Glossary of Printers terms

Alteration: Change in copy of specifications after production has begun.

Author's corrections: Also know as "AC's". Changed and additions in copy after it has been typeset, best avoided!

Back up: Printing the second side of a sheet already printed on one side.

Bind: To fasten sheets or signatures with wire, thread, glue. or by other means.

Bindery: The finishing department of a print shop or firm specializing in finishing printed products.

Blanket: The thick rubber mat on a printing press that transfers ink from the plate to paper.

Bleed: Printing that goes to the edge of the sheet after trimming.

Bulk: Thickness of paper stock in thousandths of an inch or number of pages per inch.

Bulk pack: Boxing printed product without wrapping or banding.

Burn: Exposing a printing plate to high intensity light or placing an image on a printing plate by light.

Caliper: Paper thickness in thousandths of an inch.

Case bind: A type of binding used in making hard cover books using glue.

Cast coated: Coated paper with a high gloss reflective finish.

Coated paper: A coated printing paper with a smooth finish.

Collate: A finishing term for gathering paper in a precise order.

Color bar: A quality control term regarding the spots of ink color on the tail of a sheet.

Color correction: Methods of improving color separations.

Color matching system: A system of formulated ink colors used for communicating color.

Color separations: The process of preparing artwork, photographs, transparencies, or computer generated art for printing by separating into the four primary printing colors - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black.

Comb bind: To plastic comb bind by inserting the comb into punched holes.

Composite film: Combining two or more images on one or more pieces of film.

Contrast: The tonal change in color from light to dark.

Copy: All materials used in the production of a printed document.

Cover paper: A heavier printing paper used to cover books, make presentation folders, etc.

Crop: To cut off parts of a picture or image.

Crop marks: Printed lines showing where to trim a printed sheet.

Densitometer: A quality control device to measure the density of printing ink.

Density: The degree of color or darkness of an image or photograph.

Dot: An element of halftones. Using a magnifying glass you will see that litho printed pictures are made of many dots.

Dot gain: A term used to explain the difference in size between the dot on plate v paper. The dot gain will vary from printing press to press and from paper to paper.

Dummy: A rough layout of a printed piece showing position and finished size.

Duotone: A halftone picture made up of two printed colors.

Emboss: Pressing an image into paper so that it will create a raised relief.

Emulsion: Light sensitive coating found on printing plates and film.

4-color-process: The process of combining four basic colors to create a printed color picture or colors composed from the basic four colors.

Ganging: Getting the most out of a printing press by using the maximum sheet size to print multiple images or jobs on the same sheet. A way to save money.

Ghosting: A faint printed image that appears on a printed sheet where it should not appear.
Gloss: A shiny look reflecting light.

Grain: The direction in which the paper fibers lie.

Grippers: The metal fingers on a printing press that hold the paper as it passes through the press.

Hairline: A very thin line or gap about the width of a hair or 1/100 inch.

Halftone: Converting a continuous tone to dots for printing.

Hard copy: The output of a computer printer, or typed text sent for typesetting.

Hickey: Reoccurring unplanned spots that appear in the printed image from dust, lint, dried ink.

Highlight: The lightest areas in a picture or halftone.

Image area: Portion of paper on which ink can appear.

Imposition: Positioning printed pages so they will fold in the proper order.

Impression: Putting an image on paper.

Imprint: Adding copy to a previously printed page.

Keylines: Lines on mechanical art that show position of photographs or illustrations.

Laid finish: Simulating the surface of handmade paper.

Laminate: To cover with film, to bond or glue one surface to another.

Line copy: High contrast copy not requiring a halftone.

Lines per inch: The number of rows of dots per inch in a halftone.

Magenta: Process red, one of the basic colors in process color.

Makeready: All the activities required to prepare a press for printing.

Mask: Blocking light from reaching parts of a printing plate.

Matchprint: Trade name for 3M integral color proof.

Matte finish: Dull paper or ink finish.

Micrometer: Instrument used to measure the thickness of different papers.

Middle tones: The tones in a photograph that are approximately half as dark as the shadow area.

Moire: Occurs when screen angles are wrong causing odd patterns in photographs.

Offsetting: Using an intermediate surface used to transfer ink. Also, an unpleasant happening when the images of freshly printed sheets transfer images to each other.

Offset paper: Term for uncoated book paper.

Ok sheet: Final approved color inking sheet before production begins.

Opacity: The amount of show-through on a printed sheet. The more opacity or the thicker the paper the less show-through. (The thicker/heavier the paper the higher the cost.)

Overlay: The transparent cover sheet on artwork often used for instructions.

Overs: Copies printed in excess of the specified quantity. (Printing trade terms allow for + - 10 % to represent a completed order.)

Page count: Total number of pages in a book including blanks.

Perfect bind: A type of binding that glues the edge of sheets to a cover like a telephone book, Microsoft software manual, or Country Living Magazine.

Perfecting press: A sheet fed printing press that prints both sides of a sheet in one pass.

Pica: Unit of measure in typesetting. One pica = 1/6 inch.

Picking: Printers nightmare that occurs as the surface of a sheet lifts off during printing. Generally a paper manufactures quality control problem.

Pin register: A standard used to fit film to film and film to plates and plates to press to assure the proper registration of printer colors.

Plate gap: Gripper space. The area where the grippers hold the sheet as it passes through the press.

PMS: The abbreviated name of the Pantone Color Matching System.

Point: For paper, a unit of thickness equaling 1/1000 inch. for typesetting, a unit of height equaling 1/72 inch.

PostScript: The computer language most recognized by printing devices.

Process blue: The blue or cyan color in process printing.

Process colors: Cyan (blue), magenta (process red), yellow (process yellow), black (process black).

Ragged left: Type that is justified to the right margin and the line lengths vary on the left.

Ragged right: Type that is justified to the left margin and the line lengths vary on the right.

Ream: Five hundred sheets of paper.

Recto: Right-hand page of an open book.

Register: To position print in the proper position in relation to the edge of the sheet and to other printing on the same sheet.

Register marks: Cross-hair lines or marks on film, plates, and paper that guide strippers, platemakers, pressmen, and bindery personnel in processing a print order from start to finish.

Reverse: The opposite of what you see. Printing the background of an image. For example; type your name on a piece of paper. The reverse of this would be a black piece of paper with a white name.

Rip

Saddle stitch: Binding a booklet or magazine with staples in the seam where it folds.

Scanner: Also a device used to scan art, pictures or drawings in desktop publishing.

Score: A crease put on paper to help it fold better.

Screen angles: The angles at which halftone, duo tones, tri tones, and color separation printing films are placed to make them look right.

Self-cover: Using the same paper as the text for the cover.

Shadow: The darkest areas of a photograph.

Show-through: Printing on one side of a sheet that can be seen on the other side of the sheet.

Signature: A sheet of printed pages which when folded become a part of a book or publication.

Specifications: A precise description of a print order.

Spine: The binding edge of a book or publication.

Spoilage: Planned paper waste for all printing operations.

Spot varnish: Varnish used to hilight a specific part of the printed sheet.

Step-and-repeat: A procedure for placing the same image on plates in multiple places.

Stet: A proof mark meaning let the original copy stand.

Stock: The material to be printed.

Substrate: Any surface on which printing is done.

Text paper: Grades of uncoated paper with textured surfaces.

Tints: A shade of a single color or combined colors.

Transparent ink: A printing ink that does not conceal the color under it.

Trapping: The ability to print one ink over the other.

Trim marks: Similar to crop or register marks. These marks show where to trim the printed sheet.

Trimmed size: The final size of one printed image after the last trim is made.

Up: Printing two or three up means printing multiple copies of the same image on the same sheet.

UV coating: Liquid laminate bonded and cured with ultraviolet light. Environmentally friendly.

Varnish: A clear liquid applied to printed surfaces for looks and protection. (UV coating looks better.)

Verso: The left hand page of an open book.

Vignette halftone: A halftone whose background gradually fades to white.

Washup: Removing printing ink from a press, washing the rollers and blanket. Certain ink colors require multiple washups to avoid ink and chemical contamination.

Waste: A term for planned spoilage.

Watermark: A distinctive design created in paper at the time of manufacture that can be easily seen by holding the paper up to a light.

Wiro-binding: A method of wire binding books along the binding edge that will allow the book to lay flat using double loops. See Wire O.

With the grain: Folding or feeding paper into the press or folder parallel to the grain of the paper.

Work and tumble: Printing one side of a sheet and turning it over from the gripper to the tail to print the second side using the same side guide and plate for the second side.

Work and turn: Printing one side of a sheet and turning it over from left to right ussing the same side guides and plate for the second side.