The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001-07.
calendering
a finishing process by which paper, plastics, rubber, or textiles are pressed into sheets and smoothed, glazed, polished, or given a moiré or embossed surface. The material is passed through a series of rollers; the resulting surface depends on the pressure exerted by the rollers, on their temperature, composition, and surface designs, and on the type of coating or glaze previously applied to the material to be calendered.
