G.E. Brightness Tester

test equipment used to test brightness of paper. It is currently called the Martin Sweets Reflection Diano Meter. See also brightness.

gauge

a unit of measure usually the thickness or diameter of a material expressed by a number.

General Trade Items

Items that are not specifically made for one customer.

glassine

a nearly transparent, resilient glazed paper resistant to the passage of air and grease.

gloss

the property of a surface which causes it to reflect light. The reflectance causes the surface to appear shiny.

gloss

characteristic of the surface which causes it to reflect light at a given angle.

grade

a term applied to a paper which is ranked on basis of its use, appearance, manufacturing history, raw materials or performance.

grain

the machine direction of paper. On a roll, it would be the length of the roll. This would be opposite of cross direction.

grain direction

Cellulose fibers are shaped like logs. When they form a sheet of paper, more fibers will usually lie in one direction than the other. Grain long is the direction that has more fibers and the length of the logs. Grain short is the direction that has less fibers. Extra stiffness is associated with the grain long direction. On rolls, grain long is the length of the roll. Generally on sheets, grain direction is indicated by second dimension shown. For example, 25 x 20 would be considered a grain short sheet whereas 20 x 25 would be considered grain long. Also the direction taken by a majority of the fibers in any sheet of paper. It is the same as machine direction MD and the opposite of cross direction CD. Paper will usually be more stiff in the grain direction. Usually you can determine grain direction by positioning the edge of paper over the end of a desk so that about half of the paper is unsupported. The grain direction will bend less when unsupported.

grain long

See grain direction.

grain short

See grain direction

gravure printing

a printing process employing minute engraved wells. generally, deeply etched wells carry more ink than a raised surface, hence print darker values. shallow wells print light values. a doctor blade wipes excess ink from the cylindrical printing surface.

guard bars

the bars which are at both ends and center of a UPC and EAN symbol. They provide reference points for scanning.

guillotine

equipment for trimming paper with a downward cutting action similar in operation to the guillotine used in France.

gummed paper

paper with a layer of remoistening adhesive.

gummed tape

tape with a layer of remoistening adhesive. This type of tape is frequently used for sealing boxes.

Gurley Densometer

a tester that determines porosity by forcing air through the paper sample and measuring it in time. It measures the time in seconds for 100 ml of air. The higher the number, the denser the paper. See also Sheffield Porosity Tester and stiffness.

gusset

a heavy weight cloth tape used in the bookbinding industry. Gusset is the heaviest and strongest grade we offer for bookbinding applications.