeding into the press.
JPEG
Joint Photographic Electronic Group. A common standard for compressing image data.
K
Kern
To adjust the lateral space between letters.
Kraft Paper
A paper manufactured using Kraft pulp, usually noted for its strength. In the Kraft pulping process, fiber is separated from lignin by cooking wood chips with steam and pressure. See also bleached Kraft, lignin, pulping wood.
L
Laid Finish
A paper with a translucent pattern of lines running both parallel to, and across the grain. See also dandy roll, finish.
Laser
Compatible paper that performs on a laser printer or copier. Laser compatible paper has good dimensional stability that keeps it from curling, changing shape, and causing paper jams in printers and copiers. See also dimensional stability, xerography.
Leading
The space, measured in points, between consecutive lines of type. The name was derived from the strips of lead placed between lines of hot type in the early 1900’s.
Letterpress
A relief printing method. Printing is done using cast metal type or plates on which the image or printing area is raised above the nonprinting areas. Ink rollers touch only the top surface of the raised areas; the nonprinting areas are lower and do not receive ink. The inked image is transferred directly to the page, resulting in type of images that may actually be depressed or debossed into the paper by the pressure of the press. See also printing methods, relief.
Lignin
The natural, glue-like substance that holds together the cellulose fibers of wood plants. Lignin that is left in pulp causes paper to age and yellow over time. See also acid-free, cellulose fiber, ground wood paper.
Like-sided
Paper that has the same appearance and characteristics on both sides. See also twin-wire machine, two-sidedness.
Linen Finish
A paper finish that is similar to the texture of linen fabric. Linen finishes are embossed after the paper comes off the paper machine. See also embossing, finish.
Lines per Inch
Abbreviated as LPI it refers to the number of lines in an inch, as found on the screens that create halftones and four-color process images. The more lines per inch, the more detailed the printed image will be. See also DPI, four-color process, halftone, screen.
Litho
Lithography is a a printing process using flat surface Plano graphic plates and is based on the principle that oil and water don’t mix. The image to be lithographed is created on the plate with greasy material that repels water. Water is run over the plate, and the non-image areas absorb it. When the oily ink hits the plate, it’s attracted to the similarly greasy image, and repelled by the rest of the wet plate. When paper is pressed onto the plate, it picks up the ink. This process is now used primarily for limited-edition prints. Alos called offset lithography. See also offset, Plano graphic, plate, printing process.
Lupe
From the German word for magnifying glass, a Lupe is a lens used by photographers, printers, and designers to examine details in printed materials.
M
M Weight
The weight in pounds of a ream of paper - 1,000 sheets.. On the label of a paper ream, the M weight is often given after the dimensions of the paper in the ream: for example, 23 in x 29 in 42 M. The capital letter M, like the Roman numeral M, designates 1,000. The 42 indicates that the 1,000 sheets weigh 42 pounds. See also basis weight, ream weight, weight.
Machine Coated
Paper that is coated on the papermaking machine. See also coated paper.
Machine Finish
A paper texture of finish imparted onto the paper white it’s still on the papermaking machine. See also felt finish, finish, and vellum.
Make-ready
All the activities involved in preparing a printing press for a print run, such as setting the registration, balancing the color, and adjusting the plates and blankets for paper thickness. See also imposition, impression cylinder, plate, printing methods, registration.
Making Order
Also know as manufacturing order. It is a quantity of paper manufactured to custom specifications, such as a weight, color, or size not available as a standard stocking item. See also imposition, paper consultant, stock
Match Color
A custom-blended ink that matches a specified color exactly. The specified colors are chosen from color systems such as Pantone Matching System or Toyo. See also Pantone Matching System, Toyo.
Match Print
A high quality color proofing system developed by 3M.
Matte Coated
A term generally used to refer to papers having little or no gloss. A matte coated sheet is often specified when there is a lot of type, since it makes for easier reading. See also coated paper, dull coated, finish, gloss.
Mechanical Pulping
Separating wood fibers for pulp by grinding wood chips mechanically, rather than by using a chemical process.
Merchant
A distributor of papers, often representing several different paper mills or manufacturers.
Mesmerism
The tendency of color to change with the light source in which it’s viewed. For example, two reds may appear to match under fluorescent light, but clash badly in the light of the sun.
Mill
The physical site where paper is manufactured. It also refers to a company that manufactures paper.
Mill Broke
Paper generated at the paper mill prior to completion of the manufacturing process. Wet mill broke originates at the wet end of the papermaking machine, while dry mill broke comes from the dry end of the papermaking machine. See also dry end, wet end.
Moiré
A pattern created by printing several repetitive designs on top of each other. In four-color process printing, four screens of colored dots print on top of each other. If the angles of the halftone screens of each of the four colors are not properly aligned with each other, an undesirable, blurry pattern appears in the final image. See also four-color process, halftone, rosette, and screen.
N
Newsprint Paper
A grade of paper made primarily from mechanical pulp rather than chemical pulp, resulting in a short lifespan. Newsprint is one of the least expensive printing papers. See also ground wood paper, pulping wood.
O
Offset Printing
Offset lithography is currently the most common commercial printing method, in which ink is offset from the printing plate to a second roller then to paper.
Office Reprographic Paper
Commonly referred to as reprographic paper, includes a variety of business paper grades, both cut-size and copier rolls, such as bond, mimeo, duplicator, and reproduction papers. See also bond paper, electronic printing, and xerography.
Off-machine Coating
The process of coating paper after it comes off the papermaking machine rather than while it is still on the machine. Off–machine coaters may be used to add a single layer of coating to a paper, or to add a second layer to a paper that has already been machine coated. See also coated paper.
Offset
An indirect printing process. Ink is transferred to paper from a blanket that carries an impression from the printing plate, rather than directly from the printing plate itself. Generally, offset refers to offset lithography although other printing processes, such as letterpress, may also use this indirect technique. The term offset can also refer to the smudges created when ink from one printed sheet transfers to another. Offset spray is used to prevent this. See also impression cylinder, lithography, Plano graphic, plate, printing processes.
Offset Papers
Book and text weight papers that are made to withstand the rigors of offset printing. These papers are more resistant to water and less susceptible to picking. Most book and text grades of paper can be used on offset presses. The basic size of offset paper 25 in x38 in. See also basic size, book papers, picking, and text paper.
Opacity
A measure of how opaque a paper is. The more fibers or fillers a paper has, the more opaque it is, and the less it allows showthrough of the printing on the back side or on the next page. Opacity isn’t always determined by thickness or weight; a thinner paper may have more opacity than a thicker paper if thickeners are used. See also calcium carbonate, fillers, thickness, titanium dioxide, weight.
Oxygen Dezincification
A processing step that takes place after pulping and before bleaching. Oxygen is used to remove lignin resulting in lower chemical usage in the bleach plant. See also bleaching, lignin.
P
Pallet
A platform with a slatted bottom, used to hold and ship cartons of paper stacked on top of each other.
Pantone Matching System
The most widely used system for specifying and blending match colors. The Pantone Matching System (PMS) identifies more than 2400 colors. It provides designers with swatches for specific colors, and gives printers the recipes for making those colors. See also match color, Toyo.
Paper
A complex matted web of cellulose fibers.
Paper Consultant
A representative from a paper mill or merchant who has the expertise to help designers and printers choose just the right paper for a specific job. See also manufacturing order, merchant, specifying paper.
Paperboard
Paper with a caliper greater than .012 inches, or 12 points. Paperboard is used primarily for packaging and construction materials. Paperboard doesn’t need to have the same white- ness and brightness as premium printing and writing papers, and because the process of de-inking is less important in its manufacture, it is a perfect product for using recovered fiber. See also caliper, de-inking.
Paper-ink
Affinity the tendency for paper and ink to attract and stay attracted to each other. This keeps the ink on the paper and off the reader’s hands or the next sheet. An incompatibility between ink and paper can cause printing problems. See also dry trap, tack, wet trap.
Papermaking
Creating a web of fiber from plant cellulose or synthetic fibers. Papermakers today follow the same steps that its inventor, Ts’ai Lun, followed almost two thousand years ago: pulping vegetable matter and leaving the cellulose fibers behind; mixing the pulp with lots of water; draining it; forming paper on a sieve-like mold; pressing the paper to remove some of the water; and drying it to remove the rest of the water. Technology has sped up the process and helped to improve the smoothness, brightness, and printability of the paper, but it hasn’t changed the essence of papermaking. papermaking process.
Papyrus
An aquatic plant found in northern Africa. Although papyrus is considered to be the first paper, it’s not, in the strict definition of the word, paper which is a web of individual fibers. Early papyrus was made by peeling the plant, which is constructed like an onion, and placing one layer on top of another. The natural juices acted like glue, bonding the layers and leaving the cellular structure of the plant layers intact. See also scrolls.
Parchment
A writing substance made from the skin of animals. Today, parchment-like paper, or vegetable parchment, is made by dipping paper quickly into sulfuric acid, then quickly washing it and neutralizing the acid. This melts the fibers on the outside, which in turn coats the other fibers and fills the void between them. The result is a grease resistant sheet that is difficult to recycle.
Portable Document File is a proprietary format developed by Adobe Systems for the transfer of designs across multiple computer platforms.
Perfect Binding
A book binding process where pages are glued together and directly to the cover of the book. The appearance is of a flat spine on the end of the book such as a paperback book.
Perfecting Press
A printing press that simultaneously prints both sides of a sheet of paper as it passes through the press. On other presses, printing both sides means running the street through the press to print one side, allowing the ink to dry, turning the paper over, and then running the sheet through the press again to print the other side. See also imposition, printing methods.
Permanence
A paper’s ability to resist tears, fading, and general aging over time. The national standard for permanence requires a pH of 7.5-8.5, at least 2% calcium carbonate, and no ground wood or unbleached fiber. The standard also has specific fold endurance and tear resistance requirements. Paper meeting the standard for permanence can be expected to last more than 100 years. Paper with a pH level of 5.5 or higher can be expected to last up to 50 years. See also alkaline papermaking, archival paper, pH.
Petroleum-based Ink
Ink using petroleum as the vehicle for carrying the pigment. See also ink, vegetable-based ink.
pH
The measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a material. Paper with a pH below 7.0 is considered acidic. Paper with a pH above 7.0 is considered acid-free, or alkaline. See also acid-free paper, alkaline papermaking, and archival paper.
Photocopy
A mechanical printing process that uses a light sensitive printing element, magnetic toner and a heating element to fuse the toner to the paper.
Photo Illustration
An image, primarily consisting of a photograph or composite image containing a photograph.
Photo Plate
A light sensitive printing plate. The plate is developed like film, and then used on a printing press.
Pica
A unit of measurement equal to twelve points or one sixth of an inch. Used by designers and other graphics professional for its precision.
Pick Out
A problem on press caused by unevenly sealed paper or paper with low bonding strength. The ink picks off weak areas of the paper, lifting coating from a coated stock, or lifting fibers from an uncoated stock, and transferring them to the printing blanket. These fibers will eventually be transferred back onto the sheets being printed, causing inking and surface inconsistencies. See also bonding strength, hickey, picking, sizing.
Pick Resistance
The ability of paper fibers to hold together during the printing process. See also bonding strength, pick out sizing.
Picking
A problem generally resulting from using an ink that’s too tacky for the paper it’s printed on. The ink actually pulls tiny pieces of the paper off the surface of the sheet. Two types of picking are fiber bundles and coating picking. Fiber bundles are caused by weak fiber bond. Coating picking occurs when the adhesive properties of coating binder aren’t strong enough to hold up the high tack of the offset printing process. See also bonding strength, pick out, sizing.
Pigment
A material, such as titanium dioxide, added to pulp before it is formed into paper. White pigments boost brightness and opacity; colored pigments and dyes control the shade or change the color see also fluorescent dye, ingredients of paper, opacity, titanium dioxide
Pixel Depth
The amount of data used to describe each colored dot on the computer screen. I.e. Monochrome is 1 bit deep. Grayscale is 8 bits deep. RGB is 24 bits deep. Images to be printed as CMYK separation should be 32 bits deep.
Plano Graphic
A method for printing ink onto paper where the image sits on the same surface as the printing plate. The image area is greased to attract ink, while the rest of the plate attracts water and repels ink. As the paper is pressed onto the flat surface of the plate, it picks up ink from the greasy image areas and a small bit of water from blank areas. This is the printing process used in lithography and offset lithography. See also lithography, offset, plate, printing methods.
Plate
Short for printing plate. It is a thin sheet of metal that carries the printing image. The plate surface is treated or configured so that only the printing image is ink receptive. See also electronic printing, intaglio, letterpress, lithography, offset, Plano graphic, printing methods, relief.
Plate Ready Film
Final photographic film used to burn printing plates.
Point
In measurements of the thickness of paper, one point is 1/1000 or .001 inches. Type size is also measured in points. One point is 1/72 inch. See also caliper, thickness
Porosity
Refers to the openness or compactness of the fibers in a paper, is measured by the ability of air to pass through the sheet. The more open a paper is, the greater its porosity.
Pre-consumer Recovered Paper
Paper recovered after the papermaking process, but before use by a consumer. See also recovered paper, recycled content paper, recycled paper.
Post-consumer Recovered Paper
Material recovered after being used by a consumer. See also recovered paper, recycled content paper, recycled paper.
PPI
Paper per inch, or the number of sheets in a one inch stack of paper. The term is used to describe the bulk of a paper. See also bulk, caliper, thickness.
Precision Sheeting
Converting rolls of paper into finished sheet sizes in a single operation.
Prepress
The various printing related services, performed before ink is actually put on the printing press such as stripping, scanning or color separating.
Press Proof
A test printing of a project prior to the final production run. Press proofs are generally printed on the paper stock that will be used for the finished project. A few sheets are run as a final check before printing the entire job.
Printability
How well a paper performs with ink on press. Absorbency, smoothness, ink holdout, and opacity all affect printability. See also absorbency, dimensional stability, ink holdout, opacity, relative humidity.
Printing
The process of applying images to a variety of surfaces. Some printing processes include: offset lithography, thermography, la gravure, letterpress, silkscreen, digital, laser, dye sub, photographic.
Print Quality
The overall excellence of a printed piece. Paper, ink, press and the skill of the press operators all affect print quality. See also printability.
Printing Methods
A means or tool for placing ink on paper. Most printing is done with a plate. The four main types of printing methods are relief, intaglio, plano graphic and screen printing. Words and images may also be printed electronically using photocopiers and inkjet printers. See also electronic printing, intaglio, letterpress, lithography, offset, plano graphic, plate, relief, screen printing, stencil, waterless printing, web press.
Process Colors
The four process colors: cyan, magenta, yellow and black, used to print full color images. See also color separating, four-color process, subtractive colors
Process Color
The mechanical process of reproducing a full color image with the 4 primary subtractive color inks - CMYK. When viewed under a loop, the individual color halftone dots can be seen in a process color image.
Production Artist
A skilled laborer who prepares the files for the required printing process using artwork and instructions provided by the designer or client.
Pt.
Abbreviation for point. See also point.
Pulp
Wet slurry of fibers and water that is the basic ingredient of paper. See also cellulose fiber, pulping wood, slurry, wet end.
Pulping Wood
Transforming wood, the raw material of most paper, into pulp. Pulping breaks wood apart, separating the rows of cellulose fibers that are stuck together with lignin. These separated fibers will later create the matted web of fibers we know as paper. Paper may be made with pulp from just one of the following processes, or by mixing mechanical and chemical pulps. See also cellulose fiber, free sheet, ground wood paper, lignin, papermaking.
R
Rag Paper
Paper 25% - 100% cotton fibers. See also cotton paper.
Ream
A package containing 500 sheets of printing paper.
Ream Weight
The actual weight in pounds of a ream of paper. See also actual weight, basis weight, weight.
Recovered Paper
Paper that has been separated, diverted, or removed from the solid waste stream.
Recyclable
Paper suited for recycling though this term can be misleading. For example, it may be physically possible to recycle a given material, but if it is too costly to do so, or if a collection process is not in place, recycling may be impossible or economically not feasible.
Recycled Content Paper
A paper product containing some, but consisting of less than 100% recovered fiber. See also de-inking, pre-consumer recovered paper, post-consumer recovered paper, recycled content paper
Recycled Paper
A paper product consisting of 100% recovered fiber. Recovered fiber includes pre and/or post-consumer sources. See also de-inking, pre-consumer recovered paper, post-consumer recovered paper, recycled content paper.
Refining
The process of cutting, breaking, and flattening the cellulose fibers in pulp. In order to form a strong, flexible paper, pulp fibers need to be flattened and frayed. The refiner has metal discs that can be adjusted to create longer or shorter fibers. See also hydro pulper, papermaking.
Refractiveness
A measure of how much a sheet of paper deflects the light that hits it. The more light a sheet deflects, the greater the refractiveness, allowing a printed image to be more brilliant and detailed. See also brightness, whiteness.
Registration
The process of alignment of the different color plates in a printing job.
Relative Humidity
Relative humidity is a measure of how much moisture air or paper can hold versus how much it is actually holding at a given temperature. Before printing a job, the printer must cure the paper by letting it sit, wrapped, in the pressroom for a determined amount of time. This will bring the paper to the same temperature and humidity as the pressroom, helping to prevent printing problems. See also registration.
Relief
A method for printing ink on paper that rises above the surface of the printing plate. Ink sits on top of these raised surfaces, and as the paper is pressed onto them it picks up ink. Letterpress, flexography, and rubber stamps all use relief plates. See also flexography, letterpress, plate, printing methods.
Resilience
The ability of paper to return to its original form after being stressed by bending, stretching, or compressing during the printing and finishing processes. See also bonding strength, dimensional stability, run ability, tensile, strength.
Resin
A generic term referring to the materials used by paper manufactures to size paper. Rosin, a natural resin from pine trees, is used in the manufacture of acidic paper. Synthetic resins are used in the manufacture of alkaline and acid-free papers. See also acid-free, alkaline papermaking, alum, ingredients of paper, rosin, and sizing.
RGB
Red Green Blue which are the colors used by a computer monitor to create color images on the screen. When all three colors are combined over each other the color of light is white.
Rosette
The formation created by the dots that make up four-color images. The dots of cyan, magenta, yellow and black overlap each other in a cluster. Because the dots are not perfectly round, and because they are turned at angles to each other, this cluster resembles the arrangement of petals in a rose. See also four-color process.
Rosin
A natural resin from pine trees, used to size acidic paper. See also ingredients of paper, resin.
Run ability
The ease with which a paper moves through a printing press. For example, offset lithography puts more stress on paper than other printing processes because of how the paper moves through the press, the amount of water used and the tackiness of the inks. In order to have good run ability, paper for offset printing must be strong, have great tear resistance, and possess good dimensional stability. It must also be water resistant and have a strong surface so the paper doesn’t pick.
Run ability is also a term for measuring the number of mechanical web breaks per 1,000 rolls of paper run on a press. See also dimensional stability, offset, and printability.
S
Saddle Stitch
A book binding process where pages are stapled together through the spine of the book.
Sans Serif
A type face that has no tails or curled points, serifs, at the ends.
Scoring
Pressing a channel into a sheet of paper to allow it to fold more easily. Scoring and pressing the paper fibers together creates an embossed channel that does two things. It acts as a guide for easy folding, and creates a hinge that keeps the fiber stretch short. The score should run parallel to the paper grain; the thicker the paper, the wider the score should be. Paper should be folded with the scored side on the outside, making two short stretches rather than one long one. The outcome is a straight, durable fold that doesn’t crack or break. See also finishing, folding, grain.
Screen Printing
A printing process, also called silk screening, where ink is transferred through a porous screen onto the surface to be printed An emulsion or stencil is used to block out the negative or non-printing areas of the screen. A squeegee forces ink through the open areas of the screen and onto the paper, plastic, cardboard, wood, fabric, glass, or other material. See also printing process, stencil.
Script
A type face that mimics the appearance of hand written text.
Scrolls
Long sheets of papyrus, parchment, or paper rolled for storage. See also papyrus, parchment.
Self cover
a booklet having a cover made of the same paper as the inside or text pages.
Semi-chemical Pulping
using chemicals and mechanical grinding to separate the cellulose fibers of wood. Because this pulping process doesn’t remove lignin, it isn’t generally used for fine printing and writing papers. It’s used instead for papers not requiring permanence. See also pulping wood, cellulose fibers, and lignin.
Serif
The curls and points that appear as outward lateral extensions of the bottoms and tops of letterforms on some type faces. Many designers consider serif type used for body text for easy readability. Times Roman is a well known serif type font.
Shade
The color depth and hue in comparison to papers that are the same color; also used to describe the color achieved by adding dye to pulp slurry. There is a wide shade variety in white papers, as well as in colored papers.
Sheet-fed Press
A press that prints single sheets of paper, rather than a continuous roll or web of paper. A sheet-fed press prints more slowly than a web press, and is typically used for shorter runs. See also offset, web paper, web press.
Sheetwise
See imposition.
Sheffield
A test used to measure the smoothness of paper by measuring the rate of air flow over the surface of the sheet. The lower the number, the smoother the sheet. See also smooth finish, smoothness.
Show-through
See opacity.
Signature
The collated pages of one folded and trimmed form, making up one section of a bound book. see also binding, form, imposition, trimming
Silk Screen
See screen printing.
Sizing
A resin, such as Rosin, added to pulp before it’s formed into paper, or added to the surface of the paper after it’s dry. Sizing acts as a glue to keep the fibers of the finished paper tight, since loose fibers on the surface of the paper can cause printing problems. Sizing also helps the finished paper repel water, which is an especially important property for stock that will be used for offset printing. See also bonding strength, ingredients of paper, resin, rosin.
Skid
a platform built with a solid wood bottom, for holding stacks of paper not packed in cartons. Paper may be ordered in skids or cartons. When printers are printing a large job, they generally prefer skids to cartons.
Slurry
A thin, watery mixture of pulp and water that is poured onto the papermaking machine. See also headbox, hydorpulper, papermaking, wet end.
Spot Color
Single colors applied to printing when process color is not necessary or when process colors need to be augmented for example a fluorescent or metallic ink.
Spread
A design that encompasses two or more facing pages.
Spreading the ink beyond the edge of an object so that there is no gap between it and the next colored object.
Smooth Finish
Paper finished to Sheffield smoothness between 50 and 150. See also finish, Sheffield, smoothness.
Smoothness
The surface property of paper that describes its degree of uniform evenness and flatness. The smoother the paper, the better the ink dot formation and the sharper the image. See also cast-coating, coated paper, Sheffield, smooth finish, uncoated paper.
Softwood Pulp
Made from coniferous trees often using a blend of pulps. Softwood pulp has long fibers, giving paper strength. See also hardwood pulp, pulping wood.
Specifying Paper
Choosing the appropriate paper for a specific printing job to meet design, printing, handling and economic requirements. Designers and printers are frequently assisted by a paper merchant or a paper mill consultant when choosing a paper. See also paper consultant.
Stencil
A sheet of plastic, paper, or other material with letters or an image cut out of it. When placed on a surface and inked, it reproduces the cut-away images onto the material behind it. See also printing methods; screen printing.
Stochastic
A method for creating halftones by generating randomly placed dots. See also continuous tone, dpi, halftone, registration, screen.
Supercalender
Alternating steel and fiber-covered calendar rolls that increase a sheet’s gloss and smoothness. The supercalender is a separate piece of equipment located close to the dry end of the paper machine. See also calendaring, gloss, papermaking, smoothness.
Swatch Book
A book containing paper samples and paper specifications for a line of paper.
T
Tack Stickiness
Tack is a critical property of the ink used in lithography. Because the ink sits on a flat surface, it needs internal cohesion; in other words, it needs to stick to itself so that it doesn’t run all over the plate. However, too much tack can cause it to pull the paper apart. When printing two or more ink colors in line, the ink tack and sequence must be adjusted in order for the ink to adhere to each other as well as to the paper. See also dry trap, lithography, plate, wet trap.
Tag paper
A heavy utility grade of paper that must be strong and durable, yet have good affinity for printing inks.
Tear Strength
A measure of how likely a paper will continue to tear once started. Tear strength will be different with and ageist the grain of paper. Paper that will be punched should have good tear strength. See also bonding strength, grain.
Tensile Strength
A measure of how likely a paper is to break when pulled at opposite ends, in opposite directions. A web offset paper must have good tensile strength if it is to withstand the high speed of the printing press. See also bonding strength, web break, web paper, web press.
Text Paper
Premium uncoated printing paper of fine quality, manufactured in weights suitable for the text of books or brochures. Text papers are made in a wide variety of finishes, including smooth, antique, vellum, laid, felt, and embossed. They are character- sized by excellent folding quality, printability, and durability. Text papers are used most often for books, annual reports, brochures, booklets, advertising collateral material, and announcements, and have a basic size of 25 in x 38 in. See also basic size, book paper, cover paper, offset paper.
Thermography
A finishing applied after printing that creates the raised effect of engraved printing. See also engraving, offset, printing methods.
Thickness
The thickness of a single piece of paper, as measured in thousandths of an inch, called caliper. Thickness measurements define the bulkiness of a sheet of paper, but the actual number of sheets in an inch-high stack of paper is referred to as PPI, or pages per inch. See also bulk, caliper, pip.
TIFF
Tagged Image File Format, a bitmapped file format used for the reproduction of digitally scanned images such as photographs, illustrations & logos.
Tint
To vary a color by adding white. Also, a very light or delicate variation of a color.
Titanium Dioxide
An exceptionally opaque compound used as a white pigment and opacifier in papermaking. Elemental titanium is a lustrous, lightweight, white metal with exceptional strength. See also ingredients of paper, opacity, pigment
Tooth
Refers to paper’s surface roughness, a characteristic that allows it to take up ink.
Touch plate
In four-color process printing, an additional fifth plate of ink that adds more of one color to enhance the image. See also four-color process, subtractive color.
Toyo
A system used for color matching. See also match color, Pantone Matching System.
Trapping
The very slight overlapping of adjacent colors. Trapping color is achieved by use of chokes and spreads. See also dry trap, tack, and wet trap.
Trim Size
The final size of a printed piece once it’s been cut to specification.
Trimming
Cutting paper after printing to make all sheets the same or a specified size. After binding printed papers, the head, foot, and edge of a book are often trimmed in a guillotine to make all the papers even. The inner papers of each signature have a tighter fold and will be slightly longer than the outer pages. See also finishing, guillotine, signature, trim size.
Tri-tone
A black and white image printed with three screens and three colors, such as one black and two grays, used to enrich the contrast between light and dark areas. See also continuous tone, duotone, halftone, Quadra tone, screen
Twin-wire Machine
A paper making machine with two continuous forming wires, rather than just one. Twin-wires were designed to create a less two-sided paper than manufactured on a paper machine. Other techniques for reducing two-sidedness have since been developed, enabling paper manufactures to created paper on single-wire machines with little side-to-side variation. See also felt side, two-sidedness, wire side.
Two-sidedness
The tendency of some papers to have slightly different characteristics and printing results from side-to-side. See also felt side, like-sided, wire side.
U
Uncoated Free sheet
Paper containing no more than 10% mechanical wood pulp. Most uncoated free sheet paper is entirely free of mechanical wood pulp. Most uncoated printing and writing papers are classified into the broader category of uncoated free sheet. See also mechanical pulp, pulping wood, uncoated paper.
Uncoated Ground-wood
Paper that isn’t coated, containing more than 10% ground-wood fiber in its furnish. See also furnish, ground wood paper, newsprint paper, uncoated paper.
Uncoated
Paper hat doesn’t have coating. Uncoated papers are manufactured in a great variety of finishes, colors, and weights, and offer the versatility needed to meet the creative and practical demands of most print jobs. See also book paper, cotton paper, cover paper, furnish, offset papers, text papers, vellum.
UV Coating
A very slick, glossy coating applied to the printed paper surface and dried on press with ultraviolet light. The slick surface of UV coating makes it eye catching. Because UV coating can cause slight variations in match colors, consulting with an ink manufacturer or printer will yield best results.
UV Ink
Specially formulated to dry quickly with ultraviolet light while still on press. UV drying improves turnaround time because it eliminates waiting for the first side to dry before printing the second side. This eliminates the need for the paper to pass through the press more than once. See also dry trap, ink, wet trap.
V
Varnish
A coating printed on top of a printed sheet to protect it, add a finish, and/or add a tinge of color. An entire sheet may be varnished, or certain areas, like halftones, may be spot varnished to add emphasis and appeal.
Vegetable-based
Inks using vegetable oil, rather than petroleum solvents, as the vehicle for carrying pigment. Vegetable ink colors tend to be more vibrant than petroleum-based inks, but may take longer to dry. See also ink, petroleum-based ink.
Vellum
An uncoated paper finish that is fairly even, but not quite as even as a smooth finish. Vellum is probably the most popular finish for uncoated paper. See also finish, uncoated paper.
W
Washing
See de-inking.
Waterless Printing
A printing process that runs on offset lithography presses, but without using water. The non-image areas of the plate are coated with silicone, allowing the ink to run off freely into shallow wells, in the plate. Because finer dots can be used in waterless printing, the image is very detailed. The cost for this printing process is high, but the results can be magnificent.
Watermark
A mark in fine papers imparted during the manufacturing process that identifies a paper. It doesn’t leave an impression in the paper but it leaves behind a translucent mark. See also dandy roll.
Web
A roll of paper. See also web paper.
Web Break
A tear through a roll of paper made either while it is being manufactured at the mill or while it is running through a printing press. See also papermaking, web paper, web press.
Web Paper
Paper hat comes in a roll rather than in sheets. A web press runs this paper, folding and/or cutting it after it is printed. See also offset, sheet-fed press, web, and web paper.
Web Press
A high speed printing press that prints on both sides of a continuous roll of paper. Web presses are used for high volume printing such as newspapers and magazines.
Weight
The tonnage or poundage of a quantity of paper. The weight of paper may be expressed as basis weight, ream weight, M weight, or gramage. See also actual weight, basis weight, gramage, M weight, ream weight.
Wet End
The front end of the papermaking machine, including the head-box, wire, and presses. Paper is more water than fiber in this section of the machine. See also dry end, head box, papermaking, slurry.
Wet Trap Printing
A layer of wet ink over, or adjacent to, a previous layer of wet ink. See also dry trap, tack, trapping.
Whiteness
The measure of the amount of light reflected from a sheet of paper. How white a paper is depends on how evenly it reflects all colors in the visible spectrum. If it reflects more blue than red and yellow, it will have a cool, blue tinge to it, making it appear brighter than white. A cool paper will appear brighter than a similar paper with a warm tinge. A cool or warm tinge doesn’t affect paper quality, but it does create optical impressions. For example, in color printing with blues and blacks predominating, a cool white sheet tends to brighten the colors. But color printing with reds, oranges, and yellows predominating, a neutral or warm white sheet tends to make the colors appear clearer and stronger. See also brightness, fluorescent dye, refractiveness.
Wire Side
The bottom side of the paper that comes in contact with the forming fabric of the paper machine during the papermaking process. The top side of the paper is called the felt side. As the water drains through the wire during manufacture, it carries fibers, fillers, and other chemicals with it, depositing more of them on the wire side than on the felt side of the paper. This can result in the wire and felt sides having slightly different textures. See also felt side, papermaking, tooth, two-sidedness.
Work and Back, Work and Tumble, Work and Turn
See imposition.
Wove Finish
Uncoated paper that has an even finish with slight toothiness. See also finish, tooth.
OUR CLIENTS
WHERE WE WORK
What our clients are saying