What is paper grain direction?
Grain direction is the way most of the fibers in a sheet of paper line up; paper folds, bends and tears more easily along the grain than across it.
What it means for your file
A sheet is grain long when the grain runs along its longer side and grain short when it runs along the shorter one. Folds parallel to the grain are cleaner and crack less, and book pages turn and lie flatter when the grain runs parallel to the spine.
A fold that has to go across the grain needs scoring first.
An example
Fold a piece of card both ways: one fold goes down easily and stays crisp, the other resists and its surface cracks. The easy fold runs with the grain. On a grain-long letter sheet the grain runs along the 11 in side, so the folds of a letter tri-fold brochure, which run parallel to the short side, go against it. That is why printers choose the sheet with the folds in mind.
A common mistake
Leaving grain to chance on a short run. Folded cards, folders and perfect-bound books crack, warp or refuse to lie flat if the stock is cut the wrong way, however few are printed. When a piece folds or binds, ask the printer to run the grain parallel to the main fold or the spine, and to score heavier stocks as well.
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