FAQ's - Paper and Printing Terms Explained

Art paper: a generic term to describe coated woodfree printing and writing paper, and generally applied to grades at the top end of the quality/gloss spectrum.

AOX: Absorbable Organic Halogens. Collective term for the halogen compounds (chlorine, fluorine, bromine and iodine) bound to organic substances, for example in waste water from the mill.

Bio fuels: Fuels from renewable raw materials such as plant, bark and effluent sludge.

Blue Angel: A German environmental label, which covers many products, including paper. Quite important in paper industry during the early stages of environmental awareness, however, generally superseded by more recent accreditations.

Calendered paper: paper which has been given a smooth surface passing it through stacks of highly polished heated rollers (known as calenders). There are variations to the technology: for example in a supercalender some of the rollers are made from compressed fibre and in a soft calender the paper is passed between rollers made from steel and hard rubber.

Carbon Footprint: a measured assessment of the amount of carbon emission created by a certain activity.

Carbon Offsetting: processes to balance the emissions mentioned above.

Chain of Custody: The means of tracking a product along the supply chain. For instance, being able to trace paper from the forest of origin, through pulp and paper mill, paper merchant and printer to the end user.

Chemical pulp: a generic term which describes pulp produced by chemical (as opposed to mechanical) processes. These chemical processes include the kraft (or sulphate) and sulphite processes.

CHP: Combined Heat and Power. A power-operating unit that provides heat and electricity on site rather than drawing energy from the grid.

Coated paper and board: paper and board of which one or both sides have been coated with a mixture of materials to improve the printing surface.

CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility.

Dioxins: Dioxins are organochlorines, unwanted and toxic by-products formed in papermaking.

DIP: De-inked pulp.

ECF: Elemental Chlorine Free. Paper pulp bleached without the use of elemental chlorine.

EMAS: Eco-Management and Audit Scheme. The European Union's regulated environmental management system.

EMS: Environmental Management System. A business process that ensures that environmental matters are addressed.

EU Eco-label: European Union scheme to promote ?green? products including paper.

Eugropa Recycled Mark: Similar to the NAPM scheme (National Association of Paper Merchants) but only required 50% of fibre to be recycled.

FFCS: Finnish Forest Certification System. A scheme for auditing forestry operations in Finland.

FSC: Forest Stewardship Council. An international organization promoting responsible forest management.

GSM: grams per square metre, or g/m2. A measure of the basis weight of paper and board, or its grammage.

ISO14001: The standard published by the International Standards Organisation specifying the requirements of an environmental management system. There are many ISO standards ? 14001 is specific to environmental management.

Life Cycle Assessment/Analysis (LCA): A method of evaluating the environmental impact of a product ?from cradle to grave?.

LWC: lightweight coated, a grade of mechanical printing paper ? usually weighing less than 60gsm, used mainly as a publication paper where surface quality and weight are important.

Mechanical pulp: a generic term describing pulps produced by a mechanical (as opposed to a chemical) process. Also known as ?high-yield? pulp as the processes utilise a higher proportion of the wood raw material than do the chemical processes. Mechanical pulps are used principally in the production of newsprint.

Microns: A measure of thickness. A micron is a 1,000th of a mm.

Mill Broke: Off cuts and rejected material that has not left the paper mill. In the early days of recycled products, some producers classed mill broke as an acceptable source of ?recycled? material.

NAPM Agriwaste Mark: The National Association of Paper Merchants scheme for recognising paper that contains at least 75% non-wood waste material.

NAPM Recycled Mark: The National Association of Paper Merchants scheme for designating a paper as recycled.

Newsprint paper: made for the purpose of printing newspapers. Varieties of newsprint are also used for directories, and for some magazines and comics. Newsprint is mainly made from mechanical pulp and/or recycled fibre.

NGO: Non-Governmental Organisation. Term applied to organizations such as charities and pressure groups.

Nordic Swan: Scandinavian environmental label encouraging production methods that create minimum environmental impact.

Old Growth Forest (OGF): Term sometimes applied to old, relatively untouched forest rich in biodiversity.

Opacity: opacity is a paper's ability to prevent show-through from the reverse side of the sheet. The better the opacity, the better your publications and direct marketing will look.

Packaging Waste Regulations: Regulations that require larger users of packaging to recover and recycle a defined amount. Denmaur are firmly involved in packaging waste regulation.

PEFC: Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification.

Post-consumer Waste: Waste that has reached the end user, typically homes and offices.

Pre-consumer Waste: Waste that has left the mill but has not reached the end user - typically trimmings from sheets or reels etc.

Porosity: the degree of a paper's openness, measured by its resistance for air to pass through the sheet.

SC supercalendered: a grade of mechanical printing paper of which the surface has been polished by passing it through a stack of supercalenders (rollers). The paper is mainly used for printing magazines and other publications. It is a cheaper alternative to LWC (see above!)

Set off: A partial printed image, transferred onto the opposite page of the original image. This can often occur when using silk/matt stocks but can be prevented by applying a sealer during printing.

Stock: An alternative reference/term for paper

Substrate: An alternative reference/term for paper.

Sustainable Development: A way of living and working which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations.

Sustainable Forestation: During the past fifteen years, principles of sustainable forestry have been established. These relate to forests that are grown and managed as a farmed crop, with trees being continuously planted to replace trees removed for timber. Generally these are young forest that are increasing in size, say two trees being planted for each one felled. Protected forests, forest areas included in nature conservation and sites exclude from felling are all outside of the sustainable criteria

TCF: Totally Chlorine Free. Paper pulp that is bleached without using chlorine in any form.

Valpak: Valpak is a supplier of Producer Responsibility and recycling solutions. They assist businesses to comply with their potential packaging and recycling obligations.

Web: the continuous piece of paper formed as it passes through the paper machine before being eventually wound onto a reel. The term web printing or printing on the web describes the process of printing from a reel of paper as opposed to individual sheets of paper (sheetfed)

Woodfree: Woodfree is a description of pulp and paper meaning that they contain little or no mechanically ground fibres. Following pulping, effectively only cellulose fibre remains.

WWF Forest and Trade Network (formerly 95+ Group): A voluntary collection of companies committed to the improvement of forest management standards.

WRAP: Government organisation set up to promote efficient use of raw materials and encourage recycling.