accordion fold – a method of folding in which each crease open in the
opposite direction to its neighbor, giving a concertina or pleated effect.
Acrobat – Adobe software suite used to convert electronic documents into
Adobe PDF files that can be viewed, annotated, and printed on any
computer.
art – in graphic arts usage, all matter other than text material e.g. illustrations
and photographs.
ascender – That part of a lower case letter which rises above the main body,
as in “b”.
Author’s Alterations (A.A’s) – Author or client corrections and/or
changes made in type at the proof stages; these are not due to
printer’s error and are therefore chargeable to the customer. All
corrections should be marked in red ink or pen. A.A.’s are expensive
and should be kept to a minimum.
banding – a visible stair-stepping of shades in a gradient.
banner – a large headline or title extending across the full page width.
bar code – a pattern of vertical lines of varying thickness identifying details
of a product, conforming to the Universal Product Code (UPC).
binding – the various methods used to secure loose leaves or sections in a
book; e.g. saddle-stitch, perfect bound.
bitmapped image – also referred to as "pixilated" used to refer to an
image that has too low of a resolution or linescreen for the output
resolution ("That image looks bitmapped."; line art scanned at 72 dpi
{typical web site graphic} when it is to be printed at 2540 dpi will be
very coarsely bitmapped).
bitmapped font – a font made up of bitmapped letters, characterized by
jagged edges, as opposed to the smooth edges of an outline font.
bleed – layout, type, or pictures that extend beyond the trim marks on a page.
Illustrations that spread to the edge of the paper without margins are
referred to as 'bled off'.
body – the main text of the work but not including headlines.
bold type – type with a heavier darker appearance. Most typefaces have a
bold face.
border – a continuous decorative design or rule surrounding the matter
on the page.
bullet – a large dot preceding text to add emphasis.
card stock – also known as cover paper. A stiff rigid paper used for
postcards, manual covers or table tents.
caption – the line or lines of text that refer to information identifying a
picture or illustration.
carbonless – paper coated with chemicals and dye which will produce copies
without carbon paper. Also referred to as NCR (No Carbon Required).
CMYK – cyan, yellow, magenta, black. The subtractive primaries, or process
colors, used in color printing. Black (K) is usually added to enhance
color and to print a true black. See subtractive primaries, four color
process.
coated – printing papers which after making have had a surface coating with
clay etc, to give a smoother, more even finish with greater opacity.
coil binding – (also known as "spiral binding"), is a method of binding that
secures pre-trimmed sheets by the insertion of wire or plastic spirals
through holes drilled in the binding edge. Similar to plastic binding,
but more permanent.
collate – to gather separate sections or leaves of a book together in the
correct order for binding.
color correction – the process of adjusting an image to compensate for
scanner deficiencies or for the characteristics of the output device.
color proof – color proof output by our digital printers. If the final product
is not going to be printed on by the Digital Printer do not consider the
color absolute. (This is a good time to check for spelling, punctuation
errors, font substitution, graphic problems and layout.)
composition – the development and assembling of text, and artwork into
a single document for reproduction and printing.
contact person – the individual responsible for proofing a job in progress.
copyright – the right of copyright gives protection to the originator of
material to prevent use without express permission or acknowledgment
of the originator.
crop marks – lines printed along the margins showing the dimensions
of
the final printed page. These marks are used for final trimming.
cropping – the elimination of parts of a photograph or other original that are
not required to be printed. Cropping allows the remaining parts of the
image to be enlarged to fill the space.
cutting – a function of bindery.
decender – the part of a lower case letter which extends below the main
body, as in “p”.
die cut – the trimming or cutting of a document into a pattern or shape.
digital color printer – 400 dpi color laser printer used for proofing and
certain productions jobs. Best for smaller runs with a quick turn
around.
dot gain – a printing defect in which dots print larger than intended, causing
darker colors or tones, due to the spreading of ink on stock. The more
absorbent the stock, the more dot gain. Can vary by type of ink as well.
dpi – dots per inch. A measure of output resolution produced by printers,
imagesetters, or monitors.
downloadable fonts – type faces which can be stored on a disk and then
downloaded to the printer when required for printing. These are, by
definition, bit-mapped fonts and, therefore, fixed in size and style.
drop cap – a large initial letter at the start of the text that drops into the
line or lines of text below.
duotones – A common printing technique by which a halftone is printed
in two colors - most often black and another color.
em – in printing terms it is a square unit with edges equal in size to the
chosen point size. It gets its name from the letter M which originally
was as wide as the type size.
em dash – a dash used in punctuation the length of one em which is slightly
longer than the standard
dash.
EPS – Encapsulated PostScript. A file format used to transfer PostScript image
information from one program to another. The preferred file format for
saving images, as it is resolution independent, as opposed to TIFF
because it has been created using vectors.
finished size – the dimensions of a finished print job after folding and binding.
flat size – the dimensions of a finished print job before folding and binding.
flush left – copy aligned along the left margin.
flush right – copy aligned along the right margin.
flyer – an inexpensively produced circular used for promotional distribution.
Usually a single page
document.
foil stamping – a process for stamping a design on a sheet without ink by
using a colored foil with
pressure from a heated die or block.
font – a complete set of characters in a typeface.
four color process – printing in full color using four color separation negatives
– yellow, magenta, cyan and black. When blended, these four colors
reproduce only a small portion of all the colors found in nature, but they
can reproduce the widest range with the fewest inks when printing.
gatefold – an oversize page where both sides fold into the gutter in
overlapping layers. Used to accommodate maps into books.
Gif – graphics interchange format file. The gif format is commonly used to
pass documents between computers. This is a highly compressed format
(using (LZW compressing that is design to minimize file transfer time over
phone lines. Gif format only supports 8 bit color (256 different colors ).
gradation – a smooth transition between black and white, one color and
another, or color and the lack of it.
grayscale – an image mode that defines how the information in the image
is to be stored and imaged. This format is generally used for halftones
because it stores the information for each pixel as a level of gray. There
are 256 levels of gray I a halftone. handwork – bindery procedures that
cannot be completed by a machine (usually adds cost to your job).
high Resolution – 300 DPI imposition – refers to the arrangement of pages
on a printed sheet, which when the sheet is finally printed on both sides,
folded and trimmed, will place the pages in their correct order.
imprint – when text is printed on preprinted stock on another press to add
information.
JPEG – joint photographics experts group (jpeg) compression economizes on
the way data is stored and also identifies and discards “extra” data, that
is , information beyond what the human eye can see. Because it discards
data, the JPEG algorithm is referred to as “lossy.” This means that once
an image has been compressed and then decompressed, it will not be
identical to the original image and some visual quality is lost in the
process and cannot be restored
justify – the alignment of text along a margin or both margins. This is achieved
by adjusting the spacing between the words and characters as necessary so
that each line of text finishes at the same point.
kerning – in typesetting, reducing space between two characters, making them
closer.
knockout – a shape or object printed by eliminating (knocking out) all
background colors. Contrast to overprinting.
laminate – a thin transparent plastic coating applied to paper or board to
provide protection and give it a glossy finish.
landscape- work in which the width used is greater than the height.
layout – a sketch of a page for printing showing the position of text and
illustrations and giving general instructions.
lead or leading – space added between lines of type to space out text and
provide visual separation of the lines.
lines per inch (lpi) – a measure of the frequency of a halftone screen (usually
ranging from 55-200). Lpi refers to the frequency of the horizontal and
vertical lines.
matte – a coated printing paper with a dull surface.
metallic ink – printing inks which produce an effect gold, silver, bronze or
metallic colors.
mock up – the assembling of all elements, to form the printed image (shows
the printer what the job should look like when it is complete).
moiré – the noticeable, unwanted pattern generated by scanning or rescreening
a piece of art that
already contains a dot pattern. This effect can also be
caused by the misalignment of screen angles in color work. A checkered
effect on the printed half-tone will result.
montage – a single image formed from the assembling of several images.
offset – a method in which the plate or cylinder transfers an ink image to an
offset or transfer roller, which then transfers the image to stock.
opacity – term used to describe the degree to which paper will show print through.
orphan – line of type on its own at the top or bottom of a page.
outline – a typeface in which the characters are formed with only the outline
defined rather than from solid strokes.
overprinting – printing over an area already printed. Contrast with knockout.
PDF – (Portable Document Format) electronic document that can be output
by any printer.
pagination – the numbering of pages.
Pantone – the Pantone Matching System (PMS) is a system of color standard
-ization, consisting of 533 named or numbered colors. PMS is generally
accepted throughout the printing and graphic arts industries as a standard.
parallel fold – a method of folding; eg two parallel folds will produce a six
page sheet.
perfect binding – a common method of binding paperback books. After the
printed sections having been collated, the spines will be ground off and
the cover glued on. Best associated with soft-cover/paperback books.
perforate – tiny holes punched into a sheet, often used for tear-off cards.
pica – printing industry unit of measurement 1 pica – 1/6 inch or 12 points.
PICT – another type of image format. A PICT file can contain black and white,
color, or grayscale
information. As can a TIFF or EPS file. A PICT image
uses a language called QuickDraw to render the graphic. QuickDraw is
limited in precision and cannot contain complex curves or special text
effects, so a PICT image is therefore a poor choice for imagesetting to
film or plate. A PICT file is acceptable for digital or low resolution output.
pixel – the smallest distinct unit of a bitmapped image displayed on a screen.
If an item is considered "pixelated" the resolution is too low.
plates – a thin metal sheet precoated with light sensitive coating. The image
to be printed is burned onto the plate in preparation for the presses.
platesetter – a device that uses laser light or thermal imaging to expose
printing plates at high dpi resolution, usually 1200 dpi or higher. When
generating screens or dots for halftones, each dot is created from smaller
dots that are determined by the dpi resolution.
plastic binding – similar technique to Spiral/Coil binding, however, it involves
larger "teeth" and is more cost efficient. You can come back and add
pages at a later time if needed.
plastic wrap – also known as Shrink Wrapping is used to protect shipped orders.
point – the standard unit of type size of which there are 72 to the inch (one
point is approximately 0.01383in). Point size is the measured from the
top of the ascender to the bottom of the descender. portrait – an upright
image or page where the height is greater than the width.
portrait – work in which the height used is greater than the width.
proof – a copy of the project obtained from a digital printer for checking
consistency and accuracy of how a finished piece is intended to look.
ream – 500 sheets of paper.
registration – the alignment of different printing plates to produce a printed
image. Misregistration causes unwanted effects to appear in the printed
image such as moiré, outlines around objects, or fuzziness of fine lines.
resolution – refers to the quality of an image, measured in ppi (pixels per inch)
or dpi (dots per inch).
revise – indicates the stages at which corrections have been incorporated from
earlier proofs and new proofs submitted. Eg. First revision, second revision.
runaround – the ability within a program to run text around a graphic image
within a document, without the need to adjust each line manually.
saddle stitching – a method of binding where the folded pages are stitched
through the spine from the outside, using wire staples. Usually limited
to 64 pages.
sans serif – a typeface that has no serifs (small strokes at the end of main
stroke of the character). Helvetica, Geneva, and Arial are examples of
sans-serif fonts.
scaling – a means of calculating the amount of enlargement or reduction
necessary to accommodate a photograph within the area of a design.
score – to press a mark in a sheet of paper, usually cover stock, to make folding
easier - often necessary when a fold must be made against the paper’s grain.
serif – a small cross stroke at the end of the main stroke of the letter.
spine – the binding edge of a book.
spot color – small area printed in a second color.
spread – two facing pages of a multi-paged document.
subscript – the small characters set below the normal letters or figures.
superscript – the small characters set above the normal letters or figures.
stock – refers to paper used for a printing job.
TIFF – Tagged Image File Format. Another type of image file format, TIFF files
can include color or grayscale information. The quality of the image is
determined by its resolution or dpi. If the resolution is too low the image
will appear jagged or have a stair-stepped effect. Once the resolution has
been determined, either by scanning or by saving in an image-manipulation
software package, it cannot be upgraded or increased to improve quality
tint – a screen or percentage of a solid color.
transparency – a full color photographically produced image on transparent film.
trapping – a prepress technique which allows for variation in registration during
the press run. On the desktop, this is done primarily by allowing an overlap
between abutting colors.
trim – the cutting of the finished product to the correct size. Marks are incorporated
on the printed sheet to show where the trimming is to be made.
typeface – a complete set of characters forming a family in a particular design
or style.
varnishing – a finishing process whereby a transparent varnish is applied over
the printed sheet to produce a glossy finish.
vignette – an illustration in which the background fades gradually away from
its edge.
weight – refers to the thickness (heaviness) of paper, a typical weight is #60,
which you might use for
your own computer printer.
wide format color proof – is an accurate representation of how your color will
fall on your finished job. This is a good time to make sure everything is
showing up right and that nothing has shifted. (This is NOT the time to
check spelling, and punctuation because of the cost to make such changes.)
widow – a single word left on the last line of a paragraph which falls at the top of a page.
