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Storage & Acclimatisation of Paper

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Storage
Store your paper in a cool dry place - Paper is a living, natural material and its properties may change slightly with variations in humidity and temperature. All paper likes stable conditions and when stored at room temperature in normal humidity, it stays in perfect condition for a long time - and ready to use.

Don’t expose your paper to heat - Next to a radiator or in direct sunlight is not the place for storing paper. Paper’s copying and printing properties are affected not only by excessive humidity but also by excessive dryness.

Always store paper flat, in its own packaging - Boxes and ream wrappings have been designed specifically to protect the paper against moisture, dirt and damage during transportation and storage. Keep the paper in its own package - even if it is not full - until it is used. This will ensure excellent print results every time.

Packaging protects the paper - The polyethylene seal on ream wrappers offers many benefits. Dirt or plastic particles cannot get on to the surface of the paper, whilst inside the wrapping, and static electricity is unable to build up across the surface of the paper.

Paper needs time to adjust to the surrounding temperature and humidity - Problems can be avoided when using paper if the pallets of paper stored elsewhere, possibly in the cold, are allowed to adjust to a new room temperature and humidity before use.

The time it takes a full pallet of paper to adjust to a new environment depends on the difference in temperature between the store-room and the new surroundings.

Acclimatisation timings
The table below gives guidelines for paper brought into a room with an ambient temperature of 20º Centigrade (68º Fahrenheit).

Stored at 20ºC/68ºF - pallet =   0 hours - box =   0 hours
Stored at 15ºC/59ºF - pallet = 14 hours - box =   3 hours
Stored at 10ºC/50ºF - pallet = 26 hours - box =   7 hours
Stored at   5ºC/41ºF - pallet = 38 hours - box = 11 hours
Stored at   0ºC/32ºF - pallet = 75 hours - box = 21 hours

Straight from the packet
Paper ready to use straight from the packet - To avoid generating static electricity, or damaging the precisely cut edges, do not fan the paper or tap a stack of paper on a table or other surface, to level the end of the stack. Copier and laser paper is at its best when taken from the ream wrapper and placed straight into the copier or laser printer paper tray, or holder.

Related Sections

	Paper & Envelope Sizes
	Pre-Print Guidelines
	Printing Processes

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