Calender

A calender is a series of hard pressure rollers used to finish or smooth a sheet of material such as paper, textiles, rubber, or plastics.

[3] Calender mills for pressing serge were apparently introduced to the Netherlands by Flemish refugees from the Eighty Years' War in the 16th and 17th centuries.

[4] In eighteenth century China, workers called "calenderers" in the silk- and cotton-cloth trades used heavy rollers to press and finish cloth.

[5] Chaffee worked with Charles Goodyear with the intention to "produce a sheet of rubber laminated to a fabric base".

With the expansion of the rubber industry the design of calenders grew as well, so when PVC was introduced the machinery was already capable of processing it into film.

The soft roller is slightly non-cylindrical, tapered in diameter toward both ends, to widen the working nip and distribute the specific pressure on the paper more evenly.

A supercalender is a stack of calenders consisting of alternating steel- and fiber-covered rolls through which paper is passed to increase its density, smoothness and gloss.

Calenders can also be applied to materials other than paper and textiles when a smooth, flat surface is desirable.