Printing Glossary - Letter W

Walk-off can be defined as When a part of an image area on the plate in printing begins to deteriorate. It is a standard concept in printing.

Warm Color — The color of ink which falls within the family of red-yellow-orange. It affects drying, adhesion, and print appearance.

Wash-up describes The operation carried out between ink or color changes. Also refers to the time required between the color changes of an ink. It affects drying, adhesion, and print appearance. Formulation choices influence drying time and rub resistance.

Water Fountain describes The metal trough that is found on a lithographic press that holds the dampening solution. It is equipment used for production or quality control.

Technically, water resistance describes The ability of a sheet of paper to resist being penetrated by water from one surface to another. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

Water-ball Roller refers to A roller which runs in a fountain solution pan. It is a standard concept in printing.

Water-in-ink can be defined as A press condition when there is a breakdown of ink as a result of too much water. It affects drying, adhesion, and print appearance.

Waterless Plate is A plate used in platemaking that has no dampening system. It belongs to file preparation and imaging before printing.

Watermark — A term that is used to refer to the impression of a pattern, design, or symbol in a sheet of paper while the paper is being made in the paper machine wire. It appears as either a darker or lighter area than the rest of the paper in the finished sheet. There are two types of watermarks that are available: the wire mark and the shaded watermark. The wire mark is gotten by impressing a dandy roll into a moving paper web similar to a shaded watermark. This creates a lighter area as a result of less fiber being used. A shaded watermark, on the other hand, is made by a dandy roll that is found at/near the suction box on a Fourdrinier. The design is then pressed into the wire which covers the surface of the dandy roll. As wet pulp begins to move along the web, there is an accumulation of fiber such that the watermark becomes darker than the rest of the paper sheet. There are different placement styles of watermarks. A random watermark that is the cheapest to create randomly appears repetitively throughout the sheet. A localized watermark, however, is one that appears in a position that's has been determined. A staggered watermark has several watermarks on each sheet of paper in the desired fashion. Lastly, a paraded watermark appears either vertically or horizontally in a line on each sheet of paper. There are different placement styles of watermarks. A random watermark that is the cheapest to create randomly appears repetitively throughout the sheet. A localized watermark, however, is one that appears in a position that's has been determined. A staggered watermark has several watermarks on each sheet of paper in the desired fashion. Lastly, a paraded watermark appears either vertically or horizontally in a line on each sheet of paper. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock. Selection affects stiffness, opacity, and printability.

Waviness can be defined as When the outer edges of a pile of sheets retain more air moisture than the center of the sheet or when the center of a pile of sheet retains more air moisture than the outer edges. It is a standard concept in printing. Usage varies with process and material.

In print practice, wavy edges means When the edge of a sheet of paper picks up moisture and begins to expand in size, such that it begins to have a wave-like surface. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

Web: A roll of paper used rotary or web presses and is converted, folded, or pasted in a continuous form. A ribbon of paper that threads through a press while unwinding from a roll. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock. Selection affects stiffness, opacity, and printability.

Web Break — Breaks that occur on a roll of paper on a machine in manufacturing or the printing press in production. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

In print practice, web offset paper means A paper that is designed to be printed continuously form a roll. This paper can either be coated or uncoated. It is also strong enough to withstand web offset when it prints at high speed. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock. Selection affects stiffness, opacity, and printability.

Web Press refers to A high-speed press that feeds a continuous roll of paper (a web) rather than individual sheets. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

In print practice, web tension means The pull force applied by the action of the web-fed press when a web of paper travels. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

Within the trade, weight tolerance refers to The degree of variation in the shipped weight of a paper that is acceptable. The weight tolerance is usually less than five percent of the paper's nominal weight. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock. Selection affects stiffness, opacity, and printability.

Well-closed Formation describes The opposite of wild formation. Refers to a kind of bonding of fibers in a paper sheet that ensures uniformity. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

Well-sized: A well-sized paper is a hard-sized one. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

Wet Rolls means Water on the edge of a roll weld the paper together, which then breaks on the infeed. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

Wet Rub Test: A test carried out to check the ability of the paper to resist moisture. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

Wet Strength is The strength of a sheet of paper when it is completely wetter with water. It is also the tensile strength of the paper. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock. Selection affects stiffness, opacity, and printability.

Technically, wet-end describes The beginning of a paper machine where the moving wire, head-box, and press section are located. Here, the paper is still a suspension of water and fiber. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock. Selection affects stiffness, opacity, and printability.

Wet-end Finish means Finishes such as vellum, antique, or eggshell applied to a wet paper web by machine rolls and the web presses found at the wet end of the machine. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock. Selection affects stiffness, opacity, and printability.

Wet-strength Papers: Ordinary papers often lose most of their dry strength properties once wet. Wet-strength paper's, however, possess certain properties that help them resist rupture and disintegration when saturated with water. When papers retain fifteen percent of their dry tensile strength, they are classified as wet-strength. Wet-strength paper's that retain about fifty percent of their dry tensile strength after being immersed in water are known as superior quality wet-strength papers. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock. Selection affects stiffness, opacity, and printability.

Within the trade, wetting agent refers to A material that lowers the surface tension of water and water solutions, thereby, maximizing their wetting power. It is a standard concept in printing.

Within the trade, white paper refers to A term used to describe writing and printing grade envelopes and papers. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

Whiteness refers to The whiteness of a pulp or a paper refers to its brightness. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

Whitewater: Milky colored water that has been used in the papermaking process. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

In print practice, wholesaler means A distributor. It is a standard concept in printing.

Winder — The unit found at the end of a paper machine which takes the paper web from the reel, trims the paper web, winds the paper into rolls and slits it to create smaller rolls if it is desired. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock. Selection affects stiffness, opacity, and printability.

Wire: A bronze, copper, or synthetic screen found at the wet end of a paper machine, that receives the water and fiber suspension from the head-box. The wire then moves this suspension to the dry end of the papermaking machine. This wire then terminates at the couch roll, where the paper web is ninety percent water which can be transferred to the wet felt. In business forms, it is used to stick sheets of paper to form a book. It may be saddle or side wired. It relates to book assembly and durability. It influences section alignment and page longevity.

Wire Binding is Double series of wire loops that run continuously through punched slots on the binding side of a book or booklet. It relates to book assembly and durability. It influences section alignment and page longevity.

Within the trade, wire mark refers to Impressed traces of a machine wire on the bottom or wire side of a paper. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

Wire Side refers to The opposite of a felt side. It refers to the side of a paper that was against the wire in the manufacturing process. From this side of the sheet, a watermark will be read backward. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock. Selection affects stiffness, opacity, and printability.

With the Grain can be defined as Parallel to the direction where paper fibers lie. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

Work and Tumble: A term used when one side of a sheet is printed, then turned over from the gripper to the back using the same plate and side guide to print the second side of the paper sheet. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock. Selection affects stiffness, opacity, and printability.

Work and Turn is A term used when one side of a sheet of paper is printed and then the second side is printed after turning the sheet over from left to right. Here, the same plate and gripper are used for both sides of the sheet. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock. Selection affects stiffness, opacity, and printability.

Wove: A finish that is characterized by the impressions of a felt dandy roll that is covered in woven wire and is without laid lines. It is equipment used for production or quality control. Calibration is essential for reliable results.

Wove Dandy is A dandy roll which does not have any watermarked design. It is a standard concept in printing.

Wrinkles can be defined as Creases that occur in a paper in the folding and printing process. A term used to describe an uneven surface that is formed in drying. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

In print practice, writing paper means A general term used to describe any paper that is being used for writing purposes. It concerns the properties or grades of the paper stock.

In print practice, wrong-read image means A mirror image similar to that which appears on the blanket in offset printing. It is a method of producing printed images.