Print Manager™ A-Z Dictionary of Printing Terms
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | W

AB Sample :

Non-identifiable mailing pack copies.

Airbrush :

A mechanical painting tool that produces a fine spray of paint or ink. Used in illustration, design and retouching.

Art Paper :

Paper with a coated surface. Either glossy, matt or silk.

Artwork or A/W :

Where type, photographic & illustrative elements are accurately positioned before going to repro house/printers. Produced either conventionally or digitally.

A Sizes :

An international ISO range of paper sizes.

B : Top of page

Bangtail :

BRE (Business Reply Envelope) attached to leaflet which is detached & stuck together to return.

Bitmap :

Representation of an image or text character by individual pixels or dots.

Bleed :

Where the printed image extends beyond the page edge. Gives a neat result when the page is trimmed.

Body Copy :

Main text as opposed to headings & sub headings.

BRE :

Business Reply Envelope.

Bromide :

A print on bromide (photographic) paper of sufficient quality to print from. (Can be output from Mac.)

Brunner Scale :

A printing scale used to check colour of process inks & densities.

C : Top of page

Camera Ready :

Artwork that is ready to go to print.

Choking :

Method of altering the thickness of a character or solid shape.

(See Trapping)

Cibachrome :

A fast photographic print, printed directly from a positive original such as a transparency.

CLCs :

Colour laser copies.

CMYK :

Four-colour process – abbreviation of cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow & key (black).

Colour Separations :

In colour reproduction, the process of separating the colours of an image, by means of a scanner or process camera into a form suitable for printing.

Contact Proof :

Manuscript or typescript which can be supplied in electronic form.

Continuous Tone/
Contone :

An image that has continuous shades from light to dark unlike printed images (halftones) where tones are made up of dots.

Copy :

Manuscript or typescript which can be supplied in electronic form.

Cromalin :

Type of proof – available as both analogue & digital.

C-Type :

A photographic colour print produced from a negative.

D : Top of page

Die-Cutting :

The process used to cut an irregular shape from a printed sheet.

Die-Stamping :

A process to give a raised image. Created using two metal dies (male and female) that press the image into the paper.

Digital Proof :

High-resolution proof, output directly from system. Can be mono or colour.

Digitize :

To convert anything i.e. an image into a form that can be electronically processed, stored & reconstructed.

DL :

An envelope that accommodates a standard A4 size sheet folded twice into thirds. Size: 110mm x 220mm.

Dot for Dot :

In printing: printing colour work in perfect register.

In repro : a method of printing film by photographing a previously screened halftone image. (Generally, on fine-screened images, a max limit of 10% enlargement or reduction is best.)

Dot Gain :

A printing defect where halftone dots become enlarged.

Dummy :

A mock-up of a proposed design or image.

Duotone :

A halftone printed in two colours.

Dupe :

Abbreviation of duplicate.

E : Top of page

Embossing blind :

The process of raising or recessing an image using an uninked block.

Emulsion :

A light sensitive coating on film or printing plate.

Emulsion side :

The matt side of a film that is placed in contact with the emulsion of another film or plate when printing down to ensure a sharp image.

EPS :

Encapsulated PostScript – a computer term for a specific type of picture file.

F : Top of page

Flexo :

Printing from rubber plates usually producing inferior quality to litho but OK for reply envelopes.

Flycopy :

Very small type i.e. footnotes or legal copy usually at the bottom of an ad.

Font :

A style of type.

Four Colour Process :

A method of printing in full colour using four basic colours – CMYK.

G : Top of page

Gang up :

In printing : to print two or more jobs on the same sheet.

In repro : to place a group of originals of the same proportions together for reproduction.

Gradation :

A smooth, gradual change from one tone colour to another.

Grain Direction :

Direction of the grain in paper.

Greek :

Used to indicate type on rough visuals before actual copy is written.

Greyscale :

A tonal scale printed in steps of no colour through to black & used for quality control in both colour as well as black & white photographic processing.

GSM :

A weight measurement for paper – grams per square metre.

Gutter :

The margin down the centre of a double page spread.

H : Top of page

Halftone :

Created from a continuous tone image using dots to represent the shades.

Hard Copy :

A printed copy of information created on a computer.

Hickie :

A speck of dust or an air bubble which causes a spot or halo during printing.

I : Top of page

All printing & finishing (perf, gluing etc) completed in one pass. Also used to describe work done on the computer system.

In Pro :

In proportion.

Interneg :

A photographic negative. The intermediate stage in producing a print from a transparency or flat original.

Iris :

Type of digital proof.

ISDN :

Integrated Services Digital Network – means of sending digital information ‘down the line’ to printers, repro houses etc.

J : Top of page

The spacing out of lines or words to be the same length. Produces a straight edge on each side of the text.

Jobbing :

General printing, printing that is not specialised in any particular field.

K : Top of page

Kerning :

The space between letters in typesetting.

Keyline :

The outline drawn on artwork to indicate positioning of elements or a border that is to be printed.

L : Top of page

Laid Paper :

Textured paper with a pattern of parallel lines.

Laminate :

A protective transparent coating, heat sealed to a printed sheet.

Landscape :

A horizontal image.

Laser Proof :

A computer generated proof not of sufficient quality for printing.

Leading Edge :

Edge of leaflet that machine enclosing machines can grab without leaflet opening.

Leading/Line Feed :

The space between lines of type.

Line Art/Drawings :

Line or solid images that do not require a halftone screen for repro.

Literal :

Typographical error.

Litho :

Printing process based on the principle of oil not mixing with water.

Lower Case :

Small letters of the alphabet as distinct from capitals.

M : Top of page

Type of analogue proof similar to a Cromalin.

Mock-up :

A visualisation of leaflet, brochure etc showing as near as possible the intended finished item.

Moire :

An aberration occurring in halftone repro when two or more colours are printed giving a halftone image an appearance rather like that of watered silk. This is caused by two or more dot screens being at the wrong angles or by the re-screening of an already-screened image.

Mono :

Monochrome (Black & White).

The assembly of several images, or portions of them to form a single original.

N : Top of page

Insertion of one folded item into another.

Newsprint :

A relatively cheap paper made for newspaper production.

O : Top of page

Optical Character Recognition. A scanner with software capable of recognising & translating printed type into a computer text file.

OE :

Outer envelope.

Off Line :

Paper printed & moved to separate finishing machines. Also used to describe work done off the computer system.

Origination :

A term used in repro to describe any or all of the reproduction processes that may occur between design and printing (ie photography etc).

Orphan :

A word at the top of a column on its own.

Overs :

The term describing printed copies beyond the number ordered. This is normally deliberate to allow for copies that my be spoilt during finished or lost or damaged during delivery.

Ozalid :

Inexpensive proofing process in one colour mainly used for checking prior to printing.

P : Top of page

Pantone/PMS :

Pantone Matching System. Trade name of a commonly-used means of colour identification.

Perfect Binding :

Binding method where pages are glued along the spine.

Photogravure :

A printing process used mainly for long runs such as magazines, in which a photomechanically prepared surface holds ink in recessed cells.

Pixel :

An individual dot of light/cell on a monitor which contributes to making up an image. The more pixels there are per inch, the higher the monitor resolution.

Plate :

A thin metal sheet which carries the impression of the image to be printed.

PMT :

Photo Mechanical Transfer. A photographic process that reduces & enlarges images. Similar to a bromide but without a screen.

Point Size :

The term used to define size of type.

Polyboard :

A light-coated polystyrene board used for mounting – particularly for exhibition panels.

Potrait :

A vertical image.

PPI :

Pixels per inch.

Positive Film :

A photographic reproduction on film in which the highlights are clear & the shadows are solid. Negative is the opposite.

Process Colours :

See Four Colour Process & CMYK.

Progressive Proofs :

Production proofs of a four colour print job. Each colour is proofed separately and in combination.

R : Top of page

Type of digital proof.

Range Left :

All lines of type start from the same point on the left but have a ragged finish on the right.

Range Right :

Opposite of the above.

Ream :

Five hundred sheets of paper.

Register :

The correct positioning of each colour plate when printing.

Resolution (High/Low):

See Pixel.

Retouching :

Correcting, changing or refining a photographic image or artwork. Usually done on a high-resolution. computer system such as Barco but can sometimes be done conventionally (manually).

RGB :

Primary colours of light (red, green, blue) that may be mixed to form all other colours in computer monitors & photographic repro.

RPC :

Reply Paid Card.

Roughs or Finished Roughs :

An unfinished design or layout.

R Type :

A colour print from a transparency made without an interneg.

Rub Downs :

Specially made transfers of type, images etc usually used to create mock-ups for presentation.

Runaround :

Text that fits around a shape e.g. an illustration.

Run-on :

When quoting for print, the cost for producing an additional quantity at the same time as the main run.

Runout :

Proof from AppleMac.

S : Top of page

Binding of a document with wire staples.

Scanner :

Electronic device that converts images or text into computer readable code.

Schafline :

Converts images into a dot format which can be treated as a line drawing within a limited range of increasing or decreasing size.

Screen :

A series of dots or lines (sometimes other patterns) used to convert original photographs or illustrations (continuous tone images) into halftones for printing.

Screen Angles :

The angles at which halftone screens of images printing in two or more colours are positioned to minimise undersirable dot patterns when they are printed.

Screen Printing :

A printing process whereby ink is forced through a fine mesh screen which has a stencil bonded to it. Usually used for display work.

Self Cover :

Where the cover of a document is the same material weight as the text pages.

Separations :

The set of films showing the colours individually (one film per colour). Used to make the printing plates.

Sheet Fed :

A printing method whereby the paper is passed through the press a sheet at a time.

Show Through :

Where the printing on one side of the sheet can be seen on the reverse.

Signature Proof :

An electrostatic colour proof, mainly used for national press colour ads. Slowly being replaced by digital proofs.

Silhouette :

An image which has been cut-out from its background.

Special Colour :

A colour which is not made up out of the 4-colour process but printed using ink specially mixed to match it.

Stet :

Copy correction mark used to cancel previous instruction or correction.

Stock :

The paper or material to be printed on.

Spot Colour :

Term used to describe any printing colour that is a special & not one of the four process colours. Also sometimes used in newspapers when one extra colour only is used on a black & white ad.

S/S :

Same size.

Tagged Image File Format. A Computer term for a specific type of picture file.

Transparency :

A positive photographic image on transparent film.

Trapping :

The slight overlap of two colours to eliminate gaps that may occur between them due to the normal fluctuations of register during printing.

Two-up/Three-up :

Printing method when multiple images are printed together on the same side of a sheet.

Type Mark Up :

Typographer’s instructions on copy used by the typesetter.

Typesetting :

The process of converting text into a font & producing it in a form suitable for printing.

Typo :

A typographical error.

Typography :

The art & arrangement of type. Can also involve selection of fonts suitable for a job.

U : Top of page

UCR :

Under Colour Removal.

Upper Case :

Capital Letters.

UV Varnish :

A very high-gloss varnish which is dried using ultraviolet light.

V : Top of page

A visual representation of a final printed product.

Varnish :

Applied to printed matter to improve its appearance or increase its durability.

Vignette :

An effect whereby the image/tone is etched gently away at the edges.

W : Top of page

A printing method whereby the paper is passed through the printing press on a continuous reel.

Widow :

A short line at the end of a paragraph.