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| G | H | I
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| Q | R | S
| T | U | V
| W | X | Y
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Index Glossary
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A
accordion fold paper fold using two or more parallel folds which
open like an accordion.
additive color theory The additive mixture of red, green, and
blue lights, two at a time, in various proportions produces all gradations of
orange, yellow, purple, and blue. A mixture of all three in the right
proportions produces white light.
against the grain folding or feeding paper at right angles to
the grain direction of the paper.
antique finish a term for the surface texture of some cover
papers that is natural and slightly rough.
art all kinds of illustration copy used in preparing a job for
printing. Also used to describe the pasteups themselves.
ascender the part of a lower case letter which rises above the
main body, as in "b".
B
bindery Any finishing operation acted upon a printed sheet such
as folding, cutting, padding, etc.
bleed the effect created when the image extends beyond the edge
of the sheet or page of a printed piece.
blind embossing embossed forms that are not inked or gold leafed
blueline A pre-press print made from stripped up negatives, used
as a proof to check position of image elements.
body type the style and size of type used for the main text of a
printed piece as distinguished from the headlines, etc.
bond paper a grade of strong but lightweight paper designed for
printing on one side, commonly used for stationery, business forms, and copying.
burn a common term to describe the exposure of a plate to bright
light when it is being made.
C
camera-ready art describes copy for printed material that is
ready to be photographed for reproduction.
center marks small black lines near the edges of camera-ready
copy which indicate the midpoint measurements of the finished piece.
close registration in
"printing terms", close registration refers to an incident where two
different colors "touch" each other. When a print job comes in
with close registration, the pressman needs to be extra careful & thorough
to insure that the two colors do not "over-lap".
coated paper paper having a surface coating which produces a
smooth finish. The finish may be dull or glossy; both give the ink a brighter
appearance. Often used for printing full color photographs.
collate in binding, gathering the sheets or pages of a
publication to be stapled folded, etc.
color key a pre-press proof using transparent films of various
colors to represent the ink colors used for the printing process. Simulates
finished product when full-color photographs are being printed, or several ink
colors, special screening effects, etc.
color separation the process of photographically separating
colored art or photographs into primary color components (negative or positive)
for printed reproduction.
cool colors greens, blues, purples and other colors that have a
predominantly bluish cast, as opposed to warm colors which have a predominantly
yellowish or reddish cast.
continuous tone a photographic image or illustration which
contains shades of gray in addition to black and white.
copy any furnished material (typewritten manuscript, pictures,
artwork, etc.) to be used in the production of printing.
copyfitting 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 make it fit in a given amount of space.
cover paper the term for a variety of heavier weight papers used
for booklet covers, brochures, etc.
D
descender the part of a lower case letter which extends below
the main body, as in "p".
die-cutting the process of using specially designed cutting
tools to create custom shapes or cutouts in printed materials.
dummy a preliminary layout showing the position of illustrations
and text as they are to appear in the final printed piece. Also a set of blank
pages made up in advance, marked to show the size, shape, form or page
arrangement of the printed piece.
duotone the term for a two-color halftone made from a one-color
photograph.
duplex paper paper with a different color or finish on each
side.
E
F
filling in a condition where ink fills the area between the
halftone dots or plugs up the type.
flush left (or right) type set to line up at the left (or right)
font a complete assortment of letters, numbers, punctuation
marks etc., of a given style and size.
G
galley proof a proof of text copy only, before it is made into
pages with other art elements.
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 the paper is formed on the mill machinery.
Paper folds easily when folded with the grain and it folds poorly and creates a
rougher edge when folded against the grain.
gripper margin an unprintable blank edge of paper on any printed
item which the press holds onto as it prints the sheet. Usually less than an
inch.
gutter the blank space between columns of type or the inner
margin between the print and the binding of a book.
H
halftone the reproduction of continuous-tone artwork, such as a
photograph, using a contact screen over the film which converts the image into
black and white dots of various sizes.
hardcopy the printout of a computer file or the typewritten copy
submitted to a printer to be typeset.
high contrast in photography or illustration, a reproduction in
which light and dark areas are more exaggerated than in the original object or
image.
highlight the lightest, brightest part of a photograph or
halftoned image.
I
italic the style of letters that slant, in distinction from
upright or roman letters. Used for emphasis in text.
ink jet A type of printing process using a small jet of ink
sprayed onto the substrate to create an image.
J
justify in setting type, to space out lines uniformly to the
correct length.
K
L
laid finish paper with a pattern of parallel lines at equal
distances, giving a ribbed effect.
lamination a plastic film bonded by heat and pressure to a
printed sheet for protection or appearance.
layout the drawing or sketch of a proposed printed piece.
leading the distance between lines of type, measured in points.
1 point=1/72 inch.
letterpress A type of printing using raised type on a platen to
transfer ink to paper. Widely used before the invention of offset lithography.
line copy any copy suitable for reproduction without using a
halftone screen.
logo A symbol that a company uses to represent itself or its
brand.
M
make ready Mounting of a plate on the printing press and
positioning the image correctly with the right amount of ink.
matchprint A color proof of the image to be printed. Film
negatives from a four color separation are used to expose a laminate which is
adhered to a receiver sheet. A brand name from 3M - it will accurately represent
ink on paper.
matte finish dull finish on coated paper, lacking gloss or
luster
mechanical or pasteup terms for a camera-ready pasteup of
artwork. It includes type, photos, line-art, all attached to one sheet or matte
board.
middle tones the gray areas (as opposed to the black and white
areas) of a photograph or illustration.
moiré the undesirable screen pattern caused by incorrect screen
angles or overprinting halftones.
N
neutral colors colors such as black, gray, and white (and shade
of them) maybe arranged in varying lightness, but have no hue.
O
offset lithography the printing process used by presses which
transfer the image from a plate, to a rubber blanket and then onto a sheet of
paper.
original the number of pages (if a large book), the number of
names (if business cards), or the number of camera-ready mechanicals to be
reproduced.
overlay a transparent covering over a artwork that indicates
color designations and other instructions to the printer. Also, transparent
layers of artwork which are overprinted to create a composite image.
overrun in printing, copies printed in excess of the specified
quantity. A 10% quantity factor is applied to the printing industry which
defines an acceptable finish quantity.
P
PMS# (ink color) Pantone Matching System color; the number
indicates one of a set of standard formulas for mixing ink colors, used by all
printers.
PMT\PhotoMechanicalTransfer a photographic paper reproduction of
a black and white image, taken by a printer's camera.
pagination in typesetting or pasteup, the process of breaking
copy into pages of a specific dimension.
pasteup 1) to combine art elements (type, illustrations, lines,
photographs, etc.) into a unified whole, using manual tools and wax/adhesives or
using a computerized system to manipulate and combine the art elements into a
whole page. 2) same as "mechanical" - the term for a
camera-ready piece of artwork, including type, photos, line art, all attached to
one sheet or matte board.
perfect bind assembly of a whole book by gluing the trimmed
pages to a wrap-around cover in paperback fashion
pica a printer's measurement, equal to approximately 1/6th of an
inch.
point a printer's measure for type specifications. There are 12
points in a pica and 72 points in an inch.
process colors yellow, magenta, cyan (blue) and black, the four
colors of ink used by printers for full color reproduction of color art. Based
on the subtractive color theory. Process inks are printed over one another in
order to create a colored print.
proof a facsimile of the printed item prepared during various
stages of the process for the customer's approval.
punch (also drill) to place holes in paper (as for use in
notebooks, binders, etc).
Q
quoin lead type is held in a letterpress chase with these small
wedge like pieces of metal.
R
ragged left/right a column of type set to line up evenly on one
side, but remaining uneven on the other.
register in printing, to fit two or more printed images in exact
alignment with each other.
register marks distinctive symbols placed on the outer edges of
artwork before photographing. Used to help platemakers and press operators align
copy in two or more colors of ink.
resolution in typesetting, the quantification of type quality
using number of dots per square inch.
RIP (raster image processor) A computer output device that is
combined with a printer. The RIP produces an image layout which is sent to the
printer or imagesetter.
run-around description of type, aligned to fit around a picture
or other element of the design.
S
saddlestitch to fasten a booklet by stapling it through the
middle fold of the sheets.
score to make an indentation in paper before folding to make it
fold more easily.
screen to reproduce a shaded area in a printed piece. Also, a
photographic tool for making halftone images from a continuous tone photo or
illustration.
screen ruling (frequency) Is the dot size in a halftone screen.
Also referred to as lines per inch (lpi). The smaller the dot size the greater
the detail that can be reproduced.
serif the short, cross-lines at the ends of many letters in some
typestyles.
shadow the darkest portion of a photograph, as opposed to the
highlights.
signature the name given to a folded, printed sheet containing
several pages of a book, before it is assembled as part of the book.
spine the rigid part of a bound book, where the covers and pages
are joined.
spiral binding a book-binding method with spiral wires inserted
through small holes punched along the binding side.
spot color small amounts of color applied to specific areas of a
printed document.
steel-die engraving an intaglio process like gravure, often used
for fine stationery and invitations. (the process used to print U.S. currency)
stripping the positioning of negatives or positives on a flat
sheet to prepare them for creating a plate.
subtractive color theory The subtractive mixture of yellow,
magenta, and cyan colorants, two at a time, in various proportions, produces all
gradations of orange, reds, purples, blues, and greens. A mixture of all three
in the right proportions produces black.
T
text the main body of typewritten words on a page as opposed to
the headlines, or captions.
thermography the application of a fine powder over a printed image,
which is then heated and fused to take on the appearance of the more expensive
steel-die engraving.
tissue overlay a thin, translucent paper placed over artwork for
protection; may also be used to mark corrections or printing instructions, ink
colors, etc.
trim marks/corner marks marks placed on the copy to indicate the
edge of the page
U
UCR (undercolor removal) a techinque used to replace overlapping
colored ink (more expensive) with black.
V
varnish a thin, protective coating applied to a printed sheet
for protection or to add a glossy appearance.
vellum finish in papermaking, a toothy finish which is
relatively absorbent for fast ink penetration.
velox a positive, photographic paper image in black and white
created from a negative.
W
warm colors reds, yellows, and oranges, or other colors that
have a predominantly yellowish or reddish cast.
washup cleaning ink off parts of a press so that a different
color of ink can be applied.
web press a press which prints on continuous rolls or paper
rather than separate sheets.
widow in typesetting, a single word in a line by itself, ending
a paragraph; considered poor style.
work and tumble to print one side of a sheet of paper, then turn
it end to end, changing the gripper, and printing the other side.
work and turn to print one side of a sheet of paper, then
turning it over from left to right, keeping the same gripper edge going through
the press as the second side is printed.
wove finish paper having a uniform, unlined surface and a soft,
smooth finish.
X
xerography a process in which light reflected from the original
copy alters a charge pattern on an electrophotographic surface.
x-height the vertical height of the small x above the base line
( the line to which the main parts of all small letters are aligned at the top.
Y
Z
zipatone a masking material used to create an overlay - a
printing preprocess to create camera ready artwork.
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