Print Glossary

To help you understand more of our business we have here a quick reference guide to some of the terms used in the print industry in general.

A series An International Standards Organisation range of sizes of paper. Absorbency The extent to which a paper will take up and hold a liquid. Absorption The first stage of drying of an ink when printed. Acid-Free Paper Paper which does not contain any free acid. Airmail Paper Very light paper made with strength and good surface for purposes of postage costs. Produced in white, off white or pale blue usually below 40gsm. Artwork Original illustrative copy or layout ready for reproduction at pre-press stage.

B Series An International Standards Organisation range of paper sizes. Back-up To print on the reverse side of a printed sheet. Bale Solid, compressed stack of pulp or paper sheets. Bamboo Pulp Pulp obtained by chemical means from the stems of bamboo. Binding methods Methods of securing the leaves of a book or brochure. Mechanical binding methods include Plastic Comb Binding, Ring Binding and metal clasps. Bookbinding methods include Saddle-Stitched, GST, Side Stitched, Section Sewn, Section Sewn and Perfect Binding. Blade Coated Paper Paper coated by a process in which the freshly applied wet coating is smoothed and the excess removed by a thin, flexible metal blade. Blanket The cylinder on a lithographic printing machine which is covered with a rubber blanket that conveys the image from a plate to a sheet. Bleaching A chemical treatment used to whiten, brighten and improve the pulp. Bleed The part of an image that extends beyond the Trim Marks on a page. Blind Embossed A logo, text or design which has been relief stamped into a sheet of paper or board which no ink has been used. Boards Paper weight beyond a certain weight usually over 170gsm. Bromide A black and white proof on photographic paper. Bulk The substance, feel and thickness of a paper. Bulky Paper Paper which seems to be thick in relation to its weight. Bursting Strength The pressure necessary to rupture a paper when fixed horizontally between two clamps.

Carbon Paper A thin woodfree or part mechanical paper coated on one side with colouring agent of carbon in say, wax. It is transferred to a sheet of paper underneath when pressure is applied. Cartridge Paper Slightly rough coated or uncoated paper. Chromalin A registered trade mark of Agfa. An accurate colour proof that is made from imaged film using a powder instead of ink. Coated Paper Material coated on one or both sides with a mixture of china clay and latex to fill up surface pits and improve the printing surface. A variety of coating methods exists including roll coating, blade coating, air-knife coating and brush coating, or combinations of these types. Colour Separation Division of colour into basic elements eg CMYK or flat pantone by a process of scanning or page make-up from a computer. Separate printing plates are needed for each colour. Creasing An indentation made buy a machine in thick paper to prevent cracking. Crop Marks Small lines that show the document edge essential for register and trim. Cyan A shade of blue used in four-colour printing.

Damping The process of applying water to the lithographic plate on a lithographic printing machine. Damping Roller The roller on a printing press which applies the moisture directly to the printing plate. Debossing Printing or stamping in which dies are used to depress an image below the surface of paper, board, cloth or leather. Density (ink) The measure of tonal values Densitometer A digital precision instrument used to measure the quantitative colours or density in colour work. Die stamping To cut paper, card or board to a particular size and design with a metal die, for packaging and display work. Dot The basic element of halftone. Dot Gain An aberration when during the making of halftone film or plates, the dots become slightly enlarged. A dot gain scale is included on proofs to check this occurrence. Double Page Spread Two facing pages of a publication. Double Coating Coating paper or board twice on one side or both sides Drop Shadow A shadow behind an image or type to help bring the image forward and stand out. Duct The ink reservoir in a printing machine. Dummy The prototype of a brochure or book in the correct size, layout and sometimes paper. Duotone A photograph printed using two colours.

Embossing Relief printing or stamping in which dies are used to raise an image above the surface of paper, board, cloth or leather. Emulsion The light sensitive coating of a photographic material such a film. Encapsulation A fully sealed polyester or polypropylene film to both surfaces of a sheet to enhance its durability.

Feeder Equipment for feeding and positioning paper sheets in printing presses. Film Transparent material made of plastic acetate with a light-sensitive emulsion for recording an image. Film Negative A photographic image on film in which the highlights and shadows are reversed. Film Positive A black image on a background of clear film. Finish The surface characteristics given to paper by mechanical means. Fit The alignment and registration of individual images or plates within a page. Fix A chemical used in a photographic process to make an image permanent. Flexography A method of Letterpress printing from flexible rubber or polymer plates. Fluorescent ink Ink that has bright and luminous colour because of the phosphorous chemicals in it. Fluorescent Paper and Board A white base paper or board coated with a mixture of fluorescent pigments and binders. The coating is activated by ultraviolet light, usually natural light. Four Colour process A method of printing in full colour by colour separation producing four colour plates for printing in cyan, magenta, yellow and black. French fold A sheet of paper that has been printed on one side only and then folded twice to form an uncut four-page section.

Gatefold A paper fold in which both sides are folded across the middle of the sheet in overlapping layers. Gathering Placing the sections of a book in the correct order for binding. Ghosting An image which appears as a lighter area on a subsequent print due to local blanket depressions from previous image areas. Gloss Gloss refers to the reflectivity of paper or of the printed matter on it. Gradation The smooth transition from one tone or colour to another, or the range of values between black and white. Grain The pattern of fibres in a manufactured sheet. Gripper On printing presses these are fingers that keep the sheet in place and carry it during the impression. Gripper Edge The edge, which is caught by the grippers as a sheet of paper, is fed into a press. GSM, grams per square metre, grammage Unit of measurement used to measure paper weight (and so thickness) in printing. Guillotine A machine used to cut or trim a large number of sheets of paper accurately.

Half Perf A perforation line across the form which does not cross the full dimension. Halftone Process by which continuous tone is simulated by a pattern of dots of varying size. Hexachrome This is a colour system that uses a set of six colour set of inks, made up of a modified four-colour set plus orange and green. The objective of hexachrome is to improve the printed colour gamut. Using hexachrome allows about ninety per cent of PantoneÕs special colours. Hickey A spot on a printed sheet caused by dust, lint or ink imperfections. It is particularly noticeable on solids or halftones.

Impose or Imposition To arrange pages so that when the sheet is folded the text will read continuously. Impression Cylinder A cylinder of a printing press which supports one surface of the sheet or web while the other surface receives its printed image from the blanket cylinder. Ink Duct The fountain supplying the ink to the printing press. Ink Rub A defect associated with matt coated papers, in which parts of a dry ink film are removed by friction or pressure. Inking Roller A printing machine roller that carries ink from the fountain to the plate. Ivory Board High quality board made in white or colours with a bright, clear appearance particularly used for invitations and other quality printed material.

Sorry there are no entries for J.

Knocking up The adjustment on one or two edges of a pile of sheets so that they can be cut squarely.

Laminate To protect paper or card and give it a matt or gloss surface by applying a transparent plastic coating through heat or pressure. Laid Paper Printing or writing paper with a ribbed appearance. Lay Edges The edges of a sheet which are placed flush with the side and marks on a printing press to ensure that the sheet will be held properly by the grippers and have uniform margins when printed. Layout Overall design of a piece of printed work. Linen Finish Imitation linen texture on a paper surface. Lithography Printing from a dampened, flat surface using greasy ink based on the principle of the mutual repulsion of oil and water.

Machine Proof A proof of the job from the printing press. Magenta The name of the shade of red from the standard four colour printing inks. Manilla Paper produced from manilla hemp but now produced from softwood kraft pulp. Marbling Paper with strongly stained fibres to give the paper a marbling effect. Matt Art A clay coated printing paper with a dull finish. Metallic Ink A printing ink, which produces an effect of gold, silver, bronze or copper. Moiré A Printing fault where halftones appear as patterns of dots. Moisture Content The amount of moisture in paper. It is expressed as a percentage of its weight. Typically, a moisture content of around 7-8% is recommended for printing on paper. Monochrome An image made up of varying tones in one colour (also duotone). Mottle The appearance of irregular spots or blotches in a printed area that should be even in colour.

NCR No Carbon Required. Another term used by carbonless paper. Negative Film that has been exposed and processed to fix a reverse tone or image. Newsprint The low grade paper used for printing newspapers. Numbering Printing a unique number on a job (i.e. tickets).

Offset Lithography A method of lithography by which the image is not printed direct from the plate but offset first onto a rubber covered cylinder, the blanket that performs the printing operation. Opacity Description of non-transparency in printing papers. OPI A process in which low resolution files are replaced automatically by high resolution files at pre-press stage. Original Any matter or image intended for reproduction. Overprint Printing over an already printed area.

Pagination The term given to numbering the pages of a book. Pantone matching system A registered trade name, system of colour matching used in computer software, paper and inks. Perfecting Printing the second side of a sheet simultaneously (backing up). Perforate Print perforation is to make broken slotted cuts or rules so the matter can be torn in the correct place. Plate A sheet of metal with a design which an impression is printed. Plate Cylinder On a printing press, the cylinder that supports the inked plate. Platesetter A machine where the printing plate is produced directly from data without the need for film. Postscript A registered trade mark of Adobe Inc., It is a page description language which describes the content and layout of a page. Press Run In the printing of a job, the total number of copies produced in one printing. Process Colours The printing inks Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. Pulp The basic material used in papermaking, broken down mechanically or chemically.

Sorry there are no entries for Q.

RIP Raster Image Processing. Making the dots that make up a halftone from a page description language such as postscript. Register The correct alignment of plates with the margins in order, IT is also the correct positioning one colour over another colour in colour printing. Resolution The efficiency of a computer graphic in reproducing fine detail. Retouching Methods of altering the image on a computer or physical artwork, photography to change or alter an image. Ream 500 sheets of paper of the same size, quality and grammage. Reel A continuous length of paper wound on a core, irrespective of diameter, width or weight. Reflectivity Ability of paper or board to reflect light, a measure of gloss. Register The accurate positioning of images on a sheet using tick register marks. Register Marks A set of fine line crosses or other suitable devices added to original artwork to provide reference points for accurate subsequent multi- colour printing or finishing. Relief Printing method using a raised image, e.g. letterpress or flexography. Repro Pre-press camera work, scanning and film make-up. Reversed Out Printing. White text reversed out of a background of solid colour. Reverse Side Printing Printing on the underside of a sheet of paper, e.g. conditions. Runnability The ability of a paper or board to perform on a printing press without problems.

Saddle Stitch or Wire A method of stitching brochures in which they are opened over a saddle shaped support and stitched through the back. Sans Serif Term used to classify a wide range of typefaces as those which are devoid of finishing strokes of characters. Satin Finish A smooth finished paper with a sheen to the surface. Score A crease made in paper or card so that folding will not damage it. Screen A screen is a thin transparent film onto which is printed a very fine matrix. A screen enables a continuous tone image such as a photograph or transparency, which cannot be reproduced by most printing process, to be broken down into tiny dots which can be printed and which from a normal viewing distance give the illusion of continuous tone. Screens are also used to print tints of solid colours by altering the size or spacing of the dots. Screens can are referred to in terms of DPI (dots per inch) or dots per centimetre and the finer the screen, the better the quality of reproduction. Newspapers use coarse screens of around 85 DPI and magazines use around 150 DPI and can go up to 400 DPI. Screen Ruling The number of lines per inch (or centimetre) on a halftone or tint screen, equal to the number of dots per inch on the printed image. Section A sheet folded to create four or more book pages. Serif Short stroke at the ends of stems, arms and tails of characters. Set-Off Term for the unwanted transfer of printing ink from a printed sheet to a surface facing it. Sheet A single sheet of paper. Sheet Fed A printing press into which sheets are fed. Side Perfs A perforated line running down the sides of a form, usually about 12mm from each side to remove sprocket hole margins. Spot Colour A colour that is printed not using four colour printing, but printed using self-coloured inks such as Pantone. Stochastic Screening (Frequency Modulated) Unlike conventional the screen is made up of dots which are randomly distributed to create a tonal change illusion. The greater the number of dots located within a specific area the darker the tone. The dots are usually smaller than conventional screening so the definition tends to be better. Swatch A colour specimen.

Thermography The process in which new printed sheets are dusted with a resin powder, which forms a surface when, fused with heat. Thumb Index An index where the divisions or chapters are cut into the edge of the publication. Tint The effect of the mixture of white to a solid colour or the effect achieved by breaking up colour into a percentage using dots, which allow white paper to show through. Trim Marks Marks incorporated on a printed sheet, which indicate where the paper is to be cut or trimmed. Two up, three up, etc Printing where one or many images are printed on the same side of a sheet. Typography The design and layout of type.

UV Varnishing A machine printed varnish, hardened by ultra-violet light.

Varnish A transparent solution mixed with ink or printed over ink to produce a glossy surface finish. Vellum Paper Used mainly for certificates. The paper is tough and strong and has a good quality appearance. Virgin Fibre Paper or board pulp fibre which is being used for the first time and not recycled fibre.

Watermark A distinctive design incorporated into paper during manufacture which is visible when viewed under a light or a contrasting background. Web A continuous roll of paper. Web Fed A printing press with paper supplied by a web rather than single sheets. Wire-O Binding A mechanical binding which uses a series of double wire loops formed from a single continuous wire running along its length. Woodfree A paper which contains no mechanical wood pulp. In practice it usually contains a small percentage of mechanical fibre. Work and Tumble To print one side of a sheet and turn it from front to back to print the second side, keeping the same alignment of the side edges on the press. Work and Turn When both sides of a sheets is set on one plate. After one side of the sheet has been printed it is turned over end for end and backed up from the same plate. Work and Twist To print the same plate twice on the same side of a sheet turning the sheet through 360 degrees between print runs. Wove Paper This is made on a roll of closely woven, finely textured wire, and leaves no marks on the surface of the paper.

X-height The mean height of lower case letters, such as c, e, o and of course x.

Sorry there are no entries for Y.

Sorry there are no entries for Z.

This is by no means a full list of printing terms, for instance there are different methods of printing which have their own terms and words to desribe the print process. Digital Printing has many terms which also encompass other technical terms used in the computer industry, these number in the hundreds; thefore we could not list them all. We wil be happy to answer any question that you may have about the industry so please do not hesitate to ask.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Design & Print of Business Cards, Letterheads, Leaflets, Flyers, Menus, NCR, Banner Stands, Banners, Greetings Cards, Website Design, Social Media Marketing Shipley • Bradford • Bingley • Keighley • Halifax • Huddersfield • Guiseley • Yeadon • Ilkley • Otley • Leeds • Wakefield • Dewsbury • Yorkshire

» Special Offers

» Design Services

» Supply Design Files

» Testimonials

» Print Glossary

» Contact

» Terms & Conditions

» Legal

» Home

» The Company

» Printing Technology

» The Environment

» Print Products

» Print Portfolio

» Web Design Services

» Web Design Portfolio

Some of our offers are short term, join our subscription list by completing the simple form below and we will keep you up-to-date with our latest offers days before they are published.

Please review our Privacy Policy before submitting.

info@sketchprinting.com

The Company
Printing Technology
The Environment
Print Products
Print Portfolio
Web Design Services
Web Design Portfolio
Special Offers
Design Services
Supply Design Files