Basic Size

A standard sheet size used to determine the weight of 500 sheets of paper (one ream). Basic sheet size for bond and ledger is 17 x 22; offset is 25 x 38; cover is 20 x 26; index is 25.5 x 30.5; and tag is 24 x 36.

Basis Weight

A fixed weight per 500 sheets of paper (one ream) of different paper grades weighed by their designated basic sheet size. Basic sheet size for bond and ledger is 17 x 22; offset is 25 x 38; cover is 20 x 26; index is 25.5 x 30.5; and tag is 24 x 36.

Bleed

Printed photos or illustrations that run off the edge of the page or to the exact edge of the page.

Bleed-through

Occurs when printing on one side of a sheet of paper shows through to the other side.

Brightness

Paper, paperboard and pulp are measured through a lab test to determine the degree of reflectivity as measured by blue light to determine its brightness level.

Bristols

Heavy-grade papers offering better-than-average quality characteristics. They were originally made from rags in Bristol, England.

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Calender

A process on the paper machine where the paper is squeezed between metal cylinders to compact the paper fibers. This makes the paper smoother and gives it some gloss.

Caliper

The thickness of a sheet of paper or board as measured in thousands of an inch. Also known as thickness or bulk.

Desktop Publishing

Creating corporate documents, periodicals, books, etc., using equipment like personal computers, page layout software and printers.

Digital Color Printing

A printing process that allows color printing directly from electronic images without the need for film or color separations.

Duplexed

When paper is printed on both sides of the sheet.

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Facsimile or Fax

A way to electronically send a copy of a document to another location. At the transmitting fax machine, the image is scanned in and, at the receiving end, the fax machine reconstructs the image.

Feathering

The tendency of liquid ink to spread along the paper fibers so that the image produced does not have sharp, clean edges.

Filler

A material or substance that is added to the furnish to smooth out the spaces between fibers, enhancing the printing properties of the paper.

Finish

Refers to the surface characteristics of a sheet of paper, like smoothness, appearance and gloss.

Flexographic Printing

A printing process using a rubber or plastic plate with a raised image area. The plate is mounted to a rotary cylinder. When the cylinder is inked, it prints the image onto paper through light pressure.

Furnish

The combination of materials and chemicals that go into making the pulp stock mixture such as pulps, dyes, additives and other chemicals. The mixture is fed into the paper machine at the wet end of the machine. Also referred to as Stock Furnish.

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Ink Holdout

A paper's ability to hold printing or writing inks on its surface instead of absorbing the inks.

Inkjet Printing

Creates a desired image on paper by squirting droplets of liquid inks under pressure from a printhead containing one or more nozzles. The printer's resolutions (often expressed as dots per inch, or DPI) is dependent upon a number of factors, such as the number of nozzles; the frequency of ink droplets; the placement of the droplets; and the qualities of the paper used for printing.

Laser Printing

Uses a laser beam that is focused on a rotating mirror, which deflects the light through a focusing lens. The printer uses a high-powered, single concentrated light source that is directed onto a photosensitive material located on a drum. Dots are created and placed in succession as the light beam scans the rotating drum on a horizontal path.

Mixed Office Waste

Wastepaper generated from offices, such as letters, memos, invoices, envelopes, catalogs, etc., that are collected for recycling and sorted by paper qualities.

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Nonimpact Printing

Describes a segment of printers, such as inkjet, laser, thermal or electrostatic, that creates images without needing to strike the page.

Offset Paper

Paper that is sized (see Sizing) and contains the quality characteristics needed in order to print on offset presses. Offset presses print by transferring ink from the printing plate onto a rubber blanket and then to the paper.

On-Demand Printing

Typically refers to printing that is done as needed, not in large quantities and then stored. Files are stored digitally on a computer system so they are current and can be printed quickly and cost effectively.

Opacity

The ability of a sheet of paper to prevent light transmission through it. Opacity prevents print that is on one side of a sheet of paper to show through to the other side.

Paper Grade

Papers manufactured to fit within a group or type of papers. Each grade of paper uses basically the same fiber, color, additive and chemical composition.

Paper Merchant

A business that operates as the intermediary between paper manufacturers and users of the paper. The merchants usually warehouse the products and then distribute to those who purchase the paper.

Paper Stock

A mix of pulp fibers, water, additives, chemicals and dyes that will be pumped onto the paper machine to form paper.

Permanence

Refers to paper's ability to maintain certain physical properties over time, such as brightness and strength. Especially common is the discoloration of some papers, which turn from white to yellow with age.

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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Recycled Content Paper

A paper product that contains recovered paper materials. The recycled content is measured as a percentage of the paper's weight.

Show-Through

When print on one side of a sheet of paper can be easily seen from the other side.

Sizing

It is part of the papermaking process where materials (starch, wax, rosin, glue, etc.) are added to the stock furnish before it is put on the paper machine, or to the surface of the paper while on the paper machine to enhance certain characteristics. Sizing can improve paper's resistance to liquids and enhance its finish smoothness and surface characteristics.

Smoothness

It is a measured property of paper that describes or rates the flatness and evenness of a sheet's surface.

Substance Weight

Same as basis weight, but mainly used with bond and business papers. Substance weight is often expressed as sub.

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Web

A continuous length of paper, such as paper when it is on the paper machine or on roll-feed equipment.

Wicking

The tendency for a liquid, such as ink, to feather or move on the surface of a sheet of paper or through the paper to the other side.

Xerographic Copying

An electrostatic, nonimpact printing process in which intense heat fuses dry toner particles to electrically charged areas on the paper to create an image. The charged areas of the paper appear black on the copy, while the uncharged areas remain white.

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