Printing defect characterized by broken halftone dots, the result of incomplete image transfer from the printing plate or blanket to the paper surface. Breaks (in gravure printing called snow, speckle, or skips) are usually caused by surface or structural characteristics of paper (such as wild formation and low compressibility and conformability) preventing the alteration of the paper's surface contour to the extent required for the plate, blanket or gravure cylinder to completely contact the inked surface.
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