I’ve found when it comes to paper lingo, even well-known industry peeps get it wrong sometimes. And while knowing the correct terminology may not seem that important if you get the results you want, it can cost you. Using the wrong term can result in expensive mistakes, give off the vibe of inexperience and even negatively impact your reputation. Seriously. I know a designer that mistakenly used duo-tone when she actually meant duplex – let’s just say neither the printer, nor client, wanted to work with her again.

In my career as a spec rep, I’ve come across a few terms that seem to be interchanged more often than not. So I thought I’d shed some light on the most common terms often misused.

Matte - This is the current favorite term among creatives these days for describing an uncoated paper. However, in the world of paper and print, matte refers to a coated paper finish – not an uncoated paper. The two are quite different.

Matte papers are the least glossy and most tactile of the coated paper finishes (gloss, dull, silk, matte), they have a coating that essentially seals the sheet resulting in a crisp image with little to no dot gain. Uncoated papers have no coating on them and are more absorbent than coated papers. The finishes of uncoated papers range from super smooth, smooth and vellum – with vellum being the rougher finish. Cougar is an example of an uncoated paper in all three finishes. I cannot tell you how I often I hear designers refer to Cougar a matte paper. Why does it matter? Well, there is considerable difference in price, paper characteristics and print quality.

Vellum –This is another term popular among creatives to refer to a paper that the industry knows as translucent. The print and paper industry refers to vellum as a tactile finish of an uncoated paper (see above paragraph). Translucent paper is exactly as it sounds, it is most commonly found in a clear shade and achieves it see-through characteristic either naturally during the beater process or chemically after the paper is made. Translucent and vellum are two very distinct and different paper finishes.

Brightness vs. Whiteness - While both refer to paper’s inherent characteristics, they are distinct in terms of what they represent. Brightness is quantified by the measurement of the percentage of light reflected off of the paper’s surface. Coated papers are classified based on their brightness level. Whiteness doesn’t determine the paper’s brightness, but rather refers to the shade of the sheet. A paper can have a high brightness level but vary in whiteness, such as blue white shade or balanced white shade. For example, Cougar is a 98 Bright sheet with a balanced white shade.

Recycled – I am often asked to recommend papers that are recycled. And while recycled may seem self-explanatory, in the world of paper it may not be what one actually means. Just because a sheet is recycled does not necessarily mean it contains post-consumer waste. Recycled paper can contain either pre-consumer or post-consumer waste. In the manufacturing process, pre-consumer would refer to paper that has not met its intended use by the consumer, but rather scraps from the paper manufacturing/converting process.

In addition, the amount of recycled content in uncoated vs. coated papers is dictated by the manufacturing process. In general, uncoated papers will have a greater range of higher PCW content papers than coated papers, largely due to the manufacturing process. If PCW content is a factor, it’s best to specify the minimal amount of PCW you are looking for.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, a duplex paper refers to a paper made by laminating two papers together; duplexing for printers refers to the ability of printing on both sides of a paper without having to turn the sheet over; and duo-tone refers to the process of printing a black and white image using two shades of the same color or two different colors.

What are some industry terms you see most often misused?