Glossary of Terms
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.
