Paper Training For Printers

3) Acclimate paper—If paper must be subjected to humidity and/or temperature changes, it should be allowed to acclimate to the new environment before processing. Acclimation time varies according to roll or case size and degree of change in temperature and/or humidity. (See charts)

Paper may endure severe temperature changes even in the short distance from an in-house warehouse to the printing floor. Acclimating paper after transport will result in optimal press performance and print quality.

4) Retain tracking information—Retaining proper identification with raw paper inventories and printed documents throughout the entire production process is essential. Commercial work can undergo many types of subsequent processing after the initial print run, including everything from forms conversion to digital printing. Therefore, it is critical that a substrate's identification information—such as product name, grade and lot number—be recorded on a ticket that is kept with the work throughout the entire production process. This will help with troubleshooting any problems that may crop up down the line. If given this information, paper mills can track problems and troubleshoot technical issues quickly and efficiently for the commercial printer and its customers.

5) Match the paper with the end-use application—A commercial printer that strictly does offset production may still need to consider the production requirements of other processes, such as digital printing. Many jobs—such as transactional statements, forms and newsletters—now leave an offset operation only to go right back into production in a digital department for customization and personalization. For these documents, it is necessary to use papers engineered for both digital and offset printing to ensure a high-quality end product. Considering the entire life of a document will help ensure selection of a paper that offers the best runnability and quality in all of the printing environments it will encounter.