Direct Mail Advertising Agency

WHAT KIND OF PAPER DO I CHOOSE?

Aqueous Coating: A water based coating which is applied in the same manner as ink. It is used to protect and enhance the printed piece.

Against the Grain: Perpendicular to the direction of the grain in the paper. (Across the Grain).

Brightness: Refers to the percent of light reflected back from a sheet of paper as measured by a light meter reading. Contrast is reduced and highlights are not as strong when paper with a lower brightness is used for a printed piece.

Bond Paper: A relatively high-grade paper stock generally used for letters, business forms, and copying. Some types of bond paper may have a rag content ranging from 25 percent to 100 percent.

C1S: Paper coated on one side.

Calendering: A process where paper is run between a stack of polished steel rollers which progressively smooth and compact the paper as it moves through the rollers.

Caliper: Measurement of the thickness of paper, expressed in thousandths of an inch (points or mils). The caliper can also be expressed in pages per inch (ppi), pages per centimeter (ppc) or thousandths of a millimeter (microns). Caliper is also the name of the tool used to measure the thickness.

CMYK: Cyan-Magenta-Yellow-Black - The primary pigment colors used in 4 color process printing and most desktop publishing programs. CMY are the subtractive primary colors and are used to reproduce full color on the printed sheet. If these pigments are combined in equal amounts, black is supposed to be produced, but because of imperfections with the pigments, a muddy brown color is produced. For that reason, black (represented by K) is added to give definition to color reproduction and to create bolder text.

Coating: 1. The mixture of clay materials that are applied to paper to improve the smoothness of the paper''s surface and improves ink holdout during the printing process. 2. In reference to printing, it is a varnish, lacquer, emulsion or other layers added to a printed product to provide protection.

Cross Grain: The paper direction that is at a right angle to the direction of the paper running through the machine.

Deckle Edge: A special effect used on paper where the edge of the paper looks untrimmed or torn. Used for aesthetic purposes. Generally used on formal stationery, invitations and announcements.

Digital Papers: Papers that have been manufactured to meet the requirements for printing on digital equipment. They have a surface suitable to accept the inks and toners of the digital printers. They must also be of low moisture content to prevent the paper from curling when exposed to the high heat of some of the digital equipment.

Fine Papers: A category of paper that includes grades for writing and printing as opposed to the more coarse and industrial grades of paper. Also referred to as graphic and cultural papers.

Fluorescent Papers: Papers that have had fluorescent dyes added when they were manufactured. The fluorescent dyes produce a brilliance that appears brighter in natural daylight.

Genuine Watermark: A translucent image created in the paper on the paper machine, with the use of a dandy roller. Also referred to as a true watermark.

Glassine: A thin dense paper that is transparent or semi-transparent. It is grease resistant. It is often used as a patch over a die cut window on envelopes. It has a slightly cloudy appearance.

Gloss Finish: A coating on paper that provides a higher reflection of light which results in a shiny appearance. Gloss coatings reduce ink absorption, which allows excellent contrast and color definition.

Grade: The quality of paper as determined by the ingredients of the stock such as wood or cotton fiber and the method of manufacturing. All papers fit into a group or type of paper which is its grade.

Groundwood Pulp: A wood pulp that contains the natural wood impurities and has not been chemically processed. Also known as mechanical pulp.

Grain Long: When the fibers in paper run parallel to the long dimension of the paper. For 8 1/2" x 11", long grain would mean the grain runs the 11" direction. Also referred to as long grain.

Grain Short: When the fibers in paper run perpendicular to the long dimension of the paper. For 8 1/2" x 11", grain short would mean the grain runs the 8 1/2" direction. Also referred to as short grain.

High Bulk Paper: Paper that is relatively thick in comparison to its basis weight. High bulk paper lacks compactness and will yeild fewer sheets per inch than a lower bulk paper.

Kraft Paper: A sturdy brown paper with a high-pulp content used for wrapping paper, grocery bags, and some varieties of envelopes.

Laid Finish: A laid finish has the appearance of translucent lines running horizontally and vertically in the paper. It is produced during the papermaking process with a special roller that creates the pattern in the wet paper.

Laid Paper: Paper that has a laid finish. Commonly used for letterheads.

Laser Paper: Paper that has been manufactured to provide optimal performance when running through a laser printer or copier. It has low moisture content to prevent the paper from curling when exposed to the high heat from the laser printers.

Long Grain: When the fibers in paper run parallel to the long dimension of the paper. For 8 1/2" x 11", long grain would mean the grain runs the 11" direction. Also referred to as grain long.

Linen Finish: A paper finish that resembles linen cloth which is usually produced after the papermaking process as an offline embossing process.

Matte Finish: A coated paper finish that is flat, not shiny like a gloss, but still keeps much of the ink from being absorbed by the paper and produces an excellent image.

Newsprint: A coarse grade of paper used mostly for printing newspapers. It is made from mostly wood pulp. It has a dot gain of 20% or more.

Offset Paper: Paper that has been manufactured with properties that make the paper suitable for offset printing. Some of the properties include dimensional stability, resistance to curling, high surface strength a surface free from foreign particles and a high level of resistance to moisture penetration.

Opacity: A measure used to describe how much the paper will block the ink from showing through the sheet.

Opaque: 1. The property of paper that prevents "show through" of printing from the opposite side. 2. A water soluble paint used to block out areas on the negative film that you do not want light to pass through and expose the plate.

Paper Grade: The quality of paper as determined by the ingredients of the stock such as wood or cotton fiber and the method of manufacturing. All papers fit into a group or type of paper which is its grade.

Paper Sizes (US): US standard sizes include the following: A (8.5" x 11"), B (11" x 17"), C (17" x 22"), D (22" x 34"), E (34" x 44"), executive (7.25" x 10.5"), and legal (8.5" x 14").

Parchment Finish: A paper finish that has an old or antique appearance. Parchment is very durable and grease resistant.

Pinfeed Holes: Evenly spaced holes that are punched into the left and right margins of a continuous form, used at the collator to guide the paper through and align each part. They are also used to guide the form through a continuous printer.

Pressure Sensitive Paper: Paper made up of 3 laminated layers - the liner, adhesive, and facestock. It is called pressure sensitive because when the liner is removed, the adhesive will allow the facestock to stick to another surface when pressure is applied to it.

Rag Paper: Paper that contains cotton rag fibers. Generally used for high quality stationery.

Ream: 500 sheets of paper, regardless of the paper''s size or weight.

Recyclable Paper: Papers qualifying as “recyclable” have no attachments which prevent them from being entered into conventional recycling programs. Paper can only be marked as recyclable if it can be collected, separated or otherwise recovered from the solid waste stream for reuse in the manufacture of another product through an established recycling program.

Recycled Paper: Paper or products made with paper can contain post-consumer or pre-consumer recycled fiber or both.

Post-consumer waste (PCW) fiber is generated from consumer end products that have been separated or diverted from the solid waste stream. Items that make up this type of fiber include office wastepaper, mail and magazines from people’s homes, and used packaging from delivered products.
Pre-consumer waste fiber is generated from materials that have not met their intended end-use by a consumer. Examples include waste from manufacturing, and converting and printing processes.

Roll: A web of paper wrapped around a core or shaft.

Safety Paper: A type of security paper that has been manufactured with a printed pattern. The purpose of the pattern is to show evidence of any attempt made to alter a document by erasing or by chemical alteration.

Sheets: Individual flat cut size pieces of paper. Available in many sizes.

Short Grain: When the fibers in paper run perpendicular to the long dimension of the paper. For 8 1/2" x 11", short grain would mean the grain runs the 8 1/2" direction. Also referred to as grain short.

Smooth Finish: A finish that has been made smooth and level from the paper passing through sets of rollers during the papermaking process.

Substance Weight: Basis weight of a paper.

Tag Paper: A strong, heavyweight paper stock that has a smooth, hard finish.

Text Paper: Paper stock used for products such as books, pages of reports, and other items that do not require the stiffness of card stock. Generally is a higher quality sheet.

Translucent: When a material transmitts light in a diffuse manner so that objects behind it are not clearly distinguishable. Translucent material can be seen through but not as clearly as a transparent material such as acetate.

Uncoated Paper: Paper that has been manufactured without the use of coating materials.

Uncalendered Paper: Paper that has not been sent through the stack of polished steel rollers used in the calendering process which smooths the surface of the paper.

UV Coating: A liquid coating applied to the printed piece, which is then bonded and cured with ultraviolet light. This coating is used to provide a protective coating to the printed image.

Varnish: A thin, liquid protective coating, either matte or glossy, that is applied to the product. It adds protection and enhances the appearance of the product. It can be applied as an all over coating or it can be applied as a spot coating.

Vellum Paper: Paper with a vellum finish. Its finish is relatively absorbent, making a good printing surface.

Web Paper: Roll paper used for printing on a web press.

With the Grain: Parallel to the grain direction of the paper.

Wove Finish: A standard smooth even finish.

Writing Paper: Paper that has a surface that is easy to write on with pen or pencil.