A

AA Authors Alterations, changes other than corrections, made by a client after the proofing process has begun. AAs are usually charged to a client as billable time.

Accordion fold - in bindery, a term used for 2 or more parallel folds, which open like an accordion.

Against the Grain - folding or feeding paper at right angles to the grain or direction in which the paper fibers lie.

Antique Finish - paper stock of cover weight made with very little calendaring to preserve its rough finish and bulk.

Art Director The individual responsible for overseeing the visual creative and production process and managing other creative individuals.

Artwork The finished composition or the graphical elements used in printing or electronic publishing.

Ascender The part of lower case letters that rise above the x-height.

B

Backing Up - printing the reverse side of a sheet, which has already been printed on one side.

Baseline the imaginary line on which non descending letters text sit.

Basis Weight The weight in pounds of a ream of paper in its uncut basic size (which varies from grade to grade).

Binding The process of attaching loose sheets of paper into a book or other multipage document.

Bleed - to extend a printed image past the trimmed edge of the sheet.

Blind Embossing - a design, which is stamped to produce a raised image on a sheet, which has used neither ink or foil.

Blockout - a printed matter, which obscures write-through on a printed business form.

Blueline A printer's proof, actually blue on white paper. All AAs and corrections should have been made prior to seeing a blueline.

Bond Paper - papers generally manufactured for stationery, letterheads, forms etc. Higher quality bonds are distinguished by a watermark and an excellent writing surface.

Book Paper - a general description of any type of paper suitable for printing, exclusive or newsprint, bonds, or heavier weight sheets such as covers. Can have finishes such as antique, eggshell, supercalendered, coated, dull, matte or glossy.

BMP A DOS native graphics format not generally used in professional printing or online design.

BRC (Business Reply Card) A postage paid postcard that is pre-addressed back to the sender.

BRM (Business Reply Mail) An envelope or other "letter size" mailer with postage paid and addressed back to the sender.

Bristol Board - a paper with a thickness of .0006 inches and up. Includes postcard stock and tag.

Brittleness - the property of a paper causing it to break while bending or folding.

Broken carton - a quantity of paper less than a full carton.

Bulk - a measurement of the thickness of a sheet of paper in relation to its weight. "High-bulk" papers are often used to give thickness to a book without adding to its weight. 

Burn To expose light sensitive media to light. i.e. Burning a negative; burning a printing plate; or burning a CD.

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C1S - Coated one side.

C2S - Coated two sides.

CB - Coated back (carbonless paper).

CC1S - Cast-coated one side.

CC2S - Cast-coated two sides.

CF - Coated front (carbonless paper).

CFB - Coated front and back (carbonless paper).

Calendaring - paper is calendared on a paper making machine by running it between polished steel rolls under high pressure to give a desired smoothness. "Super calendaring" is also done by special equipment to provide superior smoothness and gloss.

Caliper - the term for the thickness of a sheet, usually expressed in thousandths of an inch.

Camera Ready Type and/or artwork that has been pasted into position to be photographed for plate ready film.

Carbonless paper - paper that is treated or coated to produce an image under pressure (without the use of carbon paper).

Cast-coated - paper or board that is coated by allowing the coating during papermaking to harden while in contact with a chromium polished surface, resulting in the glossiest of all coated papers.

Chipboard - a low-density board made from waste paper, .0006" and heavier, usually used as backing for scratch pads, business forms books, etc.

Choke (Choking) When trapping color closing the open spaces in a graphic to be filled with another color.

CLUT (Color Look Up Table) A set of conversion values for the display of color images in an RGB environment.

CMYK The acronym for the four process color inks: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black.

CMYK - the subtractive process colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow) used in process color printing, plus black to enhance color and contrast.

Cockle - a paper finish demonstrating a puckered condition of a sheet, resulting from non-uniform drying and shrinking. This surface is generally not desirable, although some high quality papers are made specifically to have a cockle finish.

Color fastness - the ability of a colored paper or ink to retain its original color or to resist fading and change through influences such as heat, light and use.

Collate - in binding, the gathering of sheets or signatures.

Color Key A printer's proof, actually four sheets of colored acetate, for examining the quality of process color separations. This process is normally used when printing on a press capable of fewer than four colors at once. All AAs and corrections should have been made prior to seeing a color key.

Color Separation Literally separating the areas of a piece to be printed into its component spot and process ink colors. Each color to be printed must have its own printing plate.

Color Space The parts of the visible spectrum which can be reproduced in a given medium. (i.e. RGB for computer monitors, CMYK for print, web safe index colors for the world wide web).

Combination run - two or more print jobs printed simultaneously on same sheet to effect cost savings.

Composite Image A photograph or other graphic image, that is made of a combination of multiple images.

Composite Postscript- a print job that is not produced in separate layers. Separations are usually performed at the rip.

Condensed type - in typography, a narrow or slender typeface.

Contrast - degree of difference between highlights and dark areas of a photograph or artwork that has a range of tones.

Conversion The process of creating a three dimensional (3D) item from a flat sheet of paper. I.e. envelope conversion / box conversion.

Copy The prose or other text used in advertising and printed material.

Copyright (©) A group of legal rights granted to the author or creator of written or visual work. All work appearing with the © symbol or the word "copyright" is protected by its creator or his heirs. For more information, contact your attorney.

Copy Writer The individual who writes the prose or "copy" for an advertisement or brochure.

Cover paper - a heavyweight paper made particularly for covers of brochures, folders, invitation cards, business cards, etc.

Crash printing - impressing an image by striking a relief image on the top copy of a multi-part form, where the image is transferred through subsequent plies by the pressure exerted.

Cromalin A color proofing system by DuPont. All AAs and corrections should have been made prior to seeing a Chromalin.

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DAM (Digital Asset Management) Database systems used to track and manage computer files in computer graphics environments.

Dandy Roll - a wire cylinder on the papermaking machine that compresses the wet web of paper and improves fiber formation. Can also be used to place watermarks or designs on the paper stock.

Desktop Publishing A process for creating camera ready and plate ready artwork on a personal computer. Though once in vogue, this term is now usually associated with low end, less professional design.

Die cutting - metal cutting dies are used to cut out paper or board in desired shapes.

Digital Imaging The process of creating a digital copy of an illustrated or photographic image.

Digital Photography The process of recording images using a digital camera or a conventional camera with a digital adapter.

Digital Printing A system of printing, which involves linking printing presses and computers, bypassing the traditional route of making printing plates. Printing with a Press that is equipped with an imaging system that images digital data right on the cylinder or plates mounted on the Press.

Dot - an individual element of a halftone image.

Dot Gain A phenomenon, which occurs when wet ink comes in contact with paper. As the halftone dots are applied to the paper, the wet ink spreads, causing the dots to increase in size and halftones to appear darker. A number of factors affect dot gain.

Dryback - the decrease in the gloss or saturation of an ink that occurs during the drying of sheetfed offset inks.

Dull coated - a smooth surfaced paper that has low gloss, but more than that of matte coated.

Duotone - a two-color halftone reproduction from a one-color original.

Duplex paper - a paper stock having a different color on each side. 

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Edge bleed - the coloration at the edge of printed sheets resulting from the pressure generated by the clamp and knife blade in the cutting operation.

Eggshell Finish - a relatively rough surface finish similar to the surface of an egg.

Electronic Publishing A process by which information is created and/ or distributed in electronic or magnetic formats. (I.e. CD ROM or web.) The usage of this term has expanded to include digitally created designs that are reproduced on conventional printing presses.

Em Space A lateral space equal to the width of the lower case letter "m". - the square of a type body (in letterpress printing). For example, if an individual type character is 12 point, an em space is 12 point as well. So named because the letter M in early fonts was cast on a square body.

Emboss A mechanical process for raising an area of paper to create letterforms, shapes and textures.

Embossed Finish - a paper surface embossed with a broad variety of patterns, accomplished by pressing the paper against an engraved steel roll. Patterns include linen, pebble, leather, tweed, etc.

Emulsion The chemically treated side of photographic film. (The dull side not the shiny side.) Depending on the printing process involved, film will be requested as "right reading" emulsion up or emulsion down.

En Space A lateral space equal to half an em space, roughly the width of the lower case letter "n". - half the square of a type body (in letterpress printing). For example, if an individual type character is 12 point, an en space is 6 point.

Enamel - a high gloss coated paper.

English finish - a non-gloss, uncoated finish between machine finished and supercalendered.

Engraved Printing Raised printing produced by a cutaway plate. A similar effect can be achieved with thermography.

EPS (EPSF) Encapsulated Postscript File. A vector based, computer graphics file format developed by Adobe Systems. EPS is the preferred format for many computer illustrations, because of its efficient use of memory and fine color control. - in digital prepress, and Encapsulated Postscript file format used to transfer graphic images between compatible applications. 

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Fan-apart glue - a special glue for edge-padding carbonless papers.

Felt Side - the topside of the sheet of paper (the side recommended for best printing results).

Fiber - tiny particles of rag or wood pulp that are the raw ingredients in the paper making process.

Finish - the characteristics of a paper's surface, such as antique, vellum, and wove.

Focaltone A proprietary color matching system for process color.

Folio - in typography, the correct term for the page number at the top or bottom of a page.

Foil Stamping A mechanical process that results in the bonding of colored foil to paper.

Font - an assortment of type characters of a particular size and style.

FPO (For Position Only) A low resolution image inserted into a layout to be replaced by a full resolution image before or during the prepress process.

Four-color process - printing the primary process ink colors - magenta, cyan, yellow, plus black.

Four-drinier - a paper machine on which sheets are formed on a moving wire. Water drains from the wire as the pulp is processed into paper.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) The method for uploading and downloading files to/from internet server systems.

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GASP (Graphic Arts Service Provider) Any of several vendors in the graphics workflow, including but not limited to: Designers, Prepress, Printers, and ISPs.

GIF An eight bit (256 colors or shades of grey) or less computer file format. Though commonly used to post photographic images to computer bulletin boards, GIF files are almost never used for professional printing.

Grain - produced by alignment of fibers in the direction of the flow of stock during the paper making process.

Graphic A non text item (Illustration or photograph) to be printed.

Graphic Design A process of problem solving, using visual elements (pictures and type) usually to communicate a concept or idea.

Graphic Designer An individual who solves communication problems, using visual elements (pictures & type) to convey an idea or concept.

Greek Usually nonsense words and letterforms used in a design to approximate the flow of written language. Used primarily before final text is available.

Gripper margin - the unprintable edge on a sheet of paper where grippers physically hold the sheet as it travels through the printing press.

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Hairline - The finest normal printing line, approximately .003 to .004 inches in thickness

Hairline Registration - The fitting of 2 or more printed images in alignment, within a tolerance of .003 inches, or 1/2 a row of dots on a screened image.

Halftone - the reproduction of continuous-tone artwork, in which a screening process converts the image to dots of various sizes.

Hickeys - in printing, spots or imperfections in the printed image due to dirt, dried ink skin, paper particles, etc.

Highlight - the lightest or whitest parts in a picture.

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Imagesetter- an imaging device that produces the film from digital data.

Imposition - laying out of images or pages in a press form. 

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Jog - In paper handling, the process of evenly stacking sheets of paper directly on top of one another, either by hand or mechanically.

Justify - Fitting a line of type to both left and right margins. 

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Kerning - in typography, subtracting space between two characters, making them closer together.

Kiss cutting - in die cutting pressure sensitive labels, a very light impression that cuts through the peel-off portion of the label only, and not through the backing material. 

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Laid finish - a pattern of parallel lines at equal distances, giving a ribbed effect.

Leader - in typography, a row of dashes or dots to guide the eye across the page.

Leading - (pronounced ledding) - the distance between lines of type, measured in points.

Linen finish - an embossed pattern on paper to resemble linen cloth.

Lint - loosely bonded surface fibers from paper stock that become attached to printing plate or blanket and interfere with print quality.

Lithography - process of printing where an image from a flat-surfaced plate is transferred first to a rubber blanket and then to paper.

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M - symbol in the paper industry designating 1,000. Usually used to designate 1,000 sheets of paper.

Marks- Printer's' marks in the margins of a print job used to determine the position for cutting.

M weight - the weight of one thousand sheets of paper of a particular grade and size.

Make-ready - all work done to set up a press for printing.

Matte coated - a coated paper that has little or no gloss, having a heavier coating than dull coated.

Measure - in printing composition, the width of a line of type, expressed in picas.

Middle tones - the range between the highlights and the shadows in photographs.

Moiré© - a geometric pattern caused then two screened images are superimposed at certain angles. Occurs when making halftone image from a previously printed halftone image.

Moisture Content - a measure of relative humidity, which expresses the amount of water content in paper. Humidity changes affect the paper's stability.

Mottle - the spotty or uneven appearance of printing, common in solid areas printed on an uncoated paper.

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NCR paper - paper coated with a carbonless coated to provide for duplicate copies. "No carbon required". 

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Offset printing - Process of printing from a lithographic plate, where the images on the plate are ink receptive. Ink is transferred from the inking rollers to the plate, then from the plate to a rubber blanket. The image on the blanket then transfers, or offsets, to the paper.

One-time carbon - or OTC, is a lightweight paper coated on one side with carbon, for use in business forms.

Opacity - ability of paper to minimize show-through from the backside or the next sheet of paper.

Overprint - printing an area, which has been previously printed.

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Padded forms - set of forms joined together by padding compound (flexible glue).

Parchment - originally a writing substrate made from the processed skins of calf's, goats, sheep and other animals. Today, a writing paper is produced with a finish to resemble the processed skins of old.

Per M - per thousand

Perfect binding - method of binding books in which all the pages are converted to single sheets, then held in a clamp and attached to a cover with an adhesive. Most paperback books today are examples of perfect binding.

Perfecting press - a printing press, which prints both sides of a sheet of paper at the same time.

Pica - a unit of measure in printing equaling 1/6 of an inch. 12 points make one pica.

Plate finish - a hard finished paper.

Point - in reference to paper, a measure of thickness equal to one thousandth of an inch. In reference to copy measurement, a unit of measure equaling 1/12 of a pica. 72 points equal 1 inch.

Preflight - in digital prepress, the evaluation of 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, trapping, laser proofs, page sizes, print drivers, crop marks, etc.

Proofs - samples of copy and layout produced at various stages of production. Proofs are sent to customer for final approval prior to printing. 

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Rag paper - Historically, paper made with rag pulp. Today it is usually referred to as cotton fiber paper.

Ream - 500 sheets of paper, regardless of size.

Register - in printing, register is the placement of two or more images on the same sheet of paper in perfect alignment to one another.

Register mark - a mark placed on a printing form to assist in proper positioning during printing operations.

Reverse printing - printing so that the original background becomes the inked area, and the image remains white or the color of the paper.

Reverse side printing - printing on the back of a sheet that has already been printed on the front.

Rule - in letterpress printing, a thin lead strip which is type high. In offset printing, any line on a page, which is either horizontal or vertical.

Rule weight - the thickness of a line: hairline rule, medium rule (usually one half point), or heavy rule (usually 1 point).

Running head - in typography, a headline or title repeating at the top of each page. 

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Saddle stitch - to fasten a booklet by wire stitching the middle fold of the printed sheets of paper.

Satin finish - a smooth finish applied to paper.

Score - in bindery, to impress or indent a mark in the paper to make folding easier.

Scumming - the undesirable tendency of non-image areas of a printing plate to take on ink, which is transferred to the printed sheet.

Self-Cover - a booklet cover stock that is identical to the stock used for the inside pages.

Separations- The physical layers for each color [CMYK] that are needed to print a job.

Serif - a short cross line at the ends of the main stroke of many letters and type faces. Opposite to "sans serif", a style of type, which has an absence of serifs, or ticks, on the ends of strokes.

Set-off - transferring or ink from freshly printed sheets of paper to another adjoining paper surface. Also called offset.

Sheet-fed - any printing press requiring paper in sheet form as opposed to roll form.

Sheetwise - to print one side of a sheet of paper with one form or plate, then turn the sheet over and print the other side with another form, using the same grippers and side guide.

Show through - printing that is seen by looking through a sheet of paper that is not opaque enough.

Signature - a section of a book obtained by folding a single sheet of printed-paper to make 8, 12, 16, or 32 pages.

Spine - in reference to books, the backbone or binding edge of the book.

Spiral binding - wires in spiral form inserted through specially punched holes along the binding edge. Often used on books intended to lay flat when opened.

Stock - another name for paper.

Stripping - in offset printing, the process of assembling negatives in proper positions on a masking sheet prior to platemaking.

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Text papers - a high quality printing paper available in a variety of colors and finishes. Usually textured, although plain finishes are available. Text weight is usually between a book weight and a cover weight.

Thermography - printing in which a special ink, while still wet, is dusted with a powder. The sheets are then baked, fusing the powder with the ink to give it a raised effect.

TIFF - in digital prepress, a Tagged Image File Format suited for representing scanned images. TIFF is a neutral format destined for compatibility with all applications. TIFF was created specifically for storing grayscale images such as photographs.

Tooth - the slightly rough characteristic of some paper surfaces, permitting the acceptance of ink readily.

Translucency - the ability of a paper stock to transmit light without being transparent.

Trapping - In electronic imaging, the overlap of overprinted images to avoid colored or white fringes or borders around image detail. In printing, the ability to print a wet ink film over previously printed ink. Wet trapping is printing wet ink over previously printed wet ink. Dry trapping is printing wet ink over dry ink.

Trim marks - marks placed on the copy to indicate the edge of the finished page.

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Up - in printing, two-up, three-up, etc., refers to imposition of material to be printed on a larger sheet size to take advantage of full press capacity at a more economical cost.

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Varnish - a thin protective coating applied to a printed sheet of paper for protection or to improve appearance. Usually clear, it can have a finish from a high gloss through to a matte finish. It can also be tinted for design impact.

Vellum - a popular type of paper with a good printing surface that is slightly rougher than a smoothly calendared sheet - sometimes called an eggshell finish.

Virgin paper - paper containing pulp that has not been previously used in the papermaking process - not recycled paper.

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Wash-up - the operation of removing one ink or color from the roller train on a press before changing to another ink or color.

Watermark - a faint design, and/or the manufacturer's name pressed into the paper while it is still wet on the papermaking machine. Usually more distinguishable when the sheet is held up to a light.

Web press - a printing press that prints from rolls of paper rather than sheets.

Whiteness - White papers have a color hue, usually made with a blue-white tint. The whiteness of pulp and paper is generally indicated by its brightness, which is measured by the reflectance of a wavelength of blue light. In describing paper, referred to by terms such as "87 bright" or "95 bright".

Widow - in typography, a single word or part of a word on a line by itself, at the end of a paragraph or the beginning of a new page. Frowned upon in good typography.

Wire Side - in papermaking, the side of the sheet next to the wire. The bottom side, opposite the felt side.

Work and tumble - to print one side of a sheet of paper then turn the sheet over from gripper edge to back edge, using the same side guide and plate to print the other side of the paper.

Work and turn - to print one side of a sheet of paper then turn the sheet over from left to right and print the second side, using the same gripper and plate for both sides.

Wove finish - characterized by the impressions of a felt covered roll during the papermaking process. A uniform unlined surface with a soft smooth finish.

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