Dimensional stability and sheet growth
Dimensional stability is whether the sheet or the web stays the same size. Paper grows with moisture. Film stretches with tension and heat. Either one walks the register off.
Checks
- Measure a sheet before and after it sits unwrapped. Growth across the grain is a moisture problem.
- Keep stock wrapped until the press is ready, and keep the room stable between passes on a multi-color job.
- On a web, check tension before you blame the plate. A web that stretches will not fit the next station.
- Film and synthetic sheets move less with humidity and more with heat and tension. Treat them as a different problem from paper.
Materials in the directory
Compare print films, synthetic paper, paperboard.