Home  Paper Ink and Graphics
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Paper Ink and Graphics
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Written by Andy
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Tuesday, 10 March 2009 17:00 |
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When automated processing (bulk mailing) is going to be used on your mailing pieces, there are basic standards that need to be followed when designing the mail piece. Shown below are some of the standards that need to be followed when designing your mailing for automated processing. - Return Address - Must not extend to the right more than half the length of the piece.The bottom edge of the address must not extend down more than one third of the height of the piece.
- Ink Free Address Area - This area is reserved for the address. This area must be free of design (less than 10% ink density). This includes the area 5/8" from the bottom edge where the Postal Service bar codes print.
- Bar Code Clear Zone - Area in lower portion on address side of the mailing piece. The area from the bottom edge up to 5/8" from the bottom edge.
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Read more for layout and designs
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Written by Andy
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Monday, 29 September 2008 12:00 |
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 A description of papers
Basic Size and Basis Weight
The basis weight refers to the weight in pounds of 500 sheets of paper when it has been cut to that paper's standard basic size. For example the basic size for Bond paper is 17 x 22 inches. If 500 sheets (a ream) of Bond is cut to its basic size of 17 x 22 inches and weighs 20 pounds, it is classified as 20 lb. bond. If a 25 x 38 inch ream of Offset paper weighed 60 pounds it would be called 60 lb. Offset, and so on.
Other basic sizes of paper.
Bond 17 x 22
Offset 25 x 38. Because of the way that weight is calculated based on basic size sheets. It's interesting to note that 20lb bond is equivalent to 50lb offset and 24lb bond equivalent to 60lb offset.
Cover 20 x 26
Finish
The finish refers to the surface characteristics of the paper or how the paper feels, is it smooth such as glossy cover or rough with an antique finish? Does the paper have a glossy appearance such as coated glossy papers or is it dull like bond paper. Does the paper have a high ink absorption rate as does Vellum or poor absorption such as on coated papers? Some common paper finishes are described below. - Cockle - A cockle finish simulates characteristics of hand made paper with a wavy, rippled, puckered finish. The effect is obtained by air drying the paper under minimum tension.
- Felt - Felt is a soft texture on uncoated paper that is created during the papermaking process with a either felt covered roller or with a rubber roller with a felt pattern that creates the finish. It can also be accomplished as an offline process. The felt finish does not affect the strength of the paper.
- Gloss - A gloss finish produces a shiny and reflective surface on one or both sides of certain coated papers. A higher gloss is usually seen on higher quality coated papers. The gloss finish is produced from compounds added during the paper making process.
- Laid - A laid finish has the appearance of translucent lines running horizontally and vertically in the paper. It is produced during the papermaking process with a special roller that creates the pattern in the wet paper.
- Linen - Linen finished paper resembles linen cloth and is usually produced after the papermaking process as an offline embossing process.
- Matte - A finish on certain coated papers that is smooth but gives a dull appearance. A matte finish, as well as other types of coated paper, are good choices for print jobs in which high quality is required.
- Parchment - A paper finish that has an old or antique appearance and is the result of washing sulfuric acid over the paper and then quickly neutralizing the acid wash. This process melts the outer paper fibers which fill the voids in the rest of the paper. Parchment is very durable and grease resistant.
- Smooth - A smooth finish is the result of the paper passing through sets of rollers during the papermaking process. This process is known as calendering.
- Vellum - A vellum finish has an eggshell appearance and is consistent and even but not as much as a smooth finish. Vellum is one of the most popular uncoated finishes and paper with this finish has a high ink absorbency rate.
- Wove - An even finish in uncoated paper with a slight texture made by a felt roller covered in woven wire.
Grain
The grain of the paper refers to the direction of the fibers in a sheet of paper. Long grain paper refers to paper in which the fibers run in the same direction as the longest measurement of the paper. In other words an 8.5 x 11 sheet the grain would be long grain, with the grain running down the 11" side. Short grain paper refers to paper in which the fibers run in the same direction as the shortest measurement of the paper. When paper is torn, it will tear easier and straighter when torn parallel with the grain. It will also fold easier parallel to the grain and produce a cleaner fold than if folded across the grain. Laser printers require long grain paper for the best results. Short grain paper may not feed properly into a laser printer and the heat produced by a laser printer may result in the sheets curling as they come out of the printer.
Types
- Uncoated stocks: Uncoated stock is paper that has no coated pigment applied to reduce the absorbency or increase the smoothness. The uncoated finishes can be described as vellum, antique, wove, or smooth.
- Coated stocks: A coated stock has a surface coating that has been applied to make the surface more receptive for the reproduction of text and images in order to achieve sharper detail and improved color density. By adding a coated clay pigment, the objective of coating the stock is to improve the smoothness and reduce the absorbency. Coated paper finishes can be categorized as matte, dull, cast, gloss, and high gloss. The coating can be on both sides of the stock (coated two sides, "C2S") or on one side only (coated one side, "C1S"). Coatings added to groundwood papers give them a greater degree of permanency and the natural tendency for goundwood papers to yellow is reduced.
Opacity
Opacity is the measure (percent) of the amount of light passing through a sheet of paper. Some papers have more fibers and/or fillers and as a result are more opaque than others. Papers containing more fibers and fillers have the ability to hold a printed image without showing through to the backside as easily as papers without as many fibers and fillers. Just because a paper is thicker does not guarantee that it is more opaque than a thinner paper. Some thinner papers may be more opaque because there are a greater number of fibers and/or fillers in their composition. |
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Written by Andy
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Tuesday, 01 July 2008 15:33 |
I remember back when carbon paper was in use. You would take out two sheets of paper then slip the sheet of carbon paper in-between. You could get a few uses per sheet by flipping it around then you would have to throw it out. I haven't seen carbon sheets in quite a while. Then carbonless paper became the norm. It seemed magical on how it worked.
The History
Carbon Copy Paper (CCP) was introduced in 1954 by the National Cash Register Company as no-carbon-required (NCR) paper an alternative to carbon paper, used to make a copy of an original, handwritten document without the use of any electronics. NCR was a patented name, but many of the patents have expired, and several companies now have licenses.
How it Works
Carbonless copy paper works in a fairly simple way. It consists of sheets of paper that are coated on the bottom and/or the top with an emulsion of a colorless dye in a solvent. The emulsion is held in microscopic capsules (microcapsules) that are ruptured by firm pressure from a writing instrument. The released dye reacts with a re-agent on the surface of the paper and changes the dye to a colored product (generally violet, blue, or black).
After the sheets are printed the stack is placed in a padding table. The table has a clamp to secure the stack. Then a liquid padding compound is applied to the the edge that needs to be bound. The padding compound reacts with the paper in the case of 2 part carbonless, the top sheet will adhere to the bottom sheet but not to the other sheets. After it dries it is fanned and wha-la you have a stack of 2 part carbonless forms where the top and bottom sheets are attached.
Tips
Did you know that carbonless paper ages? If you’ve ever used a carbonless form that doesn’t print very dark on the second or third sheets, the problem is most likely caused by old paper that contains dried-out micro ink capsules.
When designing forms give yourself 1/2" of white space at the top of any carbonless form. Occasionally, the padding compound that is used will bleed down from the padding edge and cause the top 1/8" of the paper to wrinkle slightly. White space makes it very hard to notice the wrinkling.
Just because carbonless forms are practical doesn’t mean they have to be boring. Consider using two colors of ink, that can make a dramatic improvement in the look of your form. Also adding bold graphics can make the form snap. |
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Written by Andy
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Thursday, 01 May 2008 12:03 |
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When we think of colors, we often think of many different shades of each primary color. Many people would assume that the one exception to these color variations is black. After all, we think of black as being absolute darkness, and expect it to appear this way when printed on a document as well. However, black that is used in full-color (process) printing is transparent, like all process inks, and cannot cover ink or paper as thoroughly as you may like. Although using an opaque black ink, as opposed to the standard transparent ink may seem like a simple solution, but it would cause adverse reactions to other color or high-res images that contain black ink.
Rich black, is an ink mixture of solid black over one or more of the other (CMYK) colors, resulting in a darker tone than black ink alone generates in a printing process.
A typical rich black mixture might be 100% black ink and 40% of each of cyan, magenta and yellow inks. The colored ink under the black ink makes a "richer" result the additional inks absorb more light, resulting in a closer approximation of true black. While in theory an even richer black can be made by using 100% of each of the four inks, in practice the amount of non-black ink added is limited by the wetness that the paper and printing process can handle. Wetness is not a problem with laser printers, however, interesting effects can also be achieved with a laser printer by combining 100% black and 100% of cyan, magenta, or yellow.
So when designing pieces that have large black areas or borders rich black will provide a much more striking results. |
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