Printing Definitions
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A4 Paper: ISO paper size 210 x 297mm used for Letterhead.
Accordion fold: Bindery term, two or more parallel folds which open like an accordion.
Acid-free Paper: Papermade from pulp containing little or no acid so it resists deterioration from age. Also called alkaline paper, archival paper, neutral pH paper, permanent paper and thesis paper.
Additive Color: color produced by light falling onto a surface, as compared to subtractive color. The additive primary colors are red, green and blue.
Advertising specialties: Items such as a calendars, coffee cups, hats, matchbooks and pencils printed with advertising.
Alteration: Change in copy of specifications after production has begun.
Antique Paper: Roughest finish offered on offset paper.
Archival Paper: Alternate term for acid-free paper.
Artwork: All original copy, including type, photos and illustrations, intended for printing. Also called art.
Author’s Corrections: Also know as “AC’s”. Changes and additions in copy after it has been typeset.
Back up: To make copies of important files in case the originals are damaged.Data can be backed up on external hard drives, floppy discs, CD-ROMs, tape, etc.
Basis weight: Weight in pounds of a ream of paper cut to the basic size for its grade.
Binary File: A file that contains codes that are not ASCII characters.A binary file could be a file with executable machine language code.Binary files must be encoded in order to transmit them over a network, and decoded on the receiving end.BinHex and uuencode are two programs which can be used to encode binary files.
Bind: To fasten sheets or signatures with wire, thread, glue. or by other means.
Bindery: Usually a department within a printing company responsible for collating, folding and trimming various printing projects.
bitmap: Computer image consisting of pixels or halftone dots.
Black Point: Reference point defining the darkest area in an image.
Bleed: Printing that extends to the edge of a sheet or page after trimming. When using “bleeds” you must allow for the art to extend 1/8” beyond the page border.
Blanket: Rubber-coated pad, mounted on a cylinder of an offset press, that receives the inked image from the plate and transfers it to the surface to be printed.
Blind embossing: An image pressed into a sheet without ink or foil.
Body Type: A type used for the main part or text of a printed piece, as distinguished from the heading.
Bond & Carbon: Business form with paper and carbon paper.
Bond Paper: A grade of writing or printing paper where strength, durability and permanence are essential requirements; used for letterheads, business forms, etc.
Brightness: In photography, light reflected by the copy. In paper, the reflectance or brilliance of the paper.
Bristol Paper: General term referring to paper six points or thicker with basis weight between 90# and 200#. Used for products such as index cards, file folders and displays.
Brochure: A pamphlet bound in booklet form.
Bullet: A dot or similar marking to emphasize text.
Burn: Exposing a printing plate to high intensity light or placing an image on a printing plate by light.
Byte: In computers, a unitof digital information, equivalent to on character or 8 to 32 bits
Camera-ready: Copy Mechanicals, photographs and art that are fully prepared for reproduction according to the technical requirements of the printing process being used.
Carbonless Pape: Paper coated with chemicals that enable transfer of images from one sheet to another with pressure from writing or typing.
CDROM: Acronym for Commpact Disc Read Only Memory. a CDROM drive uses the CD format as a cumputer storage meddium.
Chipboard: Solid (not corrugated) cardboard.
CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black): The subtractive process colors used in color printing. Black (K) is added to enhance color and contrast.
Coated Paper: Paper having a surface coating of clay and other substances which produces a smooth finish, improves reflectivity and ink holdout. Surfaces vary from eggshell to glossy. Mills produce coated paper in the four major categories cast, gloss, dull and matte.
Collate: To organize printed matter in a specific order as requested.
Color Balance: The correct combination of cyan, magenta and yellow to (1) reproduce a photograph without a color cast, (2) produce a neutral gray, or (3) reproduce the colors in the original scene or object.
color cast: Unwanted color affecting an entire image or portion of an image.
Color correction: Methods of improving color separations. To adjust the relationship among the process colors to achieve desirable colors.
Color Gamut: The entire range of hues possible to reproduce using a specific device or process.
Color Printing: Striclty speacking, multicolor printing in inks other than black. However, the term is used more generally describes any printing process that uses colored inks including Black and this emcompasses four color printing.
Color separations: The process of preparing artwork, photographs, transparencies, or computer generated art for printing by separating into the four primary printing colors.
Color Sequence: Order in which inks are printed. With process colors, the sheetfed sequence is often black first, then magenta, cyan, and yellow last. The web sequence is often cyan, magenta, yellow, with black either first or last. Also called laydown sequence and rotation
Color Shift: Change in image color resulting from changes in register, ink densities or dotgain.
Comb Bind: To bind by inserting the teeth of a flexible plastic comb through holes punched along the edge of a stack of paper.
Commercial Printer: Printer producing a wide range of products such as announcements, brochures, posters, booklets, stationery, business forms, books and magazines. Also called job printer because each job is different.
Composition: (1) In typography, the assembly of typographic elements, such as words and paragraphs, into pages ready for printing. (2) In graphic design, the arrangement of type, graphics and other elements on the page.
Compressed Files: Files with nonessential data deleted to make them easier to store and transmit.
Condition: To keep paper in the pressroom for a few hours or days before printing so that its moisture level and temperature equal that in the pressroom. Also called cure, mature and season.
Contrast: The tonal change in color from light to dark.
Copy: Any furnished material (typewritten manuscript, pictures, artwork, etc.) to be used in the production of printing.
Cover Paper: A term applied to a variety of papers used for the covers of catalogs, brochures, booklets and similar pieces.
Crop: To cut off parts of a picture or image.
Crop Marks: Printed lines showing where to trim a printed sheet.
CTP (Computer To Plate): In platemaking, Computer-to-Plate systems or platesetters eliminate the need for having a separate film-to-plate exposure system.
Curl: In paper, the distortion of a sheet due to differences in structure or coatings from one side to the other, or to absorption of moisture on an offset press.
Cure: To dry inks, varnishes or other coatings after printing to ensure good adhesion and prevent setoff.
Cut-Score: In die-cutting, a sharp edged knife, usually several thousandths of an inch lower than the ctting rules in a die, made to cut part way into the paper of board for folding purposes.
Cyan: One of the four process colors. Also known as process blue.
Data Compression: Technique of reducing the amount of storage required to hold a digital file to reduce the disk space the file requires and allow it to be processed or transmitted more quickly.
Desktop Publishing: Technique of using a personal computer to design images and pages, and assemble type and graphics, then using a laser printer or imagesetter to output the assembled pages onto paper, film or printing plate. Abbreviated DTP.
Die: Metal rule or imaged block used to cut or place an image on paper in the finishing process.
Diecutting: The process of using sharp steel rules to cut special shapes for labels, boxes and containers, from printed sheets. Diecutting can be done on either flatbed or rotary presses. Rotary diecutting is usually done inline with the printing.
Die Press: A machine that is used to die cut or emboss a shape into paper or board.
Die Stamping: A printing technique that uses a die to emboss a relief image onto a surface. Ink or metallic foil is generally used to add color, but if not the surface is said to be blind-stamped. Also known as relief stamping.
dye-based ink
Digital Printing: Printing by plateless imaging systems that are imaged by digital data from prepress systems.
Dot: An element of halftones. Using a loupe you will see that printed pictures are made many dots.
Dot Gain: Phenomenon of halftone dots printing larger on paper than they are on films or plates, reducing detail and lowering contrast. Also called dot growth, dot spread and press gain.
Dot Size: Relative size of halftone dots as compared to dots of the screen ruling being used. There is no unit of measurement to express dot size. Dots are too large, too small or correct only in comparison to what the viewer finds attractive.
Dots-per-inch: Measure of resolution of input devices such as scanners, display devices such as monitors, and output devices such as laser printers, imagesetters and monitors. The more dots per inch, the higher the resolution: 600 dpi would mean 600 x 600 = 360,000 dots per square inch. Abbreviated DPI. Also called dot pitch.
Drill: In the printing arena, to drill a whole in a printed matter.
Dull Finish: Flat (not glossy) finish on coated paper; slightly smoother than matte. Also called suede finish, velour finish and velvet finish.
Dummy: A rough layout of a printed piece showing position and finished size.
Duotone: A halftone picture made up of two printed colors.
Duplex Paper: Paper with a different color or finish on each side.
Electronic Image Assembly: Assembly of a composite image from portions of other images and/or other page elements using a computer.
Electronic Publishing: (1) Publishing by printing with device, such as a photocopy machine or ink jet printer, driven by a computer that can change the image instantly from one copy to the next. (2) Publishing via output on fax, computer bulletin board or other electronic medium, as compared to output on paper.
Emboss: Pressing an image into paper so that it will create a raised relief.
Engraving: Printing method using a plate, also called a die, with an image cut into its surface.
EPS (Encapsulated PostScript): In digital prepress, a file format used to transfer graphic images within compatible applications. A file containing structured PostScript code, comments and a screen display image.
Export: To convert a file from one application format to another, or to move data out of one file with the purpose of importing it into another file.
File Extension: A notation after the end of a file’s name which indicates the type of file it is.The extension follows a period; for example, LETTER.doc which is a Word document. Macintosh extensions can have more letters, or can be deleted.
Fine Papers: Papers made specifically for writing or commercial printing, as compared to coarse papers and industrial papers. Also called cultural papers and graphic papers.
Flush Left (or right): In composition, type set to line up at the left (or right). This page is set flush left and right.
Foil: A metallic or pigmented coating on plastic sheets or rolls used in foil stamping and foil embossing.
Foil Emboss: Foil stamping and embossing a image on paper with a die.
Foil Stamping: Using a die to place a metallic or pigmented image on paper.
Folder: A bindery machine dedicated to folding printed materials.
Fold Type: The type of fold used to complete your print job. A letter fold is a paper folded in thirds. A “z” fold differs in that the parts do not overlap but form a Z at the end. A parallel fold is a half fold, double parallel folds in half and then half again vs. a right angle where the second fold is done on a 90 degree angle from the first. Accordion fold is just more panels than the Z and similar. A gate fold is where the two end panels meet in the center with the center panel being the width equal to both end panels and a double gate folds in half towards the center after the initial gate fold.
Font: In composition, a complete assortment of letters, numbers, punctuations, etc., of a given size and design.
Font Family: A set of fonts of the same typeface but in different sizes and with different variations such as text, bold, italic, bold italic, demibold, etc.
Font Size: The size of the characters on the computer screen or on a printed page, usually measured in points.There are 72 points to an inch.Half-inch letters are therefore 36 points; quarter-inch letters are 18 points.Regular type in newspapers, reports, and letters is usually from 10 to 12 points; subheads are usually somewhere around 14 to 18 points; titles may be around 24 to 36 points; headlines can be 48 to 72 points or larger.
Format: The size, style, type page, margins, printing requirements, etc., of a printed piece.
Four-Color-Process : Printing Technique of printing that uses black, magenta, cyan and yellow to simulate full-color images. Also called color process printing, full color printing and process printing.
Gang: Getting the most out of a printing press by using the maximum sheet size to print multiple images or jobs on the same sheet. A way to save money.
Generation: Stages of reproduction from original copy. A first generation reproduction yields the best quality.
Gigabyte (GB): One billion bytes
Gloss: A shiny look reflecting light.
Graphic Arts: The crafts, industries and professions related to designing and printing on paper and other substrates.
Graphic Design: Arrangement of type and visual elements along with specifications for paper, ink colors and printing processes that, when combined, convey a visual message.
Graphics: Visual elements that supplement type to make printed messages more clear or interesting.
Gray Scale: Strip of gray values ranging from white to black. Used by process camera and scanner operators to calibrate exposure times for film and plates. Also called step wedge.
Gray Scale: Strip of gray values ranging from white to black. Used by process camera and scanner operators to calibrate exposure times for film and plates. Also called step wedge.
Gripper Edge: The leading edge of paper as it passes through a printing press. Also, the front edge of a lithographic or wrap-around plate secured to the front clamp of a plate cylinder.
Gripper Margin: Unprintable blank edge of paper on which grippers bear, usually 1/2” or less.
Grippers: In sheetfed printing presses, metal fingers that clamp on paper and control its flow as it passes through.
Gutter: The blank space or inner margin from printing area to binding.
Hairline (Rule): Subjective term referring to very small space, thin line or close register. A very thin line or gap about the width of a hair or 1/100 inch.
Halftone: Converting a continuous tone to dots for printing. The reproduction of continuous-tone images, through a screening process, which converts the image into dots of various sizes and equal spacing between centers (AM screening), or dots of equal size with variable spacing between them (FM screening).
Hard copy: The output of a computer printer, or typed text sent for typesetting.
Highlights: Lightest portions of a photograph or halftone, as compared to midtones and shadows.
HLS: Abbreviation for hue, lightness, saturation, one of the color-control options often found in software, for design and page assembly.
holes: Punching or die cutting holes to allow for binder or other use. Typical is 3 holes and 5 holes.
Hue: A specific color such as yellow or green.
Image Area: Portion of paper on which ink can appear.
Impression: (1) Referring to an ink color, one impression equals one press sheet passing once through a printing unit. (2) Referring to speed of a press, one impression equals one press sheet passing once through the press.
Indicia: Postal information place on a printed product.
Ink: A fluid comprising solving and oils (called a “medium” or “vehicle”) in which a finely ground pigment of plant dyes, minerals, or synthetic dyes is suspended to provide color. There are many different types of inks for the various printing processes.
Ink Jet Printing: Method of printing by spraying droplets of ink through computer-controlled nozzles. Also called jet printing.
Inserts: Within a publication, an additional item positioned into the publication loose (not bound in).
Italic: The style of letters that slant, in distinction from upright, or roman, letters. Used for emphasis within the text.
Job Number: A number assigned to a specific printing project in a printing company for use in tracking and historical record keeping.
Job Ticket: Form used by service bureaus, separators and printers to specify production schedule of a job and the materials it needs. Also called docket, production order and work order.
Jog: To align sheets of paper into a compact pile.
Justify: In composition, to space out lines uniformly to line up left and right.
Kerning: In typesetting, subtracting space between two characters, making them closer together.
Kilobyte (KB): 1,000 bytes
Laid Finish: Finish on bond or text paper on which grids of parallel lines simulate the surface of handmade paper. Laid lines are close together and run against the grain; chain lines are farther apart and run with the grain.
Laminate: A thin transparent plastic sheet (coating) applied to usually a thick stock (covers, post cards, etc.) providing protection against liquid and heavy use, and usually accents existing color, providing a glossy (or lens) effect.
Landscape: Artist style in which width is greater than height. (Portrait is opposite.)
Layout: A sample of the original providing (showing) position of printed work (direction, instructions) needed and desired.
Leading: Amount of space between lines of type.
Ledger Paper: A grade of business paper generally used for keeping records where it is subjected to appreciable wear so it requires a high degree of durability and permanence.
Line Copy: Any copy suitable for reproduction without using a halftone screen.
Linen Finish: Embossed finish on text paper that simulates the pattern of linen cloth.
LPI (lines per inch): The number of rows of dots per inch in a halftone.
Logotype (or logo): The name of a company or product in a special design used as a trademark in advertising.
Loupe: A magnifying glass used to review a printed image, plate and position film.
Lower Case: The small letters in type, as distinguished from the capital letters.
Machine Proof: A final ink proof made on a press similar to the one on which it will be printed. Also called a press proof.
Magenta: Process red, one of the basic colors in process color.
Magnetic Storage: Any Disc, film, tape, drum or core that is used to store digital information.
Marginal words: Call outs for directions on various parts of a business form.
Margin: Imprinted space around the edge of the printed material.
Mark-Up: Instructions written usually on a “dummy.”
Matte Finish: Dull paper finish without gloss or luster.
Megabyte (MB): One million bytes.
Metallic Ink: Ink containing powdered metal or pigments that simulate metal.
Metallic Paper: Paper coated with a thin film of plastic or pigment whose color and gloss simulate metal.
Midtones: In a photograph or illustration, tones created by dots between 30 percent and 70 percent of coverage, as compared to highlights and shadows.
Moire: Occurs when screen angles are wrong causing odd patterns in photographs.
Multicolor Printing: Printing in more than one ink color (but not four-color process).
Negative: The image on film that makes the white areas of originals black and black areas white.
Neutral Gray: Gray with no hue or cast.
News Prin: Paper used in printing newspapers, made mostly from groundwood pulp and small amounts of chemical pulp. Considered low quality and “a short life use.”
Number of Pages: This is different from how many sheets of paper. A single piece of paper has two sides and therefore is two pages.
Object-Oriented: An approach in drawing and layout programs that treats graphics as line and arc segments rather than individual dots. Also called vector oriented.
OCR (Optical Character Recognition): An electronic means of scanning (reading) copy and converting the scanned image to an electronic equivalent. The ability to “read” printed text (characters) and convert it to digitized files that can be saved on disk and edited as a text file.
Offset Printing: Printing technique that transfers ink from a plate to a blanket to paper instead of directly from plate to paper.
One-up: A single printing of a single signature or image on a press sheet.
Opacity: (1) Characteristic of paper or other substrate that prevents printing on one side from showing through the other side. (2) Characteristic of ink that prevents the substrate from showing through.
Opaque: (1) Not transparent. (2) To cover flaws in negative with tape or opaquing paint. Also called block out and spot.
Orphan: The first line of a paragraph appearing alone at the bottom of a page, with the rest of the paragraph continuing on the next page.Leaving an orphan line is considered bad style; it is better to have the first two lines of the paragraph, or move the beginning line to the next page.
Overprinting: Double printing; printing over an area that already has been printed.
Overrun or Overs: In printing, copies printed in excess of the specified quantity. (Printing trade terms allow for + /- 10% to represent a completed order.)
Output Ready Disk: A complete dick not requiring further production other then to “rip” to film or plate if on a digital press. It should also contain folders for all of your images fonts used.
Pages Count: Total number of pages in a book including blanks. This is different from how many sheets of paper. A single piece of paper has two sides and therefore is two pages.
Palette: The collection of colors or shades available to a graphic system or program.
PDF (Portable Document File): A proprietary format for the transfer of designs across multiple computer platforms. PDF is a universal electronic file format, modeled after the PostScript language and is device- and resolution-independent. Documents in the PDF format can be viewed, navigated, and printed from any computer regardless of the fonts or software programs used to create the original.
Perfect Bind: A type of binding that glues the edge of sheets to a cover like a telephone book or most software manuals.
Perforate: Taking place on a press or a binder machine, creating a line of small dotted wholes for the purpose of tearing-off a part of a printed matter (usually straight lines, vertical or horizontal).
Pica: Printer’s unit of measurement used principally in typesetting. One pica equals approximately 1/6”. There are 12 points to a pica.
Pickup Art: Artwork, used in a previous job, to be incorporated in a current job.
PICT: A standard data format in which most Macintosh illustrations are encoded.
Pixel: Short for “picture element.” A pixel is the smallest resolvable point of a raster image. It is the basic unit of digital imaging.
Pigment: In printing inks, the fine solid particles used to give inks color, transparency or opacity.
Plate: Piece of paper, metal, plastic or rubber carrying an image to be reproduced using a printing press.
Plate gap: Gripper space. The area where the grippers hold the sheet as it passes through the press.
Platemaking: The process of making an image on a printing plate by whatever means,
PMS (Pantone Matching Systems): Color charts that have hundreds of preprinted color patches of blended inks, used to identify, display or define special colors. Used to standardize colors througout the printing industry.
Point: For paper, a unit of thickness equaling 1/1000 inch. for typesetting, a unit of height equaling 1/72 inch. Used principally for designating type sizes. There are 12 points to a pica; approximately 72 points to an inch.
PostScript®: A page description language developed by Adobe Systems, Inc. to describe an image for printing. It handles both text and graphics. The computer language most recognized by printing devices.
Prepress: Camera work, color separations, stripping, platemaking and other prepress functions performed by the printer, separator or a service bureau prior to printing. Also called preparation.
Press: Any machine that transfers (prints) an impression, traditionally a from a former block, plate, or blanket onto paper or other material.
Press number: A method of numbering manufacturing business forms or tickets.
Pressure-sensitive paper: Paper material with self sticking adhesive covered by a backing sheet.
Press Proof: Proof made on press using the plates, ink and paper specified for the job. Also called strike off and trial proof.
Press Time: (1) Amount of time that one printing job spends on press, including time required for makeready. (2) Time of day at which a printing job goes on press.
Price Break: Quantity at which unit cost of paper or printing drops.
Printing: Any process that transfers to paper or another substrate an image from an original such as a film negative or positive, electronic memory, stencil, die or plate.
Print Quality: A term describing the visual impression of a printed piece. In paper, the properties of the paper that affect its appearance and the quality of reproduction.
Process Blue: The blue or cyan color in process printing.
Process colors: Cyan (blue), magenta (process red), yellow (process yellow), black (process black).
Production Run: Press run intended to manufacture products as specified, as compared to makeready.
Proof: Test sheet made to reveal errors or flaws, predict results on press and record how a printing job is intended to appear when finished.
Proofreader Marks: Standard symbols and abbreviations used to mark up manuscripts and proofs. Also called correction marks.
Quality: Subjective term relating to expectations by the customer, printer and other professionals associated with a printing job and whether the job meets those expectations.
Quotation: Price offered by a printer to produce a specific job.
Ragged left: Type that is justified to the right margin and the line lengths vary on the left.
Ragged right: Type that is justified to the left margin and the line lengths vary on the right.
RIP (raster image processor): In digital imaging, a combination of computer software and hardware that controls the printing process by calculating the bitmaps of images and instructing a printing device to create the images. Most PostScript systems use a hardware RIP built into the printer.
Ream: Five hundred sheets of paper.
Recycled Paper: New paper made entirely or in part from old paper.
Register: To position print in the proper position in relation to the edge of the sheet and to other printing on the same sheet.
Register Marks: Cross-hair lines on mechanicals and film that help keep flats, plates, and printing in register. Also called crossmarks and position marks.
Resolution: Sharpness of an image on film, paper, computer screen, disc, tape or other medium.
Reverse: The opposite of what you see. Printing the background of an image. For example; type your name on a piece of paper. The reverse of this would be a black piece of paper with a white name.
RGB (Red, Green and Blue): The primary additive colors used in display devices and scanners. Commonly used to refer to the color space, mixing system or monitor in color computer graphics.
Right-angle Fold: In binding, a term used for two or more folds that are at 90° angles to each other.
Rule: Line used as a graphic element to separate or organize copy.
Saddle Stitch: To bind by stapling sheets together where they fold at the spine, as compared to side stitch. Also called pamphlet stitch, saddle wire and stitch bind.
Scaling: Determining the proper size of an image to be reduced or enlarged to fit an area.
Satin Finish: Alternate term for dull finish on coated paper.
Scanner: Device used to make color separations, halftones, duo tones and tri tones. Also a device used to scan art, pictures or drawings in desktop publishing.
Score: To compress paper along a straight line so it folds more easily and accurately. Also called crease.
Serif : The short cross-lines at the ends of the main strokes of many letters in some typefaces.
Separations: Usually in the four-color process arena, separate film holding qimages of one specific color per piece of film. Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. Can also separate specific PMS colors through film.
Shade: Hue made darker by the addition of black, as compared to tint.
Shadows: Darkest areas of a photograph or illustration, as compared to midtones and high-lights.
Sheetfed Press: Press that prints sheets of paper, as compared to a web press.
Show-through: In printing, the undesirable condition in which the printing on the reverse side of a sheet can be seen through the sheet under normal lighting conditions.
Side stitch: To bind by stapling through sheets along, one edge, as compared to saddle stitch. Also called cleat stitch and side wire.
Skid: A platform support for a pile of cut sheets of paper.
Solid: Any area of the sheet receiving 100 percent ink coverage, as compared to a screen tint.
Specifications: A precise description of a print order.
Spiral Binding: A book bound with wires in spiral form inserted through holes punched along the binding side.
Spoilage: Paper that, due to mistakes or accidents, must be thrown away instead of delivered printed to the customer, as compared to waste.
Spot Color or Varnish: One ink or varnish applied to portions of a sheet, as compared to flood or painted sheet. Spot color any color used for printing that has been “custom mixed” for the job, as opposed to one of the four standard process colors.
Stamping: Term for foil stamping.
Step-and-repeat: A procedure for placing the same image on plates in multiple places.
Stock: Paper or other material to be printed.
TIFF (tagged image file format): A file format for graphics suited for representing scanned images and other large bitmaps. TIFF is a neutral format designed for compatibility with all applications. TIFF was created specifically for storing grayscale images, and it is the standard format for scanned images such as photographs - now called TIFF/IT.
Text: The body matter of a page or book, as distinguished from the headings.
Text Paper: Designation for printing papers with textured surfaces such as laid or linen. Some mills also use ‘text’ to refer to any paper they consider top-of-the-line, whether or not its surface has a texture.
Thermography: Method of printing using colorless resin powder that takes on the color of underlying ink. Also called raised printing.
Tints: A shade of a single color or combined colors. A shade of a single color or combined colors.
Transfer tape: A peel and stick tape used in business forms.
Trapping: In printing, the ability to print a wet ink film over previously printed ink. Dry trapping is printing wet ink over dry ink. Wet trapping is printing wet ink over previously printed wet ink. In prepress, refers to how much overprinting colors overlap to eliminate white lines between colors in printing. See chokes and spreads.
Trim Marks: In printing, marks placed on the copy to indicate the edge of the page.
Trim Size: The final size of one printed image after the last trim is made.
Uncoated Pape: Paper that has not been coated with clay. Also called offset paper.
Under-run: Production of fewer copies than ordered. See over run.
Up: Term to indicate multiple copies of one image printed in one impression on a single sheet. “Two up” or “three up” means printing the identical piece twice or three times on each sheet.
Varnish: A clear liquid applied to printed surfaces for looks and protection. (UV coating looks better.)
Vector art: An approach in drawing and layout programs that treats graphics as line and arc segments rather than individual dots. Also called object oriented.
Vegetable Ink: An ecologically sound printing ink made from vegetable oils.
Vellum Finish : a toothy finish which is relatively absorbent for fast ink penetration.
Vignette: An illustration in which the background fades gradually away until it blends into the paper.
Virgin Paper: Paper made exclusively of pulp from trees or cotton, as compared to recycled paper.
Washup: Removing printing ink from a press, washing the rollers and blanket. Certain ink colors require multiple washups to avoid ink and chemical contamination.
Waste: Planned unusable paper or paper damage during normal makeready, printing or binding operations, as compared to spoilage.
Watermark: A distinctive design created in paper at the time of manufacture that can be easily seen by holding the paper up to a light.
Widow: In composition, a single word or part of a word on a line by itself, ending a paragraph, or starting a page, frowned upon in good typography.
Work and tumble: Printing one side of a sheet and turning it over from the gripper to the tail to print the second side using the same side guide and plate for the second side.
Work and turn: Printing one side of a sheet and turning it over from left to right ussing the same side guides and plate for the second side.
Wove Paper: Paper having a uniform unlined surface and a soft smooth finish..
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