Print Terminology
Print Terminology sections
The following list define terms commonly used with printing.
We hope that this will help you to become more familiar with the terms that we use in the printing industry, as you discuss your project with us.
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
A
- Accordion fold:
- Bindery term, two or more parallel folds, which open like an accordion
- Against the grain:
- Perpendicular to direction of paper grain
B
- Back up:
- Printing the second side of a sheet already printed on one side
- Banding:
- Method of packaging printed pieces of paper using rubber or paper bands
- Basis weight:
- Weight in pounds of a ream of paper cut to the basic size for its grade
- Bind:
- To fasten sheets or signatures with wire, thread, glue or by other means
- Bindery:
- The finishing department of a print shop or firm specializing in finishing printed products
- Blanket:
- The thick rubber mat on a printing press that transfers ink from the plate to the paper
- Bleed:
- Printing that goes to the edge of the sheet after trimming
- Blind embossing:
- An image pressed into a sheet without ink or foil
- Bulk:
- Thickness of paper stock in thousandths of an inch or number of pages per inch
- Bulk pack:
- Boxing printed product without wrapping or banding
- Burn:
- Exposing a printing plate to high intensity light or placing an image on a printing plate
- Butt:
- Joining images without overlapping
C
- Carbonless:
- Pressure sensitive writing paper without the use of carbon paper
- Caliper:
- Paper thickness in thousands of an inch
- Case blind:
- A type of binding used in making hard cover books using glue
- Cast coated:
- Coated paper with a high gloss reflective finish
- Coated paper:
- A clay coated printing paper with a smooth finish
- Collate:
- A finishing term for gathering paper in a precise order
- Colour bar:
- A quality control term regarding the spots of ink colour on the tail of a sheet
- Colour separations:
- The process of preparing artwork for printing by separating into the four primary printing colours, CMYK
- Comb bind:
- To plastic comb bind by inserting the comb into punched holes
- Contrast:
- The tone change in colour from light to dark
- Cover paper:
- A heavy printing paper used to cover books, make presentation folders, etc...
- Crop:
- To cut off parts of a picture or image
- Crop marks:
- Printed lines showing where to trim a printed sheet
- Crossover:
- Printing across the gutter or from one page to the facing page of a publication
- Cyan:
- One of four standard process colours
D
- Density:
- The degree of colour or darkness of an image or photograph
- Die:
- Metal rule or imaged block used to cut or place an image on paper in the finishing process
- Die cutting:
- Curing images in or out of paper
- Dot:
- An element of halftones
- Dummy:
- A rough layout of a printed piece showing position and finished size
- Duotone:
- A halftone picture made up of two printed colours
E
- Emboss:
- Pressing an image into paper so that it will create a raised relief
- Eurobind:
- A patented method of binding perfect bound books so they will open and lay flatter
F
- Flood:
- To cover a printed page with ink, varnish or plastic coating
- Foil:
- A metallic or pigmented coating on plastic sheets or rolls used in foil stamping and foil embossing
- Foil emboss:
- Foil stamping and embossing an image on paper with a die
- Foil stamping:
- Using a die to place a metallic or pigmented image on paper
- 4-colour-process:
- The process of combining four basic colours to create a full colour image
- French fold:
- Two folds at right angles to each other
G
- Gloss:
- A shiny look reflecting light
- Grain:
- The direction in which the paper fibre lie
- Grippers:
- The metal fingers on a printing press that hold the paper as it passes through the press
H
- Hairline:
- A very thin line or gap about the width of a hair or 1/100 inch
- Halftone:
- Converting a continuous tone to dots for printing
- Hard copy:
- The output of a computer printer or typed text sent for typesetting
- Hickey:
- Re-occurring unplanned spots that appear in the printed image from dust, lint, dried ink
- Highlight:
- The lightest areas in a picture or halftone
I
- Image area:
- Portion of paper on which ink can appear
- Imposition:
- Positioning printed pages so they will fold in the proper order
- Imprint:
- Adding copy to previously printed page
- Indicia:
- Postal information place on a printed product
- Ink foundation:
- The reservoir on a printing press that holds the ink
K
- Kiss die cut:
- To cut the top layer of a pressure sensitive sheet and not the backing
L
- Laminate:
- To cover with film; to bond or glue one surface to another
- Lines per inch:
- The number of rows of dots per inch in a halftone
M
- Magenta:
- Process red, one of the four basic process colours
- Make-ready:
- All the activities required to prepare a press for printing
- Matte finish:
- Dull paper or ink finish
- Moire:
- Occurs when screen angles are wrong causing odd patterns in tone
N
- Negative:
- The image on film that makes the white areas of originals black and black areas white
O
- Offset paper:
- Term for uncoated book paper
- Opacity:
- The amoount of "showing-through" on a printed sheet
- Over-run or overs:
- Copies printed in excess of the specified quantity (Printing trade terms allow for + - 10% to represent a completed order)
P
- Page count:
- Total number of pages in a book including blanks
- Pattern carbon:
- Special carbon paper used in business forms that only transfers in certain areas
- Perfect bind:
- A type of binding that glues the edge of sheets to a cover (e.g. Telephone book)
- Perfecting press:
- A sheet fed printing press that prints both sides of a sheet in one pass
- Pica:
- Unit of measure in typesetting. One pica = 1/6 inch
- Plate gap:
- Gripper space. The area where the grippers hold the sheet as it passes through the press
- PMS:
- The abbreviated name of the Pantone Colour Matching System
- Point:
- (PT) For paper, a unit of thickness = 1/1000 inch. For typesetting, a unit of height = 1/72 inch
- Post Script:
- (PS) The computer language most recognised by printing devices
- Process colours:
- (CMYK) Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. These 4 colours make 16 million when combined in 4 colour printing
R
- Ream:
- Five hundred sheets of paper
- Recto:
- Right-hand of an open book
- Register:
- To position print in the proper position in relation to the edge of the sheet and to other printing on the same sheet
- Register marks:
- Cross-hair lines or marks on film, plates and paper that guide strippers, plate makers, pressmen and bindery personnel in processing an order
S
- Saddle stitch:
- Binding a booklet or magazine with staples in the seam where it folds
- Score:
- A crease put on paper to help it fold better
- Self-cover:
- Using the same paper as the text for the cover
- Shadow:
- The darkest areas of a photograph
- Show-through:
- Printing on one side of a sheet that can be seen on the other side of the sheet
- Side stitch:
- Binding by stapling along one side of a sheet
- Signature:
- A sheet of printed pages which when folded become a part of a book or publication
- Spine:
- The binding edge of a book or publication
- Spoilage:
- Planned paper waste for all printing operations
- Spot varnish:
- Varnish used to highlight a specific part of the printed sheet
- Stamping:
- Term for foil stamping
- Stat:
- Term for inexpensive print of line copy or halftone
- Stet:
- A proof mark meaning let the original copy stand
- Stock:
- The material to be printed
- Stripping:
- The positioning of film on a flat prior to platemaking
- Substance weight:
- A term of basis weight when referring to bond paper
T
- Tints:
- A shade of a single colour or combined colours
- Transparency:
- A positive photographic slide on film allowing light to pass through
- Trapping:
- The ability to print one ink over the other
- Trim marks:
- Similar to crop or register marks. These marks show where to trim the printed sheet
- Trim size:
- The size of a printed image after the last trim is made
U
- UV coating:
- Liquid laminate bonded and cured with ultraviolet light
V
- Varnish:
- A clear liquid applied to printed surfaces for looks and protection
- Verso:
- The left side page of an open book
- Vignette halftone:
- A halftone gradually fades to white
W
- Watermark:
- A design created in paper at the time of manufacture that can be seen by holding the paper up to a light
- Web press:
- Large presses that print from rolls of paper (e.g. newspaper printing)
- With the grain:
- Feeding paper into a press or folds in paper is parallel to the grain of the paper
- Work and tumble:
- Printing one side of a sheet and turning it over from the gripper to the tail, utilising the same guides and plate for the reverse side
- Work and turn:
- Printing on one side of a sheet and turning it over from left to right, utilising the same side guides and plate for the reverse side
