Terminology

A basic glossary to help you with various words and terms that are used in the digital print or printing industry.

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

A
AA’s	Author’s Alterations. These are the changes customers make to a document after the draft has been prepared by desktop publishers.
A4 Paper Size	Dimensions 210 mm x 297 mm
Acetate	A transparent sheet placed over originals or artwork, allowing the designer to write instructions and/or indicate a second colour for placement.
Acid Free Paper	Paper made from pulp that has not been bleached by caustic soda. See How do I? for information on how to choose the right paper for your document.
Against the Grain	At right angles to the grain direction of the paper being used, as compared to with the grain.  Also called across the grain and cross grain.
Airbrush	Pen-shaped tool that sprays a fine mist of ink or paint to retouch photos and create continuous-tone illustrations.
Alterations	Changes made to copy after it has been set in type.
Art Paper	Paper, usually of high gloss, coated with china clay.
Artwork	All prepared original copy in its final form, including type, photos and illustrations, intended for reproduction.
Author's Corrections	Corrections made by the author to modify a proof of the original copy.
Author's Proof	Proof showing corrections made by the author or editor.
B
Backbone	Back of a bound book connecting the two covers; also called spine.
Backing Up	Printing the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side.
Banding	A visible stair-stepping of shades in a gradient.
Banner	The headline or title, when it extends across the full page width.
Baseline	The line where the base of capital letters sit.
Bind	Fastening sheets together, with or without a cover, with glue, wire, plastic comb or thread. See How do I? for information on how to choose the right binding for your document.
Bit map	The dot-by-dot description of a digital image, indicating where every single spot is on a page. Bitmap images are made up of pixels on a screen which are dependent on resolution. Bitmap images are images produced by scanning or pictures taken with a digital camera or can also be created with an image editing program such as Adobe Photoshop. Formats include, .bmp, .png, .pict, .jpg (or .jpeg), and .tif. Bitmap Images are perfect for the web and can be imported into word processing documents, photo programs, and web programs. The high res. TIF's have to be printed in four colours – CMYK.
Bleed	Margin outside the trimmed area of a sheet that allows for tints, images, or other matter to print beyond the edge of the page. In order to do bleeds professionally, the document is printed on oversized paper with the image continuing for at lease 3mm beyond the trim line. The page is then trimmed to final size, making a nice clean edge.
Blind Embossing	Impressing raised letters or images into paper using pressure and a die, but without using foil or ink to add colour to the raised areas.
Blow up	Enlargement of a photo or digital image.
Body	The main text, excluding headings and photo captions.
Border	Decorative design around the outside of text.
BMP	Representing graphics as bit map – or a series of dots. Images can be saved in a BMP format. See How do I?for information about how to save images.
Bromide	A photographic print created on bromide paper.
Burn	A term used in CDs which refers to copying files onto a CD or DVD.
C
Calibration Bars	On a negative, proof or printed piece, a strip of tones used to check printing quality.
Choke (Choking)	Technique of slightly reducing the size of an image to create a hairline trap or to outline. In order to compensate for minor misalignments on the printing press it is sometimes necessary to slightly overlap touching colours. Spread is one process where a lighter colour spreads out and overlaps a darker colour. Choke and Spread are similar terms used to describe the process of intentionally overlapping touching colors.
CMYK	Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. The four colours that are mixed to print colour onto paper. These colours are used by ink-jet printers. See Colour Management for more information.
Coated Paper	Paper that has a clay surface coating. This creates a smoother even finish and holds the ink on the surface of the sheet. See How do I? to find out how to choose the right paper for your requirements.
Collate	Gathering separate sections or leaves of a book together in the correct order for binding.
Collateral	Printed pieces such as brochures, reports and other items.
Colour matching	The technology that is used by laser printers to match the colour produced by a press. See Colour Management for more information.
Colour proof	A representation of what the final printed composition will look like. The resolution and quality of different types of colour proofs can vary greatly. See Colour Management for more information.
Colour separations	The division of an image into four separate colours for printing. Each colour is represented on a piece of film as lines of dots at specific angles. When overlaid, the dots from each level form tiny rosette patterns. See How do I? and Colour Management for more information.
Column Rule	Rule used to separate vertical columns of type in text or in tabulations.
Comb bind	Binding a document with a flexible plastic or wire comb. See How do I? for information on how to choose the right binding for your document.
Comp	The full-sized mock-up of a document.
Composition	Setting type and arranging it on the page.
Compression	Reducing the size of a digital image using an application such as Microsoft Picture Editor or Photoshop. See How do I? for more information.
Concentina fold	A method of folding where each fold opens in the opposite direction to the last, giving a pleated effect.
Continuous Tone	Photographic image which has not been screened and contains gradient tones from black to white.
Copy	Typewritten manuscript, pictures, artwork etc., to be used in the production of printing.
Copyright	Protection given to the person who created material. See Copyright information for more information.
Creep	When the middle pages of a document extend beyond the outside pages, usually caused by using the wrong binding. See How do I? for information on how to choose the right binding for your document.
Crop Marks	Printed lines showing where to trim, fold, crease or die cut a printed sheet.
Cropping	Reducing the size of a digital photo by discarding the parts that aren’t needed.
Cursive	Typefaces that look like written script.
Cyan	One of the four process colours. Also known as process blue.
D
Density	The degree of opacity of a photographic image on paper or film.
Density (Apparent Density)	Weight per unit volume of a sheet of paper, calculated by dividing the grammage by the thickness (caliper) expressed as g/cm3, the lower the density, the greater the bulk.
Design brief	A written description of the requirements for a printed document.
Die	Device for cutting, scoring, stamping, embossing and debossing.
Die Cut	To cut irregular shapes in paper or paperboard using a die.
Die stamping	A printing technique that uses a die to emboss a relief image onto a surface. Ink or metallic foil is generally used to add colour, but if not the surface is said to be blind-stamped. Also known as relief stamping.
Digital printing	A type of printing which uses digital imaging process that transfers the image directly onto plain paper immediately, without traditional offset rollers and plates. Digital printing has reduced the cost of conventional printing, but does have some limitations in image definition and colours are not as vibrant.
Dithering	Creating the illusion of shades by varying the pattern of dots in a photo.
Dot gain	A term used to explain the difference in size between the dot on film paper. Reduces both detail and contrast of the image.
Double page spread	Two facing pages in a magazine where the material continues across the middle page.
Download	The process of copying files to another media, such as CDRom, Memory stick or computer hard drive.
DPI	Dots-per-inch. A measure of the output resolution produced by printers, imagesetters or monitors. The higher the dpi of a digital image, the better the resulting printed image. Generally, a photo or print images should be saved at 300dpi for print publication. See How do I? to find out how to save a digital image.
Drop cap	When the first letter at the start of a block of text drops into the line or lines of text below.
Drop Shadow	A tone of colour, or line, which falls on one side of horizontal and vertical parts of type, as would a shadow on a three dimensional object.
DTP	Desktop publishing. This is the layout of a document on the computer, before it is printed out.
Dull finish	Flat (not glossy) finish on coated paper; slightly smoother than matte. Paper that reflects little light. See How do I? for information on how to choose the right paper for your document.
Dummy	Sample of the proposed work prepared before printing to assist in assessing design and estimating production requirements. A binder's dummy is made to establish the exact dimensions of the bound book.
E
Em and Em dash	This is a word to describe a square unit in printing. It was named after the size of a capital M. Em dash is used in punctation and is the length of an em.
Emboss	When an image is pressed into paper so that it lies above the surface.
En and En dash	This is a word to describe a square unit in printing. It was named after the size of a capital N. En dash is used in punctation and is the length of an en. This unit of measurement that is half the size of an Em.
Enamel paper	Coated paper with a gloss finish. See How do I? for information on how to choose the right paper for your document.
Embossed Finish	Paper with a relief or intaglio surface to imitate wood, cloth, leather, metal or other pattern or the raised print resulting from printing on an engraved plate.
Embossing	Relief image to achieve a raised printed surface, (blind embossing gives an uninked impression on blank paper).
EPS	Encapsulated Post Script.This is a file format which is used to transfer images.It uses a PostScript code to make the file compatible across formats.
Estimate	Price that states what a job will probably cost.
Extension	This identifies the file format on a computer. It is the last three letters after the '.’ For example .doc for a word document and .jpg for JPEG and .ppt for powerpoint.
F
File format	This is the format, or type, of your document. For example Powerpoint, Excel, Word, PDF etc.
Film	A transparent material coated with a light-sensitive substance. Used in the pre-press stage of the printing process, not required in digital printing. Digital files are first exposed onto film in an imagesetter. The film is then used to create a printing plate for printing onto paper.
Finished Size	Size of product after production is completed.
Flush left	When copy is aligned along the left margin.
Flush right	When copy is aligned along the right margin.
Foil Stamping	Process which employs the same basic principle as letterpress printing, the ink being replaced by foil, applied with heat.
Font	The typeface that is used on the letters. For example, Arial or Times New Roman.  Font terminology
Footer	Words, page numbers, or a design element printed at the bottom of a page of text.
Format	The size, style, type, margin and printing requirements of a document.
Four colour process	The printing of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black to produce a wide variety of colours. See How do I? and Colour Management for more information.
Full bleed	When something is printed so that it reaches the edge of the page on all four sides (eg a poster).
G
Gate Fold	A sheet that folds where both sides fold toward the gutter in overlapping layers.
GIF	Graphic Interchange Format. This is a file format for digital images and is widely used for images on the web.
Grain	In papermaking, the direction in which most fibres lie corresponding to the direction that the paper travels during the papermaking process. In Long Grain Paper the fibres that run parallel to the long dimension of the sheet. In Short Grain paper the fibres that run parallel to the short dimension of the sheet.
Graphic Design	Arrangement of type and visual elements along with specifications for paper, ink colours and printing processes that, when combined, convey a visual message.
Graphics	Visual elements that supplement type to make printed messages clear and interesting.
Grey Scale	The perceptible degrees of black below 100% coverage, usually 256 different shades. Grayscale monitors display distinct gray tones and one-bit black and white, and usually offer sharper images than colour screens.
GSM	Grams per square metre. The unit of measurement for paper weight. See How do I? for information on how to choose the right paper for your document.
Gutter	The blank space or inner margin from the printed area to the binding.
H
Halftone	The reproduction of continuous tone artwork, such as photography, through a contact screen, which converts the image into dots of various sizes
Halftone (Screen)	A pattern of dots of different sizes used to simulate a continuous tone photograph, either in colour or black and white.
Hand Made Paper	Method of papermaking in which the operator dips a mould or wire screen into the pulp vat and lifts it out, taking sufficient pulp to form a sheet of paper. The fibres are felted together by shaking the mould by hand.
Hard copy	Printed text. Product of a word processor or typewriter. As opposed to text on disk.
Head (Margin)	The margin at the top of the page.
Highlight	The lightest part of an image.
I
Image Area	The actual area on the printed matter that is not restricted to ink coverage.
Imagesetter	A computer-controlled device used to output images at high resolution onto photographic film.
Imposition	Arranging pages for printing so that they will appear in proper sequence after they are folded or bound.
Imprinting	When you reprint to add additional text or images to an already printed item.
Inkjet	Inkjet printers spray dots of ink onto paper to create an image or words. The higher the dpi (see dpi for more information), the better quality of printing.
Inserts	Within a publication, an additional item positioned into the publication loose (not bound in).
Interleaves	Printed pages loosely inserted in a publication.
ISBN	International Standard Book Number. A number assigned to a published work and usually found either on the title page or the back of the title page.
J
Job Ticket	Form used to specify production schedule of a job and the materials it needs. Also called docket, production order and work order.
JPEG	Joint Photographic Experts Group. This is the type of file that digital images are saved as. See How do I? for information about how to save and send digital images for printing.
Justify	To space words and letters to a given measure. Vertical alignment at the right and left of the column.
K
Kerning	Adjusting the space between letters, so that it looks better and is easy to read when it is printed.
Keyline	Gridlines on artwork, or a proof, showing the size and position of an image or illustration.
Kiss Die Cut	To die cut the top layer, but not the backing layer, of self-adhesive paper, this is used in labels.
Kraft	Paper or board made from unbleached wood pulp (brown in colour) by the sulphite process. Uses alkaline based chemicals rather than acid based chemicals to separate the lignin (substance that holds the fibre together when a tree is growing) from the wood fibers.
L
Laid	Paper which, when held to the light, shows a series of ribbed lines. Wire vertical or chain lines, horizontal or laid lines close together.
Laminate	Bonding clear plastic film by heat and pressure to a sheet of paper to protect the print and improve its appearance and give it a gloss or matt finish.
Landscape	When an image or document has a greater width than height.
Laser printer	High quality printing system that uses a laser beam to produce an image. Usually 600dpi resolution. See Copy and Print for more information.
Layout	A sketch with instructions of where text and images should appear in a document before it is given to the desktop publisher. See How do I? for information about how to give instructions for your document.
Leading	Space added between lines of type to space out text so that it is easy to read when printed.
Leaf	Two pages of a book; the front and back of a single piece of paper.
Loose leaf	Binding which allows pages to be removed and inserted, for continuous updating. See How do I? for information on how to choose the right binding for your document.
M
Magenta	The bluish-red component of the standard four-colour printing ink colours.
Make-Ready	Final machine preparation for printing to ensure an even impression over the entire printing area. Can be a significant percentage of the costs of printing, particularly for short runs of colour work.
Make Up	Arrangement of type and illustrations into pages.
Marbled Paper	A simulated marble finish applied to paper by floating an oil-based ink on the surface of water. Often used as end papers in books.
Margins	Space surrounding the print area of a page.
Masking	A method of removing or shaping illustrations or maps. Can be used to change the proportions of a photograph or picture.
Matte finish	A dull finish on coated paper.
Matte ink	Ink that looks dull when it dries.
Memory card	A card used to save photos in digital cameras.
Metallic ink	Prinking inks which look gold, silver or metallic in colour.
Mock-up	Model of the finished book or magazine with essential detail sketched in.
Moiré pattern	An undesirable pattern effect produced when screen angles are not aligned correctly.
Montage	Combination of related pieces of copy or images to appear as one, to tell a complete story or to provide a single image.
O
OCR	Optical Character Recognition. Computer software that is capable of reading scanned images of documents and converting the page into editable fonts, graphics and tables.
Offset printing	A printing technique in which the ink is transferred from the printing plate to a "blanket" cylinder and then to the paper or material on which it is to be printed. A general term for offset lithography.
Opacity	Property which minimises "show-through" of printing from the reverse side of a sheet of paper. See How do I? for information about choosing the right paper for your document.
Orphan	When a line of type is on its own at the top or bottom of a page, rather that sitting with the rest of a paragraph.
Overprinting	Printing over an area or product which has been previously printed.
P
Paper Ingredients	All the materials used to make the mat of fibers known as paper. The one essential ingredient is cellulose fibre. The rest of the ingredients enhance the paper adding body, reducing cost, or changing colour. See also cellulose fiber, clay, filler, furnish, papermaking, pigment pulp, resin, sizing.
Paper Sizes	For International paper sizes click here
PDF	Portable Document File. This is a file format developed by Adobe. If you save a file as a PDF, it means that people can read it no matter what software they have on their computer, as long as they have Acrobat Reader, which is a free application. See How do I? for more information about how to save or read a PDF document.
Perfect bind	Form of binding in which the pages are attached to the cover with a heat-set plastic. See How do I? for information on how to choose the right binding for your document.
Photolithography	Lithography from plates prepared by photographic means.
Perforating	Creating a line of small punched holes for the purpose of tearing-off a portion of printed matter.
Pica	A unit of measurement used by designers and graphic designers for precision. One pica is 4.2mm.
Pigment	Particles that absorb and reflect light and appear coloured to our eyes. The substance that gives ink its colour.
Pixel	The smallest distinct unit of a bitmapped image displayed on a screen.This is the number of dots in a digital element, usually called pixels-per-inch (ppi). The more pixels, the more detail in the printed picture.
PMS colours	Pantone Matching System. This is the industry standard to identify colours used in printing. Each PMS colour has a unique number and formula for mixing ink. Colour will reproduce differently on different paper. Also called Spot Colour. See Colour Management for more information.
Point	The standard unit of type size.
PPI	A measure of the amount of scanned information in Pixels Per Inch. The finer the optics of the scanner, the higher the scan resolution.
Portrait	When the height of a document or image is larger than the width.
Post Press	Post press refers to everything that happens to your document once it has been printed – including binding, and packaging. This is an alternative term for finishing.
PostScript	A computer language used to describe an image for printing.
Pre-Press	The services between design and printing in producing printed materials, including assembly of typesetting, photographs and drawings, preparation of bromides, colour separations, proofs, film, printing plates.
Press Proofs	A proof to indicate the appearance of a colour subject, printed on a production or proof press. The last proof taken before a print run.
Primary colours	Yellow, magenta (process red) and cyan (process blue) in printing; red, green and blue in photography.
Process Colours	The four colours (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) that are combined to print a wide range of colours. This is an optical illusion from the proximity of each coloured dot to another, gives the appearance of thousands of colours. Cyan and yellow appear as a green colour, the shade of green is dependent on the size of each dot. See also CMYK.
Proofs	A reasonably accurate sample of how a finished piece is intended to look, which the author can then make changes to. Proofs can be in black and white or colour.
Pull quote	A piece of text that is pulled from the main body of text and is highlighted for emphasis.
R
Ream	500 sheets of paper.
Register Marks	Printers use register marks, which are small crosses at the outside edge of print area to act as a guide for platemaking, printing and colour registration.
Relative Humidity (RH)	Amount of water vapour present in the atmosphere expressed as a percentage of the maximum that could be present at the same temperature. Printing paper can be affected by high relative humidity.
Reprography	Reproduction by photography; used loosely to describe all duplicating and copying processes, whether involving photography or not.
Resizing	Changing the size of an image without reducing the pixels. So the actual pixels will be shrunk or increased in size.
Resolution	The quality of printed output is measured in dots-per-inch. The greater the number of dots per inch, the higher the image quality.
Retouch	To add definition to a digital photo to correct its flaws.
RGB	Red, green and blue, used to define colours on a computer screen. See Colour Management for more information.
RIP	Raster Image Processor. The computerised process that controls the printing process by calculating the bitmaps of images and instructing printing devices to create images. Imagesetter for film and a printer for paper. Used for colour management on high end colour printers.
RTF	Rich Text Format. A format for saving documents so that it can be read by people using different systems.
Run	The total number of copies of a document to be printed.
S
Saddle stitching	Binding where the folded pages are stitched through the spine using wire staples. See How do I? for information on how to choose the right binding for your document.
Sans serif	Typeface without serifs
Scaling	Determining the proper size for an image to be reduced or enlarged.
Scanner	A scanner is a device which converts a photograph or image into an electronic file. Scans used in printing production are usually saved as EPS or TIFF files.
Score	A crease formed in a sheet of paper to allow easy folding.  Scoring prevents the ink (and paper) from carcking at the edge of the fold.
Serif	A font with short cross-stroke projecting from the ends of its characters.
Side Stitching	Securing sections of a book by inserting stitches through the paper from the first sheet to the last.
Signature	A printed sheet after it has been folded.
Silk Screen	Silk screen printing is a method of printing from stencils through a fine mesh of silk, metal or other material. The stencils may be photographic or cut by hand. Produced by hand or automated on a machine.
Spiral Binding	Book bound with wires in form inserted through holes punched along the binding side.
Spot Colour	Another name for PMS Colour (Pantone Matching System). This is the industry standard for identify colours used in printing. Each PMS colour has a unique number and formula for mixing ink. Colour will reproduce differently on different paper. See Colour Management for more information.
Stet	Latin for 'let it stand’. Used when proofing, to cancel a correction.
Stock	Paper or other material to be printed.
Sulphite Pulp	Paper pulp made from wood that is cooked under pressure in a solution of caustic soda and sodium sulphide, also known as kraft.
Swatch	A colour chart, booklet or wheel from which colours can be chosen.
T
Tabloid	The size of a page. Half the size of a broadsheet.
Template	A standard layout.
TIFF	Tagged Image File Format. A format for saving digital photos.
Tints	Even tone over a specific area, where the strength of the colour is a percentage of a solid colour.
Transparency	Photos or images on a transparent substrate, intended for viewing and reproduction by transmitted light.
Trapping	Deliberately overlapping the printing of adjacent colours to avoid gaps between colours in the printing process that allows for variation in registration during the press run.
Trim Marks	Marks placed on copy to indicate the edge of the page for trimming.
U
Upload	Process of copying files.
USB	Universal Serial Bus. This is a computer port which is used to connect external equipment such as digital cameras, CD drives, mice or keyboards.
UV Inks	Inks that prevent or slow down the deterioration effects of Ultraviolet light on the density of printed colour.
V
Varnish	Thin protective coating applied to a printed sheet for protection or appearance.
Vector format	Images can be saved in two formats: vector or pixel. Vector is an actual line drawing, whereas pixel is based on small dots to form a picture. See How do I? for information about file formats for saving images.
Vignette	Illustration in which the tone fades gradually away until it blends into the unprinted paper.
Visuals	Rough sketches, prepared by a graphic designer to assist in deciding the layout of printed matter.
W
Watermark	A name or design impresssed into paper by the raised pattern of the dandy roll during paper manufacture.
Web paper	Paper that comes in a roll instead of separate sheets. These are printed on a web press.
Web press	A press for printing rolls of papers. A web press is faster than a sheet-fed press.
White space	Or negative space. Space that is not text or images, not necessarily white.
WinZip	Winzip is a piece of software that compresses files so they reduce email transmission time.
X
Xerox	Xerox is the brand name of photocopiers, but is often used as the generic term for photocopying.
Z
Z fold	The typical fold for a business letter when it is inserted into an envelope.