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Main

English translation: hand. (quality of paper) Paper's rigidity,thickness, inertia,sound when moved

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:Main (quality of paper)
English translation:hand. (quality of paper) Paper's rigidity,thickness, inertia,sound when moved
Entered by: Stephanie Ezrol

08:21 Dec 16, 2009
French to English translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Paper / Paper Manufacturing
French term or phrase: Main
Talking about paper quality:
"Elle possède une ***"main"*** élevée c'est-à-dire une excellente tenue et une bonne résistance."
Explanation from client:
Le terme "main" renvoie à un vocabulaire de papier. On parle de "main élevée" quand le papier a une telle tenue qu'on a une impression d'épaisseur supérieure. Un papier de qualité 80g/m2 parait beaucoup plus épais qu'un papier médiocre de même grammage
Fiona McBrearty
Local time: 22:10
hand
Explanation:
From a website on inkjet paper:

"Hand
But, quite often, if you take two papers of the same surface weight, you will notice that they do not feel the same at all. This overall feeling is called the hand of the paper.

This is the firmness of the paper that not only comes from the quantity of cellulosic fibers (or plastic) but from:

its rigidity
its thickness
its inertia when moved
the sound it makes when handled
As a matter of fact, a paper may be very bulky and then thicker for the same surface weight. It is not immeditely perceptible, but a print house (and you) can use this characteristic to thicken a book or a booklet without changing neither the number of pages nor the overall mass of the book."

"Hand" is the standared printing and paper industry term. I worked in a stationery engraving firm in the 1970s and this is the term we used. It may be less used today, but it is still in use in English in this way.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2009-12-16 13:52:57 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here is one more:

"We want every book that comes out under the Olympian Publishing heading to be more than just a pile of papers- we focus on the hand of the paper, the weight, the surface, the translucence, and compare these factors to the material soon-to-be impressed onto their surface. We try to find print houses that will do things that they might not have been asked to do in a hundred years or so, and pay whatever it costs to retool their setups to make something old new again."

http://centuryguild.wordpress.com/
Selected response from:

Stephanie Ezrol
United States
Local time: 16:10
Grading comment
OK then! Thanks
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +2hand
Stephanie Ezrol
4 +2bulk
Bourth (X)


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


58 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
bulk


Explanation:
MAIN [bulk]
Rapport entre l'épaisseur de la feuille, exprimée en micromètres, et son grammage. On dit d'un papier ou d'un carton qu'ils ont de la main lorsque leur épaisseur paraît élevée compte tenue de leur poids (ou grammage) ; en d'autres termes, lorsqu'ils donnent au toucher une impression d'épaisseur. Dans ce cas ils sont qualifiés de "bouffants", ou encore "de bruts de machine". ...

Not to be confused with MAIN DE PAPIER [quire]
Vingtième de rame ...
[Dict. technique du Papier et des Encres, jean-Claude Faudouas, Eyrolles; 160 francs in 1991]

bulk [ ... ] (2) The measured thickness of paper relative to its weight. In the USA bulk is expressed as a bulk factor, the number of pages that make a thickness of one inch.
[Printing and Publishing Terms, Martin H. Manser, Chambers Commercial Reference, 36F10 in 1992]

bulk (Paper) A measure of the reciprocal of the density of paper, being the ratio of thickness to substance. A loose synonym for thickness.
[Chamber's Sci.&Tech Dict.]

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2009-12-16 09:21:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

For "complétude", Chambers was 237 francs at Brentano's in 1989.

Bourth (X)
Local time: 22:10
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Alison Sabedoria (X)
40 mins
agree  Tony M: Yes, this is the suggestion also given in mainstream R+C.
1722 days
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
hand


Explanation:
From a website on inkjet paper:

"Hand
But, quite often, if you take two papers of the same surface weight, you will notice that they do not feel the same at all. This overall feeling is called the hand of the paper.

This is the firmness of the paper that not only comes from the quantity of cellulosic fibers (or plastic) but from:

its rigidity
its thickness
its inertia when moved
the sound it makes when handled
As a matter of fact, a paper may be very bulky and then thicker for the same surface weight. It is not immeditely perceptible, but a print house (and you) can use this characteristic to thicken a book or a booklet without changing neither the number of pages nor the overall mass of the book."

"Hand" is the standared printing and paper industry term. I worked in a stationery engraving firm in the 1970s and this is the term we used. It may be less used today, but it is still in use in English in this way.



--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2009-12-16 13:52:57 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Here is one more:

"We want every book that comes out under the Olympian Publishing heading to be more than just a pile of papers- we focus on the hand of the paper, the weight, the surface, the translucence, and compare these factors to the material soon-to-be impressed onto their surface. We try to find print houses that will do things that they might not have been asked to do in a hundred years or so, and pay whatever it costs to retool their setups to make something old new again."

http://centuryguild.wordpress.com/

Example sentence(s):
  • This raises the question of whether the alkaline reserve could be adjusted slightly to retain more of the original "hand" of the paper while still meeting the Library's specifications.

    Reference: http://cool.conservation-us.org/byorg/lc/massdeac/bennett.ht...
    Reference: http://www.roumazeilles.net/news/en/wordpress/2006/04/24/ink...
Stephanie Ezrol
United States
Local time: 16:10
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
OK then! Thanks

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Travelin Ann: this is term I know - perhaps it is more US-centric
3 mins
  -> Thanks Ann.
agree  Chris Hall
1 hr
  -> Thanks Chris. Good to have the UK weighing in.
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