Jul 31 2010

Glossary of Terms for
Paper and Printing

"I"

IMPOSITION

The laying out of type pages in a press form so that they will be in the correct order after the printed sheet is folded. Imposition planning can help reduce paper waste and make-ready time. The most common imposition approaches are sheetwise, work-and-back, work-and-tumble, and work-and-turn. See specific name for definitions.

IMPRESSION CYLINDER

The press cylinder that holds the paper while an inked image from the blanket is pressed upon it.

INDEX PAPER

A stiff, high bulk, low weight paper that is a popular choice for business reply cards.

INGREDIENTS OF PAPER

Paper is composed of cellulose fibres such as from wood or cotton and additives, such as fillers, dyes and sizing.

INK

A semi-solid quick drying ink made especially for use in printing. Printing inks are formulated to reduce smudging, picking and other printing problems associated with ink. The choice of ink depends on the type of paper and printing process.

INK ABSORPTION

A paper's capacity to accept or absorb ink.

INK HOLDOUT

The degree to which a paper surface resists penetration of ink. An inked image printed on paper with a high degree of ink holdout will dry by oxidation rather than absorption. Higher ink holdout means higher print gloss. Strong ink holdout results in a sharp, bright image.

INK JET

A printer technology based on microscopic droplets of ink being sprayed through ultra fine nozzles from cartridges. In four-colour inkjets there are cyan, magenta, yellow and black cartridges.

INTAGLIO PRINTING (GRAVURE PRINTING)

A method of printing in which the image is etched into the printing plates, as opposed to letterpress printing, in which the image is slightly raised from the rest of the plate. Gravure printing produces consistent quality in long production runs. Printing method is also called Gravure.

INTEGRATED MILLS

Mills which produce paper from pulp manufactured on site, e.g. timber in one end, paper out at the other.

INTERNAL BOND STRENGTH

Measure of internal strength of paper and paperboard. Low internal bond strength could lead to picking the clay from the paper when tacky inks are used.

INTERPOLATION

When a normal analogue photograph is enlarged, the grain or structure is enlarged in a linear relationship to the final output. With a digital image, pixels would normally enlarge also. To avoid this, the computer keeps the pixel size fixed, enlarges the image and

ISO SIZES

International range of sizes for paper and envelopes. See A, B and C sizes.

ISO14001

The standard published by the International Standards Organisation specifying the requirements of an environmental management system.

IVORY BOARD

Smooth board commonly used for business cards due to its fine finish.