Glossary of Common Printing Terms:

If you've ever dealt directly with a Printer... you've no doubt noticed that they often speak a language of their own.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Accordion fold In binding, a term used for two or more parallel folds which open like an accordion. 

Against the grain Folding or feeding paper at right angles to the grain direction of the paper. 

B

Backbone The back of a bound book connecting the two covers; also called spine. 

Backing up Printing the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side.

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 25 x 38 of 80-1b. coated book paper weigh eighty pounds. 

Bit In computers, the basic unit of digital information; contraction of BInary digiT. 

Bit map In typographic imaging, the electronic representation of a page, indicating the position of every possible spot (zero or one). 

Black-and-white Originals or reproductions in single color, as distinguished from multicolor. 

Blanket /n 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 An extra amount of printed image which extends beyond the trim edge of the sheet or page.

Blind embossing A design which is stamped without metallic leaf or ink, giving a bas-relief effect. 

Body type A type used for the main part or text of a printed piece, as distinguished from the heading.

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 writing or printing paper where strength, durability, and permanence are essential requirements; used for letterheads, business forms, etc. The basic size is 17 x 22.

Book paper A general term for coated and uncoated papers. The basic size is 25 x 38.

Brochure A pamphlet bound in booklet form.

Burn In platemaking, a common term used for a plate exposure.

Byte In computers, a unit of digital information, equivalent to one character or eight bits. 

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Caliper The thickness of paper, usually expressed in thousandths of an inch (mils).

Camera-ready Copy which is ready for photography.

CMYK Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black-subtractive primary colors.

Coated paper Paper having a surface coating which produces a smooth finish Surfaces vary from eggshell to glossy.

Collate In binding, the gathering of sheets or signatures.

Color correction Any method such as masking, dot-etching, re-etching, and scanning, used to improve color rendition. 

Color keys Off-press overlay color proofs using 3M color key materials . 

Color separation In photography, the process of separating color originals into the primary printing color components in negative or positive form.

Condensed type A narrow or slender type face.

Continuous tone A photographic image 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 A term applied to a variety of papers used for the covers of catalogs, brochures, booklets, and similar pieces.

Crop To eliminate portions of the copy, usually on a photograph or plate, indicated on the original by "cropmarks".

Cross direction In paper, the direction across the grain. Paper is weaker and more sensitive to changes in relative humidity in the cross direction than the grain direction. 

Crossmarks See register marks. 

Curl In paper, the distortion of a sheet due to differences in structure or coatings from one side to the other, or to absorption of moisture on an offset press.

Cyan One of the subtractive primaries the hue of which is used for one of the 4-color process inks. It reflects or transmits blue and green light and absorbs red light.

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Deckle edge The untrimmed feathery edges of paper formed where the pulp flows against the deckle.

Densitometer In printing, a reflection densitometer is used to measure and control the density of color inks on the substrate.

Descender That part of a lower case letter which extends below the main body, as in "p".

Die-cutting The process of using sharp steel rules to cut special shapes for labels, boxes and containers, from printed sheets.Die-cutting can be done on either flat-bed or rotary presses. Rotary die-cutting is usually done inline with the printing. 

Digital color proof An off-press color proof produced from digital data without the need for separation films. 

Display type In composition, type set larger than the text, used to attract attention. 

Dot The individual element of a halftone.

Dot gain In printing, a defect in which dots print larger than they should, causing darker tones or stronger colors.

Drier In inkmaking, a substance added to hasten drying.

Dummy A preliminary layout showing the position of illustrations and text as they are to appear in the final reproduction. A set of blank pages made up in advance to show the size, shape, form and general style of a piece of printing.

Duotone In photomechanics, a term for a two-color halftone reproduction from a one-color photograph. 

Duplex paper Paper with a different color or finish on each side. 

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Electronic printing Any technology that reproduces pages without the use of traditional ink, water or chemistry.

Embossing Impressing an image in relief to achieve a raised surface; either overprinting or on blank paper (called blind embossing).

Emulsion side In photography, the side of the f ilm coated with the silver halide emulsion which should face the lens during exposure.

Expanded Type A type whose width is greater than normal. 

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Feeder in printing presses, the section that separates the sheets and feeds them in position for printing.

Felt side The smoother side of the paper for printing. The top side of the sheet in paper manufacturing.

Flat In offset-lithography, the assembled composite of negatives on goldenrod paper or positives on film, ready for platemaking.

Flush cover A cover that has been trimmed the same size as the inside text pages.

Flush left (or right) In composition, type set to line up at the left (or right). This page is set flush left and right.

Flush paragraph A paragraph with no indention.

Font In composition, a complete assortment of letters, numbers, punctuation marks, etc. of a given size and design. 

FPO For Position Only. 

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Grain In papermaking, the direction in which most fibers lie which corresponds with the direction the paper is made on a paper machine.

Gray scale A strip of standard gray tones, ranging from white to black, placed at the side of original copy during photography to measure tonal range and contrast obtained.

Gripper edge The leading edge of paper as it passes through a pnnting press. Also, the front edge of a lithographic or wrap- around plate that is secured to front clamp of plate cylinder. 

Gripper margin Unprintable blank edge of paper on which gnppers bear, usually 1/2 inch or less. 

Grippers In sheetfed printing presses, metal fingers that clamp on paper and control its flow as it passes through.

Gutter The blank space or inner margin from printing area to binding.

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Hairline register Register within + or - 1/2 row of dots. 

Halftone The reproduction of continuous-tone artwork, such as a photograph, through a contact screen, which converts the image into dots of various sizes.

Hard copy The permanent visual record of the output of a computer or printer. 

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Imagesetter In typographic imaging, a device that outputs type, line art and photos. A typesetter essentially outputs type.

Imposition The arranging of pages in a press form to ensure the correct order after the printed sheet is folded and trimmed.

Impression In printing, the pressure of type, plate or blanket as it comes in contact with the paper. 

Impression cylinder In printing, the cylinder on a printing press against which the paper picks up the impression from the inked plate in direct printing, or the blanket in offset printing.

Ink fountain In printing presses, the device which stores and supplies ink to the inking rollers.

Italic The style of letters that slant, in distinction from upright, or roman, letters. Used for emphasis within the text. 

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Jog To align sheets of paper into a compact pile. 

Justify In composition, to space out lines uniformly to the correct length. 

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KB Kilobyte -1,000 bytes. 

Kerning In typesetting, subtracting the space between two characters, to be closer together. 

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Laid paper 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. In platemaking, a sheet indicating the settings for a step-and-repeat machine.

Leading (pronounced ledding) In composition, the distance between lines of type measured in points. 

Line copy Any copy suitable for reproduction without using a halftone screen. 

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M Abbreviation for a quantity of 1000 sheets of paper.

MB Megabyte -1,000,000 bytes.

Magenta One of the subtractive primaries the hue of which is used for one of the 4-color process inks. It reflects or transmits blue and red light and absorbs green light.

Makeready In printing, all work done in setting up a press for printing,
i .e., adjusting the feeder, grippers, side guide, puning ink in the fountain, etc.

Matte finish Dull paper finish without gloss or luster. 

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Negative In photography, film containing an image in which the values of the original are reversed so that the dark areas appear light and vice versa. (See positive ) 

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Offset See set-off .In printing, the process of using an intermediate blanket cylinder to transfer an image from the image carrier to the substrate. Short for offset lithography. 

Opacity That property of paper which minimizes the "show-through" of printing from the back side or the next sheet. 

Overprinting Double printing; printing over an area that already has been printed.

Overrun In printing, copies printed in excess of the specified quantity. 

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Pagination In computerized typesetting, the process of performing page makeup automatically.

pH A number used for expressing the acidity or alkalinity of solutions. A value of 7 is neutral in a scale ranging from O to 14. Solutions with values below 7 are acid, above 7 are alkaline.

Picking The lifting of the paper surface during printing. It occurs when pulling force (tack) of ink is greater than surface strength of paper. 

Pixel In electronic imaging, a basic unit of digital imaging. Can contain text or gray scale information for photographs or just represent the presence or absence of a spot (zero or one).

Plate cylinder The cylinder of a press on which the plate is mounted. 

Positive In photography, film containing an image in which the dark and light values are the same as the original. The reverse of negative.

Press proofs In color reproduction, a proof of a color subject made on a printing press, in advance of the production run.

Pressure-sensitive paper Material with an adhesive coating, protected by a backing sheet until used, which will stick without moistening.

Print quality A term describing the visual impression of a printed piece. In paper, the properties of the paper that affect its appearance and the quality of reproduction.

Process colors In printing, the subtractive primaries: yellow, magenta and cyan, plus black in four-color process printing. 

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Ragged left In typesetting, type that is justified on the right margin and ragged on the left.

Ragged right In typesetting, type that is justified on the left margin and ragged on the right.

Raster image processor (RIP) In typographic imaging, the computerized process that results in an electronic bit map which indicates every spot position on a page in preparation for an actual printout. 

Ream Five hundred sheets of paper.

Register In printing, fitting of two or more printing images in exact alignment with each other.

Register marks Crosses or other targets applied to original copy prior to photography. Used for positioning negatives in register, or for register of two or more colors in process printing.

RGB Red, Green, Blue-additive primary colors.

Right-angle fold In binding, a term used for two or more folds that are at 90° angles to each other. 

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Saddle wire In binding, to fasten a booklet by wiring it through the middle fold of the sheets.

Scaling Determining the proper size of an image to be reduced or enlarged to fit an area. 

Scanner An electronic device used in the making of color and tone-corrected separations of images.

Score To impress or indent a mark with a string or rule in the paper to make folding easier.

Serif The short cross-lines at the ends of the main strokes of many letters in some type faces. 

Shadow The darkest parts in a photograph, represented in a halftone by the largest dots.

Sheetwise To print one side of a sheet of paper with one plate then turn the sheet over and print the other side with another plate using same gripper and side guide.

Side guide On sheet-fedpresses, a guide on the feed board to position the sheet sideways as it feeds into the front guides before entering the impression cylinder.

Signature In printing and binding, the name given to a printed sheet after it has been folded.

Spiral binding A book bound with wires in spiral form inserted through holes punched along the binding side.

Stock Paper or other material to be printed.

Stripping In offset-lithography, the positioning of negatives (or positives) on a flat to compose a page or layout for platemaking. 

Subtractive primaries Yellow, magenta and cyan, the hues used for process color printing inks. 

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Text The body matter of a page or book, as distinguished from the headings. 

Trapping The ability to print a wet ink film over previously printed ink. Dry trapping is printing wet ink over dry ink. Wet trapping is printing wet ink over previously printed wet ink. 

Trim marks In printing, marks placed on the copy to indicate the edge of the page. 

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Varnish A thin, protective coating applied to a printed sheet for protection or appearance. Also, in inkmaking, it can be all or part of the ink vehicle. 

Vellum finish In papermaking, a toothy finish which is relatively absorbent for fast ink penetration.

Viscosity In printing inks, a broad term encompassing the properties of tack and flow.

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Washup The process of cleaning the rollers, form or plate, and sometimes the ink fountain of a printing press. 

Widow In composition, a single word in a line by itself, ending a paragraph; frowned upon in good typography. 

With the grain Folding or feeding paper into a press parallel to the grain of the paper. 

Work and tumble To print one side of a sheet of paper, then turn the sheet over from gripper to back using the same side guide and plate to print the second side.

Work and turn To print one side of a sheet of paper, then turn the sheet over from left to right and print the second side. The same gripper and plate are used for printing both sides.

Wove paper Paper having a uniform unlined surface and a soft smooth finish.

wysiwyg In electronic publishing, anacronym for What You See Is What You Get which means that the typographic page viewed on the screen of a workstation essentially represents what the printer will output. 

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Yellow One of the subtractive primaries the hue of which is used for one of the 4-color process inks. It reflects redand greed light and absorbs blue. 

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Zip Disk / Drive A removable media disk drive format from Iomega, more popular with Mac users. 
 

HSource: Pocket Pal, A Graphic Arts Production Handbook, 14th Edition, Copyright 1989andbook, 14th Edition, Copyright 1989