Stands for Optical Mark Recognition, and is the process via which the typed or written position of a ‘mark’ (ie, a simple tick or shaded out area) on a piece of paper denotes an instruction to an electronic forms’ processing device.

Base paper to which a mineral coating has been applied on a coating machine separate from the papermachine.

see Dry offset.

The process of covering the surface(s) of a paper with one or more layers of coating slip or other materials in fluid form, without recourse to a separate operation, the necessary equipment being an integral part of the papermachine.

Sample print in a small run length to show the final printed result. Often used with the digital process.

The extent to which a paper is capable of obscuring matter printed on the other side or on an underlying page or other surface lying underneath. For example, a sheet with good opacity is one on which the printing on one side cannot be seen from the other under normal conditions. It is expressed as a percentage (%).

Allows users to add to or upgrade their systems with new components – even using new software from third parties. (As opposed to Closed Architecture, in which the manufacturer chooses the components and they are not generally upgradeable).

Operations put out to another company or individual for reasons of specialism or capacity.

Sheets or copies produced in excess of the required number.