Every printer knows what happens when sheets of paper become electrostatically charged: they stick together as they're taken in from the stack, potentially stopping up the feeder. A static charge is especially likely to build up when paper that is too dry is printed in cold weather and other times of low atmospheric humidity.
To control static, the moisture content of paper should range between 45% and 55%. Working spaces should be air-conditioned or humidified at a 50% to 55% level of relative humidity. Antistatic equipment such as discharge electrodes and ionic blowers reduce electrostatic charge by raising the surrounding air’s electronic conductivity, thereby preventing the buildup of static charge.
Sheetfed Offset Press Operating, 3rd Edition
Lean Printing: Pathway to Success
