Here are some Frequently used Printing Terminology (A-D).

AA Authors Alterations, changes other than corrections, made by a client after the proofing process has begun. AAs are usually charged to a client as billable time. Return to top

Absorbency the capacity a paper has for accepting liquids, like the inks or water used to run offset lithographic presses. see also ink absorption,ink holdout. Return to top

Acid-free paper paper manufactured on a paper machine with the wet-end chemistry controlled to a neutral or slightly alkaline pH. see also alkaline papermaking, archival, permanence, pH, wet end. Return to top

Actual weight the true weight of any volume of paper. The actual weight of paper is used to determine both purchase price and shipping costs. see also basic size, basis weight, weight. Return to top

Additives ingredients of paper other than pulp. Additives include clay fillers, dyes, sizing, and other chemicals. see also clay, ingredients of paper, papermaking, sizing. Return to top

Alkaline Papermaking the manufacture of paper under alkaline conditions using additives, caustic fillers like calcium cand neutral size. Alkaline paperis usally used where aging resistance is desired. It's the logical choice for documents, books, and maps. All of Champion uncoated premium papers are made with an alkaline process, so they're long-lasting and well-suited for permanent record applications. see also acid-free paper, archival paper, calcuim carbonate, lignin, papermaking, permanence, pH, sizing. Return to top

Alum also called hydrated aluminum sulfate or papermaker's alum. A papermaking chemical that's typically used when adding rosin size to pulp, alum imparts water-resistant properties to paper. In practical terms, it keeps paper from clinging to the presses, see also rosin, sizing. Return to top

Aqueous Coating a water-based caoting applied after printing, either while the paper is still on press ("in line"), or after it's off press. An aque- ous coating usually gives a gloss, dull, or matte finish, and helps prevent the underlying ink from rubbing off. Unlike a UV coat- ing or a varnish, an aqueous coating will accept ink-jet printing, making it a natural choice for jobs that require printing addresses for mass mailings. see also coated paper, finishing, UV coating, varnish. Return to top

Archival Paper paper that's alkaline and won't deteriorate over time. Archival papers must meet national standards for permanence: they must be acid-free and alkaline with a pH of 7.5 to 8.5; include 2% calcium carbonate as an alkaline reserve; and not contain any groundwood or unbleached wook fiber. The expected life of archival paper is more than 100 years. see also acid-free, alkaline papermaking, permanence, pH. Return to top

Art Director The individual responsible for overseeing the creative and production process and managing other creative individuals. Return to top

Backing Up paper that's alkaline and won't deteriorate over time. Archival papers must meet national standards for permanence: they must be acid-free and alkaline with a pH of 7.5 to 8.5; include 2% calcium carbonate as an alkaline reserve; and not contain anyu ground wood or unbleached wook fiber. The expected life of archival paper is more than 100 years. see also acid-free, alkaline papermaking, permanence, pH. Return to top

Basic Size the customary sheet size used to establish the basis weight of a ream (500 sheets) of a given grade of paper. Standard basic sizes vary by paper grade. For example, the basic size of book paper is 25"x38", while the basic size of cover stock is 20"x26". see also basis weight, weight. Return to top

Basis Weight the weight, in pounds, of a ream (500 sheets) of paper cut to a given standard (basic size). Each major paper grade, like cover, bond, or offset, has its own basic sheet size, which determines its basis weight. For example, the basic size of book paper is 25"x38" for 500 sheets; therefore, 500 sheets of 70lb. offset book paper in 25"x38" will actually weigh 70 pounds. see also basic size, ream weight, weight. Return to top

Binding fastening papers together for easy reading, transport, and pro- textion. Papers may be bound together with a variety of materi- als, like wire, thread, glue, and plastic combs. types of binding see also finishing, folding, imposition, scoring, signature. Return to top

Blade-coating a method of coating paper and paperboard using a flexible blade to control the amount of coating applied to the paper. The coating is made of pigments, additives, and adhesives. Blade-coating can take place either on the papermaking machine or on an off-machine coater. While paper may be coated on one side (C1S) or both sides (C2S), blade-coated paper are usually calendared. This helps create a compressed sheet with a glossy surface, reduced bulk, and enhanced printed properties. see also bulk, calendering, clay, coated paper. Return to top

Blanket see impression cylinder, offset. Return to top

Bleaching a chemical treatment used to whiten and purify pulp. Bleached pulp is known for being strong and durable. see also celemtal chlorine free (ECF), OD100 precess, papermaking, pulp. Return to top

Bleach Filtrate Recycling (BFR) process Champion's groundbreaking new patented process that recycles precess wastes from the bleach plant instead of discharging them to the waste water treatment facility. This technology uses Champion's 0D100 bleaching process, and is being demonstrated at Champion's Canton, Norht Carolina mill. see also elemental chlorine free (ECF), OD100 process. Return to top

Bleed an image or printed colour that runs off the trimmed edge of a page. Bleeding one or more edges of a printed page generally increases both the amount of paper needed and the overall production cost of a printed job. Bleeds are created by trimming the page after printing. Return to top

Blind Embossing stamping raised letters or images into paper using pressure and a die, but without using foil or ink to add colour to the raised areas. Braille is an example of blind embossing. see also elemental chlorine free (ECF), OD100 process. Return to top

Blueline A printer's proof, actually blue on white paper. All AAs and corrections should have been made prior to seeing a blueline.< Return to top

BMP A computer graphics format "Bitmap IBM format" not generally used in professional printing. Return to top

Bond Paper a type of office reprographic paper, widely used for letterheads and business forms. Bond papers are characterized by strenght, durability, and performance during electronic printing. They are manufactured with a basic size of 17"x22". see also basic size, electronic printing, office reprographic paper, xerography. Return to top

Bonding Strength the internal strength of a paper; the ability of the fibers within a paper to hold to one another. Bonding strength measures the ability of the paper to hold together on the printing press. Good bonding strength prevents fibers from coming loose ("picking"). see also picking, pick out, sizing. Return to top

Book Paper a type of offset paper with a basic size of 25"x38". The primary applications for these products are book publishing, commercial printing, direct mail, technical documents, and manuals. see also basic size, offset papers, text papers. Return to top

Brightness the reflectivity of pulp, paper, or paperboard under test condi- tions, using a specially calibrated measuring instrument. If paper lacks brightness it will absorb too much light, so little will reflect back through the ink. see also fluorescent dye, refractiviness, whiteness. Return to top

Bristol Paper solid or laminated heavyweight paper made to a caliper thick- ness of .006" or higher. Bristols are generally used for tags, covers, and file folders and have a basic size of 24.5"x30.5". see also basic size, cover paper, tag paper. Return to top

Bulk the thickness of a stack of paper, technically measured as the thickness of a specified number of sheets under a specified pressure. For example, using the measurement of an inch, it may take less that 100 bulky bristol sheets to make an inch- deep pile. On the other hand, it might take hundreds of sheets to make an inch of a lower-bulk text paper. Where thickness or the illusion of substance is a desired effect, bulk is a key factor. see also caliper, thickness. Return to top

Burn To expose photo sensitive media to light. i.e. Burning a negative or Burning a printing plate. Also, to doge and "burn" a photo print (makes the image darker in an area that is burned, ads detail to lightly exposed areas). Return to top

C1S paper that is coated on one side only (coated one side). An example of a C1S sheet is Champion All-Purpose Litho.

C2S paper that is coated on both sides (coated two sides). Return to top

Calcium Carbonte CaCO3, a naturally occurring substance found in a variety of sources, including chalk, limestone, marble, oyster shells, and scale from boiled hard water. Used as a filler in the alkaline paper manufacturing process, calcium carbonate improves several important paper characteristics, like smoothness, brightness, opacity, and affinity for ink; it also reduces paper acidity. It is a key ingredient in today's paper coatings. see also alkaline papermaking, ingredients of paper. Return to top

Calendering the process of finishing a sheet of dried paper by pressing it between the highly polished metal cylinders of a calenar "stack". The calendar smoothes the paper by compression. see also finish, papermaking, smoothness, supercalendering. Return to top

Caliper the thinkness of a single sheet of paper, as measured with a sensitive tool called a micrometer, and expressed in units of thousandths of an inch. Caliper is a critical measure of uniformity. Excessive variation in caliper can lead to print variation, undesirable visual effects, and uneven stretch or press-feeding problems. It can also create problems in folding and binding. see also bulk, thickness. Return to top

Case Binding see binding. Return to top

Cast-coating paper produced with a surface that is a reasonably accurate replication of some other surface. To manufacture cast-coated paper, a paper web with wet or moistened coating is brought into contact with a polished chrome drum surface, which is replicated in the coated sheet. There are two basic cast-coating technologies: the "wet process", invented and developed by Champion in 1937; and the "re-wet" process. Both methods remain in use to produce the world's out- put of cast-coated products. The advantage of the "wet process," used to manufacture Champion Kromekote, is that the sheet is both smooth and absorbent, not just smooth, allowing for excel- lent ink transfer with minimal pressure. Cast-coated papers allow inks to set and dry quickly, making wet trapping easier and mini- mizing dot gain. In general, cast-coated papers uniquely combine a superior flat surface with excellent ink receptivity, making them the best of printing surfaces, regardless of the type of printing process. see also coated-paper, dot gain, finish, smoothness, wet trap. Return to top

Camera Ready Type and/or artwork that has been pasted into position, laser prints, or other artwork to be photographed for plate ready film. Return to top

Cellulose Fiber the main component of the walls of all plant cells, cellulose gives plants their structural support and makes plant material fibrous. Both cotton and wook fibers are mostly made up of cellulose. see also fiber, ingredients of paper, paper, pulping wood. Return to top

Chemical Pulping manufacturing pulp by pressure-cooking wook or other raw fibrous material into its component parts with solutions of various chemical liquors. The predominant chemical pulping process is the sulfate (kraft) process. see also kraft, papermaking, pulping wood. Return to top

Choke (Choking) When trapping colour closing in an area that has another colour inside so the choked colour overlaps, also spreading. Return to top

Chromalin A colour proofing system, usually the final colour proof before going on the press. This is a high quality proof and all corrections and alterations should be made prior to this. Return to top

Clay a naturally occuring substance commonly used in the paper industry. Clay is used as both a filler and a coating ingredient. By adding clay, papermakers can improve a paper's smooth- ness, brightness, opacity, and affinity for ink. see also additives, coated paper, filler, ingredients of paper, opacity. Return to top

CMYK Abreviation for the four process colour inks: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. Return to top

Coated Paper paper with an outer layer of coating applied to one of both sides. The coating may be added while the paper is still moving through the papermaking machine, or after it comes off the machine. Coated papers are available in a variety of finishes, like gloss, dull, and matte. They tend to have good ink holdout and minimal dot gain, which can be especially important for recreat- ing sharp, bright images, black and white halftones, and four-colour process images. The smooth surface of coated papers also helps to reflect light evenly. see also cast-coating, clay, dot gain, dull coated, four-colour process gloss, halftone, ink holdout, matte coated, off-machine coating. Return to top

colour Key A printer's proof usually used for viewing the individual layers of C,M,Y & K, four sheets of coloured acetate, for examining the quality of process colour separations. Return to top

colour Separation Literally separating the areas of a piece to be printed into its component spot and process ink colours. Each colour to be printed must have its own printing plate. Usually referred to in a photographic sense a colour separation of a photo done either digitally or traditionaly on a scanner. Return to top

colourcurve System a colour matching system based on light reflectance curves rather than on ink formulations. It is intended to coordinate colours across a variety of surfacesa and materials and to reduce metamerism. see also match colour, metamerism, PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM, Toyo. Return to top

colourfastness having colour that won't run when wet, and won't fade in bright light. Return to top

Comp (comprehesive) a complete but prospective example of a design project, demon- strating size, layout of images and type, use of colour, and paper. see also dummy. Return to top

Composite Image A photograph or other graphic image, that is made of a combination of multiple images. Return to top

Continuous Tone having an unbroken range of intensities, as found in black and white photographs. Continuous tone images have not been screened, and contain gradient tones from black to white. see also halftone, screen, stochastic. Return to top

Contrast the degree of difference between light and dark areas in an image. Extreme lights and darks give an image high contrast. An image with a wide tonal range has lover contrast. Return to top

Conversion The process of creating a three dimensional (3D) item from a flat sheet of paper. i.e. envelope conversion / box conversion. Return to top

Copy The written information and other text used in advertising and printed material. Return to top

Copyright (©) A group of legal rights granted to the author or creator of written or visual work. All work appearing with the © symbol or the word "copyright" is protected by its creator or his heirs. For more information, contact your attorney. Return to top

Copy Writer The individual who writes the written information or "copy" for an advertisement, newsletter, publication or brochure. Return to top

Cotton Paper paper with a minimum cotton fiber content of 25%, and a maxi- mum fiber content of 100%. When fiber other than cotton is used, the balance comes from wood pulp. Cotton pulp is made from rags or clippings from textile mills, raw cotton, and cotton linters. Cotton papers are primarily used as writing papers. Return to top

Cover Paper heavier, generally stiffer paper commonly used for book covers, folders, greeting cards, business cards, and brochures. Uncoat- ed cover papers generally match the colour and finish of corre- sponding text papers. The basic size of cover stock is 20"x26". see also basic size, text paper. Return to top

Curl the waviness of a sheet of paper generally seen along its edges. Curling is generally the result of physical stresses or changes in humidity, and mayoccur at the paper mill, in the pressroom, on press, or after binding. Paper tends to curl along, rather than across, the grain of the paper. Recycled and recycled content papers have less tendency to curl than virgin fiber papers because their fibers are shorter. see also grain, relative humidity. Return to top

Cut-size writing or business papers that are cut to a finished size of 8.5"x11", 8.5"x14", or 11"x17". Cut-size papers, like Champion Inkjet, are usually packed in reams of 500 sheets before leaving the mill. Return to top

Cylinder Machine a type of papermaking machine. Wire covered cylinders are rotated through a vat of pulp, and paper is formed as the water drains from the cylinder. Cylinder machines are mostly used for manufacturing paperboard. Multicylinder machines are capable or producing multi-layered paperboard (one layer for each cylinder). see also paperboard, papermaking. Return to top

Dandy Roll a wire mesh cylinder used to smooth the top of paper as it forms. Enhancing both surface smoothness and formation, the dandy roll may also carry a design, which will create a water- mark, identifying the sheet. see also laid finish, papermaking, watermark. Return to top

Debossing pressing letters or illustrations into a sheet of paper using a metal or plastic die to create a depressed (debossed) image. see also embossing. Return to top

Deckle Edge the feathery edge on a sheet of paper, created as the paper machine sprays a stream of water or a jet of air across the paper as it's being formed. Deckle edges can also be created after the paper is made, using a die. This method creates a less feathery, harder-edged deckle. Return to top

Deinking removing ink and other finishing materials, like coatings, sizings, and adhesives from printed paper. The complex deinking process is what makes recycling paper difficult and ultimately adds to the cost of a recycled sheet of paper. To produce high-quality recycled or recycled content papres for printing and writing, the deinking process needs to be thorough. The goal is to end up with reusable fiber that has few impurities, since impurities lower the quality of a reycyled sheet and can some- times damage equipment in the papermaking and printing process. Modern offset and flexographic ink, photocopier and laser printing "ink," ultraviolet and thermography coatings, and adhesives make it increasingly difficult to deink paper. deinking process see also bleaching, flotation, pulping wood, recycled paper. Return to top

Densitometer an instrument used throughout a print run to measure the optical density of ink on paper. Return to top

Density the weight of a sheet of paper as compared to its bulk. For example, a paper that weighs more than another paper but is thinner has a higher density. Compacting the fibers creates a dense paper. see also bulk, weight. Return to top

Desktop Publishing A process for creating camera ready and plate ready artwork on a personal computer. Return to top

Die-cutting using a formed, meta-edged die to precision cut , or to cut shapes into a piece of paper. If a printing project requires a custom-made die, the total cost of the job will increase. Return to top

Digital Imaging The process of creating a digital output of an illustration, photographic image, computer file or other computer generated materials. Output media can be film, paper, transparencies, vinyl and other materials. Return to top

Digital Photography The process of recording images using a digital camera or a conventional camera with a digital adapter, it records on a disk or on microchip whitch can then be downloaded directly to a computer in tiff, pict or eps format. Return to top

Digital Printing A type of printing which uses digital imaging process that transfers the image directly onto plain paper imediately, without traditional offset rollers and plates. Return to top

Dimensional Stability a measure of paper's tendency to stretch or shrink, especially when affected by changes in moisture content from humidity, the printing process, or even the passage of time. Paper that maintains its original dimensions has a high degree of dimen- sional stability. see also grain, relative humidity, resilience, runnability. Return to top

Dispersion see deinking. Return to top<

Dot Compensation adjusting the size of the dots in halftones or four-colour images to allow for dot gain and to ensure that the colour and detail of the image print as intended. see also dot gain, four-colour process, halftone, ink holdout, screen. Return to top

Dot Gain A printing term which describes wet ink coming in contact with paper and spreading as it is transfers. As the halftone dots are applied to the paper, the wet ink spreads, causing the dots to increase in size and halftones to appear darker. Paper weight, type of paper (coated or uncoated), press type (especially web presses), effect the amount of dot gain in a given printed piece. You may compensate for dot gain by calculating the dot gain before a print job and lessen the density of the images to be printed before you output film. See also dot compensation, four-colour process, halftone. Return to top

DPI (dot per inch) the number of dots that fit horizontally and vertically into a one- inch measure. Generally, the more dots per inch, the more detail is captured, and the sharper the resulting image. see also halftone, lines per inch, screen. Return to top

Dry End the drying section of the papermaking machine, after the press setion, at which point most water has been removed from the paper. As paper moves through the dry end, the drying process is completed and the paper reel is wound. see also drying, felt, papermaking, wet end. Return to top

Dry Trap a layer of wet ink being applied over a previous layer of dry ink in a separate run of the printing press. Dry trapping usually pro- duces sharper images than wet trapping because subsequent layers of ink aren't diluted by prior wet or damp layers. Dry trap- ping is also more expensive because the paper travels through the press more than once. see also trapping, wet trap. Return to top

Drying the step in the papermaking process that brings the moisture content of paper to approximately 5%. This is done by moving the web of paper around a series of heated iron drums in the dry end of the paper machine. see also dry end, papermaking. Return to top

Dryography waterless offset lithography. This printing process is able to use extremely fine line screens to produce high resolution printing. see also offset, waterless printing. Return to top

Dull Coated a coated paper finish that falls between glossy and matte. see also coated paper, gloss, matte coated. Return to top

Dummy an unprinted mock-up of a book, brochure, or "to-be-printed" piece. A dummy is made of the same paper stocks that will be used in the finished piece, and serves as a reference for the cliet, designer, printer, mailing, house, or distributor. The print- er, paper, merchant, or paper consultant generally provides the dummy at the request of the designer. see also comp, paper consultant. Return to top

Duotone a two-colour halftone of the same imaegs created with two screens, two plates, and two colours. Most halftones are one-colour halftones, printed with black ink on white paper. By blending the black of the tiny ink dots and the white of the paper, the human eye sees shades of gray. Duotones are made by printing an image with two colours, generally black and a second colour. The full range of tones are printed black and the middle range of tones are printed in the second colour. The result is a striking image with more richness and depth that a one-colour halftone. The image can be further enhanced by printing a tritone or a quadratone; these are also reproductions of black and white images, perhaps with a touch of colour. The cost of printing tritones or quadratones may be as high as or higher than four- colour process printing. see also four-colour process, halftone, quadratone, screen, tritone. Return to top

Dust tiny, free pieces of fiber, filler, and/or coating on paper. During printing, dust may adhere to the blanket and create imperfec- tions by not allowing ink to reach the paper surface. see also hickey, jog. Return to top