Form Guide GB

Forms Guide
Forms
Guide
A handbook to help in the planning,
design, production and usage of
forms with particular attention given
to carbonless papers
Revised by Roland Glatthaar
Forms Guide
Published by:
Mitsubishi HiTec Paper Bielefeld GmbH
Niedernholz 23
D-33699 Bielefeld
Editor:
Roland Glatthaar
Production:
Horst Gregrowicz
Design, Illustrations, Composition and Lithography:
Type Design GmbH, Dsseldorf
Printed by:
Schroeren-Druck GmbH, Hilden
All rights reserved, including reproduction,
in whole or in part, photographic reproduction
and translation.
Forms Guide: Introduction
Introduction
Forms are an important economic factor for
the printing and paper industries, and for the users
of forms.
In 1999 in the Federal Republic of Germany,
approximately 17 % of the total value of the
production of the printing industry was accounted
for by printing on paper grades produced for commercial usage, representing a growth rate of 13 %.
One can assume that a similarly large share
of production can also be found in most other
European countries. Growth in this area is even
higher in new markets such as Eastern Europe.
Commercial usage however depends to a great
extent on the type of business concerned.
Any clear trends should therefore only be assessed
while taking prevailing economic conditions into
account.
The frequently discussed paperless office has
generally been proved to be fiction on the
contrary, the use of paper in the administrative
sector is continually growing at an above-average
rate.
Although computers, data transmission and data
output to micro-film have been able to reduce the
rate of increase in the use of paper, they have
not been able to replace the security and
user-friendliness of printed results of information
processing. The printing industry has accordingly
been able to maintain its competitive position in the
face of the introduction of electronic media.
The driving forces behind the ever-increasing usage
of paper in printed and unprinted forms have
proven to be the growing number of jobs in the
administrative sector and rapid developments in
data processing. Computer systems are usually
controlled from a centralised computing department
and then used at all corporate levels down to the
individual place of work.
In the recent past, millions of computers have been
purchased, and of these the majority have been for
commercial use. In nearly every case they are used
in conjunction with a computer printer. Growth
rates continue to be high.
This growth is however having a negative effect on
the printing industry, which should not be overlooked. Due to the disproportionate growth in the
popularity of laser printers, many forms applications previously printed on bespoke, pre-printed
forms are now moving over to plain white paper.
In the multi-media world of today, the printing
industry faces a great challenge. It must adjust
rapidly to the new methods of communication that
have developed so strongly over recent times.
The Internet and e-commerce have greatly changed
the previous world of printed information, and will
continue to do so even more dramatically in the
future, since the younger generation now use these
media without any pre-conceived fears or anxieties.
Nevertheless, there still remains a wide range of

application possibilities for forms that can meet the
requirements for increasing productivity, better
and faster quality of information and better service
facilities through prompt processing. Professional
design and excellent print quality are essential requirements. Specialist consultation and advice for forms
users on the basis of proven experience in
the design, production and use of forms has gained
increasing importance.
Forms have become an accepted and established
means of rationalisation and communication.
In business and private life forms are being read,
processed and handled by more people than ever
before. The continued negative view of forms is
caused by the production of poorly designed,
unclear, and even incomprehensible forms understandably this may lead to an aversion to them.
In comparison, well designed forms play a positive
role in promoting a companys aims and image.
The use of individually designed forms can
contribute considerably to achieving this aim.
The aim of the Forms Guide is to detail the most
important aspects of the materials, technologies and
methods of design used in the production of forms.
Furthermore, we wish to clearly illustrate the benefits
that forms can offer, and detail the possibilities for
their use. This guide is intended to be an aid to all
those involved in the design, production, sale, purchase, use and processing of forms. We hope that
our Forms Guide will contribute to an increased
understanding of forms and generally to a more
positive attitude towards them.
The Forms Guide has been conceived so that it may
be used as a reference book. The individual subjects
and chapters have been written and discussed in
such a manner that, even when read individually,
they remain fully comprehensible. Individual
reference terms may quickly be found with the help
of the index.
Further information concerning the processing
and use of carbonless paper can be found in our
publication Giroform Technical Handbook.
Another brief remark on terminology:
Pre-printed sheets and forms are used as
equivalent terms, since we can establish no
significant differences between them.
The term carbonless paper is used for paper
grades that can produce a copy without the use
of carbon paper.
January 2003
Forms Guide: Contents
Contents
9
Paper Grades used for the

Production of Forms
Developments in the forms market
11
11
Quality criteria
Substance
Specific volume, caliper and compressibility
Moisture content and relative humidity
Dimensional stability
Tensile strength
Stiffness
Printability and smoothness
Optical characteristics
Other requirements
11
12
12
12
12
13
13
14
14
15
Uncoated paper grades used

for forms production
Woodfree paper grades
Part-mechanical paper grades
Recycled paper grades
Paper grades suitable for photocopying
and non-impact printing
Paper grades suitable for optical
character recognition and magnetic ink
character recognition
15
15
16
16
17
18
Synthetic fibre paper grades
18
Coated paper grades for forms production

Carbonless papers
18
18
Carbonless paper copying systems

Mechanically functioning
carbonless paper grades
Colour reaction paper grades
19
Characteristics of carbonless paper

Copyability
Suitability for photocopying
Suitability for microfilming
Lightfastness of the copy
Resistance to ageing
Printing and writing characteristics
Ghost-image caused by the use of
black ball-point pens
Marker pens
Solvents and liquids
Contact with materials containing plasticisers
Blueprinting capability
19
19
21
21
21
21
22
22
22
29
Snap-apart sets
29
Continuous forms
Forms - Definition and Purpose
Form pads
30
Carrier-band sets
31
Special types of forms

Forms used for the automatic
recognition of characters
Optical mark recognition (OMR)
Optical character recognition (OCR)
Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR)
The use of magnetic strips
Scanning bar-codes
Datamailers
Discrete wage envelopes
Continuous envelopes
Photographic envelopes
Forms incorporating plastic cards
Continuous labels
31
Special Forms Applications using

Carbonless Paper
Continuous forms and unit sets for
general use
Forms for laser printing
Forms for use with computer printers with
limitations upon the caliper of the form set
Forms using desensitised areas
High quality forms for business
correspondence and advertising
Forms requiring writing upon
the reverse side
Carrier-band forms produced with
Giroform 80 g/m2
Forms used for the control of production
processes in manufacturing companies
Forms for optical document reading
Forms for use with ribbonless printers
Forms using self-adhesive labels produced
from carbonless paper
31
32
33
34
36
36
37
38
38
38
38
39
41
41
41
41
42
42
42
43
43
43
44
45
45
Paper Sizes and Standardisation
47
22
22
23
23
23
Sheet sizes
47
Advantages of carbonless paper

Disadvantages of carbonless paper
Web offset paper grades
48
Paper standards for forms paper grades
49
23
Printing Processes
51
24
25
Classification of the main

printing processes
51
Special paper grades for ink-jet printing
25
Printing characteristics
51
Paper grades suitable for

thermal transfer printing
27
The principles of printing and

construction of printing machines
51
Dry gummed paper grades
27
Sell adhesive label paper grades
27
Letterpress printing
Direct letterpress printing
Indirect letterpress printing
Flexographic printing
52
52
52
53
The Various Types of Forms
29
Single-part forms
29
Lithographic printing
Offset printing
53
53
Glued unit sets
Continuous forms sizes
29
Digital printing
55
Forms Guide: Contents
Direct Image Process

Electrophotographic printing
56
56
Completion of Forms
Gravure printing
56
Completion with handwriting
91
Screen printing
57
Completion with typewriters
91
Forms Design
58
91
91
91
92
91
Check-List for Forms Design
58
Fundamentals
59
Standard typewriters
(mechanical lever arm)
Golf-ball typewriters
Daisy-wheel typewriters
Thermal transfer printers
Forms planning
59
Computer printers
92
Classification of the individual areas of a form

Title section
Contact or reference section
Main section
Summary or conclusion section
Instructions / additional information section
59
59
61
61
61
61
Classification of the printing systems used
92
Selection criteria for computer printers
92
Paper selection
61
Forms layout
62
Forms text
63
Typefaces
64
Line and halftone screen areas
66
Use of printing inks
70
Forms Production
71
Printing sheet stocks

Printing presses
Collators
Fan-apart gluing
71
71
72
73
Printing reel stocks

Continuous forms presses
Multi-web continuous forms presses
Pack-to-pack presses
73
74
78
79
The conversion of continuous forms and

printed single sheets into multi-part form sets
Stack collators
Reel collators
Carrier-band machines
79
79
80
80
The Individual Components of Forms
81
The sprocket-hole edges

File-hole punching
Standard expressions and abbreviations

used in conjunction with computer printers
93
Impact printing systems

Dot-matrix printers
Chain and band printers
93
93
93
Non-impact printing systems

Laser printers
LED / LCS printers
Ion-deposition printers
Magnetic printers
The advantages and disadvantages
of non-impact printing processes using
a toner system
Ink-jet printers
Direct thermal printing
Thermal transfer printing
94
94
95
95
95
Feeding of continuous forms
98
Further Processing
of Continuous Forms
99
Separators
95
96
97
97
99
Cutters
100
Bursters
101
Combined devices
102
Storage of Forms
103
81
Forms and the Environment
104
82
Paper
104
Special punching
82
Pulp
104
Perforations
82
TCF/ECF
105
Forms set fasteners

Flexible form set fasteners
Crimp-lock fastening
Multiflex fasteners
Strip gluing
8
84
84
85
85
Recycling of Giroform
105
Printing inks
105
Numbering
Crash printing
Carbon printing
87
Coloration of white paper grades

on the printing press (tinting)
87
Partial prevention of the production

of carbonless copies by desensitisation
88
CF Spot process
89
Environmental labelling
106
Eco-Label
106
86
Swan
106
86
The Blue Angel
106
Index
107
Source of Illustrations
110
Bibliography
111
Forms Guide
Forms Guide: Forms Definition and Purpose
Forms
Definition and
Purpose
The exchange of data and information has certainly
been improved and speeded up by increasingly
powerful computers and data networks.
Nevertheless, the proper handling of electronic
media is still a skill that has to be learnt.
Discipline is necessary in order to produce better
more accurate and more comprehensive information
at an ever increasing rate, whilst still meeting the
requirements of good company management and
survival against the competition.
The recording and processing of information, and
its conversion into meaningful activity in pursuit of
corporate aims are the main tasks for personnel
employed in the administrative sector. Forms can
significantly help to simplify this job and so increase
office efficiency.
Forms are defined as being pre-printed sheets of
paper having a predetermined size and which are
intended for completion. All constant data is preprinted; variable data is added at a later date by
hand or mechanically. Forms are thus organisational
aids and, at the same time, carriers of information
which can immediately store information in a readable manner. They help to rationalise administrative
systems and are used as a means of documenting
official records or commercial transactions in accordance with legal or internal company regulations.
can be increased by good design. Clear arrangement of the information contained within a form
makes it quick and easy to read and understand.
By necessity, work processes are carried out in a
correct and comprehensive manner.
Forms are easier to read than unprinted sheets of
paper because of the optical difference between the
pre-printed information and the subsequently added
variable data. Therefore they are easier to process.
Important pieces of information can be more easily
recognised; constant data always appears in the
same position. Unnecessary searching for information and errors are avoided and, at the same
time, work processes are standardised.
Additional checking and reference work can be
dispensed with; the processing of a form includes
certain basic requirements involved in working
procedures and all the important material matters
involved. These benefits can be reinforced by good
graphic design:
Information is provided in full and arranged in a
clear and comprehensible manner so that it is made
more valuable for the recipient and its acceptance
is enhanced. This can also contribute to improving
motivation to process the form.
Multi-part forms contribute to an improvement of
the internal flow of information within companies.
Instead of printing documents several times or
circulating a single printed information sheet,
A general differentiation can be made between

forms directly related to people and those which are
related to commercial affairs or other matters. The
negative image of forms has mainly been caused
by individuals who have had poor experiences with
forms whose contents were difficult to understand.
Therefore completion of forms may prove to be
troublesome. As the contents of a form may prove
unpleasant for the recipient, it is possible that
emotional rejection against the sender and the form
may occur.
In this respect the following are good examples:
income tax forms, fines, electricity, gas or water
bills, census forms, insurance policies, hospital forms
etc. Fortunately, commercially related and other
forms application areas represent the majority of
forms in use. In these cases we are mainly
discussing commercial forms such as computer listings, statistics, quotations, delivery notes, invoices,
airline tickets, credit card vouchers etc., which have
proven to be a valuable and indispensable aid to
the creation and processing of information.
The main purpose of forms is to simplify and ease
work processes. These processes are standardised
by the use of forms, ensuring that repetitive mental
or written work is minimised and that duplication
of effort is avoided. The processing speed of forms
multi-part forms produce the required number of

copies in one process.
The use of tinted papers or colour printing ensures
correct identification of the recipient; various types
of forms may also be distinguished by their colour.
Furthermore, it is possible to emphasise important
information on the various copy sheets produced for
individual departments by graphic means.
Alternatively, information may be suppressed by the
Forms Guide: Forms Definition and Purpose
Special types of forms can, when required, ensure

that data be kept secret and so only been known to
the sender and receiver. It is also possible to produce forgery-proof forms which guarantee that only
correct information is exchanged. This is achieved
by suitable paper selection combined with good
forms design the form then has the characteristics
of a security document. Furthermore, forms allow
additions, corrections and written comments to be
easily made. They can be processed anywhere and
at any time: in the office, on the terrace, in the
garden, in aeroplanes or on trains. Forms guarantee
trouble-free and secure transportation of information
the same also applies for their storage in computer
memory or as documents. However, data stored on
paper is significantly more difficult to destroy than
data stored on electronic media.
use of desensitising ink, which prevents the

production of a carbonless copy. This guarantees
that only correct information is supplied to the
authorised parties concerned in company activities
unnecessary queries are avoided.
With the help of labels in forms it is possible to
ensure, for example, that ordered goods are actually
sent to the customer on the dispatch advice so avoiding annoying mistakes. In the form set,
an incorporated plastic pocket protects a part of the
set from outside influences. There are no limits to
the creativity of forms design.
Forms which are sent out from a company can be
used positively to enhance the reputation and
standing of the sender when full use is made of their
advertising potential. Their effectiveness can be
greatly increased by the use of a corporate design
concept which embraces all the companys
activities spanning everything from the design of
visiting cards to the logos and colour schemes
painted on delivery vehicles. Therefore forms are
a cost-effective means of company advertising and
one which is sure to reach the target group.
10
Therefore forms are a cost-saving, user-friendly,

multi-purpose organisational medium. At the same
time they carry information and fulfil an advertising
role for the company.
With the increasing use of laser printing technology
there is also a growing security requirement. Laser
printed documents can in most cases be reproduced
by good photocopying. An original is as such no
longer distinguishable from the copy. It is similarly
straightforward to scan single-colour forms.
Alteration in the personal computer is then just
a formality.
Forms produced from carbonless paper provide
a secure solution, preventing such fraudulent
alteration.
Forms Guide: Paper Grades used for the Production of Forms
Paper Grades
used for the
Production of Forms
Developments in the Forms Market
The forms market is greatly influenced and shaped
by developments in electronic data-processing.
Its structure, the paper grades used for forms
production and future developments are determined
particularly by the technology employed for printing
computer data.
In the past, the market was dominated by large
computer centres with a huge requirement for forms,
which in turn led to the rapid growth of forms manufacturers. Today however, the structure of the market
is completely different, and is increasingly characterised by smaller companies and units.
Due to decentralisation and the so-called lean
organisation, forms are now processed directly
wherever they are needed. This development has led
to a significant reduction in the average print run
of individual orders. New, low-run applications
have also become more common. Internal forms,
previously used in large numbers and with high print
runs, have now almost completely disappeared from
the printing industrys order books. E-mail has largely replaced listing paper. In this sector at least,
paperless technology has become a reality.
The printer market is today dominated by
non-impact printing systems. The majority of laser
printers are workplace and network printers with
a performance in the range of 6 to 40 pages per
minute. The printer market is however dominated
by ink-jet printers, which have a very flexible range
of applications.
This technology has come to terms very well with the
ever increasing requirement for improved print
quality. Colour printing of photographs is today
a matter of course and the quality still continues to
improve. Paper still remains the principal output
medium. The developments in printer technology
have placed increasing demands on paper quality
and the demand for new, special paper grades.
The demand for forms has also undergone a

structural change. The tremendous growth in service
industries has both increased the demand for
form sets whilst at the same time reducing the size
of print runs. The modern form is today an
organisational aid and a problem solution for
optimising procedures within the widest range of
companies, and ensuring their efficient service
to the customer.
The most important consequences of these developments for the forms market are the clear increase in
the number of small production runs under 10,000
and also in medium runs of continuous forms.
Specialisation has now become absolutely necessary
for the economic production of long-run work.
Whilst productivity and efficiency are the
deciding factors in this sector, the short-run bespoke
sector demonstrates increased levels of qualitative
competition.
The surface of a forms paper grade
Modern high-speed printing presses, designed for

the production of continuous forms, operate today
with speeds in excess of 450 m/min. Continuous
forms presses designed for short- and medium-run
work, often place increased demands on printability
because of their smaller printing cylinders.
The increased levels of production demanded when
printing reel to fanfold stack, from pack-to-pack and
from reel to sheet, require good runnability characteristics and place high demands on the dimensional
stability of the paper grade used.
This also applies to their further use in printers and
other processing machines.
Quality Criteria
The delivery section of a continuous forms press
Paper grades used for forms printing must be able to

meet all the above-mentioned requirements. These
requirements are nearly all considered in the norms
that have been established for paper grades to be
used for the production of continuous forms. Standards for carbonless papers have been in place for
11
some time namely DIN 6721 T2 for carbonless

reels, and DIN 6723 T2 and DIN 6724 T2 for
carbonless papers for optical reading.
Forms are produced with many different grades of
uncoated and coated paper in particular with
carbonless paper. The ability of carbonless paper to
fulfil certain functions has, in many cases, become
the practice-orientated criteria for its use. With this
in mind, it would seem appropriate to discuss the
most important quality criteria for forms paper
grades and their importance for forms printing.
Substance
The substance that is the weight of a sheet of
paper having an area of one square metre
determines many important characteristics of a
paper grade. It should be as constant as possible
within individual paper deliveries. The German
Industry Standard for paper grades used for dataprocessing has established a tolerance of 4 % for
95 % of the paper tested.
Paper substance particularly influences: the folding
and stiffness characteristics of a paper grade; its
strength and therefore its runnability on the press,
on finishing machines, on computer printers and any
machines for further forms processing. An important
optical characteristic, opacity, also improves with
increasing substance. The choice of the correct
substance is therefore of great importance for the
satisfactory use of forms.
The additional cost price of a heavier substance
can be offset by better runnability, improved handling and overall improvement in the appearance
of the form.
This is regrettably often the case for paper grades

manufactured for forms production, due to the
varying and necessary demands made in the
individual stages of processing and use.
Moisture Content and Relative Humidity
In contrast to other printing paper grades produced
with relative humidity values within a range of
50 55 %, lower values have proven to be
beneficial for paper grades manufactured for
forms production. Therefore uncoated paper grades
intended for forms printing and carbonless
papers are produced with a relative humidity
of 45 % 7.5 %.
Processing and storage in the print shop and at the
forms user often occur within these humidity levels.
Curling and troublesome width or length variations
occur only under extremely poor climatic conditions
with paper grades whose relative humidity lies
within this range.
Paper conditioning at these values has also proven
to be beneficial due to the high levels of folding
strength and rigidity obtainable with lower relative
humidity levels. When processing sheet products in
photocopiers or laser printers, a relative humidity
value of the paper of 30 35 % is recommended.
This is due to the fact that in such machines, high
to very high temperatures are used in toner fusing
stations which can lead to rapid one-sided moisture
loss from the paper.
Paper with higher humidity levels would be
subjected to an excessive curl which in addition
to being aesthetically undesirable, can also lead to
severe runnability problems through the machine.
The tendency toward static charging is counteracted
Specific Volume, Caliper and

Compressibility
The paper grades used for printing forms should
not be too strongly compressed this is because of
the required runnability and the need for quick ink
absorption. Therefore, calendered paper grades
are only used in special cases.
Values for specific volume are normally within a
range of 1.1 to 1.5 cm3/g. Variations in caliper may
only be accepted within very small tolerances, as the
length of the sprocket-hole edge may be influenced
by variations in the caliper of the paper web. Uniform compacting of the paper is necessary for clean
punching (i.e. without paper remnants) and good
perforation.
The copyabilitiy of multi-part form sets is greatly
influenced by caliper and compressibility; writing
or printing pressure should be transferred through
the form as efficiently as possible. On the other
hand, should the paper be too compact, stiffness
and runnability will be reduced.
As conflicting requirements must be satisfied, it is
clear that compromise must be made.
12
Determing the formation level
by manufacturers by the use of salts during paper

production, which determine the conductivity of
the paper.
For the above reasons, the packaging of continuous
forms should also afford a certain degree of
protection against humidity. Storage conditions
should be matched to those encountered during
use as far as possible.
Dimensional Stability
The above explanations show that forms paper
grades should possess as much dimensional stability
as possible. They should remain constant in size in
the width and lengthways directions when exposed
to varying climatic conditions. Papermakers strive
to achieve this aim by the selection of suitable fibres,
appropriate refining of the pulp and the use of certain additives. Unfortunately, due to the unavoidable
swelling or shrinking of cellulose fibres in relationship to the moisture of the surrounding air and any
packaging materials, only a limited amount of
dimensional stability is possible. This applies particularly to width variations.
For example, if 37.5 cm wide forms are subjected
to a 20 % relative humidity variation of the paper to
the surrounding air, a variation in width of 1 mm
may occur. This is almost equal to the width of half
a character space. This must always be considered
when designing forms lines printed along the
length of the form should always be positioned with
the allowance of a suitable tolerance.
Tensile strength test
forms paper grades, in respect to their size variation

when subjected to varying relative humidity. This
specification states that 68.3 % of paper delivered
in any one consignment should not expand or shrink
more than 0.01 % in the transverse direction or 0.04
% in the lengthways direction, when subjected to a
10 % variation in relative humidity in the range of
40 60 %.
Tensile Strength
Tensile strength in the lengthways direction plays a
major role in determining the runnability of a paper
grade. During processing and use, continuous forms
are subjected to recurring accelerations and sudden
decelerations. During these processes the paper web
must not break. Adequate tensile strength must also
Measurement of stiffness
be present following the cross-perforations. Printers

use cross-perforations with a cut/tie ratio for specific
substances which, from experience, have been found
to produce good results. The tensile strength at the
cross-perforation can also be determined
by a special measuring device. Papers possessing
insufficient tensile strength can became the subject
of complaint.
Part-mechanical and recycled papers can cause
problems in this respect, since the fibres used have
a reduced strength, due to their length and general
properties.
Stiffness
Measurement of internal tear strength
Forms produced for those computer printers whose

feed tractor is not adjustable, can only accept
minimal dimensional variations in width. The values
specified in the German Industry Standard DIN 6721
may be taken as the standard values for continuous
The stiffness of a paper grade greatly influences the

runnability characteristics on printing presses and
is important for further production and conversion
processes e.g. the delivery on high-speed printers,
separation, bursting or cutting. This is important for
paper handling; for example, adequate stiffness
for index boards is absolutely essential. Stiffness is
of particular importance for forms production from
reel-to-fanfold stack, from reel-to-sheet and from
pack-to-pack. It is also an important requirement
for efficient printing on sheet-fed presses.
13
50 to 65 g/m2. The selection between a 60 g/m2 or

70 g/m2 paper grade can produce an improvement
of more than 50 %!
Paper manufacturers are faced with the continual
development aim of producing paper grades with
the best possible stiffness for any given substance.
Printability and Smoothness
As smoothness has a great influence on the printability of paper, both criteria are closely connected.
Due to the necessity of retaining the best possible
stiffness and adequately quick ink absorption,
smoothness should only be sufficient to ensure
good printing quality in the wet offset printing
process. Smoothness is also a prerequisite for
achieving good print results on computer printers.
Papers possessing a rough surface require higher
printing pressure; otherwise poor ink transfer
will result.
Graph produced in accordance with DIN 6721
The substance, smoothness and ash content are also

of importance. The ash content is determined by
the amount of mineral fillers which are contained in
the paper. The filler material is referred to as ash,
arising from the incineration test required to
determine its quantitative level. The calculation is
based on the weight of inorganic matter remaining
after incineration, expressed as a percentage of the
original paper dry weight.
Stiffness increases with heavier substance and
reduced smoothness; it is reduced with increased
ash content.
The ever-increasing use of laser and DTP composing

systems has led to increased demands on print
quality. Paper grades used for bespoke forms must
be perfectly suitable for the production of good
quality offset printing. The printing of solid areas,
columns with reversed type and screen areas which
possess varying tone values should not prove to be
problematical.
In the processing in laser printers, forms must not
produce any deposits which could contaminate the
sensitive photoconductive surface of the printing
drum or other printing elements which would result
in damage and necessary replacement.
Optical Characteristics
Analysis of the folding strength characteristics of

continuous forms woodfree paper grades has shown
that approximately double the folding strength
can be expected, if the substance is increased from
Testing printability
14
The main optical criteria are opacity and whiteness.

A high degree of whiteness is usually expected
for commercial paper grades, although this is not
necessarily beneficial for the readability of forms.
Measurement of paper whiteness
The whiteness level of at least 80 % at a wavelength

of 457 nm specified by the DIN standard corresponds to a whiteness level that can be achieved
without the use of optical brighteners. The high
whiteness level of 90 % demanded of woodfree
paper grades in many markets can only be achieved
by the use of optical brighteners.
Opacity is the term used to describe the lack of
transparency of a paper grade. This is important
with respect to the show-through of an image
printed on the reverse side. Opacity is particularly
important in the case of bespoke forms. Printing
on the reverse side of the sheet is often necessary;
show-through of the printing through to the front
side of the sheet should be kept to an absolute
minimum.
Opacity improves with increasing substance and
may also be improved by the use of suitable fillers.
Part-mechanical and recycled papers with a high
proportion of wood fibres generally demonstrate
good opacity.
The formation of a paper grade, i.e. the appearance
of the paper fibres when the sheet of paper is held
against a light source, is an important indication of
quality. This refers to the evenness of the sheet
structure. Opacity testing is normally carried out
visually by looking at the amount of light which
passes through the sheet. The show-through can be
improved by increasing the amount of short fibre
pulp and fillers used in production. However, this
has the disadvantage that paper strength and
stiffness are reduced.
in the forms sector also have differing mixtures of

pulp, which satisfy the demands made in various
degrees. Woodfree and carbonless paper grades
certainly have the most universal suitability for forms
printing.
The papermaker strives to produce paper of a defined

substance with the best opacity, sheet formation and
level of whiteness.
Woodfree Paper Grades
Other Requirements
Forms must be capable of being written on both
sides (also with fountain pen ink); writing should
not run and must be smudge resistant. This also
applies to rubber stamp inks.
To ensure that ink drying is not impeded, pH values
lower than approximately 5 should not be used for
the fount solution in offset printing.
Reels supplied for continuous forms printing must
have as few joins as possible, as they lead to
disruption in production and forms stacking. Joins
should be marked and produced in such a manner
as to guarantee that printing plates or press
machinery are not damaged during printing.
As web edge guidance control devices are finding
widespread usage, a tolerance of only 1 mm of
the specified reel width should be accepted. Any
larger dimensional variation can result in problems
during forms processing.
Quality control by means of a process management system
Uncoated Paper Grades Used for Forms

Production
The paper grades offered contain a mixture of short

and long fibre pulp. They must not contain more
than 5 % of groundwood fibre. The short fibre
pulp (beech or eucalyptus), in combination with
certain additives, gives the paper the following
characteristics: good show-through, improved
smoothness, dimensional stability and stiffness.
Long fibre pulp, mainly produced from spruce and
pine, imparts strength.
These paper grades are usually produced on
highly efficient twin-wire paper machines possessing
a size press and calendering units. They are often
connected in-line with pulp production plants.
Loadings, which are fine pigments incorporated into
the pulp stock to modify certain paper characteristics, are normally added in the region of 12 15 %
of the total content. Woodfree paper grades are
usually internally sized using neutral, synthetic sizing
agents in the pulp stock. This is normally followed
by surface sizing using starch sizing agents on the
size press.
It is clear from the above that paper grades

manufactured for forms production must fulfil many
requirements. The various paper grades used
15
The headbox and wire section of a paper machine
Optical brighteners are then added to achieve

the desired high level of whiteness. As the last
operation, the top surface of the paper is smoothed
on the calender. This gives the paper good stiffness,
writing and printability characteristics. Calendering
also reduces the papers tendency to dusting. It can
be said that woodfree paper grades perform much
better in respect to printability and lack of dusting,
than part-mechanical or recycled paper grades.
Commonly used substances are between 40 and
170 g/m2, although 60, 70 and 80 g/m2 are most
commonly used.
Part-Mechanical Paper Grades
The amount of groundwood fibre content is not
stipulated for part-mechanical paper grades.
The content may differ greatly amongst the various
paper grades offered. Refined pulp stocks are used
in addition to conventionally produced groundwood
pulp stocks, which are made by means of
mechanical grinding. Part-mechanical papers are
frequently also referred to as medium-fine papers.
time, opacity improves. As groundwood fibres

only swell by a limited amount, part-mechanical
paper grades possess the advantage of greater
dimensional stability than woodfree paper grades.
Part-mechanical paper grades are today hardly ever
used for modern forms printing.
Recycled Paper Grades
In European countries, recycled paper grades possessing lower levels of whiteness and a grey or
grey-green top surface are finding increasing use.
These paper grades have gained in importance for
the forms industry; particularly in applications such
as internal company forms, government or local
authority forms and listing papers.
Varying methods are used for the production of

groundwood pulp. When producing refined pulp
stocks, the wood chips are partially pre-cooked
under pressure and then reduced to fibres between
the discs of refiners. This method produces thermomechanical pulp (TMP).
The process of disintegration can be intensified
and shortened by the use of chemicals. The resulting
pulp stock is called chemical-thermo-mechanical
pulp (CTMP). Increasing amounts of groundwood
pulp reduce the strength and whiteness of a paper
grade. Printability is also reduced and the tendency
to dusting and yellowing increases. At the same
16
Softwood pulp, magnified x 420
Strong yellowing of the paper due to the influence

of light, inferior strength values, reduced resistance
to ageing, poor printability and lower quality
consistency in comparison with wood free paper
grades are known and accepted characteristics.
However, the most important factor is the ability of
the paper grade to fulfil all the printing and
processing requirements.
By definition, recycled paper grades should only
contain recycled waste paper. The recycled pulp
fibres obtained can never be as good in quality as
those originally used. This is because of the
mechanical processing the fibres undergo during
recycling, mixing of paper grades and the accompanying unwanted foreign matter which cannot always
be completely removed. Therefore it is not possible
to produce strong, optically attractive paper grades
suitable for high quality printwork using recycled
fibres.
Printing inks are removed from the fibres by means
of the de-inking process. It is possible to produce
recycled paper grades which have greatly varying
suitability for forms printing. This is dependant
upon the quality of waste paper (e.g. newsprint,
magazines, woodfree paper grades) and the type
of recycling process and paper machine used for
production. Vastly different values for strength,
whiteness, coloration, smoothness, printability and
the papers tendency to dusting are possible.
as vapour, e.g. resins or binder components,

as these may collect and disrupt the functioning of
printing devices. For this reason special printing inks
must be used for pre-printed forms intended for use
with laser printers. Extreme demands are made on
the papers dimensional stability because of the brief
exposure to, and effect of, temperatures of about
200 degrees Celsius.
Shrinkage of the paper cannot be avoided, as the
fibres sustain a substantial loss of moisture. Other
than dimensional variations, this can also lead
to blistering and an uneven top surface of the paper.
Because of increased static electricity there is
a tendency to disruption during printing and further
processing of continuous forms on bursters and
cutters. Relative humidity is conditioned at lower
levels than for standard paper grades; values are
mainly in the region of 35 % to 45 %. This ensures
better performance characteristics when the paper
is exposed to heat and during fixing of the toner.
Moisture content is also of importance with respect
to the electrical conductivity of paper. This increases
with higher moisture content and may have a
negative influence on the copying process.
In particular, the fixing of the toner onto the paper

by heat action places great demands on flatness.
The paper must not give off any disruptive substances
In order to ensure trouble-free single-sheet feeding

through the machine, the following paper characteristics are required: high strength and stiffness
values, consistent caliper, smoothness and suitable
surface friction values. It is particularly important for
reels that are to be processed in laser printers the
fibre orientation is uniform in order to avoid leaning
stacks of forms which would otherwise occur.
The mechanism occurring here is that fibres which
are orientated across the machine direction cause an
asymmetric shrinkage of the paper following toner
fusing. Due to the position of the cross-perforations
being fixed prior to this shrinkage, the form takes on
a trapezium shape. As the continuous forms cannot
subsequently lie immediately on top of each other,
this results in leaning stacks. The surface of the paper
must be able to accept the toner easily and allow
firm anchoring; if not, disruptive set-off on drums
may occur.
Groundwood pulp, magnified x 420
Waste paper secondary fibres, magnified x 420
Paper Grades Suitable for Photocopying

and Non-Impact Printing
The use of photocopying and non-impact printing
technology continues to increase strongly. Woodfree
paper grades are mainly used; however, partmechanical and recycled paper grades, normally
of substance 70 or 80 g/m2, are also used.
17
It is important to ensure that the sheets of paper

are finished with serration-free edges and that cutting is performed without any dusting. Packaging
should provide extensive protection against moisture
exchange. The user must always ensure that the
paper is correctly stored. Extreme climatic variations
must be avoided.
Paper Grades Suitable for Optical
Character Recognition and Magnetic Ink
Character Recognition
The selection of suitable paper grades is vital for
the successful use of forms for optical character
recognition or magnetic ink character recognition.
The most important criteria are established in a
series of paper standards and specifications which
are issued by the machine manufacturers.
The requirements are dictated by the type of
character recognition system used. Much greater
demands are made of paper grades used for
document-sorter-readers, which can process up to
150,000 documents/hour, than for paper grades
used for page readers, whose performance is
up to 3,000 DIN AA documents/hour.
The documents which are to be processed are placed in stacks in the scanner, machine-fed, separated
and delivered. The documents are then transported
to the scanning stations and thereafter, as the last
operation, distributed to the delivery units. During
this pass, the document length or translucence is
measured in order to check for correct separation.
The documents are friction-fed by means of wheels
or belts. Separation is also carried out by vacuum
chambers or friction belts or wheels, which slide
the documents apart from one-another. This process
can be assisted by air jets. The complete processing
of a single document may require several sorting
passes through the machine. Great demands
are made upon the strength of the paper because
of the high accelerations and decelerations that it
experiences in the document-sorter-reader. When
OCR documents are exchanged by several users
and then processed in several locations, paper
specifications must be very strictly adhered to.
Synthetic fibres, magnified x 200
18
The following briefly describes the most important

quality criteria for OCR paper grades. Please also
refer to the description of OCR forms on pages 32
to 36. The highest possible paper whiteness should
be selected (without the use of optical brighteners),
in order to achieve good character contrast. For this
reason, the paper must also be as free of impurities
as possible. A certain amount of calendering is also
necessary to achieve good print quality of the
characters to be scanned. Furthermore, a minimal
tendency to dusting, good writing characteristics
with fountain pen inks and good printability using
the main printing processes are also required. Paper
grades used for optical mark reading, page reading
and on document-sorter-readers, normally have
substance of between 75 g/m2 and 90 g/ m2.
This ensures good runnability and that specified
values for the following are achieved: caliper, tear
strength, internal tear strength and stiffness.
The most recent generation of OCR readers are

also able to process 60 g/m2 papers. The curling
characteristics of the paper under varying climatic
conditions and the friction characteristics of the top
side of the sheet when in contact with the reverse
side, are also included in paper specifications due to
their influence upon paper runnability. The paper
should not be too smooth, as adequate friction for
feeding is required. Paper grades used for scanning
magnetic ink characters should also be free of any
impurities which may be magnetised. This is because
they can lead to disruptions during scanning.
To summarise, paper grades used for these applications must possess the following characteristics at
a defined substance: woodfree, white, free of
impurities, free of optical brighteners, be of medium
smoothness and possess good values for both
strength and flatness. The paper substance selected
is dependent upon the mechanical stress applied
by the reading device used.
Before the planning of a print order, it is advisable
to consider the reading devices that are to be used.
Older devices require the use of paper grades free
of optical brighteners, since the fluorescence of such
brighteners impairs optical reading. Such units have
however almost disappeared from the market.
Synthetic Fibre Paper Grades
The cellulose fibres normally used for paper
manufacture are partly, or wholly, replaced by
synthetic fibres when producing these paper grades.
Special grades produced with synthetic fibres and
suitable synthetic binders are able to offer
combinations of usage characteristics which
standard paper grades or printing films cannot.
Several typical applications are: identity papers of
all types, vehicle registration documents, driving
licenses, maps, wall charts, price lists, labels and
forms that can also be used in the open.
Such papers possess much higher strength than
conventional papers, both in dry and wet conditions,
and are therefore used universally where these characteristics are of paramount importance.
Coated Paper Grades for Forms Production
Carbonless Papers
Carbonless paper are now being used almost
exclusively for the production of multi-part form sets
in place of the carbon paper originally used.
They have assumed a leading position amongst the
coated papers used for forms production. In Europe
about 90% of multi-part form sets are now produced
using carbonless paper. Carbonless paper grades
have become mass produced products which are
used for specialist applications. Mitsubishi HiTec
Paper Bielefeld GmbH today possesses a production
capacity in excess of 130,000 tonnes per annum,
and operates one of the most efficient production
plants for carbonless paper in the world.
Systems
Used for Copy
Production
Single-Sheet-System
Copies are produced when standard,
uncoated paper grades are used for the
top sheet in combination with sheets using
the same system
Two-Sheet-System
Copies may only be produced when the donor
and receptive coatings are in direct contact.
Three sheet grades are required:
top, middle and bottom.
Mechanically
Functioning
Carbonless Paper
Grades
Mechanical transfer of
an ink coating onto the
top side of the following
sheet.
Mechanical exposure of
an ink coating by
compression of an
opaque coating (refer to
single-sheet-system),
or the lifting of a covering coating (refer to
two-sheet-system).
Colour Reaction
Paper Grades
The production of copies
by means of colourless
components.
Carbonless Paper Copying Systems

The market is today dominated by carbonless
papers in which the copies are produced by means
of colour reaction using microcapsules and a colourdeveloping layer. There are two different systems
available.
Firstly, differentiation should be made between the
single-sheet and two-sheet systems. These descriptions are often replaced by the terms single-coated
or double-coated systems.
This is incorrect as the functioning principle of the
single-sheet system normally requires the use of two
different coatings.
The single-sheet system produces the copy within
itself these qualities are also classified as selfcontained or SC paper grades. The two-sheet
system produces copies by means of colourformer
transfer when the donor and receptive coatings are
in contact.
This is only possible when all parts of the form set
consist of this type of carbonless paper.
The self-contained system allows the production of a
copy in combination with other non-carbonless
paper grades. A general disadvantage of all selfcontained systems is the sensitivity of the papers top
surface. The copies produced are not scratch-resis-
tant and there is also the possibility of undesired

imaging occurring on individual sheets. On the other
hand, it is possible to produce copies without using
ink ribbons as, for example, in the case of credit
card vouchers, weighing cards or in forms with special material combinations.
Colour Reaction Paper Grades
The copy is produced by the chemical reaction of
two coatings. In the case of the two-sheet system,
they are coated onto the front and reverse side
of the base paper. Therefore, a minimum of two,
or otherwise three sheet grades are required for the
production of forms sets:
CB sheet grade = coated back used as the top
sheet of the form set,
CFB sheet grade = coated front and back used as
the intermediate sheet. The number of sheets used
depends upon the number of parts in the form set,
CF sheet grade = coated front used as the final
sheet in the form set.
In the single sheet, or self contained grades
(which react within themselves to form a copy)
19
the two coating components can either be applied

as a single coating or be incorporated into the base
paper itself. Both systems are available in the
market.
The production of copies is based upon the
micro-encapsulation of colourless colourformers
this technology was patented in the USA as early as
1938. Writing pressure ruptures the microcapsules
contained in the CB coating. The colourformers
released are absorbed by the highly absorbent,
colour developing coating on the front side of the
following sheet the CF coating.
A colour reaction then takes place immediately,
which produces black or blue copies, depending on
the type of colourformers used.
The following components are important for the
production and functioning of this type of paper:
the base paper, the CB and CF coating.
Today, woodfree paper grades made within a
substance range of 40 g/m2 50 g/m2 are almost
exclusively used for the production of coating base
paper for the majority of carbonless paper products.
Paper machine used for the production of carbonless paper in Mitsubishi Hillegossen Mill
20
Part-mechanical or recycled paper grades are also

sometimes used for special paper grades with lower
quality requirements.
The relatively lightweight coating base papers must
be able to fulfil the many demands made during
production, printing, conversion and usage.
Certain characteristics of the base paper are also
determined by special processing operations for
forms such as desensitisation or fan-apart gluing.
Copyability is influenced by compressibility, caliper,
smoothness and whiteness.
Good optical appearance is determined by whiteness, opacity and good sheet formation. For these
reasons, the consistency and quality of base paper
is a very important factor in determining the overall
quality of carbonless papers.
Manufacturers who do not produce their own base
paper are thus clearly at a disadvantage.
The CB coating applied to the reverse side of the
base paper consists of microcapsules, spacers
and binding agents. The main constituents are the
microcapsules, which contain colourless colour-
formers dissolved in high boiling oils, and which

produce either black or blue copies on the CF
coating, depending on their composition.
The diameter of the microcapsules is normally in
the region of 4 7 microns.
Spacers made of starch or pulp fibres are particles
which are approximately 3 4 times larger than
the microcapsules. Their function is to protect the
microcapsules from undesired rupturing by the
unavoidable pressures applied during production,
finishing, printing, processing and usage of
carbonless paper.
Binding agents serve to bind the microcapsules and
spacers together and also to firmly anchor the
coating onto the base paper. This helps to guarantee
good printability. The binding agents normally used
for paper manufacture are used these are
produced from natural raw materials, for example,
starch, or synthetic materials.
The CF coating consists of the colour developing
material, standard pigments for paper coating,
additives used for the production of the coating
slurry and binding agents. In Europe, specially
processed clay, a mineral pigment, is mainly used as
the colour developing material. Its specific surface
area is very large indeed one gram of this pigment may possess a surface area of approximately
270 m2. This explains why the CF coating absorbs
the colour forming solution and printing inks so well.
Colour development takes place as a result of a
colour reaction, stimulated by electron exchange. In
Japan and the USA, certain resins are used almost
exclusively for the colour developing material.
A further system uses zinc-salicylate compounds in
place of resin. It is important to state that for
carbonless paper use, these three types of CF
coating should not be used together. This leads to
inferior copyability and variation in the colour of
the copy produced.
In order to achieve good printability and writing
characteristics for the CF coating, standard binders
are used. These are produced from natural or
synthetic materials.
Copyability
The number of clearly legible copies obtainable is
mainly determined by the substance of the paper
grade used, the number of parts in the form set and
the method of completion. Writing pressure, the
typeface used, the maintenance condition of the
printer and forms design have a major influence
upon copy quality. It is particularly important to
follow the manufacturers operating instructions for
computer printers.
Very good copyability is normally guaranteed with
multi-part form sets of up to 4 parts. When the
standard Giroform substances of CB 54 g/m2,
CFB 53 g/m2 and CF 55 g/m2 are used, good
copyability may be expected for multi-part form sets
with the following means of completion and number
of parts:
Handwriting
Electric typewriter
Daisy-wheel printer
Dot-matrix printer
High-speed printer
4
8
4
3
3
6
12
6
8
6
part
part
part
part
part
CB Coating:
microcapsules
Should any doubts exist about the copyability of

forms, tests should be carried out with suitably
collated sample forms. Tests should always be
carried out under exact usage conditions before
the full production run.
Suitability for Photocopying
Nearly all modern photocopying machines produce
good photocopies from carbonless paper copies.
When designing forms, care should be taken that
any sheets to be photocopied only come from the
top half of the set. These copies possess more
contrast and thus guarantee better results.
It has become normal, today, to fax documents.
When faxing carbonless documents, it is important
to ensure that the original topsheet is used and
has been produced in the optimal conditions for
this application. Because carbonless copies do not
produce an ideal black colour it is possible that
faxing copies can cause problems, depending
on the machine and type of paper.
CF-Coating:
activated clay pigments
Characteristics of Carbonless Paper

A good knowledge of the most important
characteristics of carbonless paper is a necessary
requirement for their correct use. Therefore,
we would briefly like to discuss our Giroform and
Giroform DEKA products.
The majority of the information given is not only
valid for our products, but also for paper grades
possessing a similar technical construction produced
by our competitors. Thus, it is applicable for nearly
all the carbonless paper grades produced by
European manufacturers.
Suitability for Microfilming

Giroform and Giroform DEKA copies may be
microfilmed without any limitations. The quality
achieved is dependent upon the contrast of the copy
and the colour reproduction characteristics of the
microfilm used. In critical applications, black copies
are more suitable because of the better contrast.
The recommendations concerning the arrangement
of the copies and colour selection given for
photocopies also apply for form sets which must be
microfilmed.
The type of camera used also influences quality.
Single-frame cameras using longer exposure times
Microcapsules ruptured
by writing pressure
21
should produce better quality than continuous frame

cameras. Copies of varying quality, i.e. hue and
contrast, should only be processed with cameras
equipped with automatic exposure control.
Lightfastness of the Copy
Carbonless paper copies possess only limited lightfastness. However, adequate lightfastness can be
guaranteed for normal forms use.
Our tests have shown that copies retain adequate
legibility after an exposure of 2 Mlxh in a Xenon
device. The intensity value of the copy was then
approximately half that of the original.
According to a publication by Schirmer
(Notification of the FOGRA Institute, Munich,
No. 26, February 1960), 2 Mlxh corresponds to
approximately Stage 3 of the lightfastness standard
defined by DIN 54004.
Following exposure for 72 hours under a Heraeus
daylight lamp there was no recognisable reduction
in copy colour or intensity. Following exposure for
144 hours the image intensity was reduced by
approximately 15 20 %. Therefore, direct exposure
of the copy to light should be avoided.
ball-point pens.
Some carbonless paper manufacturers now produce
several special grades with improved characteristics
for writing on the reverse side. However, an
absolutely certain solution to this problem for all
types of ball-point pens has, to the best of our
knowledge, yet to be found.
Ghost-Image Caused by the Use of
Black Ball-Point Pens
If black ball-point pen writing is present on any type
of form which is subsequently filed together with
Giroform CFB, Giroform CF or Giroform DEKA,
a red ghost mage may appear on the CF coating.
This effect may even occur if there is no direct contact between the individual paper grades involved.
This phenomenon is due to a long-term chemical
reaction, whose speed and intensity is dependent
upon the solvents and dyes used in the ball-point ink
paste. The manufacturers of ball-point inks are now
aware of this problem.
As ball-point inks are now produced without the use
of the dyes which cause this discoloration, many
ball-point pens are now available which do not
produce this problem.
Resistance to Ageing
Provided that the paper is correctly stored, we
guarantee a period of 5 years for the papers ability
to produce a copy and 10 years for the durability
of the copy produced. Samples taken from archives
and accelerated ageing tests have shown that copies
may be expected to last for a period of at least
25 years; this is for in excess of our guarantee
period and only possible with absolutely correct
paper storage.
Marker Pens
Marker pens are sometimes used to highlight specific
information when forms are being used.
This can lead to a dramatic reduction of copy
intensity. Standard, commercially available marker
pens contain solvents which have a detrimental effect
upon the copy. The loss of intensity varies from
brand to brand.
The Federal Institute for Materials Testing in Berlin

has, on our instructions, performed ageing tests with
Giroform. Complete test results and a test certificate
are available on request.
Several manufacturers offer marker pens especially

produced for use with carbonless paper grades
(for copy paper) which do not affect the copy.
We recommend these pens be used when it is not
possible to completely forgo the use of marker pens.
Printing and Writing Characteristics
Solvents and Liquids
The top surface of all the sheet grades and the

reverse side of the CF sheet grade may be written
upon without limitation. The reverse side of the
CB and CFB sheet grades may only be written upon
in a limited manner. This is because printing and
writing pressure ruptures the microcapsules in the CB
coating and releases their contents. If ball-point pens
are used, the oily substances released can lead to
disruptions in writing.
When forms are being processed or used, it is

possible that carbonless papers come into contact
with solvents or liquids which may have a
detrimental effect upon the CF coating. Low boiling
solvents such as alcohol, acetone and esters have an
adverse effect on the copy contrast however, after
evaporation contrast will return nearly to the original
level.
In this respect, commercially available ball-point

pens demonstrate considerable variations in
performance. Generally speaking, pens possessing a
broader stroke have proved to be more suitable than
those having a narrower stroke. Our coating technology offers excellent printing and writing results with
22
If the CFB and CF sheet grades are used to produce

packaging labels, it is important that tests are carried out in advance to ensure that no adverse effects
upon the copy are caused by the constituents of the
adhesives used. Contact with high boiling solvents
such as oils, fats, glycerine and glycols may lead to
a permanent reduction in the contrast of the copy.
Vapours which are present in plastics and other

manufacturing materials can cause surface
discoloration. A similar effect can also occur with
carbonless papers exposed to an ammoniacontaining atmosphere such as those present in agricultural environments for instance.
Blueprinting
Carbonless papers are not suitable for the
production of blueprints, since transparent originals
are required for this procedure.
The Advantages of Carbonless Paper
Contact with Materials Containing

Plasticizers
Several materials used in offices contain plasticising
substances which, if they penetrate into the CF
coating, will reduce copy intensity. The main
products concerned are: transparent folders, plastic
sleeves, glues, adhesives, self-adhesive tapes and
films, carbon paper and mechanically functioning
carbonless paper grades.
Therefore, the direct contact of Giroform or
Giroform DEKA with materials containing
plasticisers for prolonged periods of time should be
avoided. When documents must be stored in
transparent sleeves, it is important to ensure that
only plasticiser-free document sleeves are used.
There are many good reasons for the success

achieved by carbonless papers produced using
microcapsule technology. Indeed, their widespread
use continues to grow. Forms produced with
carbonless paper have proven to be rational and
economic organisational aids.
The writing work previously required is saved and
agreement of the original and copy is always
guaranteed. At the same time, the sheets of paper
bearing the copies are immediately recognisable.
As production of the original and the copies takes
place simultaneously, swift distribution of the
information to all the required recipients is possible.
Carbonless papers are user-friendly. They are simple
and clean to use; the insertion, removal and
disposal of carbon-interleave paper grades, which
23
are also undesired carriers of information, is no

longer necessary.
Completion of forms and their disposal are much
simplified in addition the information copied is
much more secure.
The copies produced are clean, smudge and
scratch-proof and so, to a large degree, forgeryproof. The use of suitable form design enables the
information copied to be highlighted by the colour
of the copy itself. This information is then easier
to locate; forms processing is simplified and
accelerated.
Security in use is guaranteed by adequate resistance
to ageing, lightfastness and other various environmental influences. Furthermore, the copies are
suitable for photocopying and microfilming.
When multi-part form sets are produced from
carbonless paper instead of carbon paper, they may
consist of more parts and produce more intensive
and sharper copies which are also more clearly legible. The reason for this is the reduced thickness of
the forms when carbonless paper grades are used.
This also results in better runnability on smaller computer printers.
Due to the reduced thickness of carbonless paper
forms, they require less space for transportation and
storage in archives. Therefore, freight costs are also
reduced and the greater amount of forms packed in
a carton eases operation and increases the productivity of computer printers.
Comprehensive product ranges are available which
enable the combination of suitable grades which can
exactly match the use requirements of individual
forms applications. Carbonless papers of various
substances, high white and tinted papers and
special grades for specialist applications are all
available.
Certain form applications demand that carbonless
paper grades only be used. Good examples are:
datamailer forms, discrete wage envelopes, forms
incorporating self-adhesive labels and credit card
vouchers.
Forms made from carbonless papers can thus also

fulfil an advertising function, and have a positive
effect on the image of a company.
Carbonless papers not only offer benefits when used
advantages are also offered during forms production. When form sets are produced from carbonless
paper sheet stocks, simplification of the production
process is possible.
Collation of the forms is simplified, as awkward collation with carbon paper is no longer necessary
(form sets produced with carbon paper always
have double the amount of sheets, minus 1, in
comparison to form sets produced with carbonless
paper).
Unit sets may be easily and economically produced
by the fan-apart gluing process; time consuming
separation of the forms with knives is no longer
necessary.
In certain circumstances it is possible to dispense
with installations for the insertion of carbon paper
on printing and finishing machines, designed for the
production of continuous forms. Other than a
reduction in investment costs, this can also lead to
increased production due to reduced make-ready
time and improved machine performance, as it is
only necessary to run individual webs. Furthermore,
the amount of production stock which needs to be
financed, stored and administered is reduced.
Disadvantages of Carbonless Paper
Only a few disadvantages of carbonless papers exist
in comparison to their advantages. Firstly,
the possibility of undesired copies being produced
by CFB sheets lying on top of each other, or selfcontained papers which react within themselves,
should be noted.
Under extraordinary conditions, where extreme
demands are made on the durability of the copy,
greater security of information copied may be achieved by carbon copies produced on standard paper
grades.
Carbonless paper grades can be printed on the front

and reverse sides with the main printing processes
used for forms production.
A much wider choice of paper is available if standard uncoated grades are used this is particularly
the case for special grades, for example, boards or
paper grades having a special top surface or
a specific function. However, these papers may be
combined with self-contained paper grades. Another
disadvantage is the higher price of form sets
produced with carbonless paper.
Many interesting possibilities for forms design are

created by the ability of carbonless paper grades to
be desensitised, i.e. to cancel the papers ability to
produce copies in certain areas. This can be done
without disrupting the visual appearance.
Various sources have, however, confirmed that in

spite of the higher purchase price, forms systems
application costs (which include all handling and
processing costs) are less than those for forms
produced with carbon paper.
Therefore, all the technical requirements for the

production of clean, multicolour, attractive and
representative forms are fulfilled.
To summarise, it can be said that carbonless paper

grades demonstrate clear advantages in forms
use and production when compared to carbon
Carbonless papers differ very little in appearance

to standard paper grades; they possess a similar
handle and rattle.
24
paper grades. This is because of their high level

of user friendliness, efficiency, security, cleanliness
and cost effectiveness when used in systems
applications.
Web Offset Paper Grades
These two-sided coated paper grades are used for
printing multi-colour advertising material which is
subsequently individualised by non-impact printers
and then dispatched as datamailers or standard
posting items.
Printing is performed on specialised rotary offset
machines equipped with drying units, which can
simultaneously print both sides of the paper web.
To ensure that any further completion following
printing is exactly to register, sprocket-holes are
added at both edges these are then removed at
a later stage.
Standard two-sided coated paper grades normally
selected for web offset printing are used; however,
they must be adapted to meet the special requirements of non-impact printers. In particular, sufficiently good anchoring of the printed image upon the
paper surface must be guaranteed.
can be achieved that fully meet the requirements of

text processing.
In photographic and plotter applications however,
high-quality special papers are still required in order
to achieve the desired results. For a large number of
applications, there are today comprehensive ranges
of different papers on the market, from normal
paper grades to card, and with matt, gloss or
coated surfaces.
Mitsubishi HiTec Paper Bielefeld GmbH also offers
ink-jet papers for high-quality photographic and
plotter applications.
Fundamentally, it is important for the manufacturer
of forms to know exactly how his product will be
used. For text-processing applications using
uncoated normal paper grades, it has become
advisable to have the suitability for ink-jet printing
certified by the paper manufacturer.
One-side coated papers for photographic and
plotter applications are produced using a special
coating process that applies a coating of from
10 g/m2 to 20 g/m2. Specially manufactured base
photographic papers are used as the raw material.
For this reason paper grades possessing a matt top

surface are normally used.
Special Paper Grades for Ink-Jet Printing
Ink-jet printers predominate in the market for
individual workplace printers. No special papers are
needed any more for professional use in text processing, since both the inks and the normal papers now
used are so matched to each other that good results
The top surface of an ink-jet paper grade
25
Advantages of Giroform
Advantages of carbonless forms sets
Whole range
certified by the Nordic Swan
Giroform users can document their own
environmental awareness through
the image-enhancing use of the Swan label.
Unrestricted usage possibilities

In the office, out of doors, anywhere.
Wide range of standard

and special grades
Almost all forms problems can be solved
with Giroform.
Very low tendency to discoloration

Intermediate sheets therefore maintain
their quality appearance and clear colours
even under multi-part processing.
Outstanding flatness
Production times and wastage are reduced
to a minimum.
Extremely low ink application

for desensitising
Ink consumption is dramatically reduced.
The risk of desensitising inks being transferred
or offset by transport rollers is also reduced.
Completely trouble-free
fan-apart gluing
Estimation of forms production costs
is simplified.
Technical service
Expert advice is available to processors
and users of forms at all times.
Free specialist literature

The Technical Handbook and
Forms Guide are acknowledged classics
of the specialist literature.
Co-operation with equipment and

machinery manufacturers
Products are designed to meet
the practical needs of users.
Co-operation with all concerned

Individual concepts can be worked out
for printed business materials.
26
Original and copies in a single step

This means that you save time.
Reduced risk of forgery

Copies generate greater confidence
than laser print outs.
Copies can be recognised as such

No risk of confusion or errors.
Coloured paper for copies

Organisational security.
Copies of signatures
legally recognised
Copies therefore generate greater confidence.
Copies can be desensitised

where required
Information reaches
only the intended recipient.
Crash printing process

for numbering
Consistent numbering of originals and copies.
Different paper weights

in a single set
An essential and useful aid
in forms set production.
Different sheet sizes

in a single set
Forms solutions for every user requirement.
Lighter paper for forms sets

than for laser printing
Reduced postage costs.
Individual, coloured design

Attractive, permanent and free advertising.
Paper Grades Suitable

for Thermal Transfer Printing
Uncoated paper grades are used in addition to
pigmented or coated paper grades. In order to
ensure good printing quality these paper grades
must be very smooth.
When rougher typing paper grades are used,
tests should be carried out to establish whether
acceptable printing quality for commercial
correspondence can be achieved.
Ink-transfer from the ink ribbon onto the paper is
often inadequate. In spite of new ink ribbon developments, the technology developed by IBM using
thermo-resistant ink ribbons offers clear advantages.
When producing multi-coloured work, the use of a
calendered, very smooth and usually coated paper
grade is indispensable.
A self-adhesive sandwich label
Dry Gummed Paper Grades

These paper grades are coated on one side with a
preparation that, when wetted, possesses adhesive
properties.
Therefore, these grades are used for the production
of all kinds of gummed labels, e.g. address labels
for letters or packages and for the identification or
marking of various goods. Generally, they possess
good printing characteristics on the front side.
However, they also possess a tendency to curl
to the coated side due to the moisture acceptance
characteristics of the adhesive coating.
CF coated dry gummed papers are available as a
special grade, which can be incorporated into a
carbonless paper form set and thus offer interesting
possibilities for certain organisational applications.
on the top surface and coated with adhesive on

the reverse side.
The self-contained, self-adhesive label produced is
then mated onto a silicon release carrier web.
A further label, which also has an adhesive coating
on the reverse side, is then positioned on top of the
self-contained label.
Following completion of the form, the top label can
be removed. The underlying self-contained label,
which now possesses a legible copy of the top label,
remains as part of the form set.
The use of such sandwich labels offers various
interesting possibilities for the user.
Self-Adhesive Label Paper Grades

Self-adhesive labels consist of a silicon-release
coated carrier paper and the label itself this is
coated on the reverse side with adhesive.
Siliconisation of the carrier paper enables easy
separation of the self-adhesive labels.
The strength of the adhesive used can be selected
according to the needs of individual applications.
Basically a distinction is made between easily
removable and permanent self-adhesive labels.
Many different paper grades can be used for the
label; in the case of forms production, the CF sheet
grade or woodfree paper grades are normally used.
For other applications, high-quality coated paper
grades can also be used.
Sandwich self-adhesive labels are used for specialist form applications. They are produced using
self-contained paper grades which are siliconised
27
Forms guide: The Various Types of Forms
28
The Various
Types of Forms
By definition, forms are pre-printed papers intended
for completion by writing or printing.
A certain standard of presentation is necessary for
their correct and economic usage. The most suitable
presentation is determined by the intended usage
conditions i.e. the method of their completion, use,
dispatch and storage.
Single-Part Forms
These forms represent the simplest method of presentation i.e. single printed sheets, cut exactly to
square and size. Typical applications for such forms
are: letterheads, receipts, self-adhesive postcards,
stamp cards, identity documents, advertising letters
etc. Their use continues to increase because
of the installation of single-sheet feeding devices
for computer printers and the growing number of
non-impact printers, which can only print single
sheets.
Single-part forms are not necessarily only simple in
concept; very high print quality is often required.
Furthermore, depending upon their intended usage,
they may have to be finished or converted as
follows: file-hole punched, perforated, tab or corner
cut, strip glued with self-adhesive, gummed or
scored. Single-part forms may contain several forms
or documents which are separated by perforations,
e.g. invoices with attached vouchers, debit notes and
payment cards. Further examples are: special offers
with attached order cards, advertising letters with
vouchers or customer reply cards.
Single-part forms are mainly used for: watermarked
paper grades, at workplaces where the forms used
change very regularly, where copies are not
required, where paper grades of a particularly high
or low substance are used, when paper grades have
a special top surface, or where other special
characteristics are required. Their use is necessary
for non-impact printers which have single-sheet
feeding devices. Copies may only be produced by
printing repeatedly.
Glued Unit Sets
These are individual multi-part form sets. They are
used when forms must be completed by hand,
by typewriter or by dot-matrix printer with single
sheet feed.
Unit sets may be completed immediately, as the
insertion of carbon paper or the collation of carbonless paper is not necessary. Gluing of the individual
sets ensures that all their individual parts are
arranged in the correct order and exactly positioned
for completion. Glued unit sets are easier to store
than several stacks of individual sheets, which must

be stored separately and collated before use.
When carbonless papers are used, forms may be
fan-apart glued efficiently with a special adhesive
following collation. If one-time carbon paper is used,
this is either not possible or only in a very limited
manner. This has led to the situation today, where
carbonless papers are normally used for the production of glued unit sets.
Form Pads
Form pads, which are highly practical for the
handling and storage of forms, can be produced
by gluing stacks of single-part forms or unit sets at
one edge. The form sets are normally protected by a
sturdy cardboard support sheet and a cover paper.
The complete form or one of its individual parts may
be removed, as padding glue firmly holds the
individual sheets together at the paper edge. Should
the forms be subjected to rough handling, then
stapling is recommended. In this case, the sheets
must be perforated in order to facilitate their
removal. It is common practice, that one part of
each form should remain in chronological or
numerical order in the pad, as in the case of receipt
and delivery notes. These parts of the form should
not be perforated. Individual sheets, which must be
removed from the forms pad, are normally smaller
at the gluing edge than the full size of the pad.
If these sheets need to be full size, then the printer
should be contacted in order to discuss production
possibilities. Undesired copies may be avoided by
folding a scored, double-sized, cardboard support
sheet over the next form during usage.
Glued unit sets
Snap-Apart Sets
Snap-apart sets are a special type of unit set.
They guarantee that the individual parts of the set
are positioned exactly on top of each other, in the
correct order and also that the set is complete.
If numbering of the form sets is required, then this is
possible with the crashprinting process. Numbering of the forms is carried out after collation and
gluing of the sets. This process guarantees that every
sheet in the form set has the same number. Many
manufacturers market such form sets under their own
brand name. Snap-apart sets were originally developed to provide a simple and clean method
for removal of the one-time carbon paper from form
sets. The individual sheets of the form and the interleaved one-time carbon paper are joined together
at a stub which is at least 15 mm 20 mm wide.
The form sheets are only perforated at the stub. The
carbon paper is shortened sufficiently at the opposite
edge to ensure that it is not grasped when the form
is torn away. This enables removal of the carbon
paper from the form set in one operation, whilst, at
the same time, the individual sheets
of the form set are separated. If glued unit sets are
produced from carbonless paper, separation of form
sets into their individual parts is also simplified.
Form pads
Snap-apart sets
29
It is also possible to remove individual parts of the

form set, without disrupting the function or adhesion
of other sheets. Sheets of varying size within the
form set can help this operation. Sheets protruding
from the side or below may easily be grasped and
removed.
This creates interesting organisational possibilities,
for example, a form set may be completed and the
individual sheets removed and distributed to various
recipients; the remaining parts of the form set may
then be written upon again and produce further
copies.
Snap-apart form sets are necessarily trimmed on
three sides; if the perforation at the stub takes the
form of a micro-perforation, this can create the
impression of an individual sheet trimmed on all
four sides. In contrast to continuous forms, such
forms can be produced from the very beginning
in standard sizes.
Snap-apart form sets are often used for: sheets for
recording data; shipping notes; salesmens order
and delivery notes for branded product lines, bank
and order forms. Form pads are often held together
in special folders, as this helps to guarantee good
quality of the copy when the forms are written upon.
These pads can then be provided by the forms
manufacturer with eyelets at the extended edge in
order to hold the relevant unit together.
The stub enables a cardboard support sheet to be
placed easily between the individual form sets and
thus prevents undesired copying. Although snapapart form sets were originally developed to ease the
removal of carbon paper, much greater amounts of
carbonless paper are now used for their production.
The reason for this is because such forms are mainly
used externally. Therefore, a modern, representative,
clean and attractive appearance is expected.
printers by means of sprocket-holes, which are

located on the lengthways edges of the form.
The size and position of the sprocket-holes are
standardised. A sprocket-hole edge is normally
15 mm wide and separated from the form by a
lengthways perforation. This enables easy removal
of the edge at a later stage. The tractor (the spikewheeled feeding device of a computer printer)
engages into the sprocket-holes and thereby
guarantees exact register for printing in the lengthways and cross direction. The forms are transported
through computer printers in steps, corresponding
exactly to those of the lines of printing.
Other than feeding forms through computer printers,
the sprocket-hole edges also have the function of
enabling collation of the forms that is, the gathering together of individual webs of multi-part sets on
collating machines at the forms printer. The individual paper webs are also connected by forms set
fasteners to ensure that they remain intact as a
single unit during printing. When selecting the most
appropriate type of form set fastener, the requirements of the computer printer and any further processing intended should be taken into consideration.
The width of continuous forms may be freely selected
and can, therefore, conform exactly to all the applicable standard specifications.
Because of the standardisation of the distance
between the sprocket-holes and the separation of the
individual lines for computer printers (which must be
at least 1/6 of an inch), the height of the form must
be a multiple of the distance separating the lines.
If the distance between lines is, as an exception, 1/8
of an inch the same rule nevertheless applies for
form height.
Continuous Forms
The ever-increasing use of electronic data-processing
demands that forms are produced in a manner
which enables their continuous, automatic and highspeed completion. Continuous forms must be able
to be securely attached to the computer printer,
guarantee continuous feeding, printing to register
and thereafter, space-saving filing. Furthermore,
automatic separation should be possible at a later
stage. Continuous forms, whose basic design has
been in existence since approximately 1920, fulfil
all these requirements.
30
Various finishing machines have been developed to

perform all the jobs necessary for converting multipart form sets following printing: separators for
the separation of the paper webs, bursters for the
separation of cross-perforations and cutters
for cutting all four edges. There are also special
combined installations available which can,
dependent upon the tasks required, perform several
processing operations one after another. They are
able to produce a finished product which, for
example, could be a letter ready for posting.
Continuous forms are produced from paper reels,

which are printed on specialised rotary presses and
then converted. They are printed onto a continuous
paper web in a head-to-foot arrangement, one
after the other, and are separated by means of
cross-perforations. This enables forms to be stored
in a fan-fold (leporello fold) manner and their
separation into individual form sets.
Continuous forms
Therefore it is impossible for continuous forms to

conform to any standard specifications which define
their height in cm. Further explanations can be
found on pages 48 and 49 which deal with the
subject of paper sizes and their standardisation.
Continuous forms are used for the most varied types

of form applications. Generally speaking, they may
be classified as bespoke forms for specific
customers, or as standardised forms. Examples of
the first category are: quotations, order confirmations, delivery notes, invoice sets, salary slips etc.
These forms are often printed with several colours on
the front side. The reverse side is often used for
printing delivery or settlement conditions and other
explanatory texts.
Continuous forms are fed securely through computer
In order to create the best possible visual impression,

various means of forms design are used for example: company logos, screen areas, columns with
reverse printing, lines and typefaces of varying
sizes. Multi-part sets represent the majority of the
bespoke forms used.
Carrier-Band Sets
Carrier-band sets are produced by gluing the stub at
the edge of snap-apart sets to a continuous carrier
web, which also possesses sprocket-hole edges. The
carrier band web is folded twice in relation to the
height of the snap-apart set. Therefore, the snapapart sets protrude out of the side of the continuous
stack. This results in a greatly differing thickness of
both halves of the form and should be corrected
when packing the forms into cartons to guarantee
good stacking.
Snap-apart form sets may contain sheets of varying
size, which are somewhat longer than the accompanying part of the carrier-band. The form sets then
overlap each other slightly during feeding into the
computer printer, which guarantees trouble-free running. Otherwise, the form sets may possibly catch or
stick on the stub.
The increased thickness of the form sets caused by
overlapping may cause disruptions in feeding with
some computer printers; this problem can be
alleviated by shortening several sheets at the foot
of the form set.
Carrier-band sets are ideal for use at work places
where form sets must be removed immediately after
printing. This is the case where customers must be
given a written document immediately, for example,
invoice or delivery note sets, or office material
distribution dockets. Completed forms can be
removed individually from the computer printer,
without the need to run the tractor. Furthermore,
it is not possible for forms sets to be mislaid, as can
happen with continuous forms.
The carrier-band web itself need not become
redundant after removal of the snap-apart sets.
It can be used to make notes or be printed with
information on alternate sides; whereby more
practicable storage is possible with fan-folding.
If 80 g/m2 CF carbonless paper is used, the carrierband can function as the last part in the form set
and produce a complete chronological record of all
business transactions made. In this application,
the use of already-printed copy numbering is
recommended in order to maintain a record of
the consecutive numbers used, even after removal
of the individual sets.
Small runs can also be produced relatively economically. Production is not restricted to special forms
printing presses. Printers who only process sheet
stocks can have their printed snap-apart sets applied
to the carrier band by other printers equipped for
this work. For smaller runs, manual application is
also quite feasible.
Special Types of Forms

We would like to describe several types of forms,
which are distinguished by their special applications
or particular technical construction. As the printing
presses and collators employed in the production of
continuous forms are constructed in modules, they
can be adapted for use in several different ways.
Therefore, the following operations are possible:
punching, continuous perforation, numbering in the
lengthways or cross direction, continuous or spot
gluing, gluing several webs together or gluing
labels, plastic cards, reply cards etc., onto a paper
web. These production possibilities are used by
printers who have suitable machinery to manufacture special continuous or single-part forms.
Carrier-band sets
Forms Used for the Automatic Recognition

of Characters
The input of information into a computer can take
place either manually via a keyboard and thereafter
by electronic data transfer from computer to
computer, or by scanning the written or printed
characters. Another possibility is the spoken input
of data which is, as yet, not technically perfected.
The main category used to date has been the
manual input of data with floppy discs, magnetic
tapes, hard discs or magnetic tape cassettes serving
as the intermediate storage medium. These methods
can produce a maximum performance of about
10 characters/second.
Optical character recognition enables direct data
input into the computer by means of forms for
recording the data. This represents on automatic,
quick and economic method of recording data,
which is better adopted to the large amount of data
processed on ever more powerful computers.
Performance is determined by the size of the form,
the amount of fields and characters to be printed,
the typeface used and also the quality of
forms printing, printing during completion and
paper grade used. Printing speeds of up to
3,000 characters per second are currently possible.
The following methods of optical character recognition are currently used:
OMR = Optical Mark Recognition.
Used for the recognition of handwritten
or printed marks.
OCR = Optical Character Recognition.
Used for the recognition of automatically
produced and printed characters,
as well as handwritten block letters.
MICR = Magnetic Ink character Recognition.
Used for character recognition
of standardised magnetic type.
Reading of encoded magnetic strips and barcodes
should also be mentioned in this respect. We would
like to describe the basic principles of these
31
Stdtisches Krankenhaus
57680 Musterstadt
ANFORDERNDE STATIONEN
Kassen-Patient
Innere
Innere, infekt.
Nephrologie
Neph. Infekt.
Chirurgie
Gynkologie
Entbindung
Neugeborene
Kranke Neugeb.
HNO
256 128
64
32
R3
R5
Int.
64
LEISTUNGSDATUM
Kasse
Privat
Sonstige
32
16
SPUREN
4
Jan.
10
11
Int.
10
11
11
Int.
Int.
Int.
12
12
3A
Feb.
AUFNAHME-NR.
89
Aufn.-Dat.
Name u. Vorname
BELEGART
Mrz
90
April
91
Mai
92
Juni
93
Juli
94
Innere
Nephrologie
Chirurgie
Gyn-Geb.
Rntgen
Isotopen/Nuclear
Ansthesie
Bderabt.
Dialyse
Aug.
95
Sep.
96
Okt.
97
Nov.
98
30
Dez.
5
6
7
8
Bereitschaft
Notfall
Manuel. Nachtr.
Personalunters.
Storno
20
Hmatologie,
Gerinnung,
Blutgruppen
10
99
9
10
11
12
13
14
BEHANDLUNGSZEIT
STUNDEN
MINUTEN
Stat.
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
15
Geb.-Ort
Strae u. Nr.
Wohnort
Name u. Vorname des Versicherten
Bitte nur so markieren!

Mit Bleistift Nr. 2 oder HB
Zuweisender Arzt/berweisendes Krankenhaus

Datum
Unterschrift
LeistungsNr.
LeistungsNr.
Hmatologie
The types of non-read or blind inks which may be

used with individual scanners are specified by the
machine manufacturer. The forms manufacturer must
ensure that inking units are thoroughly cleaned
before use of these inks to ovoid their contamination.
The light reflectance values of the blind inks should
be tested with a special print contrast meter during
printing, to ensure that the specified values are
maintained.
Woodfree paper grades between 75 g/m2 and
180 g/m2 are used for the production of forms
which are to be scanned by the OMR process.
Kostentrger
Bezeichnung
areas must demonstrate sufficient light reflectance

levels, in order to ensure they are not recognised by
the scanner.
BEI STAT. PAT. UNBEDINGT ETIKETT VERWENDEN!

Aufn.-Nr.
16
88
2
3
6
R5
32
2
1
R5
16
AMBULANZEN
Privat-Patient
3A
TAKTMARKEN
BELEGART
512
Bezeichnung
285600
Blutgruppe m.Rh-Faktor
16
groes Blutbild
279203
285801
Rh-Gruppenfaktoren
17
kleines Blutbild
279002
286404
Antikrper-Suchtest
18
Differentialblutbild
277807
19
Bz
244400
20
Bks
008800
Thrombozyten
277204
284204
A1 u. A2-Bestimmung
22
Retikulozyten
276802
284405
direkter Coombstest
23
285209
indirekter Coombstest
24
286404
Antikrper
25
The technical requirements of paper grades which

may be used are detailed in the specifications issued
by the machine manufacturer. The paper sizes used
are normally between DIN A6 and DIN A4.
21
Gerinnung
Quick
266005
PTT
264800
26
29
286203
3. Konserve
30
4. Konserve
31
266206
Throm./Koag
28
2. Konserve
286203
Fibrinodgen
27
1. Konserve
286203
265201
Kreuzprobe fr
286203
TZ
286203
266206
32
33
292400
242000
Alb.-Test
34
249403
Na-CI-Test
35
285209
Coombs ind.
36
Antithrombin III
266005
Hepato-Quick
Scanning speeds of between approximately 3,000

and 7,000 documents/hour are currently being
achieved. Dependent upon the paper size used,
the scanning process is controlled by pre-printed
index marks which are positioned on the side edge
or bottom margin.
284405
Coombs dir.
37
288403
Coombs-Ferment-Test
The marks are scanned by photoelectric cells.

A scanning device must be available for each
individual track.
38
Blut-Zeit
263403
39
Gerinn.-Zeit
263403
40
Ery-Resist.
243808
Dependent upon the type of scanner used, 12 or

up to 2 x 40 tracks may be scanned. The scanners
often possess additional scanning heads for
bar-code recognition and perhaps a line of OCR
characters.
41
Form designed for

optical mark recognition
processes and the most important requirements of

the different types of forms used as follows:
Optical Mark Recognition (OMR)
Optical mark scanners recognise handwritten or
printed line marks in pre-printed fields on forms
used for recording data. The position of the mark
is used by computer software to identify and process
a code, which is stored in the computer memory.
As each individual field or line marked has a
unique and clearly defined meaning, for example,
characters, product descriptions etc; it is not
necessary to employ complicated character
recognition systems.
Marks intended for scanning should be written or
printed in the colour black, preferably using pencils.
However, special ball-point pens or felt-tip pens
may also be used.
Therefore, light reflectance of the mark should be at
an absolute minimum. Printing inks used in scanning
32
Optical mark scanners can thus fulfil many

requirements and be profitably used for recording
various types of data.
The main advantages of the optical mark process
are reliability and simplicity. Such recognition
devices are therefore significantly less expensive
than equipment such as page readers for optical
character recognition.
Firstly, only simple writing implements are necessary
for recording data. If carbonless papers are used,
it is possible to produce copies which, for example,
could be used as order confirmation sheets.
Marks can have different meanings within a document and can, therefore, represent a digit, or also
a complete expression, a product code number, an
operating procedure or a specific detail of a graphic
reproduction.
Disadvantages arise because of the low density
of information achievable with optical mark forms.
Forms with handwritten numbers can accept
substantially more data even if forms are marked
with binary in place of decimal format.
Therefore, the design of the form used for recording

data is of great importance for the effective use of
the optical mark recognition process.
Users should always pay close attention to the
specialist advice given by experienced forms
manufacturers.
A further disadvantage is the relatively poor
legibility of numbers contained in forms used for
recording data.
This makes checking any data added more difficult.
The most common applications for optical mark
recognition documents are: order and subscription
forms, recording medical information and efficiency
records for hospitals and clinics, registration of
order processing data, records of examinations
or tests and laboratory analysis, public opinion
polls, recording meter readings, stock levels,
routes and journeys according to various criteria,
traffic counts, spare-part order forms for construction
components marked to show the required component etc.
Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
The development of optical character recognition
commenced with the expansion of cashless payment
systems, which created a demand for automatic
document processing in the banking sector.
The design of the documents used was precisely
standardised with the information to be scanned
situated in one line of code and limited to digits
and a few special characters only. Furthermore,
favourable conditions existed for automation as only
a few centralised computing centres were used for
forms processing.
The OCR-A and OCR-B special typefaces were
created to simplify scanning and also to reduce
reading errors.
When development of the OCR-A typeface began
in America, a basis matrix of 7 x 9 elements was
selected. The characters used are highly stylistic
and their legibility is poor.
However, the digits can be scanned extremely well
with the most important recognition factor being the
vertical strokes.
The complete typeface consists of capital and lower
case letters, 10 digits, 21 special characters and
9 special letters for specific languages. Four type
sizes were also detailed in the specification.
Today, the OCR-A typeface is used in several
European countries for the production of forms in
the post and banking sectors.
The disadvantage of poor legibility is avoided by
use of the OCR-B typeface. A Swiss national, Adrian
Frutiger jointly developed the OCR-B typeface with
American computer specialists. The OCR-B typeface
consists of the complete alphanumerical character

set and various special characters.
The recognition of certain characters is critical,
in particular for the groups D, O, 0 and B, 8, .
Because of this problem the characters B, D, O and
0 have been altered in a second version of the OCRB typeface.
The requirement for the widespread use of optical
character recognition was the ability to read
commonly used typewriter and printed characters,
and also block handwriting. Developments in
computer technology have greatly contributed to the
solution of this difficult problem. Continual
improvements in the performance and memory
capacity of computers, combined with the modest
space requirements of their construction elements
have resulted in greatly reduced costs.
In order to ensure that correct and reliable results
are obtained, additional organisational measures
such as specialised bespoke form design, the use
of a limited amount of typefaces and the use of
test data are necessary. Precise instructions for handwriting have been issued, in order to try and increase the reliability of scanning handwritten data.
Today, specially developed OCR typefaces are
scanned by exactly the same recognition process as
other typefaces, which are used for typewriters
and high-speed printers. Therefore, special marks
or codes are no longer necessary for reading.
Typewriter typefaces such as Pica, Prestige, Elite,
and Letter Gothic are accepted as being fully equal
to the special OCR typefaces.
The basic functioning principle of optical character
recognition is that documents are scanned and
the light/dark contrast of the individual characters
is converted into a binary matrix. Photoelectric
transducers serve as the scanning elements these
are usually photo-diodes.
The photo-diodes deliver an electrical current, which
is dependent upon the amount of light reflected
during scanning of the individual characters. The
density of the individual characters is then converted
into electrical signals of varying strength. The
character can thus be recognised and digitalised,
enabling further processing with a computer.
The OCR-A typeface
Forms used for recording data not only contain

information to be scanned; company logos, screen
areas and various other typographical elements are
also present. Therefore, it is necessary to inform the
scanner of the exact size and position of the fields
which need to be scanned.
This is achieved by means of control marks
integrated into the form, or by the use of a suitable
computer programme. To ensure that the optical
character recognition process is not disrupted, only
certain special inks may be printed in these areas.
These inks are classified as blind or non-read inks,
as they are invisible to the optical-electronic scanning elements of the scanners. They must not contain
The OCR-B typeface second version
33
any black particles. For this reason, printing

machines must be very thoroughly cleaned before
using blind inks.
The standard blind ink colours are yellow, orange,
red, brown, green and blue. Specifications are
produced for individual scanners which define which
inks may be used for this purpose. Their main
purpose is to guide the user during completion of the
form. Thus, they ensure that only the required fields
are completed and that errors are avoided.
Character recognition by the
use of a matrix
There are already devices on the market which are

able to read normal handwriting. It is therefore of
utmost importance for the supplier and the forms
producer to know which equipment the form is
subsequently to be read by.
The spectral characteristics of blind inks may be
changed during printing due to the influence of the
printing process used, tinting or the paper surface.
Therefore, it is necessary to make regular checks
with a special measuring device during the printing
operation to ensure that the specified values are
maintained. The Macbeth PCM II is widely used to
determine print contrast, indicating the PCS (print
contrast signal) value. Furthermore, blind inks may
also be used to advantage for printing on the
reverse side, as this avoids disturbing show-through
of printed matter onto the front side.
Characters printed for scanning should demonstrate
the best possible print contrast and good line
sharpness. If suitable, high quality inks are used and
consistent inking is carried out during printing, then
preprinted characters normally do not present any
problems for OCR scanning.
If completion of the form is by typewriter, we
recommend the use of OCR ribbons and regular
measurements of the PCS value for quality control
purposes.
It is very important to avoid the production of incomplete characters due to worn type or irregular strokes. This can be caused by incorrect adjustment in
the case of high-speed printers. Handwritten entries
can be made with pencils, ball-point or felt-tip pens
providing that the manufacturers instructions for the
particular scanner are followed.
In all cases, the designer of the form should seek the

advice of a printer experienced in the production of
OCR forms.
Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR)
Magnetic ink character recognition functions by the
use of standardised, stylised characters, which are
printed or written with inks containing iron oxide.
The process was introduced approximately 30 years
ago by the American Bankers Association for the
automatic processing of cheques. The E 13 B typeface was introduced at that time and is still used
today. This typeface consists of only 10 digits and
4 special characters. The characters are formed by a
7 x 10 matrix.
In 1961, a further typeface for magnetic ink
character recognition was developed in France,
the CMC-7. This typeface consists of the complete
alphanumerical character set, i.e. 26 letters,
10 digits and 5 special characters. The abbreviation
CMC-7 represents Caractre Magntique Code
7 batonnets which describes the basic character
design principle.
Every character of CMC-7 consists of 7 vertical
strokes which, dependent upon their position and
number, produce varying interstices.
Only the vertical strokes and interstices are used for
character recognition. In order to ensure that the
type is legible, the strokes are shortened to produce
the normal visual appearance of characters.
Character recognition is performed by a magnetic
scanning head. The characters must be magnetised
before the scanning operation takes place.
Character recognition is carried out by scanning
individual characters and producing a curve of their
magnetic strength. The curves produced can then be
compared with the typical curves for individual
characters or digits stored in a computer memory.
Underlining, striking-through or writing over

characters will obviously lead to errors and possible
rejection of the form during scanning.
The E 13 B typeface
Rubber receipt stamps, signatures, forms processing

comments, any kind of soiling etc., may also disrupt
character recognition.
File-hole punching and perforation should be
avoided in forms using automatic character recognition because of mechanical reasons. The forms
must be in single-sheet presentation for processing.
Forms possessing a diagonally cut corner are recommended, as this ensures that incorrectly stacked
forms may be immediately identified.
34
The illustration in the margin shows such a curve,

which represents the number 9 of the E 13 B typeface.
This scanning process requires that the paper grades
used must be completely free of metallic or other
impurities which can be magnetised. Recognition
errors may also be caused by incomplete characters,
or transfer of ink particles outside of the required
character area. Furthermore, characters should
not be compressed too deeply into the paper, as
OCR forms
the reading head may register reduced magnetic

signals.
Paper grades possessing a substance of 90 g/m2
are recommended. Certain minimum requirements
are made of their smoothness, caliper, surface
strength, stiffness, porosity and whiteness.
Magnetic ink character recognition offers the
advantages of fast scanning and sorting speeds,
plus efficient document handling, as normal
non-metallic impurities do not disrupt the scanning
operation.
The E 13 B typeface may also be read by clear-text
scanners.
Standard printing inks may be used for forms
printing. The disadvantages of this technology are:
the relatively poor legibility of the characters, which
may only be produced in printed or coded form,
special inks or ink ribbons must always be used,
the uniform reproduction of the characters required
and the limitation of only one line of readable
information per form. Furthermore, characters
intended for scanning may not be used to produce
carbonless paper copies.
Quality control checks are usually limited to visual
inspection, which cannot give reliable information
about magnetic characteristics. Reliable tests are
limited to trial runs on a reading device. However,
a device called the MICR-Mate has been available
for some time, which enables testing of the magnetic

characteristics of written or printed characters. This
is particularly important for the reliable use of this
process when producing cheques in the USA,
Canada and Australia.
The use of magnetic ink character recognition is limited to the reading and sorting of cheques and medicinal receipts.
The Use of Magnetic Strips
Certain forms use an encoded magnetic strip on the
reverse side, for example: tickets and boarding
cards, cheque and credit cards, identity and parking
cards. They are able to store data, which may only
be read automatically. This data can then be used at
any desired time in the future. Therefore, they are
mainly used for applications where data should not
be recognised visually because the information
contained is of a confidential nature for the person
or organisation concerned.
Recognition of the E 13 B typeface
Today, magnetic strip technology is standardised on

a world-wide basis. Magnetic strips are made from
metal-oxide and are applied as follows: gluing onto
paper or other substrates; transfer from a carrier
film onto a new substrate, by heat or chemical
action, or by extrusion-coating. The size of the strip
and its magnetic characteristics vary according to
the intended application.
The CMC-7 typeface
35
American cheques
Encoded magnetic strips
Magnet strips offer the following major advantages:

high levels of data security because special devices
are required for their reading, excellent operating
reliability, durability of the data stored under
adverse usage conditions and the ability to store a
large amount of data in a small area. Scratches,
cracks, creases, impurities and writing do not impair
their functioning. Magnetic strips can be updated or
re-coded. Due to these usage advantages, strong
growth in the use of magnetic strips can be expected
in the future.
Settlement accounts at department stores has been

dramatically accelerated and error rates reduced, as
prices do not have to be entered into cash registers.
The most widely used code in Europe is the EAN
code the European Article Number.
Scanning Bar-Codes
If suitable adaptations are made, bar-codes may

also be printed by matrix, ink-jet and other nonimpact printers in addition to the conventional
printing machines. If bar-codes are used which allow
spacing between the individual characters and suitable numbering units are available, then forms may
be produced with continuous numbering. Such barcodes are described as discrete bar-codes. The
most widely used codes of this type are: Intermec
39, Monarch Codabar and Identicon 2 of 5.
Bar-codes, line or column codes can only be read

automatically. Characters are encoded by the use of
lines and intermediate spaces of varying width.
The width of the lines and intermediate spaces varies
according to the density selected.
The range of characters is limited to digits and auxiliary characters used for the separation of encoded
information. Character recognition is performed with
simple and economic reading devices.
In the USA, the UPC Universal Product Code is

used for the printing of bar-codes and must be
exactly adhered to so as to guarantee high levels
of reading reliability. These are described for the
purpose of the EAN code in German Industry
Standard DIN 66236.
The combination of lines is scanned using red or

infra-red light beams produced by a laser.
The information received from the lines is then
converted into suitable electronic signals.
A growing use of bar-codes in various labels and

forms has been identified. It has also been established that the trend favours the high resolution
code 128, which is capable of storing a much
higher volume of information compared with
other codes.
Dependent upon the application, either freely-mobile

reading pens or stationary reading devices are
used. A decoder enables different bar-codes to be
read.
It is important to consider that such high resolution

codes need to be printed on the form with the
utmost precision, and that this imposes stringent
requirements on the accuracy of the printing device.
The most common use is for marking goods.

Information, encoded in bar-code form, can easily
be registered and then transferred to a computer
for further processing. For example, at check-out
counters, in production units during goods receipt
and dispatch, or also for quality control.
36
Datamailers
Following completion of standard continuous forms,
further handling and conversion operations may be
comprehensive; for example, separation, cutting,
folding and insertion into envelopes. Datamailers
enable such operations to be carried out quickly
and also simplify posting, as the form is converted
into a closed envelope suitable for postage. The
information to be conveyed is produced as a copy
inside the envelope during completion of the form.
The design of the datamailer must ensure that the
information contained is secure until received by the
recipient and that it may only be read after opening
the envelope.
Datamailers normally consist of four parts. The top
part is used as a copy for the issuer, the second and
fourth parts are glued all-round to produce the envelope and the third part is used as a copy for
the recipient.
The third part is glued on one side to the envelope
to guarantee that copies produced are exactly to
register. This part can easily be removed from the
envelope by means of a suitable perforation. The
second and fourth parts can be printed outside or
inside with a scramble design in order to ensure
that the contents cannot be read.
The second part normally only shows the address of
the recipient this copy is usually produced with the
use of hot carbon printing.
When selecting the sizes to be used, the applicable
Post Office regulations should be taken into account.
Carbonless papers are normally used for the second
and third parts, or the third part only. Datamailers
may also be produced using hot carbon printing or
carbon paper. However, this tends to lead to soiling
of the forms.
Datamailers can be used to produce bank account
statements, reminders, invitations or advertising
texts with reply cards, confidential messages etc.
EAN
UPC
INTERLEAVED 2 OF 5
CODE 3 OF 9
CODABAR
Bar-codes
Datamailers are used particularly often for the

production of multi-colour, direct mail advertising
material.
This type of datamailer is subsequently completed by
a non-impact printer with a personalised advertising
text for the recipient. Following inclusion of a reply
card or order form, and perhaps additional
advertising material, the datamailer is converted into
an envelope ready for posting.
The production of datamailers demands a high level
of specialisation by the printer therefore, they are
only manufactured by a relatively small number of
companies.
Discrete Wage Envelopes
These forms are a special type of datamailer and
are mainly used for internal company purposes only.
Discrete wage envelopes usually consist of three
parts. The top part serves as a copy for the issuer,
the second and third parts are glued all-round to
produce an envelope.
The envelope is printed with a scramble design.
Only the name of the recipient and other information necessary for delivery are copied onto a
print-free area of the second sheet. For the third
sheet, a CF paper with a black coating or security
scramble hatching on the reverse side is used.
Therefore, security of information copied onto the
third part is guaranteed.
The second and third parts always consist of carbonless paper; the top part is normally produced from a
standard, woodfree paper grade printed with hot
carbon on the reverse side. Since the introduction of
cashless wage and salary payments, such forms
have proven to be invaluable.
Datamailer
Opening a datamailer
37
Photographic envelopes
Continuous Envelopes
perfectly correctly. Furthermore, punching is required

for the production of the cellophane windows, which
must subsequently be glued with permanent adhesive. Therefore, a self-adhesive coating is also required. The sprocket-hole edges must also be removed.
Envelopes may also be supplied as continuous

forms. This enables completion with a computer
printer and makes it possible to avoid the printed
matter effect, produced when printed self-adhesive
labels are used for the address. Continuous
envelopes are produced by gluing two webs on
three edges the flap is pre-punched and coated
with adhesive. This enables the envelope to be sealed easily after separation and stuffing.
Another alternative is to glue standard envelopes
onto a continuous carrier-web by their sealing flaps.
Following printing, the envelopes can be removed
individually.
Photographic Envelopes
Today, special envelopes are often used when
orders are accepted for photographic processing,
i.e. film development, production of photographs
or slides. This type of envelope is printed in several
colours, has a window for checking its contents,
possesses various numbering systems and a selfadhesive coating for sealing the flap.
The customer writes his address on the envelope,
gives instructions for processing using the form
provided, inserts the exposed film, seals the
envelope and then receives a numbered ticket for
collection purposes. Following processing of the film,
the photographic laboratory inserts the photographs
and negatives into a small, separate envelope and
sends them back to the order acceptance point,
where they are collected by the customer.
Photographic envelopes are produced from reel
stocks using multi-web presses or specially equipped
collators.
Envelopes attached to a carrier-web
38
Production is extremely complicated, as repeated

numbering is required and bar-codes may also be
used. Numbering must always be carried out
Forms Incorporating Plastic Cards

Plastic cards are used as identity or authorisation
cards for companies, associations, credit institutes
or various other organisations. They are glued onto
continuous forms to enable efficient, continuous
printing. The recipient receives the plastic card with
explanatory or advertising material.
A special adhesive is used to ensure that when the
card is removed from the continuous web, adhesive
remnants do not remain. Standard or thin plastic
cards can be embossed with data for the transfer of
information onto form sets. The raised numbers and
letters are then transferred onto the form by means
of simple printing devices.
Plastic cards may also be produced with a magnetic
strip on the reverse side, or with an integrated
micro-chip that guarantees increased data security
for the user.
Continuous labels
Self-adhesive labels may be printed on computer
printers. The self-adhesive labels are positioned on a
silicon coated carrier web, which has sprocket-holes
on the edges.
Following completion, the labels may be removed
individually by hand or by means of a label
dispenser.
Continuous labels are mainly used for addressing
postal items or marking goods. They are usually
produced from woodfree or coated paper grades.
In certain special applications the labels may be

supplied with CF paper grades as the label stock.
They can then be used as the last part of a form set
consisting of carbonless paper.
In order to increase the range of possible applications for specialist forms, labels can be included
as an integral part of a form set.
This requirement can be met by the use of

sandwich labels. During completion these labels
produce a copy on the siliconised carrier web,
which is produced from carbonless paper.
The original label is positioned over the carrier web
and has a self-adhesive coating.
Following completion, they can for example,

be removed and applied to the goods or samples
described in the completed form.
Special self-adhesive labels are used for this
application; such labels possess a further adhesive
coating on the reverse side of the silicon-coated
carrier web, which also has its own silicon-coated
carrier web. The labels must be able to be removed
easily from the carrier-web using a label dispenser.
The labels should also be capable of exact
positioning onto continuous forms.
Another possibility is the partial coating of the form
with a suitable adhesive, which is then covered with
a silicon-coated release paper. Perforations are then
added which enable easy release of the label in a
special processing device.
Certain applications with increased control and
checking requirements, e.g. in the medical field,
require that a copy of the label remain on the form
itself.
umgekehrt
mm
210 x 297 (M)

vorsortiert
umgekehrt
mm
mm
mm
mm
precollated
reverse order
mm
mm
210 x 297 (M)

precollated
reverse order
mm
mm
210 x 297 (M)

vorsortiert
umgekehrt
precollated
reverse order
mm
mm
210 x 297 (M)

vorsortiert
umgekehrt
LASER
precollated
reverse order
precollated
reverse order
mm
210 297
mm
blue
pink
yellow
white
blue
pink
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
yellow
white
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
yellow
white
blue
pink
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
yellow
white
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
yellow
white
blue
pink
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
yellow
white
blue
pink
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
yellow
white
012345678
LASER
mm
vorsortiert
umgekehrt
012345678
LASER
126 Sets 4
mm
012345678
vorsortiert
umgekehrt
LASER
126 Sets 4
mm
black copy
012345678
LASER
126 Sets 4
mm
black copy
Code Nr.
012345678
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
blue
pink
126 Sets 4
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
yellow
white
black copy
LASER
mm
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
yellow
white
black copy
Code Nr.
precollated
reverse order
mm
precollated
reverse order
mm
yellow
white
blue
pink
yellow
white
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
blue
pink
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
yellow
white
mm
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
yellow
white
precollated
reverse order
black copy
black copy
blue
pink
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
yellow
white
black copy
CFB 86
lb
blue
pink
012345678
126 Sets 4
black copy
Code Nr.
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
012345678
126 Sets 4
Code Nr.
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
012345678
126 Sets 4
Code Nr.
blue
pink
012345678
126 Sets 4
Code Nr.
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
mm
black copy
Code Nr.
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
012345678
126 Sets 4
blue
pink
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
precollated
reverse order
precollated
reverse order
black copy
Code Nr.
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
012345678
126 Sets 4
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
mm
012345678
126 Sets 4
blue
pink
yellow
white
210 x 297 (M)

vorsortiert
umgekehrt
black copy
Code Nr.
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
210 x 297 (M)

vorsortiert
umgekehrt
blue
pink
yellow
white
mm
precollated
reverse order
012345678
126 Sets 4
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
blue
pink
210 x 297 (M)

vorsortiert
umgekehrt
black copy
Code Nr.
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
210 x 297 (M)
black copy
blue
pink
yellow
white
precollated
reverse order
210 x 297 (M)
black copy
Code Nr.
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
mm
126 Sets 4
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
mm
210 x 297 (M)

vorsortiert
umgekehrt
126 Sets 4
Code Nr.
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
LASER
black copy
Code Nr.
yellow
white
012345678
Code Nr.
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
mm
precollated
reverse order
210 x 297 (M)

vorsortiert
umgekehrt
126 Sets 4
blue
pink
blue
pink
vorsortiert
umgekehrt
LASER
mm
210 x 297 (M)
black copy
Code Nr.
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
012345678
precollated
reverse order
mm
LASER
126 Sets 4
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
yellow
white
210 x 297 (M)
black copy
Code Nr.
mm
vorsortiert
umgekehrt
126 Sets 4
blue
pink
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
012345678
precollated
reverse order
mm
LASER
black copy
Code Nr.
blue
pink
012345678
126 Sets 4
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
vorsortiert
umgekehrt
black copy
Code Nr.
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
mm
210 x 297 (M)
vorsortiert
umgekehrt
LASER
precollated
reverse order
mm
vorsortiert
umgekehrt
LASER
mm
210 x 297 (M)

vorsortiert
umgekehrt
LASER
precollated
reverse order
126 Sets 4
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
CFB 86 gelb
CB 80 wei
CF
80 blau
CFB 86 rosa
mm
210 x 297 (M)

vorsortiert
umgekehrt
LASER
precollated
reverse order
210 x 297 (M)

vorsortiert
umgekehrt
LASER
mm
210 x 297 (M)

vorsortiert
umgekehrt
LASER
precollated
reverse order
mm
LASER
LASER
reverse order
mm
LASER
012345678
126 Sets 4
bl
Continuous self-adhesive labels
39
Forms Guide: Special Forms Applications using Carbonless Paper
Computer-controlled warehouse for Giroform carbonless paper in the Mitsubishi Hillegossen mill.
40
Special Forms
Applications using
Carbonless Paper
A very comprehensive range of paper grades,
suitable for the production of single-part forms is
available which possess various finishes, substances
and colours. Forms producers are thus able to select
from a wide range of paper grades when special
requirements are made for individual forms
applications.
When carbonless paper grades are used to manufacture form sets which are required to produce
copies, a quite different situation may arise.
The product range available from a carbonless
paper manufacturer is of great importance. The
product range should include suitable sheet grades
for all the most important forms applications, as
the combination of carbonless paper grades from
various manufacturers within one form set should,
if at all possible, be avoided.
Special grades are also necessary to fulfil the needs
of certain optical or functional requirements.
The comprehensive Giroform and Giroform DEKA
product ranges have been designed to meet these
aims.
The high level of printability ensures that all the print

technology currently available for the production of
well designed and user-friendly forms may be used.
High quality forms also fulfil an important advertising function for companies and organisations.
The high degree of whiteness ensures that the copies
are clearly legible and enables crisp, high quality
colour reproduction of company logos, texts,
line and screen work using varying tonal values.
The information copied can be highlighted by the
use of creative design methods this eases forms
processing and helps to increase the motivation
of the forms user to complete the form. If required,
copies may be photocopied or microfilmed.
Forms produced with Giroform have less volume in
comparison to sets produced using one-time carbon
paper or several individual sheets printed with a
non-impact printer. The productivity of computer
printers is thus increased, as delivery cartons contain
more forms. Furthermore, less space is required for
transportation and storage.
Giroform form sets are perfectly safe in both
handling and use. This fact has been confirmed by
the medical supervision of employees in our mills,
various long-term investigations by medical institutes
and our long experience with the product. Our
products do not give off any unpleasant smells and
can easily be recycled.
Forms for Laser Printing
We would like to describe several forms application

problem areas, which can be resolved by the use of
our paper grades.
Increasing numbers of forms applications are being

identified in all markets, arising from a synergy
between laser printers and carbonless paper. The
possibilities are endless.
Continuous Forms and Unit Sets

for General Use
Such forms undergo conversion to sets in the laser

printing system by imaging, collating, and can even
be glued into individual sets in the machine. The
finished sets can then be manually completed with
the users variable data. Practice has shown that
laser printers are used above all for the pre-printing
of individual sets.
The comprehensive range of Giroform products

offers a wide range of possibilities for the
production of modern, attractive, clean, reliable and
user-friendly carbonless forms suitable for use with
all computer printers using impact printing
technology. We also offer a suitable product for
the production of small runs in laser printers or
photocopiers.
The intense, clearly legible copies produced
immediately after completion of the form are clean,
smudge and scratch resistant as well as being
practically forgery-proof.
Furthermore, the copies are well able to meet
the requirements made during use of the forms in
the administrative and production sectors.
Giroform form sets may be processed quickly in all
departments; correct distribution and filing of the
copies produced are guaranteed by Giroforms
strong organisational colours. The original and copy
always, by necessity, correspond exactly to each
other. Copies are immediately recognisable as not
being the original.
For these applications, we offer Giroform LASER

with substances of CB 80, CFB 86 and CF 80 g/m2.
We also produce a self-contained product that is
available under the name of Giroform LASER SC
with a substance of 80 g/m2. These products are
specially designed for use in heat fusion laser printers.
With this range we wish to offer to the market and
particularly to creative printers and end users the
possibility to utilise modern segments of information
technology and together to provide innovative
solutions.
Forms for Use with Computer Printers with
Limitations on the Caliper of the Form Set
Personal computers are increasingly being used in
conjunction with computer printers which feed form
sets around a small carriage in very tight turns.
41
by printing desensitising ink using the letterpress, dry

or wet offset printing processes.
Forms manufacturers are able to produce combined
invoicing and delivery note sets, which do not show
price details on the delivery note copies.
The desensitising process thus permits the specific
suppression of defined information within a carbonless paper form set. Furthermore, desensitised areas
may also be used for adding additional data or
comments. Desensitisation thus offers various other
organisational benefits and practical forms solutions.
Carbonless paper copies can be rendered illegible
in an economical and simple manner by printing a
scramble or other suitable masking design. This
does not require the use of an additional inking unit
or printing pass provided the masked area is printed
using one of the existing colours. However, as such
printed sheets tend to be optically unattractive, their
use should be limited to internal purposes only.
High Quality Forms for Business
Correspondence and Advertising
Forms with desensitised areas
Furthermore, the gap intended for paper feeding

only allows forms of up to a defined number of parts
to pass through.
Should the number of parts required exceed the
maximum allowed, then low volume carbonless
paper should be used. Our sheet grade CFB 45 g/m2
has been designed for this application. Because of
its lower caliper, it is possible to include one or more
sheets of CFB 45 g/m2 in a larger form set, whilst
maintaining the overall caliper of the original form
set. Runnability of the form sets is also improved due
to the lower caliper. This is because shifting of the
individual sheets away from each other during
feeding around the carriage is reduced.
However, the choice of a suitable set fastener is
just as important for trouble-free runnability as the
selection of the right paper grades. Users should
seek the expert advice of the printer in order to
avoid problems later.
The individual types of set fasteners are described in
more detail later in the Forms Guide.
Forms using Desensitised Areas
In many forms applications, data contained in
certain forms areas must not appear on the following sheet as such information is confidential, for
example, prices or special conditions of sale. This
requirement may easily be met using the desensitisation process which is the intentional prevention
of the CFB or CF grades ability to produce a copy.
The term desensitisation refers to the practice of
making copyability impossible on partial areas of
the CFB or CF sheet. It is possible to prevent the
production of copies in specific areas of a form
42
High quality carbonless papers used for this

application are Giroform ULTRA CB sheet grades
possessing a substance of 60, 70 or 80 g/m2.
These sheet grades have an appearance which is
comparable to that of high-quality writing paper.
They are high-white and possess good opacity.
This guarantees that print on the reverse side does
not show through onto the front side and create a
poor appearance. In addition, the runnability and
handling characteristics of such form sets are
improved by the use of heavier substances.
Specially selected high-quality, uncoated writing
papers can also be used as the originals in a form
set in combination with the use of our Giroform
DEKA or Giroform DEKA CB as the second sheet
of the set. In the latter case, this should then be
followed by Giroform CFB and/or CF.
Forms Requiring Writing on the
Reverse Side
Certain applications may require that information
be written on the reverse side of forms. Amongst
many uses, good examples are: customs forms,
doctors notes, restaurant bills etc. If ball-point pens
are used for writing on the reverse side of the
CB or CFB sheet grades, it is possible that writing
may be disrupted.
The oils contained in the microcapsules of the CB
coating transfer onto the ball-point; this may lead to
the ball-point sliding over the paper surface so
inhibiting correct transfer of the ink paste onto the
paper surface. This type of disruption normally
occurs fairly quickly when standard ball-point pens
are used. The individual factors for this are the
roughness of the boil-points surface, stroke width
and compatibility of the oils contained in the

microcapsules with the solvents present in the
ball-point pen ink pastes.
In order to solve this problem, carbonless paper
manufacturers have developed special grades.
Giroform is suitable for the production of forms
which must be written upon the reverse side with
ball-point pens. We no longer produce a special
paper grade for this application. It should however
be noted that problems may still occur due to the
large number of different writing implements
available on the market, which in some cases cannot
be solved by special paper grades. In the majority
of cases, adequate writing performance can be
achieved upon the reverse side. However, an
absolutely reliable and universal solution for all
ball-point pen refills has, up to now, not been
found.This is particularly so when the reverse side
is extensively written upon.
Carrier-Band Forms Produced with
Giroform CF 80 g/m2
Certain applications require that form sets be
processed immediately after removal from the
computer printer. This, for example, is normally the
case when spare parts are sold on a cash sale
basis. The invoices required are raised and
transmitted electronically to another location.
At the same time, a complete record of all the sales
transactions made is required. This problem can be
solved by the use of Giroform CF 80 g/m2 as a
carrier-band. A snap-apart set glued onto a
Giroform CF 80 g/m2 carrier band can be removed
immediately after printing and be given to the
customer. These form sets always use a CFB sheet
grade as the last part.
The data copied onto the Giroform CF 80 g/m2
carrier-band represents a complete record of all the
commercial transactions made. It is always of great
benefit when the form sets are continuously
numbered.
Forms used for the Control of Production
Processes in Manufacturing Companies
Job sheet and order processing forms must be
sufficiently strong and resistant to the wear and tear
encountered in their use.
Such applications require the use of the following
sheet grades: CB 115 and 135 g/m2, CFB 122 g/m2
as well as CF 130 and CF 170 g/m2.
Factory job envelopes can, for example, be
produced by length and cross gluing. They may
also be combined with CB or CF sheet grades of
standard substances.
Additional perforation enables further usage of the
CF sheet grade for the entry of production data
following separation from the envelope.
A clearly arranged comparison of quantity required

against quantity produced enables quick and
accurate invoicing. If cellophane pockets are glued
to the back of a Giroform CF 130 or CF 170 g/m2
board grade, it is possible to transport small items,
such as those found in the electronics sector. Exact
order reference and details of the contents are thus
always at hand.
Discrete Wage Envelopes
Discrete wage envelopes are a special type of
continuous form which enable the economic
production of complex salary payment systems.
Discrete wage envelopes consist of a cover sheet
produced with a standard paper grade, which is
partially carbonised on the reverse side and an
envelope lying directly underneath and is then
glued all around.
Only hot carbon inks should be used to ensure high
production quality. This enables the recipients
address to be copied onto the top sheet of the
wage envelope. The envelope consists of a CB sheet
and a CF sheet.
The CF paper either has a block coating on the
reverse or is printed with a scramble hatch security
pattern. With the latter option, however, it is
important to ensure that the correct printing ink is
used which does not cause any negative influence to
the copyability of the carbonless system.
Security of the data copied in the envelope can be
guaranteed when a scramble or other masking
design is printed in dark ink on the front side of the
CB sheet, allowing appropriate space for the
address field. Information copied cannot show
43
through and mirror text cannot be seen. The cover

sheet is used by the employer.
The recipient can open the envelope by separation
of the perforations, which are applied to all four
edges. In order to guarantee absolute security, the
first part should be destroyed by the recipient and
only the copy should be stored.
The construction of the discrete wage envelope
described above can be varied. The cover sheet may
instead be produced with a CB sheet grade.
Should a further wage slip copy be required, an
additional CFB sheet can be used in front of the
wage envelope, which in this case, must also be
produced with a CFB sheet.
With regard to the black reverse side of the
CF paper, attention should be drawn to usage
restrictions with certain high-speed printers, such as
the IBM 321 and Printronics MVP 200.
1
These high-speed printers are switched off by means
of a photo-cell at the end of a forms stack.
This procedure requires white paper. The process
will be switched off immediately in the case of CF
grades with a black reverse side due to the lack of
light reflection.
Giroform DEKA CB
This application criteria must be clarified before

printing of the run. This can perhaps be remedied
automatically (by switching the photo-cell off) or by
a different means of production where the CF web is
shortened on one side.
Forms for use on a document sorter/reader in the banking sector
44
Forms for Optical Document Reading

Since 1972 in West Germany certain forms intended
for cashless transactions have had to be designed
and produced in a manner suitable for automatic
document reading and sorting.
In the meantime, this also applies to several other
European countries.
Furthermore, many forms applications exist where
the entry of large batches of similar data into
computers is automatically performed by means of
optical character recognition.
Such forms are produced with specialised paper
grades, especially manufactured for optical
character recognition applications. Giroform OCR
CB and CF 90 g/m2 are used for this purpose.
If the first part of a multi-part set is produced from
an uncoated OCR sheet grade, then self-contained
grades such as Giroform DEKA or Giroform DEKA
CB can be used to produce copies.
This combination enables the production of reliably
functioning, attractive form sets which are typically
used for: payment forms; bank transfer forms; loan
contracts; invoices with an attached payment form or
bank transfer slip.
With the previous so-called Speciality Products the
information to be read has been previously printed
by a data printer or encoding device.
Credit card vouchers
Organisational demands have also led to the development of carbonless papers whereby the carbonless image itself is readable for specific applications.
Forms for Use with Ribbonless Printers
Typical examples of this type of form are: delivery
notes which must be completed immediately after
delivery of liquids by means of a ribbonless
imprinter; quantity counters; weighing cards and
credit card vouchers.
The first part of the form set must be produced from
a self-contained grade with a CB coating on the
reverse side. Giroform DEKA CB has proven its
value in many such applications. Because of its very
good copyability characteristics, Giroform DEKA CB
is used particularly often for the production of credit
card vouchers.
The use of carbonless paper form sets for this
application effectively reduces the possibility of
forgery and helps to prevent possible losses for the
financial institutions involved.
Carbon paper represents an undesired carrier of
information, which bears all important data of the
credit card and includes the signature of the card
holder. Therefore, the use of carbon paper makes
forgery easier. Furthermore, this application requires
the use of two-sided tinted carbon paper in
combination with transparent paper grades, which

results in the vouchers having a soiled appearance.
In comparison, credit card vouchers produced with
carbonless paper have an attractive and modern
appearance.
Data is much more secure as carbon copies of the
card no longer need to be disposed of. Handling of
the vouchers is much better, due to the cleanliness of
the carbonless paper system. Therefore, the vouchers
are more user-friendly. These advantages in use play
a very significant role in this application.
When it is necessary to microfilm vouchers, good
handling and runnability characteristics can be
guaranteed by the use of Giroform CFB 122 g/m2
as the second part of the set. The third part can then
be produced from CF 55 g/m2 and function as the
receipt for the card holder.
Other voucher sets are produced in an arrangement
which includes a Giroform CFB 53 g/m2 sheet as the
issuing copy after the Giroform DEKA CB; this can
then be combined with CF sheet grades having a
substance of 90 g/m2 or 130 g/m2.
Forms using Self-Adhesive Labels Produced from Carbonless Papers
Self-adhesive labels, whose labelstock consists of
CF paper grades, are available from leading
45
manufacturers such as Fasson or Jackstdt.

They are used as the last part in a form set and
combine completion of the form with addressing of
items to be posted.
This system guarantees that the data entered into
forms always corresponds exactly to the description
of the goods or sample materials on the self-adhesive label.
The proposed solutions given for certain difficult
forms applications do not give complete information
concerning each and every possible eventuality,
and it is therefore necessary to obtain specialist
advice when seeking the best possible solutions to
difficult forms applications. This is available from
specialist form producers and the technical advisors
of paper manufacturing companies.
This applies particularly when forms are produced
using carbonless paper.
Guillotining printed papers
46
The forms user should also help to define the most

important usage criteria:
Which function should the form perform?
Where and when should it be used?
What is the type and extent of processing?
Which method of completion and processing devices
will be used?
In which periods of time does processing occur? etc.
It is equally important to take the technical requirements of the forms processing into account.
In particular, the method of completion, lighting
conditions, temperature range during use and the
possibility of moisture or chemical penetration
should be carefully noted.
For further information please refer to the chapter
concerning forms planning and design on pages 58
to 59.
Forms Guide: Paper Sizes and Standardisation
Paper Sizes and

Standardisation
A0=
841 x 1
189 mm
A1=
594 x 841 mm
Sheet Sizes
Until the beginning of this century there were no
firmly established standards for paper sizes. Paper
sizes having the some designation were delivered
with varying dimensions in different countries.
Designations of size such as quarto or foolscap
by no means represented a clearly defined sheet
size. The terms folio and quarto were used more
to indicate that the sheet had been folded once, twice
or four times; the resultant sheet size then being half,
a quarter or an eighth of the original size.
A2=
420 x 594 mm
A3=
297 x 420 mm
Since 1917, there has been a strong commitment to

the standardisation of paper sizes, which led in
1922 to the establishment of the A Series of paper
sizes. In 1938 this system became legally binding as
DIN 476 in Germany and has now been accepted
by 35 other countries as the standard system for
paper sizes. Unfortunately, this does not include
the USA or Canada.
In comparison to DIN A4 the size most commonly
used for forms here is 5.5 x 11, or approximately
216 x 279 mm. The relevant basic sheet sizes are 17
x 22, 23 x 35 and 35 x 45.
The international standard ISO 216-1975 established
the A and B Series as the accepted sheet size standard on a world-wide basis. The A Series is founded
upon the size of 841 x 1189 mm, which has an area
of 1 m2. The ratio of the shorter side to the longer
side is 1 : 2. This ratio originates from medieval
times when it was used in the building industry and
was often described as a diagonal triangle.
A5=
A4=
210 x 297 mm 148 x 210 mm
A6
A7
Sheet size standardisation has led to a clearly

defined and established system of sizes, which offers
paper manufacturers, paper merchants, printers,
paper converters and the consumers of printed
matter great advantages due to the rationalisation
effect achieved. From the largest printing sheet size,
right down to the smallest note paper size, geometrically similar sizes can be obtained by simply and
continuously halving the sheet size. This has enormously simplified the clear arrangement, filing and
storage of printed matter.
A Series
841 x 1
189
B0
1000 x 1414
C0
917 x 1297
A1
594 x 841
B1
707 x 1000
C1
648 x
917
A2
The B Series was established for untrimmed sizes

and can accommodate C Series envelopes; the
C Series determines sizes for envelopes and sleeves
which are suitable for sizes of the A Series.
C Series
A0
The reason for the suitability of this ratio for paper

sheet sizes is that each time the original size is cut in
half, the resultant smaller size maintains exactly the
same ratio for the length and width of the sheet produced. Therefore, these sizes are mathematically
similar, and are, even after allowance of the small
losses incurred during cutting, clearly defined. The
Band C Series were created to logically complement
the A Series and are mathematically related to it.
B Series
420 x 594
B2
500 x 707
C2
458 x
648
A3
297 x 420
B3
353 x 500
C3
324 x
458
A4
210 x 297
B4
250 x 353
C4
229 x
324
A5
148 x 210
B5
176 x 250
C5
162 x
229
A6
105 x 148
B6
125 x
176
C6
114 x
162
A7
74 x 105
B7
88 x
125
C7
81 x
114
A8
52 x
B8
62 x
88
C8
57 x
81
74
DIN sheet size standards / ISO 216-1975 (mm)
47
Continuous Forms Sizes

When producing continuous forms, the DIN standard
specifications can only be maintained for the width,
and not for the length.
This is because of the standard line spacing used by
computer printers, which is normally 1/6 inch or
4.23 mm. Some computer printers may possibly use
spacing of 1/8 inch. Therefore, the distance between
two sprocket-hole centres has been standardised as
being 1/2 inch or 12.7 mm. In consequence, the most
frequently used form lengths have been developed
by multiplication: 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 and 12 inches.
The form lengths that may be produced are limited
by the circumference of the printing cylinder
installed on the press. The advantage of the form
lengths mentioned is that only one cylinder, having
a circumference of 24 inches, is necessary for their
production.
Forms
per cylinder
rotation
Cylinder circumference
11
12
16 4/6
11
12
16 4/6
5 1/2
8 1/3
3 2/3
4 1/6
22
23 1/3
24
25
8 1/2
11
11 4/6
12
12 1/2
5 2/3
17
7 1/3
8 1/3
5 1/2
5 5/6
3 2/3
4 1/6
Printing cylinder circumference

and form length in inches
In order to come closer to the sizes established in the

DIN standard specifications, it is necessary to depart
from units of complete inches.
Printing cylinders with a circumference of 23 1/2 and
25 inches enable the production of form lengths
4 1/6, 5 5/6, 8 1/3 and 11 4/6 inches, which are
acceptably near to the DIN standard sizes A6, A5
and A4.
Length
Inches
DIN
(mm)
Difference
(mm)
mm
Number
of lines
1
/6 Z o l l 1/8 Z o l l
76,2
74,0
+ 2,2
18
24
101,6
105,0
3,5
24
32
105,8
105,0
+ 0,8
25
4 1/6
1
5 /2
139,7
5 5/6
148,2
148,0
+ 0,2
35
152,4
148,0
+ 4,4
36
48
203,2
210,0
6,8
48
64
8 1/3
211,6
210,0
+ 1,6
50
33
11
279,4
11 4/6
296,3
297,0
0,7
70
12
304,8
297,0
+ 7,8
72
Continuous forms lengths
48
66
44
88
96
Many forms produced for use by the banks, post

office and railways require the use of sizes having
fractions of an inch. This presents the printer with an
additional cost factor, as special printing cylinders
must be purchased which then are only seldom used.
Furthermore, their use demands that groups
of printing cylinders be changed which leads to
increased press set-up time.
In addition to the extra costs incurred, exact
adaption of the DIN standard sizes results in
disadvantages during usage. The sprocket-hole
punching is not able to maintain the correct position
for printing, making paper feeding into the printer
more difficult. A mark, printed at the interval
required for three forms, can prove of assistance.
Printing with line-spacing of 1/8 inch is not possible.
Furthermore, the sprocket-hole punching is cut by
two out of every three cross-perforations, which
can lead to tearing. This problem may be avoided
by changing the position of the cross-perforation.
This can, however, lead to difficulties when the
stacks of forms are fan-folded.
A further disadvantage is that the sprocket-holes
cannot be used as file holes, as the sprocket-holes
do not lie directly on top of each other.
It is clear from the above, that complete inch sizes
offer both economic and technical advantages.
Should a 24 inch printing cylinder be used, much
greater flexibility is available hence their
widespread usage. Form lengths which possess
fractions of an inch should only be used when
absolutely necessary.
In comparison to the 12 inch form size, the
American size of 11 inches has disadvantages,
as it always produces sub-divisions with fractions
of an inch in the case of a 22 inch circumference
printing cylinder: 3 2/3, 5 1/2 and 7 1/3 inches.
In contrast to forms length, forms width is not
standardised.
Any required width specification may be fulfilled
because of the availability of various reel widths and
because length perforations may be positioned freely.
However, forms printers have a legitimate, economic
interest in limiting the amount of reel widths used
and to standardise wherever possible. This also
serves the interests of the paper manufacturer,
paper merchant and naturally, the forms user.
ISO Specification 2784 for continuous forms,
specifies standard form lengths and widths.
The following reel widths are recommended to be
used as standard: 180, 240, 340, 375, 400 and
450 mm. They enable the exact adoption of the
DIN standard sizes from DIN A6 to DIN A3, with
suitable allowance made for the production of the
sprocket-holes.
Size change on a continuous forms press - replacement of the printing cylinder group
However, the most widely used reel widths vary

greatly from country to country.
Therefore, before deciding which form size should
be used it is important to consult your forms producer in order to find the most economic solution.
Paper Standards for Forms Paper Grades
The benefits gained from the standardisation of
paper sizes have led to many further standards
being established, in which the suitability of a
paper grade for a specific application is clearly defined.
Paper grades intended for use with EDP and optical
character recognition technology have now been
precisely described in many international paper
specifications.
The DIN specifications for German-speaking
countries include DIN 6721, 6723, 6724 and 9771,
although this is by no means a complete list of applicable specifications.
DIN 827 should also be mentioned in this respect,
as it classifies uncoated papers into pulp classes
according to their composition.
This enables a rough classification to be made of the

strength and ageing characteristics of paper grades.
The filler content is, however, not taken into account.
Pulp classification
Pulp composition
H 100
100 % rag
H 50
minimum 50 % rag rest cellulose fibre
H 25
H 10
Z 100
100 % cellulose fibre
Z 70
70 % cellulose fibre rest part-mechanical fibre
Z 50
Z 30
ZVF
less than 30 % cellulose fibre rest part-mechanical fibre
Pulp classification - Specification DIN 827
49
Forms Guide: Printing Processes
Forms printing shop
50
Printing Processes
Various printing processes are used for the production of forms selection of the process to be used is
dependent upon the demands made of quality and
economic considerations. Terms such as forms printing or continuous forms printing do not describe
a specific printing process. In the case of continuous
forms printing, it is much more likely that several
different printing processes will be used on one press.
Therefore, we would like to give a description of the
main printing processes, whilst paying special attention to those processes used in forms production.
The Main Printing Processes
The term printing describes the reproduction
of information in the form of text, graphics and
pictures by the use of printing formes or plates,
which transfer ink onto the material to be printed.
This definition contains the main features which
differentiate between the individual printing
processes: printing forme or plate, printing ink
and the method of ink transfer.
Printing formes and plates consist of printing (image)
areas and non-printing (non-image) areas.
They differ from one another by the materials used
in their production and the structure of their top
surfaces: relief, flat, or in the case of screen printing,
semi-permeable.
Classification of the Main
Printing Processes
The diagram shows that the letterpress and gravure
printing processes use relief formes and plates,
whilst the planographic printing process uses flat
printing plates. The screen printing process uses a
partially open stencil for ink transfer.
The term printing process is also used today in a
much wider sense. The electro-photographic process
used for computer printers (described on pages 94
to 97) may be included in the process described as
planographic printing. In contrast to the processes
used in the printing industry however, the printing
plate is used only for a very few imprints, or even
for a single imprint only.
The printing ink used is the second important
characteristic of a printing process. Printing inks
always consist of dyes, binders and additives.
The dyes may be dissolved, be precipitated onto a
substrate or be present in pigment form.
The binding agent is used to bind the dyes securely
to the print substrate. Binders consist of a
film-developing material and suitable solvents.
The additives serve to achieve the desired ink flow
level, processing characteristics and also help
drying. Large differences exist between the inks used
for the various printing processes with respect to
their viscosity and the method of drying used.
Letterpress Printing
The printing areas are raised above
the non-printing areas
Planographic Printing
The printing and non-printing areas
are nearly on the same level
Gravure Printing
The printing areas are below the
non-printing areas
Screen Printing
Printing is carried out using a screen
with a stencil attached.
Printing ink is squeezed through
the screen to the image areas.
Printing plates used for the main printing processes
The method of ink transfer onto the printing forme

or plate, and thereafter onto the print substrate also
varies according to which printing process is used.
The specific differences between the various types
of printing ink and methods of ink transfer will be
discussed in detail when the main printing processes
are described.
All printing processes require that sufficient pressure
be applied to transfer the printing ink from the
printing forme or plate onto the material to be
printed. Three basic methods are used for the
construction of printing machines in order to obtain
the required printing pressure.
The Principles of Printing and Construction
of Printing Machines
Printing with a platen uses force to press a forme
against a flat impression platen in order to obtain
the required printing pressure. As the printing area
is large, a great amount of force is required. This
has limited the use of this method of printing to the
production of smaller sheet sizes; approximately DIN
A3 is the largest practicable sheet size for platen
presses. This method has only limited importance in
the case of forms printing and finds its main application in the making good of
pre-printed images, for personalisation and for
very short runs. It became possible to reduce the
large amount of printing pressure required by the
introduction of presses with flat formes pressing
against an impression cylinder. The effective printing
area was reduced to the area of a narrow strip,
being the contact zone between the printing cylinder
and the flat printing forme. Even in the case of
substantially larger paper sizes, the area requiring
printing pressure is much smaller than with platen
presses. These machines are described as flatbed
cylinder platen presses.
Platen printing
Flatbed cylinder platen printing
51
Direct rotary printing
Offset rotary printing
The third main method of press construction is used

for rotary printing. Printing pressure is applied from
a plate cylinder onto an impression cylinder.
The printing area is reduced to the line of contact
between the two cylinders. Therefore, even less
force is necessary to obtain the required printing
pressure. When direct printing is carried out, the ink
is transferred directly from the forme or plate onto
the print substrate; whereas indirect (offset) printing
initially transfers the ink onto a rubber-covered cylinder and then onto the print substrate.
Rotary printing enables the highest printing speeds
to be used.
Printing machines may be classified according to
their various technical features. Dependent upon the
manner in which the paper has been finished, a
distinction is made between sheet- and web-fed
presses. A single-colour press can print on one side
of the print substrate in one colour. Multi-colour
presses possess several printing units, which enable
a corresponding number of colours, usually 2 or 4,
to be printed on one side of the print substrate in
one pass through the machine. Perfecting or
backing up presses are capable of printing on
both sides of a print substrate with one or more
colours. In order to obtain the highest level of
operational flexibility, they are often constructed to
allow for a change-over to printing several colours
on one side.
Letterpress Printing
The following printing processes are all variants of
the letterpress process: standard letterpress, indirect
letterpress (also described as letterset or dry offset)
and flexography.
Letterpress printing is the oldest printing process.
Printing is carried out by inking the raised image
areas. The ink is then transferred onto the print
substrate (which is in direct contact) by the
application of pressure. The image on the printing
forme or plate must always be in reverse.
Letterpress printing is best suited for the reproduction
of text, line work and drawings.
Letterpress printing
Pictures and photographs, described as tone

originals, must be converted into halftones by
screening the image before printing. The picture is
photographically reduced into small dots of varying
size. When sufficiently small dots are produced,
the dots no longer appear recognisable as such. This
creates the visual impression of a continuous tone
image.
Letterpress printing forme
52
The printing forme or plates are produced from

metal alloys (hand-setting, machine setting, zinc
blocks), flexible materials such as rubber, semperite
or other synthetic materials. For several years blocks
have also been produced by thermosetting synthetic
materials. For reasons of economy and quality, the
use of photo-typesetting has become widespread;
in particular, systems which use photopolymer
printing plates. These possess a synthetic coating
on a thin metal plate. When this type of plate is
exposed to light through a negative, the exposed

areas of synthetic material harden (polymerise).
The non-printing areas are then washed out with
solvents, whilst the hardened printing areas remain
in relief form. Metallic or hardened synthetic blocks
require additional back-pressure in certain printing
areas. This is provided by several layers of paper
packed between the plate and platen or cylinder or
by using a rubber blanket, although this is not
necessary if flexible printing formes are used.
Direct Letterpress printing
The typical distinguishing feature of direct letterpress
printing using hard formes is embossing that is,
a relief impression of the printed image on the
reverse side of the sheet. A further characteristic
is that ink is squashed out at the edges of printed
dots or characters.
Inks used for letterpress printing are highly viscous.
This property is necessary for good ink transfer onto
the raised printing areas. Ink transfer is carried out
by an ink applicator roller system. The ink is ground
to a very fine film which must remain on the dots
or characters to be printed. During printing, the
squashed effect of printed dots should be kept to
a minimum.
Platen printing and flatbed cylinder platen printing
machines are still used for the production of forms
in small runs, although in declining numbers.
The main process used is offset printing.
In continuous forms printing, direct letterpress
printing is used for numbering and imprinting
(using metal numbering units, machine setting or
hardened plastic). Flexible printing formes or
formes made of plastic are used for simple imprints.
Indirect Letterpress Printing
This printing process was mainly used for continuous
forms production during the years 1970 to 1980.
The reason for the widespread of this application
was the development of printing plates using
photopolymer synthetic materials. They were able to
produce substantially higher precision print quality
than the rubber plates used for direct letterpress
printing.
The process of indirect ink transfer enabled printing
pressure to be reduced enormously by printing the
rubber blanket first and then transferring the ink
from the rubber blanket onto the paper. The printing
forme suffered only a limited amount of wear thus
it became possible to produce several long runs
using the same printing forme.
Indirect ink transfer also permitted high quality
printing on rougher paper grades, because of the
flexibility of the rubber blankets used.
Flexographic Printing
Flexographic printing is a special printing process
which is about 100 years old. The process was
previously described as aniline printing, as the inks
used were aniline-based. Flexographic printing presses are only manufactured as rotary machines. The
ink is transferred directly onto the print
substrate using flexible plates. In comparison to the
direct letterpress printing process, the ink used
and method of ink transfer onto the printing plate
are different.
The inks used are thin liquids containing colour
pigments or soluble dyes. Ink drying takes place by
evaporation of the solvents. Denatured ethyl alcohol
is usually used as a solvent or thinner.
The binding agents used are usually produced from
resins dissolved in glycols or esters. The function of
the binder is to keep the pigment suspended in the
ink and anchor it firmly onto the print substrate
after ink transfer has taken place. As the solvents
evaporate quickly, it is necessary to maintain a
constant relationship between the pigment content,
binding agent and evaporation rate in order to
guarantee constant ink flow.
In comparison to the letterpress and offset processes,
the inks used make hardly any demands on the
surface of the print substrate. As the ink dries almost
immediately after printing non-absorbent materials,
such as films and other synthetic materials, may be
printed without problem.
The printing units used are of simple construction.
The printing plate is inked using a single inking
roller, which continuously receives fresh ink from a
roller submerged in an ink tray. In order to control
ink flow precisely, a roller with an etched pattern
is often used as the ink applicator roller.
This is a metal roller, whose top surface has been
etched with small cells, in a manner similar to that
of a photo-gravure printing cylinder. The ink is
transferred directly onto the print substrate.
A further metal roller is used as the impression
cylinder. Printing pressure is low, as rubber printing
blocks are used.
Lithographic Printing
Lithographic printing is characterised by the fact that
the printing and non-printing areas of the printing
plate are nearly on the same level. The process was
originally invented by Senefelder between 1796
and 1800 using stone slabs for printing.
He described the functioning principle of this process
in a manner which is valid for the offset process
today: It does not matter whether the design be
elevated or sunken; but that on the lines and points
of the printing slab such a material be present,
which consists of a substance similar to printing ink.
Thus, by virtue of its chemical affinity, and in
accordance with the rules of attraction, attach itself
to it. Furthermore, all areas of the slab which should
Flexographic printing
remain white, and which must not accept ink, should

be imparted with the characteristic of rejecting ink,
so that it may not become attached.
At that time a limestone slab was used as the
printing forme. This was obtained from the Bavarian
area of Solnhofen from the quarry there. The slab
was cut to a thickness of around 8 cm and then
polished. The surface of the stone was hydrophilic
(water-loving), whilst the image was hydrophobic
(water-hating). This image of fat based dye was
applied to the stone by manual engineering by the
lithographers. Following the application of water
and ink, the stone then acted as a carrier for the
printed image. This process, invented by Senefelder,
today better known as stone printing is now only
used for art printing of single or multi-coloured
lithographs.
A further lithographic process, collatype printing,
is also used exclusively for fine art work.
Extremely valuable reproductions are produced
using this process.
Offset Printing
Offset litho is today the standard printing method
with the most widespread usage. This also applies
to the production of forms. Letterpress printing has
been displaced from its leading position because of
the rapid spread of phototypesetting and the
associated simplification of the production of printing plates. The qualitative improvements made to
printing plates, inks and substrates have also
contributed to this development.
Ink transfer is indirect; the ink is transferred from
the printing plate onto a rubber blanket, and then
onto paper using low printing pressure. The image
on the printing plate is positive.
High printing speeds can be achieved when rotary
presses are used. For instance in forms printing,
speeds of 45,000 cylinder revolutions per hour are
not uncommon. With these speeds, 180,000 forms
of 12 depth can be produced in an hour.
Offset Printing
53
Exposure
Development
Fixing
The production processes necessary
for the preparation of an offset
printing plate (negative copy)
A dot on an offset printing plate
Aluminium metal plates, whose top surface is

grained by mechanical or electro-mechanical means,
are used for most printing work. Following this process the plates become hydrophilic, so that after wetting, printing ink cannot become attached or remain.
Therefore, the ink-free areas on the top surface are
the non-printing areas. The printing areas, intended
for ink transfer, are created by the application of a
hydrophobic coating or an ink varnish. The image
areas are transferred onto the printing plate from
negative or positive offset transparencies by means
of a copying process. These transparencies are produced using photosetting machine cameras, or with
scanners that scan the copy line by line with a beam
of light. The colour and brightness values obtained
are then transmitted to an exposure unit.
A sensitised coating is necessary to enable transfer
of the copy from the offset transparency to the
printing plate. In the past, printers applied this
coating onto the plate themselves. Today, printing is
performed nearly exclusively with plates which are
pre-sensitised by the manufacturer.
This coating consists mainly of a film-developing colloid or a polymer, which is made light-sensitive by
the addition of a sensitiser. The influence of light
causes the sensitised film layer of the positive working plate to be photo-chemically decomposed;
with negative working plates it causes hardening of
the film layer. The sensitised layer of the positive
working plate remains unchanged in the image
areas as light can only pass through the transparent
non-image areas of the positive film. These areas
of the copy layer decompose and are dissolved in a
developing liquid revealing the top surface of the
metal plate.
For longer runs it is possible to increase the strength
and stability of the image areas by hardening in a
burning-in oven. With negative working plates,
the areas exposed to light become hardened,
whereas the unexposed areas are subsequently
washed away with the plate developer. This process
has established itself for forms printing due to the
significantly better wear characteristic, providing
much longer runs without the need for new plates.
For this reason this process has virtually superseded
the use of multi-metal plates.
A modern method of printing plate production is the
so-called computer-to-plate process, which totally eliminates the need for a film as a stencil to produce
the plate copy. In this case the exposure is replaced by the laser scanner which writes the printing
image on the printing plate.
The plate is then immediately developed and can
then be installed in the printing press. This method
obviously allows for a much more efficient prepress
operation.
Continuous damping of the non-image areas of
printing plates is necessary to ensure that they reject
ink. The damping solution used is water; usually with
additions of isopropyl-alcohol in the order of 8 %
to 15 %. This ensures improved wetting of the top
surface of the plate.
54
Substitutes for alcohol are frequently used today in

order to avoid the emissions caused in print rooms
by the evaporating alcohol. These materials are
contained in the so-called damping water additives.
Furthermore, other additives are often used in
smaller quantities usually additions of 2 % to 4 %.
Their main functions are to help water acceptance
onto the non-image areas, maintain pH value, help
ink drying, avoid corrosion of machine parts and the
development of fungus and algae in the damping
solution.
The damping solution is transferred onto the printing
plate by means of a damping system. The damping
unit must apply an even film of damping solution
onto the top surface of the plate before each printing
operation. An insufficient amount of damping solution can lead to undesired ink transfer onto nonimage areas resulting in tinting. Excessive amounts
of damping solution can result in reduced print contrast and retarded ink drying.
Various designs are used for the manufacture of
damping units. The damping solution may be
transferred by a system of rollers from a water tray
onto the printing plate before ink application.
Alternatively, it may be applied to the first ink
applicator roller, and then be transferred onto the
printing plate with the ink. It is also possible to spray
the damping solution directly onto the first ink
applicator roller, without direct contact of the ink
applicator and damping systems.
Offset printing inks are similar in construction,
and possess similar characteristics, to letterpress
printing inks. Ink manufacturers usually deliver a
standardised type of ink which is suitable for
letterpress, indirect letterpress and offset printing.
The inks are highly viscous and are able to accept
a certain amount of damping solution without any
major change to their physical characteristics.
Pigments or soluble dyes are used as the colouring
constituent. Black inks, for example, use soot. High
boiling mineral and drying oils are used as binders
with natural or synthetic resins dissolved in them.
Colouring agents are dissolved or dispersed in the
binding agent to obtain the finest and most
consistent level of distribution. The binders anchor
the colouring agents onto the print substrate during
ink drying. At the same time, a film is formed which
protects against mechanical stresses, e.g. abrasion.
Additives are required to maintain certain desired
characteristics of printing inks. The characteristics
of inks may also be changed to match specific application requirements. Such characteristics include viscosity, consistency, drying time, scuff resistance and
ink gloss.
Hot air or radiation drying systems can be used to
accelerate ink drying and thereby enable higher
printing speeds to be used for multi-colour presses,
which print on substrates that are not particularly
absorbent. Extremely fast ink drying can be
achieved by the use of infra-red or ultra-violet
drying systems in conjunction with specially
formulated inks.
The ink used in an offset printing unit is milled in

a roller system, which may consist of up to
20 individual rollers. It is then transferred onto the
printing plate. Ink is supplied continuously from
an ink tray, at a rate corresponding to ink transfer
onto the plate.
The ink is at first transferred onto the rubber blanket
and then from the rubber blanket onto the paper.
Rubber blankets consist of several layers of fabric
and a covering layer of synthetic or India rubber.
Today, compressible rubber blankets are normally
used. They possess an additional intermediate layer
consisting of trapped air bubbles, air channels and
a voluminous material. Printing blankets possess a
precisely uniform thickness to prevent unevenness in
the printed image.
Because of the very low printing pressure used, even
the finest printing elements may be reproduced
65
60
% Share of the Whole Production Value
Waterless offset printing is gaining more and more

importance. As the name suggests, in this system the
damping solution is totally eliminated. The printing
plates, developed in Japan, consist of a siliconised
layer which does not allow printing ink to adhere
to it. A special printing ink needs to be used which
allows this separation. The undoubted advantage
of this process is the precision of the tonal
reproduction. The effect known as dot-gain,
common in wet offset printing, is absent with this
process. Furthermore, the printer can utilise
machinery which does not require a heavy
investment in damping units and rollers, thus saving
significant cost. On the other hand, these savings
must be viewed with respect to the need to cool
the printing cylinders from the inside. This is due to
the fact that above a certain temperature the ink will
break down and the maintenance of image and
non-image areas will no longer be possible, and
toning will occur. This process is advantageous with
regard to a reduction in paper wastage due to the
elimination of the need for make-ready. This is
because the conventional offset printing ink-water
balance does not have to be achieved.
55
Letterpress
50
Offset Printing
45
40
35
30
25
Gravure Printing
20
15
1968 69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
Development of the individual printing processes in the Federal Republic of Germany
equally well over the whole area of the paper

surface. Even if the paper grade used possesses a
relatively rough, embossed or structured surface,
good quality printing can be achieved due to the
method of indirect printing via the rubber blanket.
Therefore, offset printing has definite qualitative
advantages in comparison to the letterpress and
indirect letterpress printing processes.
On the other hand as the print substrate, rubber
blanket, printing plate and damping solution are in
direct contact with the whole printing area,
undesired interaction may take place. This can lead
to variations in the pH value, increased rate of plate
wear, tinting, disruption to constant ink transfer,
pulverisation of the ink on rollers and delayed ink
drying just to mention a few of the most wellknown problems of offset printing. As interaction
takes place during all the stages of printing and
processing, offset printing is a complex process.
Great progress has been made to improve the
quality of printing plates, inks, substrates and
damping solution additives this has resulted in
a high degree of reliability.
Digital Printing
The largest printing machine manufacturer in the
world, the firm of Heidelberg, presented the first
version of the GTO-DI Print machine at the
beginning of the 1990s. Digital printing was
thereby established as a serious printing process in
the world of graphics, emerging from its previous
shadowy existence. Since its introduction, this
process has undergone dramatic development.
At IPEX 1993, Indigo presented the E-Print, the first
electro-graphic machine suitable for four-colour
printing. Agfa also brought its Xeikon Chromapress
onto the market. Only a few years later, the
printing sector at IPEX 2002 was dominated by
digital printing.
Inking unit, damping unit and plate cylinder
Today, machinery and equipment can be found on

the market for all conceivable applications.
55
Machines can be sheet-fed or reel-fed, and print

single or multiple colours.
We will restrict ourselves to a technical overview,
in order to categorise the processes independently
of the manufacturers. Without doubt, the changes
going on in this sector of printing equipment are
more dynamic than in any other area, since the
development of the technology can be seen as
having a direct connection with the progress of
the IT sector.
The main printing process used today is without a
doubt offset printing. There are however some
emerging tasks that cannot be carried out using this
process.
Printed matter with variable data or very small runs
of high quality cannot be produced, or if so, only at
unacceptably high costs. An additional requirement
on the part of customers is the need for extremely
quick availability of the products.
The term digital printing does not define the process
accurately from a technological point of view. The
integration of the prepress stage into the printing
machine, so-called imaging, is indeed a digital
process, although the application of the ink is still
a printing process, which in most applications to be
found on the market today is still based on offset
printing.
Direct Imaging Process
This technology enables the offset printer to make a
relatively simple entry into the business of digital
printing. Waterless offset printing is used in most
cases. For this application a special film, developed
in Japan, is used, which has a light-sensitive,
extremely smooth silicon surface. The laser in
the imaging station writes the information onto the
film after it has been fitted to the printing cylinder.
This fitting process takes place automatically from a
roll of film located inside the cylinder. After printing,
the film is advanced by the length of a single film,
providing another unexposed film for the next job.
The used film is wound up within the printing
cylinder. Some systems also work with replaceable
cassettes located outside the cylinder. The upper
layer of the film is destroyed by the laser beam, thus
allowing it to hold the ink, while no ink can adhere
to the unexposed, smooth surface. The quality of the
imprint corresponds to that of offset printing,
achieving resolutions of up to 3,556 dpi, depending
on the imaging technology. Production speeds
average around 10,000 sheets per hour.
This process enables very short production times,
although it is not suitable for printed matter
containing variable data. The market now offers
DI printing machines with up to 6 colours for
printing sheets on one side only, and up to 8 colours
for double-sided printing.
Gravure printing
56
Electrophotographic Printing
This technology is based on laser printing similar
to offset for sheet-fed or reel printing. The processes
differ in the resolution of the printed image and
the toner technology used. The quality of the offset
process has not yet been achieved, although this is
not required. Printing is carried out using either
dry or wet toners. The outstanding feature of this
technology is the individual printing of continually
changing matter. Every sheet within a job can look
different, and represents a unique imprint.
Such products cannot be produced with any other
printing technology. The printing speeds of the
individual machines are constant, and currently
reach up to 4,000 sheets per hour with a fixed
format.
Machines using ink-jet technology were also
exhibited at IPEX 2002 This opens up a new market
specially for the production of certain products on
reels.
Paper Grades for Digital Printing
It must be remembered that most single-sheet
systems place restrictions on the substance of the
paper grades to be used. Most manufacturers will
not accept paper grades below 80 g/m2. The paper
grades must be suitable for use with lasers, in order
to remain flat while in the fixing station.
Corresponding protective packaging is also essential
in order to maintain the humidity specified by the
manufacturer. In some processes, the use of
uncoated products is impossible, since these do not
allow satisfactory adhesion of the toner.
Gravure Printing
In the gravure printing process the image areas are
engraved or etched into a metal layer of the printing
plate that is, they lie below the metal surface. An
impression is made by applying a suitable ink to the
printing cylinder and then removing any remaining
ink from the top surface by means of a doctor
blade. The ink is then only present in the ink cells
etched into the top surface of the printing cylinder
and is transferred onto an absorbent paper grade
by means of high printing pressure. Gravure
printing is not used for the production of forms.
Gravure printing presses using a doctor blade
system are widely used on an industrial basis.
This system is also described as conventional or
variable-depth gravure printing. Printing is carried
out using a steel printing cylinder covered with a
thin layer of galvanised copper plate. The gravure
screen is produced using a light-sensitive, pigmentcoated film. Such films harden according to the
amount of light to which they are exposed. At first
text and graphics are exposed and copied onto the
film together. The film is then developed; any
components of coating which have not been
hardened by light are removed. This produces a
relief image which corresponds to the brightness
graduations of the image to be printed. The image is

then attached to the copper-coated printing cylinder
and the etching process is carried out.
The darker the tonal value of the image, the deeper
the copper coating needs to be etched. The etching
solution etches more or less deeply according to
the height of the relief image, producing a uniform
gravure screen on the surface of the printing
cylinder with ink cells of varying depth. The printing
cylinder is then chromium-plated to prevent damage
and to increase the length of the production run.
An alternative method of producing the printing
cylinder is by directly engraving the ink cells. In this
method the image to be printed is electronically
scanned. The varying brightness values are
converted into the appropriate ink cell depth and
engraving is then carried out automatically. Gravure
printing is particularly suitable for the reproduction
of photographs. This is because the brightness
graduations of the copy produce varying ink cell
depths these can then transfer the corresponding
amount of ink onto the paper. One disadvantage,
in comparison to the offset and letterpress process, is
that text must also be screened at the same time,
which results in clearly reduced line sharpness.
In addition to the standard printing cylinders using
ink cells of varying depth, there are also printing
cylinders which have constant ink cell depth and
which vary the ink cells diameter. This process is
described as invert halftone gravure.
A further process, described as semi-inverted
halftone gravure, varies both the depth and size
of the ink cells. However, the most commonly used
system is conventional gravure using ink cells of
varying depth.
Conventional gravure etching
Screen Printing
Screen printing is a stencil printing process.
It is mentioned only for completeness of information,
as it is not used for forms production.
Printing is carried out using a screen made of fine
metal or synthetic fabric. The image areas consist of
open screen mesh, whereas the non-image areas
are covered, so that ink cannot be forced through.
The stencil can be transferred onto the screen by
means of a photographic copying process, by the
manual application of a varnish or by attaching a
stencil produced from film laminate. Thus, ink can
only pass through the screen in the image areas.
The ink is applied in excess and forced through the
areas of open screen mesh using a scraper.
Therefore, it is not possible to produce work using
fine screen rulings. The quantity of ink transferred
onto the print substrate is substantially greater than
with other printing processes. Ink drying takes place
by evaporation.
The inks used possess low viscosity and are fluid

colour dyes dissolved in a solvent (usually toluol)
which evaporates quickly.
Screen printing offers many possibilities for printing

many different types of materials. In addition to
paper, it is also possible to print wood, metal,
fabric, plastics and glass. Furthermore, it should
be noted that flat printing surfaces are not always
required. Therefore, bottles, tins and cups may be
printed. This process is also used for artistic work
(serigraphy) as special effects may be obtained
by the very thick ink films which may be applied.
The ink is applied in excess to the plate cylinder

excess ink is then removed by means of a doctor
blade. Ink remaining in the ink cells etched into the
plate cylinder is then transferred onto the printing
substrate. This is in direct contact with the printing
cylinder. An impression cylinder provides the
necessary printing pressure. Indirect ink transfer onto
the paper is also possible via a further cylinder in
this case the cylinder possesses a soft surface. Ink
drying can be accelerated by evaporation. This is
performed by feeding the paper web through a heated drying chamber. Thereafter, the paper web may
immediately be fed into the next printing unit.
Because of the very high costs involved in producing
printing cylinders, gravure printing is exclusively
used for very long run work. Typical print products
printed by gravure printing include illustrated
magazines, periodicals, catalogues and brochures.
Screen printing
Printing is carried out on high-speed rotary presses,

which may have a width in excess of 2 metres.
The printing units used are of relatively simple
construction possessing a plate cylinder rotatating
in an ink bath.
57
Forms Guide: Forms Design
Check-List
for Forms Design
1. Description of the Form
Name of form
Type of form
(unit set, continuous form etc.)
Number of parts
Circulation list / Departments
Paper grade to be used
(quality substance, colour)
Additional form components
(labels, plastic cards)
2. Forms Production
Sprocket-holes
(at fixed or variable distance)
Printing/finished sizes
Lengthways perforations
(continuous, intermittent)
Cross-perforations
(cut/tie relationship)
Printing inks front side
Printing inks reverse side
Special printing inks
(laser printers, OCR applications)
Layout changes within the form set
Desensitisation
Scramble designs
Carbon printing
CF spot printing
File-hole punching
Numbering
(standard, bar-code, OCR)
Gluing
Form set fasteners
Cutting marks
Folding marks
Mark for the 1st line of printing
Mark for the 1st character to be printed
Warning mark for the last line of printing
Number of forms per carton
Labelling
3. Typography
Type-face
(font, size, style)
Lines
(type, thickness)
Columns with reversed type
Screen areas
(lines/cm, tone values)
Use of colour
Company logos
Highlighted areas
58
4. Printing, Forms Completion

and Handling
Handwriting
(front and reverse sides)
Typewriter
(daisy-wheel, golf-ball)
Computer printer
Impact
(daisy-wheel, dot-matrix, band, chain,
cylinder)
Non-impact
(laser, ink-jet, thermographic)
Copy quality
(specifications, tests)
Copy colour
Character width for printing and copying
areas
Line spacing
Special condition for printing or processing
Tractor
(arrangement, fixed or adjustable)
Setting of the stroke pressure
Paper feed through the computer printer
Delivery on the computer printer
Devices to identify the end of the form
Separation of the forms immediately after
completion
The effect of any special environmental
influences immediately after printing,
completion and processing
(temperature, moisture, chemicals,
steam, prolonged exposure to light...)
Special applications
(self-adhesive labels, envelopes etc.)
Use of marker pens
Photocopying characteristics
Microfilming characteristics
5. Further Processing of Forms
Separation
(automatic, manual)
Removal of individual copies
Bursting/separation
(automatic, manual)
Cutting
Folding
Envelope insertion
Automatic preparation for posting
Envelopes to be used
(postion of windows)
6. Storage
Durability of the copy
Special storage conditions
Use of transparent sleeves
Storage in plastic folders
Forms Design
Fundamentals
In principle, forms are designed upon the basis
of the practical considerations involved in their
production and use. Such considerations are: the
technical production conditions, methods of printing
and completion used, handling, application, further
processing, dispatch and storage of the forms.
When forms are designed and developed, care and
attention must be given to the requirements, regulations and conditions relating to the above-mentioned
considerations, in order to guarantee efficient,
practical and economic forms production and use.
Other than purely functional considerations, the
appearance of forms must also be taken into
account. Forms serve to record and communicate
information thus, a form must not only fulfil a
companys own organisational demands, but also
satisfy the requirements of the recipient. Therefore,
forms design must be user-friendly.
Forms should not produce any aversion to their
users; on the contrary, they should encourage
processing. The most important criteria in this
respect are clarity, good layout of the information,
simplicity, uniformity and legibility.
Forms are one of the most commonly used methods
of communication by companies. Thus, they should
always conform to a companys design concept,
established to project the desired corporate image.
Therefore, they should also possess an individual
company logo and/or be presented in an unmistakable style.
Forms are a vital component of corporate identity, as
they contribute greatly to a companys image.
Other than the purely functional information conveyed, information about the companys philosophy
towards, for example, reliability, safety, efficiency,
new technology and response to customers wishes
can also be expressed. Thus, forms also fulfil
an advertising function. Their particular advantage
is that an interested party is nearly always
reached.
Therefore, it makes good sense to use any free areas
of forms for advertising purposes. However,
in our opinion, caution is also necessary.
The most important aim for a form is that the
information contained within it be conveyed in an
efficient, simple and clearly arranged manner.
The presentation of information must never become
disturbed or unclear because of advertising content.
All the means available for forms design must
remain subordinate to this aim. This includes: form
production technology, forms design, texts,
typographical lay-out and use of colour.
Forms Planning
In order to obtain optimal results when designing
forms, all regulations, standard specifications and
conditions for use, further processing and storage
must be taken into account.
In particular this applies to: postal regulations with
respect to standardisation for the positioning of
address fields which is one of the requirements for
the use of window envelopes, selection of a suitable
substance for the paper grade to be used, guidelines
from the machinery manufacturer concerning
recommended paper grades, the number of parts in
the form set, maximum caliper of the form set,
the use of certain printing inks, the arrangement of
fields for completion and the use of certain types
of forms fasteners.
The check-list we have prepared does not claim to
be complete however, from our experience, it does
contain all the major points which need to be
discussed by the forms manufacturer and forms user.
This should serve as the basis for factual discussion
when discussing forms requirements and help to
guarantee technically and typographically good
forms design.
The following questions have been discussed in
several other chapters of this forms guide: paper
selection, choice of suitable sizes, technical
components of forms, printing and completion of
forms, handling and storage we have therefore
dispensed with repetition in this section.
Classification of the Individual Areas
of a Form
Logical layout of form areas serves to ensure good
division of the forms components and aid clear
recognition of their information content. This aim has
been achieved when the forms recipient
can quickly read, understand and process the
information conveyed.
A widely used system for the arrangement of
forms is the following well-known division into five
sections:
Title
Reference
Main body
Summary or conclusion
Instruction / additional information
We would briefly like to describe these individual

form sections as follows:
The title consists of details of who has issued the
form together with a clear description of the form.
Normally a name and company logo, possibly a
company slogan and the trade sector or services
offered are included. The company address and
details of the telephone, telex, and telefax numbers
are often contained in this area, although they
normally belong in the information section.
59
The company logo is an important part of the title.

A large number of companies have used very
meaningful logos for many years to great advertising effect. Such logos represent the company and
its products always making them immediately
recognisable. A series of excellent examples exist
where this advertising aim has been fully achieved.
The title of a form should easily be recognisable;

it must clearly describe the purpose and function
of the form.
The selection of a larger size of type or possibly
another typeface, positioned in a visually conspicuous area and/or the use of colour printing can
guarantee good recognition.
Above all, it is important that the logos basic

design should be clear, simple, unique and always
immediately recognisable. Furthermore, only slight
modifications should prove necessary even over
longer periods of time. We have illustrated the
development of the Shell company logo, as it is a
very good example.
Forms have areas of varying size which are read

in preference by the reader. These optically
conspicuous areas are on the right hand side of
the form, just above the middle.
Company logos can be developed from individual

letters, a company name or its graphic representation, a stylised representation of the main product,
symbols or other characters, which form a clear
connection to the company in question. The examples
shown illustrate this point.
Optically conspicuous areas
60
Company names and logos, various details of the

issuer and the forms name are often found in these
areas.
Under no circumstances should the name of a form
be allowed to disappear within areas of a
standardised computer print-out. This problem is
often experienced with multi-purpose forms, making
them less user-friendly.
TRANSPORTATION GmbH
R E C H N U N G
Internationale Speditions- und Schiffahrts-Gesellschaft

30559 Hannover 30 Formhausenstr. 71
Telefon: 23 54 34-35 Telex: 2 32 34
ALLGEMEINE SCHIFFAHRTUND TRANSPORTGESELLSCHAFT

LEIPZIGER STR. 7 POSTFACH 1200
80992 MNCHEN
GERMANY
Datum
28-08-95
Zahlungen bitte direkt an

Transportation GmbH
30559 Hannover Formhausenstr. 71
Telefon: 235434-35
Telex: 23234
Rechnungs-Nr.
FM/23456/01
Ihre Referenz
KOM.NR. 54367
Absender
: MUSTERINDUSTRIE GMBH
Empfaenger : INTERNATIONAL BUILDING
Unsere Referenz
95 AT / 9876 B
Uebernahme : 02-09-89
Ladeadresse : FIRMA MUSTERINDUSTRIE
Werk Grossenlohe
64546 MOERFELDEN
Verladehafen :
BREMERHAVEN
Bestimmungshafen : HALIFAX
Schiffsname
: SEAGUL
Verschiffungsdatum : 28-08-95
Anlieferung : INTERNATIONAL BUILDING
INDUSTRIAL ESTASTE
STRATFORD UPON AVON
Container Nr.
Plomben Nr.
Kolli
Bezeichnung des Gutes
Gewicht
GMCN325437-8
53243
20 Einheiten
Isoliermaterial
situated at the end of the form, although details are

also given in the title section. This mainly consists of
the address and any further information with
which the recipient can contact the sender in order
to carry out the required transaction: for example,
the address, telephone, telex and telefax numbers,
telegramme address, sales branches, delivery
addresses, instructions regarding acceptance of
goods and deliveries, bank account number, the
business managers of a company or its board
members.
15.450 kgs
Frachtkosten
MOERFELDEN / Stratford
Verzollungskosten
Mehrwertsteuer
.00%
Zahlbar bis spaetestens
DM
DM
2500.00
120.00
.00
.00
31-09-95
Endbetrag (DM)
2620.00
Multi-purpose form
The reference section contains: the address of the

issuer, the recipient and required circulation, as well
as the most important information required for the
processing of the transaction. For example, the date
of an order, its delivery note and invoice numbers,
dictation references, date of a specific piece of
correspondence or the name and telephone number
of a salesperson. Such information is usually
positioned immediately under, or next to the title.
Therefore this section helps forms processing by
ensuring clear arrangement of the necessary
reference information.
The main body of the form contains the most
important details of the transaction. The information
is usually presented in tabular form and should be
arranged in a sensible, simple and logical manner,
which can be easily checked. The type of
calculation, any deductions or additions made,
should be easy to follow.
The main body may, of course, only consist of text;
for example, a list of questions, or text which must
be completed etc.
The conclusions are located at the end of the main
body and are a summary of the details contained
within. Their content and formal presentation
depend on the function of the form.
The summary of an invoice consists, for example,
of the following: net invoice value, value added tax,
amount to be paid, discounts, rebates and various
other payment conditions.
Statements or remarks may also be contained as
part of the summary in many types of forms, e.g. the
suitability of raw materials, justification of
claims and complaints, rejection or acceptance of
applications, suitability of applicants etc., signatures
to release purchase orders or payments.
The instructions and information section is usually
Additional information, such as delivery and

payment conditions, is usually found on the reverse
side of the form.
In special cases, such as tax forms, it may be found
as a supplement to the form itself.
The following guidelines should also be included in
the information section: correct processing of the
form, areas which may not be written upon,
explanation of legal questions, advice, instructions
for further activity in specific circumstances.
Paper Selection
Functional, aesthetic, technical and economic
considerations determine selection of the paper
grade to be used for individual forms applications.
This subject has already been dealt with in some
detail on pages 11 to 27 in the chapter concerning
paper grades for forms production.
The following guidelines are taken from the standpoint of the forms designer.
The paper grade used has a major influence upon
the overall impression made by a form. High quality
forms, which are intended to impress the recipient
and convey the most positive impression of the
sender, should preferably use paper grades with a
substance of at least 70 g/m2 or 80 g/m2. Furthermore, they should possess high opacity and a matt,
smooth surface. Such paper grades should always
be used when extensive printing is required upon
the reverse side. Show-through of printed matter
on the reverse side can have an adverse effect upon
a high quality printed image on the front side. At
worst, this can result in legibility problems.
Watermarked, laid or other paper grades possessing an embossed top surface and possibly light
tints, can contribute greatly to giving letter-heads
a high quality appearance.
Alternatively, high quality may be neglected in order
to reinforce a particular message illustrated by the
paper grade selected. A typical example is the use
of recycled paper grades by governmental departments or environmental organisations.
High quality colour printing demands the use of high
white paper grades, as they give printing ink
a much more pure and brilliant appearance and
legibility is also greatly improved. Coloured paper
61
grades can be used to help organisational

procedures and to identify a specific type of form.
The efficient performance of the tasks for which the
form is intended must always take priority in the
selection of the paper grade to be used. Economic
considerations must of course also be taken into
account; however, it is always important to evaluate
the cost of the complete forms processing system
involved.
Good runnability is not only required for computer
printers, but also on all machines involved in
the further processing of forms. The quality of the
carbonless copy required must always be considered
when paper substance is selected.
There are several forms applications which demand
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
02
04
06
08
10
12
14
16
18
20
22
24
folding mark
26
28
30
32
34
36
middle mark
38
40
42
44
46
48
folding mark
50
52
54
56
58
60
warning mark
62
64
66
68
70
0
10
20
30
Forms design sheet using a grid to help plan the layout
62
40
50
60
70
the compulsory use of a certain paper grade.

For example, forms used for automatic character
recognition (OCR, OMR, MICR) postal forms, index
cards, form sets for single-set feeding etc.
Forms Layout
Forms layout is determined by the method of
printing or completion used, as well as technical and
organisational requirements. Should the form be
written on by hand, then forms can be designed
practically without any restrictions. Care must be
taken however to ensure that there is sufficient space
available for proper completion of the form.
For the majority of forms, restrictions result from the
20 mm wide file-hole margin required on the left
hand side. A further print-free area at the top and
bottom of forms is also required for technical print
reasons. A print-free margin of about 10 mm is
required on one side of the sheet to grip the paper
and transport it through the printing press. The
paper sheet size printed usually allows space for this
print-free area, so that trimming to the final size
may be carried out. More expensive, larger sheet
sizes, should only be used when the printed areas
extend to the very edge of the form to enable
trimming. It is important to note that unit sets, which
must be fan-apart glued, require a print-free gluing
margin of at least 3 mm.
Continuous forms require a print-free area of
8 15 mm because of the plate gap transferred onto
the rubber blanket in wet offset printing. The position
of the plate gap is directly related to the
circumference of the printing cylinder however,
it must not be positioned in any one set place in the
direction of printing. The exact width is determined
by the construction characteristics of the particular
press used. Should this forms design restriction
prove unacceptable, then the problem may be
solved by using a further printing unit with the same
colour. However, this does lead to additional
expense.
Forms for use with typewriters require a print-free
area of about 10 mm at the top and bottom, as
otherwise they cannot be fed accurately. During
completion of the form, the position of individual
form divisions is determined by the spacing of the
characters and lines thus, by automatic line feeding and printing. Today, typewriters and computer
printers normally use character spacing of 2.54 mm
(1/10 inch). However, character densities of 12 or 15
characters per inch may also be used. German line
spacing for typewriters is standardised at 2.6 mm.
The distance from line to line is normally 1/6 inch,
which is equivalent to 4.233 mm.
The DIN specification also allows computer printers
to print at 8 lines per inch; typewriters may use
line-spacing of 4.25 mm
Therefore, when forms are being designed for
completion by computer printers, it is important that
the exact line-spacing is known. This guarantees
Example of forms completion
exact register printing for the complete form. Forms

layout sheets are available to help forms design
these can be obtained from specialist publishers,
office machinery manufacturers and forms
producers. Special rulers are also available, which
measure the various forms divisions used.
The grid system, which is the basis for forms design,
is composed of a character density of 10 characters
per inch and line spacing of 1/6 inch. The above
diagram shows that a certain amount of tolerance
has been allowed in the positioning of the lines and
divisions to be printed. This is because paper may
expand or contract, depending on the prevailing
climatic conditions. Should lines be positioned
without any printing tolerance, then characters may
be printed directly on top of dividing lines and become poorly legible.
Special regulations exist for forms which must be
scanned. These are detailed exactly by the scanner
manufacturers in their machines handbooks. Forms
design aids are also sometimes offered.
In order to guarantee that all forms used by an
organisation have a uniform appearance, a forms
design concept should be established and used
consistently. Such concepts clearly specify the
distance from the edges of the form and any
divisions required. For the sake of completeness,
the typeface, printing inks and paper grades used
may also be specified.
Forms Text
The function of a form determines the text used
within it. Good text formulation plays a major role
in the creation of user-friendly forms. As a matter
of principle, the amount of text used should be kept
to an absolute minimum. However, it must contain
all the information necessary to complete the form
quickly, without error or misunderstanding.
Individual texts should be arranged in the order
of forms processing and under specific subject
headings. The use of suitably positioned titles makes
layout more clear.
Foreign words or technical expressions should only

be used when they are well-known to the forms user.
Texts produced in several languages can make
reading more difficult and also require much space.
However, multi-lingual forms may prove to be
necessary for practical reasons under no circumstances should more than three languages be used
at the same time. The use of several words for the
same expression, for example, chaser/payment
reminder etc., or for factual information should also
be avoided. Adequate care should be taken to
ensure that organisations always produce forms
in a uniform manner.
When selecting vocabulary, it is important that only
precise, clear and exact expressions are chosen in
place of less easily understood formulations.
Unusual words, rarely used in day to day life,
superfluous or meaningless expressions, such as sum
or total, should not be used. Abbreviations should
be avoided, as they are only understood in a few
generally accepted ways and may be open to
several interpretations. Symbols may only be used
when their meaning in absolutely clear.
Questions must be so formulated that only definite
answers are possible. Questions placed in the
negative (havent you any...?) must not be used for
this reason. When answers must be selected from
several possibilities, multiple-choice fields are a
good solution. In this case, only the correct answers
should be ticked.
The method often used of ticking the information that
is not applicable is cumbersome, time consuming,
unattractive and thus poor.
Equally, texts with options which must be crossed
out, for example, I/We confirm... should be
avoided by the use of more general formulations
such as; It is confirmed that ....
Editorial texts and titles should be positioned within
the form, so that they may be read during its
completion.
This also applies to instructions for the completion
of the form and its further processing. Therefore,
instructions should not be printed on the reverse
side or be issued as a supplementary sheet if at all
possible; instead they should always be integrated
into the form itself. The gluing edges of snap-apart
form sets are ideal for this purpose.
Forms text should always be simple, clear and

understandable for everyone working with the form
this must clearly identify the forms purpose.
For this reason multi-purpose forms are
disadvantageous.
63
Typefaces and Fonts

The standard method of writing used today has its
origins in ancient Greek script, which itself
developed from Phoenician characters. Squares,
circles and triangles were used as the basic shapes.
The Romans further developed the Greek script and
adapted it to the Latin language. The alphabet, as
we know it today, was developed in the form of
capital letters (Capitalis Romana, or Capitalis
quadrata), so that the majority of characters could
be exactly contained in a square space. As this was
difficult to write, it was continually modified until,
at the time of Karl the Great, smaller characters
were introduced the karolingische Minuskel.
Thus, characters were in existence at that time,
which had a similar appearance to those we use
today. During the Gothic period, Fraktur type was
developed, which looks like a fine lattice. It was used
by Gutenberg when he printed the bible. This typeface did not become well-established in south European countries; in these areas a typeface with
a round, soft shape called Rotunda developed and
became accepted.
During the Renaissance, development began of the
typefaces which we use today. The Didonic typefaces
have their origins in Roman script. Typefaces typical
of this style are Garamond and Bodoni, which are
still often used. These were followed in the 19th Century by the Egyptienne, which had strongly stylised
serifs, and the Grotesk, which did not hove any
serifs at all.
Sans-serif is a clear, functional typeface which has
been reduced to its pure basic shape. It is mainly
used for forms printing. Futura and Helvetica are
typical representatives of this style of typeface.
The above-mentioned typefaces were complemented
with Script and other typefaces, which were freely
designed by artists and often combined various style
elements. Broken typefaces are used when
historical or traditional texts are reproduced. The
most important considerations for forms design are
the presentation of factual content and effective
conveyance of information. Therefore, sans-serif
typefaces are preferred. Other typefaces are
normally only used to show an organisations name
and activities in a distinct and appropriate manner.
Mitsubishi HiTec
Mitsubishi HiTec
Mitsubishi HiTec
Mitsubishi HiTec
Classical didonic
Classicalistic didonic
Egyptienne
Sans-serif
Typefaces
64
Mitsubishi HiTec
Fine
Mitsubishi HiTec
Light
Mitsubishi HiTec
Standard
Mitsubishi HiTec
Medium
Mitsubishi HiTec
Semi-bold
Mitsubishi HiTec
Bold
Typeface presentation
Many typefaces also belong to families of typefaces

which consist of a particular typeface used in
various sizes and widths. The position and slant of
individual characters may also vary.
After type size, a differentiation is made between
light, standard, semi-bold and bold-faced type.
There are also further individual transitional
typefaces or a special type called Outline.
The width of type is classified as condensed, semicondensed, medium, semi-expanded, expanded
and extra-expanded.
Typefaces are classified according to the angle of
the characters, which may be upright or sloping.
Sloping typefaces are described as being Italic in
Anglo-Saxon countries. This is a reference to the
Italian printer Aldus Manutius who developed this
typeface around 1500.
Type size is defined in units of measurement called
points. This system of measurement originates from
the typographical system developed in France by
Didot in 1735. In this system, a length of 30 cm
corresponds to 798 points. Thus, one point equals
0.376 mm. Today, this is normally calculated as
being 0.375 mm. In English-speaking countries the
point is also used as a term for describing the size
of type. However, the size is different, as one inch
is equal to 72 points. Therefore, in this case, 1 point
is approximately 0.353 mm.
The point sizes normally used are in the range
of from 6 to 72 points. The type height includes the
ascenders and descenders of the individual
characters. The type size always includes a blank
space above and below the characters, to ensure
that correct line spacing can be maintained.
The spacing between characters is produced by
inserting blank spacing slugs before and after the
individual characters.
Mitsubishi HiTec
80 %
Mitsubishi HiTec
90 %
Mitsubishi HiTec
100 %
Mitsubishi HiTec
110 %
Mitsubishi HiTec
120 %
Mitsubishi HiTec
130 %
Width of typeface
Forms printing is normally carried out with type sizes

between 8 and 12 points, as this ensures good legibility. Smaller type should only be used for larger
texts, for example, delivery and payment conditions
or footnotes. Type sizes under 6 points should not be
used at all. Titles are normally set in larger type with
14 or 16 points being recommendable for most
work. Text may be accentuated by the use of semibold, bold or italic presentation. The number of different typefaces used should always be kept to a
minimum.
One font, supplemented with a special display typeface for the name of the organisation and two sizes
of type only, are, in most cases, perfectly adequate
for good design.
Standard or light fonts should be used for printing
on the reverse side. The use of grey instead of black
ink for printing on the reverse side is preferable, in
order to reduce show-through onto the front side.
Although capital letters have a clearly distinguishable form when viewed individually, they should
not be used exclusively for accentuating text or long
titles. Legibility is significantly worse and this method
uses more space than setting a mixture of capital
and lower case characters.
The intermediate spaces, formed by the varying
characters used, must be equalised in order to
improve legibility. This applies particularly to the
letters A, F, L, T, V, W and Y, which create gaps in
the appearance of complete words. Another size of
type, or an italic typeface, should be used in
preference to accentuate text. Lower case characters
produce a more clearly structured and easily read
word image, because of the ascenders and descenders used. The legibility of text is also influenced by
the line length, line separation and the type of
setting used. Very long lines of text lead to the eyes
becoming quickly tired, as looking for the starting
position of the next line is more difficult. Should the
line of text be too narrow, then the reading rhythm

is continually interrupted. Unattractive word
separation and wide spacing cannot be avoided.
Therefore, long forms texts should be divided into
columns. Generally speaking, lines of text possessing
a length of approximately 20 times the type size
used have proved to be the best for reading
purposes. Mr Arnold, an American expert, describes
the ideal line width as consisting of 39 characters
for newspapers. This also includes the necessary
intermediate blank spaces. This optimal line width
may be 25 % under or 50 % over produced.
There are no fixed specifications for line spacing.
Sufficient spacing between lines is allowed when
text is drafted. Line spacing should be produced to
ensure that characters always have the same amount
of blank space around them. Wider typefaces must
have greater spacing between the lines.
Forms are composed using either block or unjustified
type-setting.
In the case of block-setting, the text is set flush on
both sides. This is achieved by changing the
intermediate blank spacing between words and is
referred to as justification.
4 Point
5 Point
6 Point
7 Point
8 Point
9 Point
efg
10 Point
Mitsubishi HiTec Paper Bielefeld Gm
14 Point
Mitsubishi HiTec Paper Bielefeld
16 Point
Mitsubishi HiTec Paper Bie
18 Point
Mitsubishi HiTec Paper
20 Point
Descender
12 Point
Middle Height
11 Point
Ascender
Mitsubishi HiTec Paper
22 Point
24 Point
28 Point
32 Point
48 Point
Mitsubishi HiTec Pa
Mitsubishi HiTec
Mitsubishi HiTec
Mitsubishi HiT
Mitsubish
Type size
65
Justified setting
The legibility of text is also influenced by
line length, separation and the method of
composition used. Very long lines of text
make the eyes tire quickly. Looking for the
starting position of the next line is also
made more difficult.
Unjustified Setting
The legibility of text is also influenced by
line length, separation and the method
of composition used. Very long lines of text
make the eyes tire quickly. Looking for
the starting position of the next line is also
made more difficult.
40
lines/cm
60
lines/cm
5%
Centralised Setting
The legibility of text is also influenced
by line length, separation and the method
of composition used. Very long lines of text
make the eyes tire quickly.
Looking for the starting position of the next
line is also made more difficult.
Various types of composition
10 %
15 %
20 %
30 %
40 %
50 %
70 %
100 %
Screen widths and tone values
66
In the case of unjustified setting, the characters are

only set flush on the left side the blank spaces
between the words remaining equal in length.
The lines of text are allowed to extend to the largest
possible length on the right hand side.
The separation of words at the end of a line is only
necessary in the case of very long words. Therefore,
unjustified setting is more suitable for narrow
columns.
In order that sufficient intermediate blank spaces be
present between the words, block-setting requires
longer lines of text. Shorter lines of text may produce
large blank spaces between individual words, resulting in poor legibility.
Today, an extraordinarily large number of typefaces
are available for the design of printed matter.
Modern photo-typesetting technology has greatly
contributed to this development. Complete typefaces
are either exposed through a disc, which carries the
characters in negative form, or by means of a laser
beam directly onto a film or photographic paper.
In the latter case, the shape of the characters is
stored in computer memory. The precondition
for this process is that the individual characters can
be reduced into dot form. This has enabled the
integrated processing of text and graphics thus
providing many new creative design possibilities.
The horizontal and minimum line spacing of
characters is always fixed when type is hand set and
also when it is automatically set using a matrix. This
restriction does not apply to photo-typesetting. Line
and intermediate character spacing can be varied
by the use of computers, enabling more attractive
and balanced layout, improved legibility and the use
of special effects.
Phototypesetting technology known for its large scale

and expensive setting equipment, has today
fundamentally changed with regard to the hardware
requirements. The magic word has become DTP
(Desk Top Publishing) which through the use of
normal PCs and the corresponding software, is
becoming increasingly widespread. When compared
to conventional typesetting, this system, using cheaper equipment, when used by creative operators, can
yield results that surprise even experts in the field,
who in many cases cannot distinguish it from the
results of modern laser typesetting.
Printed type can be used with greater character
density and better legibility than the type used
by computer printers and typewriters. The reasons
for this are: the constant size of characters used,
the reduced use of ascenders and descenders, and,
in the case of some high-speed printers, the
exclusive use of capital letters. Furthermore, some
characters are very similar to each other, for
example, O and 0, B and 8, 5 and S, I and 1.
The limitations of using a constant character width
and its associated legibility problems remain; even
if a modern printer (matrix, ink-jet, thermal-transfer
or laser) is used. Such printers can print better
quality characters, but the limitations of using
constant character width and its associated legibility
problems remain. Proportional spacing can only be
used when text may be arranged without any
restrictions. Therefore, standardised forms texts
should be printed whenever possible; the
information required for completion of the form
should be limited to variable data only.
Line and Halftone Screen Areas
The information contained in a form should always
be clearly arranged, so that it may be easily
understood and processed. This aim can be
achieved by the use of printed lines, halftone screen
areas and functionally arranged blank spaces.
Typographical
point
dotted
line
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Point
Line thickness
in mm
0,075
0,1
0,15
0,25
0,3125
0,375
0,75
1,0
1,5
1,875
2,25
2,5
3,0
3,2
10 Point
3,5
11 Point
4,0
12 Point
4,23
Various types of line
Lines are used as borders, divisions, to summarise

information and as a reading aid to guide the eyes.
Several types of line and line thickness are available
for forms design. Sub-divisions and borders become
increasingly clear as the thickness of the line
increases. Today, the thickness of a line is defined in
mm; previously it was defined by such typographical
expressions as fine-face rule, medium-face rule and
full-face rule. Special designs, such as dotted or
wavy ruled lines, are also available. Borders may
also be produced by the combination of thick and
thin ruled lines this style is called Oxford rule.
A solution to the problem of clearly identifying the

various areas and functions of forms is the use of
halftone screen or tinted areas, which can function
as borders and group certain types of information
together. The examples of forms design shown on
the following pages illustrate this point.
A halftone screen area consists of a multitude of fine
dots. The dot size varies with tone value. However,
spacing between the middle points of the dots
remains constant. The tone value is determined by
the screen width that is the amount of halftone
screen dots per cm.
The number of different line styles used within a

form should be kept to a minimum; otherwise clarity
and overview of the forms layout will be reduced.
Normally two line thicknesses are sufficient.
The thicker line should be used for the border and to
emphasise particularly important areas of the form,
or those which must be processed. When designing
forms, attractive results can be achieved by working
with rounded corners.
The following are important criteria for the selection

of the halftone screen width: the printing process
involved, quality of print required and smoothness of
the paper grade to be printed. Forms are normally
produced with halftone screen values of between
40 and 60 dots/cm. A further measurement is
lines/cm this is used when halftone screens
are produced by photographic means, using an
engraved lattice of lines (glass gravure screen)
or a suitable photographic film.
Lines are used to create tables which can contain

information in specific groups. Vertical division into
columns is dependent upon the data to be entered.
Vorgang
Fr die
Zeit bis
Tag Monat Jahr
Verbrauchsermittlung
Zhler-Nr.
4
ggf.
H
Zhler-End-Nr. N
Zhlerstand
alt
neu
Unte
schie
8 (=6
STROM NACH ALLGEMEINEN TARIFEN

IHRE VERBRAUCHSABRECHNUNG ERFOLGTE
310594K4652729
2364
4
311294K4652729
17
270395K1652729
5350
7
An example of poor forms design
If many data entries are required in a limited space,

then lines are necessary for their division into
separate groups of data. This ensures that the
information may be read easily. Whenever possible,
narrow arrangement of data should be avoided,
as printing tolerances are very small.
When blank columns are present, column lines may
become unnecessary. When type is set flush to the
left-hand edge or in columns on the right hand side,
the eyes are guided sufficiently by the blank spaces
between the columns.
Horizontal orientation and reading aids are also
required to help reading and ensure clear arrangement of data contained in tabular form. Reading
lines and bars printed using halftone screens fulfil
this purpose. In tables, the combination of reading
and column division lines creates small boxes.
Although this may be practical for forms which are
to be completed by hand, it is not acceptable for
forms which are to be printed.
When forms are completed by hand, additional
vertical lines to show character spacing are
beneficial, as they help to make layout of the
information more clear and ease reading letters
and numbers. This style is mainly used for forms
used to record data.
The halftone screen value describes the proportion of

the area printed to the whole area; for example, a
halftone screen value of 50 % corresponds to the
pattern on a chess board. When designing forms,
halftone screen values of between 5 % and 30 % are
used in preference. Higher area coverage reduces
the ability of carbonless paper to produce good
copies.
Halftone screen areas can be used to identify
specific fields for processing and enable similar
types of data to be grouped together. This can be
achieved by means of horizontal or vertical lines,
which may be printed as positive or reverse images.
These tinted areas can highlight the forms text
without reducing legibility. Should two halftone
values be combined, then a multi-colour impression can be produced. Lines should be used as little
as possible. Headings are often printed within bars
in reversed type this helps to ensure clear arrangement of the columns within halftone screen areas.
However, special attention must always be given to
legibility. We recommend the use of semi-bold type
for this purpose. This also applies when reversed
type is used within halftone screen areas.
Modern photo-typesetting systems, which use
electronically controlled laser exposure, enable the
production of perfect graduated halftone screens.
Such features can also be introduced using the
previously mentioned DTP technology if not already
available by laser composition. The dot size
continually reduces within such printed areas,
creating a highly original design effect. However
graduated halftone screens are only suitable for
printing columns in a limited manner, as they create
an unsettled background effect which can reduce
legibility. Laser setting systems offer great flexibility
in the separation of lines and text or the incorporation of company logos into screened areas. Care
must be taken however when using such features
to ensure that the functionality of the form is not
impaired by design effects.
ArtikelNr.
Anzahl
Menge
Multi-colour impression
Graduated halftone screen areas
67
Bio
Nahrungsmittel
Bio Nahrungsmittel AG
berlandstrasse 28
09600 Zug
Telefon 012 34 56 78
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Client No
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Wir sandten Ihnen heute per

Nous vous expdions ce jour par
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Reklamationen knnen nur innerhalb 8 Tagen nach Erhalt der Ware angenommen werden.
Les rclamations ne sont prises en considration que dans les 8 jours aprs rception de la marchandise.
Zahlbar 30 Tage netto.

Payable 30 jours net.
A simple, single-colour form consisting of line and

text, printed in black ink. This style of form, which
regrettably is still commonplace, is used as the
basis for the following examples of forms design.
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A fine halftone screen background shading gives

the form a much better appearance and guides the
eyes to the unprinted columns. The use of rounded
comers gives the form a touch of individuality.
Bio
Nahrungsmittel
Kunden Nr.
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Article

The tables are arranged visually by the use of

halftone screen areas; a column is highlighted by
the use of a larger screen value. The bars used
help to give clear overview of the form.
The company logo also looks more attractive.
68
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Prix pices/kg
WUST-Betrag Porto
Montant ICHA Port
Bio
Nahrungsmittel
berlandstrasse 28
09600 Zug
Telefon 012 34 56 78
Stck/kg
Pices/kg
WUST %
ICHA %
Anzahl
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Artikel Nr.
Article No
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WUST-Betrag Porto
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Total de la facture

Although only one colour is actually used, the use

of two halftone screen values gives the impression
of multi-colour printing. Forms layout and
legibility remain good.
Bio
Nahrungsmittel
berlandstrasse 28
09600 Zug
Telefon 012 34 56 78
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Pices/kg
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Betrag netto
Montant net
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Nahrungsmittel
Subtotal
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berlandstrasse 28
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The clear layout of the form is maintained.

Bars printed with halftone screen help reading of
the tables. The use of two colours improves the
appearance of the form.
Bio
Nahrungsmittel
Kunden Nr.
Client No
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Facture No
Datum
Date
Order Nr.
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Article
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Artikel Nr.
Article No
Stck/kg
Pices/kg
Preis Stck/kg
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Betrag netto
Montant net
berlandstrasse 28
09600 Zug
Telefon 012 34 56 78
Kunden Nr.
Client No
Faktura Nr.
Facture No
Datum
Date
Order Nr.
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Article
Anzahl
Quant.

Artikel Nr.
Article No
Stck/kg
Pices/kg
Preis Stck/kg
Prix pices/kg
Betrag netto
Montant net
Subtotal
Subtotal
WUST %
ICHA %
WUST-Betrag
Montant ICHA
Porto
Port
WUST %
ICHA %
WUST-Betrag Porto
Montant ICHA Port
Fakturabetrag
Total de la facture
Fakturabetrag
Total de la facture

Rounded corners, produced with halftone screens,

provide a clear overview of the individual
sections of the form. The form makes a good
impression because of its individual design and
the use of two colours.

The company logo has been emphasised by its use as

a background to the tabular areas.
The form is perceived as being more important, functioning
as a valuable carrier of information and means of advertising.
The image created has greater recall value.
69
Use of Printing Inks

When forms are produced today, several colours are
increasingly being used instead of a single colour,
as this offers a number of design advantages.
Colour is used to: clearly arrange the various areas
of the form, highlight certain fields within a form,
accentuate the company name, logo or other
important text and also as an organisational aid.
Forms printed in several colours have a more lively
and attractive appearance and many more
possibilities exist for their creative design. Such
forms possess a greater advertising effect than forms
printed in one colour only.
In order to offer all these advantages, continuous
forms printers have predominantly purchased
three- or four-colour presses in the last few years.
However, it must be said that well-designed,
single-colour forms using halftone screen areas can
also make a very good impression.
Colour is often used as the customer wishes to
accentuate the company name or display the
company logo more clearly. The use of a specific
company colour, chosen as being representative of
the particular industry concerned and the companys
activities, can produce a very strong and positive
advertising effect. Colours may be selected with the
help of a forms printer and then be used for all
the companys printed matter.
A garden centre could, for example, use green,
a timber merchant brown and a steel merchant grey
ink. Colour swatches are also available from ink
manufacturers to help the selection of ink colours.
Ink manufacturers have developed colour mixing
machines, which enable repeat orders to be
delivered in exactly the same colour shade.
However, these colour swatches often do not take
into account the special conditions involved when
printing continuous forms. In comparison to
sheet-fed printing, the amount of ink application is
reduced when printing on the web. Furthermore,
the influence of the colour of the paper being printed must also be taken into account.
Therefore, only colour swatches especially produced
for continuous forms inks should be used.
Several forms manufacturers produce their own ink
swatches.
When selecting ink colours, consideration must also
be given to reproduction, when photocopiers and
telefax machines are used. When coloured inks are
used the paper colour must, of course, also be taken
into account.
A further important aspect is the inks ability to
visually enhance the text by the use of halftone
screen areas, whilst not impairing legibility. The ink
should also possess sufficient contrast, in order to
highlight important data or areas of the form which
must be completed. Important sections of text may
also be highlighted in this way.
70
Completion of forms is normally carried out in the

colours dark grey, black or blue using coloured
ribbons, ball-point pens, pencils and inks.
Carbonless papers, which produce black copies,
have become increasingly more popular; however,
blue copy carbonless paper grades are still used in
some countries. Good contrast between the colour
of the carbonless copy and printing ink can be
achieved, making the carbonless copy stand out
clearly from the coloured halftone screen background. Copies are then easy to find, helping forms
processing.
Optimum results can be achieved when a third
colour is added, which has been colour-matched
with the halftone screen background and the colour
of the carbonless copy. This gives forms designers
many creative possibilities.
Black is normally used as the primary ink colour
for text in forms production. However, it is certainly
not the most suitable colour, as the carbonless copys
colour contrast is reduced by the high level of
contrast between black ink and paper. In principle,
exactly the opposite effect is required. When a
neutral grey shade is used as the primary colour for
divisions within forms, the appearance is better,
as writing on the forms can easily be located and
stands out more from the background. Furthermore,
grey ink shades can be attractively combined with
all coloured inks.
Printing inks can also fulfil organisational functions.
Instead of using coloured paper grades to code the
circulation of the various copies in a multi-part set,
a coloured strip may be printed on white paper for
identification and organisational purposes.
Details of the circulation required can also be
achieved by printing halftone screen areas or tables
which can also include details of the required
circulation. Coloured inks can be used to indicate
the type of form being used: for example, credit
notes are often red, debit notes often have a yellow
background, payment instructions are often printed
in blue ink.
When labels are produced, colour can be used to
identify specific product characteristics. Colours can
also help when checking tickets.
If a third colour is used, groups of data may be
arranged by means of colour coding. Completion
and processing of such forms is made easier.
The sequence in which individual sections of a form
are to be completed may also be made more clear
by using colour coding. Certain sections of text can
be made to stand out. Lines do not have such a
bold effect when they are printed in colour;
therefore, they should be used to advantage as an
inconspicuous reading aid.
Inks required for the production of OCR work are
specified by the machinery manufacturer.
The choice is limited by the technical requirements
of the scanning process.
Forms Guide: Forms Production
Forms Production
Production methods for forms may be classified as
to whether the paper to be printed will be processed
from sheet or reel stock. When producing forms
using reel stocks, specialist continuous printing
presses are necessary; this is not always the case
when sheet stocks are processed. It is important that
printers possess the specialist knowledge and
experience required for forms production. Not only
does this ensure that forms are produced correctly,
but also that specialist advice can be given to
customers.
Printing Sheet Stocks
Sheets are processed with standard printing presses
and guillotines. The reams of paper delivered from
the paper merchant are cut exactly to the printing
size with a guillotine or are placed on the printing
press after removal of the packaging. Reams of
paper may contain 500, 250 or, in the case of
heavier substances, 125 sheets.
Although letterpress printing dominated for many
years, printing is now usually carried out using offset
litho presses. The reason for this is the qualitative
and economic advantages that
photo-typesetting and plate making processes offer
and also because of the better printing quality achieved.
Guillotine
Offset presses, which are able to print varying sheet

sizes, are selected dependent upon the length
of the production run. Press sizes start at about
25 x 35 cm, 35 x 50 cm, 50 x 70 cm and increase
up to 70 x 100 cm.
Offset presses are available that are able to print
between one to six colours in one pass through the
Diagram of a sheet-fed press
71
A two-colour sheet-fed press
A small, sheet-fed offset press
machine. Sheet reversing devices enable the sheet

to be printed on the front and reverse side on
successive printing units in one pass. Modern presses
have printing speeds of approximately 5,000 to
15,000 impressions per hour.
Several thousand sheets of paper may be placed
in the sheet-feeding device at once. The sheets are
separated by the use of air jets and suction units.
They are then transferred into the sheet feeding
system. The sheets may be fed individually, or in a
stepped fashion into a sheet positioning system
by grippers, rollers and continuous bands.
The sheet positioning system ensures that each
individual sheet is precisely placed in exactly the
correct position for feeding.
This is the main precondition for precision printing
referred to as printing to register. The sheets are
then picked up by grippers which are integrated into
the printing cylinder. The grippers hold the sheets
exactly in the correct position for printing.
The printing plate, positioned on the plate cylinder,
is supplied with fresh ink before each impression.
The image to be printed is initially transferred onto
the rubber blanket. The printing pressure between
the blanket and impression cylinders transfers the ink
onto the paper.
press) and then to pack the finished product.

Printed material is often file-hole punched before
packing.
When form pads are produced, a protective cover
sheet must be attached to the top and a board to the
bottom before gluing. Pads may also be produced
with perforations and stapling on one edge, which
enables the removal of individual sheets. Perforation
is either performed on the press or separately
after the printing process. Both the handling and
appearance of a forms pad are improved when
binding material is placed over the glued edge.
Multi-part sets must be collated in special machines.
The individual parts of the form set are placed in
stacks in the feeding stations of a collator.
The sheets are separated by air jets and suction
units. They are then transported on feeding tables or
conveyor belts. As they pass the individual feeding
stations a further part is added. At the same time,
spot gluing may be carried out. Some production
units are also able to perform edge gluing following
The sheets of paper are then transferred onto the

grippers of a further printing unit or into the delivery
system.
Following printing, air jets ensure that the sheets are
fed correctly and without ink set-off into the stacking
device, which can usually be changed without interrupting production.
When single printed sheets are required, it only
remains to cut the sheets to the final desired size,
place them in stacks of the required quantity
(counting may already have been carried out on the
72
Collator
delivery of the last part of the form set. The individual parts may also be collated without gluing.
In this case, they are cut to their finished size and
glued to make up pads, or fan-apart glued to
produce individual form sets.
When carbonless papers are used, fan-apart gluing
enables the efficient production of unit sets.
In addition to the other advantages of carbonless
papers, this process has contributed greatly to the
almost total replacement of carbon paper by
carbonless paper for the production of form sets.
The fan-apart gluing process functions because the
uncoated front side of the CB, the reverse side of
the CF sheet grade and the coatings applied to both
these sheet grades, possess different absorbency
characteristics.
Whereas the special adhesive can barely penetrate
into the uncoated side of the CB and CF sheet
grades, it can easily be absorbed by the coatings
applied to them. In a stack of glued, collated sets the
CB and CF coatings are bonded together after
the fan-apart adhesive has dried. Separation of a
stack of sheets into individual form sets is possible
because of the limited amount of adhesive penetration into the top side of the CB and reverse side
of the CF sheet grade.
A numbering unit is often found on collating
machines. This is able to provide the complete form
set with a unique number using the crash printing

process. This guarantees that all parts of a form set
have exactly the same number. As with printing
machines, it is also possible to use larger sized
printing sheets on collators to increase output, as
they can yield several individual forms.
The production of forms from sheet stocks offers a
great amount of flexibility. Many form sizes can be
derived from the available sheet stock sizes.
The selection of printing inks is not subject to any
technical limitations, but instead mainly to economic
ones. A great variety of finishing machinery is
available for perforating, punching, file-hole
punching and other book binding processes.
Printing Reel Stocks
The production of continuous forms and unit sets
from the paper web requires specialised continuous
printing presses and finishing equipment.
By necessity, this means that printing companies
manufacturing continuous forms must specialise
to a great degree. In these companies, forms
production is often of much greater importance than
is the case with sheet-fed commercial printers.
Forms may be manufactured in many ways when
processed from the web. The following diagram
gives a basic overview.
Reels
Reel Converting Machine
Printing Press
Sprocket-hole punching
Cross-perforation
Lengthways perforation
Fold delivery
Fan-fold delivery
Printing on the front side

Printing on the reverse side
Desensitisation
Tinting
Carbonisation
Sprocket-hole punching
File-hole punching
Die-cutting
Lengthways and cross-perforation
Internal (stop) perforations
Numbering
Pack-to-pack Press
Printing on the front side
Printing on the reverse side
Desensitisation
Fold delivery
Fold delivery
Rewinding
Sheeting
Fan-fold delivery
Fan-fold delivery
Reel delivery
Sheet Delivery
Stack Collator
Reel Collator
Collator
Collation of the printed stacks

Set fastening
Imprinting
Numbering
Collation of the printed reels

Set fastening
Delivery and gluing of carbon paper
Gluing and printing units
Die-cutting
Imprinting
Numbering
Cross-perforation
Collation of the printed sheets

Delivery and gluing
of carbon paper
Imprinting
Numbering
Fold Delivery
Fold Delivery
Fan-fold delivery
of continuous forms
Sheeting
Sheet Delivery
Delivery as unit sets
Overview of the production of multi-part form sets using continuous forms presses
73
High-performance continuous forms press
Continuous Forms Presses

The continuous forms presses used are designed
specially for forms production and are constructed
using modules which enable several operations
to be carried out one after the other. A distinction is
made between single and multi-web presses. The
purpose of multi-web presses is to produce form sets
in one uninterrupted production process. In contrast,
single-web presses can only produce single-part
forms as their finished product.
Continuous forms presses are constructed with
machine widths from about 38 cm to 84 cm.
Reel unwind stations can accept reels with a diameter of approximately 1 metre to a maximum of
1.25 metres. In the case of machines used for long
production runs, automatic reel-changing systems
are often used in order to increase productivity.
The paper web is led from the unwind station by
several guide rollers and a compensator roller.
The compensator rollers equalise any variations in
web tension caused by a paper reels variation from

a perfect circular shape. This is achieved by the
direct action of the brake on the reels axle.
The web tension for the whole of the printing press
may be set by use of this brake.
A web edge guidance device is normally installed
immediately after the compensator rollers.
This device ensures that the edge of the paper web
is aligned correctly. Trimming of the edge of the
paper web is normally not required.
The reel width should be within a tolerance
of 1 mm; otherwise the position of the sprocket
holes will vary unacceptably from that required.
If special applications demand an exact reel width,
then edge trimming can also be carried out.
A suction device used to remove paper dust is often
positioned in front of the web edge guidance device.
The paper web is fed through a pair of brushes
any paper dust present is then sucked away.
Web edge guidance device

Reel unwind
Compensator
roller
Dust suction device
Paper drawing-in section

(drawing-in cylinder)
Reel unwind
74
Diagram of a reel unwind stand
The paper web is then fed into a drawing-in section.

This may be a variable drive connected to a pair
of rollers, a large cylinder or two smaller cylinders
which can control the angle of paper rotation and
the pressure applied to the surface of the cylinders
by means of rubber rollers.
The web drawing-in device controls web feeding
into the press at a specific tension. This guarantees
exact lengthways register for the printing image
and ensures that sprocket-holes are correctly spaced
over large lengths of the paper web.
The paper web is then fed into the first printing unit.
Continuous forms presses, designed for the
production of bespoke forms, normally have three
or four printing units.
This enables, for example, the reverse side of the
paper web to be printed in one colour, and the front
side in three colours by reversing the paper web.
Servo motors enable print register to be set and
maintained in the cross and lengthways direction by
adjustment of the printing units position.
The most commonly used printing process is wet
offset. In addition the direct letterpress, indirect
letterpress (dry offset or letterset) and, in special
cases, flexographic printing processes are also used.
The direct letterpress process is used for the
production of simple text work. Rubber or synthetic
blocks are used for this application. However, metal
units are used for numbering work.
The indirect letterpress process is mainly used for
very long run work with somewhat lesser demands
on printing quality, for example, simple listing
papers and OCR work. The text to be printed and
printed image are exactly the same size. High print
contrast may easily be achieved and the top surface
of the paper cannot be impaired by tinting.
Web guidance for

printing on the reverse
Diagram of wet offset printing units
The flexographic process is usually used in special

multi-web presses, which require a large number
of printing units. Flexographic printing units have
proven to be especially suitable due to their compact
construction. A continuous forms press may possess
several printing units which use different printing
processes.
The circumference of the printing cylinder is dependent upon the standardisation of sprocket-hole sizes,
position and the spacing required between the
individual lines printed by computer printers.
This has been standardised in inch measurements.
The printing cylinder circumference is also
determined by the form sizes used in individual
countries and according to the intended use of the
form.
Printing cylinder circumferences of 24 or 12 inches
are predominantly used in countries where DIN
standard sizes are used.
Sizes approximating to the DIN standards can only
be produced if printing cylinders possessing the
following circumferences are used: 23 1/3 inches
(form lengths 11 4/6 inches = 29.63 cm or 5 3/6
inches = 14.82 cm), 25 inches (form lengths 4 1/6
inches = 10.58 cm or 8 1/3 inches = 21.16 cm).
These sizes may be required for certain forms used
by banks, post offices and local authorities due to
their forms size specifications.
Printing cylinder circumferences of 17 inches or
16 2/3 inches are used to produce snap-apart sets,
enabling two A4 sheets to be printed per cylinder
rotation.
The size of 8 1/2 x 11 inches is predominantly used
in English-speaking countries; thus printing cylinders
possessing a circumference of 22 or 11 inches are
normally found in these countries.
Offset printing unit
Printing units
75
When designing forms, it is important to know that

the whole area of the printing cylinder circumference
cannot be used for printing. As the printing plate
must be clamped onto the printing cylinder, a certain
amount of space is required for this purpose. This
area is called the plate channel and is about
8 mm to 15 mm wide.
If snap-apart sets are produced with printed areas at
the top and bottom of the form which border exactly
on one another, a second printing unit must be used,
consequently making the process more expensive.
A distinction is made between fixed and variable
size printing presses. Fixed size printing presses can
only accept a certain printing cylinder circumference; variable size printing presses enable the
impression, blanket and possibly the printing
cylinder to be replaced as one complete construction
module.
If suitable press modules are available, forms of
varying size can be produced on one continuous
forms press.
Furthermore, variable size presses exist where the
size can be varied in steps of 1/6 of an inch.
These presses possess an intermittent web feeding
system and a printing cylinder which has an unused,
recessed area.
Only the length of one form or of one fold is printed
at a time. The web is released as it passes through
the recessed area of the cylinder.
At this moment, the web is drawn back so that the
next impression can be positioned accurately thus
ensuring that the required form length is obtained.
After the printing units, an unwind stand for carbon
paper together with a gluing station may be
installed.
Carbon paper
Several paper converting stations are then installed

in-line. The sprocket-holes are produced first.
This operation is performed by two punching tool
wheels which rotate and fit into each other.
One wheel has round or toothed punching pins
spaced at intervals of half an inch; the other has
pins possessing a matching recess. The paper pieces
that are punched out are sucked away by a suction
device located on the bottom wheel.
File-hole punching and other special types of
punching are carried out in the same manner.
When sprocket-holes are produced it is important
that the throw-length, i.e. the correct spacing
between the sprocket-holes over a length of several
metres be checked carefully.
This may vary because of differing physical
characteristics of the paper grades being printed.
The following paper characteristics are important in
this respect: rigidity, stretch, caliper and smoothness.
Therefore, regular checking is important.
The necessary length adjustments can be made by
varying the web tension (i.e. by control of paper
stretch) and producing a speed differential between
the paper web and the sprocket-hole punching tool
wheels.
Subsequent collation of the individual paper webs
on a collator and correct feeding in a computer
printer can only be guaranteed when the correct
throw-length is achieved.
Lengthways perforations are produced by rotary knives which are spaced around the printing cylinder
circumference in a suitable cut/tie ratio. They are
attached to a shaft and may be positioned freely
across its width. The knives press against
the paper web as it passes a metal guide roller and
produce perforations.
Sprocket-hole
Cross-perforation
punching
File-hole
Additional perforation
punching
or die-cutting
Carbon paper
gluing
Suction of paper
perforation remnants
Layout of a perforating station with a carbon paper unwind
76
Carbon paper delivery
Continuous forms, fan-fold delivery
Cross-perforations are produced by perforating

knives set at the required intervals, which are fixed
to recesses in the printing cylinder and press against
a further metal cylinder. Adjustment of the two
cylinders against each other must be set with
adequate pressure to produce good perforations.
However, if the pressure applied is too great, then
the knives will quickly become blunt. This can result
in poor perforation quality and a build-up of paper
perforation remnants.
For very long runs, some presses print two or more
forms across the machine width to maximise
machine utilisation. The individual paper webs must
then be separated by lengthways slitting.
Slitting is performed in a similar manner to the
production of lengthways perforations; however,
in this case, rotary knives are used. The delivery section is situated at the end of the press. The paper
web can be fed into the delivery section in one of
three basic ways. The methods used are called:
reel to fold, reel to reel and reel to sheet.
When printing from reel to sheet the paper web is

cut into single sheets by the use of a cross-cutter.
The individual sheets are then delivered positioned
on top of each other in a stepped manner by a
conveyor belt.
The cross-cutter installation normally consists of two
rotating cylinders, each possessing a top and bottom
knife, or of a rotating chop knife cylinder and a
fixed lower dead knife.
Rewind
Lengthways slitting Lengthways perforation

Additional
cross-perforation
Folding device
Fan-fold
stack
The reel to fold method feeds the paper web through

a channel in a rotating spiral, which constantly
moves to and fro. This produces a fold at the crossperforation. This is the most commonly used method
for the production of stacks of forms in which
the paper is fan-folded. Single-part continuous
forms are produced as a finished product in this
manner and may be packed immediately after the
fan-folding process has been carried out.
The reel to reel method rewinds the paper web on
a rewind stand at the end of the press. The stand
is constructed in a similar manner to the reel unwind
stand located at the beginning of the press.
Diagram of a continuous forms press delivery section
77
Multi-web continuous forms press
Multi-Web Continuous Forms Presses

Multi-web presses are able to produce continuous
multi-part form sets in one pass through the
machine.
They are designed to produce very long runs with
uncomplicated print work.
Datamailers or discrete wage envelopes may also

be produced in one pass through the machine,
although a special printing unit for all-round gluing
and an additional device to secure very precise
web feeding and register printing are necessary.
Up to six such special purpose stations, together with
an unwind stand for reels of carbon paper, may be
found in place of the normal unwind
stand.
Presses offered by the Paper Converting Company,
which are designed for the production of listing
paper or similarly uncomplicated work, are able
to produce 3 two-part sets or 2 three-part sets, or
alternatively 1 four-part set and a two-part set
at the same time.
These presses normally have between 2 and
4 unwind stands. The number of printing units
installed is limited by mechanical reasons and
normally corresponds to the number of unwind
stands.
In comparison to single-web presses, multi-colour
work and printing on the reverse side are only
possible in a limited manner.
Gluing, numbering and simple imprinting operations
may also be carried out with the help of additional
processing devices.
The delivery normally produces fan-folded stacks.
However, glued unit sets may also be produced
if a suitable cross-cutter is installed.
Pack-to-pack press
78
Pack-to-Pack Presses
The use of personal computers has led to an
increased demand for continuous forms in very small
press runs (less than 5,000). Previously, forms printers supplied some of this demand with
single-part forms.
Special printing and collating machines have been
developed which can be attached to existing
sheet-fed presses, enabling them to print
pre-manufactured, unprinted fan-folded stacks of
forms. These presses also offer the sheet-fed printer
an entry into the market for continuous forms in
small runs.
Stacks of fan-folded forms are pre-manufactured
by simple finishing machines especially designed
for this purpose, or by standard continuous printing
presses. Printing to register is made possible by
feeding with sprocket-holes. The printing process
normally used is wet offset.
Multi-colour work is carried out in one or several
passes through the machine, dependent upon the
type of press used. The most commonly used presses
normally possess two printing units. The paper
delivery is as a stack of forms. Conversion to a
multi-part form set is performed by a stack collator.
The Conversion of Continuous Forms
and Printed Single Sheets into Multi-Part
Form Sets.
The printed forms in a fanfold stack, on the reel,
or in single sheet presentation produced on a
continuous forms press must be collated and
fastened together.
Crimp-lock station
Additional processing such as numbering, simple

printing operations or subsequent cutting to final
size may also be required.
The processing of single sheets is carried out as
previously described in the section Sheet Printing.
Stack Collators
A stack collator is required for collating stacks of
individual fan-folded forms. The method of operation can be seen from the diagram below.
The fan-fold stacks are placed in several feeding
stations. They are then fed by barbed belts which
grip into the sprocket-holes and guide them on top
of each other.
Forms fasteners are then applied. Crimp-lock
fasteners have become standard; but there may also
be an installation for the application of Multiflex
fasteners.
A further simple printing unit may then be installed
for numbering purposes or other printing operations.
The form set is then fed into the delivery, once again
in fan-fold stack presentation.
A forms counter ensures that form stacks of equal
size are produced. The forms are packed immediately after production.
Stack collators are normally used for the production
of small- to medium-length print runs.
Multiflex fastener station
Feeding group
Folding device
Delivery table
Feeding station
Stack collator
79
Delivery of the
finished forms
Folding
device
Perforating
cylinder
Crimp-lock
station
Numbering
unit
Reel stands
Carbon reels
Paper reels
Multiflex station
Gluing station
Reel Collator
Reel Collators
Conversion of printed reels is performed on reel
collators. They can accept several printed reels and
a corresponding number of carbon paper reels.
A standard configuration is six stations for printed
paper and five stations for carbon paper.
The paper web is transported by means of a barbed
chain, which may be several metres long and must
be exact. Small variations in length can be
compensated for by adjustment of the chain.
The paper webs are guided on top of each other
and the form set fasteners are applied.
The possibilities with regard to set fastening are
dependent on the collator set-up, and the choice of
tooling. The systems which tend to proliferate today
are Crimp-lock, Multiflex, and intermittent cold or
hot melt glue. The sets are separated by a rotary
knife, fed stepped on top of each other and
delivered as a stack of a predetermined quantity.
If suitable printing units are installed, it is also
possible to carry out numbering or simple printing
operations before the delivery. Installations for
printing bar-codes or other codes may also be
integrated. The form sets can then be made up into
pads or possibly be finished with eyelets, so that
they can be used in ring binders.
The continuous form sets are fed into the delivery
system in fan-fold stack presentation, whereby
cross-perforations must be added before the folding
device. The production of datamailers and discrete
wage envelopes requires that additional converting
units be integrated into the reel collator.
These installations are, as a minimum requirement,
80
a printing unit for adhesive application and a

punching unit for partially punching out the sheet
contained within the mailer.
Carrier-Band Machines
Special converting machines are available for the
production of carrier-band sets. These glue
snap-apart sets, which have been produced on reel
or standard collators, onto a pre-manufactured
carrier-band.
The first operation is to apply spots of glue to the
carrier-band. A gripper then takes a forms set from
the stack, positions it to register on the carrier band
and glues it at the same time.
Plastic and customer reply cards are also applied to
a paper web in a similar manner. The delivery is
then made in fan-fold presentation. This production
method may also be carried out with two paper
webs simultaneously.
Forms Guide: The Individual Components of Forms
The Individual
Components
of Forms
The Sprocket-Hole Edges
The precondition for printing continuous forms to
register using computer program control is a
connection between the forms and computer printer,
which is able to transport the forms precisely and
guarantee printing to register.
Sprocket-holes, found on both sides of the paper
web, perform this function. Engagement of the
computer printers feeding tractor spikes into the
form sets ensures they always move into the correct
printing position. Furthermore, the sprocket-holes are
also required for the exact collation of the individual
paper webs of a multi-part form set and other converting operations.
The design of sprocket-holes used for continuous
forms has been standardised on a world-wide basis
(ISO 2784 and DIN 9771).
The sprocket-hole diameter is 5/32 (about 4 mm),
the distance from hole centre to hole centre is 1/2
(12.7 mm) and the horizontal distance from the
paper edge to hole centre is 6 mm 0.5 mm.
The sprocket-holes must be positioned exactly
parallel to each other, so that a horizontal line
connecting the hole centres always makes a right
12,7 0,05 mm
Production of the sprocket-hole edges
angle with the edge of the paper. Sprocket-holes

are normally circular. The punching tools used are
either completely round or have toothed pins.
Computer printers with fixed tractors often use onesided, oval-shaped sprocket-holes. This ensures
that any change in the forms width due to climatic
conditions may be accommodated.
Lengthways performation
90
max. 0,15 mm
max. 0,1 mm
max. 0,1 mm
4 0,1 mm
Cross-performation
6 0,5 mm
Standardisation of the sprocket-hole edges
81
However, the special tools required and increased

make-ready time result in increased costs.
The standard dimensions produce a sprocket-hole
edge which is normally 15 mm wide. To enable easy
separation of the sprocket-hole edge from the form,
a lengthways perforation is usually added.
Listing papers, or other internal company documentation, are often produced without perforations.
The sprocket-hole edges remain as a part of the
form. This makes more space available for printing
on the form.
File-Hole Punching
File-hole punching is often required to facilitate the
storage of forms. Should suitable tools be installed,
this type of punching can easily be carried out on
continuous forms presses.
When forms are produced in portrait presentation
they are applied at the side; when forms are
produced in landscape presentation, they are
applied at the head.
The distance from hole centre to hole centre is
80 mm. The diameter of the file-hole itself is 5.5 mm.
File-hole punching can be produced in 2, 3 or
4 hole presentation.
File-hole punching
82
Special Punching
Forms may also be specially punched for individual
requirements in a manner similar to sprocket-hole
punching. OCR forms, for example, may be
required to have a corner removed. This helps to
guarantee that all forms are placed into a scanner
correctly, as any incorrectly positioned forms are
immediately recognisable by their protruding edges.
In addition to other corner punching for the
production of index cards, special punching may
also be used to produce optical marks, stop printing
devices, an oval shape or rounded corners.
Although there are many technical possibilities, it is
advisable only to use existing dies, as production
of special new dies is extremely expensive.
Perforations
A distinction is made between lengthways and crossperforations for continuous forms. Both types of perforation serve to fulfil several purposes.
Cross-perforations divide the continuous paper
web into individual forms and enable manual or
automatic separation. Furthermore, they are
necessary for the fan-fold delivery of continuous
forms in stacks. They also enable further subdivisions to be made within the form itself.
Rotary knives for the production of lengthways perforations
There are 2 main types of perforation:

Cross-perforations (across the whole width of the
paper web) or internal stop perforations
(only partially across the width of the paper web).
The length of individual forms in a stack of fan
folded forms is determined by the cross-perforation.
The forms are fed into the printer folded at the crossperforation following printing, delivery is performed in the same manner.
Internal stop perforations can either sub-divide
forms with the same printed image (for example,
it is possible to produce 3 x 4 inch forms or 2 x 6
inch forms within a length of 12 inches). Alternatively, a section of the form may be separated during
use and then be used as an accompanying note for
order processing or perhaps as an adhesive label.
Lengthways perforations are usually positioned at
the left and right hand edge of the form to provide
a strip of paper which can be used to remove the
sprocket-holes. Additionally they can function to subdivide a form in the lengthways direction.
Such internal perforations may be produced in an
intermittent manner i.e. they are not applied to
the full length or width of the form.
Invoices or letters which have an attached payment
slip are typical applications.
Special continuous forms may also have additional
perforations. Datamailers or discrete wage
envelopes have a perforation applied to all four
sides of the form. This helps separation from the
glued edges and thus eases opening of the envelope
by the recipient.
Selection of the type of cross-perforation used for

individual applications is normally made on the
basis of the manufacturers experience. However,
tests may also be carried out in advance to ensure
good results.
Perforations must not tear during printing even if
they are required to be easily torn and separated at
a later date. Therefore, individual form constructions
and varying paper substances require different types
of perforation.
Furthermore, the tearing strength of the paper grade
and form sets must be reduced to enable correct use
and performance in converting machines. The manual separation of the form sets and removal of the
lengthways perforations must also be possible.
Defective perforations can lead to be following
problems: sub-standard printing and delivery of the
forms on computer printers, poor separation of the
individual parts of form sets, and difficulties when
processing with bursting machines.
Cross-perforations made over the sprocket-holes
very near to the paper edge are particularly stressed
when the pins of the tractor are engaged during
printing.
For this reason, such cross-perforations should
always start with a tie point. In view of the various
printing widths and perforation blade lengths
required, this is not always easy to achieve.
However, the external tearing strength of the paper
edges may be increased by lightly grinding the
edges of the perforating blade.
83
In order to prevent premature separation,

lengthways perforations should not be made across
cross-perforations. In order to avoid the production
of breaking points, any point of contact between
perforations must be made by tie points.
Tenting
A general standard for the production of crossperforations is a cut to tie point ratio of 4 to 0.8.
This represents a cutting length of 4 mm; the width
of the tie point being 0.8 mm. Other ratios used are,
for example, 3 to 0.8, 6 to 0.8, 4 to 1.
As the cut to tie point ratio increases, it becomes
proportionately easier to separate the paper web
or form set. For this reason, form sets produced
from paper grades of greatly differing substances,
may also require different types of perforation.
The use of different types of perforation facilitates
more efficient handling and makes the removal of
individual sheets possible, as in the case of snapapart sets with a separation stub at both paper
edges.
Lengthways perforations are produced with larger
cut to tie point ratios of 8 to 0.8, 10 to 0.8 and
even greater ratios may also be used.
After separation, the perforation is clearly recognisable because of the remaining paper tie points.
When letterheads or other documents are used, this
can prove to be unsightly. The printed result should
not be able to be differentiated from an individually
typed letter.
A solution to this problem has been found by the
development of micro-perforations. The cut and tie
points are so finely graduated, that individual ties
are no longer visible after separation giving the visual impression of a cleanly cut sheet of paper.
Micro-perforations are normally produced with
either 48 or 72 tie points per inch. Micro-perforations with 48 tie points per inch are the most
commonly used. This is because of their better
runnability and delivery characteristics and also,
because they separate with greater reliability.
Micro-perforations are much more costly than
standard perforations, as the blades used are substantially more expensive than standard blades and
their life is much shorter. Furthermore, they may only
be reground a few times.
set in fan-fold stacks and the varying length of travel

of the inner and outer parts of the form set around
the carriage of a computer printer, which may lead
to tenting.
The ability to accommodate such shifting of
individual parts of the form set is important, as the
folding unit is always lifted during operation of
computer printers. Such length changes must be allowed for to provide trouble-free running in the computer printer. Following printing, the continuous form
sets should be able to regain their original
presentation as a fanfold stack without problem.
For this reason many types of set fastener have
been developed which are applied to the sprockethole edges.
Set fasteners can be classified as flexible or fixed.
The production methods used are either mechanical
paper fastening or application of set fasteners.
Mechanical paper fastening is carried out by
punching the paper web without the use of any
other materials. Other types of paper fasteners
which are applied may be spot or line gluing,
thread or metal staples.
Generally, fastening produced by these methods
wears more quickly than mechanical fastenings, and
there is also a danger that if the fastening materials
become separated from the form set, they can cause
disruption to printing.
A build-up of set fasteners creates hollowing of
the form stack to a greater or lesser degree. Any
possible deformation of the form sets can have
an adverse effect on their runnability on computer
printers. When mechanical paper fastening
is carried out, dusting may increase, as this is a
punching process.
This is especially so when tools are not sufficiently
sharp.
Flexible Forms Set Fasteners
These are the most commonly used type of
continuous forms set fastener and are able to
compensate for any length differences or shifting of
individual parts of the form set. During printing, the
forms set is fixed in the cross direction, as the spikes
of the computer printer feeding tractor grip into the
sprocket-holes and perform this function.
Forms Set Fasteners

The individual parts of continuous form sets must be
attached to one another to ensure that they hold
together securely. This ensures that they can be
printed properly on computer printers and thereafter
be processed by separators, bursters or cutters.
Set fasteners should also be capable of compensating for any change in the length of the form.
These length changes are inevitably caused by
shifting of the position of individual parts of the form
84
Crimp-Lock Fastening
Crimp-lock fastening is by far the most commonly
used set fastening system today. A rotary tool
punches crimps which are approximately 4 mm long
and 1 mm wide into the sprocket-hole edges of the
form set. The crimps are pressed through the form
set on three sides so that their ends protrude out
behind. Spacing of the crimping is dependent
upon the type of tools used; normally spacing is
every 4 inches.
If a more durable fastening is required, then

crimping can be applied at intervals of every
2 inches or double crimping may be carried out.
In this case, 4 crimping fingers are applied in each
direction immediately before and after the
sprocket-holes.
Crimp-lock fastening can take up small movements
in the lengthways direction of continuous forms
and provide sufficient hold in the cross direction.
Continuous form sets fastened in this manner can
easily be separated by hand or automatically.
This system is normally used for form sets of up to
six parts.
S-Crimping is a special type of Crimp-lock
fastening. The fingers are only punched on the long
sides and then pressed through in an S shape.
Therefore, the paper fingers do not project out of
the set.
This form set fastening can be more easily separated
and wears less. It is thus suitable for small computer
printers, which have limitations on set thickness
and also for multi-part form sets which must be
separated during the printing operation.
Another special version of Crimp-lock fastening
applies a small amount of adhesive to the fingers.
This glues them onto the part of the form set below
and produces a more durable fastening. Lengthways
movements can still be accommodated. However,
separation is made more difficult and the sprockethole edges must be separated or completely cut off.
The Hammerlock and Fanlock types of fastening
represent further systems which punch through the
set with variously formed fingers. They are rarely
used today and are only mentioned here to provide
complete information. In comparison to Crimp-lock
fastening (which today can be described as the
industry standard), they offer no significant
advantages.
Multiflex Fasteners
This type of fastener is often used for form sets
consisting of many parts. It is also suitable for
feeding forms through computer printers where the
form is turned sharply around the carriage during
printing.
Multiflex fasteners are the second most commonly
used method of set fastening.
The sprocket-holes are expanded to a diameter of
5.5 mm at intervals of 4 inches. Narrow strips of
self-adhesive tape are then threaded through the
sprocket-holes and pressed down, so that the first
and last parts of the form set are attached together.
Set fastenings produced in this manner are very
strong, flexible in the lengthways direction and suffer
only little wear.
The latest versions of this system do not always
require expansion of the sprocket-holes. Multiflex
fasteners can be applied on both sides of the paper

web, or on one side only, making combination with
another type of form set fastener possible.
If a form set is fastened with Multiflex fasteners on
the left side and Crimp-lock fastened on the right
side, the form set will still remain fastened on the left
side after removal of the right hand sprocket-hole
edge. This provides interesting possibilities for
additional converting operations.
The self-adhesive strip should preferably be applied
in the printing direction. The form sets should then
be fed into the separator in the opposite direction
to the fasteners. A special installation is necessary
for cuffing the self-adhesive strips or, if further
processing allows, the sprocket-hole edges can be
removed.
Crimp-lock fastening
Multiflex fastener
Strip Gluing
Strip gluing is normally used for permanent set
fastening and uses both cold and hot melt adhesives.
Intermittent strips of adhesive are applied instead of
a continuous strip.
Strip gluing
This ensures that any adhesive applied does not

cover the area of the cross-perforations and cause
delivery problems. The tendency to create tenting
is also reduced.
The cold adhesive system applies a cold, watery
dispersion adhesive to the paper web, by means of
jets supplied from a pumping system. The webs are
pressed together by metal rollers, which have a
rough top surface to ensure that the strips of glue
remain flexible and do not build up.
However, the adhesive is not completely dry as the
sets are fed into the fanfold delivery therefore any
tenting that takes place becomes permanently
fixed.
Intermittent strip gluing should be performed
with adequate amount of adhesive-free areas,
to allow some tolerance for paper movement.
Cold gluing is therefore not suitable for forms sets
possessing many parts. Its main advantage is that
the adhesive build-up is only limited. Cold adhesive
fastening is often used when, for example, only two
parts of a set should be joined together. A typical
application is gluing an original invoice to a
duplicate copy.
Hot melt gluing is performed with adhesives that
melt at approximately 180 C and which are
applied by jets. Hot melt adhesives solidify on the
top surface of the paper web immediately after
application, forming an adhesive trace.
This produces a thickened area in the form set,
which is a disadvantage in comparison to cold
adhesives. The immediate setting of the adhesive
helps to avoid tenting. Intermittent gluing is now
standard technology.
85
A clear disadvantage of this method is that flexible

paper web movement required in the lengthways
direction, necessary to guarantee good fIatness of
the stack o fan-folded forms, is not possible due to
the rigid fastening. Besides deformation of the forms
sets during storage, this can also lead to problems
during running through computer printers. Hot-melt
adhesive fastening is therefore not suitable for forms
sets composed of many parts.
Numbering
Individual form sets can be identified by means of
continuous numbering. This can prove to be very
important for their processing and use.
Furthermore, numbering enables simple checking to
establish if all the required forms are present. Numbering can also fulfil a security function, for example, certificates or bank documents that include a
number to check for and prevent forgery.
Numbers may be printed on form sets in a
horizontal or vertical manner. A very comprehensive
range of numbering units are available which may
be installed on all printing presses or collators.
Therefore, various fonts, OCR typefaces and
bar-codes may be printed.
The purchase cost of numbering units are high,
as they are produced as quality tools with high
demands made of their precision and reliability.
All the individual parts of a carbonless paper form

set can be numbered simultaneously on collators
and multi-web presses using the crash printing
process. This process ensures that all the parts of a
form set possess exactly the same number. As the
number produced is a carbonless copy, the copy
quality reduces directly in relation to the number of
carbonless sheets used.
The order structure of forms manufacturers is forcing
them to adopt new production techniques and
systems (e.g. special systems for the production of
products for direct advertising), that can also be
used for the processing of pre-printed forms.
Since these systems are almost always equipped
with integrated printing systems, bar-codes or other
individual imprints can also be produced online in
excellent quality.
The imprint volume is however restricted, since this
inevitably has an effect on production speed,
depending on the technical equipment of the system.
Integrated digital technology allows bar-codes
and numbering to be designed and positioned in
a way that would be technically impossible with
conventional, mechanical numbering.
Crash Printing
Pre-manufactured or collated form sets can be
imprinted using hard printing blocks (usually metal)
at high printing pressure to produce carbonless
copies in one operation. A common application is
copy numbering as described above.
This process can also be used to individualise standard stock forms. For example, extremely long runs
of standardised invoice forms produced for car
workshops, could at first be economically preprinted with the basic forms layout. The individual
garages information could then be added by crash
printing in more economical short runs.
Form sets used for payment transactions are also
personalised in this manner by imprinting personal
or company-related information. Crash printing can
also be used to repair continuous form sets. If a
telephone number is changed, then the new number
can be added and the old one made illegible at the
same time.
Due to the high printing pressure required,
the quality of the original is not high. Embossing of
the paper can be unsightly and a carbonless copy
only is produced instead of a printed image.
The form sets should therefore not possess too many
parts. Good legibility can only be guaranteed by the
use of open and thin, or standard typefaces.
Carbon Printing
A numbering unit
86
Carbon printing is a letterpress printing process.

A special ink is printed onto the paper web which
Printing with cold carbon inks is seldom carried out.

A special non-drying ink, which is rich in pigments,
is printed using standard printing units.
Hot carbon printing on airline tickets
enables partial carbon transfer, producing a copy

on the underlying sheet.
The hot carbon printing process uses solid printing
inks. These inks are melted at temperatures between
85 and 100 C in a heated ink container and then
pumped into a heated ink bath.
The ink consists mainly of waxes, colour pigments
and additives to prevent premature ageing or
hardening. Hot carbon printing units are similar to
flexographic printing units. Therefore, some presses
are constructed to enable a change-over to be
made, allowing work to be carried out with both
printing processes. The fluid ink is transferred onto
the printing cylinder by means of heated rollers,
whose top surface may be engraved.
Printing is carried out with heat-resistant rubber
blocks which are glued onto a heated printing
cylinder. The ink is transferred directly onto the
paper web from the printing cylinder. The paper
web is then fed over a chilled cylinder causing the
hot carbon ink to set immediately with most of the
ink remaining on the surface of the paper web.
A glossy effect may be imparted to the paper
surface by further controlled heating. This also helps
to reduce the tendency to smear.
Hot carbon printing units are normally integrated
into continuous forms presses; very little hot carbon
printing is carried out today on sheet-fed presses.
The main areas of application for this process are
the production of lottery and pools forms, airline
tickets, special continuous forms, such as discrete
wage envelopes or datamailers. If standard paper
grades are used, the carbon ink strikes through
excessively. This adverse effect can be avoided by
using special high opacity paper grades possessing
high filler content and good sizing. A general
disadvantage of hot carbon printing is the tendency
of the carbon to smear onto the top surface of the
following sheet.
Ink application must be substantially greater than

with normal printing inks, to ensure that sufficient
carbon can be transferred onto the following sheet
when writing pressure is applied. In contrast to hot
carbon inks, cold carbon inks penetrate much more
deeply into the paper. Therefore, strike-through to
the front side of the sheet is greater. At the same
time, copyability is reduced, as less pigment is
present on the papers surface to produce a copy.
Cold carbon inks also have a greater tendency to
smear, due to the non-drying oils used in their
production. It should also be noted, that in terms of
quality, cold carbon printing is inferior to hot carbon
printing. The process also has another major
disadvantage - poor ageing characteristics.
Therefore, it is always advisable to use forms printed
with cold carbon inks within one year of production.
Black cold carbon inks should not be used in
combination with carbonless papers, as the image
development of the CF coating may be adversely
affected. Discoloration of the CF coating is also
possible during storage - even if there is no direct
contact between the individual sheets of paper.
To the best of our knowledge, coloured cold carbon
inks do not cause any discoloration.
Hot carbon inks are much more suitable for
combination with carbonless papers. However,
printing on the reverse side of the CF or
self-contained sheet grades should be avoided
wherever possible.
Coloration of White Paper Grades
on the Printing Press (Tinting)
Coloured papers are often used in form sets to
identify a particular type of form or its recipient, for
example, to allocate a particular copy to a certain
department.
Six colours are normally used yellow, green, pink,
blue, old gold and chamois.
Standardisation of these colours has, to date, not
taken place. Therefore, varying colour shades are
offered by the manufacturers of carbonless paper
to the market.
By necessity, the forms manufacturer must carry
significant paper stocks or have a large amount of
stub end reels after processing the various sheet
grades and reel widths required. In order to avoid
this problem and to enable printers to carry stocks of
white paper only, special printing units are used to
tint white paper grades on the press.
These installations are called tinting units and are,
in principle, flexographic printing units. The entire
paper web is tinted on one or both sides by printing
with highly fluid ink which is thinned with ethylalcohol. Ink transfer is performed by a rubber roller.
87
Diagram of a tinting unit
Tinting units are normally installed before the first

printing unit on continuous forms presses.
A wide range of ink shades may be produced by
mixing inks, enabling special colours to be produced
on demand.
However, this process also has a number of limitations. The quality of paper coloration is not as even
and constant as tinted paper produced by paper
machines.
The economics of this process should also be carefully compared to the costs of buying tinted paper.
It should be noted that printing speed may need to
be reduced before entry into the first printing unit, as
the paper web may not be sufficiently dry.
When, for example, combined invoice and delivery

note sets are used, the selling prices of the individual
articles should not be copied onto the delivery note;
or when a production ticket is issued, the prices of
the raw materials used should not be legible.
This requirement can be fulfilled by printing a
special ink on the CF coating of the CFB and the CF
sheet grades. This prevents production of carbonless
copies in the desired areas of the form. This process
is described as desensitisation.
Desensitisation may be carried out using the wet
offset, dry offset, letterpress or flexographic printing
When carbonless papers are tinted, it is possible

that copyability may be reduced, as the CF coating
may be adversely affected. Paper tinted in this
manner may have a greater tendency to toning
during wet offset printing. The fan-apart gluing
process may also be adversely affected.
Partial Prevention of the Production
of Carbonless Copies by Desensitisation
It is often a requirement that carbonless paper forms
are produced which ensure that specific information
does not appear on one or several part of the form
set.
88
Testing a desensitised area
processes. Therefore, it can be carried out by all

forms printers.
Desensitising inks are sold by all leading carbonless
paper suppliers.
As the inks are virtually transparent, the appearance
of the forms is not impaired. Overprinting of form
elements such as lines, screen areas and text is also
possible.
Therefore desensitised areas can be printed, and/or
used for subsequent writing.
When scramble designs are printed, these
advantages for forms design cannot be offered.
When woodfree, uncoated forms paper grades are
used in combination with carbon paper, printing a
scramble design is the only way to ensure that any
information copied is illegible.
by the printer to avoid problems. We recommend

that the advice of an experienced forms printer or
one of our technical advisors always be sought.
CF Spot Process
Uncoated paper grades can produce copies by the
partial transfer of carbon inks.
A similar possibility for carbonless papers exists,
using a special printing ink which functions like a
CF coating. However, copy colour development has
less contrast when compared with standard CF
coatings and variations in colour may also occur
that is, with a bluish hue.
A scramble design, or other design consisting of

characters and symbols, is often used for forms
printing. It is important that a dark or black ink be
used to obtain minimum colour contrast with the
carbonless copy.
The CF spot process should only be used when a

copy is required in a small area of the form, e.g. an
address field. Furthermore, these inks should only be
printed on standard uncoated paper grades. When
printed on CB coated paper grades they produce
major discoloration after a short period of time.
Printing on the CB coated side is not possible as it
would, without doubt, cause discoloration to take
place.
Evenly coloured solid areas are unsuitable, as

carbonless copies can be read when viewed at an
oblique angle.
Depending on the type of paper grade used,

variable colour reactions can occur due to the paper
construction and coating laydown.
Form sets produced using scramble designs

generally have a relatively poor appearance. As
paper is compressed by writing pressure, the
possibility remains that even when the desensitising
process is used or a scramble design is printed,
the characters copied may be read. Therefore, it is
advisable to carry out tests in circumstances in which
absolute security of information is necessary.
In the production of discrete wage and salary advice
envelopes, the reverse side of the CB sheet is often
printed with a scramble hatch security pattern to
ensure the security of the printed information inside
the envelope. The choice of the printing ink used in
these cases should be made with utmost care, to
prevent any negative influence on the microcapsules.
Certain inks are totally unsuitable, and by causing
breakage of the microcapsules, result in a significant
reduction in the copyability.
When producing forms, it is important that the
desensitised areas are correctly designed. These
areas must be kept as small as possible. This is also
important when printing scramble designs, as
there is a danger that ink may smear, if large areas
are printed. This may further impair the optical
appearance of the form.
Areas for transcription which are surrounded by
desensitised regions should be avoided at all costs,
due to the high possibility of tracking by
transfer rollers, or toning causing an undesired
desensitisation.
In general, the risk of tracking at the required ink
levels is always present, and requires extreme care
Scramble designs
89
A multi-colour continuous forms press
90
Forms Guide: Completion of Forms
Completion
of Forms
pencils, suitable ball-point or felt-tip pens, to ensure

that the scanners can identify characters which must
be read. If the characters are poorly written, then
corrections may be necessary or reading errors can
occur.
The function of printed forms is to be completed

with variable data. Completion may be carried out
by hand, typewriter or programme controlled by
a computer printer.
Fibre or felt-tip pens are not suitable for the

production of carbonless copies. Their use can only
be recommended when copies are to be avoided.
Fibre-tip pens use dissolved dyes which are fed
through capillary tubes from a small container to the
writing tip.
The paper grades used should be sufficiently well
sized to ensure that the ink does not run.
This also applies for roller-ball and fountain pens.
However, these kinds of pen are not often used for
completing forms.
Completion with Typewriters
Completion with Handwriting
Completion with Handwriting

Completion with handwriting is generally troublefree, providing that the form is designed to allow
sufficient room for completion and that the fields
to be filled in are clearly defined.
When selecting the number of parts to be used in a
form set, it should be remembered that only average
writing pressure can be applied when forms are to
be written upon extensively.
Furthermore, consideration should also be given to
the conditions under which the forms are to be completed. Therefore, carbonless paper form sets which
consist of more than four parts should be tested in
advance. Writing pads often possess a hard writing
support, normally a piece of cardboard, which can
be inserted between the individual form sets. The use
of a writing support guarantees the production of
good carbonless copies and also provides for secure
handling and transportation of the forms.
Forms are normally written upon with ball-point
pens. They are highly suitable for this purpose,
as the small ball at the end of the refill exerts high
writing pressure. Fine-stroke refills are ideal because
of the smaller size of the ball-point used.
When writing on the reverse side of CB or CFB sheet
grades, writing can often be impaired by the use
of unsuitable ball-point pens. While special paper
grades were offered for such applications in the
past, standard Giroform grades have now been
developed that allow the reverse side to be written
on without any problems.
OCR forms, processed by clear text and optical
mark scanners, should be carefully completed with
The use of typewriters increases writing speed whilst,

at the same time, enables the production of a
consistently high standard of printed character.
Typewriters are normally electrically powered and
function with single strokes to produce complete
characters. Carbonless copies are produced as
forms are typed upon.
Non-impact typewriters operate with the thermotransfer printing process which will be described
later.
Typewriters using impact technology can be
classified as lever, golf-ball or daisy-wheel
machines.
Typewriters using the lever system represent the
oldest technology and are rarely found today.
They produce the hardest printing stroke of all
typewriters. The typing levers are arranged in
a basket, which is formed by the large amount
of individual characters required. Two characters are
positioned on each individual typing lever.
Characters are typed at a central point, in front of
which, the ink ribbon, sheet of paper and carriage
travels.
This system does not allow continuous forms to be
completed. Furthermore, such machines require a lot
of space and also have the added disadvantage that
the typeface cannot be changed.
The introduction of golf-ball typewriters represented
a major development. By simply changing the
golf-ball head, it became possible to change the
typeface, as all its characters are found on a single
printing head. As the printing head can travel from
side to side, the carriage and paper need not do so.
Continuous forms may also be completed if tractors
are installed for feeding forms. Golf-ball typewriters
were mainly used on small computer printers for
word processing. The stroke pressure is less than
with lever type machines; however, carbonless form
sets of 8 10 parts can be used.
Golf-ball head
91
Daisy-wheel typewriters are of simpler construction

and are currently the most widely used machines.
Daisy-wheel head
The golf-ball is replaced by a circular daisy-wheel

printing head made of metal or plastic. This rotates
at a constant speed and enables printing speeds
of up to 50 characters per second (CPS) to be
achieved. A small printing hammer strikes the
character against the ribbon and onto the paper
when the desired character is in the correct position.
In comparison to golf-ball typewriters, the standard
of copyability achieved with carbonless paper forms
is reduced. Noise levels are also reduced.
However, good quality carbonless copies can be
obtained with form sets comprising 5 8 parts.
The typeface or a damaged daisy-wheel can easily
be changed by simple replacing the complete unit.
Whilst all impact printers create a certain amount
of noise, non-impact printers operate practically
without any noise at all. For this reason,
IBM christened its typewriter using the thermotransfer process the Quietwriter.
Type of
Computer Printer
Impact-Printer
Non-Impact Printer
Serial Printers
Character
Dot-matrix
Ink-jet
Direct-thermal
Thermal-transfer
Electro-erosion
Line Printers
IBM use a somewhat different printing process.

Heating of the individual points is produced by an
electric current and the heat action of thermo
elements within the ink ribbon itself. Therefore, ink
transfer is guaranteed even in the case of paper
grades which are not particularly smooth; good
writing quality can therefore be achieved on normal
paper grades.
High quality characters can be produced in dot
form, they can be stored electronically and may be
freely accessed for use by computer programme.
The printing speed is in the range of 30 50 cps.
The main disadvantages of this printing process
are that the special coloured ink ribbons required
are costly and that carbonless copies cannot be
produced.
Typewriters are today clearly on the decline.
An administrative workplace without a PC is today
inconceivable, and the role of the typewriter has
been taken over by computer printers.
Computer Printers
Ink-jet
direct-thermal
Thermal-transfer
In principle, computer printers and other data-output

devices may be described as machines which can
accept information in electronic form and then present it in a legible manner.
Laser
Magnetic
LED/LCD
Ion-deposition
Band
Chain
Drum
Dot-matrix
Page Printers
Continuous development of these machines has

taken place, as they are an irreplaceable accessory
to computer hardware. Therefore, it is possible to
find various technologies offered on the market at
the same time.
Selection Criteria for Computer Printers

Printing Speed
characters/sec, lines/hour, pages/min
Performance
sides/month, pages/machine life
Reliability
operating period without disruption, repairs
Cost
unit price, consumable materials, servicing
Print Quality
resolution, contrast
Special Features
founts available (type-face, size, style)

graphics capability, colour printing
Paper Feeding
continuous stationery, single-sheet paper grades

which may be used, films, labels etc. envelopes,
sheet sizes
Operation
92
The thermal transfer printing process uses a special

ribbon which is heated at the required points by
means of thermo elements. This operation melts the
ink coating, which is then transferred onto the paper
surface.
Good writing quality can therefore be achieved only
on very smooth paper grades.
noise-level, simplicity of operation, manuals
The printing systems used by computer printers can

be classified according to the following criteria:
according to the technology used by the computer
printer i.e. impact or non-impact
according to the number of characters printed
simultaneously with a serial printer
(printing individual characters one after another),
line and page printers,
according to the composition and formation of
characters printed by character or daisy-wheel
printers. Whether the printer produces characters
with one stroke or, as in the case of dot-matrix
printers, by means of individual image elements
produced by a dot-matrix.
As can be seen from the following summary, the
great variety of computer printers available can be
classified according to these criteria alone.
The use of printing presses has lost some of its

importance, as an ever-increasing number of computer printers are being used in conjunction with
a personal computer at the place of work.
Standard Expressions and Abbreviations

used in Conjunction with Computer Printers
Font
characters available and type-face used
The decisive factor is the highest level of suitability

for the job to be performed. When deciding which
type of computer printer to purchase, the following
criteria should be considered.
Style
type-face presentation, e.g. semi bold, italics,

expanded type
Points
measurement of type size, 1 point = 1/72 inch
Other than the relationship of price to performance,

the most important criteria is reliability. When considering which computer printer to buy, trouble-free
operation is the most important point for customer
satisfaction. Thereafter, print quality and simplicity of
operation are the most important criteria.
cpi
character density characters per inch
Pitch
corresponds to cpi number of characters per inch
dpi
measurement of print quality resolution in dots

per inch
Pixel
an individual image element
cps
printing speed for serial printers characters per

second
Dot-Matrix Printers
lpm
printing speed for line printers lines per minute
The printing head of a dot-matrix printer consists of

7 to 48 needles which are arranged in one or more
rows next to each other. The most modern dot-matrix
printer currently available uses 24 needles; although
a 9-needle unit, overprinting the original image set
off at an angle can also produce acceptable print
quality albeit at a significantly reduced printing
speed.
ppm
printing speed for page printers pages per minute
Impact Printing Systems
In order to come to terms with the requirements for

writing quality and speed, the leading manufacturers
have developed dot-matrix printers with two print
heads. So-called flatbed printers are used for printing of comprehensive forms sets.
Modern dot-matrix printers are constructed to a
standardised design, and allow the processing of
continuous and individual forms and multi-part sets
without the use of any additional equipment. Any
practical paper feeding method can be selected by
the user.
The characters printed are produced by a dotmatrix. As the printing head travels across the form,
one or several needles are pressed against the
ribbon and paper by means of electro-magnets.
Good dot-matrix printers have a resolution of
360 dpi; even greater resolution of up to 480 dpi
has been achieved. Thus, dot-matrix printers are now
completely suitable for the production of graphics.
Multi-colour printing can be economically produced
by using coloured ribbons. Printing speeds are within the range of 50 800 cps. Printing takes place
during the forward and return travel of the printing
head. Any non-printing areas are skipped over
this operating method is called printing head travel
optimisation.
Dot-matrix printers are known for their relatively low
cost and excellent operating reliability. Furthermore,
no special demands are made on the paper grade
to be used.
The operating costs of dot-matrix printers are also

low. Dependent upon the construction of the
individual printer, 2 7 carbonless copies can be
produced.
Chain and Band Printers
These high-speed line printers have been especially
conceived and designed for use in central data
processing departments and computing centres.
They operate at printing speeds within the range of
400 to 4,000 lines per minute with 132 characters
per line (about 800 8,000 cps).
Dot-matrix 5 x 7 and 7 x 9
The chain printer uses a revolving steel chain

with all the individual characters belonging to a
particular font mounted upon it.
The complete font is repeated several times along
the chain with several characters positioned on each
individual chain ink. Therefore, damaged characters
can easily be replaced or special characters can be
included. The chain moves in the direction of the
line to be printed with an ink ribbon positioned in
front of it. Form sets are transported
in front of the ink ribbon.
Dot-matrix printer
Each individual printing position has its own

printing hammer. When the required character is
positioned in front of the space to be printed, the
hammer strikes from behind and applies pressure.
As the time available for this process is extremely
short, very high demands are made on printing precision. If the timing of the printing stroke is only
slightly delayed, then the character may be
incorrectly formed, with the character being cut off
at one side. Several of the characters normally used
could produce scanning errors under these
circumstances. Furthermore, the amount of legible
carbonless copies obtainable may be reduced.
Chain printer
93
Band printers use the same printing technology as

chain printers. The individual characters are etched
out of a stainless steel band and stand out in relief.
The impression stroke is also performed with a
printing hammer. If any character becomes
defective, then the complete band must be replaced.
A large variety of bands are available for changing
typefaces. The fastest band printers available from
IBM operate with the band rotating at a speed of
more than 70 km per hour. An individual character
is printed every 30 micro-seconds.
If bands with dots are used in place of characters,
then the high speed of the band printer may be
combined with the flexibility of a dot-matrix printer.
At exactly the moment when the area to be printed
passes a single dot necessary for the production of
an individual character, the paper is pressed against
the band. Therefore, various typefaces, special
characters and graphics can all be printed without
changing the band.
Instead of a band, a row of needles or needle
bank can also be used, which extends over the
whole printing width. The needles are then all pressed
against the paper at almost exactly the same time.
According to the characters to be printed, the whole
row of dots is therefore printed simultaneously. Such
printers are therefore referred to as line printers.
Non-Impact Printing Systems
Laser Printers
The performance range of laser printers is
enormous. It ranges from 6 ppm for small desktop
printers to about 200 ppm for larger machines,
which are able to process continuous stationery.
Printing speeds of up to 120 ppm can be achieved
with single-sheet feeding devices. Small laser printers with performances of between 6 and 40 ppm
are also showing strong growth rates today.
Laser printer
94
Laser printers use a weak laser beam, guided by

an optical system onto an image cylinder,
to produce the printing image. The image is
exposed onto a layer of photo-sensitive semiconductors which cover the image cylinder. The printing
image is composed of dots. The standard resolution
used is currently 300 dots per inch. The image
cylinder rotates at a constant number of revolutions
and is charged with a negative current before
exposure to the laser beam.
Exposure discharges the electrical charge present on
the image areas. The printing image is transferred
onto the image cylinder as a latent image. The latent
image areas are able to attract toner, which is a
black, negatively charged powder. The toner consists
of fine particles of pigment, which are bound to a
substance similar to resin. Following the developing
station, toner adheres to the image areas of the
cylinder.
The toner is transferred from the image cylinder
onto the paper surface in the toner transfer station.
This operation is carried out by the application
of a positive electrical charge to the image cylinder.
The toner, which now forms the image, is not, as yet,
smear-free. Image fusion is carried out in a fuser
station by heat action at a temperature of about 200
degrees Celsius.
The image cylinder is completely discharged after
each printing operation any remaining toner is
removed by a cleaning station, allowing the next
printing operation to begin.
The printing technology used corresponds closely
to xerography. The only difference is that the
xerographic printing process transfers the printing
image onto the image cylinder by means of optical
projection. This explains why laser printers are
available which can also function as photocopiers.
LED/LCS Printers
These are derivations of the laser printing system.
LED/LCS printing units have, to date, not found
wide-spread usage. The printing principle used is
exactly the some as for laser printers, the only
difference being the method with which the image is
projected onto the image cylinder. The aim of this
process is to simplify the very complicated technical
system required to guide the laser beam onto the
image cylinder.
LED printers possess a line of diodes positioned
above the image cylinder, which emit extremely fine
points of light. The image elements are projected
onto the image cylinder by exact control of the
individual diodes. Print resolution of up to 400 dots
per inch has been achieved using this printing
technology.
LCS printers also operate with the same technology
in this case, the difference is that liquid-crystal
shutters are used to expose the image cylinder.
Ion-Deposition Printers
Ion-deposition printers vary not only in the way the
latent image is produced, but also in the manner in
which the electrically charged image is printed.
Instead of a laser beam, an ion-cassette is used to
expose the image cylinder. Positive and negative
ions are produced inside the cassette by the
application of alternating current through electrodes.
The ion-cassette has an ion-screen on its underside
and is electrically charged to ensure that only
positive ions may pass through.
Thus, passage of the ions through the ion-screen
may be controlled exactly, in order to produce
the required printing image. Data transmitted from
the computer to the printer is converted into control
signals for the release of ions through the ion-screen.
The released ions strike the top surface of the
rotating image cylinder, which is positioned directly
Magnetisation
Demagnetisation
Cleaning
Toner
Fixing
Magnetic printer
under the ion-screen. The image cylinder is constructed of very hard aluminium oxide and is dielectric.
The ions produce an electrically charged, latent
image upon which the toner can adhere. The toner
is then transferred onto the paper surface and fixed.
A cleaning station removes any remaining toner or
paper remnants. Any remaining electrically charged
areas of the image cylinder are then discharged,
allowing the next printing operation to begin.
Ion-deposition printers are said to have the
advantages of a longer operational life of the image
cylinder, greater servicing intervals and therefore
more economic costs per page. Resolution of
300 dots per inch has been obtained, which
represents the current industry standard.
The CIE 3000 model offered by C. Itoh currently
achieves printing speeds of 30 ppm.
Magnetic Printers
Magnetic printers operate in a similar manner.
A rotating metallic image cylinder is magnetically
charged dot-for-dot. This operation is carried out
by a multitude of fine magnets, which are arranged
in a line directly above the image cylinder.
A toner, especially developed for this process,
can then adhere to the magnetised image areas.
The remaining aspects of this process correspond
exactly to the other non-impact printing methods.
The Honeywell Bull model 9060, which operates
using this process, prints at speeds of 90 ppm with
a print resolution of 240 dpi.
The Advantages and Disadvantages
of Non-Impact Printing Processes using
a Toner System.
Ion-deposition printer
Printing processes that operate with the use of a

toner system offer many advantages. They are able
to produce a consistent level of print quality with any
95
desired typeface at very high printing speeds.

A great degree of flexibility is also available when
typefaces, sizes and styles need to be changed.
Text and graphics may be freely combined with
printing being carried out in portrait or landscape
presentation. Several computer printers can print on
both sides of the sheet in one pass. These machines
also operate with only a limited amount of noise.
Simple forms can be produced at the same time
as variable data is printed. Such forms are either
projected onto the image cylinder using a film mask
or may be stored in computer memory. If the same
page is printed several times, it is possible to
suppress specific data on predetermined pages.
Dependent upon the individual printers specification,
machines which operate with single-sheet feeding
devices can make finishing operations superfluous,
as they produce a finished product.
However, non-impact printers also possess disadvantages. The paper grade used must be suitable for
laser printing. A minimum substance of 70 g/m2 is
required for trouble-free running, whilst in the majority of cases 80 g/m2 paper is used. This means that
much more space is required for filing such copies.
During the hot fixing process, the paper is exposed
to temperatures of up to 200 degrees Celsius for
short periods of time. This can lead to rejection of
sheets, curling, dimensional variations and a tendency towards a build-up of static electricity, due to the
paper becoming dry. The toner applied on laser
printing papers can only be removed with great difficulty if the paper is to be recycled. This is because
of the intensity of fixing of the toner onto the paper
fibres. When pre-printed forms are processed, it is
important that they are only printed with inks suitable for use with laser printers. These special inks do
not release vapours during the subsequent printing
operation such vapours may damage the printer.
As copies can only be produced by printing the
original several times, it is impossible to differentiate
between the original and copies. This feature can
lead to significant security problems. For instance in
particular applications, where for reasons of cost the
issuer no longer adds a signature. Producing a
forgery of such documents is now possible with
every PC using standard software.
The use of pre-printed designs/logos helps to
counter this problem of electronic forgery.
Advertising statements made about such machines
attempt to give the impression that the print quality
obtainable is nearly as good as that produced with
conventional printing presses. This is certainly not
the case. Resolution values of 700 2,000 pixels
per cm are used during the photo-setting process.
This figure should be compared with the 118 pixels
per cm used when printing with a resolution of
300 dots per inch. Whilst this may be acceptable for
the majority of text applications, it is not adequate
for the reproduction of halftone screens, i.e. pictures.
When printing by the offset printing process, with
96
only a medium demand of quality, about 16 times

the resolution and reproduction quality are achieved.
Laser printers print complete pages as a graphic
reproduction composed of individual dots. One A4
page, printed with a resolution of 300 dots per inch,
requires 1 megabyte of computer memory. Thus, the
amount of computer memory required is large.
As the print resolution increases, the required
computer memory increases by its square. Furthermore, additional costs, other than those for operation, should not be forgotten, such as the costs of the
software needed.
The details of operating costs given by individual
manufacturers should always be carefully checked.
Using only the information provided by manufacturers on the working life of such printers, the
image cylinder, the fixing station and the toner
consumption, for desktop printers with performances
of from 6 to 10 ppm and up to 3,000 pages per
month, and excluding paper and maintenance costs,
the cost of every sheet printed is estimated as
somewhere between 0.01 and 0.03 !
A modern dot-matrix printer on the other hand,
prints at an average cost of 0.002 per page!
Ink-Jet Printers
Ink-jet printing is a contact-free printing process.
Small ink droplets are formed by ink-jets and
sprayed onto the paper surface in the shape of the
required characters, where they dry quickly.
Two basic types of ink-jet printing technologies are
used the continuous and drop-on-demand ink-jet
processes.
The continuous process modulates the oscillations
of the ink-jet, to ensure that individual ink droplets
of a constant size are produced. Overpressure is
maintained in the ink delivery tubes to the ink-jet.
The required characters are produced by electrically
charging the ink droplets and guiding them within
an electric field onto the printing substrate. As in the
case of needle printers, the individual characters
Ink-Jet Printer
are formed by a dot-matrix. Ink droplets, which

are not required for character formation, do not
receive an electric charge and are collected for
recirculation.
is a clear increase in the use of thermal papers for

such applications as receipts and sales documents.
So-called POS (point of sale) quality papers are
used for this purpose.
The required printing width is obtained by the

parallel arrangement of several jets.
These are lightweight thermo-sensitive paper grades

of standard quality that are supplied in roll form by
specialist manufacturers.
The drop-on-demand process uses one or several

rows of ink-jets arranged next to each other
normally a total of 9, 24 or 32 ink-jets are used.
As the printing head travels across the paper, ink
is sprayed by the ink-jets only when it is necessary
to produce a character.
Direct thermal printing
Thermal printers are widely used for measuring

equipment, as ticket printers for airline tickets and
public events, and also as printers for video camera
pictures which, for example, are used in the medical
and material testing sectors.
Each individual ink-jet is connected to an ink

reservoir. One of the walls of the small ink cells is
formed by a piezo crystal (a pressure-electricity
converter). The application of an electric charge
expands the wall, thus reducing the volume of the
ink cell. The pressure produced forces an ink droplet
out of the ink cell. A small amount of under-pressure
is present in the ink delivery tubes, to ensure that
ink does not run out of the ink-jets.
Direct thermal printing always requires the use of

special thermo-sensitive paper grades. The printing
head consists of individually controllable thermal
elements which are heated for very short periods
of time. Their contact with a special thermo-sensitive
paper produces a black or blue colour reaction.
The characters required are produced using a dot
matrix. Resolution values of 200 x 100 and
200 x 200 dpi are used.
A variation of this technology is called the bubblejet process. This process uses a heating element
located in the ink delivery cells, instead of a piezo
crystal. The application of an electric current causes
the formation of ink vapour bubbles. The pressure
created forces ink droplets out of the ink-jets.
Multi-colour printing is becoming possible by the

development of combination printing heads, which
are capable of activating special colourformers
contained in special thermal papers by means of
varying temperatures.
Ink-jet printers are today the most common printers

found in the market. Such printers are clearly
preferred by users due to their ability to print
photographs at a resolution of 2400 x 1200 dpi,
which is even better than that of the resolution of
quality offset printing. At the same time, the
purchase cost of such printers is very low.
On the other hand, such high resolution can only
be achieved by using special paper grades, which
are expensive due to their complex manufacture.
Normal uncoated paper grades can be used in
ink-jet printers used as standard printers. Thanks
to modern technology, combination units are often
the office standard which can fax, copy, print and
scan.
It should however be taken into account that the
consumables cost of the inks are quite considerable.
In some cases, the cost of a replacement set of ink
cartridges can exceed the purchase price of the printer. The page price can be as high as 0.30 , which
is thus significantly higher than the cost of a genuine photographic enlargement. Ink-jet printers are
unsuitable for all applications where high document
throughputs are required, since the speed is very
limited due to the technology of printing
line-by-line.
Direct Thermal Printing
Direct thermal printers are today used for many
applications. While the trend in telefax applications
is clearly toward the use of normal paper, there
Thermal transfer printing
Special paper grades have been developed for use

in thermal ticket applications. In addition to the basic
thermo-sensitive coating these papers have additional surface coatings that enable specialist printers to
pre-print quality offset multicolour designs. Holograms are often applied to these papers and magnetic strips can also be applied to the reverse.
Direct thermal printing is not used for forms
applications.
Thermal Transfer Printing
This printing process is also used for the completion
of forms. The technology is based upon the use of
special thermal ink ribbons which are coated with
a heat sensitive layer.
Printing is carried out with heat action applied by
thermal elements onto a ribbon causing the coating
to melt and transfer onto the paper.
In order to guarantee good ink transfer onto the
paper surface the paper grades used have, up to
now, had to possess a very smooth to surface;
otherwise good printing quality could not be
achieved. Recently developed thermal ribbons are
said to have a lesser dependence on the smoothness
of the papers top surface.
IBM have developed a somewhat different process
which enables the production of good character
quality, whilst using standard paper grades.
Electrodes in the printing head send an electric
97
current into the thermal ink ribbon resistance at the

areas of the image dots causes the development of
heat. The heat melts the ink, enabling better ink
transfer onto the paper surface.
As the characters are formed by a dot-matrix,
various fonts, character sizes, special characters
and graphics can be printed with one printing head.
The noise level during operation is very low.
Multi-coloured printing may be carried out with
multi-coloured ink ribbons. The cost of these ribbons
is, however, high. The thermal printers themselves
are relatively inexpensive. The printing speeds of
these machines are in the range of 20 60 cps.
Feeding of Continuous Forms
Forms can only be printed to register when they are
correctly positioned in front of the printing head.
Shifting of any of the individual parts of a multi-part
set in the lengthways or cross direction must not take
place.
Typewriters use a system of small rollers, which
press the form sets against a carriage and transport
them by their rotation. Problems can arise as the
individual parts of multi-part form sets may easily
shift, resulting in copies being produced in the
wrong position.
Shifting of the individual parts of a

multi-part set during its travel around
the carriage
Feeding tractors, arranged on each side of

continuous forms, provide a solution to this problem.
Transport pins grip into the sprocket-holes of
continuous forms at 1/2 intervals. This enables
precise transportation through the printer, whilst, at
the same time, holding the forms in the correct
horizontal position.
Printers using fixed feeding tractors are rarely found
today, as they only allow forms of a certain width
to be printed. Should there be any variation
in the width of the forms, because of varying or
unfavourable climatic conditions, then problems such
as creasing or tearing at the sprocket-holes may be
experienced. For this reason, tractors are normally
manufactured so that they may be adjusted across
the width of the carriage. One or two tractors may
be found on either side of the form in the latter
case, they are positioned in front and behind the
printing head. More precise and secure transportation of continuous forms is possible, if several
tractor pins grip into the sprocket-holes at the
same time. This is important when feeding Multiflex
fasteners through the tractor, as they possess
enlarged sprocket-holes.
The geometry of the passage of continuous forms
through the printer is of great importance for
trouble-free running. High-speed printers normally
feed continuous forms from below, enabling the
forms to pass the printing head almost in a straight
line. Thereafter, the forms are delivered in a
relatively large curve. This method normally
guarantees trouble-free running.
98
Advantageous paper travel through a computer printer
However, in the case of compact computer printers,

continuous forms are often fed around a very small
carriage at an angle of 180 degrees. The carriage
may only possess a diameter of between 30 and
45 mm, with only one tractor, positioned either in
front or behind. This very sharp travel around
the carriage can cause problems with multi-part sets,
as the individual parts of the set may shift in the
lengthways direction. This is due to the varying
length of travel of the individual parts of the set
around the carriage.
Thus, it is beneficial when forms can be fed into
a computer printer from below, as this allows the
angle of paper travel around the carriage to be
reduced to 90 degrees. Computer printers have
recently been introduced with horizontal paper
travel through the machine. This is a good solution
to this problem, as restrictions concerning the
printing of bulky form sets, envelopes etc., no longer
apply.
The problem of form feeding in modern computer
printers has been solved by manufacturers by means
of flatbed technology and variable form-feeding
methods. Forms sets of up to 8 parts can now be
printed in register.
Single-sheets and unit sets may be printed when a
single-sheet feeding device is installed. These are
paper or form hoppers, which possess a mechanism
to separate and transport individual sheets or forms.
Single-sheet feeding devices receive electronic
instructions from a computer and deliver individual
sheets at exactly the right moment for printing.
Unit sets may also be printed.
When forms are designed, it is important to follow
the paper specifications issued by the machine
manufacturer. Generally speaking, it can be said
that paper grades possessing a substance of
80 g/m2 and somewhat higher substance than
standard writing paper grades are suitable.
During sheet feeding, friction of the individual sheets
against each other is also of importance.
The paper should be flat and possess serration-free
edges. When unit sets are printed, the method of
gluing must be considered. Perforations and punchholes can lead to a great amount of interruptions
during printing. We recommend that the advice
of an experienced forms manufacturer always be
sought and that trials be carried out.
Forms Guide: Further Processing of Continuous Forms
Further Processing
of Continuous
Forms
carried out one after another in one pass through

the machine. The operating systems used by fully
automatic forms processing lines are, in principle,
the same for all manufacturers.
Separators
When continuous forms have been printed,

additional processing is often necessary to ensure
that information can swiftly and correctly be
distributed to the intended recipients. In many cases,
the speed of dispatch and distribution of such
information is of great economic importance;
for example, forms used in the banking sector or
as invoices for goods. If commercial transactions
or payments are delayed, then interest for capital
involved may be lost.
Printed multi-part forms always require same kind of
further processing; this is only partly true for singlepart forms. Listing papers or statistics, produced as a
joined continuous stack of forms still possessing their
sprocket-hole edges, are normally only used internally for documentation purposes.
Therefore, further processing devices for forms are
an important and necessary, supplement to the
production of data-output. The most important
individual operations involved for continuous forms
are: separation of the individual webs of multi-part
forms, cutting the paper web into individual forms,
slitting and disposal of the sprocket-hole edges.
After these operations have been carried out, the
forms are finished as individual sheets of paper.
They may, for example, be processed by folding and
stuffing machines into envelopes, pass through a
franking machine and thus become ready for
postage. These operations may be carried out by
individual devices or a series of machines which are
combined, enabling a number of operations to be
These machines are used to separate the individual

paper webs of multi-part sets and to remove any
one-time carbon paper used in their production.
Following printing, the stack of forms passes through
a drawing-in device which normally consists of a
forms tractor with a barbed chain. The individual
paper webs are then fed through further sets of
drawing-in rollers and into the delivery station.
If the sprocket-hole edges are required for further
processing, they are first separated from the form
after the drawing-in unit. If they are not required
after separation, they can be removed by circular
rotating knives. Each individual station possesses a
spindle to rewind any carbon paper that may have
been used.
The paper webs are led downwards by guide plates.
The weakness of the web at the cross-perforation
and the feeding pressure applied to the web in the
lengthways direction, enables delivery of the forms
in fan-fold presentation. If necessary, the fan-folded
stacks of forms may be further processed.
Separators must also be able to separate lightweight
paper grades without difficulty. As paper substance
increases, the greater paper stiffness improves
runnability.
Heavier paper substances are more able to hold
down the cushion of air which builds up under the
sheets, producing better stacks of fan-folded forms.
Problems may be experienced with static electricity,
caused by the paper web sliding over the guide
Cut
Forms
tractor
Carbon paper
rewind
Separator
99
plate. When relative humidity is low in the processing room, this problem is made worse.
Better quality separating machines possess anti-static
devices however, their effectiveness is limited.
A simple, although short-term remedy in such cases
is the application of glycerine onto the guide plate.
Delivery can also be helped by the action of suction
applied to the paper web through holes drilled in
the guide plate. This can prove to be particularly
useful for lightweight paper grades.
Separators are normally constructed in modular
form and can be enlarged simply by adding further
operating stations. Separation takes place at speeds
of between 1 and 2.5 m/sec. This corresponds
approximately to a maximum of 30,000 x 12 forms
per hour. Shorter make-ready times and guaranteed,
interruption-free separation of paper substances between 45 g/m2 and 90 g/m2, are much more important than high maximum operating speeds. Any subsequent manual production of
fan-folds following interruptions in production is
cumbersome and time-consuming.
If forms containing one-time carbon paper are
separated, then questions of data-security must also
be considered, as one-time carbon paper functions
as an intermediate carrier of legible information.
Therefore, it may be necessary to remove the
one-time carbon paper from the forms so that it
can be immediately destroyed under supervision.
Following separation, the form stacks can be
distributed or the individual paper webs may be cut
into single form sets. Cutters and bursters are used
for this purpose.
Cutter
100
Cutter
Cutters
The individual paper webs are fed into a cutting
device to produce finished forms by cutting in the
cross and lengthways directions.
The stack of forms is fed into the cutter by means of
a tractor. The lengthways cut is performed by rotary
knives. The cross cut is performed by a chop-knife
which cuts along the width of a fixed bottom knife.
Electronic control enables various cutting lengths to

be used, independently of any cross-perforations.
Smaller and larger cuts may be made alternately, for
example, a twin cut can be used to remove crossperforations, so that a document with four cleanly
cut edges can be produced. Payment transfer forms,
attached to the main body of a form, can also be cut
in this manner. This method of cutting enables continuous forms to be produced which approximate to
the German Industry Standards length specification.
use of additional knives for lengthways cutting.
Delivery can be carried out in a stepped manner

or as stacks of forms. Documents of varying size can
be pre-sorted and delivered in groups.
A certain minimum distance between the crossperforations must be allowed, to ensure that bursting
can be carried out without interruption. The distance
corresponds to the minimum distance setting between the cylinder pairs.
The lengthways cut serves to remove the sprockethole edges and may also be used to divide the
paper web when, for example, forms are produced
two across. Several paper webs may be slit at the
same time. Cutters operate at a maximum speed of
about 1.5 m/sec, which is equivalent to approximately 16,000 x 12 forms per hour.
Bursters
Bursters perform a similar function to cutters, as they
convert the paper web into individual forms.
Bursting is carried out mechanically, by pulling the
paper web apart at the cross-perforations.
The sprocket-hole edges are not always necessary
and may already have been removed at the separator stage. However, forms may also be fed using
the sprocket-holes, which can later be removed by
rotary knives. Forms may also be separated by the
Bursting is carried out using two sets of driven

cylinders. The cylinders are operated by a device
which can variably set the distance between them.
The second set of cylinders rotates more quickly than
the first, applying traction to the paper web this
pulls the paper web apart at the cross-perforations.
A breaking cylinder can also help this process.
The selection of the correct cut/tie ratio for producing cross-perforations is of great importance. On
the one hand, the stiffness of the paper web should
be reduced sufficiently to enable forms production
and processing without premature tearing at the
cross-perforation. On the other hand, the paper web
should be sufficiently stiff to guarantee consistent
bursting.
Experienced continuous forms printers calculate
optimum values for selection of the cut/tie ratio for
the various paper grades they use. In order to make
precise tests, special measuring instruments have
been developed, which can measure the tensile
strength at the cross-perforation exactly. Perforating
blades which produce a narrow tie width should be
used in preference, as the paper ties remain after
bursting. Cutting the forms at the cross-perforation
gives the best possible appearance whilst, at the
Burster
101
same time, allowing reduced cutting tolerances

to be used.
Bursters operate at higher speeds than cutters.
High-speed bursters achieve a maximum speed of
3 m/sec, which corresponds to approximately
35,000 x 12 forms per hour. Bursters are produced
which dependant upon customer requirements,
range from simple desktop machines to very high
performance units if large amounts of forms need
to be processed. As operating noise levels are
relatively high, manufacturers attempt to reduce
noise by constructional means.
Bursters are usually installed where large numbers
of forms must be processed quickly, for example, in
the banking sector and in data-processing centres.
In comparison to bursters, cutters have the
advantage that they can produce documents cleanly
cut on all four sides and which approximate to
the sizes established by the German Industry
Standards. This is because they can be produced
without dependence upon cross-perforations.
They also allow a greater amount of flexibility for
forms design.
On the other hand, bursters offer higher standards
of performance. However, when documents are
processed, the forms length is determined by the
distance between the cross-perforations.
The table gives an overview of the operating
characteristics of bursters and cutters.
Operating
Comparison
Burster
Cutter
approx
3 m/s
approx
1 m/s
.5
Removal of
sprocket-hole edges
Tractor feeding
necessary
Separation of
multi-part sets
Sizes determined
by cross-perforations
Size may be
freely selected
Lengthways and
centre cut
Smooth edge
cutting
Stops at separation
Operating speed
102
Combined Devices
Combined devices have recently become available
for small to medium size users, which can carry out
the following operations in one pass through the
machine: separate carbonless multi-part sets of
up to 5 parts, cut off the sprocket-hole edges,
produce individual form sets by bursting at the
cross-perforation, deliver the individual documents
sorted into up to four delivery magazines.
The machines operate at speeds of between
2,500 to 5,000 x 12 forms per hour.
At the top of the range, complete postal lines are
available for very large forms processing
requirements which are able to prepare completed
forms for postage in one pass.
Continuous forms may be cut, collated, folded and
stuffed into envelopes.
Supplements may also be added and, if necessary,
several forms can be stapled together.
This enables, for example, the production of personalised cheque books for stuffing into envelopes
which may then be franked automatically. Furthermore, envelopes may be sorted and bundled with
the appropriate postal code.
The performance of such postal lines is in the region
of 3,000 to 12,000 envelopes per hour.
Forms Guide: Storage of Forms
Storage of Forms
Paper is a hygroscopic material which may quickly
take up or release moisture, depending upon the
prevailing climatic conditions. This can lead to
troublesome dimensional variations, especially when
very wide forms are used.
Furthermore, runnability characteristics may also
be adversely affected by static electricity, reduced
folding strength and curling. These physical paper
characteristics should be taken into consideration
when forms are stored.
Before use, forms should be stored in the original
packaging supplied by the printer. The packaging
materials used should be acclimatised to relative
humidity values of approximately 40 % 50 %;
if not, the forms will take up moisture from the
packaging material. Packaging materials must also
provide adequate protection against climatic
variations. Ideally, the temperature and moisture
content of the air in the storage and processing
rooms should be identical.
It is always beneficial to store a certain amount of
forms in the processing room before use. The correct
storage of forms is not only necessary for the period
prior to printing and further processing, but is also
of great importance when forms are stared in
archives. In addition to commercial reasons, forms
may have to be stored because legally binding regulations are applicable.
water pipes, open windows, damp walls, on the

floor or exposed to direct sunlight.
Forms in archives are used for reference purposes

when information is required concerning historical
transactions. Thus, forms provide the basic information for any decisions that subsequently may have
to be made. They are used, for example, to ensure
that adequate and correct argumentation be brought
against any invalid financial claim, in respect of a
past commercial transaction or contract.
They provide chronological documentation of all
commercial transactions carried out by a company.
For this reason, legislators have established legally
binding minimum periods of storage for commercial
correspondence, accounts documentation, order
books, inventories and balance sheets.
In the process of ageing, paper loses more and

more of its cohesive strength it becomes brittle
and, in extreme cases, may disintegrate.
At the same time, an ever-increasing amount of yellowing takes place. Traditional paper grades, produced using an acidic sizing agent, age because of
the slow formation of acid. The acid is formed by
the chemicals used for sizing and moisture present in
the paper. Environmental conditions can also
adversely influence this process.
Forms should be stored in an orderly and correct

manner. As the required duration of storage
increases, the correct method of storage becomes all
the more important. We consider correct storage
conditions as being in rooms suitable for paper
storage, preferably with temperatures ranging from
18 24 degrees Celsius and relative humidity values
of 40 % 60 %.
Unheated archives or rooms with generally high
temperatures or high air moisture content are not
suitable, as they accelerate the ageing process of the
paper.
Storage of forms under any of the following
conditions should be avoided: next to radiators,
It is always beneficial if the room is exclusively used

for paper storage. The store room should not contain
any chemicals or chemical vapours, materials containing plasticisers, rubber parts, fats etc.
Paper grades produced using a neutral sizing agent,

possess higher levels of resistance to ageing.
Therefore, most writing paper grades are produced
in this manner today.
In order to prevent any uncertainty, we would like to
state that if paper is stored correctly, resistance to
ageing can be expected for at least 25 years.
This also applies to paper grades produced using
an acidic sizing agent. On the basis of current
experience, there are no known reasons why paper
should not be sufficiently durable for 50 years or
more.
If mill-branded products are used and the advice
given above is followed, then there should be no
problems arising from the storage and premature
ageing of forms.
103
Forms Guide: Forms and the Environment
Forms and
the Environment
Modern businesses are becoming increasingly
aware of the unrelenting demands for environmental
protection. The condition of the world in which we
live is becoming a critical issue universally.
The quality and availability of natural resources
are being permanently reduced. At the same time
the world population is increasing.
The environmental situation can only be improved
when the self-healing properties of nature are allowed to function effectively. This requires a conscious
use of natural raw materials as well as environmentally friendly production, processing and disposal
using the greatest possible degree of materials recycling. This must be done under close scrutiny of the
materials and energy levels consumed at each
manufacturing stage.
The concept of environmental balance is gaining
increasing importance. The goal of the Cradle to
Grave principle is a continual process optimisation
wherever this is possible.
On this point we would like to consider both the
standard and speciality forms product used by the
end-user. It is our stated undertaking, in recognition
of the need for environmental protection, to take a
leading position in this area. In evidence of this
being no empty promise is the fact that Mitsubishi
HiTec paper Bielefeld GmbH was the first carbonless
manufacturer in the world to be awarded the Swan
the Scandinavian environmental label for the
complete Giroform range.
Paper
Totally unfairly, paper is always treated critically
when in the environmental spotlight. Paper is a
natural material made from a widely available and
renewable raw material. Inorganic minerals such as
chalk and china clay (Kaolin) are used as fillers and
essential components of the coatings to improve the
optical characteristics of the paper or, in the case
of carbonless papers in the production of the CF
reactive coating. The CF coating consists of a
reactive pigment, a Montmorillonite.
Water is used in the production of paper and is
often expensively prepared for use in the papermaking process, due to the water quality available
in the location of the mill being too poor.
Environmentally aware paper-makers return the
process water to the source in a better condition
than when it was taken.
The quantity of water used in the German papermaking industry is continually being reduced, and
currently counts amongst the lowest in the world.
In Germany, to have a paper-mill without its own
purification plant is unthinkable.
104
Essential energy for the manufacturing process is

produced in a self-sufficient manner and used with
regard to the energy/heat coupling principle.
This is particularly straightforward in the paper
industry, as the hot steam generated by the energy
production process can be used to heat the drying
cylinders.
The need for essential processing chemicals such as
bactericides, slime inhibitors, sizing agents etc.
remains unchanged, and these are used increasingly
sparingly. At the same time, in a strong partnership
with the suppliers, the environmental friendliness
of these materials is being improved.
In this regard, completely new methods are being
evolved such as the development of oxidative
bleachable dyes as used in our tinted Giroform
papers.
After its use, paper can be more easily re-used or
recycled than virtually any other product. In this
respect the German paper industry was, and is, a
world leader in its consumption of 60 % recycled
paper.
Pulp
Sulphite and sulphate pulps are characterised as
long and short fibre according to the species of
wood from which they are derived. In Europe, pulps
are today produced using wood from cultivated
woodland, and wood by-products from other
industries, all derived from properly managed
forestry. Following the natural law of renewal, for
every tree that is felled, 2 new trees are planted.
In Scandinavia, forests are felled when the supply
has reached its normal life expectancy. This policy,
having been applied for centuries, has resulted in a
greater forest population in the Scandinavian region
than ever before.
In central Europe forest thinnings are used for pulp
manufacture which cannot be utilised by any other
industry. Without this operation our forests would be
in a poor state as economics would prevent forest
thinning resulting in a decrease in forestation. Due
to the increase in recycled fibre manufacture, the
forestry industry is already in difficulty, as the paper
industry has a lower virgin fibre requirement than
before. Wood is a renewable resource which is
planted and harvested like any other agricultural
product. This fact should not be overlooked in the
overall environmental debate.
After debarking, the generated wood is cooked
in a closed system in either alkali or acid, according
to the process, in order to remove the lignin from the
fibre structure. The bark is used to fuel internal mill
fire heated boilers to generate the processing
energy. After the cooking operation, the pulp is
cleaned and bleached. The alkalis or acids used are
also cleaned and recycled.
Pulp bleaching has changed fundamentally in recent
years. This has arisen due to environmental
protection groups influencing the debate on the

water quality in Europe. At this point it should be
made explicitly clear that we in no way oppose or
disapprove of such organisations. We welcome
every sensible initiative and partnership, though are
not uncritical of all.
Bleaching of pulp is essential in order to achieve the
high levels of paper whiteness demanded by the end
user. Whereas, only a few years ago all bleaching
was done using chlorine gas, alternatives are now
available which are either totally free of chlorine, or
free of organo-chlorine compounds. The aim of this
change was to improve the water quality by a clear
improvement in the waste water discharged from the
cleaning after bleaching. The measurement of kg
AOX per tonne taken here is now the basis for pulp
classification. The distinction is made between
chlorine-free (TCF total chlorine free), low chlorine
(ECF elemental chlorine free) and pulps containing
chlorine.
AOX is a quantitative value and stands for
Adsorbable Organic Halogen (X), and is only
measurable in water. For finished paper, this value
cannot therefore be used. In this case only the value
OX can be determined, since the adsorbing
medium, water, is missing, and the halogen is fixed.
Papers with substances of 70 g/m2 and above
produced in Europe are now almost exclusively
made from TCF pulp. The same applies to coated
graphical papers. These papers are made
predominantly from sulphite pulps.
recycled papers due to its superior fibre quality.

The condition for a successful recycling is the use of
a suitable de-inking system which removes the
microcapsule coating from the reverse side of the CB
and CFB sheets. These microcapsules can cause
stickies on the wire and felts of the paper machine
resulting in web breaks and damage if not removed.
Our CF papers can be used easily and effectively in
recycling plants with the de-inking stage eliminated.
The residues do not present any environmental
hazard whatsoever. They can be incinerated or used
safely on waste disposal sites. Due to the fact that
our coatings do not contain any chlorinated
compounds, absolutely no harmful chemicals are
released on incineration.
The effect of waste disposal of our coatings is
environmentally neutral and does not affect the
ground or waste water in any way. Mitsubishi HiTec
paper Bielefeld GmbH is the first carbonless
manufacturer to use completely new oxygen
bleachable dyes to produce its main tints. The aim of
this was to achieve the same recyclability level as for
white papers.
The dyes used to produce our main tints, blue,
green, pink, and yellow are all bleachable by
chlorine-free methods. This means that these papers
can be treated the some as white papers in the
recycling process when a bleaching stage is involved
in the system. This is generally standard procedure
for modern processing plants.
The pulp industry is increasingly offering TCF

qualities from sulphite pulp due to the relative ease
with which such pulps can be bleached with
chlorine-free systems. Sulphite pulps possess a
significantly greater initial whiteness than sulphate
pulps, but with corresponding lower strength making
them suitable only for higher substance papers if
quality problems are to be avoided. Sulphate pulps
as, for instance, used in the production of Giroform,
possess sufficient strength for manufacturing base
paper as low as 47 g/m2. Such pulps are, however,
very brown in their unbleached state, and would
require a complete change in the processing technology to enable them to be bleached using chlorinefree substances.
Printing Inks
In general, the pulp industry is in a state of

reorganisation in order that increasingly more TCF
qualities will be available.
Modern inks fulfil the qualitative demands of colour

purity, intensity, light stability, resistance to mechanical influences, good printability, fast drying, but also
good de-inking ability in the paper recycling process.
We consider it erroneous to classify a product in

terms of environmental credentials, solely on the
basis of the pulp used in its manufacture. It is far
more important to take a comprehensive approach
to evaluate the complete picture. Only in this way
can a meaningful rating be established.
Recycling of Giroform
Our product Giroform can be recycled without
problem and is welcomed by manufacturers of
An important component in the consideration of the

environmental status of forms is the printing ink
used. Modern offset printing inks contain no dangerous substances and are, from a toxicological point
of view, completely harmless.
The ink vehicle of modern inks is generally produced
from renewable raw materials and consist of
materials such as flax oil, sunflower oil, soya oil,
rapeseed oil, cottonseed oil, as well as natural
resins. Only the pigments still come from the petrochemical industry and make up a proportion of
around 15 25 % of the total ink volume.
Environmental Labelling
Labelling in the form of a logo awarded to a product to demonstrate its environmental credentials, is
today seen as essential. Not only does this heighten
awareness of the environmental friendliness of the
product, but also serves to help the consumer to
demonstrate a responsible environmental stance in
choosing a product labelled in this way.
105
Unfortunately, in many cases, this is, however, only

partially true, as many of the labels are based
on fantasy rather than fact. In this regard there is
no external agency that oversees the criteria and
specification used to award certain labels.
We wish, therefore, at this point, to describe the
currently established credible labels in order to bring
some clarity to the end-user in choosing the correct
product.
Eco-Label
In 1991 the European Commission set up an ad-hoc
working group concerned with the establishment of
the criteria to be used to measure the environmental
friendliness of consumer goods. The aim was to
provide an environmental label, valid throughout
Europe, signifying particular environmental
standards. The system operated by assigning
product groups as the responsibility of individual
member countries of the E.U. This working party was
then supported by a technical expert group from a
second E.U. member country.
The product group in 1991 for paper products was
the responsibility of Denmark, supported by Great
Britain.
The Danish Environmental Protection Agency
published the first recommendations for the ecolabelling of paper products in 1991. In this study an
all-embracing rating system was described as a
foundation for the system.
The European commission did not see fit to
recommend this concept, and rejected it pending
further revisions. When the Eco-label for paper
products can now be expected is not known.
Swan
In 1989 the Nordic Council of Ministers from the
countries of Sweden, Norway, Finland and Iceland,
resolved to establish the joint Nordic labelling programme. This system incorporated the same essential criteria as the E.U. Eco-label, but applied in a
much simpler and unbureaucratic way.
The Swan is the award signifying an all-embracing
assessment of environmental responsibility, defined
using the Cradle to the Grave principle. That is, all
product-related processes are rated, right from the
raw material procurement through to materials recycling Cradle to Grave. The enforcement of the
assessment against the pre-set criteria is the responsibility of the SIS. SIS is the Swedish Institute for
Standardisation.
344
106
020
The assessment starts with evaluating the pulp

manufacturing process, with particular emphasis
on the resulting emissions to water and air. Next,
the process chemicals used in paper manufacture,
paper-mill emissions through to recycling, and
resulting residues are assessed. The assessment is
made using a points system.
The maximum allowable points total is set at the outset and must not be exceeded, otherwise the Swan
cannot be awarded. All measurements must be
made by qualified laboratories. Unusual assessments
can be arranged with the SIS.
Every 2 3 years the criteria for the Swan are
re-defined (tightened) and the allowable points total
reduced. This ensures that the environmental
protection afforded by the manufacturers is
continually being enhanced through innovations.
It is the declared intention to only award the Swan
to a proportion of 20 30 % of all producers to
maintain its attractiveness. The control succeeds due
to the narrowness of the allowed criteria.
The Blue Angel
This symbol, well known in Germany, is administered
by the RAL Institute in cooperation with the Environmental Government Agency in Berlin.
The system which this symbol represents emphasises
particular, general special environmentally friendly
regarded issues and designates them to the award.
For recycled paper this symbol has been used in the
paper industry for some time.
The Blue Angel does not represent an all-embracing
assessment of a products environmental friendliness.
Forms Guide: Index
Index
Ageing 17, 22, 103
Ageing resistance to 22
Ash content 14
Automatic character recognition 31 ff.
Bar-codes 36 f
Ball-point pens 91
Binding agents 21
Blind inks 32, 34
Block-setting 66
Blueprinting 23
Bursters 101
Carbonless papers:
advantages and disadvantages in use 23 ff.
base paper 20
characteristics 21 f.
colour reaction systems 19 ff.
copies 19
mechanical systems 19
self-contained systems 19 ff.
single-sheet system 19 f.
special forms applications 41 ff.
systems used for production of the copy 19
two-sheet system 19 f.
CB sheet grade 19
CF sheet grade 19
CFB sheet grade 19
CF spot process 89
Carbon printing 87
Carrier-band machines 80
Carrier-band sets 31
Centralised text composition 66
Check-list for forms design 58
Classification of the individual areas of a form 59 ff.
CTMP Chemical-thermo-mechanical pulp 16
Collators 72
Composition 66
Compressibility 12
Computer printers 92 ff.
Company logos 60 f.
Continuous carrier bands
envelopes 38
labels 39
forms 30 ff.
Copyability 15, 22
Crash printing 86
Crimp-lock forms fastening 84
Cut/tie ratio 84
Cutters 100
Damping solution 54
Damping unit 54
Datamailers 37
De-inking process 17
Desensitisation 42, 88 ff.
Digital printing 55
Dimensional stability 13
DIN German Industry Standards 47
Direct imaging process 56
Discrete wage envelopes 38, 43
Document reading 31 f.
Dot-matrix 92, 93
EAN Bar-code (European Article Number) 36

Electrophotographic printing 56
Fanlock forms fastening 85
Fibre and felt-tip pens 91
File-hole punching 82
Forms
and the environment 104 ff.
caliper 12, 41
carrier band 43
completion 99 ff.
continuous form sizes 48 ff.
credit card vouchers 45
design 58 f.
discrete wage envelopes 38, 43
fastening and fasteners, fixed and flexible 84 ff.
feeding through computer printers 98
for controlling production processes 43
for correspondence purposes 42
for laser printers 41
for optical character recognition 44
for use with computer printers with limitations
on the caliper of the forms set 41
for use with ribbon less document imprinters 45
further processing of 101
glued unit sets 29
lengths 48
multi-part 19 ff., 29 ff., 41 ff.
market 11
packaging 103
pads 29
planning layout 59 ff.
printed upon the reverse side 42
production 71 ff.
sets 29 ff., 41 ff.
single-part forms 29
snap-apart sets 29 f.
standard sizes 48
storage 103
text 63
tractors 98
unit sets 29
widths 48
with desensitised areas 42 f.
with plastic cards 38
with self-adhesive labels produced from
carbonless paper 45
Ghost image from the use of a black ball-point pen 22
Giroform 22 ff., 44 ff.
Giroform DEKA CB 44 f.
Giroform ULTRA 42
Giroform LASER 41
Gluing fan-apart 73
Gluing fastening forms sets with cold adhesives 85
Gluing strip 85
Groundwood pulp 16
Hammerlock forms fastening 85
Halftone screens 66 ff.
Heidelberg 55
Hot fixing 17 f., 96
Hot carbon printing 87
Hot-melt adhesives 85
107
Forms Guide: Index
Imaging station 56
Indigo 56
Ink transfer 51 ff.
Ink-jet printing 96 f.
bubble-jet technology 97
continuous process 96
drop-on-demand process 97
Laser scanners 54
Lightfastness of the copy 22
Lines 66 ff.
Look-through 15
Magnetic strips 36
Marker pens 22
MICR magnetic ink character recognition 32, 34 ff.
Microcapsules 20 f.
Microfilming 21
Moisture content 12
Multiflex forms fasteners 85
Nordic Environmental label 106
Numbering 86
OCR optical character recognition 33 ff.
OMR optical mark reading 32 f.
Opacity 14
Optical characteristics 14
Optically conspicuous areas of forms 60
PCS value 34
Paper grades
coated for forms printing 18 ff.
colour reaction 19 ff.
dry gummed 27
for forms printing 11 ff.
for digital printing 56
for ink jet printing 25
for OCR applications 18
for photocopying and non-impact printing 17
for thermal transfer printing 27
part-mechanical 16
recycled 16 f., 104
synthetic fibre 18
uncoated for forms printing 15 ff.
web offset 25
woodfree 15 f.
Paper sizes and standardisation 49
Paper standards for forms paper grades 49
Perforation cross and longitudinal 76, 83
Perforations micro 84
Photocopying 21
Photographic envelopes 38
Photo-typesetting 66
Plasticisers 23
Plate gap 62
Printability 14
Printing cylinders 48, 75
Printing inks 51 ff. 70
Printing inks and the environment 105
Printing machines 51 ff. 71 ff.
band 93
chain 93
computer printers 92 ff.
continuous forms, single-web 74 ff.
continuous forms, multi-web 78
daisy wheel 91
108
dot-matrix 93
impact 92 ff.
ink-jet 96
ion-deposition 95
LCS 96
LED 96
laser 17, 94
line 92 ff.
magnetic 95
non-impact 92, 94 ff.
pack-to-pack 79
page 92
rotary 73 ff.
serial 92
Printing plates 51 ff.
Printing processes 51 f.
computer to plate 54
crash 86
digital 55
direct letterpress 52 f.
direct thermal 97
electrophotographic 56
flexographic 53
gravure 56
indirect letterpress 52
ink-jet 96 f.
planographic 51, 53
platen 51
offset 53 ff.
screen 57
thermal transfer 27, 92, 97
waterless offset 55
Printing sheet stocks 71 ff.
Printing units 51 ff.
Pulp classification 49
Pulp and the environment 106, 107
Punching 82
Reading magnetic type 35
Recycled paper grades 16 f., 104
Recycling of Giroform 105
Reel collators 80
Relative humidity 12
Roller-ball pens 91
Rotary printing 52
Rubber blanket 55
Sandwich self-adhesive labels 27
Scanners 54
Scramble designs 89
Self-adhesive labels 27, 39
Self-contained carbonless papers 19
Separators 99
Sheet formation 15
Sheet sizes 47
Sizes Imperial measurements 48 ff.
Smoothness 14
Snap-apart sets 29 f.
Solvents 22
Spacers 21
Specific volume 12
Sprocket-hole edges 81 ff.
Stack collators 79
Stiffness 13
Substance 12
TMP thermo-mechanical pulp 16
Forms Guide: Index
Tensile strength 13
Tinting 87
Toner 94
Typefaces 64 ff.
CMC-7 35
E-13-B 34 ff.
OCR-A 33
OCR-B 33
sizes 65
style 64
various kinds 64
width 65
Typewriters 91 ff.
daisy-wheel 91 f.
golf ball 91
lever system 91
Typography 58, 64 ff.
Unjustified setting 66
Variable data 56
Whiteness 14
Woodfree paper grades 15 f.
Xeikon 56
Xerography 94
109
Forms Guide: Source of Illustrations
Source of Illustrations
The following companies were kind enough to submit
illustrations to aid visualisation of the material discussed
in this handbook:
BASF, Ludwigshafen
page 52
Bwe Informations- und Systemtechnic GmbH, Augsburg
page 100
A.B. Dick GmbH, Eschborn
page 78
Elba Regalanlagen GmbH, Wuppertal
page 103
Form All GmbH, Beerfelden
page 72, 76, 78
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Heidelberg
page 72
Mller Martini AG, Zofingen, Schweiz /
Grapha GmbH, Ostfildern
page 74, 77
Polychrome GmbH, Osterode
page 55
Schnbchler AG, Affoltern am Albis, Schweiz
page 68, 69
110
Forms Guide: Bibliography
Bibliography
Collective authors:
Lehrbuch der Papier- und Kartonerzeugung
VEB Fachbuchverlag Leipzig,
1987
Bayerl, G., Pichol, K.:
Papier Produkt aus Lumpen, Holz und Wasser
Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH,
Reinbek bei Hamburg,
1986
Bosshard, H. R.:
Technische Grundlagen der Satzherstellung
Verlag des Bildungsverbandes
Schweizerischer Typografen BST, Bern,
1980
Davidshofer, L., Zerbe, W.,:
Satztechnik und Gestaltung
Bildungsverband Schweizerischer Buchdrucker,
1954
Grosse, J.:
Die Bestform des Vordrucks
Polygraph Verlag GmbH, Frankfurt am Main,
1975
Hermanies, E.: Polygrafische Technik
VEB Fachbuchverlag Leipzig,
1978
Linke, E.:
Der Vordruck Gestaltungstechnik und Typografie
Druckerei und Verlag Hubert von Ameln, Ratingen,
1985
Loibl, D.:
OCR-Belege Kriterien und Prfmethoden zur
Beurteilung von Endlosvordrucken Bundesverband Druck E. V.,
1977
Teschner, H., Wei, B.:
Offsettechnik Technologie in der Druckindustrie
Fachschriften-Verlag, Fellbach bei Stuttgart,
1982
Ullmanns Encyklopdie der technischen Chemie:
Papier, Faserrohstoffe, Herstellung etc.
Verlag Chemie GmbH, Weinheim,
1980
111

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Forms Guide

Forms Guide: Introduction

Nevertheless, there still remains a wide range of

Forms Guide: Contents

Paper Grades used for the

Uncoated paper grades used

Synthetic fibre paper grades

Coated paper grades for forms production

Carbonless paper copying systems

Characteristics of carbonless paper

Special types of forms

Special Forms Applications using

Paper Sizes and Standardisation

Advantages of carbonless paper

Paper standards for forms paper grades

Classification of the main

Special paper grades for ink-jet printing

Paper grades suitable for

The principles of printing and

Dry gummed paper grades

Sell adhesive label paper grades

The Various Types of Forms

Glued unit sets

Continuous forms sizes

Forms Guide: Contents

Direct Image Process

Completion with handwriting

Completion with typewriters

Check-List for Forms Design

Classification of the individual areas of a form

Classification of the printing systems used

Selection criteria for computer printers

Line and halftone screen areas

Use of printing inks

Printing sheet stocks

Printing reel stocks

The conversion of continuous forms and

The Individual Components of Forms

The sprocket-hole edges

Standard expressions and abbreviations

Impact printing systems

Non-impact printing systems

Feeding of continuous forms

Forms and the Environment

Forms set fasteners

Coloration of white paper grades

Partial prevention of the production

The Blue Angel

Forms Guide: Forms Definition and Purpose

A general differentiation can be made between

multi-part forms produce the required number of

Forms Guide: Forms Definition and Purpose

Special types of forms can, when required, ensure

use of desensitising ink, which prevents the

Therefore forms are a cost-saving, user-friendly,

Forms Guide: Paper Grades used for the Production of Forms

The demand for forms has also undergone a

The surface of a forms paper grade

Modern high-speed printing presses, designed for

The delivery section of a continuous forms press

Paper grades used for forms printing must be able to

Forms Guide: Paper Grades used for the Production of Forms

some time namely DIN 6721 T2 for carbonless

This is regrettably often the case for paper grades