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C2  ·  24 words

Papermaking in French

A fibre put into water that comes back out as an endless band.

Practise this list

From these 24 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.

More about this list

The eleventh entry is la main du papier, and it is the one term on this page an English reader can misread without ever suspecting it. The rest of the list announces itself as technical. This one produces a phrase that looks like ordinary English: « the main » of a thing is its principal part, so la main du papier reads as the chief property of the sheet, a heading rather than a measurement — and whatever sentence follows will still make sense, which is why nobody stops to check. The two words share their spelling and nothing else. French la main is the hand: serrer la main, fait main, donner un coup de main, haut la main. At the machine that hand has become a measurement, the bulk of the sheet, thickness weighed against weight, which is what a printer judges by lifting a ream and what makes one book fatter than another of the same length. Say « bulk » and never « main »; the adjective is principal in French.

The words

Verb (1)

triturerto pulpVerbC2
On triture la pâte dans une grande cuve.A vat and a rotor are all it takes to pulp the stock.

Noun (f) (13)

Grammar for these: Definite article: le, la, les · Indefinite article: un, une

la pâte à papierthe paper pulpNoun (f)C2
La pâte à papier arrive en balles compressées.Paper pulp is bought by the tonne and kept dry.
la caisse de têtethe headboxNoun (f)C2
La caisse de tête répartit la pâte sur toute la largeur.The sheet begins to exist in the headbox.
la section des pressesthe press sectionNoun (f)C2
La section des presses enlève l’eau par pression.The press section removes water that would otherwise have to be boiled off.
la partie sécheriethe dryer sectionNoun (f)C2
La partie sécherie consomme le plus d’énergie.Almost the whole energy bill is spent in the dryer section.
la calandrethe calenderNoun (f)C2
La calandre lisse la surface entre deux rouleaux.A sheet leaves the calender smoother and slightly thinner.
la bobine de papierthe paper reelNoun (f)C2
La bobine de papier est pesée avant de partir.Every paper reel travels with its own numbered label.
la casse de la feuillethe web breakNoun (f)C2
La casse de la feuille arrête toute la machine.One web break costs an hour of production.
la main du papierthe bulk of the paperNoun (f)C2
La main du papier fait paraître le livre plus épais.Two reams of identical weight can differ in bulk.
l’opacitéthe opacityNoun (f)C2
L’opacité empêche de lire le verso par transparence.Without opacity the print on one side shows through to the other.
la charge minéralethe mineral fillerNoun (f)C2
La charge minérale remplit les creux entre les fibres.Mineral filler costs less than fibre and brightens the sheet.
l’eau blanchethe white waterNoun (f)C2
L’eau blanche retourne au circuit.White water is collected under the wire and put back into the circuit.
la fibre de récupérationthe recovered fibreNoun (f)C2
La fibre de récupération raccourcit à chaque tour.Recovered fibre survives only a limited number of rounds.
la ligninethe ligninNoun (f)C2
La lignine jaunit à la lumière.Lignin is what holds the fibres together in the living tree.

Noun (m) (10)

Grammar for these: Definite article: le, la, les · Indefinite article: un, une

le raffinage de la pâtethe refining of the pulpNoun (m)C2
Le raffinage de la pâte ouvre les fibres.Refining decides how well the fibres will bond to one another.
le grammagethe grammageNoun (m)C2
Le grammage se règle à la caisse de tête.Grammage is declared in grams for every square metre.
le collage du papierthe sizing of the paperNoun (m)C2
Le collage du papier l’empêche de boire l’encre.Without sizing, ink spreads along the fibres.
le papier casséthe brokeNoun (m)C2
Le papier cassé repart directement dans la cuve.Broke never leaves the mill; it goes back into the vat.
le désencragethe deinkingNoun (m)C2
Le désencrage sépare l’encre de la fibre.Deinking carries the ink away in the foam.
le procédé kraftthe kraft processNoun (m)C2
Le procédé kraft donne une fibre solide et foncée.Almost every cement sack on a building site comes out of the kraft process.
le blanchiment de la pâtethe bleaching of the pulpNoun (m)C2
Le blanchiment de la pâte se fait aujourd’hui sans chlore élémentaire.Bleaching gains brightness and loses a little strength.
le tuilage de la feuillethe curl of the webNoun (m)C2
Le tuilage de la feuille apparaît quand un côté sèche plus vite.A sheet that will not lie flat on the table is curling.
l’arrachage des fibresthe picking of the fibresNoun (m)C2
L’arrachage des fibres salit les rouleaux d’impression.Picking is what a printer complains about when the surface will not hold.
le taux de cendresthe ash contentNoun (m)C2
Le taux de cendres révèle la quantité de charge.Burn a sample, weigh what is left, and there is the ash content.

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