GLOSSARY OF PRINT TERMS
author’s alterations: customer’s corrections/changes made at the proofing stage. These are charged to the customer.
back up: Printing on the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side. Back up position is critical and must be accurate to ensure consistent position throughout a folded product.
binding: process of fastening papers together.
bleed: the printed image extends beyond the trim edge of a sheet or page. A bleed may occur at the head, front, foot and/or gutter of a page.
bond paper: A grade of writing or printing paper, usually used for letterheads or business forms. (see Uncoated)
carbonless paper: paper coated with chemicals that enable transfer of images from one sheet to another with pressure from writing or typing.
CMYK (aka ‘four colour process’): abbreviation for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black), the 4 process colours, which combined together in varying proportions can be made to produce the full colour spectrum.
coated stock: Material coated on one or both sides with a mixture china clay, latex and other loadings to fill up surface pits and improve the printing surface. The process can be accomplished either on-line on the papermaking machine (machine coated) or as a separate operation (off-machine coated).
collating: arranging of printed sheets into the desired sequence.
colour separation: process by which a continuous tone colour image is separated into the four process colours for print production.
cover paper: a heavyweight paper made particularly to protect inner, thinner sheets of such printed items as booklets.
crop marks: marks at the edges of an illustration or photograph to indicate the portion to be reproduced.
CTP: Acronym for Computer To Plate, the process by which digital data is converted via a RIP device to drive a platesetter, which generates the finished printing plate.
DPI: dots per inch; measure for output resolution of various devices.
die-cutting: The process of using sharp steel blades known as rules to cut a shape into paper or board.
dummy: a mock-up made to resemble the final printed product which uses the proposed grade, weight, finish and colour of paper.
Finished Size: The size once trimmed and folded
Flat Size: The size before folding, after trimming. Can also be used if a product is to be supplied creased but unfolded.
FSC Forest Stewardship Council (FSC.org) is an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organisation established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. Certain paper brands are accredited by the FSC.
Gate Fold: where left and right edges fold to the centre
GSM / grammes per square metre: The weight of paper or board, measured in grammes per square metre. For example, office copier paper is normally 80gsm, whereas the cover of a book might be 350gsm
gutter: line or fold at which facing pages meet.
halftone: picture with shades of tone created by varying size dots.
justified: text which is flush to both the left and right margins.
lamination: A plastic film bonded by heat and pressure to a printed sheet. The laminate can be either gloss or matt to enhance the appearance of the print and provide moisture-resistant protection to the paper surface.
lithographic printing: Method of printing using plates whose image areas attract ink and whose non-image areas repel ink. Non-image areas may be coated with water to repel the oily ink or may have a surface, such as silicon, that repels ink. The printing and nonprinting surfaces are on the same plane on the plate and the substrate makes contact with the whole surface.
make-ready: the work associated with the set-up of printing equipment before running a job.
overs: copies printed in excess of the quantity specified in the order.
PMS (Pantone Matching System): Followed by 3 or 4 digits to make up a code e.g. PMS 072. See spot colours
PP (Printed pages): Refers to the number of pages in a document e.g. 12pp (12 pages)
Portrait: Where a document is oriented so the long edges are on either side. As opposed to landscape
perfect binding: a bookbinding method in which pages are glued rather than sewn to the cover. Used primarily for paperback books.
point: a measurement for the size of type, distance between lines and thickness of rules. One point equals one seventy-second of an inch (0.3515mm). Proof: A copy of the final document for approval before going to print.
ream: 500 sheets of paper
ragged right: typesetting style in which lines end in unequal lengths on the right side (usually justified on left).
registration marks: crosses or other marks placed on artwork which ensure perfect alignment (‘registration’).
reversed-out: type appearing white on a black or colour background, either a solid or a tint.
resolution: the number of dots per inch (dpi) in a computer-processed document. The level detail retained by a printed document increases with higher resolution.
RIP (raster image processor): computer used to create an electronic bitmap for actual output. This may be built into an imagesetter or may be separate.
roll fold: similar to a take-away menu
saddle stitch: a binding process in which a pamphlet or booklet is stapled through the middle fold of its sheets using saddle wire.
score: a pressed mark in a sheet of paper, usually a thick paper, to make folding cleaner and easier.
seal or sealer: A coating applied over the print to fix it. This helps prevent set off and smudging
self-cover: Where the cover and text pages are on the same paper stock
set off: This is where the ink from one sheet is transferred on to the reverse of the sheet above. Leaving ample time for the ink to dry and applying a sealer helps to prevent this
signature: folded, printed paper forming a section of a book; usually in a multiple of four, and more often a multiple of eight.
solid: an area on the page which is completely covered by the ink.
stock: the paper or card which is to be printed on.
tint: an area of tone made by a pattern of dots, which lightens the apparent colour of the ink with which it is printed.
uncoated paper: Paper which has not been coated in clay – as opposed to ‘coated’ paper such as matt and gloss. An example of uncoated paper is bond. Uncoated paper is often used for stationery
UV Varnish: A liquid coating applied to a printed sheet for protection and enhancement, which is dried immediately by exposure to UV light.
wire-0 binding: A continuous double series of wire loops run through punched slots along the binding side of a booklet.
Z-fold: 2 folds on a document to make the finished item look like the letter “Z”
DoubleC Printing Limited
back up: Printing on the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side. Back up position is critical and must be accurate to ensure consistent position throughout a folded product.
binding: process of fastening papers together.
bleed: the printed image extends beyond the trim edge of a sheet or page. A bleed may occur at the head, front, foot and/or gutter of a page.
bond paper: A grade of writing or printing paper, usually used for letterheads or business forms. (see Uncoated)
carbonless paper: paper coated with chemicals that enable transfer of images from one sheet to another with pressure from writing or typing.
CMYK (aka ‘four colour process’): abbreviation for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black), the 4 process colours, which combined together in varying proportions can be made to produce the full colour spectrum.
coated stock: Material coated on one or both sides with a mixture china clay, latex and other loadings to fill up surface pits and improve the printing surface. The process can be accomplished either on-line on the papermaking machine (machine coated) or as a separate operation (off-machine coated).
collating: arranging of printed sheets into the desired sequence.
colour separation: process by which a continuous tone colour image is separated into the four process colours for print production.
cover paper: a heavyweight paper made particularly to protect inner, thinner sheets of such printed items as booklets.
crop marks: marks at the edges of an illustration or photograph to indicate the portion to be reproduced.
CTP: Acronym for Computer To Plate, the process by which digital data is converted via a RIP device to drive a platesetter, which generates the finished printing plate.
DPI: dots per inch; measure for output resolution of various devices.
die-cutting: The process of using sharp steel blades known as rules to cut a shape into paper or board.
dummy: a mock-up made to resemble the final printed product which uses the proposed grade, weight, finish and colour of paper.
Finished Size: The size once trimmed and folded
Flat Size: The size before folding, after trimming. Can also be used if a product is to be supplied creased but unfolded.
FSC Forest Stewardship Council (FSC.org) is an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organisation established to promote the responsible management of the world’s forests. Certain paper brands are accredited by the FSC.
Gate Fold: where left and right edges fold to the centre
GSM / grammes per square metre: The weight of paper or board, measured in grammes per square metre. For example, office copier paper is normally 80gsm, whereas the cover of a book might be 350gsm
gutter: line or fold at which facing pages meet.
halftone: picture with shades of tone created by varying size dots.
justified: text which is flush to both the left and right margins.
lamination: A plastic film bonded by heat and pressure to a printed sheet. The laminate can be either gloss or matt to enhance the appearance of the print and provide moisture-resistant protection to the paper surface.
lithographic printing: Method of printing using plates whose image areas attract ink and whose non-image areas repel ink. Non-image areas may be coated with water to repel the oily ink or may have a surface, such as silicon, that repels ink. The printing and nonprinting surfaces are on the same plane on the plate and the substrate makes contact with the whole surface.
make-ready: the work associated with the set-up of printing equipment before running a job.
overs: copies printed in excess of the quantity specified in the order.
PMS (Pantone Matching System): Followed by 3 or 4 digits to make up a code e.g. PMS 072. See spot colours
PP (Printed pages): Refers to the number of pages in a document e.g. 12pp (12 pages)
Portrait: Where a document is oriented so the long edges are on either side. As opposed to landscape
perfect binding: a bookbinding method in which pages are glued rather than sewn to the cover. Used primarily for paperback books.
point: a measurement for the size of type, distance between lines and thickness of rules. One point equals one seventy-second of an inch (0.3515mm). Proof: A copy of the final document for approval before going to print.
ream: 500 sheets of paper
ragged right: typesetting style in which lines end in unequal lengths on the right side (usually justified on left).
registration marks: crosses or other marks placed on artwork which ensure perfect alignment (‘registration’).
reversed-out: type appearing white on a black or colour background, either a solid or a tint.
resolution: the number of dots per inch (dpi) in a computer-processed document. The level detail retained by a printed document increases with higher resolution.
RIP (raster image processor): computer used to create an electronic bitmap for actual output. This may be built into an imagesetter or may be separate.
roll fold: similar to a take-away menu
saddle stitch: a binding process in which a pamphlet or booklet is stapled through the middle fold of its sheets using saddle wire.
score: a pressed mark in a sheet of paper, usually a thick paper, to make folding cleaner and easier.
seal or sealer: A coating applied over the print to fix it. This helps prevent set off and smudging
self-cover: Where the cover and text pages are on the same paper stock
set off: This is where the ink from one sheet is transferred on to the reverse of the sheet above. Leaving ample time for the ink to dry and applying a sealer helps to prevent this
signature: folded, printed paper forming a section of a book; usually in a multiple of four, and more often a multiple of eight.
solid: an area on the page which is completely covered by the ink.
stock: the paper or card which is to be printed on.
tint: an area of tone made by a pattern of dots, which lightens the apparent colour of the ink with which it is printed.
uncoated paper: Paper which has not been coated in clay – as opposed to ‘coated’ paper such as matt and gloss. An example of uncoated paper is bond. Uncoated paper is often used for stationery
UV Varnish: A liquid coating applied to a printed sheet for protection and enhancement, which is dried immediately by exposure to UV light.
wire-0 binding: A continuous double series of wire loops run through punched slots along the binding side of a booklet.
Z-fold: 2 folds on a document to make the finished item look like the letter “Z”
DoubleC Printing Limited