Resources & Support

We take great pride in making our clients feel confident about their jobs during the production process. To help you gain a better understanding of what’s happening to your project, we’ve compiled a glossary of terms that we commonly use in our industry.

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

• AC

  Author's Correction

• Additive Colors

  In photographic reproduction, the primary colors of red, green and blue which are mixed to form all other colors.

• Alignment

  The condition of type and or art materials as they level up on a horizontal or vertical line.

• American Paper Institute

  An organization that correlates all paper related information.

• Aqueous Plate

  Water soluble plate coatings, which are less toxic and less polluting.

• Author's Alterations (AA's)

  Changes made after composition stage where customer is responsible for additional charges.

• Back Margin

  A term referring to the margin which lies closest to the back of the book.

• Background

  That portion of a photograph or line art drawing that appears furthest from the eye; the surface upon which the main image is superimposed.

• Basis Weight

  Basis or basic weight refers to the weight, in pounds, of a ream (500 sheets) of paper cut to a given standard size for that particular paper grade.

• Binding

  Various methods of securing folded sections together and or fastening them to a cover, to form single copies of a book.

• Blanket

  On offset presses a fabric-reinforced sheet of rubber to transfer the impression from the plate onto the paper.

• Bleed

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

• Blind Folio

  Page number not printed on page.

• Blind Image

  A problem that arises in the lithography process when an image loses its ink receptivity and fails to print.

• Blue-Line

  Photographic proof made from flats for checking accuracy, layout and imposition before plates are made. Also known as a dylux.

• Book

  A general classification to describe papers used to print books; its standard size is 25x38 inches. A printed work which contains more than 64 pages.

• Book Block

  A term given the unfinished stage of bookmaking when the pages are folded, gathered and stitched-in but not yet cover bound.

• Brochure

  A pamphlet that is bound in booklet form.

• Bulk

  A term given to paper to describe its thickness relative to its weight.

• Burn

  A term used in plate making to describe the amount of plate exposure time.

• Caliper

  The measurement of thickness of paper expressed in thousandths of an inch or mils.

• Camera Ready

  A term given to any copy, artwork etc., that is prepared for photographic reproduction.

• Case Binding

  Books bound using hard board (case) covers.

• Chalking

  A term used to describe the quality of print on paper where the absorption of the paper is so great that it breaks up the ink image creating loose pigment dust.

• Coarse Screen

  Halftone screens commonly used in newsprint; up to 85 lines per inch.

• Coated (Paper)

  Paper coated with clay, white pigments and a binder. Better for printing because there is less picking.

• Coated Stock

  Any paper that has a mineral coating applied after the paper is made, giving the paper a smoother finish.

• Cold-Set Inks

  A variety of inks that are in solid form originally but are melted in a hot press and then solidify when they contact paper.

• Collate

  To gather sheets or signatures together in their correct order. (see Gather)

• Collating Marks

  Black step-marks printed on the back of folded sheets, to facilitate collating and checking of the sequence of book signatures.

• Color Bars

  This term refers to a color test strip, which is printed on the waste portion of a press sheet. It is a standardized (GATF-Graphic Arts Technical Foundation) process which allows a pressman to determine the quality of the printed material relative to ink density, registration, and dot gain. It also includes the Star Target, which is a similar system designed to detect inking problems.

• Color Separating

  The processes of separating the primary color components for printing.

• Color Transparency

  Transparent film containing a positive photographic color image.

• Column Gutter

  Space between two or more columns of type on one page.

• Commercial Register

  Color registration measured within plus or minus one row of dots.

• Composition

  The assembly of characters into words, lines and paragraphs of text or body matter for reproduction by printing.

• Continuous Tone

  Image made of non-discernable picture elements which give appearance of continuous spectrum of grey values or tones.

• Contrast

  The degree of tonal separation or gradation in the range from black to white.

• Copy

  Refers to any typewritten material, art, photos etc., to be used for the printing process.

• Cover

  A term describing a general type of papers used for the covers of books, pamphlets etc.

• Cracking

  Delamination.

• Creep

  Phenomenon of middle pages of a folded signature extending slightly beyond outside pages. Also called feathering, outpush, push out and thrust.

• Crop

  To eliminate a portion of the art or copy as indicated by crop marks.

• Crop Mark

  Markings at edges of original or on guide sheet to indicate the area desired in reproduction with negative or plate trimmed (cropped) at the markings.

• Cross-over

  Elements that cross page boundaries and land on two consecutive pages (usually rules).

• Curl

  Not lying flat and tending to form into cylindrical or wavy shapes. A term to describe the differences of either side of a sheet relative to coatings, absorbency etc.; the concave side is the curl side.

• Cut-off

  A term used in web press printing to describe the point at which a sheet of paper is cut from the roll; usually this dimension is equal to the circumference of the cylinder.

• Cutter

  Machine for accurately cutting stacks of paper to desired dimensions...can also be used to crease. Also trims out final bound books' top size (soft cover).

• Cyan

  A shade of blue used in the four-color process; it reflects blue and green and absorbs red.

• Cylinder Gap

  The gap in the cylinders of a press where the grippers or blanket clamps is housed.

• Delete

  An instruction given to remove an element from a layout. Click on the word delete to see a pdf containing commonly used proofreading marks.

• Densitometer

  An optical device used by printers and photographers to measure and control the density of color.

• Density

  The degree of tone, weight of darkness or color within a photo or reproduction; measurable by the densitometer. Reference, densitometer.

• Die

  Design, letters or shapes, cut into metal (mostly brass) for stamping book covers or embossing. An engraved stamp used for impressing an image or design.

• Die Cutting

  A method of using sharp steel ruled stamps or rollers to cut various shapes i.e. labels, boxes, image shapes, either post press or in line. The process of cutting paper in a shape or design by the use of a wooden die or block in which are positioned steel rules in the shape of the desired pattern.

• Digital Proof

  Proof made on paper or other substrate without needing to produce films first. The proof is made by a laser, ink jet printer or other computer output device.

• Dog Ear

  Occurs when you fold into a fold (such as a letter fold). At the side of one of the creases you get an indentation. It may look like a small inverted triangle.

• Dot

  The smallest individual element of a halftone.

• Dot Gain

  Darkening of halftone image due to ink absorption in paper causing halftone dots to enlarge. Terms to describe the occurrence whereby dots are printing larger than they should.

• Draw-down

  A method used by ink makers to determine the color, quality and tone of ink. It entails the drawing of a spatula over a drop of ink, spreading it flat over the paper.

• Drill

  The actual drilling of holes into paper for ring or comb binding.

• Drop Shadow

  A shadow image placed strategically behind an image to create the affect of the image lifting off the page.

• Dull Finish

  Any matte finished paper.

• Dummy

  A term used to describe the preliminary assemblage of copy and art elements to be reproduced in the desired finished product; also called a comp.

• Duotone

  Color reproduction from monochrome original. Keyplate usually printed in dark color for detail, second plate printed in light flat tints. A two-color halftone reproduction generated from a one-color photo.

• Electronic Composition

  The assembly of characters into words, lines and paragraphs of text or body matter with graphic elements in page layout form in digital format for reproduction by printing.

• Electronic Proof

  A process of generating a prepress proof in which paper is electronically exposed to the color separation negatives; the paper is passed through the electrically charged pigmented toners, which adhere electrostatically, resulting in the finished proof.

• Elliptical Dot

  Halftone screens in which the dots are actually elongated to produce improved middle tones.

• Enamel

  A term that describes a glossy coating on paper.

• Estimate

  The form used by the printer to calculate the project for the print buyer. This form contains the basic parameters of the project including size, quantity, colors, bleeds, photos etc.

• Exposure

  That stage of the photographic process where the image is produced on the light sensitive coating.

• Filling In

  A fault in printing where the ink fills in the fine line or halftone dot areas.

• Finish

  The surface quality of paper.

• Foils

  Papers that have a surface resembling metal.

• Fold Marks

  Markings at top edges that show where folds should occur.

• Folder

  Machine used to fold signatures down into sections.

• Folio or Page Number

  Number of page at top or bottom either centered, flushed left or flushed right often with running headline.

• Font

  The characters which make up a complete typeface and size.

• Free sheet

  Any paper that is free from wood pulp impurities.

• Fringe

  A halo that appears around halftone dots.

• Ganging

  The bundling of two or more different printing projects on the same sheet of paper.

• Gather

  To assemble or collect sections into single copies of complete books for binding.

• Gathering

  Assembling sheets of paper and signatures into their proper sequence; collating.

• Ghosting

  Phenomenon of a faint image appearing on a printed sheet where it was not intended to appear. Chemical ghosting refers to the transfer of the faint image from the front of one sheet to the back of another sheet. Mechanical ghosting refers to the faint image appearing as a repeat of an image on the same side of the sheet.

• Gloss Ink

  Quick drying oil based inks with low penetration qualities, used on coated stock.

• Graduated Screen

  An area of image where halftone dots range continuously from one density to another.

• Grain

  Direction of fibers in a sheet of paper governing paper properties such as increased size changes with relative humidity, across the grain, and better folding properties along the grain.

• Gripper

  A series of metal fingers that hold each sheet of paper as it passes through the various stages of the printing process.

• Gripper Edge

  The grippers of the printing press move the paper through the press by holding onto the leading edge of the sheet; this edge is the gripper edge.

• Groundwood

  Low cost papers such as newsprint made by the mechanical pulping process as opposed to chemical pulping and refining.

• Gutter

  Space between pages in the printing frame of a book, or inside margin towards the back or binding edge. The blank space or margin between the type page and the binding of a book.

• Hairline register

  Printing registration that lies within the range of plus or minus one half row of dots. It is the thinnest of the standard printers' rules.

• Halftone

  Tone graduated image composed of varying sized dots or lines, with equidistant centers.

• Halftone Screen

  A sheet of film or glass containing ruled right-angled lines, used to translate the full tone of a photo to the halftone dot image required for printing.

• Hickies

  Imperfections in presswork due to dirt on press, trapping errors, etc.

• Highlight Dot

  The highest density of a halftone image.

• House Sheet

  This is a term that refers to a paper that a printer regularly keeps in inventory. Generally house sheets are more cost effective to use because the printer is able to obtain volume discounts on the paper.

• IBC

  Inside back cover.

• IFC

  Inside front cover.

• Image Area

  That portion of the printing plate that carries the ink and prints on paper.

• Imposition

  Arrangement of pages so that they print correctly on a press sheet, and the pages are in proper order when the sheets are folded.

• Impression

  Product resulting from one cycle of printing machine. The pressure of the image carrier, whether it be the type, plate or blanket, when it contacts the paper.

• Indicia

  Markings pre-printed on mailing envelopes to replace the stamp.

• Inserts

  Extra printed pages inserted loosely into printed pieces.

• Jacket

  The paper cover sometimes called the "dust cover" of a hardbound book.

• Job Number

  A number assigned to a printing project used for record keeping and job tracking. Also used to retrieve old jobs for reprints or reworking by customer.

• Jog

  To vibrate a stack of finished pages so that they are tightly aligned for final trimming.

• Jogger

  Vibrating, sloping platform that evens up the edges of stacks of paper.

• Kerning

  The narrowing of space between two letters so that they become closer and take up less space on the page.

• Keyline

  Lines that are drawn on artwork that indicate the exact placement, shape and size of elements including halftones, illustrations etc.

• Layout

  A rendition that shows the placement of all the elements, roughs, thumbnails etc., of the final printed piece before it goes to print.

• Lead Edge

  Edge of a sheet of paper being fed into a printing press.

• Leading

  Space between lines of type; the distance in points between one baseline and the next.

• Letterspacing

  The addition of space between typeset letters.

• Line Copy

  Any copy that can be reproduced without the use of halftone screens.

• Lithography

  The process of printing that utilizes flat inked surfaces to create the printed images.

• M weight

  The actual weight of 1000 sheets of any given size of paper.

• Machine Coated

  Paper that has had a coating applied to either one or two of its sides during the papermaking process.

• Make Ready

  Process of readying machinery for production. For presses this includes hanging plates, loading paper, filling ink fountains and starting up to make needed adjustments.

  For finishing equipment this includes loading signatures, adjusting trims and adding ancillary equipment as well as start up to make needed adjustments.

• Margin

  Imprinted space around edge of page.

• Matte Finish

  A coated paper finish that goes through minimal calendaring. Reference, calendaring.

• Mechanical

  A term used to describe finished artwork that is camera ready for reproduction, including all type, photos, illustrations etc.

• Midtone Dot

  Commonly taken as the area between highlight and shadow area of a subject's face in halftone image.

• Moire

  An undesirable halftone pattern produced by the incorrect angles of overprinting halftone screens.

• Mottle

  A term used to describe spotty or uneven ink absorption.

• Negative

  Film that contains the same images as the original print, except that all colors and shades are reversed. Reference, positive.

• Newsprint

  A light, low cost groundwood paper made especially for newspapers. Reference, groundwood.

• Nominal Weight

  When the basis weight of paper differs from the actual weight, the term nominal weight is used.

• OBC

  Outside back cover.

• Oblong

  A term used to describe printed books, catalogs etc., that are bound on their shorter side; also referred to as album bound.

• OFC

  Outside front cover.

• Offset

  The most commonly used printing method, whereby the printed material does not receive the ink directly from the printing plate but from an intermediary cylinder called a blanket which receives the ink from the plate and transfers it to the paper.

• Offset Lithography

  Indirect printing method in which the inked image on the press-plate is first printed onto a rubber blanket, then in turn offsets the inked impression on to the sheet of paper.

• Offset Paper

  A term for uncoated book paper.

• Opacity

  Quality of papers that defines its opaqueness or ability to prevent two-sided printing from showing through.

• Opaque

  A quality of paper that allows relatively little light to pass through.

• Out of Register

  When ink colors on a press sheet are misaligned.

• Over Run

  Surplus of copies printed.

• Overprinting

  Any printing that is done on an area that has already been printed.

• Page

  One side of a leaf.

• Page Proofs

  Proofs made up from pages.

• Parent Sheet

  A sheet that is larger than the cut stock of the same paper.

• Paste-up

  Preparation of positive materials into a layout for photographing to film negatives.

• Peeling

  Delamination.

• Perf Marks

  Markings usually dotted lines at edges showing where perforations should occur.

• Perfect Binding

  Binding process where backs of sections are cut off, roughened and glued together, and rung in a cover.

• Perfecting

  Printing both sides of the paper (or other material) on the same pass through the printing machine.

• Perforating

  Punching small holes or slits in a sheet of paper or cardboard to facilitate tearing along a desired line.

• Pica

  Standard of measurement, 1/6 inch. 1 pica = 12 points 72 points = 1 inch

• Picking (1)

  When the tack of ink is stronger than the surface strength of the paper, some lifting of the paper surface occurs; this is referred to as picking.

• Picking (2)

  An occurrence in printing whereby the tack of ink pulls fibers or coating off the paper surface, leaving spots on the printed surface.

• Pinholing

  Failure of printed ink to form a completely continuous film, visible in the form of small holes in the printed areas.

• Plate

  Reproduction of type or cuts in metal, plastic, rubber, or other material, to form a plate bearing a relief, planographic or intaglio printing surface.

• Plate Cylinder

  The cylinder on a printing press on which the plate is mounted.

• Platemaking

  Making a printing plate from a film or flat including preparation of the plate surface, sensitizing, exposing through the flat, developing or processing, and finishing.

• PMT

  Photomechanical transfer.

• Point

  A measurement unit equal to 1/72 of an inch. 12 points to a pica, 72 points to an inch.

• PPI

  Pages per inch.

• Press-Proof

  Actual press sheet to show image, tone values and colors as well as imposition of frame or press-plate.

• Primary Colors

  In printing the four primary colors are cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black.

• Process Inks

  Printing inks, usually in sets of four colors. The most frequent combination is yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, which are printed, one over another in that order, to obtain a colored print with the desired hues, whites, blacks, and grays.

• Register

  The arrangement of two or more images in exact alignment with each other.

• Register Marks

  Any crossmarks or other symbols used on layout to assure proper registration.

• Run-Around

  A term given to copy that accommodates the lines of a picture or other image or copy.

• Saddle Stitching

  Stitching where the wire staples pass through the spine from the outside and are clinched in the center. Only used with folded sections, either single sections or two or more sections inset to form a single section.

• Satin Finish

  A smooth delicately embossed finished paper with sheen.

• Scaling

  The enlargement or reduction of an image or copy to fit a specific area.

• Score

  Impressions or cuts in flat material to facilitate bending or tearing.

• Screen Angles

  The placement of halftone screens to avoid unwanted moire patterns. Frequently used angles are black 45deg, magenta 75deg, yellow 90deg, and cyan 105deg.

• Scum

  Unwanted ink marks in the non-image area.

• Self Cover

  A cover made out of the same paper stock as the internal sheets.

• Shadow Dot

  The lowest density of a halftone image.

• Sharpen

  To decrease the dot size of the halftone which in turn decreases the color strength.

• Sheetwise

  The printing of two different images on two different sides of a sheet of paper by turning the page over after the first side is printed and using the same gripper and side guides.

• Show Through

  A problem that occurs when the printing on one side of a sheet is seen from the other side.

• Side Guide

  The guides on the sides of the sheet fed press that position the sheet sideways as the paper is led towards the front guides.

• Signature (Section)

  Printed sheet (or its flat) that consists of a number of pages of a book, placed so that they will fold and bind together as a section of a book. The printed sheet after folding.

• Silhouette halftone

  A halftone with the background screen removed.

• Slitting

  A term to describe the process of cutting of printed sheets by the cutting wheels of a printing press.

• Smoothness

  That quality of paper defined by its levelness which allows for pressure consistency in printing, assuring uniformity of print.

• Spine

  Back edge of a book.

• Spiral Bind

  A binding whereby a wire or plastic is spiraled through holes punched along the binding side.

• Spot Color

  Small area printed in a second color.

• Spread

  A film image that is larger than the original image to accommodate ink trapping. Reference, trapping

• Star Target

  The Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, GATF has established various quality control images; the star target appears along with the color bar and helps the pressman detect any irregularity in the ink spread. Reference, Color Bars

• Stet

  A proofreader's symbol that is usually written in the copy margin, that indicates that the copy, which was marked for correction, should be left as it was.

• Stock

  A term for unprinted paper or other material to be printed.

• Strip-In

  To add an element, such as copy that is shot separately, and then stripped into place on a goldenrod flat.

• Stripping

  Originally, the removal of the photographic emulsion with its image from individual negatives and combining them in position on a glass plate. Now the use of stripfilm materials, and the cutting, attachment, and other operations for assembling. The positioning of positives and negatives on the flat before proceeding to platemaking.

• Tack

  The adhesive quality of inks.

• Trapping

  The process of printing wet ink over printed ink which may be wet or dry.

• Trim Marks

  Marks placed on the sheet to indicate where to cut the page.

• Up

  A term used to describe how many similar sheets can be produced on a larger sheet; two up, four up, etc.

• Varnish

  A clear shiny ink used to add gloss to printed pieces. The primary component of the ink vehicle. Reference, vehicle.

• Vellum

  A finish of paper that is rough, bulky and has a degree of tooth.

• Vignette

  Fade to white or small decorative design or illustration. A photo or illustration etc., in which the tones fade gradually away until they blend with the surface they are printed on.

• W&B

  An abbreviation for work and back. Reference, sheetwise.

• W&T

  An abbreviation for work and turn.

• Washup

  The procedure of cleaning a particular ink from all of the printing elements (rollers, plate, ink fountain etc.) of a press.

• Web

  The roll of paper that is used in web or rotary printing.

• Web Break

  A tear in a web roll during the printing process.

• Web Press

  Cylinder printing machine in which the paper is fed from a continuous reel, as opposed to sheet fed.

• Web Tension

  The term given to the tension or pull exerted by the web press on the web roll.