A form of piling characterized by an accumulation of paper debris (such as lint, particles of filler, or dislodged bits of coating) that collects on the image areas of the blanket or plate and collects ink, and the mixture of debris and ink makes the ink tackier and attracts more debris. If the image area piling becomes severe enough, it can affect print quality, especially if it occurs in halftones. A chief cause of image area piling is using a paper with low pick resistance, some of the piling being bits of paper or coatings picked from the paper surface by the ink. Excessively tacky inks also contribute to image area piling. (See also Piling.)
|