Grain Long vs Grain Short
GRAIN DIRECTION
Grain direction refers to the direction of the paper fibres in a sheet of paper. The grain direction is determined by the movement of the paper through the papermaking machine. The fibres align themselves parallel to the direction of the forming wire.
Long grain refers to papers that have the paper grain running down the long edge of the paper. It is typically the second number in a paper's dimension that the grain runs along. So 11x17" would be grain long because the grain runs along the 17" length of the paper (the second dimension).
Here is an example of a grain long paper:
It is described as 20x26 because the grain runs with the second (26") dimension
Short grain refers to papers that have the paper grain running down the short edge of the paper. 17x11" would be grain short because the grain runs along the 11" length of the paper (the second dimension).
40x20 would be grain short because the grain runs with the second dimension
BINDING and GRAIN DIRECTION
When pages are to be bound (i.e. stitched or perfect bound books) the grain should run parallel to the binding edge. This quite often will determine which type of paper you want to use.
Digital books are usually run on GRAIN SHORT paper because they run on 17x11, 18x12or 13x9 paper - 2up at a time:
Because we want the grain to run with the spine (the 11inch side) a grain short paper is used. Typically 17x11, 18x12or 13x9 will all be grain short.
4up press (8p Signature) - (i.e. 26")
A conventional litho press in a 4up formation typically runs on GRAIN LONG paper:
Because we want the grain to run with the spine (the 11inch side) a grain long paper is used.
8up press (16p Signature) - (i.e. 40")
A conventional litho press in an 8up formation typically runs on GRAIN SHORT paper:
Because we want the grain to run with the spine (the 11inch side) a grain short paper is used.
IQ Grain Long control
In IQ you can set the GRAIN DIRECTION by describing the dimension using the grain as the SECOND DIMENSION
40x20 = Grain Short
20x26 = Grain Long
17x11 = Grain Short
The grain is always the second dimension, so it is "SHORT" if the second dimension is the shorter of the two, if it is "LONG" the second dimension would be the longer of the two.
The GRAIN LONG button is simply a visual flag most of the time and doesn't do anything. The exception is for stocks that are listed in grain short and you want to reverse them - it will override the dimension order (ie. from 17x11 to 11x17) to make it grain long even though it is stated as grain short.
Another important note is that the settings for PORTRAIT and LANDSCAPE in the Production Method Override of the quote will not be affected by grain.
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