A
accordion fold
paper fold using two or more parallel folds which open like an accordion. alternate term: fanfold.
against the grain
folding or feeding paper at right angles to the grain direction of the paper.
anti-aliasing
the process of averaging between pixels of different colors. the result is a smoother, blended transition between the edge of two areas rather than a distinctly jagged or "stair-step" appearance. alternate term: dithering.
antique finish
a term for the surface texture of some cover papers that is natural and slightly rough.
art
all kinds of illustration copy used in preparing a job for printing. Also used to describe the pasteups themselves.
ascender
the part of a lower case letter which rises above the main body, as in "b".
B
backing up
printing the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side.
bad break
awkward visual composition resulting from ending a page with a single word; ending a page with a hyphenated word; ending a page with the first line of a paragraph; using a hyphenated line of text in the first line of a page; or dividing a word incorrectly. alternate terms: orphan, widow.
bank
in tabs, the group of equally divided and equally spaced tab positions (i.e. a 5-bank tab would have 5 equally spaced tabs along the edge of a binder).
basic size
in inches, 25 x 38 for book papers, 20x26 for cover papers, 22.5x28.5 or 22.5x35 for bristols, 25.5x30.5 for index.
basis weight
the weight in pounds of a ream (500 sheets) of paper cut to a given standard size for that grade; e.g., 500 sheets 25x38 in. of 50-lb. book paper weigh fifty pounds.
binding margin
the space between the text matter and the fold edge. alternate terms: back margin, gutter margin
bitmap
an image that is digitally produced using dots rather than a mathematical formula. see also: line art; object oriented, vectors.
blanket
in offset printing, a rubber-surfaced fabric which is clamped around a cylinder, to which the image is transferred from the plate, and from which it is transferred to the paper.
bleed
the effect created when the image extends beyond the edge of the sheet or page of a printed piece.
blind embossing
a design which is stamped without metallic leaf or ink, giving a bas-relief effect. body type the style and size of type used for the main text of a printed piece as distinguished from the headlines, etc.
blueline
a proof made on special paper producing a blue on white print when exposed to a negative overlay. the paper used has been treated with iron.
bold-face type
a name given to type that is heavier than the text type with which it is used.
bond paper
a grade of strong but lightweight paper designed for printing on one side, commonly used for stationery, business forms, and copying.
bristol
a heavy paper used for printing. the paper's thickness can range from 6 points or higher.
burn
a common term to describe the exposure of a plate to bright light when it is being made.
C
camera-ready art
describes copy for printed material that is ready to be photographed for reproduction.
caps and small caps
two sizes of capital letters mad in one size of type, commonly used in most roman type faces.
center spread
the two pages that face each other in the center of a book or publication.
coated paper
paper having a surface coating which produces a smooth finish. The finish may be dull or glossy; both give the ink a brighter appearance. Often used for printing full color photographs.
collate
in binding, gathering the sheets or pages of a publication to be stapled folded, etc.
color separation
the process of photographically separating colored art or photographs into primary color components (negative or positive) for printed reproduction.
compression
see data compression
condensed type
a narrow or slender type face.
continuous tone
a photographic image or illustration which contains gradient tones from black to white.
contrast
the tonal gradation between the highlights, middle tones and shadows in an original or reproduction.
copy
any furnished material (typewritten manuscript, pictures, artwork, etc.) to be used in the production of printing.
cover paper
the term for a variety of heavier weight papers used for booklet covers, brochures, etc.
crop
to eliminate portions of the copy, usually on a photograph or plate, indicated on the original by cropmarks.
cyan
on of the four process colors, cmyk, with c standing for cyan. cyan is a predominately blue color with some green. cyan, together with magenta and yellow, is also one of the three subtractive primary colors. see also: process colors.
D
data compression
a technique to shrink or reduce the size of a data file so it takes up less storage space and is faster to move electronically. compression is accomplished by removing "blank" spaces and repetitive data and using a mathematical formula to replace them.
data conversion
changing digital data from one format to another so it can be used in another software application or printed on a specific output device. (e.g., cmyk to rgb, tif to gif, ms word to postscript, etc.)
dots per inch (dpi)
a measure of the resolution of a screen image or printed page.
dot gain
a condition where the size of a halftone dot is increased during the printing process. frequently caused by ink spreading due to low viscosity or by paper absorption. alternate terms: dot spread, ink spread.
dot spread
see dot gain.
dummy
a preliminary layout showing the position of illustrations and text as they are to appear in the final printed piece. Also a set of blank pages made up in advance, marked to show the size, shape, form or page arrangement of the printed piece.
duotone
the term for a two-color halftone made from a one-color photograph.
duplex paper
paper with a different color or finish on each side.
Dylux®
a trademark for Du Pont's photosensitive polymer paper. a dry color proof is created using this paper.
E
em dash
a line the width of a font's uppercase m.
embossed finish
paper with a raised or depressed surface resembling wood, cloth, leather or other pattern.
embossing
impressing an image in relief to achieve a raised surface; either overprinting or on blank paper (called blind embossing).
en dash
a line the width of a font's uppercase n.
engraving
using an acid or other chemical to form an elevated image on a printing plate or cylinder.
EPS (Encapsulated PostScript)
in digital prepress, a file format used to transfer graphic images within compatible applications. a file containing structured PostScript code, comments and a screen display image.
expanded type
a type whose width is greater than normal.
F
family
the group of typeface variations within a specific design (e.g., helvetica regular, helvetica italic, helvetica bold, helvetica bold italic, etc.)
feathering
an imprecise, fuzzy or rough edge on a printed piece. feathering can be caused by non-uniform ink coverage, unsuitable ink, uneven printing plate contact, or too much ink.
filling in
a condition where ink fills the area between the halftone dots or plugs up the type.
flush left (or right)
type set to line up at the left (or right)
font
a complete assortment of letters, numbers, punctuation marks etc., of a given style and size.
format
the size, style, type page, margins, printing requirements, etc., of a printed piece.
full bleed
used when an image is meant to extend completely to all four edges of the finished sheet. see also: bleed.
G
galley proof
a proof of text copy only, before it is made into pages with other art elements.
generation
each succeeding stage in reproduction from the original copy.
gate fold
a four page insert to a book that is larger than the existing page dimensions, having a fold at the outer edge that serves as a hinge, allowing two sheets to fold out from the center to the edge. alternate term: foldout.
gigabyte
one thousand megabytes or one billion bytes of computer data.
gloss
the "shininess" of a material as measured by the amount of light reflected from its surface. alternate term: specular gloss.
ghosting
also known as gloss ghosting. a condition occurring during sheetfed printing when inks containing drying oils are used in production. vapors from drying ink on one side of a press sheet interact chemically with the dry ink densities printed on a sheet in contact or on the reverse side of the same sheet creating unintended faint images.
grain
in papermaking, the direction in which most fibers lie, which corresponds with the direction the paper is formed on the mill machinery. Paper folds easily when folded with the grain and it folds poorly and creates a rougher edge when folded against the grain.
gray scale
graduated neutral tones used in printing to reflect color differentiation.
gutter
the blank space between columns of type or the inner margin between the print and the binding of a book.
H
hairline register
the precision of alignment between colors meant to touch on a printed piece. the comparison standard is a gap of no more than 0.003 inches or 0.8 mm.
halftone
the reproduction of continuous-tone artwork, such as a photograph, using a contact screen over the film which converts the image into black and white dots of various sizes.
hardcopy
the printout of a computer file or the typewritten copy submitted to a printer to be typeset.
high contrast
in photography or illustration, a reproduction in which light and dark areas are more exaggerated than in the original object or image.
highlight
the lightest, brightest part of a photograph or halftoned image.
hyphenation
the process of dividing a word between syllables when the word must be spit between two lines of text.
I
image
line art, paintings, sketches, photos and other visual representations of a subject matter.
ink spread
see dot gain.
intaglio
an incised, etched, carved or sunken image. in printing, an intaglio is created on the surface of plates or cylinders. the etched areas hold ink, the non-etched areas remain ink free. when the inked plate or cylinder is then applied to the substrate to be printed, the ink adheres and is transferred to the substrate reproducing the original image.
italic
the style of letters that slant, in distinction from upright or roman letters. Used for emphasis in text.
J
justify
in setting type, to space out lines uniformly to the correct length
K
kerning
in typesetting, subtracting space between two characters, making them closer together.
keyline
in artwork, an outline drawing of finished art to indicate the exact shape, position and size for such elements as halftones, line sketches, etc.
knockout
white type on a black or dark background.
L
laid finish
paper with a pattern of parallel lines at equal distances, giving a ribbed effect.
lamination
a plastic film bonded by heat and pressure to a printed sheet for protection or appearance.
layout
the drawing or sketch of a proposed printed piece.
leading
the distance between lines of type, measured in points. 1 point=1/72 inch.
line art
a drawing rendered in only 100% black and 100% white, with no gray areas. (e.g. black lines drawn on white substrate or a vector graphic produced by a computer drawing, CAD, or illustration application.) see also: bitmap, object-oriented, vectors.
line copy
any copy suitable for reproduction without using a halftone screen.
M
magenta
one of the four process colors, cmyk with m standing for magenta. magenta is a predominately red color with some blue. magenta, together with some blue. magenta, together with cyan and yellow, is also one of the three subtractive primary colors. see also process colors.
matte finish
dull finish on coated paper, lacking gloss or luster
mechanical
terms for a camera-ready pasteup of artwork. It includes type, photos, line-art, all attached to one sheet or matte board.
middle tones
the gray areas (as opposed to the black and white areas) of a photograph or illustration.
moiré
the undesirable screen pattern caused by incorrect screen angles or overprinting halftones.
multicolor press
two or more self contained single color printing presses that are joined sequentially to produce multiple colors on a sheet of paper in a single pass.
Mylar
the plastic film, coming in a variety of colors, used to cover tabs to make them more sturdy.
N
negative
in photography, film containing an image in which the values of the original are reversed so that the dark areas in the subject appear light on the film and vice versa.
nonrepro blue
a special blue color used to make notations on an image's nonprinting white areas. this blue color and the white background are indistinguishable to photographic film, with the result being that these notations are not captured as an image by the film. in practice, a pen with nonrepro blue ink is used to show the location of crop marks, etc. on a pasteup board.
numbering
sequentially printed numbers.
O
object-oriented
used to describe an image created by the use of a mathematical equation using x-y coordinates rather than a bitmap image (created using dots). an object-oriented image can be printed at any size without loss of resolution. in contrast, a bitmap image will loose resolution when printed at larger sizes. see also: bitmap, line art, vectors.
oblique
literally, "at an angle" or "slanted". a Roman font that has been electronically altered to produce an italic effect.
offset printing
an indirect printing technique that re-deposits ink from a printing plate cylinder to a rubber coated cylinder which then applies the ink to the final substrate.
orientation
printing in the direction of a sheet's long or short edge. printing parallel to the sheet's long edge is called landscape. printing in the direction of the sheet's short edge is called portrait.
original
the number of pages (if a large book), the number of names (if business cards), or the number of camera-ready mechanicals to be reproduced.
orphan
a single line of text at the bottom or top of a page or column. the text is either the first line or the last line of a paragraph, respectively. see also bad break, widow.
overlay
a transparent covering over an artwork that indicates color designations and other instructions to the printer. Also, transparent layers of artwork which are overprinted to create a composite image.
overrun
in printing, copies printed in excess of the specified quantity.
overtrapping
applying too much color on top of another in the process printing method. see also: hairline register, trapping.
P
pagination
the page makeup process for a multiple page document.
pasteup
see mechanical.
PDF (Portable Document File)
a proprietary format of the transfer of designs across multiple computer platforms. PDF is a universal electronic file format, modeled after the PostScript language and is device- and resolution-independent. Documents in the PDF format can be viewed, navigated, and printed from any computer regardless of the fonts or software programs used to create the original.
PMS# (ink color)
Pantone Matching System color; the number indicates one of a set of standard formulas for mixing ink colors, used by all printers. Equity Office's standard blue is PMS 293.
PMT\PhotoMechanicalTransfer
a photographic paper reproduction of a black and white image, taken by a printer's camera.
pagination
in typesetting or pasteup, the process of breaking copy into pages of a specific dimension.
pasteup
1) to combine art elements (type, illustrations, lines, photographs, etc.) into a unified whole, using manual tools and wax/adhesives or using a computerized system to manipulate and combine the art elements into a whole page.
2) same as "mechanical" - the term for a camera-ready piece of artwork, including type, photos, line art, all attached to one sheet or matte board.
perfect bind
assembly of a whole book by gluing the trimmed pages to a wrap-around cover in paperback fashion
pica
a printer's measurement, equal to approximately 1/6th of an inch.
PICT
in digital imaging, a standard data format in which most Macintosh illustrations are encoded.
pixel
short for “picture element.” a pixel is the smallest resolvable point of a raster image. It is the basic unit of digital imaging.
point
a printer's measure for type specifications. There are 12 points in a pica and 72 points in an inch.
point size
the height of a typeface.
PostScript
a page description language developed by Adobe Systems, Inc. to describe an image for printing. It handles both text and graphics. A PostScript file is a purely text-based description of a page.
preflight
in digital prepress, the test used to evaluate or analyze every component needed to produce a printing job. Preflight confirms the type of disk being submitted, the color gamut, color breaks, and any art required (illustrations, transparencies, reflective photos, etc.) plus layout files screen fonts, printer fonts, EPS or TIFF files, laser proofs, page sizes, print driver, crop marks, etc.
process colors
yellow, magenta, cyan (blue) and black, the four colors of ink used by printers for full color reproduction of color art.
proof
a facsimile of the printed item prepared during various stages of the process for the customer's approval.
punch (also drill)
to place holes in paper (as for use in notebooks, binders, etc).
Q
R
ragged left/right
a column of type set to line up evenly on one side, but remaining uneven on the other.
register
in printing, to fit two or more printed images in exact alignment with each other.
register marks
distinctive symbols placed on the outer edges of artwork before photographing. Used to help platemakers and press operators align copy in two or more colors of ink.
resolution
in typesetting, the quantification of type quality using number of dots per square inch.
run-around
description of type, aligned to fit around a picture or other element of the design.
S
saddlestitch
to fasten a booklet by stapling it through the middle fold of the sheets.
score
to make an indentation in paper before folding to make it fold more easily.
screen
to reproduce a shaded area in a printed piece. Also, a photographic tool for making halftone images from a continuos tone photo or illustration.
serif
the short, cross-lines at the ends of many letters in some typestyles.
signature
the name given to a folded, printed sheet containing several pages of a book, before it is assembled as part of the book.
spine
the rigid part of a bound book, where the covers and pages are joined.
spiral binding
a book-binding method with spiral wires inserted through small holes punched along the binding
spread
an image that covers two pages that face each other in a book or publication.
stock
paper or other material to be printed.
stripping
the positioning of negatives or positives on a flat sheet to prepare them for creating a plate.
T
text
the main body of typewritten words on a page as opposed to the headlines, or captions.
tagged image file format (TIFF)
a file format for graphics suited for representing scanned images and other large bitmaps. TIFF is a neutral format designed for compatibility with all applications. TIFF was created specifically for storing grayscale images, and it is the standard format for scanned images such as photographs.
trapping
in prepress, refers to how much overprinting colors overlap to eliminate whit lines between colors in printing.
trim marks/corner marks
marks placed on the copy to indicate the edge of the page
type size
see point size.
U
uncoated
a paper without a mineral coating.
undertrapping
the unwanted appearance of white space between two adjacent colors. an inadequate or insufficient amount of applied trapping. see trapping.
unjustified text
see flush left, justify, ragged right.
V
variable printing
a process often used to create personalized letters or billing statements where standard text and images are combined with changeable data unique to each recipient (e.g., name, address, etc.). a form of mass customization that uses a standard template into which unique data is inserted on a page by page basis.
varnish
a thin, protective coating applied to a printed sheet for protection or to add a glossy appearance.
vector file
a digital file containing a vector image. see vectors.
vectors
a mathematical equation using x-y coordinates to describe an image and its position on a page. the vector image is typically created with an illustration application on a personal computer. the file is then fed as a PostScript or other page descriptor language to a raster image processor that translates the information into a format appropriate for the imagesetter output device. see also: bitmap, line art, object-oriented, PostScript.
vellum finish
in papermaking, a toothy finish which is relatively absorbent for fast ink penetration.
velox
a positive, photographic paper image in black and white created from a negative.
W
watermark
a translucent mark or image that is pressed into fine paper during the papermaking process and which is visible when the paper is held up to a light.
weight (character)
a description of typographic forms or variations (e.g., light, regular, bold, extra bold).
what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG)
used when a computer application shows an image's position, size, elements, etc. on screen as it will be printed.
white space
that part of an image that is free of text or images.
widow
in typesetting, a single word or short line of text at the end of a paragraph, or a single line of text at the top of a page; considered poor style. see also bad break, orphan.
wire-o binding
a continuous double series of wire loops run through punched slots slong the binding side of a booklet.
with the grain
folding or feeding paper into a press with the grain of the paper parallel to the blade of the folder or the axis of the impression cylinder.
word processor
a software application used to create text documents (e.g., Microsoft Word).
word wrap
the process by which a computer application automatically moves a word to the next line down when the available line space for text has been used up. this occurs with out the person using the application pressing the "return" key.
work and tumble
to print one side of a sheet of paper, then turn it end to end, changing the gripper, and printing the other side.
work and turn
to print one side of a sheet of paper, then turning it over from left to right, keeping the same gripper edge going through the press as the second side is printed.
wove finish
paper having a uniform, unlined surface and a soft, smooth finish.
X
x-height
the height of a type character that has no ascenders or descenders (e.g., a, c, e, m,, o, x, and z).
Y
yellow
one of the four process colors, cmyk, with y standing for yellow. yellow, together with cyan and magenta, is also one of the three subtractive primary colors. see also: process colors.
Z
zip
to compress a group of files to send via email or ftp. usually done using WinZip, Aladdin's Dropstuff or other similar application. see also data compression.
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