Glossary of print terminology

We hope that this glossary helps your understanding of the printing process. If you have any further questions or a specific job that you would like advice on then please do not hesitate to contact us.

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

Absorption

The property in paper that allows it to take up liquids or vapours in contact with it.

Acid Free Paper

In principle, paper which does not contain any free acid.

Special precautions are taken during manufacture to eliminate any active acid that might be present in order to increase the longevity of the finished paper.

Art Paper

Term used to describe the best quality of coated papers that have a coating of dry clay or other mineral applied to each side of the sheet.  The sheet is then calendared by some rollers to give a glossy finish.

Artwork

Originally the physical art (Sometimes referred to as Camera-Ready Artwork) was prepared by the designer and included type, graphics and other originals.

These were used by the printer to produce the printing plates.

Today the artwork exists almost wholly in electronic form. Photographs and illustrations are input to the computer using a scanner and all the elements are assembled using page layout software.

Proofs can be made using colour laser or inkjet printers. The computer then separates the 'artwork' and produces high resolution films from which the printing plates are made.

Authors Alterations (AA)

Changes made to the artwork after the proofing stage by the client resulting in additional charges.

B

Back Lining

The fixing of material (either paper or cloth) to the inside of a books spine prior to being bound.

Bank Paper

Range of writing papers (the better qualities of which were at one time made largely from rags). Bank paper is under 63gsm.  It is essentially a stationery paper supplied in a variety of colours with a matt uncoated finish (not suitable for printers or copiers).

Bible Paper

A thin but strong opaque paper as found in bibles, dictionary's etc.

Bleed

Printed area which extends off beyond the crop marks (as it is not possible to print all the way to the edge of the sheet of paper).

To achieve this effect it is necessary to print a larger area than is required and then trim the paper down. Typically a designer would allow an extra 3mm of bleed to colour and image areas to allow for a little leeway when trimming.

Blind Embossing

A type of embossing where no ink is used.

The design or text is only visible as a raised area on the paper caused by the process of pressing a die and counter die in to the stock being used.

Blister Pack

A packaging system which is a combination of a plastic bubble which is sealed to a printed backing board by a transparent plastic film. It is often used for small products of difficult shapes and sizes.

Bond Paper

A grade of durable writing, printing and typing paper usually with a rag content used in business correspondence.

Bromide

A black and white positive or proof on photographic paper.

Traditionally made by contact printing negative film on to white photographic paper (bromide paper). The term now encompasses positives made by Contact Transfer (CT) or Photomechanical Transfer (PMT).

Bulk

The thickness and other associated properties of paper in relativity to it's weight.

Burst Binding

As for Perfect Binding with the following additional notes: -
Burst binding is performed by removing a small slot from the spine of the text at folding stage and nothing is then frazed off at the binding stage, so no allowance needs to be made in the spine. It is most important that the slot removal operation is performed correctly and consistently. If you are folding yourselves and have any queries regarding what slotting disc to use please contact us prior to folding.

Because the adhesive flows through the slot to give the book strength, it is not recommended that colour spreads be positioned in the centre of a section.

It is not practical to insert or wrap sections when Burst Binding.

C

Calliper

The thickness of a particular stock (expressed in microns or mills).

Camera Ready

Artwork or copy which is ready for photography/scanning.

Carbon Paper

A thin woodfree or part mechanical paper that is coated on one side with colouring agent or carbon black dispersed in a suitable medium (eg: wax, which is transferred to a sheet of paper underneath when pressure is applied).

Carbonless Copy Paper (NCR)

This consists of two sheets of paper, the underside of the top sheets (called CB for coated back) is coated with colourless dye in minute gelatine capsules.
The underneath sheet (CF for coated front) is coated with a reactive chemical which turns blue or black when mixed with colourless dye. 
Pressure from a pen or typewriter on the top sheet causes the gelatine capsules to break.  The dye & chemical then mix and the blue or black copy appears on the bottom sheet.
There is also an intermediate paper CFB which is coated front and back.  This is used between the top and bottom sheets to create multi-part sets.

Case Bound

Books bound using hard board covers (cases). The process of adhering a book to it's case cover is known as casing in.

Cast Coated Paper

These papers have a very high gloss finish achieved by using a special coating. 
The surface is then polished by stainless steel drying cylinders.

Coated Paper

Paper which has received a coating (on one side or both sides) providing an even surface.
The coating may have a matt, silk or gloss finish.

CMYK

Shorthand for the colours used in Four Colour Process Printing. Cyan, Yellow, Magenta & Black.

Cockle

Local deformation of a sheet of paper due to unequal shrinkage giving it a slightly crumpled looking appearance.

Collating

Process of assembling the various sections or sheets of a print job in the correct order.

Colour Bar

Quality control device used by printers to see how much of each colour is being printed on the sheet as it comes off the press.

Most colour bars also show information to help the printer keep good registration and check for trapping.

Colour Fastness

Resistance of colour to fading.

Colour Separation

Separating a colour job into the elements required for printing (CMYK). See Four Colour Process Printing.

Comb Binding

A book binding similar to a spiral binding but using a round tubular piece of plastic with many teeth which fit through small rectangular holes punched into the binding edge of the book. The plastic piece, if laid flat, would resemble a comb.

Combination Stamp

Process where embossing and foil blocking are done at the same time.

Concertina Fold

A type of multiple folding of a sheet of paper where each individual fold runs in the opposite direction to the previous fold. Concertina folding can create pages of equal or unequal length..

A similar type of fold where only two folds run in opposite directions and are always inline with each other creating pages of equal length is a Z-fold.

Continuous Stationery

Forms printed on wood free stock on a web-fed press with sprocket punched holes down each side (that enable it to pass through the output printer device located in the office for overprinting of variable data) and perforations between each sheet.

Corel Draw

Vector graphics software by Corel. 

Crease

A printed job can be creased mechanically to make folding easier.

There are times when you might want a printed piece delivered flat for ease of storage and then do the folding yourself, manually.

Cromalin

The brand name of a colour proofing system produced by Du Pont.

Cross Direction

The direction across or against the grain in paper.

Paper is weaker and more sensitive to changes, wear & tear and relative humidity against the grain than when in direction with the grain. (see Grain of the paper).

CTP

"Computer to Plate" is the process of producing printers plates directly from the files stored on a computer.

This means that no films are required and that the process for the make ready time on a litho print job does not take quite as long as it did in the past.

Curl

The distortion of a sheet of paper brought about by the differences in structure or coatings from one side to the other, or by the absorption of moisture on an offset press.

Cut Index

Similar to tabbed dividers but forming part of the finished document itself.

The size of the supporting tabs in a cut index differs to that of tabbed dividers because they gradually increase in size the further back in the finished document that you go.

D

Debossing

Similar to embossing but creates a depression rather than an impression.

Density

The degree of darkness, light absorption, or opacity of a photographic image.

Die Stamping

An intaglio process of printing in which the resultant impression stands out in relief above the surface of the stamped material using coloured inks.

Die Cutting

A finishing process where the finisher stamps out print with a custom made shaped cutter called a 'die' to produce a folder or other individual shape.

Digital Paper

A wide range of papers that have been specifically produced to perform on digital presses.

They are available in all the usual uncoated and coated stocks. 

Digital Pigment Print Definition

The term "pigment print" is used generally for any type of printed image that uses strictly pigments. Pigment printing processes have been utilized since the middle of the 19th century. The image stability of pigment printing is superior to that of any other method of printing, including traditional silver-halide or metal-based.

Digital inkjet printing has seen a surge in the use of the pigmented inks as ink sets have been refined to be compatible with the latest in high-resolution inkjet technology.

Where archival dye-based ink sets exhibit excellent colour gamut, pigment inks excel in permanence. A dye is molecularly soluble in its vehicle, but pigment is not. Pigment particles tend to be large enough to embed into the receiving substrate making them water-resistant. The particulate nature of pigment inks ensures their archival superiority. A particle of pigment is less susceptible to destructive environmental elements than a dye molecule.

Many digital papers have coatings which enhance colour gamut. However, these delicate coatings are susceptible to scuffing and scratching, and diminish the archival properties of the print. Prints made with coated substrates are not considered true digital pigment prints.

Digital Printing

Digital printers work directly from electronic data and avoid the intermediate stage of films. They are very cost effective for short runs.

The quality obtainable on some of the hi-spec digital presses is now starting to rival the quality produced on some litho presses (although only approximately 80% of Pantone Colours can be matched on the best of these presses through the CMYK equivalents). Standards have improved steadily in recent years and experts predict that this trend is likely to continue.

Because these systems use an inherently four colour process there is no cost saving to be made from using one or two-colour designs.

Some popular hi-spec digital machines to look out for are the...

HP Indigo, Kodak Nexpress, Xerox iGen 3.

If you are looking for a job that requires short-run printing on sheets over SRA3 size then a digital web-fed press known as a Xeikon may be very useful.

MUSE Print Management can advise on the best printing method for any particular job and will be more than happy to show you price comparisons between litho and digital production of any given job.

Dot Gain

The increase in size of a dot in a tone print that takes place when during printing.

The increase in size is relative to it's size on the photographic positive or negative.

DPI

Dots per inch.

Drilling

Punching the holes in paper/board for use in a ring binder.

Drills can neatly perforate a much greater thickness of paper than can the type of hole punch you may find in the office.

Dummy (1)

A plain white mock-up of a booklet or brochure (not printed but made up using the intended stock).

Most printers will make up a dummy if you ask nicely. This is the best way to get a feel for the finished product.

Dummy (2)

A mock-up produced by the designer to show how the finished job will look.

This will usually involve colour prints from various sources and will therefore not be on the intended stock.

Duplex Paper

Duotone

A two-colour halftone sometimes used in Two Colour Printing.

A duotone is a print that has a tinted effect using a black & white original.

E

Eggshell finish

Finish of a paper surface that resembles an eggshell achieved by omitting the calendaring process giving it a toothy or rough texture.

Embossing

As with Blind Embossing but using ink also.

Emulsification

Dispersion of water in to the ink during printing. In excess this may cause difficulties in production.

Encoding

Characters that are used by security printing specialists.

They are invariably found on cheques and other such material and contain iron which can be recognised by MICR (Magnetic Ink Character Recognition) automatic readers.

Envelope sizes

EPS File (Encapsulated Postscript)

A form of postscript which is not driver dependant. It is self contained and should hold the necessary information to produce a logo perfectly because it has been generated from a mathematically defined vector graphic file.

It should be noted that depending on the file format it may not be possible to embed fonts used in a logo. This can be rectified by creating font outlines, or supplying fonts used in the logo.

It is not sufficient to save any file in an EPS format. Your EPS file has to be generated from a vector graphic originated from a suitable application such as Adobe Illustrator, Freehand or Corel Draw.

F

Fan Fold

Similar to Z-folding but a term that is more readily associated with web-fed printing of continuous stationery etc.

Films

Films are produced by an imagesetter from the artwork.

They are used to produce the printing plates by a photochemical process.

There is one separated film for each ink used.

Flat Stitching

Stitching where the staples pass through sheets of paper gathered on top of each other and are then closed on the underside.

This type of stitching is usually found in padded jobs.

Flexographic Printing aka Flexo

Flexographic printing describes the process commonly used in the packaging industry. It uses rollers with a flexible rubber-like surface to pick up quick-drying ink. The roller has a raised print pattern, which rolls over the substrate (such as paper, plastic or foil) to print a sharp image. Flexographic printing is used to print such things as plastic bags, drinks cartons, packaging and labels.

Flush Cover

Refers to a book cover that has been trimmed to the same size as the text.

Foil Blocking

Impressing or stamping a design upon a cover with gold leaf or metal foil.

Folio

Printer's technical term for what the rest of the world calls a page number.

Font

Characters that make up typeface and size.

Fore Edge

A term used in binding to describe the edge of a book that is opened.

Four Up, Three Up, Two Up etc etc

Number of similar items printed on one sheet of paper (also called four to view, three to view etc).

Also known as grouping when printing separate jobs on the same sheet. Batch printers group certain jobs on specific stocks of paper and print them off in longer runs thus lowering the cost of outputting a particular job.

Four Colour Process Printing

See CMYK.

The most common type of commercial printing.

The vast majority of magazines and colour books are produced using four-colour process. Originally the artwork and originals were separated photographically using filters to produce four printing plates. Today the separation is carried out digitally.

The four ink colours are Cyan (C), Magenta (M),Yellow (Y) and Black (K or key) - often referred to as CMYK.

Because the inks used are translucent, they can be overprinted and combined in a variety of different proportions to produce a wide range of colours.

Theoretically it is possible to produce an adequate range of colours using just Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. Indeed for a time three Colour Process was a viable option. However, in practice much better results are achieved with the addition of black (or Key). The black plate is used to strengthen the shadow areas and reduce the amount of CMY inks required.

Although the range of colours that can be achieved is adequate for most jobs the process has its limitations. It is important to remember that many colours which are available as special inks have no close equivalent in four colour process. In some cases it may be necessary to print a fifth plate in order to match, for example, a particularly difficult company logo colour. The additional cost of this is normally prohibitive and the necessity should be avoided at the design stage.   For more info on special colours see spot colours.

It is not unusual, where an elaborate effect is required, to print in six or more colours.

Freehand

Vector graphics software by Adobe (previously Macromedia). 

G

Gate Fold

Type of fold where both edges fold to meet in the middle, thus creating a gate like effect.

Ghosting

Occurs when a ghost like image appears across the printed image.

It results from the inadequacies of the inking system (ie - uneven ink distribution from the rollers).

Giclee

The Definition : Giclee (zhee-klay) - The French word "giclee" is a feminine noun that means to spray liquid. The word may have been derived from the French verb "gicler" meaning "to squirt".

The Term : The term "giclee print" connotes an elevation in printmaking technology. Images are generated from high resolution digital scans and printed with archival quality inks on to various substrates including canvas, fine art, and photo-base paper. The giclee printing process provides better colour accuracy than other means of reproduction.

The Process : Giclee prints are created typically using professional 8-Color to 12-Color ink-jet printers.

Among the manufacturers of these printers are vanguards such as Epson (Stylus), Hewlett-Packard and MacDermid Colorspan.

These modern technology printers are capable of producing incredibly detailed prints for both the fine art and photographic markets. Giclee prints are sometimes mistakenly referred to as Iris prints, which are 4-Color ink-jet prints from a printer pioneered in the late 1970s by Iris Graphics.

The Advantages : Giclee prints are advantageous to artists who do not find it feasible to mass produce their work, but want to reproduce their art as needed, or on-demand. Once an image is digitally archived, additional reproductions can be made with minimal effort and reasonable cost. The prohibitive up-front cost of mass production for an edition is eliminated. Archived files will not deteriorate in quality as negatives & film inherently do. Another tremendous advantage of giclee printing is that digital images can be reproduced to almost any size and onto various media, giving the artist the ability to customize prints for a specific client.

The Quality : The quality of the giclee print rivals traditional silver-halide and gelatin printing processes and is commonly found in museums, art galleries, and photographic galleries.

Grain

Direction of fibres in a sheet of paper.

Gravure

An uncommon printing process where the image area is etched below the surface of the plate (an intaglio process).

Gravure is most often used for either very high quality or long run printing.

The web version is sometimes referred to as rotogravure.

Green Paper

Immature paper which has not been conditioned or had the chance to mature naturally.

Greyboard

A board made entirely from waste paper.  It can be lined or unlined and is used for log book covers and a variety of packaging purposes.

Gsm or g/m2

Abbreviation for grams per square metre.

This measurement indicates the weight of paper or other stock.

For example; A typical photocopier paper would be 80gsm.

A good letterhead paper might be 100gsm.

A postcard would be about 250gsm.

Greyscale

A depiction of grey tones between black and white.

Gummed Paper

Suitable body papers that have been web coated with various types of adhesive that will adhere to a variety of different surfaces when dampened.

Gutter

The binding margin of a book or the spine of a folder which allows for a certain capacity of paper to be stored inside.

H

Halftone

The method of producing a range of tones, such as a photograph or tinted area, by dividing the image into a series of dots.

Dark areas have relatively big dots, close together. Light areas have small dots surrounded by white space.

The number of dots used determines the quality of the image produced.

In a newspaper the halftone dots are easily visible to the naked eye - the screen used can often be as coarse as 60 dpi (dots per inch). A colour magazine would typically use a screen of 150 dpi - An art book, 175 dpi or finer.

A halftone screen can be applied to a solid colour in order to produce tints of that colour.

Hatching

The printing of irregular patterns of ink, usually to the surface of sheets of paper within a multi-part set (see NCR) which render the image created unreadable.

This is to hide certain information which is required NOT to be read by certain recipients of forms.

These are called hidden entries.

Hickeys

In offset lithography, spots or imperfections in the printing due to dirt on the press (dried skin, paper particles etc).

Hot Melt

An adhesive used in the binding process.

The primary distinguishing factor of a hot melt adhesive over most other adhesive systems is that it is applied in a molten state, which cools to form a solid bond between the two substrates.

Such a property is achievable due to the fact that hot-melt adhesives are thermoplastics before and during application. They exhibit liquid properties when heated above their glass transition temperature because they are primarily linear chain molecules with no cross-links. However, a lack of cross-links leaves such materials susceptible to creep under load. One way in which this issue is tackled is by formulating the adhesive so that it starts to cross-link after the bond has been formed. These adhesives are called reactive hot-melts.

I

Illustrator

Postscript graphics software by Adobe. 

Imposition

The layout of pages on the printed sheet so that they are in the correct order when the sheet is folded up and trimmed.

Imagine a 16 page A5 leaflet printed on a single SRA2 sheet.

The sheet is folded in half three times before trimming and stitching.

If you look at the printed, unfolded sheet you will see that, for example, page 2 is adjacent to page 15 and half the pages are upside down! There are many different imposition layouts - some of them very complex.

Impression

Product resulting from one cycle of a printing press where the image is transferred to paper.

Inkjet Printing

A plate-less digital printing system that produces images directly on to the paper from electronic data using streams of very fine drops of dyes that are controlled by digital signals.

Used in proofing and some fine art work.

Insert

Leaflet or other printed material that is inserted loose in to a publication or mailing package.

Inset

Printed material that is bound in with the pages of a publication rather than inserted loose.

Intaglio

A printing process where the image is engraved below the surface of the printing plate such as gravure.

Inter-leaving

Inserting alternate sheets of blank paper between the printed sheets as they come off the press to prevent set off (rubbing of the ink).

ISDN

Acronym for Integrated Services Digital Networking.

ISDN is now predominantly used to provide dedicated connections between corporate networks or ad-hoc computer to computer connection. ISDN lines can be bundled together to increase bandwidth. A single ISDN line contains two channels each capable of providing 64k of bandwidth.

Ivory Board

A high quality board with a bright clear appearance used for business cards and other similar high class printed work.
Original manufacture Grosvenor produce the board in Holland.

J

Jacket

The paper sleeve that wraps around the cover of a case bound book.

Jog

To vibrate a stack of printed pages so that they are even.

K

Kiss Cut

A light die cut that cuts through the first layer of a label but leaves the base substrate uncut.

L

Laid Paper

Uncoated paper often used for business stationery which has a texture pattern of parallel lines similar to hand made paper.

Lamination

The application of a plastic film coating which protects the printed surface and increases the printed items durability.

It also enhances the products appearance giving it a high gloss or matt finish.

Landscape

The orientation of the page so that the long edge is along the bottom.

Sometimes referred to as horizontal.

The opposite to portrait.

Letterpress

Printing that utilizes ink raised surfaces to create the image which is made by pressure directly in to the surface of the material.

Light Fast Inks

Inks that will not fade to any significant extent after prolonged exposure to light.

Line artwork

Artwork which contains no halftones such as company symbols or simple diagrams.

Listing Paper

A form of continuous paper sprocket punched with minimal printing or no printing.

Lithography

By far the most common type of commercial printing.

Litho printers use a printing process that is based on the natural principle of the aversion of water to grease.  Areas of the plate where an image is not required are chemically treated so that water that is applied to the plate prior to the ink repels the ink away from these areas (before it is transferred to the stock). 

In the case of offset printing, a 'reverse' of the image is transferred from the plate to a rubber blanket on an adjacent cylinder, which is then corrected as it is transferred to the stock that is being printed on.

The process is more expensive than Digital and only starts to pay for itself on longer runs or when production of a match to a certain colour is required.

M

Make Ready

The processes involved in getting a press ready for a print run.

Match Print

Photographic proof made from colour flats to form a composite proof that shows colour quality & depth. These types of proof are now produced on a hi-resolution digital machine.

Matt Coated Paper

These papers have calcium carbonate added to them in their production to make a satin effect, rather than the gloss effect on Art paper.  These papers due to the process are more prone to rubbing when printed but the application of a seal varnish will help to prevent this.

Microns

A unit of linear measurement equivalent to one millionth of a metre, used to measure the calliper thickness of paper & board.

Millimetres (mills)

A unit of length equal to one thousandth of a metre.

Moire

French term used by printers to describe the patterns caused by the incorrect angling of dots from the screens used for halftone printing. These effects occur whenever tiny image structures can not be resolved sufficiently by the resolution of the image sensor.

Monochrome

A term used to describe an item being produced in one colour only.

The one colour could be black or any Pantone ink.

Mottle

A term used to describe irregular spots or blotches in a printed area that should be even in colour.

N

NCR

Brand name of NO CARBON REQUIRED paper. This term has now been superseded by the term carbonless paper.

Newsprint paper

O

Offset Printing

Printing system where the paper does not come into contact with the printing plate. The ink is transferred from the plate to a blanket cylinder and then to the paper.

On Demand Printing

Printing-On-Demand refers to outputting when it is needed (usually through digital production) instead of having it stored on the shelf.

Other benefits of Print-On-Demand include the ability to tailor personalised images/messages to the recipient of direct mail campaigns etc.

Opacity

The property of the paper that blocks the transmission of light and the amount of ink that shows through the sheet.

Opaque Ink

Ink that completely covers through so that light cannot shine through it once it has dried on the paper.

Originals

The basic elements of the artwork.

Overs

A quantity of printed material in excess of the amount ordered.

Over-hang Cover

A cover of a book that extends over the trimmed text it contains.

Over Printing

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

Usually refers to digitally printing variable information in to a litho pre-printed form that has been printed on to a special paper such as Duo Laser.

P

Page

One side of a sheet of paper whether printed or un-printed (pp - refers to printed pages).

Pagemaker

Postscript graphics software.

Pagination Guide

A sheet used by the printer in plate-making and finishing that shows where each page is located in the given publication.

A pagination guide will often be asked for when printing a publication with a few colour pages only or a number of blank pages that are distributed throughout the publication.

Pantone Matching System (PMS)

The brand name of a colour matching system produced by Pantone inc of the USA that enables printers and designers to visualise, communicate and control applied process colours for type, logos, borders, backgrounds etc.

A large range of inks are specified and identified by number to produce standard results across the industry.

A reference such as Pantone 199 (or PMS 199) indicates a colour in the Pantone range, in this case a bright red.

In a colour swatch book the number PMS 199C would indicate how the colour looks when printed on coated or glossy stock.

PMS 199U indicates how the same ink appears when printed on Uncoated or matt stock.

Sometimes the difference between the same colour being printed on coated and uncoated stocks can be quite dramatic.

It is worth remembering that Pantone inks provide a much greater range of colours than can be achieved using CMYK. This is important if trying to match work printed in four colour process with those printed in special colours.

http://www.pantone.co.uk/pages/pantone/colorfinder.aspx

Paper Mark

A mark placed in the paper after it has been made and not during the paper making process. The mark can be produced through printing, chemical application or embossing. Some marks are good imitations of a watermark.

Paper Sizes

Parallel Fold

Folds that are parallel to each other on the sheet of paper.

Parchment Paper

PDF

Portable Document Format (Adobe Postscript File).

Popular electronic document format that embeds all typeface, graphic and page layout information in to one compact file. The file's appearance will not change regardless of computer platform or printer (making it ideal for proofing work electronically).

Perfect Binding

Perfect Binding is performed by frazing off the spine, teasing out the fibres from the paper and putting small notches into the spine for the adhesive to flow into.
The spine area of the text and cover should be free from ink, varnish, sealers and laminates. Solvents should be allowed sufficient time to dissipate to the atmosphere.
A minimum allowance of 3 mm should be made at the head, foredge and foot for trimming to finished size, and at the spine for frazing off.
The strongest binds will always be achieved with cartridge papers rather than art papers, though in most cases provided the above recommendations are followed, art papers up to 150gsm can usually be bound without problem. In some circumstances 170gsm art papers can be bound but we would recommend that you discuss with us prior to printing.
We would always recommend that the grain direction of all materials supplied for the text and cover should be head to tail.

Perfecting

Printing both sides of a sheet in one pass through the press.

Perforation

The running of a dotted score in to the paper during finishing.

Perforating allows the paper to be torn apart along the perforation with ease.

Picking

The lifting of the paper surface during printing.

Picking occurs when the pulling force (tack) of the ink is greater than the surface strength of the paper that it has been printed on.

Plate

Reproduction of type or cuts in metal, plastic, rubber or other material to form a plate bearing an image that can be transferred from it.

Point of Sale (POS)

Terminology used to describe printed documentation used at the point of sale, such as blister packs, shelf-wobblers, euro-tab cards, leaflet dispensers, exhibition stands etc. 

Portrait

The orientation of the page so that the short edge is along the bottom. Sometimes referred to as vertical.

The opposite of landscape.

Postscript

The brand name of a software standard created by Adobe.

It is a page description language which is used by most graphics software and output devices to combine text, pictures and graphical elements into an electronic document and create output which can be used by the printer.

PPI

Acronym for Pixels per inch.

Pre-printed Form

A cut-sheet, fan-folded or continuous roll form that has been offset printed with constant outline or design on to which variable data can be overprinted via inkjet, laser printer or other such method.

Printing Plate

The physical plate which carries the image.

Progressives

A set of proofs which show the different inks separately and combined in various permutations.

Promotional Print

Term used to describe printed items used for marketing and promotional purposes, ranging from pens, mouse-mats, clothing to executive knick-knacks. 

Proof

Working copy used for review and approval.

A test print produced to show what the finished product will look like. These can be made in a variety of different ways and at different stages of the production process. The simplest form is a colour laser or inkjet print which can create a rough impression. It should be remembered that at this point there are still a number of stages through which the data has to pass and therefore a laser print cannot be relied upon as an accurate proofing method.

Photochemical proofing systems like Cromalin have for many years been the most popular method. The colour print is produced directly from the separated films and therefore gives an accurate interpretation. Sometimes the colours can be even sharper and more vivid than can be achieved on the press and there is a danger of creating unrealistic expectations in the client.

The most accurate method is a wet proof. This involves using a special proofing press designed for very short runs and actually printing a quantity of sheets using the real stock and real inks. Of course this requires producing the films and plates, not to mention the cost of Make Ready which makes wet proofing a very expensive option, particularly if corrections are required. This is a bad time to start looking for typographical errors.

Increasingly popular are digital proofing systems, which aim to simulate the Cromalin type proof. They are essentially very high resolution colour printers which make use of colour management techniques for their accuracy.

Whatever system you choose it is certain that proofing is a good thing which can save a lot of heartache and cost later on. Sad to say, many clients with an eye on the budget tend to regard proofing as an unnecessary expense. "There's always time for a reprint".

Pulpboard

Uncoated boards in white or a range of tinted colours ranging from 200micron to 750micron in thickness.

PUR Binding

The same process as perfect binding, but a synthetic adhesive (Polyurethane React) is used in place of conventional hot-melt glue. The glued spine is more pliable and the adhesive bond much stronger than a perfect bound product and so has increased longevity.

Q

Quark XPress

Industry standard Desktop Publishing application.

Quark is suitable for accurate page layout, assigning Pantone ink shades and process colours which will separate correctly when plated.

Quire

Traditional term for one twentieth of a ream (the traditional ream was 480 sheets so the quire was 24 sheets).

R

Rag paper

Paper with a complete or partial content of cotton fibers.

Ream

500 sheets of paper.

Reducer

Any substrate that reduces the tack of ink.

Register

When printing with two or more colours it is necessary to align the different plates. Register is a printer's term for the position of colours on each sheet relative to each other.

Resolution

Qualification of printout quality using the number of dots per inch (DPI).

Reversed Out Printing

Text is normally printed directly on to paper. The process of 'reversing out' is to print a solid block of colour while leaving the text to be read as unprinted areas on the paper (for example white text being read on a background of solid colour).

Rice Paper

Right Angle Fold

The clue is in the name really!!!

Folds that leave the stock with 90 degree angles. Usually found in boxes and other packaging etc.

RIP

Acronym for Raster Image Processor.

A device used for interpreting Postscript data and sending binary info to an image setter.

Rubine

A pigment that is redder than true magenta. It is used primarily in mixing other ink colours.

Rub Resistance

Measure of a given inks ability to resist rubbing or scuffing.

Rubbing or scuffing can be counteracted by adding a sealer to a given print job.

Run-on

Often when a printing price is quoted it is given as a figure for the basic job plus a figure for additional copies.

For example the price may be 2,000 copies at £300 with £25 for a 500 run-on.

This enables you to calculate a range of prices for different quantities.

It is very important to note that the run-on price is for copies printed at the same time as the main run. For instance, in the example given, you could not have 2,000 copies today and then expect to have another 500 at some future date for just £25.

In many cases the set-up and Make Ready charges represent a large proportion of the print cost.

Rotogravure

The web version of gravure.

S

Saddle Stitch

A simple way of assembling a small booklet or magazine with wires stitched through the fold at the spine.

You may call it stapling but printers call it stitching.

Scanner

Hardware for turning a piece of original artwork into a digital file.

Transparencies, prints and illustrations are scanned so that they can be accessed by software designed for image manipulation and page make-up.

For many years the industry standard was the drum scanner, a rotary system which produced very high-resolution scans. Recently flat-bed scanners, such as you might use with a PC, have risen dramatically in quality to the point where the better models are suitable even for high-end work.

Screen Printing

This is a process where the ink is transferred to the printing surface by being squeezed through a fine fabric sheet stretched on a frame.

The screen carries a stencil which defines the image area.

The process can be manual or mechanical but is most suitable for short runs.

Screen printing is usually used for large poster work and display material. It comes into its own when printing to difficult or unusual surfaces such as clothing or plastic objects.

It is often referred to as silkscreen printing (although the screens are generally made from artificial fibres).

Scumming

Ink film on paper caused due to lack of water balance in the press.

Section

A folded sheet which is assembled with others to make up a book.

For example an A2 sheet will provide a section of eight A4 pages when folded twice.

A 20 page booklet would therefore require two 8-page sections and one 4-page section. These sections are then saddle-stitched together.

Larger booklets of say more than sixty pages would use another method of binding, such as perfect-binding.

Set-Off

A printing fault where ink transfers from a sheet to the one below as it leaves the press creating an undesirable ghost image.

This can be cured if necessary by inter-leaving. The machine minder should be able to correct the problem.

Self Adhesive Paper

Used essentially for labelling purposes.  It has a self adhesive coating on one side and a surface suitable for printing on the other.  The adhesive is protected by a laminate which enables the sheet to be fed through a printing press.  The laminate is subsequently stripped prior to applying the label.

Self Cover

A cover made from the same paper as the text of a booklet.

Sheet Fed

Relates to a printing technique whereby paper is fed in to the printing press one sheet at a time.

Short Run Printing

Denotes runs with small quantities.

Show Through

When the printing on one side of a sheet of paper is seen from the other side.

This can be helped by using a more opaque sheet of paper.

Silk Screen Printing

See Screen Printing 

Silk Paper

Coated paper that has a satin finish that falls somewhere between that of matt and gloss coated papers.  Available in grammages of 90gsm to 400gsm usually.

Spine

Back edge or gutter of a book where the text sits.

Spiral Binding

Securing loose pages with looped wire that fixes in to holes down one of the margins of the page. It allows for products to lie flat when open, but can be less durable than other binding methods. Also referred to as wiro-binding.

Spot Colours

This refers to colours which are produced using specially mixed inks from one of the commercially available colour ranges such as Pantone.

To print colours outside the range of four colour process it is necessary to use special inks. If for example the exact colour of a company logo could not be achieved from a CMYK mix then it would be necessary to print a fifth plate with the special ink.

It is not unusual, where an elaborate effect is required, to print in six or more colours. There are presses which are capable of printing eight different plates in a single run through the machine.

It is worth bearing in mind when choosing a colour for a company logo that sooner or later you will want to print a colour brochure using four colour process. A vivid ink which you have chosen from the Pantone book may not have an acceptable CMYK equivalent. You may be forced to change the company colour or swallow the ongoing expense of a fifth plate.

Stock

A general term that is used by printers for any paper or board which is used as a printing surface.

T

Tack

Adhesive quality of inks.

Text

Often refers to the page content of a publication excluding the cover.

Thermography

Raised printing used to simulate engraving. It is printed on an offset press using resin powder and heat that melts the resin on to the ink giving it a raised effect.

Thread Sewing

Thread sewing is performed by using thread to attach the folded sections together at the spine. No frazing of the spine takes place and no allowance needs to be made in the spine.
All sections should have a lip of 6mm on the foredge of the highest folios to enable the section to be opened mechanically.
The grammage of the text material is less important than for Perfect or Burst Binding though we would recommend that if you wish to use text material over 170gsm you discuss with us first.

TIFF

Acronym for Tagged Image File Format.

A method of storing an image on a computer.

Tints

Various strengths of even tone areas of Spot Colours.

Toothy

The rough surfaced finish of certain papers such as Vellum or Antique.

Transparency

The preferred medium for photographs intended for printing. Transparencies generally have sharper images and better colour than photographic prints.

Trapping

The printing of a wet ink film over a previously printed ink so that the paper surface does not show.

Dry trapping is the printing of a wet ink over a dry ink.

Wet trapping is the printing of wet ink over previously wet ink.

Trim Marks

Marks that are placed on the sheet prior to finishing. They indicate where to cut the page during the finishing process.

Two Colour Printing

Two colour printing is commonly used for stationery because of its cost-effectiveness.

The typical design includes a special colour such as a Pantone ink along with black.

The special ink is the 'company colour' for use on the logo and the black is for text.

In addition, tints of both inks could be used to produce variations of the colour and greys respectively. For example, if a strong blue is chosen as the main colour then the opportunity exists to have a pale blue tint, perhaps as a background 'ghost' image. A range of greys is also available from tints of black.

Two colour printing can be an economic way of producing brochures and catalogues if full-colour images are not required. There are creative options such as duotones which can be considered if the subject matter is suitable.

Typeface

Specific type of font.

Typesetting

Assembly of reading matter by the use of handpicked metal type and photographs. It is more common to typeset via keyboard these days using software packages like Quark Xpress, Pagemaker and Adobe Illustrator.

U

Un-Calendared

Papers that are not smoothed by going through the calendaring process during production (giving them a toothy or grainy effect).

Uncoated Paper

UV Inks

UV inks cure on application leaving prints dry as they come off the bed and ready for handling and post processing. UV inks are used extensively in screen printing, flexographic, narrow web and letterpress printing. They are free of volatile solvents, aromatic hydrocarbons and do not contain ozone depleting chemicals

UV Varnishing

A method of adding a gloss finish to printed surfaces.

Some varnishes are referred to by printers as sealers which prevent scuffing on Silk, Satin or Matt papers.

The advantage of UV varnishing is that it is similar to printing an extra colour and can be applied to selected areas to produce special effects (Spot UV).

The UV refers to the Ultra-Violet lamp under which the varnished sheets pass for rapid drying.

V

Vector Graphic

A Vector file is a mathematical description of an image.

It is scaleable to any size and will not lose any image quality.

It is the generic name given to any graphic created in applications such as Adobe Illustrator, Freehand or Corel Draw. These packages will allow you to construct a logo correctly, and have access to electronic Pantone guides for assigning colours to the file. When it is saved in an EPS format it will be perfectly suitable for importing into any application that is supported for direct use.

Vellum

Vignette

Fade to white production of a photograph or illustration in which the tones fade gradually away.

W

Waffling

Deformation of a sheet of paper caused by excessive ink tack.

Watermark

A deliberate design or pattern in paper that is visible when viewed by transmitted light or against a contrasting background. Made by a dandy roll at the wet end of the paper making process.

Web

A web printing machine is one that accepts the paper on a large roll of paper.

These are very fast presses and are only economic for long run and high volume work.

Most people have seen films of newspapers being printed - this is a web process.

The majority of magazines you find in the newsagent have been printed by web.

Wide Format Printing

Terminology description to go here.

Wiro binding

see spiral binding.

Wood Free Paper

Paper that is free from wood pulp (used in continuous stationery etc).

Work & Turn

When a whole job is printed on one side of sheet, the sheets turned and printed again using the same plates.

For example, a single sheet A4 flyer is printed with back and front adjacent to each other on one side of an SRA3 sheet.

The sheets are flipped over and printed with the same plates again. When trimmed you have A4 sheets with a different image front and back. The advantage of this technique is to save a plate change and make-ready cost.

Wove Paper

Paper made as early as 1754 by forming it on a mould with a cover made from woven wire cloth.  The paper is similar to laid paper which shows an even texture rather than a parallel line pattern along with an even opacity.

X Y Z

Z-Fold

Leaflet that is folded twice only to create a 'Z' shape.