Selecting stock Xerox Nuvera
1-8 Paper Guide
Formation
Formation is the distribution of fibers in paper. Fibers should be distributed evenly throughout
the sheet. Although formation is not included in the manufacturer’s specifications, you can
check it by holding a sheet up to a light. If the sheet looks even throughout, it has good
formation. If you see uneven light and dark areas, formation is poor.
Good formation is especially important when documents include halftone images of
photographs or high ink coverage. Halftone images appear sharper on paper with good
formation. Solid images can appear uneven or spotty when printed on paper with poor
formation.
Impurities
Impurities in the papermaking process can leave tiny specks in some stocks. The specks can
appear as marks or spots in printed images, especially in high resolution images, fine type and
fine lines.
Impurities in recycled papers consist of inks and adhesives (from window envelopes, stick-on
notes, labels, etc.), which are difficult to remove during the recycling process. Use high quality
non-recycled papers when the best image quality is required.
Opacity
Opacity refers to the ability of a printed image to show through from the opposite side of a
sheet or from another sheet below it. Opacity increases as the weight of the sheet increases.
Fillers are also added to paper during the manufacturing process to increase opacity.
Opacity is measured according to how much light a sheet blocks and is expressed as a
percentage between 0 and 100. Most papers fall in the 80 to 90% range, however, an opacity
of 98% will prevent a printed image from showing through on the opposite side of the sheet.
Choose paper with high opacity when printing on both sides of the paper or when heavy dry ink
coverage will be applied.
Shade
Shade is the color of the paper. Paper shade may change the colors of printed images because
dry ink is applied in dot patterns that allow the paper shade to show through. The color of the
paper (white, pink, buff etc.) must be specified in the Xerox Nuvera Stock Library. When
choosing paper color remember that paper shades can vary significantly among brands.
Electrical properties and image quality
Resistivity is the resistance to direct current between the two sides of a sheet of paper. The
electrical properties of paper are important because a sheet must be able to attract dry ink
during the xerographic process.
If a stock’s resistivity is excessively high or low, the printed image may be too light and
deletions may occur.
To Next Page
Loading...
Need help?
General