WIDFP? - Glossary

I found this awesome site with a huge lists of print related terms in a glossary! I have put on here the ones I feel most useful for what I need to know. (link)

Additive Color
Color produced by light falling onto a surface, as compared to subtractive color. The additive primary colors are red, green and blue.

A4 Paper
ISO paper size 210 x 297mm used for Letterhead.

Against the Grain
At right angles to the grain direction of the paper being used, as compared to with the grain. Also called across the grain and cross grain. See also Grain Direction.

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 alteration and customer alteration.

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 considered an additional cost to the client usually.

Back Up
(1) To print on the second side of a sheet already printed on one side. (2) To adjust an image on one side of a sheet so that it aligns back-to-back with an image on the other side.

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

Bindery
Usually a department within a printing company 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.

Blind Image
Image debossed, embossed or stamped, but not printed with ink or foil.

Blocking
Sticking together of printed sheets causing damage when the surfaces are separated.

Blow-Up
An enlargement, usually used with raphic images or photographs.

Body
The main text of work not including the headlines.

Boiler Plate
Blocks of repetitive type used and copied over and over again.

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

Book Block
Folded signatures gathered, sewn and trimmed, but not yet covered.

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.

Border
The decorative design or rule surrounding matter on a page.

Bounce
(1) a repeating registration problem in the printing stage of production. (2) Customer unhappy with the results of a printing project and refuses to accept the project.

Bronzing
The effect produced by dusting wet ink after printing and using a metallic powder.

Build a Color
To overlap two or more screen tints to create a new color. Such an overlap is called a build, color build, stacked screen build or tint build.

Bulk
Thickness of paper relative to its basic weight.

Burst Perfect Bind
To bind by forcing glue into notches along the spines of gathered signatures before affixing a paper cover. Also called burst bind, notch bind and slotted bind.

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.

Case
Covers and spine that, as a unit, enclose the pages of a casebound book.

Case Bind
To bind using glue to hold signatures to a case made of binder board covered with fabric, plastic or leather. Also called cloth bind, edition bind, hard bind and hard cover.

Check Copy
(1) Production copy of a publication verified by the customer as printed, finished and bound correctly. (2) One set of gathered book signatures approved by the customer as ready for binding.

Choke
Technique of slightly reducing the size of an image to create a hairline trap or to outline. Also called shrink and skinny.

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.

Collating Marks
Mostly in the book arena, specific marks on the back of signatures indicating exact position in the collating stage.

Color Balance
Refers to amounts of process colors that simulate the colors of the original scene or photograph.

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 Gamut
The entire range of hues possible to reproduce using a specific device, such as a computer screen, or system, such as four-color process printing.

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

Color Model
Way of categorizing and describing the infinite array of colors found in nature.

Color Separation
(1) Technique of using a camera, scanner or computer to divide continuous-tone color images into four halftone negatives. (2) The product resulting from color separating and subsequent four-color process printing. Also called separation.

Color Sequence
Order in which inks are printed. Also called laydown sequence and rotation.

Color Shift
Change in image color resulting from changes in register, ink densities or dot gain during four-color process printing.

Color Transparency
Film (transparent) used as art to perform color separations.

Commercial Printer
Printer producing a wide range of products such as announcements, brochures, posters, booklets, stationery, business forms, books and magazines. Also called job printer because each job is different.

Composite Proof
Proof of color separations in position with graphics and type. Also called final proof, imposition proof and stripping proof.

Composition
(1) In typography, the assembly of typographic elements, such as words and paragraphs, into pages ready for printing. (2) In graphic design, the arrangement of type, graphics and other elements on the page.

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.

Crash
Coarse cloth embedded in the glue along the spine of a book to increase strength of binding. Also called gauze, mull and scrim.

Creep
Phenomenon of middle pages of a folded signature extending slightly beyond outside pages. Also called feathering, outpush, push out and thrust. See also Shingling.

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 Machine
A machine that cuts stacks of paper to desired sizes. The machine can also be used in scoring or creasing.

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.

Deboss
To press an image into paper so it lies below the surface. Also called tool.

Deckle Edge
Edge of paper left ragged as it comes from the papermaking machine instead of being cleanly cut. Also called feather edge.

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

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

Digital Proofing
Page proofs produced through electronic memory transferred onto paper via laser or ink-jet.

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.

Dot Size
Relative size of halftone dots as compared to dots of the screen ruling being used. There is no unit of measurement to express dot size. Dots are too large, too small or correct only in comparison to what the viewer finds attractive.

Dots-per-inch
Measure of resolution of input devices such as scanners, display devices such as monitors, and output devices such as laser printers, imagesetters and monitors. Abbreviated DPI. Also called dot pitch.

DPI
Considered as "dots per square inch," a measure of output resolution in relationship to printers, imagesetters and monitors.


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.

Duplicator
Offset press made for quick printing.

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.

Etch
To use chemicals to carve an image into metal, glass or film.

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 size.

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. (2) color that seems weak or lifeless.

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. Also called aniline printing because flexographic inks originally used aniline dyes. Abbreviated flexo.

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

Flush Cover
Cover trimmed to the same size as inside pages, as compared to overhang cover. Also called cut flush

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. Also called block print, hot foil stamp and stamp.

Fold Marks
With printed matter, markings indicating where a fold is to occur, usually located at the top edges.

Format
Size, style, shape, layout or organization of a layout or printed product.

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.

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

Gloss Ink
Ink used and printed on coated stock (mostly litho and letterpress) such as the ink will dry without penetration.

Grammage
Basis weight of paper in grams per square meter (gsm).

Graphic Arts
The crafts, industries and professions related to designing and printing on paper and other substrates.

Graphic Design
Arrangement of type and visual elements along with specifications for paper, ink colors and printing processes that, when combined, convey a visual message.

Graphics
Visual elements that supplement type to make printed messages more clear or interesting.

Gravure
Method of printing using metal cylinders etched with millions of tiny wells that hold ink.

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

Halftone
(1) To photograph or scan a continuous tone image to convert the image into halftone dots. (2) A photograph or continuous-tone illustration that has been halftoned and appears on film, paper, printing plate or the final printed product.

Head(er)
At the top of a page, the margin.

Hickey
Spot or imperfection in printing, most visible in areas of heavy ink coverage, caused by dirt on the plate or blanket. Also called bulls eye and fish eye.

Hue
A specific color such as yellow or green.

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

Impression
(1) Referring to an ink color, one impression equals one press sheet passing once through a printing unit. (2) Referring to speed of a press, one impression equals one press sheet passing once through the press.

Impression Cylinder
Cylinder, on a press, that pushes paper against the plate or blanket, thus forming the image. Also called impression roller.

Ink Balance
Relationship of the densities and dot gains of process inks to each other and to a standard density of neutral gray

Job Number
A number assigned to a specific printing project in a printing company for use in tracking and historical record keeping.

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

Key
(1) The screw that controls ink flow from the ink fountain of a printing press. (2) To relate loose pieces of copy to their positions on a layout or mechanical using a system of numbers or letters. (3) Alternate term for the color black, as in 'key plate.'

Laminate
A thin transparent plastic sheet (coating) applied to usually a thick stock (covers, post cards, etc.) providing protection against liquid and heavy use, and usually accents existing color, providing a glossy (or lens) effect.

Landscape
Artist style in which width is greater than height. (Portrait is opposite.)

Layout
A sample of the original providing (showing) position of printed work (direction, instructions) needed and desired.

Leading
Amount of space between lines of type.

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

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

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.

Magenta
One of the four process colors.

Margin
Imprinted space around the edge of the printed material.

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

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


Metallic Ink
Ink containing powdered metal or pigments that simulate metal.

Metallic Paper
Paper coated with a thin film of plastic or pigment whose color and gloss simulate metal.

Midtones
In a photograph or illustration, tones created by dots between 30 percent and 70 percent of coverage, as compared to highlights and shadows.

Mock Up
A reproduction of the original printed matter and possibly containing instructions or direction.

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

Neutral Gray
Gray with no hue or cast.

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.

Overlay
Layer of material taped to a mechanical, photo or proof. Acetate overlays are used to separate colors by having some type or art on them instead of on the mounting board. Tissue overlays are used to carry instructions about the underlying copy and to protect the base art.


Overlay Proof
Color proof consisting of polyester sheets laid on top of each other with their image in register, as compared to integral proof. Each sheet represents the image to be printed in one color. Also called celluloid proof and layered proof.

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. Advance questions avoid blind knowledge.

Page
One side of a leaf in a publication.

Page Count
Total number of pages that a publication has. Also called extent.

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

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. See also Burst Perfect Bind.

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

Pixel
Short for picture element, a dot made by a computer, scanner or other digital device. Also called pel.

PMS
Obsolete reference to Pantone Matching System. The correct trade name of the colors in the Pantone Matching System is Pantone colors, not PMS Colors.

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).

Portrait
An art design in which the height is greater than the width. (Opposite of Landscape.)

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

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.

Printing Unit
Assembly of fountain, rollers and cylinders that will print one ink color. Also called color station, deck, ink station, printer, station and tower.

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.

Quality
Subjective term relating to expectations by the customer, printer and other professionals associated with a printing job and whether the job meets those expectations.

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. Also called crossmarks and position marks.

Relief Printing
Printing method whose image carriers are surfaces with two levels having inked areas higher than noninked areas. Relief printing includes block printing, flexography and letter press.

Reprographics
General term for xerography, diazo and other methods of copying used by designers, engineers, architects or for general office use.

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 and liftout.

RGB
Abbreviation for red, green, blue, the additive color primaries.

Rotary Press
Printing press which passes the substrate between two rotating cylinders when making an impression.

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.

Satin Finish
Alternate term for dull finish on coated paper.

Scale
To identify the percent by which photographs or art should be enlarged or reduced to achieve, the correct size for printing.

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

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

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.

Shade
Hue made darker by the addition of black, as compared to tint.

Spine
Back or binding edge of a publication

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

Spread
(1) Two pages that face each other and are designed as one visual or production unit. (2) Technique of slightly enlarging the size of an image to accomplish a hairline trap with another image. Also called fatty.

Subtractive Color
Color produced by light reflected from a surface, as compared to additive color. Subtractive color includes hues in color photos and colors created by inks on paper.

Subtractive Primary Color
Yellow, magenta and cyan. In the graphic arts, these are known as process colors because, along with black, they are the inks colors used in color-process printing.

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

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

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

Value
The shade (darkness) or tint (lightness) of a color. Also called brightness, lightness, shade and tone.

Varnish
Liquid applied as a coating for protection and appearance.

Waste
Unusable paper or paper damage during normal makeready, printing or binding operations, as compared to spoilage.

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