Glossary

ALTERATIONS
Changes to the specifications after production has begun.

ARTWORK
Artwork or ‘art’ is the original copy that is used to produce the finished printed product. The term includes text, logos or any other graphics that make up the design.

AUTHOR’S ALTERATIONS
Any changes that you, the author, makes to the original artwork at the proofing stage.

BANDING (1)
Method of packing the printed product using rubber or paper bands (e.g. banded in bundles of 500)

BANDING (2)
Instead of a smooth gradation of colour when printing a vignette or gradient, undesirable bands of colour variation are seen on the page.

BLEED
This is an extra amount of the background image which extends out over the trimming edge of the page and later gets chopped off when the page is cut to the finished size.

CMYK
Abbreviated term for the four colours used in process printing; Cyan (C), Magenta (M), Yellow (Y) and Black (K). Together they make up the range of other colours in process printing - to create a photographic image for example. Under a magnifier you will see the image as a multitude of coloured dots. Also known as full colour printing.

COATED PAPER
Categories include cast, gloss, satin and matte. These papers are finished with a coating of clay and other substances to give the text and print colour high definition.

COLLATE
Collecting and organising pages/paper into a specific order.

COLOUR SEPARATIONS
The process to separate each of the primary colours for printing - so that each colour will have it’s own printing plate.
CMYK = 4 plates.

COMB BINDING
The teeth of the plastic comb are pushed through oblong holes that have been punched through the document and curl around the back to hold the pages in place. A clear plastic cover and a card back finish the bound document.

CREEP
This happens when multiple pages are folded in the middle (as in a booklet) and the centre pages start to protrude or push out past the outer pages. Because this protruding edge would normally be trimmed off, allowance has to be made at the artwork stage by using progressive margins to minimise the possibility of cutting off text or having uneven margins.

CROP
To cut off parts of an image or photo.

CROP MARKS
Small printed lines that indicate where the page needs to be trimmed down to size. Also known as Cut or Trim Marks.

DIE
A metal block or rule that is used for cutting, scoring, stamping and embossing paper and card.

DIE CUTTING
This is a method of cutting using a Die when shapes, holes, slits or rounded corners are needed.

DIGITAL PRINTING
Using digital technology files are sent directly from computer to the digital printing device producing colour or black and white print that rivals traditional offset quality. Multiple images, small quantities and variable data printing are all advantages offered by digital output.

DPI
Dots per square inch. Normally used to describe the resolution of an image or text. 600dpi is good for black and white text. 300dpi is good for photographic reproduction. 100dpi or lower is usually only good for viewing on computer.

EPS
A file format that enables images etc to be used from one program to another.

FINISHED SIZE
Final size of product after printing and trimming has been completed.

FINISHING
Usually describes any trimming, drilling, folding, binding etc that happens post production.

FOIL
A ribbon of shiny metallic or plain coloured substance that is stamped onto paper or card using a heated die.

FORMAT
The shape, size and general appearance of a printed product or the arrangement of data/styling of a computer file. 

GANG PRINTED
Basically means that your job is printed with several others to maximise the sheet size, reducing press time and cost.

GLOSS
Gives a shiny appearance to the surface of the product.

GRADIENT or graduated colour
When a colour changes density gradually and smoothly - can blend into another colour or disappear to nothing.
Also called vignette.

GRAPHICS or graphic design
Usually describing illustrations, photographic and text elements that are put together in a design to make the printed message more appealing and visually interesting.

GREYSCALE
A greyscale image has no colour and prints using various tones of grey that give shadows, highlights and contrast allowing for great detail in its reproduction rather than being a harsh black and white image with very little detail.  

GSM or grammage
Grams per square meter - usually describing the weight of the paper or card to be used. 70gsm being thin paper and 400gsm being thick card.

GUTTERS
These are the inside margins of a book where the binding takes place. No text should be in this area.

HAIRLINE
A very thin line or gap. Hairlines sometimes disappear when printed and are better set at .3 pt as a minimum.

HARD COPY
Actual sheet of printed or hand written paper containing information text, graphics etc.

IMPOSITIONING
This is when the pages are put into the correct order for printing. Most printing software does this automatically so all you need to supply are the pages in numerical order, starting from page 1 through to the last page.

INSERTS
A separate sheet that is slipped into a publication like a newsletter but isn’t bound in.

KNOCKOUT
To mask out an image. Also when one colour literally knocks out the other colour leaving a white or blank area on the sheet. A second colour can then be dropped into this area to give a pure colour as opposed to the colour overprinting on top of the other. Also see reverse.

LAMINATE
A thin plastic film that is applied to card for protection and colour enhancement. Gloss adds high shine and makes colour more vibrant whilst the matte coating subdues the colour slightly. Corporate cards tend to use matte.

LANDSCAPE
Referring to design the width is greater than the height. Portrait is the opposite.

LEAF
One sheet of paper in a book - each side of a leaf is one page.

LOGO
A symbol that identifies a brand or entity (a business, club or school for example) made up of letters and/or graphics and is unique to that entity.

MASK
A technique applied to ‘hide’ parts of an image that are unwanted, isolating the part you want to use.

METALLIC INK
Ink that contains powdered metal - Silver ink when printed simulates a soft metal sheen.

MOIRE EFFECT
An undesirable crisscross type pattern that happens when scanning an image that is already in dot form like magazine print or when screens aren’t aligned properly.

OFFSET PRINTING
A traditional method of printing where ink is transferred (offset) from a metal plate to a blanket to the paper.     

PAGES - PP
Pages per - includes printed and blanks - eg. 12pp is 12 sides - in a 12pp booklet this would mean: front cover (1), inside cover (2), pages 3-10, back inside cover (11) and back cover(12).

PROOF COPY
An artwork sample or test sheet given for error checking purposes before the job goes to final print. A press proof is different in that it is made on the press using all the elements of the job; plates, ink and paper and is costly.

PERFECT BINDING
A method of binding where the pages are glued down the edge, then glued into the cover which wraps from front to back around the book.

PMS - Pantone Matching System
Pantone® produce colour charts that are used by graphic designers and printers alike creating a multitude of colours that are identifiable by their Pantone number. For example: PMS 485 is red - PMS 372 is a pale green.

PORTRAIT
Referring to design the height is greater than the width. Landscape is the opposite.

PREPRESS
Submitted artwork is checked and prepared ready for printing on the press.

PRESS OR PRINT READY
Submitted artwork meets all the specifications for size, colour, bleed, image dpi etc. and can literally go straight to print without any amendments to file.

REAM
500 sheets of paper.

REGISTER
Referring to keeping the printing in correct alignment with margins, print or other objects on the page.

RESOLUTION
The sharpness of the image or text. A resolution of 300dpi gives good quality for images - a resolution of 72dpi will give a poor result with images pixelated and blurry.

REVERSE text
If you see red text on a white background, reversing would give you white text on a red background.

SELF SEAL envelope
These envelopes have a latex adhesive to the top and bottom flap so that when pressed together they seal instantly without the need for moisture.

SHOW THROUGH
When using lighter weight stocks the printing or images on the reverse side of the page can be seen through the sheet. 

SPOT COLOUR
This is coloured ink - a bit like paint...when you open the lid you see orange for example. This produces a solid area of colour and is usually more vibrant than a ‘cmyk’ mix.

STRIP SEAL or Peel & seal
The top flap has a strip of ‘waxy’ paper covering the adhesive which is peeled off and discarded before sealing to the bottom flap

TRIM MARKS
Small printed lines that indicate where the page needs to be trimmed down to size. Also known as cut or crop marks.

UP - eg 3 up
Multiple copies of the same thing on the same sheet. If ‘3 up’ you can see 3 items on the page. Sometimes referred to as 3 to view.

VARNISH coated
A coating applied over the printed sheet to help protect it from scuffing the ink. Spot varnish highlights a specific area of the page making it look glossy.

VIGNETTE
When a background colour or image gradually fades away to nothing.