Knowledge Base
AA
Authors’ Alterations. Changes other than corrections made by a client after the proofing process has begun.
Acrobat
Program developed by Adobe Systems, Inc. for creating, editing, distributing and viewing Portable Document Format files, also known as PDFs.
Aqueous Coating
Water based coating applied after printing. Available in gloss, dull or matte finish, it helps to keep ink from rubbing off. Unlike some other coatings such as UV or varnish, it can accept inkjet printing.
Basis Size
Standard size of sheets of paper used to calculate basis weight in the U.S. and Canada.
Basis Weight
The weight in pounds of 500 sheets (ream) of paper in the basis size. Also called ream weight or substance weight.
Bindery
Department responsible for finishing functions.
Bitmap Image
A type of image file format that uses a grid of pixels to create shapes. Bitmap images, sometimes called raster images, consist of a fixed number of individually editable pixels. Photos and screen captures are usually bitmap images. Popular bitmap file formats include GIT, JPEG, and TIFF.
Blanket
Rubber coated pad mounted on a cylinder of an offset press that receives the inked image from the plate and transfers it to the paper or substrate.
Bleed
Printing that extends to the very edge of the finished sheet after trimming.
Blind Image
Image that is embossed, debossed or stamped but not printed with ink or foil.
Bulk
Thickness of paper relative to its basis weight.
Butt Register
Register where ink colors meet exactly without overlapping or allowing space between. Also called butt fit and kiss register.
C1s and C2s
Abbreviation for coated one side and coated two sides.
Caliper
Applies to the thickness of paper expressed in thousandths of an inch (mils or points), pages per inch (ppi), thousandths of a millimeter (microns) or pages per centimeter (ppc). Also a device on a sheetfed press or on binding equipment that detects double sheets or missing signatures or inserts.
Cast Coated Paper
Very high gloss coated paper made by pressing the paper against a polished, hot, metal drum while the coating is still wet.
Choke
The technique of very slightly reducing the size of an image to create a hairline trap or an outline. Also called shrink and skinny.
CIP3
The International Cooperation for the Integration of Prepress, Press and Postpress. A file format is generated from your digital files that is used to preset the ink fountains on the press to reduce makeready waste and time. Also used to present equipment for finishing operations.
Clipping Path
In computer graphics or imaging, a curve that defines the boundary of an image. Only the portion of the image that is within the clipping path will be visible when the item is printed or displayed.
CMYK
Abbreviation for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black), the four process colors.
Color Break
In multicolor printing, the point where one color stops and another begins.
Color Control Bar
Strips of small blocks of color on a proof or press sheet used to evaluate features such as density and dot gain. Also called color bar.
Color Sequence
The order in which the inks are printed. Also called laydown sequence and rotation.
Compression
An algorithm that reduces file sizes by removing redundant data. Common compression schemes include JPEG, LZW and RLE.
Creep
When the middle pages of a folded signature extend slightly beyond the outer pages. Also called feathering, push out and thrust. (See shingling)
Crop Marks
Lines near the edges of an image indicating the trim lines. Also called cut marks.
Crossover
Copy or art that continues from one page of a book across the gutter to the opposite page.
CWT
Abbreviation for hundred weight. (Roman numeral C=100)
Cyan
One of the four process colors, also known as process blue.
Deboss
To press an image into the paper so it is below the surface.
Densitometer
The instrument used to measure ink density.
Density
As applied to ink, the relative thickness of a layer of printed ink. As applied to color, the relative ability of a color to absorb light reflective from it.
Die
Device for cutting, scoring, stamping, embossing or debossing.
Die Cut
To cut irregular shapes in paper using a die.
Digital Asset Management
A term to describe different means of organizing and storing all the various elements for a project such as text, images, video, audio, etc.
Digital Proof
Refers to proofs made directly from digital data. (Not analog film)
Dot Gain
Phenomenon of halftone dots printing larger on paper than they are on films or plates, reducing detail and lowering contrast. Also called dot growth, dot spread and press gain.
Dots Per Inch (DPI)
Refers to the resolution at which a device such as a monitor or printer can display text and graphics.
Double Bump
To print a single image twice so it has two layers of ink.
Drawdown
Sample inks specified for the job applied to the substrate for the job in order to proof prior running on the press.
Dry Trap
To print over dry ink as compared to a wet trap.
Duotone
Black and white photograph reproduced using two halftone negatives each shot to emphasize different tonal values in the original.
Dylux
Brand name for photographic paper used to make blue line proofs.
Electronic Publication
A document that is distributed by computer rather than on paper. Electronic publications may also be printed but they are primarily intended to be read on-screen, searched and saved for future access.
Emboss
To press an image into paper so it lies above the surface.
Face
Edge of a bound publication opposite the spine. Also an abbreviation for typeface referring to a family of a general style.
Film Laminate
A thin sheet of plastic bonded to a printed product for protection or increased gloss.
Finish
Surface characteristics of paper and also a general term for bindery or other post-press operations.
Finished Size
Size of the product after all production is completed.
Flat Size
Size of the product after printing and trimming but before folding.
Flood
To print a sheet completely with an ink or varnish.
Foil Emboss
To foil stamp and emboss an image.
Font
One style, weight and width of a typeface. An example is Times Roman Bold Extended. The terms font and typeface are to be used interchangeably.
Form
Each side of a signature.
For Position Only
Abbreviated as FPO, refers to inexpensive or low resolution copies of photos or art used on a mechanical to indicate placement and scaling but not intended for reproduction.
Four Color Process
Technique of printing using black, magenta, cyan and yellow to simulate full-color images. Also called color process printing and full color printing.
FTP site
FTP or File Transfer Protocol is a communications protocol that allows the transfer of files from one company or person to another.
Gang
To reproduce two or more different printed products simultaneously on one sheet of paper during one press run. Also called a combination run.
Ghosting
Phenomenon of a faint image appearing on a printed sheet where it was not intended to appear.
Gloss
Referring to the light reflection of different parts of the process such as paper, ink, laminates, or varnish/coating.
Grain Direction
Predominant direction in which the fibers in paper become aligned during manufacturing.
Gripper Edge
Edge of a sheet held by grippers on a sheetfed press, thus going through first. Also called feeding or leading edge.
Gutter
In book printing, the inside margins toward the back or binding edge.
Halftone
To photograph or scan a continuous tone image to convert the image into halftone dots. Also a image that has been halftoned and appears on paper, plate or the final product.
Imposition
Arrangement of pages on the full press sheet so that they will be in proper sequence after the sheets are folded and/or bound.
Impression
Refers to one press sheet passing through printing unit once. Also to one pass through digital device.
Imprint
To print new copy on a previously printed sheet such as imprinting name and address on a business card with a previously printed logo.
Ink Holdout
Characteristic of paper that prevents it from absorbing ink, thus allowing ink to dry on the surface of the paper.
JDF
Job Definition Format. An open, multi-vendor solution created by Adobe, AGFA, HEIDELBERG and MAN Roland that provides the ability to bridge the gap between production and management information systems picking up where CIP3 leaves off.
K
Abbreviation for Black in four color process printing. (K in CMYK)
Kiss Die Cut
To die cut the top layer but not the backing layer of self adhesive paper.
Laminate
See film laminate.
Laser Imprintable Ink
Ink that will not fade or blister as the sheet on which it is printed is used in a laser printer.
Magenta
One of the four process colors. (M in CMYK)
Makeready
Refers to the activities required to prepare a press or other machine to run a specific printing or binding operation, also called setup. Also refers to the paper that is used in the makeready process which becomes waste or spoilage.
Mechanical Bind
To bind using comb, coil, ring binder, post or any other technique that is not gluing, sewing or stitching.
Mock Up
A reproduction of the original printed matter.
Monarch
Paper size 7”x10” and envelope shape often used for personal stationery.
M Weight
Weight of 1000 sheets of paper in any specific size.
Nested
Signatures assembled inside one another in the proper sequence for binding, as compared to gathered.
Offset Printing
Printing technique that transfers ink from a plate to a blanket to paper instead of directly from plate to paper.
Opacity
Characteristic of paper that prevents printing on one side from showing through the other side. Also characteristic of ink that prevents substrate from showing through.
Page
One side of a sheet in a publication.
Portable Document Format. A file format designed for cross-platform document creation and distribution. An electronic snapshot of a document which may be printed or displayed on screen, saved in a compressed PostScript format.
Perfect Bind
To bind sheets that are ground at the spine and held to the cover by glue. Also called adhesive bind, glue bind and soft cover.
Perfecting Press
Press capable of printing both sides of the paper during a single pass.
Picking
Phenomenon of ink pulling bits of coating or fiber away from the surface of the paper as it travels through the press leaving unprinted spots in the image area.
PJTF
Portable Job Ticket Format. A format created by Adobe that allows you to attach a digital job ticket with your files, giving specifications about the job.
PMS
Obsolete reference to the Pantone Matching System. The correct trade name is now Pantone colors instead of PMS colors.
PostScript
A page description language invented by Adobe Systems, Inc., that consists of software commands which, when translated through the raster image processor (RIP) forms the desired image on an output device such as a laser printer or image setter.
PPF
Print Production Format. A file format extension used with a CIP3 workflow.
Preflight
A check to a digital file before output to check color, resolution and image size, availability of fonts and check for any other problems that may prevent quality output and identify them.
Prepress
All desktop file, proofing or plating functions performed by the print provider prior to putting the job on the press. Also called Prep.
Preprint
To print portions of sheets that will be used later for imprinting.
Press Check
Check of makeready sheets at the press before authorizing full production to begin.
Press Proof
Proof made on the press using the plates, ink and paper specified for the job.
Proof
Test sheet made to represent how the job will appear when finished.
Ream
500 sheets of paper.
Remote Proofing
A situation where a digital proofing device is maintained at the client’s site. Images and pages are sent via network transmission from the provider and imaged at the client’s site.
Resolution
The number of pixels per inch in an image. The more pixels, the finer the image and the more realistic it appears. Resolution applies to the scan, screen display and the printed image.
Reverse
Type, graphic or illustration reproduced by printing ink around its outline, allowing the underlying color or paper to show through and form the image. The image “reverses out” of the ink color. Also called knockout.
RGB
Abbreviation for Red, Green, Blue, the additive color primaries.
Saddle Stitch
To bind by stapling sheets together where they fold at the spine as compared to side stitch.
Score
To compress the paper along a straight line so it folds more easily and accurately.
Screen Tint
Color created by dots instead of solid ink coverage. Also called fill pattern, shading, tint and tone.
Selective Binding
Placing signatures or inserts in magazines or catalogs according to demographic or geographic guidelines.
Self Cover
Where the cover stock is the same paper as the text pages; no separate cover.
Self Mailer
A printed item capable of travel in the mail without an envelope.
Setoff
Undesirable transfer of wet ink from the top of one sheet to the underside of another as they accumulate in the delivery stack of a press. Also called offset.
Shingling
Allowance made during imposition to compensate for creep. Also called progressive margins.
Side Stitch
To bind by stapling through sheets along one edge.
Signature
Printed sheet that is folded at least once, possibly many times, to become part of a book or publication.
Soft Proof
The ability to generate a file from the customer’s ripped page that is viewable on a monitor. This allows operators to check the file against laser proofs for content, type flow and correct trapping. It might also mean a PDF file sent to the customer to view at their site before any materials are used.
Spectrophotometer
Instrument used to measure the index of refraction of color.
Spot Color
One ink or varnish applied to portions of a sheet as compared to a flood.
Spread
Technique of slightly enlarging the size of an image to accomplish a hairline trap with another mage. Also called a fatty. Also refers to two pages that face each other and are designed as one visual unit.
Substrate
Any surface or material on which printing is done.
Trap
To print one ink over another or to print a coating, such as varnish, over an ink. The first liquid traps the second liquid.
Trim Size
The size of the printed material in its finished stage.
Up
Term to indicate multiple copies of one image printed in one impression on a single sheet. “Two up” means printing the identical piece twice on each sheet.
UV Coating
Liquid applied to a printed sheet and then bonded and cured with ultraviolet light.