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FiskPrinters - Printing Terms Category: Technical and IT > Glossary of Print Terms & Paper Sizes Date & country: 25/11/2008, UK Words: 180

a sheet
The reference sometimes used for a carbonless top sheet (i.e. the first part of a carbonless multipart form, CB coated).

abrasion resistance
The resistance of an ink to removal by scratching or rubbing.

absorbency
The extent to which a paper will take up and hold a liquid.

absorption
The first stage of drying an ink when printed onto a porous material.

acid-free paper
In principle, paper which does not contain any free acid. Special precautions are taken during manufacture to eliminate any active acid that might be in the furnish, in order to increase the longevity of the finished paper.

additive
Any non-fibrous component of the stock or material added in small quantity to a coating, in order to confer special properties to the paper.

adhesion
The bond between ink and the material on which it is printed.

alum
A term commonly, but mistakenly, applied in the paper industry to various qualities of Aluminium Sulphate.

aluminium paper
Packaging paper made by mixing aluminium powder into the furnish or by coating or laminating the sheet with aluminium powder.

ambient conditions
The conditions surrounding a particular piece of equipment, such as temperature and humidity.

anti set-off spray
A device used on the delivery end of a printing machine to prevent set-off by projecting a fine spray, of liquid or powder at the sheet.

antique
A quality bulky paper, particularly opaque, with a rough surface finish. It can be made in white or in colours, be deckle-edged, and either laid or wove. A good printing surface is a feature of this grade, which is often used for more expensive books.

apparent density
The quotient of the grammage of a paper and its thickness in micrometers.

aqueous
Aqueous inks or other coatings have formulations based on water, as opposed to organic solvents.

archival paper
Paper intended for permanent records and usually subject to a specification covering strength and chemical properties. Often used for legal documents.

art paper
This is a generic term given to woodfree coated papers, which has traditionally referred to papers in the upper quality bracket and which have a highly polished surface. Today the term is less used because of the introduction of more categories in the sector. However, 'Real Art' is still used for those woodfree coated papers, gloss or matt, which are considered to be of the very highest quality.

artwork
Original illustrative copy or typesetting, ready for reproduction, at pre-film stage.

artwork on disk
Complete, requiring no edits, ready to output to final film or direct to plate, and provided in recognised commercial software such as Illustrator, Freehand, Coreldraw, Pagemaker, In Design, Quark Express, or Photoshop.

b sheet
The reference sometimes used for a carbonless middle sheet of a carbonless multipart set, (CFB coated).

back up
To print on the reverse side of a printed sheet.

banks and bonds
A range of printing and writing papers, the better qualities of which were at one time made largely from rags. The heavier substance papers, above a substance of about 60 g/m2, are often used for correspondence and letterheads, and are known as bonds, while the lighter weights called banks used largely for file copy papers have less use today with the introduction of the automated office.

base board
Board intended for coating, laminating, etc.

base paper
Name given to the base sheet for off-machine coating, or paper intended to be converted, e.g. by a coating process or by impregnation. The term is sometimes used also for paper to which a layer of other material (aluminium, plastics, etc.) is bonded. Also called Body Paper or Rawstock.

basis weight
The weight of paper defined in grams per square metre (g/m2).

bible paper
Very thin printing papers. Originally made specifically for Bibles and prayer books, this grade of paper is also used for other commercial purposes, such as dictionaries, where many pages are required with an overall low volume. Bible paper is also known as India paper.

binder
The adhesive used to stick the layers of coating together and to the paper or board surface. The most frequently used binder is starch, but synthetic binders are also used to give improved performance.

biodegradable
A substance which will decompose as the result of action by bacteria and other living organisms.

blade-coated paper
Paper coated by a process in which the freshly applied wet coating is smoothed and the excess removed by a thin, flexible metal blade which bears on the coated surface

blanket cylinder
The cylinder on a litho printing machine, covered with a rubber (or similar) blanket, which conveys the image from the plate to the sheet.

bleaching
A chemical treatment used to whiten, brighten and improve the performance of pulp.

bleed
The part of a printed image beyond the area to which the finished sheet will be cut.

blind embossed
A logo, text or design which has been relief stamped into a sheet of paper, onto which no printing ink has been added.

blister pack
This term describes a packaging system which is a combination of board and plastics. The product is sealed to the board by a transparent plastic film. This system is often used for small products of difficult shapes and sizes.

blottings
Highly absorbent papers which can be watermarked, white or in colours. With the advent of the ball-point pen, the original use where hand writing ink is absorbed has greatly reduced demand.

boards
A term applied to paper above an accepted weight. The substance when paper becomes known as board varies a great deal between manufacturers and can vary from as low as 180 g/m2 to as high as 250 g/m2. The lower substance definition usually refers to boards in the graphic sector.

bookjacket paper
Term applied to the printed dust cover or wrapper used to cover books or similar publications; usually a high quality coated grade in the higher substance range. Also called Jacket Paper.

bromide
A black and white positive or proof on photographic paper. Traditionally made by contact printing negative film onto white photographic paper (bromide paper) this term now also encompasses positives made by Contact Transfer (CT) or Photomechanical Transfer (PMT).

bulk
A term applied to the substance, thickness and feel of a paper.

bulk packed on pallets
A method of packing paper in which the sheets are not wrapped in parcels but stacked on the pallet, tabbed at the required intervals to indicate quantity and over-wrapped.

c-sheet
The reference used for a carbonless bottom sheet (the bottom sheet of a multi part set) (CF coated).

carbon paper
A thin woodfree or part mechanical paper coated on one side with colouring agent or carbon black dispersed in a suitable medium, e.g. wax, which is transferred to a sheet of paper underneath when pressure is applied.

carbonless copy paper
NCR. This consists of two sheets of paper, the underside of the top sheets (called CB for coated back) is coated with colourless dye in minute gelatine capsules. The underneath sheet (CF coated front) is coated with a reactive chemical which turns blue or black when mixed with the colourless dye. Pressure from a pen or typewriter on the top sheet causes the gelatine capsules to break, the dye and ...

cartridge paper
Slightly rough coated or uncoated printing surfaced paper used for a variety of graphic purposes such as envelopes. Generally noted for good dimensional stability, high opacity and good bulk.

cb, cf, cfb
See Carbonless Paper.

cheque or security papers
The grade carrying this term is printed on a paper with a sensitised body as a protection against fraud. Of good quality, the paper is chemically treated in such a way as to show any sign of unauthorised change. Additionally, the paper can contain certain fibres that can only be detected under special light. Another, cheaper type is used for receipt books, forms and coupons.

china clay
A naturally occurring mineral, consisting essentially of hydrated silicate of alumina, used as a filler or as a component in paper coating.

clean edge
Refers to a very fine perforation line which simulates the effect of a guillotine cut edge (Also known as Micro-Perf).

coated paper or board
Material coated on one or both sides with a mixture of china clay, latex and other loadings to fill up surface pits and improve the printing surface. The process can be accomplished either on-line on the papermaking machine or away from the papermaking machine, as a separate operation. There are a variety of coating methods, these include: roll coating, blade coating, air knife coating and brush c...

cockle
Local deformation of a sheet of paper due to unequal shrinkage giving it a slightly crumpled appearance.

colour correction
Method used to improve the reproduction of the colour original.

computer to plate
Process in which printing plates are imaged from a digital file instead of using film.

constat
Abbreviation for continuous stationery.

continuous stationery
A grade widely used on modern high speed accounting and similar machines. The paper is supplied in reel form and along with the printing process many finishing techniques can be used, such as perforation and special folds. A particular use is for invoices, statements and similar documents, when it is normally fan-folded.

cromalin
A high quality proof used as an accurate colour guide.

ctp
Computer to plate.- Printing an image directly from a computer to polyester or metal plates.

curl
Sheet distortion leading to a tendency to roll up.

cutting to register
Operation of slitting and cutting watermarked paper so that the watermark design falls in a given position in every sheet.

densitometer
An instrument for measuring the density of a colour or differences in tone.

density
The density of a printed image.

desensitising area
An area on the surface side of a CF or CFB carbonless product which has been rendered inert to producing a carbonless copy.

die cuttability
Suitability of paper and board for die cutting into blanks of a given shape.

digital paper
Paper specifically designed for digital printing technology.

digital printing
The printing process where an image is applied to the substrate directly from a digital file rather than using plates or film.

digital proofing
Proofing directly from digital files instead of using film to create proofs.

dot gain
The increase in size of a dot in a tone print that takes place when it is printed, as compared with its size on the photographic positive or negative.

double bump
The application of two layers of ink to achieve greater opacity or more intense colour.

down time
None productive time when a paper or machine is being maintained or cleaned.

dpi
Stands for Dots Per Inch, usually in the context of semitone or process printing, which refers to the frequency of dots appearing. The greater the DPI, the finer the print.

duct
The trough on a printing machine, usually including an adjustable blade, which contains the supply of ink and by means of which the ink is presented to the duct roller.

duct roller
The cylinder in the duct of a printing machine, which, in conjunction with the adjustable knife blade, regulates the amount of ink applied to the feed roller.

dummy
An unprinted representation of the text pages of a book or magazine made by folding and collating sheets of the intended quality, size and grammage of paper so that an idea may be formed of the general appearance and thickness of the final result.

embossed paper
Paper on which a raised and/or depressed design has been produced by pressure, generally between an engraved or otherwise patterned steel roll or plate and a paper of cotton backing or 'bowl'.

emulsification
Dispersion of water into the ink during printing. An excess of this may cause printing difficulties.

emulsion coated paper
Paper coated by any suitable coating process with plastics or resign applied in the form of an emulsion.

encoding
Characters that are printed, invariably on cheques, which contain iron, and which can be recognised by MICR automatic readers. MICR stands for Magnetic Ink Character recognition.

fanfold
A web of paper folded into connected sheets by alternate folds across the web.

fastness
Resistance of colour to fading.

filler
A material, generally white mineral matter such as china clay or calcium carbonate, which is added to the paper furnish to increase opacity, improve flatness and allow a smoother finish to be obtained.

fountain solution
Water, with additives, for application to the lithographic plate on a printing machine.

ghosting
There are two types of Ghosting. One is an image which appears as a lighter area on a subsequent print, due to local blanket depressions from previous image areas, another is the spoiling of a print by an image on it of work on the reverse side which has interfered with its drying, so that differences in the trapping for some colours or variations in gloss are apparent.

gloss
Gloss can refer to the reflectivity of paper itself or the the printed result on it.

graduated screen
A 'screen' is a series of ink 'dots', printed on to a paper which gives the appearance of a solid colour. The depth of screen colour can be deepened by increasing the dot frequency (see DPI), or the converse. A graduated screen is one where the DPI is varied across the screen so that you get a fading/deepening effect across the printing.

grain direction
A term applied to the machine direction of papers or boards, as opposed to the cross direction.

graphic papers
Papers for printing and writing.

gravure printing
Process in which recesses on a printing cylinder are filled with ink and the surplus removed by a blade. The paper contacts the cylinder and ' lifts' the ink from the recesses before depositing it on the paper. Generally used for long-run printing such as magazines and catalogues.

green paper
Immature paper which has not been conditioned or had the opportunity to mature naturally.

greyboard
A board made entirely from waste paper. It can be lined or unlined and is used for a variety of packaging purposes.

gripper
A device on a printing machine for holding the sheet during the printing or finishing process.

gripper allowance
The margin of paper along the gripper edge of the sheet which is held by the grippers and which therefore cannot be printed.

gsm/g/m2
Both stand for grammes per square metre, g / m2 is the correct definition by paper makers but GSM is used more frequently. 60 gsm is a paper which is lighter than an 80 gsm paper.

gummed paper
Many different papers are used for this quality. Suitable body papers are web coated with various types of adhesive which will adhere to a variety of different surfaces when dampened.

half perf
A perforation line, usually across the form but not absolutely so, that does not cross the full dimension of the form.

half-tone
The representation of tonal gradation by an image composed of dots of varying sizes, the centres of which are equidistant.

hatching
The printing of irregular patterns of ink, usually to the surface of sheets of paper within a multipart set, which render the image created unreadable - this is to 'hide' certain information which is required NOT to be read by certain recipients of forms.

hickey
A spot on a printed sheet caused by dust, link or ink imperfections; particularly noticeable on solids and half-tones.

hidden entry
A multipart form which has information ' entered' into a 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc leaf, but where that same information is not imprinted on to the first leaf of the form, i.e. the entry is ' hidden by virtue of not having a sight of the information on the top copy, but which is to be seen on subsequent leaves of the set.

index board
This grade is usually a pulp board manfactured with a good surface suitable for printing and writing. They may be coloured as well as white, and are supplied in cut sizes.

ink rub
A defect, often associated with matt coated papers, in which parts of a dried ink film are removed by pressure or friction from another surface.

inkjet printing
A printer that sprays drops of ink onto the substrate to form an image.

ivory board
High quality board made in white or colours with a bright, clear appearance, particularly used for visiting cards and similar high class printed work Original Ivory Board was and still is made in Holland, although the grade is now made in many countries