Glossary of Printing Terms
Glossary of Terms
4/0: 4/0 is a trade designation for a printed piece with four colors (full color) printing on the front side and no printing on the back side.
4/1: 4/1 is a trade designation for a printed piece with four colors (full color) printing on the front side and one color printing on the back side.
4/4: 4/4 is a trade designation for a printed piece with four colors (full color) on the front side and four colors (full color) printing on the back side.
Art Work: Any materials or images that are prepared for graphic reproduction.
Bindery: Various methods of securing folded sections together and or fastening them to a cover, to form single copies of a book.
Bleed: Extra ink area that crosses trim line, used to allow for variations that occur when the reproduction is trimmed or die-cut.
Blocking: Sticking together of printed sheets causing damage when the surfaces are separated.
Brightness: In paper, brightness is the reflectance or brilliance of the paper.
Brochure: A pamphlet that is bound in booklet form.
C1S and C2S: Abbreviations for coated one side and coated two sides.
Calender: To make the surface of paper smooth by pressing it between rollers during manufacturing.
Caliper: (1) Thickness of paper or other substrate expressed in thousandths of an inch (mils or points), pages per inch (ppi), thousandths of a millimeter (microns) or pages per centimeter (ppc). (2) Device on a sheetfed press that detects double sheets or on a binding machine that detects missing signatures or inserts.
CMYK: Abbreviation for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black), the four process colors.
Coated Stock: Any paper that has a mineral coating applied after the paper is made, giving the paper a smoother finish.
Color Gamut: The entire range of hues possible to reproduce using a specific device, such as a computer screen, or system, such as four-color process printing.
Contrast: The degree of tones in an image ranging from highlight to shadow.
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.
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.
Cyan: One of the four process colors. Also known as process blue.
Density: (1) Regarding ink, the relative thickness of a layer of printed ink. (2) Regarding color, the relative ability of a color to absorb light reflected from it or block light passing through it. (3) Regarding paper, the relative tightness or looseness of fibers.
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: Color separation data is digitally stored and then exposed to color photographic paper creating a picture of the final product before it is actually printed.
Double Bump: To print a single image twice so it has two layers of ink.
DPI: Abbreviation for dots per inch.
Dry Offset: Using metal plates in the printing process, which are etched to .15mm (.0006 in) creating a right reading plate, printed on the offset blanket transferring to paper without the use of water.
Dull Finish: Any matte finished paper.
Embossing: To raise in relief a design or letters already printed on card stock or heavy paper by an uninked block or die. In rubber and plastic plate making the process is usually done by heat.
Encapsulated PostScript file: Computer file containing both images and PostScript commands. Abbreviated EPS file.
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.
Fast Color Inks: Inks with colors that retain their density and resist fading as the product is used and washed.
Fixed Costs: Costs that remain the same regardless of how many pieces are printed. Copyrighting, photography and design are fixed costs.
Flat Color: (1) Any color created by printing only one ink, as compared to a color created by printing four-color process. Also called block color and spot color. (2) color that seems weak or lifeless.
Flood: To print a sheet completely with an ink or varnish. flooding with ink is also called painting the sheet.
Folder: A bindery machine dedicated to folding printed materials.
Fold Marks: With printed matter, markings indicating where a fold is to occur, usually located at the top edges.
Foldout: Gatefold sheet bound into a publication, often used for a map or chart. Also called gatefold and pullout.
Folio: (page number) The actual page number in a publication.
Form: Each side of a signature. Also spelled forme.
Font: The characters which make up a complete typeface and size.
Four-Color Printing: Four-color printing is the process by cyan, magenta, yellow, and blank inks are used to create a full color image.
Graphic Design: Arrangement of type and visual elements along with specifications for paper, ink colors and printing processes that, when combined, convey a visual message.
Graphics: Visual elements that supplement type to make printed messages more clear or interesting.
Gloss: Consider the light reflecting on various objects in the printing industry
(ex-- paper, ink, laminates, UV coating, varnish).
Gloss Ink: Ink used and printed on coated stock (mostly litho and letterpress) such as the ink will dry without penetration.
Gripper: A series of metal fingers that hold each sheet of paper as it passes through the various stages of the printing process.
Half-scale Black: Black separation made to have dots only in the shadows and midtones, as compared to full-scale black and skeleton black.
Halftone: (1) To photograph or scan a continuous tone image to convert the image into halftone dots. (2) A photograph or continuous-tone illustration that has been halftoned and appears on film, paper, printing plate or the final printed product.
Halo Effect: Faint shadow sometimes surrounding halftone dots printed. Also called halation. The halo itself is also called a fringe.
Impression: (1) Referring to an ink color, one impression equals one press sheet passing once through a printing unit. (2) Referring to speed of a press, one impression equals one press sheet passing once through the press.
Imprint: To print new copy on a previously printed sheet, such as imprinting an
employee's name on business cards. Also called surprint.
Indicia: Markings pre-printed on mailing envelopes to replace the stamp.
Inserts: Extra printed pages inserted loosely into printed pieces.
Jogger: A vibration machine with a slopping platform to even-up stacks of printed materials.
K: Abbreviation for black in four-color process printing. Hence the 'K' in CMYK.
Layout: A rendition that shows the placement of all the elements, roughs, thumbnails etc., of the final printed piece before it goes to print.
Linen: A paper that emulates the look and texture of linen cloth.
Magenta: One of the four process colors.
Matte Finish: A coated paper finish that goes through minimal calendaring, which makes it flat and not glossy.
Mechanical Tint: Lines or patterns formed with dots creating artwork for reproduction.
Metallic Ink: Ink containing powdered metal or pigments that simulate metal.
Natural Color: Very light brown color of paper. May also be called antique, cream, ivory, off-white or mellow white.
Nonimpact Printing: Printing using lasers, ions, ink jets or heat to transfer images to paper.
Novelty Printing: Printing on products such as coasters, pencils, balloons, golf balls and ashtrays, known as advertising specialties or premiums.
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.
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.
Perforating: Punching small holes or slits in a sheet of paper or cardboard to facilitate tearing along a desired line.
PMS: Abbreviation for pantone matching systems.
Primary Colors: In printing the four primary colors are cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black.
Quality: Subjective term relating to expectations by the customer, printer and other professionals associated with a printing job and whether the job meets those expectations.
RGB: Abbreviation for red, green, blue, the additive color primaries.
Register Marks: Any crossmarks or other symbols used on layout to assure proper registration.
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.
Scale: To identify the percent by which photographs or art should be enlarged or reduced to achieve, the correct size for printing.
Score: Impressions or cuts in flat material to facilitate bending or tearing.
Self Cover: A cover made out of the same paper stock as the internal sheets.
Spot Color: Small area printed in a second color.
Stock: A term for unprinted paper or other material to be printed.
Text: A high quality printing paper.
Total Area Coverage: Total of the dot percentages of the process colors in the final film. Abbreviated for TAC. Also called density of tone, maximum density, shadow saturation, total dot density and total ink coverage.
Trim Marks: Marks placed on the sheet to indicate where to cut the page.
Universal Copyright Convention (UCC): A system to protect unique work from reproducing without knowledge from the originator. To qualify, one must register their work and publish a (c) indicating registration.
UV Coating: UV Coating is the liquid applied to a printed sheet, then bonded and cured with ultraviolet light. This coating yields a tough, almost unscratchable surface that is extremely durable.
Watermark: Translucent logo in paper created during manufacturing by slight embossing from a dandy roll while paper is still approximately 90 percent water.
Wove: A smooth paper made on finely textured wire that gives the paper a gentle patterned finish.
