What is NCR printing?

What is NCR Paper?

NCR stands for No Carbon Required. It’s a special type of paper used for forms which makes multiple copies of what is written. Anything from 2-part up to 4-part NCR can be produced.

In the old days, you would use a carbon sheet in between 2 sheets of paper to write on, and the carbon would leave marks on the second sheet. NCR paper has a special coating on the paper which means that it marks itself when pressure is applied. This is a lot cleaner and less messy.

NCR is good for printing order forms, receipt pads, invoices, school incident / detention slips, dental records, medical / tattoo consent forms, evaluation forms, waste transfer notes, duty of care sheets, defect reports, and car rental agreements.

What is an NCR set?

An NCR ‘set’ refers to the sheets that make up a single form. If you have a 2-part (duplicate) set, then you would have a white top sheet and a yellow copy sheet.

A 3-part (triplicate) set comprises of a white, yellow and pink sheet.

A 4-part (quadruplicate) set comprises of a white, blue, yellow and pink sheet.

The number of sets you order would be the number of forms that you want.

Pads vs Individual Sets

The vast majority of our NCR printing is glued into pads. We can though glue into ‘individual loose sets’ instead of pads for no extra charge.

Pads comprise of 50 sets, and are glued on one edge on to a cardboard back, and supplied with separator boards. Separator boards are used to prevent any writing going through to the sets below. Please note that each set is torn out as it is used; they do not stay fixed in the pad.

‘Individual Sets’ are glued with a special glue which sticks together the parts of each set only (eg: the white and yellow sheets, in a 2-part set). If you ordered 100 sets of 2-part NCR forms, then you would receive 100 pieces.

This can be more convenient if you want to hand out forms to lots of different people, or if a pad would be too bulky.

If you would like your NCR printing glued into sets, please send us an email

How does numbering work?

Sequential numbering is when you need each form to have a unique reference. This is important for invoices (which must be unique), order forms, report sheets, or anything that needs to be kept and recorded.

All we need to know is the starting number, and some instructions for where you would like it placed. We’ll then email you a preview of how it will print out (a ‘PDF proof’).

We know all these terms can be a bit confusing so if you need any help, feel free to call us on 01895 443530.

You also don’t have to order online –feel free to email your file and order details to and we’ll reply with a quote and PDF proof.