Brightness: Refers to the percent of light reflected back from a sheet of paper as measured by a light meter reading.
Bond: Basic, strong durable paper grade used for letterheads, forms, copying, etc.
Carbon: Lightweight tissue paper that has been coated with a carbon ink that will transfer an image to another sheet when pressure is applied.
Carbonless: Most often used for multiple part forms, contains a chemical coating on the front, back, or both sides of the paper, transfers impression from one page or ply to the next due to the bursting of tiny microcapsules in the chemical coating used to release a darkened copy of the impression occurring on the first sheet.
Coated: Paper that has had a coating applied to give the sheet a better appearance and improve its printability, can also be associated with enamel.
Cover: Stiff heavyweight paper used when durability is a concern, also called card stock.
Gloss: A shiny look reflecting light.
Grain: The direction in which the paper fibers lie.
Laid: Has the appearance of translucent lines running horizontally and vertically in the paper.
Matte: Dull paper or ink finish.
Ream: 500 sheets of text paper, or 250 sheets of cover paper.
Text: Paper stock used for products such as books, pages of reports, and other items that do not require the stiffness of card stock.
Watermark: A distinctive design created in paper at the time of manufacture that can be easily seen by holding the paper up to the light.
