A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
abrasiveness: property of paper causing it to scratch surfaces it contacts.
absorbency: the ability of paper to absorb or take in liquids.
absorption: in paper, the property, which causes it to take up liquid or vapors it contacts. In optics, the partial suppression of light through a transparent or translucent material.
acid-free paper: paper that is alkaline (pH factor 7:14). Acid-free papers tend to last longer without yellowing, and may be of "archival quality."
acid size: rosin size containing a large proportion of emulsified, free or uncombined rosin.
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 and from 7 to 14 is considered alkaline.
actual weight: accurate weight of a given quantity of paper, which is different from the same paper's nominal weight.
aesthetic: qualities having to do with the beauty of the printed image.
against the grain: folding or feeding paper at right angles to the grain (direction the fibers lie).
alpha pulp: highly refined wood pulp with exceptional papermaking properties: high chemical purity, high brightness, great permanence, and unusually high resiliency.
antique finish: a term describing the surface, usually on book and cover papers, that has a natural, rough finish. Usually not appropriate for laser printers which require a smoother paper.
archival paper: acid-free paper made to resist disintegration. Used for records that must last.
ash: the mineral residue left after burning a sample of paper to determine the percentage of filler it contains.
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basic size: Specific, standard sheet size from which the basis weight of a given grade is determined.
base stock: paper that will be further processed as in coating or laminating.
basis weight: the weight in pounds for a ream (500 sheets) of paper cut to a given standard size for that grade; e.g., 500 sheets measuring 25" x 38" of 80 lb. coated book papers weigh eighty pounds.
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 an image to the sheet of paper or the impression cylinder.
bleed: in printing, a printed image that runs off the edges of a page. In carbon, undesirable transfer of pigment.
bond papers: a grade of writing or printing paper where strength, durability and permanence are essential requirements; used for letterheads, business forms, etc.
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.
brightness: the reflectance of the paper that may correspond to how white it is, based on a 100-point scale. The higher a paper is rated on the point brightness scale, the better it provides contrast for black-and-white and color images. There are three common industry measurement scales for brightness: TAPPPI, ISO and D-65.
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caliper: the thickness of paper, usually expressed in thousandths of an inch (mils). Also known as thickness or bulk.
clip art: general illustrations, figures, designs, icons, and animation that can be purchased on disk or accessed via the web freely or for a fee. Clip art is used when custom art is judged unnecessary or too expensive.
coated free sheet: coated paper containing 10% or less of mechanical pulp.
coated groundwood: coated paper containing more than 10% mechanical pulp.
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.
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 the press.
contrast: the tonal gradation between the highlights, middle tones, and shadows in an original or reproduction.
copy paper: paper used in photocopying machines.
cover/card: a heavier, stiffer sheet (typically 40 to 130 lbs.) for presentation covers, greeting or business cards, etc. Also applies to a variety of papers used for the covers of catalogs, brochures, booklets, and similar pieces. (Basic size for this sheet is 20" x 26", 500 sheets)
curl: the distortion or curvature of a sheet due to differences in structure or coatings from one side to the other, to absorption of moisture in storage, or to uneven levels of heat applied in the electronic imaging process.
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D-65 Brightness: a reading that is based on perceived brightness as if the paper was viewed outdoors in north sky daylight. Because outdoor light has the maximum amount of ultraviolet light available to interact with the fluorescent component of brightness, it will produce brightness numbers that are significantly elevated and could easily exceed 100%. D65 brightness numbers will always be much higher than TAPPI or ISO for the same paper because of the highly magnified fluorescence component.
delamination: parting of layers of a sheet of paper made on a cylinder machine.
dirt: dirt in paper consists of any imbedded foreign matter or specks that 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.
dot gain: when the dots in halftone printing become larger than desired.
dots per inch (dpi): a measure of the resolution of a screen image or printed page. The higher the dpi, the better the quality, clarity and definition of the image.
duplexed: when paper is printed on both sides of the sheet.
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embossed finish: paper with a raised or depressed surface resembling wood, cloth, leather, or other patterns. Can compromise the performance of modern imaging equipment such as ink jet and laser printers, copiers and plain-paper fax machines.
enamel: a term applied to a coated paper or to a coating material on a paper.
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felt side: the top side of the sheet in paper manufacturing. All Weyerhaeuser Uncoated First Choice, ImagePrint and CopyPrint papers can be printed on both sides.
fine papers: large category of paper that includes those grades used for writing, printing, and cultural purposes.
finish: the general surface properties of paper, determined by various manufacturing techniques. Can describe textures and patterns created by the use of felts, calendars, embossing rolls, and dandy rolls, or the smooth and rough characteristics of paper. These finishes are commonly called antique, vellum, luster, and wove. Can also refer to special surface properties designed to optimize performance on a given type of imaging technology, such as ink jet or laser printers.
flexography: letterpress printing using relief plates on direct presses. This process of printing uses rubber plates and special alkaline inks.
fluorescence: the shade component of paper that uses ultra violet light or energy to increase the amount of reflectance measured in the blue region of the visible light spectrum. In this way, it is used in the paper industry to increase brightness.
fluorescent paper: paper that has been manufactured with the addition of fluorescent dyes that 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.
font: a complete assortment of letters, numbers, punctuation marks, etc., of a given size and design.
format: the size, style, type, page, margins, printing requirements, etc., of a printed piece.
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.
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grain: in papermaking, the direction in which most fibers lie, which corresponds with the direction the paper is made on a paper machine.
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.
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halftone: reproduction of continuous-tone artwork. A screening process converts the image to dots of various sizes.
hardware: computer and peripherals, as distinguished from software, which is a program for operating hardware.
holdout: term refers to the ability of a sheet to resist penetration by liquid substances such as ink.
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ink absorption: extent of ink penetration into paper.
ink jet: in printing, a printer that applies ink to paper through tiny jets. In paper, a paper with a special finish to optimize the absorption and drying of ink applied with an ink jet printer.
ISO Brightness: the European standard that quantifies the brightness of paper as it would be perceived in an environment that is illuminated with a mixture of cool-white fluorescence and some unfiltered outdoor daylight. The ultra-violet light component of the ISO brightness light source is greater than the North American TAPPI Standard. Therefore, the fluorescence present in any paper sample, which can provide a significant contribution to brightness, will be magnified much more using the ISO standard instead of TAPPI. ISO brightness will always yield a higher reading for the same paper than TAPPI brightness.
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jog: in paper handling, the process of evenly stacking sheets of paper directly on top of one another, either by hand or mechanically.
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kraft pulp: see sulfate pulp.
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laid paper: paper with a pattern of parallel lines at equal distances, giving a ribbed effect. More appropriate for handwritten or typed applications; doesn't perform well on ink jet or laser printers and copiers.
laser: light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation; source of highly coherent light energy. In printing, refers to a laser printer that uses a laser to create a latent image onto a photoreceptive medium. In paper, a paper with a smooth finish to optimize how evenly the toner is applied and fused to the page.
lightweight paper: paper manufactured in weights below the minimum basis weight considered standard for that grade.
lithography: process of printing using a flat-surfaced plate, the image on which is transferred to a blanket, then to paper. (See offset printing.)
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M weight: abbreviation for a quantity of 1,000 sheets of paper. The weight of one thousand sheets of a grade in its basic size.
matte finish: a non-glossy or satin-coated paper finish.
mechanical pulp: wood pulp manufactured wholly, or in part, by a mechanical process.
micrometer: device that measures the thickness, or caliper, of paper.
multiuse: in printing, a machine that combines the properties of a printer, copier, scanner and plain-paper fax machine. In paper, a paper designed to perform equally well on ink jet or laser printers, copiers or plain-paper fax machines.
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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 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.
opacity: the degree to which a paper will prevent the characters printed on it to "show through" to the other side.
opaque: the property of paper that makes it less transparent.
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pH: a number used for expressing the acidity or alkalinity of solutions. A value of 7 is neutral in a scale ranging from 0 to 14. Solutions with values below 7 are acid, above 7 are alkaline.
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.
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.
porosity: the property of paper that allows the permeation of air, an important factor in ink penetration.
post-consumer fiber: papers that have reached the designated end use for the product and have then been collected for recycling.
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ream: five hundred sheets of paper.
recycled content paper: a paper product that contains recovered paper materials. The recycled content is measured as a percentage of the paper's weight.
resolution: in electronic imaging, the quantification of printout quality using the number of dots per inch.
runnability: paper properties (weight, stiffness, finish) or absence of paper defects that affect the ability of paper to run without problems (jamming, smearing, blurring, etc.) on printing or copying equipment.
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scanner: an electronic device that scans printed images and converts them to digital form for use or transmission on a computer, printer, copier or fax.
scoring: in reference to paper conversion, creasing by mechanical means to facilitate folding while guarding against cracking of paper and board. Scoring is essential when heavyweight papers are to be folded across the grain.
scumming: term describing the tendency of non-image areas of offset plates to take ink from any image area.
short grain paper: paper made with the machine direction in the shortest sheet dimension.
show-through: in printing, the undesirable condition in which the printing on one side of a sheet can be seen through the sheet under normal lighting conditions.
size press: part of the paper machine, usually located between two drier sections, where sizing agents are added.
stiffness: property of paper and paperboard to resist bending.
sulphate pulp: Predominant fiber used by the paper industry. It is obtained by cooking wood chips with the chemicals sodium sulfate and sodium hydroxide. The sodium sulfate is converted to sodium sulfide in the process. It is the sodium sulfide that is actually the effective cooking agent, but the word sulfate is still used as the title.
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toner: plastic resin particles that are used in electrophotography to form an image.
two-sidedness: in paper, the property denoting difference in appearance and printability between its top (felt) and wire sides.
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vellum finish: in papermaking, a toothy finish which is relatively absorbent for fast ink penetration. May compromise the performance of ink jet and laser printers.
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wove paper: paper having a uniform, unlined surface and a soft, smooth finish.
WYSIWYG: in electronic publishing, an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. In software, with WYSIWYG capability, how a document appears on the computer monitor (spacing, line breaks, pagination, etc.) will match its printed image.