Acid-free paper: Acid free paper is a paper that has no acidity. Degree of acid found in a given paper substance measured by pH level. From 0 to 7 is classified acid as opposed to 7 to 14, which is classified alkaline.

Archival paper: Acid-free, resists disintegration. Used for documents that must last. Agencies that govern large archives, like the Library of Congress, set standards called "archival standards."

Bagasse: It is crushed sugar cane or fiber used in papers.

Bast Fibers: Refers to a group of fibers commonly used in Japanese papermaking, including flax, gampi, hemp, jute, kozo and mitsumata.

Beater:Blender-type machine used to pulverize pulp and for mixing additives and color to the stock.

Bond paper: Strong, durable writing paper, consisting of wood, cotton, or both, most commonly used for letterheads, stationery, business forms, etc.

Buffering: A process that neutralizes a paper's acidity over time by adding an alkaline substance, like calcium carbonate, at the pulp stage. Buffering helps reduce the acidity of paper over time.

Calendering: To impart a smooth finish on paper by passing the web of paper between polished metal rolls to increase gloss and smoothness.

Chip board: An inexpensive, thick one-ply cardboard, typically made from recycled paper stock.

Cold Pressed: Mildly textured surfaces produced by pressing the paper through unheated rollers. Generally considered to be a surface between rough and hot pressed.

Cotton content paper: Papers utilizing cotton fabrics and cotton linters. Today most cotton content papers are made for letterhead applications. Papers made with cotton range from 25% to 100% cotton content.

Cover paper: Durable, heavier weight papers, available in a variety of finishes and colors, used for the cover of pamphlets, annual reports, business cards etc.

Cross direction: The opposite direction of the grain of the paper.

Cross grain fold: A fold at a right angle to the direction of the grain in the paper.

Debossing: The process in which the image is recessed into the paper.

Deckle:1) Wood frame resting on or hinged to the edges of the mould that defines the edges of the sheet in handmade papermaking.
2) Strap or board on the wet end of a paper machine that determines the width of the paper web.

Deckle Edge: Natural, fuzzy edges of handmade papers, simulated in mouldmade and machine-made papers by a jet stream of water while the paper is still wet. Handmade papers have 4 deckle edges, while mouldmade and machine-made papers usually have two.

Die: A design, letters, or pattern cut in metal for stamping, embossing or for diecutting.

Dye: An ink colorant that is soluble in vehicle or solvent.

Embossing: Impressing an image in relief to achieve a raised surface; either over printing or on a blank paper (called blind embossing).

End-leaf paper: Strong, fine quality papers, either plain or coated and sometimes colored or marbled used at both ends of a book. Also called sheets.

Felt: Woven,endless belt made of wool, cotton or synthetic materials used to transport the paper web on the paper machine, during manufacture. Felts act as a conveyor while at the same time removing water from paper as it progresses through the paper machine.

Fibers: The slender, thread-like cellulose structures that cohere to form a sheet of paper.

Fiber orientation: Refers to the alignment of the fibers in the sheet. The degree of alignment can be controlled in the paper making process.

Fine papers: Types of papers used for writing, printing, and cultural purposes.

Finishing: Term used to describe the cutting, sorting, trimming and packing of paper.

Grain direction: Direction in which the fibers of machine-made paper lie due to the motion of the machine. When machine-made paper is moistened, the fibers swell more across their width than along their length, so the paper tends to expand at right angles to the machine direction. Handmade and mouldmade papers have indistinguishable grain directions.

Grammage or GSM or GM/M2:The European measure of weight for artists' papers. It compares the weights of different papers, each occupying one square meter of space, irrespective of individual sheet dimensions.

Handmade Paper: A sheet of paper, made individually by hand, using a mould and deckle. It is defined as a layer of entwined fibers, held together by the natural internal bonding properties of cellulose fibers lifted by hand, sheet by sheet on moulds in suspension of fibers in water with or without sizing.

Hot Pressed: Smooth, glazed surfaces produced by pressing the paper through hot rollers after formation of the sheet.

Kozo: The most common fiber used in Japanese papermaking, it comes from the mulberrv tree. This is a long, tough fiber that produces strong absorbent sheets.

Laid Paper: Paper with a prominent pattern of ribbed lines in the finished sheet. It is accomplished in handmade paper using a screen-like mould of closely set parallel horizontal wires, crossed at right angles by vertical wires spaced somewhat further apart The same effect is achieved in machine-made paper with the use of a "dandy roll," positioned at the top of the wire in the wet end of the paper machine.

Machine-made Paper: A sheet of paper produced on a rapidly moving machine called the Fourdrinier, which forms, dries, sizes and smooths the sheet Uniformity of size and surface texture marks the machine-made sheet

Mould: The main tool for hand-papermaking, it is a flat screen that filters an even layer of fibers through it to form the sheet In western papermaking, it is accompanied with a wooden frame called a deckle.

Mouldmade Paper: A sheet of paper that simulates a handmade sheet in look, but is made by a slowly rotating machine called a cylinder- mould. The machine was introduced in England in 1895. No mouldmade are made in the U.S.

Permanence: In paper terminology permanence refers to the ability of paper to retain, for a given period of time, desirable properties such as color, and folding endurance. Prolonged exposure to light, humidity, and adverse temperatures will affect the permanence of paper.

PH: A measure of the hydrogen ion concentration of a water solution and substance, denoting acid or alkaline. A substance with a value of 7 is considered neutral.

Pulp: Cellulose fiber material produced by chemical or mechanical means from which paper and paperboard is manufactured. Origins of this cellulose fiber are many and can include wood, cotton, straw, jute, bagasse, bamboo, hemp, various leaf fibers, reeds, etc. There are many mechanical and chemical means of separating the fiber from its original sources.

Pulping: Process of transforming raw papermaking materials into pulp.

Rags: Processed clippings of new cotton remnants from the garment industry for use in high quality papers.

Rag Paper: Paper made from fibers of non-wood origin, including actual cotton rags, cotton linters, cotton or linen pulp. Rag papers contain from 2-100% cotton fiber pulp.

Rice Paper: A common misnomer applied to lightweight Oriental papers. Rice alone cannot produce a sheet of paper. Rice-straw is only occasionally mixed with other fibers in paper

Ream: Five hundred sheets of paper.

Tensile strength: It is defined as the maximum force required to break a paper strip of a given width under prescribed laboratory conditions. Tensile strength is measured in both the grain and cross-grain directions; however, it is always greater in the grain direction.

Text paper: A general term applied to various grades of printing paper designed for deluxe printed booklets, programs, announcements and advertising. May be watermarked.

Translucent papers: Papers that will allow information to be seen through them but not totally clear like acetate.