A
Accordionfold
A bindery term for two or more parallel folds that result in a sheet that openslike an accordion
Againstthe grain
Perpendicular to the direction of the paper grain
Aliasing
A defect which occurs when a graphic file does not have enough resolution toreproduce image detail and causes visible jagged lines along the edges
Anti-aliasing
Technique of filling the edges of an object with pixels to eliminate jaggedlines and make it appear smoother
AqueousCoating
A fast-drying, water-based coating that is applied after printing that gives aglossy finish and protects the print’s surface
Artwork
In printing, this is the original copy which includes all text, graphics,photos and illustrations
B
Backup
To print the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side
Bind
To fasten sheets or sections into brochures or booklets with the use of wire,thread, glue, staples, etc
Binding
The process by which sheets are fastened together which include cutting,trimming, collating, perforating, and folding to form the finished product
Bindery
The department in a printing company where finishing work is done such ascollating, folding and trimming of printed products
Bitmap
An image file format that refers to the rows and columns (map) of dots orpixels that form an image
BitmapImages
Computerized image made up of a collection of dots or pixels; these imagesappear blocky when you zoom in; also known as raster images
Blanket
The thick rubber coated pad of a printing press that transfers ink from theplate to the sheet
Bleed
Printing that goes beyond the edge of the final trim size
Blindembossing
A technique in which a design is pressed into a sheet without ink or foil,creating a raised image
Bondpaper
Durable and lightweight paper commonly used for letterheads and businessstationery
Border
Margin or line between the image area and the edge of the paper
Brightness
The brilliance or reflective quality of paper affecting contrast in printing
Bulk
The thickness of paper relative to its weight
C
C1S
Short for coating on one side of paper
C2S
Short for coating on both sides of paper
Caliper
Measurement of paper thickness expressed in thousandths of an inch
Camera-readycopy
Print ready layout of graphic and text
Castcoated
A type of coated paper with a high gloss enamel finish
Chrome
Color transparency
Coatedpaper
Paper with a thin surface coating of clay that produces a smooth finish
Collate
A finishing term for arranging pages or sheets in correct order before binding
ColorBalance
Refers to the proper ratio of cyan, magenta, and yellow ink during printing tokeep color consistency and produce the desired color of an image
Colorbar
Strips of color used as a tool to check color accuracy and density
Colorcorrection
Methods of adjusting and improving color qualities such as color balance,contrast, etc
Colorfilter
Filters used in color separation
Colorkey
A printer’s proof made from 4 acetate or transparent films of various colors,one sheet per process color, which when combined simulates the finished product
Colormatching system
Color chart in an electronic system used to compare, measure or mix colors
Colorseparations
Preparing a full-color image for printing by separating it into the four basicprocess colors: cyan, magenta, yellow and black
ColorSequence
The order in which the four-color process inks are printed on the press
Colorimeter
A light sensitive device used for measuring color with an exact responsesimilar to the human eye
Combbind
A method of binding by inserting a plastic comb through holes along the side oredge of a stack of pages
Compositefilm
Combination of two or more images on one or more films
Computer-to-Plate(CTP)
A technology that enables transfer of digital data directly to a metal platefor printing, eliminating the use of conventional films
Continuous-tonecopy
Illustrations and photographs that have a range of shades
Contrast
The range of difference between the darkest and lightest areas in an image
Copy
Any material (text or artwork) to be used in printing a piece
Coverpaper
A heavyweight paper commonly used for covers of books, brochures, catalogs andfolders
Creep
Creep is the shifting position of the page in a saddle-stitched bind. Creepmoves the inside pages away from the spine.
Crop
To cut off sides or portions of an image
Cropmarks
Lines at the edges of a sheet that show where the page will be trimmed
Crossover
Printing across the gutter or from one page to the facing page of a publication
Cure
The process of drying inks or coatings through chemical processes to developstrong adhesion
Cyan
Shade of blue; One of four basic ink colors used in 4 color printing process
D
Deboss
To press an image below the surface of paper
Densitometer
An instrument used to measure the density of colored ink to determineconsistency
Density
The degree of darkness of an image
Diazo
A light-sensitive coating used on plates in offset printing
Die
Metal plate cut for impressing a design or image on paper
Diecutting
A process of cutting paper in a shape or design using metal dies
DirectImaging
A technology that eliminates the use of film plates by directly transferringthe image from digital files to the press plates using a laser
DirectImaging Press (DI)
An offset press where the plate is imaged directly on the press with laser
Dot
The individual element of a halftones; also referred to as a “pixel”
Dotgain or spread
The spread of ink on paper; occurrence when dots print larger than they were onthe film
DotsPer Inch (DPI)
A measurement of resolution of a screen image or printed image defined by thenumber of dots that fit horizontally and vertically into one inch; The higherthe DPI, the sharper the image
Doubleburn
Exposing a printing plate to multiple images
Draw-down
A method of applying a thin coating or ink on paper to roughly determine color
Drop-out
Parts of artwork that are not reproduced
Dummy
A preliminary layout of a copy showing the position and general style made toresemble the finished product
Duotone
A halftone image made up of two colors
Duplexing
The ability of a press to print on both sides of a sheet of paper
E
EncapsulatedPostscript File (EPS)
An Adobe graphic file format for high resolution images; it translates graphicand text into code that tells a printer to print in the highest resolutionpossible and also has low resolution view files for quick screen viewing.
Emboss
Technique of pressing an image into paper so that creating a raised image
Emulsion
Photosensitive sensitive coating on printing plates and film
F
Feeder
Section of a printing press that separates the sheets and feeds them intoposition for printing
Flood
To cover a page completely with ink or varnish
Flop
The backside of an image
Foil
A thin metal applied to paper used in foil stamping and foil embossing
Foilemboss
To foil stamp or emboss an image on paper using a die
Foilstamping
Pressing a design or image on paper without ink using a foil and heated metaldie
Fourcolor process
The process of printing using the combination of four basic color inks (cyan,magenta, yellow and black) to produce a range of colors and create a colorimage
Fourover Four (4/4)
A print job with four color printing on both sides of the paper
Fourover One (4/1)
A print job with four color printing on the front side and one color (usuallyblack) on the back side
Fourover Zero (4/0)
A print job with four color printing on the front side and no printing on theback side
G
Gang
Economical way of printing by printing multiple images on the same sheet usingthe maximum sheet size
Ghosting
A printing defect where a faint unwanted image appears on a page
Gloss
Shiny coating applied to paper
Grain
The direction in which the fibers of a paper lie
GraphicDesign
The use of visual elements to express a message
Grayscale
An image made up of a range of shades of black and white
Grippers
The metal fingers on printing presses that hold the paper and controls it as itpasses through the press
H
Halftone
Pattern of dots within a fixed grid to reproduce a continuous-tone image
Hardcopy
A document or data printed on paper
Hickey
A spot or imperfection on a printed page caused by dust, lint or dried ink
Highlight
The lightest part in an image
HouseSheet
Paper kept in stock by a printer
I
Imagearea
Portion of a page or paper that can be printed on
Imposition
Arranging printed pages correctly so they will fold in the proper sequence
Impression
The pressure of a printing press on paper; image caused by pressure of a pressplate on paper
Indicia
Postal information preprinted on a mailing envelope or a piece in place of astamp
Inkfountain
The container on a printing press that hold the ink
K
Keyline
An outline drawing to show the exact size and position of an artwork
L
Laidfinish
A pattern of parallel lines running across the grain, creating a ribbed andhandmade effect
Linecopy
High contrast copy made up of solids or lines which do not require a halftonescreen; also called line art or line work
Linesper inch (LPI)
The number of lines of dots per inch in a halftone screen; the higher the LPI.,the sharper the image
Lithography
A method of printing where plates are chemically treated so that the image areaaccepts ink and non-image areas repel ink.
M
Magenta
Also known as process red; one of the 4 basic ink colors in process colorprinting; M in abbreviation CMYK
Mask
Blocking light from reaching parts of a printing plate, also called knockout
Matte
Dull non-glossy finish
Micrometer
Devise used to measure the thickness (caliper) of paper
Middletones
The tones in a photograph between highlights and shadows; must be balanced foraccurate reproduction
Moire
An undesirable screen pattern caused by incorrect screen angles
N
Negative
A film in which the white areas of the original image appear black and the blackareas appear white
O
OffsetLithography or Offset Printing
A common printing process in which the image to be printed is transferred froma metal plate to a rubber blanket onto paper
Offsetting
Transfer of ink or impression from one page to the opposite page
Opacity
The property of paper that minimizes the show-through on a printed sheet
Outlinehalftone
A halftone image with the background removed to outline the main image
Overrun
Production of larger quantities than ordered
Oversampling
Scanning at more than the ideal sampling rate
P
Pagecount
Total number of pages in a book or publication
PantoneMatching Systems (PMS)
The standard color-matching system used by printers and graphic designers
PerfectBind
A binding technique in which pages are collated into a single sheet and thenglued together and attached to the cover with an adhesive
Perfectingpress
A printing press that prints both sides of a sheet at the same time
Perforation
Process of making holes or a series of cuts to make tearing or folding easy
Pica
A printer’s measure of type; One pica is 1/6 of an inch
Plate
A flat sheet of metal on which an image is reproduced using a printing press
PostScript
A page description language developed by Adobe Systems that tells a printer howan image is to be printed
PressLayout
See Ruleup
Pressure-sensitivepaper
Paper material with a self sticking adhesive protected by a backing sheet,usually used for labels and stickers
Processcolors
The four basic colors used in printing to simulate full spectrum color – Cyan(blue), magenta (process red), yellow (process yellow), black (process black)
R
Raster
To render an image, pixel by pixel, vertically and horizontally
Rasterimage
See bitmap image
RasterImage Processor (RIP)
A device that translates data into dots or pixels
Ream
A quantity of paper equivalent to 500 sheets
Resolution
Refers to the number of pixels an image expressed in pixels per inch (ppi) ordots per inch (dpi); the higher the number, the sharper the image
RGB
Refers to red, green, blue - the additive primary colors used for color videodisplay as on a computer screen
RichBlack
A darker and deeper black color created by combining other ink colors withblack ink. The values to create Rich Black is usually 40% Cyan, 30% Magenta,30% Yellow, 100% Black
Ruleup
A map or drawing showing how a printing job must be imposed with a specificpress and sheet size; also called Press Layout
S
Saddlestitch
A method of binding using staples in the seam or spine of a book or bookletwhere it folds
Scanner
An instrument used to make color separations; also an instrument to scan imagesor photos in desktop publishing
Score
A mark or crease pressed on paper to make folding easier
Scoring
The process of pressing a sheet of paper to create a groove or line for folding
Screenangles
The angles at which halftone screens are positioned to avoid unwanted patterns
Self-cover
The paper used as cover is the same as that used in the inside pages
Shadow
The darkest areas of a photograph or image
Sidestitch
To bind by stapling sheets along one side of a sheet
Signature
Term for a printed sheet after folding
Specifications
A precise description of features of a print order such as paper type andquantity
Spine
The back edge of a bound book or publication that connects the 2 covers
SplitRun
Printing of a book or booklet that has copies bound in different ways
Spoilage
Planned paper waste
Spotvarnish
Varnishing a specific part of a sheet
Stamping
Pressing a design or image onto paper with a metal die
Step-and-repeat
Technique of repeatedly exposing the same image on the plate in differentplaces
PaperType
The paper or material to be printed on
Stripping
The process of positioning film negatives for plate making
Substrate
Any surface or material on which printing is done
T
TaggedImage File Format (.TIFF)
A standard graphic image file format often used for storing high resolutionimages that can easily handle up to 24 bits of photographic image color
Tint
A mixture of a hue with white
Tissueoverlay
A thin transparent paper placed over artwork for protection and may be used formarking printer instructions
Trapping
Printing of one ink over the other to prevent gaps from appearing
Tree-free
Refers to pulp or paper made without cutting down trees; paper made fromcotton, or hemp or other resources
Trimmarks
Marks on a printed sheet that show where to cut or trim the page
Trimsize
The final size of a printed image after trimming
Typesetting
To arrange or layout artwork and text for printing
U
Uncoated
Paper with no treatment or coating on the surface
Under-run
Production of fewer copies than ordered by customer
Up
Printing multiple copies of the same on the same sheet
UVcoating
Liquid glossy coating applied to paper’s surface and cured with ultravioletlight
V
Varnish
A clear liquid coating applied to printed sheet for protection and shine
Vignette
A halftone or image with whose background gradually fades to white
VectorImages
Images made up of solids, lines and curves that can be scaled or edited withoutaffecting image resolution
W
Washup
Process of cleaning the parts of a printing press (rollers, plate, blanket,etc) so that a different ink can be applied
Waste
Planned spoilage
Watermark
A distinctive design created in paper during manufacturing that is visible whenthe paper is held up to the light
Web
The roll of printing paper used in web or rotary printing
Webpress
A high speed printing press that print on a continuous roll of paper or webrather than on individual sheets
WireO
A method of binding using double loops of wire through a hole
Withthe grain
Folding or feeding paper into the press parallel to the paper’s grain or fiber
Workand tumble
Printing the second side of a sheet by turning the sheet over from the gripperto the tail utilizing the same side guides and plate
Wovepaper
A paper having a uniform unlined surface and a smooth finish