Absolute humidity
The percentage of water in paper. Standard values range from 4 to 7%.

Acrylic Varnish Suitable
Surface treatment for printing with acrylic varnish.

Anti-Fungal
Special treatment of paper to prevent the spread of mould and fungi on labels.

Bagasse
Fibrous matter that remains after the juice is extracted from sugarcane. Contains short fibres.

Bekk
Method for measuring smoothness, expressed in seconds. The higher the value, the smoother the paper.

Bendtsen
Method for measuring roughness expressed in millilitres per minute (mL/min). The higher the value, the rougher the paper.

Bleaching
Removal of the colour of the lignin in order to increase the whiteness of the pulp during its production.

Bulk
Using touch to assess the thickness of paper. Paper has bulk when its thickness appears large for its mass per square metre. The thicker the paper in relation to the grammage, the more the paper is said to be “bulky”. This volume is calculated using the ratio of thickness to grammage.

Burst factor
The bursting strength of a paper (in g/cm²) divided by the grammage of the material. The bursting strength is the maximum uniformly distributed pressure applied at right angles to the surface of a sheet of paper.

Chemical pulp
Pulp obtained after cooking with added chemicals to remove a significant proportion of the non-cellulosic components of the plant, including lignin.

CIE whiteness
Measures the entire visible spectrum and provides a more effective assessment of the visual perception of paper whiteness.

Coated paper
Paper coated with fillers, producing a particularly regular surface.

Cobb value
Measures the quantity of water paper can absorb in a given time, expressed in g/m².

Controlled Wood
Controlled Wood is material that has not been FSC®-certified. Any company using it must check with its supplier and obtain proof that the material has not been harvested from forests deemed unacceptable by the FSC®.

Core
Thick compact board tube used as a shaft for a reel.

Cross direction
The cross direction is perpendicular to the alignment of the fibres and therefore to the machine direction. For labels sized 72x102 cm, unless otherwise indicated, the cross direction is represented by the 72 cm, and the machine direction by the 102 cm. Generally speaking, the cross direction usually runs along the height of the label and the machine direction along the width.

Cube pallet
Pile of sheets positioned on a pallet on one or more stacks.

Cutter Equipment
Used to transform rolls into sheets of specified lengths.

Dimensional stability
Ability of a paper to retain its dimensions as it undergoes various operations (printing, varnishing, film coating, etc.).

DP
Digital process optimised for HP Indigo presses using liquid and pigment-based inks; like an offset press.The inks are fixed using a blanket which transfers the ink to the paper.

ECF (Elementary Chlorine Free)
Bleaching process which avoids the use of chlorine gas.

Equilibrium relative humidity
Equilibrium relative humidity expresses the ratio between the moisture content of the material and the humidity of the environment. If humidity levels in both are more or less equal, neither the paper nor the ambient air gains or loses moisture. The values recommended for printing and storage of paper are between 45 and 55%.

Felt side / Wire side
Asymmetry between the two sides of the paper caused by production on flat bed machines. The wire side is the face of the paper in contact with the machine wire during manufacture which makes it smoother. The felt side is rougher than the wire side except in the case of a smooth paper.Felt (tool)

Woven cloth threaded between the rolls in the wet press section. It is also called graining felt when the surface of the cloth leaves a mark or imprint on the paper.

Formation
The appearance of the paper when held up to the light (or backlit). It can be "even", "closed" or "cloudy" depending on the homogeneity of the fibre distribution.

Fourdrinier (paper machine)
A traditional paper machine on which the sheet is formed by draining on a continuous horizontal wire.

FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council)
Ecolabel introduced to promote sustainable management of the world's forests through the implementation of environmental, social and economic development policies.

Gold foil blocking
Transformation process in which a gold or silver metallic film is applied to a medium.

Grain Felt
Marking the surface of the paper with a graining felt in the wet press section.

Grain direction / machine direction or making direction
The alignment of the fibres on the paper machine should preferably be in the direction of formation of the sheet i.e. the machine direction.

Graining machine
Machine used to produce mechanical grain on dry paper.

Grammage
The mass of a paper per unit of area. Grammage is expressed in g/m².

Guillotine
Equipment used to cut stacked sheets of paper to the required size. Can also be used to square paper.

Guillotining
Operation which consists of cutting the initial size of the paper in two (or into several subunits when it is known as "forwarding"). For example, nine A4 sheets are cut from one 70x100 sheet.

ISO whiteness
Measures the reflectance of paper at a wavelength of 457 nanometres (hm). This measurement is determined largely by the fluorescence of the paper (quantity of optical brighteners), with only minor consideration given to the hue.

Laid (paper)
cf. the Laid family of products in our catalogue When looked through, this paper has laid lines running parallel to the cross direction and which are perpendicular to other ridges known as chain lines running parallel to the machine direction.Lignin

The main constituent of wood, lignin cements, waterproofs and stiffens the overall structure. It has the disadvantage of colouring under light.

Long fibre
Produced from coniferous trees (pine, fir, spruce, etc.). Long fibres are 2 to 4 mm long and give the paper its mechanical properties.