A tacky contaminant particle originating from glues, tapes, and labels in recycled wastepaper furnish. Stickies agglomerate in the pulp and deposit on machine wires, felts, and calender rolls. When they press into the paper web, they create translucent windows, pull out fibers to leave holes, or cause breaks on the machine, severely degrading the visual quality and opacity of the sheet.
We had a massive break on the dry end because a sticky built up on the first calender roll.
Stickies are notoriously difficult to measure optically because they often blend in with the sheet until they pass through a hot nip and melt into a translucent spot.
Also heard as
- stickies
Related terms
Furnish
The recipe of pulps, fillers, dyes and chemicals that make up a paper grade's stock.
Dirt count
Measure of visible dark specks in pulp or paper, reported as equivalent black area per unit area.
Break
Tear of the running paper web on the machine, which sends everything to broke until the sheet is rethreaded.