Terminology

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A B C D E F G H I J K L [M - Z ... click here]

Acetate: A transparent sheet placed over originals or artwork, allowing the designer to write instructions and\or indicate a second color for placement.
Acid-free Paper: Papermade from pulp containing little or no acid so it resists deterioration from age. Also called alkaline paper, archival paper, neutral pH paper, permanent paper and thesis paper.
Acid Resist: An acid-proof protective coating applied to metal plates prior to etching.
Additive Color: color produced by light falling onto a surface, as compared to subtractive color. The additive primary colors are red, green and blue.
A4 Paper: ISO paper size 210 x 297mm used for Letterhead.
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. See also Grain Direction.
Airbrush: Pen-shaped tool that sprays a fine mist of ink or paint to retouch photos and create continuous-tone illustrations.
Alteration: Any change made by the customer after copy or artwork has been given to the service bureau, separator or printer. The change could be in copy, specifications or both. Also called AA, author alteration and customer alteration.
Anodized Plate: An offset printing plate having a treated surface in order to reduce wear for extended use.
Anti-offset Powder: Fine powder lightly sprayed over the printed surface of coated paper as sheets leave a press. Also called dust, offset powder, powder and spray powder.
Antique Paper: Roughest finish offered on offset paper.
Aqueous Coating: Coating in a water base and applied like ink by a printing press to protect and enhance the printing underneath.
Artwork: All original copy, including type, photos and illustrations, intended for printing. Also called art.
Author's Alterations (AA's): At the proofing stage, changes that the client requests to be made concerning original art provided. AA's are considered an additional cost to the client usually.

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Back Up: (1) To print on the second side of a sheet already printed on one side. (2) To adjust an image on one side of a sheet so that it aligns back-to-back with an image on the other side.
Base Art: Copy pasted up on the mounting oard of a mechanical, as compared to overlay art. Also called base mechanical.
Base Negative: Negative made by photographing base art.
Basic Size: The standard size of sheets of paper used to calculate basis weight in the United States and Canada.
Basis Weight: In the United States and Canada, the weight, in pounds, of a ream (500 sheets) of paper cut to the basic size. Also called ream weight and substance weight (sub weight). In countries using ISO paper sizes, the weight, in grams, of one square meter of paper. Also called grammage and ream weight.
Bind: Usually in the book arena, but not exclusively, the joining of leafs or signatures together with either wire, glue or other means.
Bindery: Usually a department within a printing company responsible for collating, folding and trimming various printing projects.
Blank: Category of paperboard ranging in thickness from 15 to 48 points.
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 surface to be printed.
Bleed: Printing that extends to the edge of a sheet or page after trimming.
Blind Folio: A page number not printed on the page. (In the book arena, a blank page traditionally does not print a page number.)
Blind Image: Image debossed, embossed or stamped, but not printed with ink or foil.
Blocking: Sticking together of printed sheets causing damage when the surfaces are separated.
Blow-Up: An enlargement, usually used with graphic images or photographs
Blueline: Prepress photographic proof made from stripped negatives where all colors show as blue images on white paper. Because 'blueline' is a generic term for proofs made from a variety of materials having identical purposes and similar appearances, it may also be called a blackprint, blue, blueprint, brownline, brownprint, diazo, dyeline, ozalid, position proof, silverprint, Dylux and VanDyke.
Blurb: A description or commentary of an author or book content positioned on the book jacket.
Board Paper: General term for paper over 110# index, 80# cover or 200 gsm that is commonly used for products such as file folders, displays and post cards. Also called paperboard.
Body: The main text of work not including the headlines.
Boiler Plate: Blocks of repetitive type used and copied over and over again.
Bond paper: Category of paper commonly used for writing, printing and photocopying. Also called business paper, communication paper, correspondence paper and writing paper.
Book Block: Folded signatures gathered, sewn and trimmed, but not yet covered.
Book Paper: Category of paper suitable for books, magazines, catalogs, advertising and general printing needs. Book paper is divided into uncoated paper (also called offset paper), coated paper (also called art paper, enamel paper, gloss paper and slick paper) and text paper.
Border: The decorative design or rule surrounding matter on a page.
Bounce: (1) a repeating registration problem in the printing stage of production. (2) Customer unhappy with the results of a printing project and refuses to accept the project.
Bristol Paper: General term referring to paper 6 points or thicker with basis weight between 90# and 200# (200-500 gsm). Used for products such as index cards, file folders and displays.
Broadside: The term used to indicate work printed on one of a large sheet of paper.
Bromide: A photographic print created on bromide paper.
Broken Carton: Carton of paper from which some of the sheets have been sold. Also called less carton.
Bronzing: The effect produced by dusting wet ink after printing and using a metallic powder.
Build a Color: To overlap two or more screen tints to create a new color. Such an overlap is called a build, color build, stacked screen build or tint build.
Bulk: Thickness of paper relative to its basic weight.
Bullet: A dot or similar marking to emphasize text.
Burst Perfect Bind: To bind by forcing glue into notches along the spines of gathered signatures before affixing a paper cover. Also called burst bind, notch bind and slotted bind.
Butt Register: Register where ink colors meet precisely without overlapping or allowing space between, as compared to lap register. Also called butt fit and kiss register.
Buy Out: To subcontract for a service that is closely related to the business of the organization. Also called farm out. Work that is bought out or farmed out is sometimes called outwork or referred to as being out of house.

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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.
Camera-ready Copy: Mechanicals, photographs and art fully prepared for reproduction according to the technical requirements of the printing process being used. Also called finished art and reproduction copy.
Camera Service: Business using a process camera to make photostats, halftones, plates and other elements for printing. Also called prep service and trade camera service.
Carbonless Paper: Paper coated with chemicals that enable transfer of images from one sheet to another with pressure from writing or typing.
Carload: Selling unit of paper that may weigh anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000 pounds (9,090 to 45, 454 kilos), depending on which mill or merchant uses the term. Abbreviated CL.
Carton: Selling unit of paper weighing approximately 150 pounds (60 kilos). A carton can contain anywhere from 500 to 5,000 sheets, depending on the size of sheets and their basis weight.
Case: Covers and spine that, as a unit, enclose the pages of a casebound book.
Case Bind: To bind using glue to hold signatures to a case made of binder board covered with fabric, plastic or leather. Also called cloth bind, edition bind, hard bind and hard cover.
Cast-coated Paper: High gloss, coated paper made by pressing the paper against a polished, hot, metal drum while the coating is still wet.
Catalog Paper: Coated paper rated #4 or #5 with basis weight from 35# to 50# (50 to 75 gsm) commonly used for catalogs and magazines.
Chain Dot: (1) Alternate term for elliptical dot, so called because midtone dots touch at two points, so look like links in a chain. (2) Generic term for any midtone dots whose corners touch.
Chain Lines: (1) Widely spaced lines in laid paper. (2) Blemishes on printed images caused by tracking.
Chalking: Deterioration of a printed image caused by ink that absorbs into paper too fast or has long exposure to sun, and wind making printed images look dusty. Also called crocking.
Check Copy: (1) Production copy of a publication verified by the customer as printed, finished and bound correctly. (2) One set of gathered book signatures approved by the customer as ready for binding.
Choke: Technique of slightly reducing the size of an image to create a hairline trap or to outline. Also called shrink and skinny.
Chrome: Strength of a color as compared to how close it seems to neutral gray. Also called depth, intensity, purity and saturation.
Close Up: A mark used to indicate closing space between characters or words. Usually used in proofing stages.
CMYK: Abbreviation for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black), the four process colors.
Coarse Screen: Halftone screen with ruling of 65, 85 or 100 lines per inch (26, 34 or 40 lines centimeter).
Coated Paper: Paper with a coating of clay and other substances that improves reflectivity and ink holdout. Mills produce coated paper in the four major categories cast, gloss, dull and matte.
Collate: To organize printed matter in a specific order as requested.
Collating Marks: Mostly in the book arena, specific marks on the back of signatures indicating exact position in the collating stage.
Color Balance: Refers to amounts of process colors that simulate the colors of the original scene or photograph.
Color Blanks: Press sheets printed with photos or illustrations, but without type. Also called shells.
Color Break: In multicolor printing, the point, line or space at which one ink color stops and another begins. Also called break for color.
Color Cast: Unwanted color affecting an entire image or portion of an image.
Color Control Bar: Strip of small blocks of color on a proof or press sheet to help evaluate features such as density and dot gain. Also called color bar, color guide and standard offset color bar.
Color Correct: To adjust the relationship among the process colors to achieve desirable colors.
Color Curves: Instructions in computer software that allow users to change or correct colors. Also called HLS and HVS tables.
Color Electronic Prepress System: Computer, scanner, printer and other hardware and software designed for image assembly, color correction, retouching and output onto proofing materials, film or printing plates. Abbreviated CEPS.
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.
Color Key: Brand name for an overlay color proof. Sometimes used as a generic term for any overlay color proof.
Color Model: Way of categorizing and describing the infinite array of colors found in nature.
Color Separation: (1) Technique of using a camera, scanner or computer to divide continuous-tone color images into four halftone negatives. (2) The product resulting from color separating and subsequent four-color process printing. Also called separation.
Color Sequence: Order in which inks are printed. Also called laydown sequence and rotation.
Color Shift: Change in image color resulting from changes in register, ink densities or dot gain during four-color process printing.
Color Transparency: Film (transparent) used as art to perform color separations.
Comb Bind: To bind by inserting the teeth of a flexible plastic comb through holes punched along the edge of a stack of paper. Also called plastic bind and GBC bind (a brand name).
Commercial Printer: Printer producing a wide range of products such as announcements, brochures, posters, booklets, stationery, business forms, books and magazines. Also called job printer because each job is different.
Complementary Flat(s): The second or additional flat(s) used when making composite film or for two or more burns on one printing plate.
Composite Art: Mechanical on which copy for reproduction in all colors appears on only one surface, not separated onto overlays. Composite art has a tissue overlay with instructions that indicate color breaks.
Composite Film: Film made by combining images from two or more pieces of working film onto one film for making one plate.
Composite Proof: Proof of color separations in position with graphics and type. Also called final proof, imposition proof and stripping proof.
Composition: (1) In typography, the assembly of typographic elements, such as words and paragraphs, into pages ready for printing. (2) In graphic design, the arrangement of type, graphics and other elements on the page.
Comprehensive Dummy: Simulation of a printed piece complete with type, graphics and colors. Also called color comprehensive and comp.
Condition: To keep paper in the pressroom for a few hours or days before printing so that its moisture level and temperature equal that in the pressroom. Also called cure, mature and season.
Contact Platemaker: Device with lights, timing mechanism and vacuum frame used to make contact prints, duplicate film, proofs and plates. Also called platemaker and vacuum frame.
Continuous-tone Copy: All photographs and those illustrations having a range of shades not made up of dots, as compared to line copy or halftones. Abbreviated contone.
Contrast: The degree of tones in an image ranging from highlight to shadow.
Converter: Business that makes products such as boxes, bags, envelopes and displays.
Copyboard: Surface or frame on a process camera that holds copy in position to be photographed.
Cover: Thick paper that protects a publication and advertises its title. Parts of covers are often described as follows: Cover 1=outside front; Cover 2=inside front; Cover 3=inside back, Cover 4=outside back.
Coverage: Extent to which ink covers the surface of a substrate. Ink coverage is usually expressed as light, medium or heavy.
Cover Paper: Category of thick paper used for products such as posters, menus, folders and covers of paperback books.
Crash: Coarse cloth embedded in the glue along the spine of a book to increase strength of binding. Also called gauze, mull and scrim.
Creep: Phenomenon of middle pages of a folded signature extending slightly beyond outside pages. Also called feathering, outpush, push out and thrust. See also Shingling.
Crop Marks: Lines near the edges of an image indicating portions to be reproduced. Also called cut marks and tic marks.
Crossover: Type or art that continues from one page of a book or magazine across the gutter to the opposite page. Also called bridge, gutter bleed and gutter jump.
Cure: To dry inks, varnishes or other coatings after printing to ensure good adhesion and prevent setoff.
Customer Service Representative: Employee of a printer, service bureau, separator or other business who coordinates projects and keeps customers informed. Abbreviated CSR.
Cutoff: Circumference of the impression cylinder of a web press, therefore also the length of the printed sheet that the press cuts from the roll of paper.
Cut Sizes: Paper sizes used with office machines and small presses.
Cutting Machine: A machine that cuts stacks of paper to desired sizes. The machine can also be used in scoring or creasing.
Cutting Die: Usually a custom ordered item to trim specific and unusual sized printing projects.
CWT: Abbreviation for hundredweight using the Roman numeral C=100.
Cyan: One of the four process colors. Also known as process blue.

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Data Compression: Technique of reducing the amount of storage required to hold a digital file to reduce the disk space the file requires and allow it to be processed or transmitted more quickly.
Deboss: To press an image into paper so it lies below the surface. Also called tool.
Deckle Edge: Edge of paper left ragged as it comes from the papermaking machine instead of being cleanly cut. Also called feather edge.
Densitometer: Instrument used to measure density. Reflection densitometers measure light reflected from paper and other surfaces; transmission densitometers measure light transmitted through film and other materials.
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.
Density Range: Difference between the darkest and lightest areas of copy. Also called contrast ratio, copy range and tonal range.
Desktop Publishing: Technique of using a personal computer to design images and pages, and assemble type and graphics, then using a laser printer or imagesetter to output the assembled pages onto paper, film or printing plate. Abbreviated DTP.
Device Independent Colors: Hules identified by wavelength or by their place in systems such as developed by CIE. 'Device independent' means a color can be described and specified without regard to whether it is reproduced using ink, projected light, photographic chemistry or any other method.
Die: Device for cutting, scoring, stamping, embossing and debossing.
Die Cut: To cut irregular shapes in paper or paperboard using a die.
Digital Proofing: Page proofs produced through electronic memory transferred onto paper via laser or ink-jet.
Diffusion Transfer: Chemical process of reproducing line copy and making halftone positives ready for paste-up.
Digital Dot: Dot created by a computer and printed out by a laser printer or imagesetter. Digital dots are uniform in size, as compared to halftone dots that vary in size.
Direct Digital Color Proof: Color proof made by a laser, ink jet printer or other computer-controlled device without needing to make separation films first. Abbreviated DDCP.
Dog Ear: A letter fold at the side of one of the creases, an indentation occurs.
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.
Dot Size: Relative size of halftone dots as compared to dots of the screen ruling being used. There is no unit of measurement to express dot size. Dots are too large, too small or correct only in comparison to what the viewer finds attractive.
Dots-per-inch: Measure of resolution of input devices such as scanners, display devices such as monitors, and output devices such as laser printers, imagesetters and monitors. Abbreviated DPI. Also called dot pitch.
Double Black Duotone: Duotone printed from two halftones, one shot for highlights and the other shot for midtones and shadows.
Double Bump: To print a single image twice so it has two layers of ink.
Double Burn: To expose film or a plate twice to different negatives and thus create a composite image.
Double Density: A method of recording electronically (disk, CD, floppy) using a modified frequency to allow more data storage.
Double Dot Halftone: Halftone double burned onto one plate from two halftones, one shot for shadows, the second shot for midtones and highlights.
Doubling: Printing defect appearing as blurring or shadowing of the image. Doubling may be caused by problems with paper, cylinder alignment, blanket pressures or dirty cylinders.
DPI: Considered as "dots per square inch," a measure of output resolution in relationship to printers, imagesetters and monitors.
Drawdown: Sample of inks specified for a job applied to the substrate specified for a job. Also called pulldown.
Drill: In the printing arena, to drill a whole in a printed matter.
Dropout: Halftone dots or fine lines eliminated from highlights by overexposure during camera work.
Dropout Halftone: Halftone in which contrast has been increased by eliminating dots from highlights.
Dry Back: Phenomenon of printed ink colors becoming less dense as the ink dries.
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.
Dry Trap: To print over dry ink, as compared to wet trap.
Dual-purpose Bond Paper: Bond paper suitable for printing by either lithography (offset) or xerography (photocopy). Abbreviated DP bond paper.
Dull Finish: Flat (not glossy) finish on coated paper; slightly smoother than matte. Also called suede finish, velour finish and velvet finish.
Dummy: Simulation of the final product. Also called mockup.
Duotone: Black-and-white photograph reproduced using two halftone negatives, each shot to emphasize different tonal values in the original.
Duplex Paper: Thick paper made by pasting highlights together two thinner sheets, usually of different colors. Also called double-faced paper and two-tone paper.
Duplicator: Offset press made for quick printing.
Dylux: Brand name for photographic paper used to make blue line proofs. Often used as alternate term for blueline.

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Electronic Front End (Electronic Composition): General term referring to a prepress system based on computers.
Electronic Image Assembly: Assembly of a composite image from portions of other images and/or other page elements using a computer.
Electronic Mechanical: Mechanical exclusively in electronic files.
Electronic Publishing: (1) Publishing by printing with device, such as a photocopy machine or ink jet printer, driven by a computer that can change the image instantly from one copy to the next. (2) Publishing via output on fax, computer bulletin board or other electronic medium, as compared to output on paper.
Emboss: To press an image into paper so it lies above the surface. Also called cameo and tool.
Emulsion: Casting of light-sensitive chemicals on papers, films, printing plates and stencils.
Emulsion Down/Emulsion Up: Film whose emulsion side faces down (away from the viewer) or up (toward the viewer) when ready to make a plate or stencil. Abbreviated ED, EU. Also called E up/down and face down/face up.
Encapsulated PostScript file: Computer file containing both images and PostScript commands. Abbreviated EPS file.
End Sheet: Sheet that attaches the inside pages of a case bound book to its cover. Also called pastedown or end papers.
English Finish: Smooth finish on uncoated book paper; smoother than eggshell, rougher than smooth.
Engraving: Printing method using a plate, also called a die, with an image cut into its surface.
EP: Abbreviation for envelope.
EPS: Encapsulated Post Script, a known file format usually used to transfer post script information from one program to another.
Equivalent Paper: Paper that is not the brand specified, but looks, prints and may cost the same. . Also called comparable stock.
Estimate: Price that states what a job will probably cost. Also called bid, quotation and tender.
Estimator: The individual performing or creating the "estimate."
Etch: To use chemicals to carve an image into metal, glass or film.

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Face: Edge of a bound publication opposite the spine. Also called foredge. Also, an abbreviation for typeface referring to a family of a general style.
Fake Duotone: Halftone in one ink color printed over screen tint of a second ink color. Also called dummy duotone, dougraph, duplex halftone, false duotone, flat tint halftone and halftone with screen.
Fast Color Inks: Inks with colors that retain their density and resist fading as the product is used and washed.
Feeding Unit: Component of a printing press that moves paper into the register unit.
Felt Finish: Soft woven pattern in text paper.
Felt Side: Side of the paper that was not in contact with the Fourdrinier wire during papermaking, as compared to wire side.
Fifth Color: Ink color used in addition to the four needed by four-color process.
Film Gauge: Thickness of film. The most common gauge for graphic arts film is 0.004 inch (0.1 mm).
Film Laminate: Thin sheet of plastic bonded to a printed product for protection or increased gloss.
Fine Papers: Papers made specifically for writing or commercial printing, as compared to coarse papers and industrial papers. Also called cultural papers and graphic papers.
Fine Screen: Screen with ruling of 150 lines per inch (80 lines per centimeter) or more.
Finish: (1) Surface characteristics of paper. (2) General term for trimming, folding, binding and all other post press operations.
Finished Size: Size of product after production is completed, as compared to flat size. Also called trimmed size.
Fit: Refers to ability of film to be registered during stripping and assembly. Good fit means that all images register to other film for the same job.
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.
Flat Plan (Flats): Diagram of the flats for a publication showing imposition and indicating colors.
Flat Size: Size of product after printing and trimming, but before folding, as compared to finished size.
Flexography: Method of printing on a web press using rubber or plastic plates with raised images. Also called aniline printing because flexographic inks originally used aniline dyes. Abbreviated flexo.
Flood: To print a sheet completely with an ink or varnish. flooding with ink is also called painting the sheet.
Flush Cover: Cover trimmed to the same size as inside pages, as compared to overhang cover. Also called cut flush
Flyleaf: Leaf, at the front and back of a casebound book that is the one side of the end paper not glued to the case.
Fogging Back: Used in making type more legible by lowering density of an image, while allowing the image to show through.
Foil Emboss: To foil stamp and emboss an image. Also called heat stamp.
Foil Stamp: Method of printing that releases foil from its backing when stamped with the heated die. Also called block print, hot foil stamp and stamp.
Folder: A bindery machine dedicated to folding printed materials.