Artwork - Copy and illustration supplied by the customer in the form of color-separated negatives or a camera-ready mechanical.
Abrasion Resistance - The resistance to scratching of a surface of paper by other paper surfaces or other materials.
Absorbency - The ability of a material to take up moisture.
Accordion Fold - Folding where each fold runs in opposite directions to the previous fold creating an accordion affect.
Airbrush - Compressed air tool that dispenses a fine mist of paint or ink, used in illustration and photo retouching.
Alphabet Length - The measured length (in points) of the lower case alphabet of a certain size and series of type.
Ascender - Any part of a lower case letter which rises above the main body of the letter such as in "d", "b" and "h".
Author's Alterations - (AA's) - Changes made after the composition stage where the customer is responsible for additional charges.
Backprinting - Print on the reverse side of paper
Back to Back - Print applied to both sides of a sheet of paper.
Balloon - A line which encircles copy or dialogue in an illustration.
Banner - Primary headline spanning the entire width of a page.
Base Line - Describes the imaginary horizontal line upon which stand capitals, lower case letters, punctuation points etc.
Basic Size - Term refers to a standard size of paper stock; even though the required size may be smaller or larger.
Basis Weight - Basis or basic weight refers to the weight, in pounds, of a ream (500 sheets) of paper cut to a given standard size for the particular paper grade.
Benday - Shaded picture that text usually runs over; should not be below 15% screen. (See Screen)
Binding - Various methods of securing folded sections together and fastening them to a cover, to form a book.
Black Letter - An old style typeface used in Germany in the 15th century, referred to as Old English (US) and Gothic (UK).
Black Printer - refers to the film portion of the color separation process that prints black; increases the contrast of neutral tones.
Bleed - Extra ink area that crosses trim line, used to allow for variations that occur when the reproduction is trimmed or diecut.
Blind Embossing - Process where a die stamps a design into the back of paper, creating a raised image on the front, without the use of ink.
Blanket - Fabric-reinforced sheet of rubber to transfer the impression from the plate onto the paper.
Blind Emboss - A design or bas relief impression that is made without using inks or metal foils.
Blowup - Enlargement of photos, copies or line art.
Blue-Line - Photographic proof made from flats for checking accuracy, layout and imposition before plates are made.
Body - Main portions of the letter character other than the ascenders and descenders.
Body Size - Point size of a particular type character.
Boldface - Type that has a heavier black stroke that makes it more conspicuous.
Bond - A grade of durable writing, printing and typing paper that has a standard size of 17 x 22 inches.
Bullet - A boldface square or dot used before a sentence to emphasize its importance.
Camera-Ready - Artwork which is ready to be photographed for printing, usually in the form of mechanicals.
Caps & Lower Case - Indicates the use of a capital letter to start a sentence and the rest of the letters in lower case.
Case Binding - Books bound using hard boards (case) covers.
Cast Coated - Paper that is coated and then pressure dried using a polished roller which imparts an enamel like hard gloss finish.
Close Registration - Two colors in close proximity but not touching, with less that 1/16² of space between the colors.
CMYK - Colors used in process printing (i.e., cyan, magenta, yellow, black).
Coarse Screen - Halftone screens commonly used in newsprint (up to 85 lines per inch).
Coated Stock - A paper that has a shiny coating giving the appearance of a smoother brighter finish.
Collate - Putting sheets of paper into the correct order.
Color Separation - Process in which the original colors are separated into single component colors corresponding to the inks used for printing (i.e., CMYK, cyan, magenta, yellow, black).
Color Separating - The process of separating the primary color components for printing.
Compositions - The assembly of characters into words, lines and paragraphs of text or body matter for reproduction by printing.
Condensed Type - A narrow, elongated type face.
Copy - Refers to any typewritten material, art, photos, etc.., to be used for the printing process.
Cover - A paper used for the covers of books, brochures, business cards, etc..
Crop - To remove a portion of a picture as noted by the crop marks.
Cutting Die - Sharp edged device, usually made of steel, to cut paper, cardboard, etc., on a printing press.
Deckle Edge - A rough edge of paper that is not trimmed, giving a "feathered look".
Delete - To remove an element of the layout.
Descender - The portions of the lower case letters that extend below the main body of the letter as in "q".
Die - A shape cut into metal for stamping into covers or embossing.
Digital Proof - Data producing a color image on paper which has the look of the final product before is it printed.
Dot - Part of a halftone which is the smallest element - thousands of dots make up the image.
DPI - Dots per inch.
Drop Shadow - A shadow image placed behind an image to give the affect of the image lifting off the page.
Dummy - All the elements assembled to be reproduced as the final product.
Duotone - A two-color halftone reproduction generated from a one-color photo.
Embossing - The pressing of a die into the paper, achieving a raised image. (See Blind Embossing)
Email - Sending information across the internet.
Expanded Type - Type with greater width producing a rectangular effect.
Finish - Description of the surface of a sheet of paper.
Flat Printing - Applying ink to paper, leaving just the printed image, without a raised surface.
Foil Embossing - Process where the image is printed by foil stamping, then embossed to create a raised image.
Font - Complete alphabet of any typeface in a given point size and design.
GIF - A graphic image used for web graphics.
Graduated Screen - An image where halftone dots range continuously from one density to another.
Grain - Direction of fibers in a sheet of paper
Gripper - Metal fingers that hold each sheet of paper as it passes through the press.
Gutter - The space between the pages or blank space between the page and the book binding or between columns.
Halftone - An image composed of many dots or lines
IBC - Inside back cover.
IFC - Inside front cover.
ISP - A company which gives one access to the internet
Italic - Letters that are slanted - body forward
Imprint - To print images or information on a preprinted sheet.
Jog - Shuffle papers so that are tightly aligned for trimming
JPEG - A graphic image used for Web graphics.
Kerning - Narrowing the space between two letters of type (ex: TJ).
Laid Finish - A parallel lined paper that has a handmade look.
Leading - Space between lines of type.
Letterspacing - The additions of space between letters.
Linen - Paper that has texture with vertical and horizontal lines throughout it.
LPI - Lines per inch.
M Weight - The actual weight of 100 sheets of paper of any given size.
Margin - The space around the edge of paper.
Match Print - Photographic proof made from the actual film used for print production.
Mechanical - Camera-ready, complete paste-up of artwork.
Negative - Photographic image of the original on film where the darks and lights are reversed.
OBC - Outside back cover.
OFC - Outside front cover.
Offset Printing - Printing where ink is applied to a blanket, then to the paper, instead of printing plates touching the paper directly.
Opaque - Paper that allows very little light to pass through.
Over Run - Extra sheets of printing to supply set up sheets to finishing operations for folding, cutting, etc.
Page Makeup - The assembly of all the necessary elements required to complete a page.
Parent Sheet - The size of paper manufactured at the paper mill (ex: 25" x 38") and then cut to the finished size.
Perfect Binding - Sections of a book that are cut and glued together and put into to a cover.
Perforating - Small slits in paper allowing it to tear.
Point - Measurement equal to 1/72 of an inch. 72 points = 1 inch.
PPI - Pixels per inch.
PMS - Abbreviation for the "PANTONE Matching System", a system for mixing and matching ink colors, identified by number.
PMT - Photo-Mechanical Transfer; another term for Stat.
Positive - Photographic image on film or paper which corresponds to the original image.
Press Proof - A sheet of paper that has exited the press and is used to check for the accuracy of color.
Printer Pairs - Two sheets of paper as they should appear in a form for printing (not facing pages as in a book).
Process Inks - Printing inks, usually in sets of four colors (i.e., CMYK, cyan, magenta, yellow, black)
Proofs - Black & white copy or artwork to be printed, used to mark corrections.
Rag Paper - A paper which contains cotton fibers.
Raised Printing - Special powder applied to printed ink, then run through a heated dryer, which makes the ink rise. Originally intended to simulate engraving.
Ream - 500 sheets of paper.
Registration - Keeping two or more images in exact alignment with each other while printing.
RGB - Colors used on a computer monitor (Red, Green, Blue) NOT acceptable for printing, MUST be changed to CMYK.
Saddle Stitching - Wire staples that pass through the spine of a book.
Scaling - The enlargement or reduction of an image or copy to fit a specific area.
Screens - Percentages of a color, in a tiny dot pattern, applied to artwork or type, from 10% to 90%.
Score - A deep crease that is made in the surface of paper which aids in its ability to be folded.
Self Cover - A cover made out of the same paper stock as the internal sheets.
Signature - Multiple sheets of paper placed so that they will fold together to produce a book.
Spine - The edge of a book.
Stat - Black & white reproduction on photosensitive paper, produced photographically from original copy.
Stock Art - Artwork for logos or designs for customer use.
Text - A heavier sheet of paper that is more opaque than a normal sheet of copy paper.
Thermography - Traditional term for Raised Printing.
Trim Marks - Marks on the printed sheet to indicate the actual size the paper is to be cut.
Typestyle - The design of the alphabet used in printed text.
Varnish - An additive to the ink to give the final printed product a shiny look.
Wash up - Cleaning of a press for a particular color of ink.
Watermark - Design or logo impressed into the paper during papermaking, which becomes visible when paper is held up to light.
Wove - Paper with a smooth finish.
