We’re all about solving your printing needs. We make sure the vision you have comes to realization on paper and surpasses the results you demand.
Because of the size of our glossary, we have broken it out by letter. Please use the letter navigation below to locate the term(s) you are interested in.
Abbreviations for coated one side and coated two sides.
To make the surface of paper smooth by pressing it between rollers during manufacturing.
(1) Thickness of paper or other substrate expressed in thousandths of an inch (mils or points), pages per inch (ppi), thousandths of a millimeter (microns) or pages per centimeter (ppc).
(2) Device on a sheetfed press that detects double sheets or on a binding machine that detects missing signatures or inserts.
Mechanicals, photographs and art fully prepared for reproduction according to the technical requirements of the printing process being used. Also called finished art and reproduction copy.
Business using a process camera to make photostats, halftones, plates and other elements for printing. Also called prep service and trade camera service.
Paper coated with chemicals that enable transfer of images from one sheet to another with pressure from writing or typing.
Selling unit of paper that may weigh anywhere from 20,000 to 100,000 pounds (9,090 to 45, 454 kilos), depending on which mill or merchant uses the term. Abbreviated CL.
Selling unit of paper weighing approximately 150 pounds (60 kilos). A carton can contain anywhere from 500 to 5,000 sheets, depending on the size of sheets and their basis weight.
Covers and spine that, as a unit, enclose the pages of a casebound book.
To bind using glue to hold signatures to a case made of binder board covered with fabric, plastic or leather. Also called cloth bind, edition bind, hard bind and hard cover.
High gloss, coated paper made by pressing the paper against a polished, hot, metal drum while the coating is still wet.
Coated paper rated #4 or #5 with basis weight from 35# to 50# (50 to 75 gsm) commonly used for catalogs and magazines.
(1) Alternate term for elliptical dot, so called because midtone dots touch at two points, so look like links in a chain. (2) Generic term for any midtone dots whose corners touch.
(1) Widely spaced lines in laid paper.
(2) Blemishes on printed images caused by tracking.
Deterioration of a printed image caused by ink that absorbs into paper too fast or has long exposure to sun, and wind making printed images look dusty. Also called crocking.
(1) Production copy of a publication verified by the customer as printed, finished and bound correctly.
(2) One set of gathered book signatures approved by the customer as ready for binding.
Technique of slightly reducing the size of an image to create a hairline trap or to outline. Also called shrink and skinny.
Strength of a color as compared to how close it seems to neutral gray. Also called depth, intensity, purity and saturation.
A mark used to indicate closing space between characters or words. Usually used in proofing stages.
Abbreviation for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black), the four process colors.
Halftone screen with ruling of 65, 85 or 100 lines per inch (26, 34 or 40 lines centimeter).
Paper with a coating of clay and other substances that improves reflectivity and ink holdout. Mills produce coated paper in the four major categories cast, gloss, dull and matte.
To organize printed matter in a specific order as requested.
Mostly in the book arena, specific marks on the back of signatures indicating exact position in the collating stage.
Refers to amounts of process colors that simulate the colors of the original scene or photograph.
Press sheets printed with photos or illustrations, but without type. Also called shells.
In multicolor printing, the point, line or space at which one ink color stops and another begins. Also called break for color.
Unwanted color affecting an entire image or portion of an image.
Strip of small blocks of color on a proof or press sheet to help evaluate features such as density and dot gain. Also called color bar, color guide and standard offset color bar.
To adjust the relationship among the process colors to achieve desirable colors.
Instructions in computer software that allow users to change or correct colors. Also called HLS and HVS tables.
Computer, scanner, printer and other hardware and software designed for image assembly, color correction, retouching and output onto proofing materials, film or printing plates. Abbreviated CEPS.
The entire range of hues possible to reproduce using a specific device, such as a computer screen, or system, such as four-color process printing.
Brand name for an overlay color proof. Sometimes used as a generic term for any overlay color proof.
Way of categorizing and describing the infinite array of colors found in nature.
(1) Technique of using a camera, scanner or computer to divide continuous-tone color images into four halftone negatives.
(2) The product resulting from color separating and subsequent four-color process printing. Also called separation.
Order in which inks are printed. Also called laydown sequence and rotation.
Change in image color resulting from changes in register, ink densities or dot gain during four-color process printing.
Film (transparent) used as art to perform color separations.
To bind by inserting the teeth of a flexible plastic comb through holes punched along the edge of a stack of paper. Also called plastic bind and GBC bind (a brand name).
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.
The second or additional flat(s) used when making composite film or for two or more burns on one printing plate.
Mechanical on which copy for reproduction in all colors appears on only one surface, not separated onto overlays. Composite art has a tissue overlay with instructions that indicate color breaks.
Film made by combining images from two or more pieces of working film onto one film for making one plate.
Proof of color separations in position with graphics and type. Also called final proof, imposition proof and stripping proof.
(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.
Simulation of a printed piece complete with type, graphics and colors. Also called color comprehensive and comp.
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.
Device with lights, timing mechanism and vacuum frame used to make contact prints, duplicate film, proofs and plates. Also called platemaker and vacuum frame.
All photographs and those illustrations having a range of shades not made up of dots, as compared to line copy or halftones. Abbreviated contone.
The degree of tones in an image ranging from highlight to shadow.
Business that makes products such as boxes, bags, envelopes and displays.
Surface or frame on a process camera that holds copy in position to be photographed.
Thick paper that protects a publication and advertises its title. Parts of covers are often described as follows: Cover 1=outside front; Cover 2=inside front; Cover 3=inside back, Cover 4=outside back.
Extent to which ink covers the surface of a substrate. Ink coverage is usually expressed as light, medium or heavy.
Category of thick paper used for products such as posters, menus, folders and covers of paperback books.
Coarse cloth embedded in the glue along the spine of a book to increase strength of binding. Also called gauze, mull and scrim.
Phenomenon of middle pages of a folded signature extending slightly beyond outside pages. Also called feathering, outpush, push out and thrust. See also Shingling.
Lines near the edges of an image indicating portions to be reproduced. Also called cut marks and tic marks.
Type or art that continues from one page of a book or magazine across the gutter to the opposite page. Also called bridge, gutter bleed and gutter jump.
To dry inks, varnishes or other coatings after printing to ensure good adhesion and prevent setoff.
Employee of a printer, service bureau, separator or other business who coordinates projects and keeps customers informed. Abbreviated CSR.
Circumference of the impression cylinder of a web press, therefore also the length of the printed sheet that the press cuts from the roll of paper.
Paper sizes used with office machines and small presses.
A machine that cuts stacks of paper to desired sizes. The machine can also be used in scoring or creasing.
Usually a custom ordered item to trim specific and unusual sized printing projects.
Abbreviation for hundredweight using the Roman numeral C=100.
One of the four process colors. Also known as process blue.
