Glossary of Paper Terms

This glossary of paper terms was created by people working in today's paper industry and is brought to you by the PRINTEDINCHINA.com who provide free printing quotes. It has been revised and edited to help the desktop publisher understand the printing trade by TentMaker Publishing. We have rewritten some technical descriptions in every day language to help the non technical person. Any suggestions that you may have on how we can improve this glossary will be carefully considered.

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· abrasion resistance - Measure of a paper's durability when subject to abrasive action of erasers.

· abrasiveness - Property of paper causing it to scratch surfaces it contacts.

· absorbency - The ability of paper to absorb or take in liquids.

· Accelerated Agin Test - A technique to estimate the permanence of paper by exposing it to heat or heat and moisture.

· acid size - Rosin size containing a large proportion of emulsified, free or uncombined rosin. (See rosin size)

· acidity - Degree of acid found in a given paper measured by the pH factor. pH is measured from 0 to 14, with 7 representing neutral between acid and alkaline. From 0 to 7 is considered acid as opposed to 7 to 14 which is alkaline.

· actual weight - Accurate weight of a given quantity of paper, which is different from the same paper's nominal weight. (See nominal weight.)

· adding machine paper - Paper in roll form for use on adding and tabulating machines. Weight: 16 to 18 lbs. 17 " x 22"/500 sheets.

· aesthetic - Qualities having to do with the beauty of the printed image.

· AF&PA - American Forest & Paper Association, established in 1993, merged the activities of the American Paper Institute (API), National Forest Products Assn. (NFPA) and American Forest Council (AFC) thereby representing every major sector of the national forest products industry. AF&PA represents member companies which grow, harvest and process wood and wood fiber, manufacture pulp, paper and paperboard products from both virgin and recovered fiber and produce solid wood products in the United States.

· after-tack - In reference to printing, the tack of ink after apparently being dried.

· against the grain - Folding or feeding paper at right angles to the grain or direction in which the fibers lie.

· agate marble paper - Paper commonly used as end papers in books.

· air blade coating - Coating subjected to a thin jet of air. Air jet removes excess coating and smooths surface of freshly coated paper. (Same as air knife coating)

· air brush coating - Coating sprayed on web of paper by air pressure.

· air dried paper - In the process of air-drying, paper is dried on the paper machine and reeled as a damp roll. Or the web of paper may be passed through a vat or surface-sizing procedure one step before entering the air dryer. In each case, the damp web passes slowly through an enclosed chamber or tunnel through which hot air circulates. The web is supported on slats or festooned over rollers. This way, the web of paper dries without tensions. It is not influenced by the smoothing effect of paper machine dryers and felts. Consequently, a harder, rougher surface results in a cockle finish. The characteristic, dignified appearance of high grade bonds and ledger papers is the products of air drying.

· album paper - Usually refers to blank cover paper and used for making photographic albums.

· albumen plate - Offset printing plate coated with light-sensitive albumen. Image is formed by the action of light through a photographic image.

· alignment marks - In forms layout, preprinted mark on a form used to assist the user in positioning the form so that entries are accurately positioned.

· alkali proof - Paper that resists discoloration through contact with alkaline substances, such as soap. Glassine and waxed papers are also used for such purposes.

· alpha pulp - Highly refined wood pulp with exceptional paper making properties: high chemical purity, high brightness, great permanence and unusually high resiliency.

· aluminum-coated board - Board coated with aluminum foil.

· analytical method - Method of finding the nature and amounts of ingredients in paper.

· aniline printing - Letterpress printing process in which the ink contains rapidly evaporating solvents. Printing plates for this process are ordinarily made from rubber. Process is used for printing bread wrappers, confectionery wraps, bottle wraps and gummed tapes.

· animal size - Glue and gelatin extracted from animal hides and used as a papermaking size. (See size).

· announcements - Folded cards or sheets of paper fitting matched envelopes and generally used for social stationery and announcements.

· antique finish - Rough paper finish created by reducing pressure at the wet presses and with little calendering. Term describes a rougher than usual finish when used as a prefix as in Antique Vellum and Antique Eggshell.

· antique glazed - Paper which has a high finish on one side and an antique finish on the other.

· APA - American Pulpwood Association. Fosters education and provides leadership and assistance for the continuing development, use, and renewal of the United States' forests, and for meeting the nation's persistent and future needs for pulp, paper, paperboard and other forest products.

· apparent density - Weight per unit volume of a sheet of paper obtained by dividing the basis weight by the caliper.

· archival paper - Acid-free paper made to resist disintegration and used for documents that must last.

· art paper - Usually refers to coated paper for printing halftones.

· artificial parchment - Greaseproof paper with a parchment-like finish.

· artist's illustration board - Bristol, pasted, solid or filled suitable for pencil drawings, pen-sketching or water color painting. Color, finish, rigidity and freedom from warping are principal characteristics.

· artist's paper - Superior paper for drawing, made with a close weave.

· ash - The mineral residue left after burning a sample of paper to determine the percentage of filler it contains.

· atmosphere - Air including all its constituents: oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, rare gases, dust and moisture.

· auxiliary roll stand - A second roll stand, for use on a web press, that can be mounted on top of another roll stand. Reduces downtime since it permits one stand to be reloaded while another continues to unwind.

B&L - Bausch & Lomb, manufacturers of an instrument used to measure opacity.

back mark - Marks left in paper which has been pole dried.

backbone - The back of a bound book connecting the two covers and spine.

backing up - Printing the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side.

back-lining paper - Smooth finish, hard-sized paper varying in thickness from .009 to .011 of an inch. Basic size: 25" x 38".

bagasse pulp - Fibers derived from crushed sugar cane stalks after the sugar liquor has been removed.

bank note paper - Cotton fiber bond used for bank notes or currency. Basic size: 17" x 22"C500 sheets. Substance weight: 20 to 24 lbs.

bar code reading - Machine reading of pre-printed vertical bars which signify numbers and letters of the alphabet.

base stock - Paper that will be further processed as in coating or laminating.

basic size - Specific, standard sheet size from which the basis weight of a given grade is determined.

basis weight - Weight, measured in pounds, of a ream (500 sheets) of paper in its basic size. For the explanation of the test to determine the basis weight of paper turn to Chapter 6.

beater - Tub-like machine originally used to beat pulp but now used mostly for mixing additives and color.

beater additive - Starch, gum or resin added to the papermaking stock in the beater to improve the utilitarian quality of the paper.

beater colored - A method of dyeing paper stock by adding coloring to the pulp in the beater.

beater sized - Process of adding sizing material to the pulp in the beater before the pulp is dispersed to the paper machine for fabrication.

beating - Term for the mechanical treatment given papermaking materials preparing them for forming on the paper machine into paper or board of precise characteristics.

bend - Mechanically caused distortion of paper often resulting from excessively tight winding around the core.

benday - A method of laying a screen (dots, lines or other textures) on artwork or plates to obtain various tones or shaded effects.

bending chip - Paperboard using a recovered paper furnish to make folding cartons.

bending quality - All folding carton board must meet rigid folding requirements at two widely separated points. Carton blanks will neither fold nor glue in high-speed, folding-gluing machines if the folding quality of the board and the crease point are not in harmony. The filling operation will suffer in productivity should the folded and glued collapsed carton be improperly set up. Accurate creasing can only be accomplished when board is of consistent quality and when creasing and scoring are accurate.

between-set perforations - Cross perforations in a continuous form which define the end of one form and the beginning of the next.

bible paper - Thin, lightweight, opaque printing paper for use when low bulk is important, as in bibles, prayer and hymn books, dictionaries, insurance rate books, and for multi-fold package inserts. Basis weights range from 25" x 38"-18 lbs./ream to 30 lbs./ream. Some grades are made from strong, new cotton and linen rags; others flax. Greatest tonnage is made from chemical wood pulp alone or in combination with rag fibers. Also called India or India bible.

bill feed - In forms writing equipment, attachment or feature which permits unit forms to be handled by a machine that normally handles only continuous forms.

bimetal - Printing plate composed of two metals in layers. One metal serves as the base for the image area; the second plate, the non-image area.

binary - In data processing, number system in which there are two-digits: one and two, as in a binary digital computer.

bit - In data processing, contraction of a binary digit. Any representation of a binary digit within a computer or encoded machine language medium.

black and white conversion - By using either reflective art or a transparency, a scanner turns color originals into black and white images.

black liquor - Is the spent liquid obtained as part of the sulphate pulping process.

blanc fixe - Precipitated or artificial barium solution.

blank book paper - Bond, writing, news manila writing. Grade depends upon the purpose for which the blank book will be used.

blank stripe - Area of stripe-coated carbon paper which is not coated.

blanket - Sheet of rubber-coated fabric which is placed on the cylinder of an offset press to receive ink from the plate so it may offset image to sheet of paper or the impression cylinder.

blanket pulls - In offset, the pull or tack between the blanket and the paper.

blanket-to-blanket press - Perfecting press in which the web of paper runs between two blanket cylinders, each acting as the impression cylinder for the other. Also referred to as a unit perfecting press.

blanks - Heavyweight paperboard stocks that range from 15 points to 48 points in thickness. Can be coated, uncoated and in colors.

bleaching - Pulp fibers are generally bleached to produce white fibers for papermaking. Other reasons are: to increase the chemical stability and permanence of wood fibers by chemical purification; and to obtain clean, sanitary fibers as required for food packaging papers.

bleed - In printing, printed image that runs off the edges of a page. In carbon, undesirable transfer of pigment.

bleed-free carbon - Carbon formulated to resist tendency to transfer some pigments to materials which come in contact with the coated surface.

blind - Image area on a plate that will not accept ink.

blind embossing - Design is stamped without using foil or ink.

blistering - Separation of the paper's coating from the body stock which appears in the form of eruptions. Caused when paper in process of manufacturing is dried too quickly.

blockout - Printed pattern that obscures write-through of selected areas of a form.

blotting paper - Blotter advertising still represents considerable annual volume. Special tops are made for letterpress and offset printing, available coated and uncoated.

body stock - Base stock, or coating raw stock for plain or decorated papers.

bond paper - Paper used for letterheads and forms. Basic size: 17" x 22". Substance weight: 13 to 24 lbs. Bonds are characterized by strength, rigidity, good absorptiveness and erasability. Bond used for fanfold purposes, called register bond, is lightweight, 17" x 22"-11 lbs./ream to 20. It possesses high tensile and tearing strengths, and good manifolding properties. Usually made from chemical wood pulp and/or cotton fiber pulp.

bonding strength - Cohesiveness of fibers within paper. Paper with good bonding strength will not pick during the printing process.

book paper - General description given to any type of paper suitable for printing, exclusive of newsprint and boards. Made as wove or laid and can have finishes of antique, eggshell, machine, supercalendered, coated, dull, matte or glossy.

boring - Punching, drilling.

bottle labeling paper - Special body paper coated with an adhesive mixture. Must resist blocking under humid conditions.

box board - Term designating board used in the manufacture of boxes. May be made of wood pulp or wastepaper. May be plain, lined or clay coated. Standard size: 25" x 40" containing 1,000 sq. inches.

box covering paper - Wide variety of white and colored papers, coated, uncoated, flint glazed and embossed; cast coated. Basic size: 20" x 26". Basis weight: 25 to 40 lbs per ream. Also comes in basic size: 25" x 38". Basis Weight: 40 to 60 lbs.

box paper - Either plain or coated papers usually colored and embossed.

Braille paper - Smooth, high strength paper suitable for the production of raised dots needed to manufacture reading material for the blind.

break - Total rupture of a web of paper during the manufacturing or printing process which results in a tear from edge to edge. Breaks in mill rolls are spliced together and marked with flags to call the attention of press operators to potential difficulties.

breast roll - Number one roll over which a Fourdrinier wire passes.

brightness - Light reflecting property of paper in comparison with a reference standard. For the explanation of the test to determine brightness of the surface of paper or bond. See Chapter 6.

bristol board - A printing substrate usually with a caliper thickness of 0.006 and up-- (90 lbs. 24" x 36"-500 sheets and up). Types of bristols include printing, vellum, postcard, tag and file folder.

brittleness - Property of paper causing it to break while bending.

broad fold - Term usually refers to a four page piece with one fold. The fold is across the short dimension of the sheet.

broadside - Refers to an advertising piece of large size.

brochure - Pamphlet bound in booklet form.

broke - Machine trim or damaged paper that is returned to a repulping unit within the paper producing mill.

broken carton - A quantity of paper less than a full carton.

broken edges - Damaged edges of paper.

broken ream - Less than a full ream (500 sheets) of paper.

bronzing - Printing first with a sizing ink before application of a bronze powder to secure the effect of a metallic ink.

brownline - Proof made on a light-sensitive paper by exposing through the negative. The name brownline is taken from brown color of the image areas.

brush coated paper - Paper that has been coated by off-machine brushes.

brush marks - Marks on the surface of brush coated paper due to improper application of the coating.

bulk - Thickness of a sheet of paper. High bulk paper lacks compactness. Low bulk paper is compact.

bulking board - Non-calendered board, lighter in weight per point of thickness.

bulking book paper - A sheet of paper made to provide maximum bulking properties. Papers for book manufacturing are normally manufactured to bulk rather than to finish. Consistency of bulk is necessary during bookbinding so the body of the book will fit its pre-made hardbound cover, and thickness of a volume of or series of volumes will properly occupy the pre-designed slipcase, carton or bookshelf.

bump fastening - In business forms, permanent form fastening which does not require use of any other material but the form itself. A tongue of paper is cut through all plies, turned back and re-inserted through a slot. Bump fastening normally requires a wide margin and is accomplished by a separate bindery operation.

burlap finish - Surface finish that resembles the texture of burlap cloth.

burster - Forms handling device for detaching continuous forms at the cross perforation, usually two measure rollers rotating at different speeds.

bursting strength - A measurement of the strength of paper to withhold pressure. For explanation of test to determine the bursting strength of paper, see Chapter 6.

business communications paper - Paper for use in stationery, business forms, checks, copier papers, duplicating papers.

business form - Papers specially prepared to facilitate the entry of written information in a pre-determined format. Usually contains repetitive information to save preparation and reference time. Types available include continuous, roll, snap out and fanfold.

business systems - Series of related records that contain basic common data with provision for allowing additional data. Also, a set of unrelated business procedures handled as a group for reasons of efficiency, using related forms with or without automatic equipment. Also, the forms or equipment used to effect such savings.

button card - Lightweight bristol--white and colors, plain and coated--on which buttons are displayed.
C1S - Coated one side.

C2S - Coated two sides.

cabinet - Announcement cards, correspondence cards, cut size cards, envelopes and stationery are packed in cartons referred to as cabinets.

calcium carbonate - (CaCo3) - A chemical compound used as a filler and as a coating pigment.

calcium sulphate - A chemical compound (general formula CASO4H2O) used as a filler.

calcium sulphite - CaSo3 - Chemical used as a filler.

calender - An assembly of rolls which impart a final finish to paper. Paper is passed through the vertical stack of calender rolls and is progressively smoothed and compacted as it passes through the stack. Process imparts gloss to the paper surface. (See nip).

calender board - Patent coated or clay coated board on which calenders and displays are mounted. Stiffness and warp-resistance are principal qualities.

calender crushed - Paper that has been crushed in the calendering process.

calender cuts - Marks left in paper by calendering.

calender dyed - Same as calender colored. Paper or paperboard that has been colored or stained at the calender stack. Color, transferred from the calender rolls to the paper, may be on one or both sides of the sheet.

calender finish - Type of finish applied by calendering.

calender rolls - A set or stack of horizontal cast iron rolls at the end of the paper machine. The web of paper is passed between the rolls to increase the smoothness and gloss of the surface.

calender sizing - Sizing applied to sheet during calendering.

calender stack - Sheet or cast iron rolls on a paper machine to level the paper and give it a smooth finish.

calender vellum finish - Extra smooth vellum on the surface of the paper which is provided by the calender rolls.

calendering - Process of passing the web of paper between polished metal rolls to increase gloss and smoothness.

caliper - The thickness of a sheet measured under specified conditions. It is usually expressed in thousandths of an inch (points or mils). For the explanation of the test to determine the caliper thickness of paper or board, see Chapter 6.

capacity - The potential output of a production unit under full operation. In the primary paper industry, the capacity of a machine or mill is usually stated in terms of tons per day or tons per year. The capacity of other type facilities may be expressed in such units as pounds, square feet, copies and pieces.

car signboard - A board used for outdoor advertising.

carbon paper - Paper coated with carbon inks which are released under pressure or impact in making duplicate copies with pencil, pen, typewriter and business machines. It is lightweight, from four to 28 lbs. with basic size of 24" x 30"/500 sheets and may be coated one or both sides

carbon pattern - Layout of carbon coating in a sheet of carbon paper which is not all-over coated.

carbon release - Image transfers from ply-to-ply by means of carbon interleaves of carbon coating sometimes called carbonization.

carbon stop - Narrow or short sheet of carbon in a form.

carbonizing paper - Lightweight base stock manufactured specifically to be converted into carbon paper.

carbonless paper - Paper that is treated or coated so that it will generate a copy under pressure.

card forms - Three sizes are considered standard: 3" x 5", 4" x 6", and 5" x 8" since they cut without waste from standard sizes of index bristol. A minimum of 2/10" margin is allowed for adequate gripper and binding space.

cardboard - A general term which usually refers to a sheet more than .006" in thickness. Used where stiffness is the most important requirement. Usually made from waste paper.

carload lot - A quantity of paper in rolls or skids to make up a full freight carload, usually 36,000 to 100,000 pounds. Also refers to a price category.

carton liner paper - Papers--greaseproof, glassine or waxed-- to line cartons containing cereals, crackers or other food products to protect contents from contamination.

cartons - A general term used to indicate a corrugated shipping container, a folding box or a rigid set-up box.

casein - Protein derived from skim milk and used in the sizing of paper and as an adhesive in the manufacture of coated papers.

cast-coated paper - Paper or board that is coated by allowing the coating to harden while in contact with a chromium polished surface. This results in a patent leather-like gloss. Cast coated papers are the glossiest of all coated papers.

cast-coating - In the process of cast-coating papers, the coated paper is pressed against a solid, highly polished chrome surface while the coating is in a plastic condition. The gloss of the drum is thereby cast into the coated surface. After drying, the coated finish is similar to the surface it has been in contact with during drying. Cast coated papers possess high bulk and high ink absorbing qualities since the mirror like finish is obtained without calendering.

CB - Coated back (carbonless paper).

CC1S - Cast-coated one side.

cellulose - The predominant material used in the manufacture of all grades of paper and paperboard. It is a carbohydrate, white in color, consisting of 44.4% carbon, 6.2% hydrogen and 49.4% oxygen. Cellulose is the preponderant component of all vegetable tissues and fibers and is the most important abundant organic material on earth.

CF - Coated front (carbonless papers).

CFB - Coated front and back (carbonless papers).

chain marks - Also called chain lines. Watermarks in paper that resemble impressions of a chain, running parallel to the grain, approximately one inch apart. These watermark lines are found in laid papers. (See laid).

chalking - Improper drying of ink. Ink vehicle has been absorbed too rapidly into the paper.

chart paper - Smooth surfaced paper made for chart and map printing, usually printed by offset litho.

chemical pulp - Pulp that has been obtained from wood that has been cooked with various chemicals.

china clay - A term applied to beneficiated kaolin (clay). (See clay).

Chinese character pattern - Style of blockout pattern.

chipboard - Low density board made from waste paper, in thicknesses of .006 and heavier.

chopper fold - Also called cross fold or right angle fold. This fold can be made following the first parallel fold and at right angles to it. It produces signatures that are 16-page multiples of the number of webs in the press.

chucks - Blocks inserted at the ends of cores to support rolls of paper on the roll stand.

clamp marks - Marks in sheets of paper caused by the clamps which hold lifts of paper in position on a guillotine cutting machine.

clay - General term for a natural fine-grained material, kaolin, which is used as filler and as coating pigments in paper manufacture.

clearedge carbon - Carbon paper with a narrow strip along one or both edges to provide a clean margin for handling or gluing.

close formation - Uniform density in a sheet of paper.

cloth finish - Surface finish produced by pressing the weave of cloth such as linen or burlap against the paper during manufacture.

cloth-lined paper - Paper combined with cloth, one or two sides.

cloud finish - An effect obtained by dropping white pulp on a web of colored paper.

cloudy formation - Opposite of close formation. Indicates unevenness and lack of uniformity of fiber structure. (See wild).

coated - Refers to paper or paperboard that has been coated to improve printability or appearance. Clay (kaolin) is predominantly used and may be applied during the manufacturing process or on an off-machine coater. Paper may be coated one side (C1S) or two sides (C2S).

coated free sheet - Coated paper containing 10% or less of mechanical pulp.

coated groundwood - Coated paper containing more than 10% mechanical pulp.

coated offset - A C2S paper with high resistance to picking and suitable for offset printing. Available in glossy and dull, embossed and matte finishes, coated offset papers generally do not develop as high a finish as their letterpress or gravure counterparts since the latter possesses a lower percentage of binder in the coating.

coated seconds - Paper or paperboard inferior to desired quality, but still usable. Usually sold at lower prices (See seconds).

coated tough check - Coated 2-sides tagboard. Basic size: 22" x 28". Standard thicknesses: 3 ply (.012), 4 ply (.018) and 6 ply (.024).

coating - Describes the layer of mixed substances such as clays and adhesives that are applied to the surface of paper or paperboard. The word also is used to describe the act of applying the formula to the surface of the paper or paperboard.

cockle - A puckered condition of a sheet resulting from non-uniform drying and shrinking. In most cases the cockle is not desired but some high quality papers are made specifically to have a cockle.

cold spot carbonizing ink - Material coated on backs of forms selectively. Usually an ink which can be applied cold to normal printing equipment.

collotype paper - A good quality printing paper, sufficiently durable to withstand excess moisture from the collotype printing process.

color control bar - The GATF Color Control Bar. A composite series of offset color control bars that may be used by platemakers and printers to standardize proofing of colors.

color correction - Technically, any method of correcting color photographs, color prints or color plates.

color fastness - Capacity of dyed paper to retain its original color or to resist fading and change through influences such as heat, light and use.

color key - (3M Co. trademark)-Unlaminated overlay proof with each color on an individual piece of acetate.

color perception - The eye can distinguish only three kinds of color difference or variation according to Grassman's First Law: 1) Hue--the attribute of visual sensation that distinguishes one color from another; 2) Brightness--by which color is perceived in a position on a dark-to-light scale, meaning dark to light tones. This attribute is also called luminosity or tone value; and 3) Saturation--by which the eye perceives, in addition to hue, the presence or absence of gray. Saturation is also referred to as purity or intensity.

color proofs - See progressive proofs.

color reproduction guide - The GATF Color Reproduction Guide. When reproducing on plates the color reproduction guide simplifies the procedures for making and screening full color subjects for the individual plant's ink, paper and printing variables. The Guide is made of four rows of 10 color blocks plus white. Each row has 1/4 the tint value of the next higher row. The screen ruling is 150-line. The complete guide is on 81/2" x 1" film sheet, either positive or negative

color standard - Colored paper and ink commonly used. Standard color sequence in sets: white, canary, pink, goldenrod, green, and buff. Additional parts may be salmon and white.

color transparency - Full color positive image, rendered in natural colors on a transparent support.

colorimetry - Using an instrument called a colorimeter, a given solid color may be quantified by analyzing physical color data and by treating the results so they apply to color as we see it and use it in practice. Most colorimeters measure an area of at least one-half inch.

combination plate - Halftone and line copy combined on one plate and etched for both line and halftone depth.

combination run - Two or more print jobs handled together to effect savings.

commercial match - Manufacturing a paper to meet specifications of and match a sample of paper provided to the manufacturer.

commodity papers - Term used to classify average qualities of bond, offset and related papers produced in high volume on big paper machines.

communication papers - General reference to those papers which are used in communications such as bond, writing and xerographic.

comprehensive - In printing, final proof pasted-up in the format that the printed piece will take.

compressibility - Commonly referred to as "cushion,'' this describes a paper's capacity to be squeezed (upon flat surfaces) and returned to its prior state. Important where stacks of paper are placed under compression.

computer output paper - Converted grade of writing paper exhibiting strength and good printing surface. Usually called "form bond."

conditioning - Allowing paper to sit long enough for it to adjust to the surrounding atmosphere until its moisture content is equal to atmospheric moisture content. This process provides for optimum performance on press.

coniferous - Trees which bear cones as their fruit, are usually evergreen and classified as softwoods, such as pines and firs. They are the source of fiber for sulphite and sulphate pulps.

construction paper - Type of heavy paper, manufactured in a wide range of colors. This grade is used most often in elementary schools for cutouts and other artwork. Basic size: 24" x 36". Basis weight: 40 to 80 lbs.

containerboard - Linerboard and corrugated medium used in the manufacture of shipping containers.

continuous - Designates paper in rolls usually manufactured for end-use production operations from the web.

continuous envelopes - Envelopes in continuous form, suitable for addressing, in piggy-back or patch pocket construction.

continuous form - Form manufactured from a continuous web, not slit into separate parts perpendicular to the web prior to its use.

continuous tone - Tonal gradation without use of halftone dots.

contrast - Degree of difference between highlights and dark portions of a photograph or of prepared art that embodies a range of tones. Example, black to light gray.

conversion - Term designates the transformation of paper or paperboard after it comes off the manufacturing machine, to a variety of forms such as envelopes, bags, boxes and containers. Also, an offset plate that has been converted from a relief image plate.

conversion coating - Describes the act of coating paper after it is off the papermaking machine. Conversion coating is now generally referred to as off-machine coating.

converter - Company that converts paper from its original form to usable products including envelopes, boxed writing papers, bags, adding machine rolls, coated papers and gummed tapes.

converting paper - Paper changed from its original state into a new product. Examples include envelopes and gummed tape.

cook - In papermaking, the act of treating raw material with chemicals under pressure and extreme heat to produce pulp from which paper can be made.

copper number - Test to identify the presence of oxidized cellulose, meaning the break-down of cellulose leaving impurities like lignin which start early deterioration of paper. The higher the copper number--up to 100C the more degradation is necessary.

copy dot - Reproduction of halftone original on line copy without rescreening.

copy paper - Paper used in photocopying machines.

cord - Unit of measurement of pulpwood defined as a pile containing 128 cubic feet of wood, stacked eight feet long, four feet wide and four feet high.

core - Shaft in center of a roll around which the web of paper is unwound. Cores are either metal or cardboard; either returnable or disposable.

core cards - Record of specifications included by the manufacturer in each shipment of paper.

core waste - Refers to paper left on a roll after most of the paper has been used.

corner cut - Diagonal cut on one corner of a business form, at one end of the cross perforation in a continuous carbon where a tongue is formed when the form is burst. Also, when the diagonal cut is placed at one corner of register form.

corner stub - Used primarily on continuous forms to assist in manual carbon extraction when the form has been burst.

correspondence papers - Writing papers with attractive finishes. Good finish and good writing characteristics are principal qualities.

cotton fibers - For papermaking, selected new cotton cuttings acquired from the textile industries. They are free of synthetic fibers and are the principal source of cotton fibers used in the manufacture of cotton content papers. Basic cotton linters are also used in the manufacture of pulp.

cotton linters - Short cotton fibers remaining on cotton seed after the ginning process. Used in the manufacture of cotton fiber content papers and as a raw material from which cellulose is derived.

cover papers - Strong, heavy paper suitable for covers of publications such as brochures. Available in various colors.

crackle - The noise produced from a sheet of paper when it is shaken or handled roughly. Desirable quality in some bonds, but undesirable in many papers.

crash finish - Paper embossed at the mill to resemble coarse linen.

crash perforation - Perforation cut through all plies of a collated set of business forms, normally performed on the collator.

crash printing - Impressing an image relief pressure. The image, on parts of the business forms set other than the original is carried through by carbon or carbonless paper.

crayon paper - Paper used for crayons or watercolor. It is a heavy board, either white or tinted, with a glazed surface on one side and rough finish on the other.

crimp - Temporary form fastening consisting of a finger of paper cut through the plies being fastened.

crimping - Creasing the bindery edges of ledger sheets to help them open more freely.

crocking - Rubbing off dye from the surface of paper.

cromalin proofs - These proofs are not printed on a press. They are created chemically. It is a facsimile of a full color halftone made using the dyes on a very glossy paper. Cromalin is a trade name of E.I. du Pont deNemours.

cropping - Trimming original photographs to smaller size.

cross direction - Dimension of a sheet of paper at right angles to the direction of the grain.

cross perforations - In continuous forms, perforations cutting at right angles to the web direction.

curl - Waviness, roll or curvature sometimes at the edge of the sheet which can occur in the paper mill, in the printer's storeroom, on the printer's press, or in the bindery. Curl is usually associated with improper balance of moisture within the sheet, uneven drying coming off press. Curl can also be the result of fiber orientation within the sheet, internal stresses, improper refining of pulp, or mechanical stresses during manufacture or printing. Three types of curl can plague offset printers: 1) moisture curl, traceable to a change in humidity occurring always with the grain; 2) initial moisture curl, occurring the moment one side of the sheet of paper is moistened; and 3) delayed curl, occurring after moisture applied to one side of a sheet has evaporated or diffused through the body of paper.

curved plate - Letterpress plate that is backed-up and curved to fit a rotary press.

cut - In letterpress, photo-engraving of any kind.

cut forms - Forms delivered as individual sheets.

cut off - Print length in web printing corresponding to the circumference of the plate cylinder.

cut score - In die cutting, a sharp-edged knife usually several thousandths of an inch lower than the cutting rules in a die, made to cut part way into board for folding purposes.

cut size - Refers to business and writing papers that have been rotary trimmed or guillotine cut to dimensions of less than 17" x 22" in size. The most common cut-size is 8 1/2" x 11". Other common sizes are 8 1/2" x 14" and 11" x 17".

cut to register - Term used for watermark papers to indicate that the paper has been cut in a manner that allows the watermark to appear in a predetermined position on the finished sheet. (See watermark).

cutter - Machine that cuts rolls of paper into sheets preparatory to further trimming to finished basic size. Also called a cross cutter or square cutter.

cutter broke - Waste and trimmed edges from the cutting operation. This broke is reused as pulp for the manufacture of paper. (See broke).

cutter dust - Refers to small particles of fiber and paper dust that result from the cutting operation. This dust adheres to edges of paper and could work itself into the pile of paper and onto the paper surface to cause later troubles during printing.

cylinder board - Paperboard made on a cylinder machine.

cylinder dried - Same as machine dried. Describes any paper which is dried during manufacture by passing it against and over heated iron rolls.

cylinder gap - In printing, space between the ends of a plate wrapped around the press cylinders.

cylinder machine - Same as vat machine. It is a type of paper machine that makes paper by partially immersing rotating cylinders in vats of pulp stock. Paper is formed as the cylinder turns and water drains from it.

cylindrical casting - Stereotyped cast into a curved mat to produce a casting suitable for use on a rotary press.
D.T. cover - "Double-thick" describes a sheet of paper made by bonding two thicknesses of paper together resulting in an extra-stiff sheet. More common weights are 100 lb. (two 20 26-50 lb. sheets) and 130 lb. (two 20 26-65 lb. sheets).

damask paper - Writing paper with a finish resembling linen.

damp streaks - Streaks caused by uneven pressing or drying.

dampeners - In lithography, cloth covered, parchment paper or rubber rollers that distribute the dampening to the press plate.

damping rolls - Chilled cylinders, situated ahead of the calender stacks, condensing a continuous spray of steam and transferring the moisture to the web of paper as it passes to the calenders. Also a spray of moist steam or water on the web of paper.

dancer rolls - Sometimes called rider roller. Weighted roller that rides on the web between the roll of paper and the meeting unit to take up slack and keep the web at uniform tension. The Dancer Roll is interlocked with a brake on the roll to control unwinding.

dandy roll - (1) A plain roll situated above the wet web of the paper to provide a smoothing action to the top surface of the paper as it passes under the roll. (2) A watermarking dandy roll is a roll of skeletal structure, sheathed in a wire cloth that has designs, letters or figures affixed to it. As the wet paper web passes under the turning watermarking dandy the designs are impressed into the paper and a permanent watermark is left in the sheet (See watermark).

decalcomania paper - A transfer paper designed to permit transfer of printed surface to objects such as china, glass, etc. Also referred to as a decal.

deciduous - Tree species that annually sheds its leaves. Wood from these trees are considered to be hardwoods such as maple, chestnut, birch, gum and poplar.

deckle - On the wet end of the paper machine the straps or deckle rulers that prevent the fiber from overflowing the sides of the machine. The deckle determines how wide the paper on a particular machine will be.

deckle edge - Refers to the feathered edge on paper produced when fibers flow against the deckle or edge of the web. Deliberately produced for aesthetic purposes, a deckle edge is found especially on formal stationery and announcements. A deckle edge can be created by an air jet, or also by a stream of water.

deckle stain - Paper that has a coloring or tint along the deckle edge.

decorative papers - Papers manufactured with embossed or printed designs of some type which are used primarily for decoration such as gift wrapping paper. These papers come in a variety of weights, grades, coatings, finishes and colors.

deep etch plate - Offset plate on which the image area is etched with a mordant etch a fraction of one one thousandth of an inch-0.0003-below the non-image area. The etched image is then built-up with an ink receptive base and inked as a planographic plate.

defects - Irregularities appearing on finished paper that spoil the appearance or cause weaknesses in the sheet.

de-inked paper stock - Essentially, recycled paper. Ink has been removed by mechanical and chemical means to produce clean fibers.

delamination - Parting of layers of a sheet of paper made on a cylinder machine.

deliveries - In printing, presses deliver flat sheets, folded sheets, finished products (self-cover printed matter), or rewound rolls.

delivery - Area of the originating press where the freshly printed sheets are piled as they leave the impression section.

densimeter - Equipment used to analyze the porosity of a given sheet of paper.

densitometer - Reflection instrument measuring the density of colored ink to determine its consistency throughout a press run.

density - Identifies the weight of the paper compared to the volume. Density is directly related to the paper's absorbency, stiffness, opacity and resiliency. Dense papers are made from strongly beaten or hydrated pulp.

desensitize - Coating surface of a carbonless paper with desensitizing ink to inhibit image transfer.

detail paper - Thin, good quality hard-sized paper that is semi-translucent.

diazo - Copying process requiring a translucent master. It is reproduced by exposing a diazonium coated copy sheet to ultra- violet light through the original.

die cutting - Male and female dies are used to cut out paper or board in desired shapes.

die wiping paper - Paper designed to clean surface of printing plates in the intaglio process.

dielectric papers - Papers free of any metallic elements that might conduct electricity.

dielectric strength - The degree to which paper resists penetration of an electric charge.

digester - Pressure vessel in which wood chips are cooked to separate fibers from each other and to remove detrimental particles.

dimensional stability - Characteristic of paper to retain its dimensions in all directions under the stress of production and adverse changes in humidity. Laboratories at the paper mills measure the dimensional stability--expansion and shrinkage-- of paper on the following machines: Neenah Multiple Specimen Paper Expansimeter, TMI Expansion and Shrinkage Tester and the Patra Paper Expansion Measuring Device.

dioxin - The term often used to refer to TCDD and/or any of the family of chemicals composed of 75 dioxin congeners and 135 furan congeners. TCDD is the abbreviation for 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

diploma parchment - Paper made from cotton fibers to resemble animal parchment. Surface sized with high quality animal glue. Principal properties: durability and permanence. Basic size: 17" x 22". Substance weight: 48, 56, 72 and 88 lbs.

direct halftone - Halftone for which the screen negative was made directly from the subject to be reproduced.

direct image master - Duplicating master typed or drawn upon directly.

direct process paper - Fine paper designed to accept a light- sensitive coating. Copy paper for diazo reproduction.

dirt - Dirt in paper consists of any imbedded foreign matter or specks which contrast in color to the remainder of the sheet. An instrument, The Papric Counter, is used in laboratories to identify dirt specks measuring 0.04 square millimeters and larger.

dished - Concave rather than flat pile of paper. Also refers to roll ends of paper that are not flat.

display board - Pasted or unpasted boards used for advertising displays.

distortion - Forced out of shape.

distributor - Company which purchases paper from mill for resale to printers and end-users. Usually a distributor has protected or franchised product lines and territories. Inventory, warehousing, distribution and transportation of product are among the services offered to paper buyers. Also called merchant.

doctor-blade - Mechanism used during manufacture to clean the surface of the paper while on the paper machine roll. Running the width of the roll, the doctor blade scrapes excess pulp and size off the paper. Also, in gravure printing, a knife edged blade pressed against the engraved printing cylinder to wipe away the excess ink in the non-printing areas of the plate.

dot - Individual element of a halftone printing plate.

dot gain - When the dots in halftone printing become larger than desired.

double calendered - A paper run through two calenders.

double cap - Trade term for size 17" x 28" available in business papers.

double coated - A sheet that has been coated twice on the same side. Sometimes confused with a sheet coated on both sides.

double deckle - Papers having a deckle edge on two parallel edges of the sheet. Used only with machine-made papers.

double imprint unit - Two sets of printing cylinders that permit imprint to be altered as press continues to run at full speed.

double printing - Printing different negatives--line and halftone--in succession and in register on the same sheet of sensitized metal.

double sizing - The process of applying size a second time after first sizing has been dried.

downtime - When a normally operating paper machine is stopped for repairs it is said to be "down" or the mill is said to be in "downtime." Downtime can occur due to mechanical failure, change of grades in production and many other reasons.

drawing paper - Good quality, dull finished paper sufficiently stable to take erasures.

drop out - In printing, halftone with no screen dots in the highlights or background. Also, color not sensed by optical reading devices. Also, ink colors which will not image a photographic plate.

dropped stub - Stub tearline perforations on a business form that is lower than the stub width. A portion of the form is removed with the stub.

drum coating - Carbon application that transfers to the carbonizing base stock a pre-measured amount of coating from a rubber roller.

drumhead manila - Strong rope papers. Basic size: 24" x 36"/500 sheets. Basis weight: 140 lbs.

dry finish - Term indicating that paper or paperboard is calendered without use of water. Also paper with unglazed, rough finish obtained by the dry finish process.

dry offset - Letterset printing.

dry-end - The section on the machine where the driers, cutters, slitters and reels are located.

dryer (drying oven) - In printing, oven on web offset press through which the web of printed paper passes after it leaves the final printing unit. The drying process, standard when heat-set inks are used, heats the web to about 350 degrees Farenheit. Either gas or electricity dries the vehicles and air blasts drive off the volatile gases.

dryers - In papermaking, a series of large cylindrical steam heated rolls that dry the paper webs. The "dry-end" of the paper machine.

dual distributor, dual house, dual merchant - A paper distribution firm which deals in both fine and industrial papers.

dual roll or stand - Stand supporting two rolls, one above the other, to feed two webs of paper at the same time or to reduce reloading time when only one is used.

dull coated - Same as dull finish. Paper is said to be dull coated when it registers a gloss test reading less than 55%. Characteristically, dull coated or finished paper has a smooth surface and is low in gloss.

dummy - Page or set of pages assembled in the exact position, form and style desired for the finished piece of printed work. Used as a model or sample for the printer.

duotone - Two-color halftone reproduction from a black-and- white original.

duplex - Paper having a different color on each side.

duplex coated bristol - Used for advertising, postcards and folders, this paper is characterized by a solid center coated with a bright or deep color on one side and a harmonizing shade or white on the reverse. The center base is generally manufactured from softwood and hardwood chemical pulps, and is approximately 10 points in thickness and 22 1/2" x 28 1/2" in dimension.

duplex coating - Coating both sides of a sheet at the same time.

dycril plate - Photopolymer plate, which when developed and washed is a relief plate which is used for direct printing or letterset.

dye transfer - Copying process, the negative of which can be used again.

dye-impressed master - Hecto masters crash imprinted to reproduce in the duplicator.

dylux - A stable print specially sensitized on two-sided papers for proofing.
E.C.H. Will Sheeter - Continuous automatic cut-size sheeter, ream wrapper and labeler, ream accumular, case packer, lidder, bander and palletizer.

E.F. - English Finish: A finish between machine finished and supercalendered.

ECF - Elemental chlorine free: Paper made from a bleaching process that uses chlorine dioxide typically in combination with oxygen, hydrogen peroxide and sodium hydroxide. The bleaching sequence can also, though less common, incorporate ozone. ECF bleaching does not use chlorine gas.

edge bleed - Coloration at edge of sheets traceable to pressure generated by the cutting block and knife blade in the cutting operation. Also, bleed occurring in spirit carbon paper which has been supercoated for cleanliness when the stock is trimmed or slit.

edge protectors - Heavy board used to protect the ends of rolls during shipment and storing.

eggshell finish - A relatively rough finish. Usually refers to book grades of paper that have a finish similar to the surface of an egg. A special felt is used to mark the surface before the paper is dried.

electronic color scanner - High speed computer which instantly calculates the necessary color correction by measuring the original copy.

electronic graphic technologies - Laser facsimile fiber optics, satellites and computers.

electrophotography - An image transfer system used in copiers to produce images using electrostatic forces. Electrofax uses zinc oxide coated paper. Xerography uses a selenium surface. Paper is plain bond.

electrostatic copying - Process using an intermediary plate or drum (like Xerography) or coated take-off sheet (like Electrofax) which is electrically charged to attract powder or liquid developer only to the image area.

electrotyping - Duplicating type and engravings by electrolysis.

Elmendorf Test - A test to determine a paper's resistance to tearing.

em space - Square of a type body. So named because the letter M in early fonts was cast on a square body.

embossed finish - A finish imparted to a web of paper through an embossing machine. The embower operates on the same principle as a supercalender except that it has an upper steel roll with a pattern engraved on it and is designed to be steam heated. The surface of this roll may be chromium plated for resistance to corrosion and wear. The bottom roll, whose diameter is customarily twice that of the upper roll, consists of a soft material like cotton or paper. It serves as a backing roll for the paper web which receives that pattern off the engraved roll. Before paper is embossed, the hard engraved roll is rotated for some time against the soft backing roll under pressure, thereby creating a mat surface in the latter roll. After the paper passes through the embosser it receives a finish on both sides. Many engraved designs are used to obtain a variety of finishes.

embossing - Process that stamps a design in the paper using a metal die to raise the surface of the stock.

en space - Half the square of a type body.

enamel - Glossy, shiny surfaced, coated paper.

enameled - Can describe any coated paper.

end-leaf paper - Strong, fine quality paper, either plain or coated and sometimes colored or marbled, used for binding a book's contents to its cover.

English finish - A finish between machine finished and supercalendered. Low gloss, uncoated finish of paper adapted to type and 100-line halftone screens.

English opacity book - Paper used in books and catalogs when a lightweight paper of great opacity is required. Usually free from mechanical pulp and made from chemical wood pulp and fillers, it ensures maximum opacity. Paper has smooth machine or English finish. Basic size 25" x 38". Basis weight 25 to 45 lb.

engraving - Printing by the intaglio process. Ink is applied to the paper under extreme pressure resulting in a printing surface being raised. Uses include fine letterheads and wedding invitations.

envelope lining paper - Tissue that decorates and lines matching envelopes of fine stationery papers. Basic size: 24" x 36". Basis weight: 10 to 15 lb.

equilibrium - State of balance.

erasability - Characteristic of paper that assures for a clean erasure. Achieved by excessive pulp refining resulting in firmly bonded fibers and a hard surface.

etch, etching - Non-image area of offset printing plates are etched to be water-receptive and ink-repellent. Mordant etches dissolve the plate's surface by about 0.0003 in depth in the image areas.

expansivity - The degree to which paper changes its dimensions for a given change in relative humidity.

exposing - To expose to the action of light in a printing frame or photo composing machine or to expose photographic film in a camera.
facsimile master - Material consisting of solid or fluid carbon combined with master paper for heat or transfer posting machines.

facsimile transmission - The process of scanning graphic material to convert the image into electric signals which may be transmitted to produce a recorded likeness of the image.

fanapart glue - Special glue for edge-padding carbonless papers.

fanfold - Continuous multiple ply form manufactured from a single wide web which is folded longitudinally.

fanning - Act of inspecting skids of paper for defects by hand.

fast color - Color that is not affected by light, acids, alkalies or other external stimulus.

fax - Facsimile.

feather - Tendency of an image to spread out.

feather edge - Edging similar to a deckle edge, a thin rough edge on carbon paper, clear, uncoated. On forms, clear edge extending beyond the opposite end of the form parts.

featherweight - Term denoting extreme lightness in proportion to bulk. Also a term used to identify lightweight book papers and thin opaque writing papers; airmail papers.

featherweight book paper - Paper for novels, where good bulk is required for a precise number of pages. Principal raw materials are chemical wood pulp and soda pulp. Basic size: 25" x 38". Basis weight: 50 to 80 lbs/ream.

feed rollers - Rubber wheels that help hold the sheet of paper in position and move it from the feed pile to the grippers.

feeder - The section of a printing press which separates the sheets of paper and feeds them into position for printing.

feeds - Presses are either sheet or roll-fed.

feel - Term expressing an individual's impression of a paper's finish and stiffness or suppleness.

feet-per-minute - Abbreviated "fpm," and describes the speed of a papermaking machine in terms of how many feet per minute the forming web of paper traverses the length of the machine.

felt - Woven, endless belt made of wool, cotton or synthetic materials used to transport the paper web on the paper machine, during manufacture. Felts act as conveyors while at the same time removing water from paper as it progresses through the paper machine.

felt finish - (1) Surface which is achieved at the wet end of the Fourdrinier machine by using felts of a distinctive weave rather than standard or regular wove felts. (2) On a Yankee papermaking machine this finish is accomplished by pressing the felt against the paper under pressure. (3) Felt finishing can also be obtained after the manufacturing process by impressing the felt against the paper under pressure. Also felt mark.

felt side - Top side of the paper, opposite from the wire side or underneath. The "right side of the paper".

festoon drying - Drying of paper by festooning it on poles.

fiber - A thread-like filament many times longer than its diameter. Smallest unit of vegetable growth which is used to make paper pulps.

fiberboard - A paperboard made from woodpulp and/or containing a percentage of waste paper. End product uses include shoes and luggage.

fibrillae - String-like elements that are loosened from the paper fibers during the beating process. They aid in the bonding process when paper is being manufactured.

fibrillation - Act of loosening the fibrillae during the mechanical process of beating the fibers in preparation for papermaking.

filled bristol - A board, made on a cylinder machine, the center of which is of different fiber than the outside layers.

filler - Minerals, such as clay and other white pigments, added to pulp to improve the printing capabilities of the paper.

filler clay - A clay additive used to improve the printing properties of paper.

filler paper - Also referred to as notebook paper. Basic size: 17" x 22". Substance weight: 24 lb/ream. It is made of bleached chemical wood pulps and it is used for 3-ring notebooks, spiral bound books and other applications requiring holes punched near the edges.

filling - Practice of adding minerals to the pulp furnish in the beater that increases printability and other desirable characteristics of the paper. Also known as loading.

film coating - To improve the smoothness of certain uncoated book grades, a light film pigmented coating is applied to the paper at the size press of the paper machine.

fine merchant, fine paper distributor - Firm which confines its sales and distribution activities to fine printing papers only. (See fine papers).

fine papers - Large category of paper that includes those grades used for writing, printing and cultural purposes.

finish - The most important physical property of paper. The term finish has a broad meaning. It describes surface contour and characteristics measurable by smoothness, gloss, absorptiveness and print quality. Surface character of paper differs greatly. Finish of paper can be aesthetic. It can be functional. The finish of a text or cover paper is more often than not selected by a designer to express an aesthetic view. High fidelity halftone illustrations require a glossy enamel finish. Finish may be a top-priority choice. Or it may be secondary. If high-bulk paper weight is necessary, a low finish, antique paper must be acceptable. The choice of finishes for letterpress or gravure is subject to the limitations of these print methods. Offset lithography does not impose finish limitations since it is capable of printing on almost all surface conditions. Finishes originating during the papermaking process may be described in order of their smoothness--roughest to smoothest. Antique describes the roughest surface. It gives maximum bulk-to-weight ratio. Antique papers are soft to touch. They are used for high-bulk purposes and in those cases where the surface characteristic is required. Papers with a smooth finish are described as having an eggshell finish. It is selected by printers because it is easier to handle after printing. It possesses a greater degree of ink absorbency; which means it has less tendency to set-off. Further smoothing of the paper results in a machine finish or an English Finish. The latter represents the highest possible finish that can be produced on a paper machine. The levels of finish--antique, eggshell, vellum, machine and English--may be measured with instruments in the laboratory. Paper machines are capable of making finishes other than those discussed. A felt finish paper possesses a textured surface provided by marking felt, or by use of rolls with an embossed surface at the press section of the paper machine. In each case, a design is impressed into the paper web while it continues to carry a high percentage of water. Felt finishes so produced are applied to text, cover and superior quality wedding paper. Aside from printing requirements, finishes are chosen for their aesthetic appearances to help designers achieve purpose. Specific end-use requirements may dictate that a paper's surface possesses properties that repel water or grease. Plastic coated cover papers for example resist soiling of any kind, water and grease.

finished art - Art in such forms as handlettering, charts, color blocks, illustrations, photographs that are ready for camera.

finishing - Covers a wide variety of processes used to finish and package paper.

finishing broke - Discarded paper resulting from any finishing operation.

flag - A strip of paper protruding from a roll or skid of paper. May be used to mark a splice in a roll of paper or used to mark off reams in a skid.

flat - Assembled composite of negatives, usually on goldenrod paper, ready for platemaking.

flat bed - Press with flatbed and an impression cylinder.

flat forms - Standard dimensions for flat forms include nine sizes that cut without waste from business paper size 44" x 34". Or, which when combined in multiples of 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 or 64, will form press sheets that will cut without waste from standard-size business papers.

flat screening - Shading effect on an area of a form by screening over that part where the negatives are made.

flat tones - Areas of dot formation that contain a single tone value.

flats - Paper coming from the paper mill in flat sheets, larger than 17" x 22".

flexography - Letterpress printing using relief plates on direct presses. This process of printing uses rubber plates and special aniline inks.

flint glazing - Flint glazing is still another method of achieving high gloss finish. In the process, a coated-one-side paper travels slowly over a supporting surface with its coated side in a direction perpendicular to the direction of web travel. The web moves very slowly so that a smooth stone or stone burnisher has time to make a number of passes over the paper's surface and polish it to a high glaze of patent leather intensity.

flint paper - Highly glazed, brightly colored paper coated on one side.

floating load - Paper loaded into a freight car in a manner that allows it the freedom to shift slightly without damage when the car is bumped in transit.

flock papers - Decorative paper sized on one side and dusted with fibers of rayon, wool or cotton on the other in imitation of velvet or suede.

flong - Absorbent paperboard which when impressed and dried becomes a matrix for preparing stereotypes.

flooding - In reference to printing, when the ink flows onto a printing plate because the ink fountain has not been set properly.

flow - In reference to printing ink, the extent to which it levels out when still a liquid.

fluorescent paper - Paper that has been manufactured with the addition of fluorescent dyes which give the brilliance that appears brighter when viewed in natural daylight. A variety of whites are produced including green-white, cream-white and blue-white. All are high-white with a large brightness measuring number in the middle 90s. Most popular is neutral white for paper surface efficiency.

flush cover - Cover of a book that has been trimmed to the same dimensions as the text papers.

flush paragraphs - Paragraphs without indentations.

flying paster - Machine which connects the lead end of a new web of paper to be pasted to the tail end of the previous web without ceasing operation.

flyleaf - Unprinted page that is part of a printed signature. It also can be a synonym for end-leaf.

foil paper - Paper coated with either aluminum or bronze powder finish, or leaf finish.

fold marks - Short line printed on a business form indicating where it may be folded.

folder - Device at delivery end of a press or collator to fold continuous forms.

folding bristol - Bristol board with good folding ability and printability.

folding endurance - Capability of paper to resist folding determined by the M.I.T. tester or the Schopper Folding Endurance Tester. Also known as fold resistance. For the explanation of the test to determine foldability of paper and board, see Chapter 6.

folio - A ream or sheet in its full size, e.g. 17" x 22", 25" x 38". When used in connection with books, means the sheet has been folded once, producing four pages.

font - Assortment of type characters of a particular size and style.

formation - Visible physical property of paper influenced by the extent of fiber refining. The term is descriptive of the paper's fibrous structure and point-to-point (caliper thickness) uniformity or lack of it in the distribution of the fibers. Increased refining improves the quality of formation. Formation is a relative property, determined by end usage. The properties of levelness and smoothness are dependent upon the paper's uniform formation. When the formation is wild, the paper will not possess good qualities of levelness or smoothness.

foundry proof - Final proof before sending a letterpress form to the electrotyper.

fountain solution - Solution used in the water fountain of offset presses; usually contains water, gum arabic and an etch.

four-color process - Primary process ink colors, magenta (red), cyan (blue), and yellow plus black ink.

Fourdrinier - Originally it described the wet end of the early paper machine developed by Louis Robert and financed by Henry and Sealy Fourdrinier. Today, in general terms, it may be used to refer to the entire machine including the dry end.

free-flowing carbon - Non-processed carbon in a continuous form held in place by crimps along each edge.

free-sheet - The word "free" in this context means free from mechanical pulp. The definition issued by the U.S. Bureau of Census and by the Custom Cooperation Council for world trade permits up to 10% mechanical pulp content in paper termed "free sheet". The definition used by some individual buyers requires the fiber content to be totally free of mechanical pulp, i.e. 100% chemical pulp.

friction glazed - High finish applied to paper by passing the web through chilled iron rolls, one large and one small, revolving at different peripheral speeds. The rolling friction between the two rolls produces a highly glazed surface.

fugitive colors - Inks which are not permanent, which fade or change color when exposed to light.

full body imprint - Form with no limit on the area to be imprinted.

full coated carbon - Carbon paper coated completely on one surface.

furan - The term used to refer to TCDF. TCDF is the abbreviation for 2,3,7,8 tetrachlorodibenzo-p-furan. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Toxic Equivalency Factor (TEF), TCDF is one-tenth as toxic as TCDD. (See also the definition for dioxin).

furnish - The mixture of various materials blended in stock suspension from which paper or paperboard is made.

furniture - In printing, wood or metal used to fill in blank spaces in type forms during lock-up.

fuzz - Loose fibers or lint on the surface of uncoated papers. Instruments for detecting fuzz are the Hammermill Fuzz Tester and the Patra Fuzz Tester.
galley proof - A proof taken of text copy before being made into pages.

gang printing - Grouping related jobs using same paper and inks. Grouping more than one job on a single plate.

gathering - Collating folded signatures in consecutive order.

gear streaks - Parallel streaks across a press sheet printed at the same interval as gear teeth on the cylinder of a litho press.

genuine watermark - Watermark made on the paper machine, with a dandy roll.

ghost halftone - A light halftone which may be overprinted with solid copy.

ghosting - Ghost images are unwanted images that reduce print value. Mechanical ghosting develops during the delivery of the printed sheet and is traceable to on-press conditions, ink starvation, form layout, and even to the blanket itself. Chemical ghosting, which occurs during the drying process of ink on paper, is especially bothersome because the condition cannot be detected until the job has been completed.

glare - See gloss.

glassine - Translucent, smooth paper made by extensive beating and subsequent supercalendering. Most commonly used as protective wrappers. Basic size: 24" x 36". Basis weight: 12 to 90 lbs.

glazed - Paper with a glossy surface, applied either during manufacture or subsequently. Various means of obtaining the patent leather-like surface. (See friction glazed, calender, plater and Yankee machine).

gloss - Gloss results from the specular reflection of light and occurs when specular reflection exceeds the diffuse reflection from various viewing angles. Paper gloss can be measured at various angles of illumination. See also Chapter 6.

gold announcements - Gold colored writing paper used for mail advertisements.

goldenrod paper - A specially coated masking paper used by strippers to assemble and position negatives for exposing onto printing plates.

grade - A type of paper or pulp which is distinguished from other papers or pulps on the basis of its characteristics such as its raw material content, manufacturing history, appearance and/or end use.

grain - Direction in which most of the fibers lie in a finished sheet of paper. Fibers flow parallel to the direction in which the paper travels on the paper machine during manufacture.

grain direction - A fundamental property of paper resulting from the alignment of fibers flowing onto the paper machine. Grain influences other characteristics of paper. A sheet of paper will contract more across the grain than it does parallel to the grain. Heavier weight paper, like cover and bristol may fold without scoring when folded parallel to the grain. A sheet of paper will generally offer greater resistance to being torn in the direction across its grain; also paper will demonstrate greater tensile strength in the direction of the grain.

grain long - Term used to designate that the grain of the paper is parallel to the longest measurement of a sheet of paper. The fibers are aligned parallel to the length of the sheet.

grain short - Perpendicular to grain long. Grain of the paper runs at right angles to the longest dimension of the sheet. Fiber alignment in grain short paper parallels the sheet's shortest dimension.

graining - Roughening the smooth surface of rolled metal plates enabling them to better retain water. Plates are regrained to remove all traces of previous images to produce a fresh grain.

grainless plates - Offset plates that do not require graining.

grainy edges - Surface imperfections which may extend for varying distances from the edge of a sheet formed on the paper machine. Such surfaces are rougher than other portions of the sheet. Cause: excessive cross-direction shrinkage of the sheet at the edges during the drying process.

grammage - The basis weight of paper stated in metric terms of grams per square meter and expressed as g/m2. Thus a sheet of paper 17" x 22" with a basis weight of 20 lbs. for 500 sheets would be expressed metrically as 75 g/m2. To convert from basis weight to grams per square meter (g/m2), multiply basis weight by the constant 1406.5 and divide by the number of square inches in base sheet.

gravure - Printing process which employs recessed ink-holding image which comes directly in contact with paper.

gravure paper - See rotogravure paper.

gripper edge - Leading edge of a sheet of paper as it passes through the printing press.

gripper margin - Unprintable back edge of a sheet of paper on which grippers bear, usually 1/2 inch or less.

groundwood free - See free sheet.

groundwood papers - Papers containing more than 10% mechanical groundwood or thermomechanical groundwood pulp. Less permanent and less bright than papers made from chemical wood pulp. They are sized, colored, finished and loaded with fillers in ways to make them suitable for any kind of printing. The use of mechanical wood pulp facilitates the retention of loading materials and yields attributes such as high bulk, high opacity-to-weight ration, softness and smooth finish which results in low cost and high speed printability.

groundwood pulp - A wood pulp obtained by subjecting wood to mechanical forces.

guide roller - Also called a cocking roller. Located on the roll stand of paper and the Dancer Roller. It can be cocked if necessary to compensate for a slight variation of paper.

guillotine - Device that is used to cut or trim stacks of paper to the desired size, similar to the French guillotine. Three types exist, manually operated, electrically powered cutters and automatic spacing cutters.

gutter - The blank space or inner margin on a press sheet from printing area to binding.
H & J - (Hyphenation and Justification). Capability in typesetting in which all lines are set to identical width with the right and left margins aligned.

half web press - Refers generally to those web offset presses 17 3/4" x 26" in size.

halftone - Reproduction of continuous tone artwork. A screening process converts the image to dots of various size.

halftone blotting paper - Paper that has been smoothed to give it a suitable printing surface on the top side. Basic size: 19" x 24". Basis weight: 100, 120, and 140 lb/ream.

handmade finish - Paper with a rough finish resembling handmade paper.

handmade paper - Paper made by hand, usually as separate sheets with a rough finish and a deckle edge.

hardcopy - Term born of the application of electronic technology to the graphic arts process. Hardcopy is information written, typed, copied or printed on paper as opposed to information in electronic, magnetic, punched paper tape, film or video display form. However, the finished printed document is not usually referred to as hardcopy but as a finished piece.

hard-sized - Paper that has been treated with a large amount of internal size to increase its resistance to moisture.

hardwood - Wood from deciduous trees.

head-box - A box at the head of a Fourdrinier that distributes and regulates the flow of the furnish (pulp) to the machine wire.

heat set - Chemically hardened or dried by heat.

heat-set inks - Inks used in high-speed web offset. They set rapidly under heat and are quickly chilled.

hectographic paper - Also known as duplicating paper.

hickeys - In offset printing, spots in the printed piece caused by extraneous material, such as dirt and paper particles.

high bulk papers - Antique finish book paper bulking from 440 to 344 pages to an inch for 25" x 38"-45 lb. Other weights are in proportion.

high finish - Refers to paper with a smooth, hard coating.

highlight - Lightest or whitest parts in a picture represented in engraved plate by the absence of all dots.

hinged ledger - Ledger paper characterized by a flexible section incorporated into the sheet. This is accomplished by removing some of the fiber on the paper machine, generally by suction. The hinge appears about 5/8" from the margin of the sheet. The hinged area is thinner than the balance of the sheet thus allowing the loose-leaf sheets to lie flat when placed in a binder. Hinged ledger also refers to ledger sheets that contain a linen hinge made by gluing a strip of linen to one side of the sheet.

holdout - Term refers to the ability of a sheet to resist penetration by liquid substances such as ink.

humidity - Moisture condition of the air. Relative humidity is the percent of moisture relative to the actual amount which air, at any given temperature, can retain without precipitation.

Hydra Pulper - Vat with a special type of agitator used to hydrate and prepare pulp for papermaking.

hydration - In papermaking, the process of beating the pulp which increases its ability to hold water. This causes the resulting sheet to obtain the desired moisture content. In general, it increases strength and decreases opacity.

hydraulic pressure - Pressure applied evenly by means of oil under pressure.

hydrophilic - Paper with an affinity for water, Lithographic plate, non-image area which accepts water.

hygrometer - Device that measures the relative humidity of the air.

hygroscopic - Ability to absorb water vapor from the surrounding atmosphere.

hymnal paper - Strong, low-finish, lightweight opaque book paper for printing hymnals.
illustration board - A heavy pasted board.

image carrier - Image to be inked and printed. Plates--relief, planographic or intaglio; from plate, cylinder, stone or stencil.

imitation hand-made paper - Embossed, machine-made paper, finished with special felt rollers to simulate hand-made papers.

imposition - Laying out of pages in a press form so that they will be in correct order after the printed sheet of paper is folded.

impressed watermark - Method of producing a watermark by means of a rubber design on a marking roll which presses the mark into the moist sheet as it passes over a press or smoothing roll. Sometimes called a "rubber mark."

impression - Pressure of type or blanket as it comes in contact with paper.

imprint unit - Accessory on web presses used to imprint one side of the web with rubber plates.

index bristols - Manufactured on Fourdrinier machines from chemical wood pulp. Index bristols are characterized by strength, ruggedness and erasability.

India paper - See bible paper.

India tint - Light buff or beige color found in printing papers.

indirect - In printing, ink transfer from image carrier to blanket to paper. Offset presses are indirect printing processes. They consist of plate cylinder, blanket cylinder and impression cylinder.

industrial papers - Broad term referring to papers manufactured for industrial uses such as packaging, cardboards, tissues and wrapping papers.

infra-red copying - Absorption of infra-red light by most inks and carbon images.

ingrain - Synonym for mottled or granite appearance found in some papers.

ink absorption - Extent of ink penetration into paper.

ink fountain - Reservoir from which ink is metered to the rollers of a printing press.

ink resistance - Resistance to the penetration of ink vehicle; ink hold-out.

inking - Ink is applied by squeegee, immersion or roller. Letterpress and offset presses are inked with rollers. In the gravure process, cylinders are immersed in a formation of ink. Stencil printing usually employs a squeegee. Then there is the electrostatic principal employed in xerography, a form of impactless printing.

inkometer - Instrument used to determine the stickiness, or tack, essential to the inks used in multicolor printing. The tack must be decreased with each additional color printed to prevent lift-off of colors already applied.

intaglio - Type or design etched into a metal plate as opposed to raised letters as in letterpress.

integrated mill - A paper mill which manufactures enough pulp to supply its own papermaking needs.

interface - In data processing, the point at which two systems or units overlap or meet to link two machines.

interleave - Accessory sheet between the leaves or parts of a form set.

ivory finish - Finish obtained by calendering through rolls on which beeswax has been rubbed.
Japan art paper - Used for artist's proofs or engravings. Irregularly mottled paper imitating imperial vellum. Such papers are long-fibered and strong. Basic size: 25" x 38". Basis weight: 50 to 150 lbs.

Jaw Folder - On a web press, the web of paper passes through three cylinders to make one or two parallel folds at right angle to the direction of the web. In the process, the lead edge of the web catches on to pins that carry it around, tucker blades force the forming signature into the folding jaws on the second cylinder. There, a cut-off knife separates the fold of the signature from the web. Then the signature is carried around and released by the jaws as the cycle continues. In like manner, the signature can be passed on to the third cylinder to make a second parallel fold.

jet deckle - The edge on a web of paper formed by a stream of water or air in the papermaking process.

job lot - Paper that for one reason or another is unsuitable for the customer's desired end-use. Also quantities of overruns, defective or off-standard paper that is still usable.

jog - In paper handling, the process of evenly stacking sheets of paper directly on top of one another, either by hand or mechanically.

Jordan - A name given to a refiner in which the pulp is macerated to improve its performance. (See refiner).

jumbo roll - Rolls measuring over 24" in diameter and weighing more than 500 lbs.

junior carton - A package of reamed sealed, cut-size paper packed 8 to 10 reams per carton.

justify - In printing, fitting a line of type to both margins.

jute - Strong, long-fibered pulp made from hemp, used in combination with kraft pulps for the manufacture of jute tag.

jute board - Made on cylinder machines with both outer plies made from kraft or kraft waste. The inner ply is usually made from mixed waste papers. It contains no jute fiber.

kaolin - White clay mass primarily composed of the clay mineral, kaolinite. In refined form, it is used as a coating filler, and as an opacifying agent for papermaking. Its important properties are plasticity when wet and hardening when baked or fired. Kaolin retains its whiteness after firing.

kerning - Called mortising in hot metal typesetting. Kerning is really width modification. In the process, characters are brought closer together in the interest of aesthetics. When the instructions to operators read "kern 2 units" the system subtracts those units from the width.

key - Positioning of art copy in dummy by means of symbols, usually numbers.

key plate - The plate in a set of four color plates that carries the most detail to which other plates are registered.

kid finish - An index or bristol finished to resemble kid leather.

kiss impression - Printing performed with only slight pressure. The normal procedure for quality printing.

knife coating - A coating applied to a web of paper by a doctor blade or knife which spreads the coating evenly across the web.

kraft - The German and Swedish word for "strong". Used in reference to sulphate pulp because of its relative strength.

kraft paper - Although almost all chemical wood pulp papers in the United States are made by the sulphate (kraft) process, this term is generally used in reference to packaging and industrial papers.

kraft pulp - See sulphate pulp.
label paper - Most label paper is coated on one side. Used for labels of various types.

lacquer - A solution in an organic solvent of a natural or synthetic resin. Used for coating paper to make it less pervious to grease and water, and to provide heat sealing properties, gloss, and aesthetic effects. The lacquer is mixed with a solvent and after application to the paper's surface, the solvent evaporates leaving the lacquer on the surface of the sheet to remain as a shiny and more or less continuous protective coating. (See coated).

laid - The finish imparted by a dandy roll which features wires parallel to its axis that impress the paper during manufacture to produce a permanent watermark. The wires which produce the laid effect are situated parallel on the dandy roll and are not interwoven with the traverse chain wires which encircle the dandy roll's circumference.

laminated - Paper that is developed by fusing one or more layers of paper together to the desired thickness and quality.

laser - The acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. A laser is an intense light beam. For printing, it is capable of transmitting images from digital data.

latex - A water dispersion of high polymers from sources related to natural or synthetic rubber. Used in paper manufacturing for such purposes as a coating, adhesive and barrier.

layout sheet - Form with guidelines to assist designers.

leader - In composition for printing, row of dashes or dots to guide the eyes across the page.

leather or leatherette paper - Paper embossed with a grain suggesting leather.

leaves - Individual sheets of paper.

ledger paper - A strong paper, usually for accounting and records. It is similar to bond paper in its erasure and pen writing characteristics.

lenox cut - Method of continuously cutting paper involving steel disk slitters that trim the sides of the paper and rotating blades that trim the ends. This method eliminates dished reams and out-of-square corners sometimes associated with guillotine-cut reams of papers.

letterpress printing - Also known as relief typographic printing, letterpress printing employs the use of type or designs cast or engraved in relief (raised) on a variety of surfaces which can include metal, rubber, and wood. In letterpress printing the ink is applied to the raised printing surface. Non-printing areas or spaces are recessed. Impressions are made in various ways. On a platen press the impressions are made by pressure against a flat area of type or plate. Flat-bed cylinder press printing uses the pressure of a cylinder rolling across a flat area of type or plate to create the impression. A rotary web press uses a plate that has been stereotyped (molded into a curved form) which presses against another cylinder carrying the paper.

letterset - Process known both as "dry offset" and "indirect" letterpress. An intermediate blanket cylinder is used to transfer an image from a flexible one-piece shallow relief plate to paper.

lightweight paper - Paper manufactured in weights below the minimum basis weight considered standard for that grade.

lignin - A substance present in all woods which acts as a binder that holds the cellulose fibers together. It represents up to 30% of the wood content, and is largely removed by chemical treatment in the pulping process.

likesidedness - Noticeably similar side-to-side color and finish of a sheet of paper.

line conversion - By placing emphasis on the most important feature of the subject, original copy is reproduced in line as high-contrast image. Can be used in combination with other special effects.

line halftone combination - Printing plate comprising both line and halftone images.

linear laid paper - A watermarked sheet with lines to guide the user.

linecasting - Preparation of text copy in lines of justified and hyphenated type set by hot-metal typesetting machine.

linen - Cuttings and threads of linen cloth used in the paper industry for the manufacture of high quality rag content paper.

linen finish - Embossed paper or boards that have a surface resembling linen cloth.

linerboard - Used in the manufacture of corrugated and solid fiber shipping containers, linerboard is made predominantly on a Fourdrinier machine. It is used by the packaging industry as a facing material for containers.

liners - Outside layers of a combination board. Also paperboard used as an inner or outer facing in the manufacture of corrugated and solid fiberboard.

lining paper - Paper used as covering such as box lining. Usually non-fading, opaque, machine-finished paper.

lithography - Process of printing using a flat-surfaced plate, the image on which is transferred to a blanket then to paper. (See offset printing).

localized watermark - Achieved by arranging the design on the dandy roll to leave a watermark at the same position on each sheet after cutting.

loft dried papers - A form of air drying where paper is festooned on poles to dry without tension.

long grain - Paper made with the machine direction in the longest sheet dimension.

longevity - Degree of permanence.

longfold - To fold a sheet lengthwise in the direction of the grain. (See long grain, broad fold).

loose perforation - Easy to tear perforation.

low finish - Paper characterized by low light reflective properties. Dull. Opposite of high gloss finish. Low finished papers are without glaze or gloss.

luminous paper - Fluorescent, phosphorescent paper.

luster - Property of gloss and sheen.
M - Symbol in the paper industry designating 1,000. Usually used to designate 1,000 sheets or two reams of fine paper.

M weight - The weight of one thousand sheets of a grade in its basic size.

M.O. - Abbreviation for making-order.

macerate - To mash or crush into a soft mass, usually in water.

machine clothing - Paper machine felts and wire are often referred to as "clothing."

machine coated - Coating applied while the paper is still on the paper machine.

machine direction - Establishes the grain direction which is always parallel with the travel of the paper over the wire.

machine dried - Process of drying paper on the paper machine as opposed to air drying the paper after removal from the machine.

machine finish - Finish that is obtained while the paper is on the paper machine. Expressed as M.F. Different finishes are obtained by the number of times paper is passed through the rollers, either dry or wet.

machine glazed - (M.G. papers). Papers that appear to have a glazed finish on one side and a rough finish on the other. Process occurs on a Yankee dryer when wet paper comes into contact with a steam-heated, smooth roller 8 to 10 feet in diameter. Pressure is applied by the roller to the paper.

machine perforation - Perforation as a separate operation by a machine which perforates in a series of small punches or dies.

magnesium plate - Halftone or line plate made of 11-point magnesium.

make-ready tissue - A tissue used in preparing a form for printing.

make-up - Assembling type and plates into complete pages.

making order - Quantity of paper specially ordered from a mill by the customer. Paper must be custom made to meet the buyer's specifications. A minimum order established by the mill is required on making orders.

manifold form - Business form with several parts usually interleaved with carbon paper.

manila - A color or finish similar to that formerly obtained by making paper from manila hemp stock. Under present usage has no significance as to fiber usage.

manila tag - (See tag stock).

map paper - High wet-strength paper made from cotton fiber or chemical wood pulps or a mixture of both. Basic size: 17" x 22". Basis weight: 16 to 28 lbs. Principal qualities: high finish, good printability, good folding characteristics, high opacity and high dimensional stability. Often water repellent, mildew-proof, luminescent and resistant to abrasion.

marble paper - Paper with a surface pattern resembling marble. It is used as end leaves in books. Marble paper can be decorated by hand or by an intaglio process which employs a copper roll.

mark reading - Optical machine reading of vertical bars which have been manually introduced.

market pulp - Pulp which is sold on the open market. Some paper and board manufacturers with pulp producing facilities sell all pulp in excess of that which is required for their papermaking operations. Thus, they are paper manufacturers and sellers as well as pulp manufacturers and sellers.

masking - In color separation photography, controlling or modulating color contrast and detail over the total area of each separation negative used for printed color reproduction. Contrast is heightened when the quality is lacking in the transparency.

masking paper - Opaque paper, usually orange colored coated paper for use in stripping negatives from which a plate will be exposed.

mat - See matrix.

mat board - Rigid mount board lined with a plain or decorated paper.

matrix - A mold used for casting.

matte finish - Matte coated papers have little or no gloss, and range from 0 to 20 on the gloss scale. They have been prime coated with a thicker weight than applied to regular dull coated papers, but the coat weight per basis weight is less. Generally, the basis weight of these papers is 25" x 38"-50 lb. And 60 lb. With 45 lb. In some demand. Matte coated papers are suitable for all types of lithographic reproduction. (See dull coated, suede paper).

measure - In printing composition, width of line of type in picas.

mechanical - In printing, term for camera-ready copy.

mechanical deckle edge - Imitation deckle edge made by mechanical abrasion.

mechanical pulp - Wood pulp manufactured wholly, or in part, by a mechanical process.

merchant - (See distributor).

merchant's brand - A name given to a brand name owned by a paper merchant, converter or customer, also referred to as private brand.

merchant's stock order - Paper bought by the merchant to add to his warehouse stock rather than for immediate sale to an end-user.

metallic coated board - Casein or lacquer metallic coating on board, usually silver, gold or bronze.

metallic papers - (1) Paper having a special coating which allows indelible marks to be written on its surface with a metal point or stylus. (2) Paper made to resemble metallic surfaced paper or paper combined with metallic foils by coating the paper with metallic substances. (3) Paper coated, while in a high vacuum, with the condensation of vaporized metals.

metering unit - Sometimes referred to as In-Feed Rollers. This unit is a series of three rollers (two driven, one free) mounted on a roll stand. It is used to smooth the web and control its tension and speed, as the paper feeds from a roll into the first printing unit.

mica paper - Paper coated with ground particles of mica. Base paper is made from chemical wood pulp. Principal qualities, highly sized, good formation and density. Basic size: 20" x 26". Basis weight: 20 to 30 lbs.

microfiche - Microfilm in the form of cards or chips for mechanized information retrieval systems.

microfilm - Photographic film used to store business information in a data retrieval system.

micrometer - Device that measures the thickness or caliper of paper.

middle tones - Range between highlights and shadows in photographs.

mil - Unit of measurement, 0.001 inch.

mill blanks - Heavyweight sheets that consist of top and bottom liners of white stock, vat-lined on a center of mechanical pulp, news or similar stock. Normal thickness is 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 10 ply. Basic size: 22" x 28". Comes in two qualities, No. 1 and No. 2 with No. 1 being brighter. Made on a cylinder paper machine.

mill boards - Heavyweight boards, hard, flat and nonwarping, used in book binding and box making. Made from fiber refuse, wastepaper, screenings and mechanical wood pulp. Manufactured on a wet machine and calendered by passing the web through the board calenders.

mill brand - Paper which is brand-named by the manufacturer rather than the merchant house. The latter is known as a "private brand" (See merchant's brand).

mill bristol - Printing bristols usually made on a cylinder machine. Basic size: 22 1/2" x 28 1/2". Basis weight: 90 to 200 lbs/ream.

mill count - Term employed by paper merchants to indicate to their customers that the requested shipment of paper, which is going from the mill directly to the customer, has been counted by the mill only, the merchant has not recounted it.

mill cut - Term used to distinguish the cut edge made by the machine slitter or cutters as opposed to the cut edge made by the trimmer, which is smoother and exhibits greater accuracy.

mill direct - Usually refers to paper that is sold to the end user and delivered directly from the mill. A wholesaler is bypassed in a mill direct sale of paper. Also can describe the shipment of paper when a distributor consummates the sale but the warehouse is bypassed and the paper is shipped mill direct to the customer.

mill edge - Edge, which is slightly rough, of untrimmed papers.

mill line - Line of papers that is owned by the mill, not the merchant. (See mill brand).

moire - Geometric pattern caused when two screened images are superimposed at certain angles. Occurs when making a halftone from a halftone image.

moisture content - Refers to the amount of moisture found in a sheet of paper. Average amount ranges from 5 to 8%. This figure varies from sheet to sheet since paper will emit or absorb moisture according to the condition of the surrounding atmosphere. Moisture loss is realized in the form of shrinkage which begins at the edges of paper and moves across the grain causing the sheet to tighten and curl. For explanation of the test to determine the moisture content of paper, see Chapter 6.

mold-made papers - Deckle edged papers produced on a machine to resemble handmade paper.

molleton - Thick felt-appearing material used to cover dampening rolls on offset presses.

mother-of-pearl - An iridescent paper glazed to resemble mother-of-pearl.

mottled - Also referred to as granite paper, it is made by adding trace amounts of heavily dyed fibers to the stock of another colored paper.

mottled finish - Finish which exhibits high and low spots or glossy and dull areas on the printed sheet.

mounting board - A laminating board, finished with good quality paper on one or both surfaces. Used for mounting photographs and prints.

Mullen tester - Device that measures the bursting strength of paper. Sometimes referred to as the pop test or the pop tester. For the explanation of the test to determine the bursting strength of paper, see Chapter 6.

multi-stage bleaching - Bleaching of pulp in two, three or more stages.
NAPL - National Association of Printers & Lithographers. The association provides customer service, education and products for the graphic arts industry. It provides the printing community extensive management and educational services to its worldwide membership.

NAPW - National Association of Paperstock Women. Open to all members of the paper industry, this association, through its membership programs, enhances the awareness, visibility and effectiveness of women in the paper industry, promotes knowledge of products and markets, and promotes identification of NAPW members and their communication with the industry.

natural colored - Colors containing little or no coloring chemicals.

NCR Paper - Paper coated with a carbonless material to provide for duplicate copies.

net weight - The weight after the deduction of tare weight or waste weight.

neutral pH - Offset papers manufactured with a pH of 6.0 to 8.0 on a scale of 0 to 14.0. Neutral pH factors are built into paper as minimum value, to increase stability and improve permanence for use in printing of archival records. See pH value.

newsprint - Paper on which newspapers are printed. Newsprint is the most inexpensive paper available that will withstand printing and contains mostly mechanically groundwood pulp. Basic size: 24" x 36"/500 sheets. Basis weights range from 24 1/2 to 35 lbs. Current trend is to even lighter basis weights.

nip - Point where two rolls on the paper machine come in contact. It is the action of the two rollers coming together simultaneously against both sides of the paper that calenders and supercalenders the paper.

No. 1 manila - Pale, straw-colored paper made from chemical wood pulps.

nominal weight - The basis weight of the paper at which the paper is billed. Unless otherwise stipulated by the mill and customer a plus or minus tolerance is allowed in the actual weight.

non-impact printers - Electronic equipment that creates an image on a surface without contact, e.g., a laser or ink jet printer.

non-integrated mill - Paper mill with no capacity to produce its own pulp. It must buy market pulp to supply its papermaking needs. (See integrated).

non-returnable core - Paper rolls are wound around cylindrical forms known as cores suitable for one-time use.

non-tack - Low tack.

note paper - Writing paper usually folded.

novel paper - High bulking news with extremely rough finish. Basic size: 24" x 36". Basis weight: 32 lb per ream. Thickness: .004 of an inch.

NPTA - National Paper Trade Association. The trade association of the paper distributors in the United States. NPTA develops projects and conducts studies to develop programs for companies in the paper, plastics and allied products distribution industry.
OCR - Optical Character Recognition. Machine reading of printed characters.

odd - In reference to paper, papers that are not regular or standard sizes, weights, finishes and colors.

odd sizes - Non-standard paper sizes.

offcut - Off side sheets remaining after standard size sheets have been cut.

off-machine coating - Process of coating paper with a coater not part of the paper machine. It can be in the same or in a separate facility.

offset paper - Generally refers to paper that is manufactured specifically for use on offset presses. It is characterized by good internal bonding, high surface strength, freedom from fuzz, pick-resistance and freedom from curl. This paper must be relatively impervious to water.

offset press (sheet fed) - Indirect rotary press with plate cylinder, blanket cylinder and an impression cylinder.

offset printing - Process of printing utilizing a lithographic plate on which the images or designs are ink receptive while the remainder of the plate is water receptive. Ink is transferred from the plate to a rubber blanket on the printing press and this rubber blanket transfers the image to the paper. It is sometimes referred to as offset lithography or photo-offset.

off-square - See out-of-square.

one-side coated printing paper - Paper coated on one side only. (See label paper).

one-time carbon - A lightweight paper, coated one side with carbon, for use in business forms.

one-way screen - Screen that breaks solids and tones into a series of lines rather than dots.

onionskin - Lightweight paper. Basic size in 17" x 22"/500 sheets. Substance weights 7 to 10 lbs. Usually made from cotton fibers in qualities from 100% cotton fiber to 25%.

on-machine coating - See machine coated.

on-stream - Paper industry jargon referring to the fact that a paper machine or paper mill is operating.

on-the-fly printer - Output device on computer using a print element that is constantly moving: a drum or chain.

on-the-line captions - In forms, captions that use lines instead of boxes.

opacimeter - A device that determines a paper's opacity or "show-through" quality.

opacity - The property of a sheet which prevents print areas from showing through the paper to the other side. For the explanation of the test to determine the opacity of paper see Chapter 6.

opaque - That property of paper which prevents "show-through" of printing, or other marks; on or in contact with the backside. In photoengraving, to paint-out areas on the negative that must not appear on the plate.

opaque ink - An ink that conceals all color beneath it.

open press - Blanket-to-steel press.

opposite dimension - Dimension of sheet of paper at right angles to the grain direction. Also the dimension at right angles to the stub of a form.

optical brightness - Optical brighteners or fluorescent dyes are extensively used to make high, bright blue-white papers. They absorb invisible ultraviolet light and convert it to visible light falling into the blue to violet portion of the spectrum, which is then reflected back to our eyes.

optical scanner - Input device on a computer which converts characters or marks to machine codes. Character readers, Bar Code Reader or Mark Reader.

orthochromatic - Sensitive to all colors except red.

outdoor poster board - Strong board that is able to resist weather conditions and water. During manufacture it is impregnated with waterproofing material. It is primarily used for outdoor displays and posters, and is available in caliper thickness ranging from 0.036 to 0.120 of an inch.

outlook envelope - Window envelope.

out-of-round rolls - Rolls of paper to be suitable for web offset printing must be perfectly round. Out-of-round rolls can contribute to uneven feeding tension.

out-of-square - Paper that has been trimmed improperly thus causing the corners to be less or more than 90 degrees. This leads to difficulty during the printing process and often results in misregister of the printed piece. Also called off-square.

outturns - Samples of the papers manufactured to order. They are kept in a file or sent to customers upon request.

overlay - Like chromalin proofs, these also are made chemically. They are similar to transfer keys and are created on the identical substrate, acetate. Instead of dots coexisting on the same sheet of acetate, each color--magenta (red), cyan (blue), yellow and black--is represented on a different acetate overlay. Since this acetate is virtually transparent, the combination of four overlays will make a full-color image.

over-printing - Printing an area which has been previously printed.

over-run - Quantity of paper that is manufactured beyond the quantity specified.

oversize - Paper manufactured a little larger to permit trimming to the desired size. Also refers to paper larger than that ordered.
padded forms - Set of forms joined together by padding compound (flexible glue).

pages per inch (ppi) - The number of papers that can be continued within a one inch thick stack of sheets of paper. A term used frequently in book production.

pallet - Construction made of light wood or paperboard on which paper or other materials are packed for shipment. Pallets are usually not reusable. They are used to facilitate the movement of paper in storage or transit by means of motorized lift trucks.

panochromatic shots - Images that are reproduced in one color by using pan film which allows separation of color, especially red, from original copy.

Paper Distribution Council - Members are executives of manufacturers and distributors of printing and writing papers and/or industrial papers concerned with the problems of wholesale paper distribution.

papeterie - A writing paper used for greeting cards and stationery, which is distinctive from regular stock in that special watermarks and embossing may be used. Has ability to fold without cracking.

parchment - Originally a writing substrate using a processed skin from calfs, goats, sheep and other animals. Today, the term is ambiguous. In writing paper, the sheet is produced with a finish to resemble the processed animal skins of old. However, vegetable parchment is an entirely different products. It is a packing paper that resembles glassine paper. (See vegetable parchment).

paris white - Pure form of calcium carbonate.

pasted - Those grades of paper or paperboard made up of layers pasted together. The process is an off-machine operation used to combine sheets of the same or different papers into a single thickness.

pasted blanks - Heavyweight stocks, pasted together, that range from 15 to 48 points in thickness. Some grades are coated, some uncoated. Some are made in colors.

paster - Unit that pastes two or more sheets to produce pasted paper grades. It can be produced in continuous rolls or separate sheets.

paste-up - Camera-ready art work properly positioned on one page for a print order. Also called a mechanical.

pasting - Process by which two or more sheets of paper are united by means of an adhesive. Paper can be pasted together directly off the reel or in the web by using a roll machine or in sheets by a sheet-pasting machine.

patch mark - Watermark made by sewing a patch on a mold of a cylinder machine or on a dandy roll of a Fourdrinier machine.

patch washering - Reinforcing a hole with a glued-on heavy paper washer. Examples--shipping tags, string-and-button envelopes.

patent base - Steel or magnesium base on which electrotypes are mounted using clamps or hooks.

patent coated - Board that is lined on one or both sides with white fibers to improve the surface. Such board is manufactured on a cylinder machine.

pattern carbon - Carbon paper that has its coating applied in a special way. Pattern coating has nothing to do with the web direction and is applied by a process more akin to printing than coating. Sometimes known as spot carbon.

pattern paper - Strong paper used by designers and tailors for making patterns. Thickness ranges from 0.007 to 0.034 of an inch.

pattern tissue - Thin, high-tear paper used to make dress patterns. Basic size: 24" x 36"/500 sheets. Basis weight: 7.5 to 8 lbs. in sheets and 8.5 to 9 lbs. for paper in rolls.

pebbling - Process applied to paper, after its manufacture, which imparts a grainy surface to finished paper. Also accomplished after printing.

peeling - Surface scaling on the sheet of paper. Sometimes called scuffing.

per M - per thousand.

percent Elmendorf - Tearing strength expressed in percentage points.

percent Mullen - Bursting strength expressed in percentage points.

percent tensile - Tensile strength expressed in percentage points.

perfect binding - Method of binding books in which all the pages are converted to single sheets. They are then held in a clamp and attached to a cover with an adhesive.

perfecting press - (Commonly referred to as Perfector) Press which prints both sides of the sheet of paper at the same point. On the offset press, each cylinder serves as the impression cylinder for the other. In letterpress, the press has a double cylinder. There is no transfer cylinder. The sheets of paper are taken directly from the first cylinder of the press to the second, before being turned in the press.

perforating - A process done during or after printing, consisting of the punching of small holes in the paper that permit the easy removal of a portion of a sheet or card.

perforating rule - Blade for cutting impression which can be taped to the cylinders of an offset press.

perforating tape - Tape used in the transmission of instructions to electronic receiving units. This tape, punched with small holes representing words and symbols that activate the machine, is made from chemical wood pulps to exact specifications. It must exhibit uniform caliper, freedom from grit, mineral filler, high tensile strength, clean perforating ability and good oil receptivity. Basic size: 24" x 36"/500 sheets. Basis weight: 51 lb. Standard caliper is .004. It is sometimes oil impregnated.

perforating wheel - Slotted blade used as a press or collator to cut perforated lines parallel with the movement of the paper through the machine.

permanence - The ability of paper to retain, for a given period of time, its desirable properties such as color, and folding endurance. Prolonged exposure to light, humidity and extreme temperatures will adversely affect this ability.

pH value - Degree of acidity or alkalinity measured on a scale from 0 to 14 with 7 the neutral point. Measurement of pH is important to quality control in making paper and pigments and in the preparation of platemaking chemicals. For explanation of test to determine pH, see Chapter 6. pH control of press fountain solutions is also essential to assure maximum plate-life and uniform ink drying.

photocomposition - Placing multiple images on a plate using a step-and-repeat camera.

photolith paper - Offset paper.

photo-offset - Offset printing.

PIA - Printing Industry of America. The umbrella organization of the graphic arts industry. It is a federation of national, regional, state and city associations in the printing industry.

pica - Unit of measure, approximately 1/6 of an inch, used in the graphic arts. Twelve points make one pica.

pick strength - Bonding strength.

picking - Fibers in the paper which tend to pull away from the surface during the printing process. This occurs when the tack or pull of the ink is greater than the surface strength of the paper.

pigment - Substance, usually mineral or inorganic compounds, used to give paper its color.

pigmented paper - Also known as film coated paper. It is a result of a light film applied to the paper at the size press of the paper machine to enhance the uniformity, smoothness and printability of an otherwise uncoated sheet.

piling - In reference to printing, transfer of mineral pigment from paper to offset blankets: building-up of ink on rollers or on the printing surfaces of plates and blankets.

PIMA - Paper Industry Management Association. Members are manufacturing and technical executives of pulp and paper mills.

pinfeed - Device that controls flow of paper into a machine by engraving pins with marginal punching.

pinhole perforations - Machine perforation.

pinholes - Tiny holes or imperfections on the surface of the paper caused by the presence of foreign matter on the paper surface during manufacture.

planographic - Image and non-image areas are printed on the same plate. Image areas receive ink. Non-image areas repel ink.

plastic binding - Solid-back pronged comb is rolled back to make a cylinder. The prongs fit into slots punched along the binding edge of the paper to be bound. Combs are available in a variety of backbone dimensions.

plastic laminated paper - Some cover papers are laminated with plastic, all are extremely strong.

plate finish - A hard finished paper.

plate paper - Used in steel and copper plate engraving for proofing.

plate wiping paper - Used as a wiping cloth by engravers.

platen - Flatbed for the printing form and a flat plate to apply the pressure.

plater - Equipment consisting of cold iron rolls that imparts a high finish to paper.

playing card stock - A pasted card stock highly polished and lacquered.

ply - One layer or sheet of paper or paperboard that makes up a multi-layer aggregate.

point - In reference to paper, equal to one thousandth of an inch in the measure. Utilized when the thickness of paper is considered.

points-per-pound - Ratio obtained by dividing the result of a specific strength test by the basis weight of paper or board. Applied chiefly to tests for bursting strength.