PRINT PAPER GLOSSARY
Aqueous coating: Coating applied to pages after they’ve been printed that helps prevent the ink from rubbing off and that can give the paper a matte or gloss finish.
Basis weight: The weight, in pounds, of a ream (500 sheets)
of paper cut to the basic size for that particular paper grade; also called
ream weight.
Bleed-through: When an image from one side of a sheet of paper is visible on
the other, often due to a lack of opacity in the paper; also called show-through.
Brightness: The percentage of light that is reflected from
a sheet of paper; the brighter the paper, the greater the contrast in the images.
Calender: To press paper between rollers during the manufacturing process in
order to create a smoother product.
Coated freesheet: Coated paper containing no more than 10%
groundwood pulp; the low groundwood-pulp content makes it whiter, heavier, more
durable, and more expensive than groundwood papers.
Coated groundwood: Coated paper containing 10%-75% groundwood
pulp
Coated paper: Paper whose surface has been treated with a mix
of binders (such as starch and latex) and pigment to improve its quality.
CWT: Abbreviation for hundredweight.
Density: A paper’s weight in comparison to its bulk.
Free sheet: High-quality paper that’s free of or almost
free of groundwood pulp.
Grade: Quality of a paper based on its contents and method
of manufacturing.
Groundwood pulp: A mechanically produced wood pulp used to
make inexpensive grades of paper; also called mechanical pulp.
Mill brand: A paper’s brand name.
Opacity: The amount of bleed-through of a piece of paper.
Paper merchant: Middleman who buys paper from the manufacturer
and sells it to the buyer; a merchant typically works with multiple manufacturers.
Postconsumer waste paper: Paper that was disposed after reaching
the end user, such as discarded newspapers and stationery.
Preconsumer waste paper: Paper that was disposed of before
reaching the end user—for instance, the trimmed ends of a catalog before
it is mailed.
Self-cover: Use of the same type of paper for the cover as
for the inside pages.
Signature: A folded sheet of paper that consists of a set number
of pages. All signatures are multiples of four, with 16-page signatures the
most common; also called forms.
Supercalendered (SC) paper: Paper that is calendered between
alternating chrome and fiber rollers, making it smoother and glossier than calendered
paper.
Virgin paper: Paper with no recycled content.
