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Accordian Fold In binding, a term used for two or more parallel folds which open like an accordian.
Additive Primaries In color reproduction, red, green and blue (RGB). When lights of these colors are added together, they produce the sensation of white light.
Alkaline Paper Paper made with a synthetic alkaline size and an alkaline filler like calcium carbonate which gives the paper over four times the life (200 years) of acid-sized papers (40-50 years).
Analog Color Proof Off-press color proof made from separation films.
Antique Finish A term describing the surface, usually on book and cover papers, that has a natural rough finish.
Art All illustration copy used in preparing a job for printing.
Ascender That part of a lower case letter which rises above the main body, as in “b”.
Backbone The 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.
Bitmap In computer imaging, the electronic representation of a page, indicating the position of every possible spot (zero or one).
Blanket In offset printing, a rubber-surfaced fabric which is clamped around a cylinder, to which the image is transferred from the plate, and from which it is transferred to the paper.
Bleed An extra amount of printed image which extends beyond the trim edge of the sheet or page.
Blind Embossing A design which is stamped without metallic leaf or ink, giving a bas-relief effect.
Body Type A type used for the main part or text of a printed piece, as distinguished from the heading.
Bold-Face Type A name given to type that is heavier than the text type with which it is used.
Bond Paper A grade of writing or printing paper where strength, durability and permanence are essential requirements; used for letterheads, business forms, etc. The basic size is 17x22.
Book Paper A general term for coated and uncoated papers. The basic size is 25x38.
Break for Color In artwork and composition, to separate the parts to be printed in different colors.
Bronzing Printing with a sizing ink, then applying bronze powder while still wet to produce a metallic luster.
Bulk The degree of thickness of paper. In book printing, the number of pages per inch for a given basis weight.
Caliper The thickness of paper, usually expressed in thousandths of an inch (mils).
Case In bookbinding, the covers of a hardbound book.
Chokes and Spreads Overlap of overprinting images to avoid color or white fringes or borders around image detail. Called trapping in digital imaging systems.
CMY (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow) Subtractive primary colors, each of which is a combination of two additive primary colors (RCB).
CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) The subtractive process colors used in color printing. Black (K) is added to enhance color and contrast.
Coated Paper Paper having a surface coating which produces a smooth finish. Surfaces vary from eggshell to glossy.
Collate In binding, the gathering of sheets or signatures.
Color Separation In photography, the process of separating color originals into the primary printing color components in negative or positive form.
Commercial Register Color printing on which the misregister allowable is within plus/minus one row of dots.
Contrast The tonal gradation between the highlights, middle tones and shadow in an original or reproduction.
Copy Any furnished material (typewritten manuscript, pictures, artwork, etc.) to be used in the production of printing.
Copyfitting In composition, the calculation of how much space a given amount of copy will take up in a given size and typeface. Also, the adjusting of the type size to makee it fit in a given amount of space.
Cover Paper A term applied to a variety of papers used for the covers of catalogs, brochures, booklets and similar pieces.
Crop To eliminate portions of the copy, usually on a photograph or plate, indicated on the original by cropmarks.
Cross Direction In paper, the direction across the grain. Paper is weaker and more sensitive to changes in relative humidity in the cross direction than the grain direction.
Curl In paper, the distortion of a sheet due to differences in structure or coatings from one side to the other, or to absorption of moisture on an offset press.
Descender That part of a lower case letter which extends below the main body, as in “p”.
Die-Cutting The process of using sharp steel rules to cut special shapes for labels, boxes and containers, from printed sheets. Die-cutting can be done on either flatbed or rotary presses. Rotary die-cutting is usually done inline with the printing.
Die-Stamping An intaglio process for the production of letterheads, business cards, etc., printing from lettering or other designs engraved into copper or steel.
Digital Color Proof An off-set press color proof produced from digital data without the need for separation films.
Digital Plates Printing plates that can be exposed by lasers or other high energy sources driven by digital data in a platesetter.
Digital Printing Printing by plateless imaging systems that are imaged by digital data from prepress systems.
Display Type In composition, type set larger than the text.
Dot Gain In printing, a defect in which dots print larger than they should, causing darker tones or stronger colors.
Dots Per Inch (dpi) A measure of the resolution of a screen image or printed page. Spots per inch (spi) is a more appropriate term.
Duotone In photomechanics, a term for a two-color halftone reproduction from a one-color photograph.
Duplex Paper Paper with a different color or finish on each side.
Dynamic Range Density difference between highlights and shadows of scanned subjects,
Em In composition, a unit of measurement exactly as wide and high as the point size being set. So named because the letter “M” in early fonts was usually cast on a square body.
Embossed Finish Paper with a raised or depressed surface resembling wood, cloth, leather or other pattern.
Embossing Impressing an image in relief to achieve a raised surface; either overprinting or on blank paper (called blind embossing).
En In composition, one-half the width of an em.
Filling In (or Filling Up) In letterpress or offset lithography, a condition where ink fills the area between the halftone dots or plugs up (fills in) the type.
Flush Cover A cover that has been trimmed the same size as the inside text pages.
Flush Left (or Right) In composition, type set to line up at the left (or right).
Flush Paragraph A paragraph with no indentation.
Folio The page number.
Form In offset, the assembly of pages and other images for printing. In letterpress, type and other matter locked in a chase for printing.
Format The size, style, type page, margins, printing requirements, etc., of a printed piece.
Gathering In binding, the assembling of folded signatures in proper sequence.
Generation Each succeeding stage in reproduction from the original copy.
Grain In papermaking, the direction in which most fibers lie which corresponds with the direction in which the paper is made on a paper machine.
Gutter The blank space or inner margin from printing area to binding.
Hairline Register Register with plus/minus ½ row of dots.
Halftone The reproduction of continuous-tone images, through a screening process, which converts the image into dots of various sizes and equal spacing between centers (AM screening), or dots of equal size with variable spacing between them (PM screening).
Head Margin The white space above the first line on a page.
Imposition In digital imaging, the positioning of pages on a signature so that after printing, folding, and cutting, all pages will appear in the proper sequence.
Insert A printed piece prepared for insertion into a publication or another printed piece.
Italic The style of letters that slant, in distinction from upright, or roman, letters. Used for emphasis within the text.
Justify In composition, to space out lines uniformly to the correct length.
Kerning In typesetting, subtracting space between two characters, making them closer together.
Laid Paper Paper with a pattern of parallel lines at equal distances, giving a ribbed effect.
Leaders In composition, rows of dashes or dots to guide the eye across the page. Used in tabular work, programs, tables of contents, etc.
Leading (pronounced ledding) In composition, the distance between lines of type measured in points.
Letterspacing The placing of additional space between each letter of a word.
Machine Direction Same as grain direction in paper.
Makeready In printing, all work done to set up a press for printing.
Matte Finish Dull paper finish without gloss or luster.
Mechanical A term for a camera-ready pasteup of artwork. It includes type, photos, line art, etc., all on one piece of artboard.
Moire In color process printing, the undesirable screen pattern caused by incorrect screen angles of overprinting halftones.
Mottle The spotty or uneven appearance of printing, mostly in solid areas.
Newsprint Paper made mostly from ground wood pulp and small amounts of chemical pulp; used for printing newspapers.
Offset In printing, the process of using an intermediate blanket cylinder to transfer an image from the image carrier to the substrate. Short for offset lithography.
Opacity That property of paper which minimizes the show-through of printing from the back side or the next sheet.
Overprinting Double printing; printing over an area that already has been printed.
Overrun In printing, copies printed in excess of the unspecified quantity.
Pica Printer’s unit of measurement used principally in typesetting. One pica equals approximately 1/6 of an inch.
Point Printer’s unit of measurement, used principally for designating type sizes. There are 12 points to a pica; approximately 72 points to an inch.
Position Proof Color proof for checking position, layout and/or color breakout of image elements.
Preflight In digital prepress, the test used to evaluate or analyze every component needed to produce a printing job. Preflight confirms the type of disk being submitted, the color gamut, color breaks, and any art required (illustrations, transparencies, reflective photos, etc.) plus layout files, screen fonts, printer fonts, EPS or TIFF files, laser proofs, page sizes, print driver, crop marks, etc.
Press Proofs In color reproduction, a proof of a color subject made on a printing press, in advance of the production run.
Process Colors In printing, the subtractive primaries: yellow, magenta and cyan, plus black in four-color process printing.
Ragged Left In typesetting, type that is justified on the right margin and ragged on the left.
Ragged Right In typesetting, type that is justified on the left margin and ragged on the right.
Ream Five hundred sheets of paper.
Register In printing, fitting of two or more printing images in exact alignment with each other.
Register Marks Crosses or other targets applied to original copy prior to photography. Used for positioning films in register, or for register of two or more colors in process printing.
Resolution In electronic imaging, the quantification or printout quality using the number of spots per inch.
RGB (Red, Green and Blue) The primary additive colors used in display devices and scanners. Commonly used to refer to the color space, mixing system or monitor in color computer graphics.
Right-Angle Fold In binding, a term used for two or more folds that are at ninety degree angles to each other.
Saddle Wire In binding, to fasten a booklet by wiring it through the middle fold of the sheets.
Score To impress or indent a mark with a string or rule in the paper to make folding easier.
Screen Angles In color reproduction, angles at which the halftone screens are placed with relation to one another, to avoid undesirable moiré patterns. A set of angles often used is: black forty-five degrees, magenta seventy-five degrees, yellow ninety degrees, cyan one- hundred-and-five degrees.
Screen Ruling The number of lines or dots per inch on a halftone screen.
Self Cover A cover of the same paper as inside text pages.
Serif The short cross-lines at the ends of the main strokes of many letters in some type faces.
Sheeetwise To print one side of a sheet of paper with one plate, then turn the sheet over and print the other side with another plate using same gripper and opposite side guide.
Show-Through In printing, the undesirable condition in which the printing on the reverse side of a sheet can be seen through the sheet under normal lighting conditions.
Signature In printing and binding, the name given to a printed sheet after it has been folded.
Spiral Binding A book bound with wires in spiral form inserted through holes punched along the binding side.
Stock Paper or other material to be printed.
Tints Various even tone areas (strengths) of a solid color.
Trapping In prepress, refers to how much overprinting colors overlap to eliminate white lines between colors in printing.
Trim Marks In printing, marks placed on the copy to indicate the edge of the page.
-Up In printing, two-up, three-up, etc., refers to imposition of material to be printed on a larger size sheet to take advantage of full pres capacity.
Varnish A thin, protective coating applied to a printed sheet for protection or appearance. Also, in inkmaking, it can be all or part of the ink vehicle.
Widow In composition, a single word or part of a word on a line by itself, ending a paragraph, or starting a page, frowned upon in good typography.
Wire-O Binding A continuous double series of wire loops run through punched slots along the binding side of a booklet.
Work and Tumble To print one side of a sheet of paper, then turn it over from gripper to back using the same side guide and plate to print the second side.
Work and Turn To print one side of a sheet of paper, then turn it over from left to right and print the second side using the same gripper and plate but opposite side guide.
Wove Paper Paper having a uniform unlined surface and a soft, smooth finish.