The ratio of the density of a substance to the density of another standard substance. For liquids, such as printing inks, specific gravity is the ratio of the weight per unit volume of the liquid to the weight of an equal volume of water. Specific gravity is an important factor to take into account when estimating the amount of ink required for a particular print job. A printing ink with a specific gravity of 1.5 will cover twice as much substrate per pound than will an ink with a specific gravity of 3.0, for example (all other factors, such as temperature, being equal).
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