Technical Terms

Our professional terms highlighted

The world of industrial paper is a bit special. Discover all relevant wordds and synonyms so that you are not lost in our jargon.

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Cellulose

The main raw material of the paper, extracted from cell walls and woody parts of plants.

Coated paper

A finishing layer is 'ironed' on the paper. This makes the paper smoother, but als less translucent. This is also called laminating.

Coating

A finishing layer on paper for a shiny, closed or matt result. 'MC' or 'Maco' stands for machine-coated paper.

Die-cut

Using a sharp, special knife for applying irregular shapes or holes in paper.

Gram weight

Unit in which the weight of paper is expressed. The number of grams per square meter of paper (g/m²). Also called as grammage.

Kraft paper

Strong wrapping paper made from bleached or unbleached sulphate cellulose. Available in white or brown.

Laid paper

Papier with a structure. A thin line runs on the paper every few millimeters. This pattern is produced in papermaking and provides a paper with extra cachet.

Machine direction

The direction in which the wood fibres lie in a sheet of paper, running in length or width. This is important to determine the direction in which the paper is fed through the printing press or folding machine.

Satined paper

The paper fibers are flattened and a coating is applied. This makes the paper smoother and slippery.

Slitting

Half die-cutting of paper or cardboard. Mostly applied to cardboard types, where a folding line is partially cut (punched halfway down the paper). The paper or cardboard may be folded so easier.

Surfacing

The surfacing of paper indicates the ration between the paper thickness and the gram weight. This is expressed in cm³/g (the thickness divided by the gram weight).

Synthetic paper

Paper made of synthetic fibers that is resistant to folding and tearing.

TCF

Totally Chlorine Free paper: paper bleached without chlorine gas and/ or chlorine dioxide during manufacturing process. 

Wood-containing paper

Paper that contains at least 10% wood pulp, for example newsprint. Wood-containing paper is less durable than wood-free paper, which consists of cellulose.

Wood-free paper

Wood-free paper is made with chemical pulp, that is made of soft or hard wood. This is more a commercial term to distinguish paper made out of wood and without wood.