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A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W

A
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's alteration and customer alteration.

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 usually an additional cost to the client.


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Back Up - To print on the second side of a sheet already printed on one side.

Basis Weight - In the United States and Canada, the weight, in pounds, of a ream (500 sheets) of paper cut to the basic size.

Bind - Usually in the book arena, but not exclusively, the joining of leafs or signatures together with either wire, glue or other means.

Bindery - A department responsible for collating, folding and trimming various printing projects.

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.

Blueprint - Prepress photographic proof made from stripped negatives where all colors show as blue images on white paper.

Bond Paper - Category of paper commonly used for writing, printing and photocopying. Also called business paper, communication paper, correspondence paper and writing paper.

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.

Broadside - The term used to indicate work printed on one of a large sheet of paper.

Broken Carton - Carton of paper from which some of the sheets have been sold.

Bulk - Thickness of paper relative to its basic weight.

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.


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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.

Camera-ready Copy - Mechanicals, photographs and art fully prepared for reproduction according to the technical requirements of the printing process being used.

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.

Cast-coated Paper - High gloss, coated paper made by pressing the paper against a polished, hot, metal drum while the coating is still wet.

CMYK - Abbreviation for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black), the four process colors.

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.

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 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 Key - Brand name for an overlay color proof. Sometimes used as a generic term for any overlay color proof.

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).

Contrast - The degree of tones in an image ranging from highlight to shadow.

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.

Creep - Phenomenon of middle pages of a folded signature extending slightly beyond outside pages.

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.

Cutting Die - Usually a custom ordered item to trim specific and unusual sized printing projects.

Cyan - One of the four process colors. Also known as process blue.


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Deboss - To press an image into paper so it lies below the surface.

Deckle Edge - Edge of paper left ragged as it comes from the papermaking machine instead of being cleanly cut.

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 - Regarding ink, the relative thickness of a layer of printed ink.

Die - Device for cutting, scoring, stamping, embossing and debossing.

Die Cut - To cut irregular shapes in paper or paperboard using a die.

Digital Art Files - All original copy, including type, photos and illustrations, intended for printing supplied by a designer in a page layout or other application suitable for digital output.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Drill - In the printing arena, to drill a hole in printed matter.

Dropout - Halftone dots or fine lines eliminated from highlights by overexposure during camera work.

Dry Back - Phenomenon of printed ink colors becoming less dense as the ink dries.

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.

Dylux - Brand name for photographic paper used to make blue line proofs. Often used as alternate term for blueline.


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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.

Engraving - Printing method using a plate, also called a die, with an image cut into its surface.


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Felt Finish - Soft woven pattern in text paper.

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 or folded 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.

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.

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. Abbreviated flexo.

Flood - To print a sheet completely with an ink or varnish. flooding with ink is also called painting the sheet.

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.

Form - Each side of a signature. Also spelled forme.

Four-color Process Printing - Technique of printing that uses black, magenta, cyan and yellow to simulate full-color images. Also called color process printing, full color printing and process printing.


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Gang - To reproduce two or more different printed products simultaneously on one sheet of paper during one press run. Also called combination run.

Gate Fold - A sheet that folds where both sides fold toward the gutter in overlapping layers.

Gloss - Considered the light reflecting on various objects in the printing industry (e.g., paper, ink, laminates, UV coating, varnish).

Gripper Edge - Edge of a sheet held by grippers on a sheetfed press, thus going first through the press.

Groundwood Paper - Newsprint and other inexpensive paper made from pulp created when wood chips are ground mechanically rather than refined chemically.

Gutter - In the book arena, the inside margins toward the back or the binding edges.


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Halftone - To photograph or scan a continuous tone image to convert the image into halftone dots.

High-fidelity Color - Color reproduced using six, eight or twelve separations, as compared to four-color process.

Highlights - Lightest portions of a photograph or halftone, as compared to midtones and shadows.


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Imposition - Arrangement of pages on mechanicals or flats so they will appear in proper sequence after press sheets are folded and bound.

Impression - Referring to an ink color, one impression equals one press sheet passing once through a printing unit.

Ink Holdout - Characteristic of paper that prevents it from absorbing ink, thus allowing ink to dry on the surface of the paper. Also called holdout.


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K - Abbreviation for black in four-color process printing. Hence the 'K' in CMYK.

Kiss Cut - To die cut the top layer, but not the backing layer, of self-adhesive paper.


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Laid Finish - Finish on bond or text paper on which grids of parallel lines simulate the surface of handmade paper. Laid lines are close together and run against the grain; chain lines are farther apart and run with the grain.

Leading - Amount of space between lines of type.

Leaf - One sheet of paper in a publication. Each side of a leaf is one page.

Letter fold - Two folds creating three panels that allow a sheet of letterhead to fit a business envelope. Also called barrel fold and wrap around fold.

Letter Paper - In North America, 8 1/2' x 11' sheets. In Europe, A4 sheets.

Letterpress - Method of printing from raised surfaces, either metal type or plates whose surfaces have been etched away from image areas.

Line Copy - Any high-contrast image, including type, as compared to continuous-tone copy. Also called line art and line work.

Linen Finish - Embossed finish on text paper that simulates the pattern of linen cloth.

Lithography - Method of printing using plates whose image areas attract ink and whose nonimage areas repel ink. Nonimage areas may be coated with water to repel the oily ink or may have a surface, such as silicon, that repels ink.

Live Area - Area on a mechanical within which images will print. Also called safe area.

Loose Proof - Proof of a halftone or color separation that is not assembled with other elements from a page, as compared to composite proof.


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Makeready - All activities required to prepare a press or other machine to function for a specific printing or bindery job, as compared to production run. Also called setup.

Making Order - Order for paper that a mill makes to the customer's specifications, as compared to a mill order or stock order.

Mark-Up - Instructions written usually on a "dummy."

Match Print - A form of a four-color-process proofing system.

Matte Finish - Flat (not glossy) finish on photographic paper or coated printing paper.

Mechanical - Camera-ready assembly of type, graphic and other copy complete with instructions to the printer.

Metallic Ink - Ink containing powdered metal or pigments that simulate metal. Metallic inks cost more to print with than regular inks.

Multicolor Printing - Printing in more than one ink color (but not four-color process).


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Nested - Signatures assembled inside one another in the proper sequence for binding, as compared to gathered.

News Print - Paper used in printing newspapers. Considered low quality and "a short life use."

Non-reproducing Blue - Light blue that does not record on graphic arts film, therefore may be used to preprint layout grids and write instructions on mechanicals. Also called blue pencil, drop-out blue, fade-out blue and nonrepro blue.


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Offset Printing - Printing technique that transfers ink from a plate to a blanket to paper instead of directly from plate to paper.

Opacity - (1) Characteristic of paper or other substrate that prevents printing on one side from showing through the other side. (2) Characteristic of ink that prevents the substrate from showing through.

Overprint - To print one image over a previously printed image, such as printing type over a screen tint. Also called surprint.

Over Run - Additional printed matter beyond order. Overage policy varies in the printing industry.


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Page - One side of a leaf in a publication.

Page Count - Total number of pages that a publication has.

Page Proof - Proof of type and graphics as they will look on the finished page complete with elements such as headings, rules and folios.

Pagination - In the book arena, the numbering of pages.

Painted Sheet - Sheet printed with ink edge to edge, as compared to spot color. The painted sheet refers to the final product, not the press sheet, and means that 100 percent coverage results from bleeds off all four sides.

Panel - One page of a brochure, such as one panel of a rack brochure. One panel is on one side of the paper. A letter-folded sheet has six panels, not three.

Parallel Fold - Method of folding. Two parallel folds to a sheet will produce 6 panels.

Paste-up - To paste copy to mounting boards and, if necessary, to overlays so it is assembled into a camera-ready mechanical. The mechanical produced is often called a paste-up.

PE - Proofreader mark meaning printer error and showing a mistake by a typesetter, prepress service or printer as compared to an error by the customer.

Perfect Bind - To bind sheets that have been ground at the spine and are held to the cover by glue. Also called adhesive bind, cut-back bind, glue bind, paper bind, patent bind, perfecting bind, soft bind and soft cover.

Perfecting Press - Press capable of printing both sides of the paper during a single pass. Also called duplex press and perfector.

Perf Marks - On a "dummy" marking where the perforation is to occur.

Perforating - Taking place on a press or a binding machine, creating a line of small dotted wholes for the purpose of tearing-off a part of a printed matter (usually straight lines, vertical or horizontal).

Pica - A unit of measure in the printing industry. A pica is approximately 0.166 in. There are 12 points to a pica.

Plate - Piece of paper, metal, plastic or rubber carrying an image to be reproduced using a press.

Platemaker - In commercial lithography, a machine with a vacuum frame and light used to expose plates through film.

PMS - Pantone Matching System.

Point - (1) Regarding paper, a unit of thickness equating 1/1000 inch. (2) Regarding type, a unit of measure equaling 1/12 pica and .013875 inch (.351mm).

Positive Film - Film that prevents light from passing through images, as compared to negative film that allows light to pass through. Also called knockout film.

Prepress - Camera work, color separations, stripping, platemaking and other prepress functions performed by the printer, separator or a service bureau prior to printing. Also called preparation.

Prepress Proof - Any color proof made using ink jet, toner, dyes or overlays, as compared to a press proof printed using ink.

Press Check - Event at which makeready sheets from the press are examined before authorizing full production to begin.

Press Proof - Proof made on press using the plates, ink and paper specified for the job.

Press Time - Amount of time that one printing job spends on press, including time required for makeready.

Price Break - Quantity at which unit cost of paper or printing drops.

Printer Spreads - Mechanicals made so they are imposed for printing, as compared to reader spreads.

Printing - Any process that transfers to paper or another substrate an image from an original such as a film negative or positive, electronic memory, stencil, die or plate.

Printing Plate - Surface carrying an image to be printed. Quick printing uses paper or plastic plates; letterpress, engraving and commercial lithography use metal plates; flexography uses rubber or soft plastic plates. Gravure printing uses a cylinder. The screen printing is also called a plate.

Process Color (Inks) - The colors used for four-color process printing: yellow, magenta, cyan and black.

Proof - Test sheet made to reveal errors or flaws, predict results on press and record how a printing job is intended to appear when finished.

Proofreader Marks - Standard symbols and abbreviations used to mark up manuscripts and proofs. Also called correction marks.


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Quick Printing - Printing using small sheetfed presses, called duplicators, using cut sizes of paper.


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Rag Paper - Stationery or other forms of stock having a strong percentage content of "cotton rags."

Rainbow Fountain - Technique of putting ink colors next to each other in the same ink fountain and oscillating the ink rollers to make the colors merge where they touch, producing a rainbow effect.

Reader Spread - Mechanicals made in two page spreads as readers would see the pages, as compared to printer spread.

Ream - 500 sheets of paper.

Recycled Paper - New paper made entirely or in part from old paper.

Reflective Copy - Products, such as fabrics, illustrations and photographic prints, viewed by light reflected from them, as compared to transparent copy. Also called reflex copy.

Register - To place printing properly with regard to the edges of paper and other printing on the same sheet. Such printing is said to be in register.

Register Marks - Cross-hair lines on mechanicals and film that help keep flats, plates, and printing in register.

Resolution - Sharpness of an image on film, paper, computer screen, disc, tape or other medium.

Reverse - Type, graphic or illustration reproduced by printing ink around its outline, thus 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.


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Saddle Stitch - To bind by stapling sheets together where they fold at the spine, as compared to side stitch. Also called pamphlet stitch, saddle wire and stitch bind.

Score - To compress paper along a straight line so it folds more easily and accurately.

Screen Printing - Method of printing by using a squeegee to force ink through an assembly of mesh fabric and a stencil.

Screen Tint - Color created by dots instead of solid ink coverage. Also called Benday, fill pattern, screen tone, shading, tint and tone.

Selective Binding - Placing signatures or inserts in magazines or catalogs according to demographic or geographic guidelines.

Self Cover - A publication not having a cover stock. A publication only using text stock throughout.

Self Mailer - A printed item independent of an envelope. A printed item capable of travel in the mailing arena independently.

Separated Art - Art with elements that print in the base color on one surface and elements that print in other colors on other surfaces. Also called preseparated art.

Separations - Usually in the four-color process arena, separate film holding qimages of one specific color per piece of film. Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. Can also separate specific PMS colors through film.

Service Bureau - Business using imagesetters to make high resolution printouts of files prepared on microcomputers. Also called output house and prep service.

Sheetfed Press - Press that prints sheets of paper, as compared to a web press. Sheetwise Technique of printing one side of a sheet with one set of plates, then the other side of the sheet with a set of different plates.

Side Stitch - To bind by stapling through sheets along, one edge, as compared to saddle stitch.

Signature - Printed sheet folded at least once, possibly many times, to become part of a book, magazine or other publication.

Slip Sheets - Separate sheets (stock) independent from the original run positioned between the "printed run" for a variety of reasons.

Solid - Any area of the sheet receiving 100 percent ink coverage, as compared to a screen tint.

Soy-based Inks - Inks using vegetable oils instead of petroleum products as pigment vehicles, thus are easier on the environment.

Specifications - Complete and precise written description of features of a printing job such as type size and leading, paper grade and quantity, printing or binding method. Abbreviated specs.

Spine - Back or binding edge of a publication

Spiral Bind - To bind using a spiral of continuous wire or plastic looped through holes. Also called coil bind.

Spot Color or Spot Varnish - One ink or varnish applied to portions of a sheet, as compared to flood or painted sheet.

Spread - Two pages that face each other and are designed as one visual or production unit.

Stocking Paper - Popular sizes, weights and colors of papers available for prompt delivery from a merchant's warehouse.

Strip - To assemble images on film for platemaking. Stripping involves correcting flaws in film, assembling pieces of film into flats and ensuring that film and flats register correctly.

Substrate - Any surface or material on which printing is done.


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Tabloid - Using a broadsheet as a measure, one half of a broadsheet.

Tag - Grade of dense, strong paper used for products such as badges and file folders.

Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) - Computer file format used to store images from scanners and video devices.

Text Paper - Designation for printing papers with textured surfaces such as laid or linen. Some mills use 'text' to refer to any paper they consider top-of-the-line, whether or not its surface has texture.

Thermography - Method of printing using colorless resin powder that takes on the color of underlying ink. Also called raised printing.

Tint - Screening or adding white to a solid color for results of lightening that specific color.

Tip In - Adding an additional page(s) beyond the normal process (separate insertion).

Touch Plate - Plate that accents or prints a color that four-color process printing cannot reproduce well enough or at all. Also called kiss plate.

Trim Size - The size of the printed material in its finished stage (e.g., the finished trim size is 5 1\2 x 8 1\2).


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Uncoated Paper - Paper that has not been coated with clay. Also called offset paper.

Up - Term to indicate multiple copies of one image printed in one impression on a single sheet. "Two up" or "three up" means printing the identical piece twice or three times on each sheet.

UV Coating - Liquid applied to a printed sheet, then bonded and cured with ultraviolet light.


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Varnish - Liquid applied as a coating for protection and appearance.

Vellum Finish - Somewhat rough, toothy finish.

Vignette - Decorative design or illustration fade to white.


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Waste - Unusable paper or paper damage during normal makeready, printing or binding operations.

Watermark - Translucent logo in paper created during manufacturing by slight embossing from a dandy roll while paper is still approximately 90 percent water.

Web Press - Press that prints from rolls of paper, usually cutting it into sheets after printing. Web presses come in many sizes, the most common being mini, half, three quarter (also called 8-pages) and full (also called 16-pages).

Wire Side - Side of the paper that rests against The Fourdrinier wire during papermaking, as compared to felt side.

With the Grain - Parallel to the grain direction of the paper being used, as compared to against the grain.

Wove - Paper manufactured without visible wire marks, usually a fine textured paper.