Paperikuvan

Paperikuvan is a Finnish noun referring to an image that is printed, drawn, or reproduced on paper. In everyday Finnish, the more common term is paperikuva; paperikuvan is the genitive form of that noun and appears in phrases such as paperikuvan laatu (the quality of the paper image) or paperikuvan restaurointi (the restoration of the paper image).

Etymology and form: Paperikuvan is formed from the compound paperi (paper) and kuva (image), with the possessive/genitive suffix -n indicating ownership or association. This makes paperikuvan function as a noun phrase in contexts describing a specific image rather than a general concept.

Usage and context: The term is mainly found in archival descriptions, museum catalogs, art-historical writing, and publishing where it is important to distinguish a traditional printed image on paper from photographs on film or from digital images. In modern Finnish, many writers prefer the uninflected form paperikuva for general references to such images. When used in phrases, paperikuvan serves as the head noun in a possessive construction, e.g., museon paperikuvan kunto (the condition of the museum’s paper image) or paperikuvan restaurointi (restoration of the paper image).

Related terms and distinctions: Contrast with digital images (digitaalinen kuva) and with other printed formats such as lithographs, engravings, or posters. The topic often intersects with fields like printing history, conservation, and archival description.

See also: printing, lithography, engraving, poster art, photography, archival description, conservation.