Absorbancy

The capacity a paper has for accepting liquids, like the inks or water used to run offset lithographic presses.

Accordion Fold

A term for two or more parallel folds on a printed sheet, which then opens like an accordion.

Acetate

An Acetate sheet is a high quality, clear/transparent sheet of plastic. Acetate sheets are commonly used as a layer in multi-layer artworks. Acetate is also used for ""overhead"" transparency printing. (Also referred to as Mylar and clear layout base.)

Acid Resist

An acid-proof protective coating applied to metal plates prior to etching designs thereon. Bichromated solutions employed in photoengraving as sensitizers provide acid resist through the action of light on sensitized surface.

Acid-free paper

Paper manufactured on a paper machine with the wet-end chemistry controlled to a neutral or slightly alkaline pH.

Actual Weight

The true weight of any volume of paper. The actual weight of paper is used to determine both purchase price and shipping costs.

Additives

Ingredients of paper other than pulp. Additives include clay fillers, dyes, sizing, and other chemicals.

Alignment

Orientation of type with regard to edges of the column or paper, such as aligned right (flush right), aligned left (flush left), and aligned on center (centered).

Alkaline Papermaking

The manufacture of paper under alkaline conditions using additives, caustic fillers like calcium, and neutral size. Alkaline paper is usually used where aging resistance is desired. It's the logical choice for documents, books, and maps.

Alley

Space between images or columns of type on a page, as compared to gutter.

Alum

Also called hydrated aluminum sulfate or papermaker's alum. A papermaking chemical that's typically used when adding rosin size to pulp, alum imparts water-resistant properties to paper. In practical terms, it keeps paper from clinging to the presses.

Aqueous Coating

A water-based coating applied after printing, either while the paper is still on press (""in line""), or after it's off press. An aqueous coating usually gives a gloss, dull, or matte finish, and helps prevent the underlying ink from rubbing off. Unlike a UV coating or a varnish, an aqueous coating will accept ink-jet printing, making it a natural choice for jobs that require printing addresses for mass mailings.

Archival Paper

Paper that's alkaline and won't deteriorate over time. Archival papers must meet national standards for permanence

Art Director

The individual responsible for overseeing the creative and production process and managing other creative individuals.

Art work

Illustrative materials, paste-ups, mechanicals.

Ascender

Part of lowercase letters, such as h and b, that rises above its x height.

Backed Up

Printing the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side.

Backing Up

Paper that's alkaline and won't deteriorate over time. Archival papers must meet national standards for permanence

Banding

Defect in halftone screens or screen tints output by laser printers or image setters in which parallel breaks (stair steps) or streaks appear in the dot pattern.

Banner

Large headline, usually across the full width of a page.

Base Art

Copy pasted up on the mounting board of a mechanical, as compared to overlay art. Base art usually has the copy to be printed using black ink.

Baseline

Imaginary line, under a line of type, used to align characters.

Basic Size

The customary sheet size used to establish the basis weight of a ream (500 sheets) of a given grade of paper. Standard basic sizes vary by paper grade. For example, the basic size of book paper is 25""x38"", while the basic size of cover stock is 20""x26"".

Basis Weight

The weight, in pounds, of a ream (500 sheets) of paper cut to a given standard (basic size). Each major paper grade, like cover, bond, or offset, has its own basic sheet size, which determines its basis weight. For example, the basic size of book paper is 25""x38"" for 500 sheets; therefore, 500 sheets of 70lb. Offset book paper in 25""x38"" will actually weigh 70 pounds.

Benday

A method of laying a screen (dots, lines, and other textures) on artwork, film, or plates to obtain various tones and shadings.

Binding

Fastening papers together for easy reading, transport, and protection. Papers may be bound together with a variety of materials, like wire, thread, glue, and plastic combs.

Black Plate Change

By changing the black plate on a process printing press, black text and headlines are easily changed without affecting the color.

Blade Coating

A method of coating paper and paperboard using a flexible blade to control the amount of coating applied to the paper. The coating is made of pigments, additives, and adhesives. Blade-coating can take place either on the papermaking machine or on an off-machine coater. While paper may be coated on one side (C1S) or both sides (C2S), blade-coated papers are usually calendared. This helps create a compressed sheet with a glossy surface, reduced bulk, and enhanced printed properties.

Blanket

The cylinder of an offset printing press, covered with a fabric-reinforced sheet of rubber, which transfers the impression from the plate to the paper. The opposing cylinder, which holds the paper against the blanket, is called the Impression Cylinder.

Bleach Filtrate Recycling (BFR) Process

Patented process that recycles process wastes from the bleach plant instead of discharging them to the waste water treatment facility.

Bleaching

A chemical treatment used to whiten and purify pulp. Bleached pulp is known for being strong and durable.

Bleed

An image or printed color that runs off the trimmed edge of a page. Bleeding one or more edges of a printed page generally increases both the amount of paper needed and the overall production cost of a printed job. Bleeds are created by trimming the page after printing.

Blind Emboss

Stamping raised letters or images into paper using pressure and a die, but without using foil or ink to add color to the raised areas. Braille is an example of blind embossing. "

Blow Up

An enlargement.

Blueline

A printer's proof, actually blue on white paper. All AAs and corrections should have been made prior to seeing a blueline. "

BMP

A computer graphics format ""Bitmap IBM format"" not generally used in professional printing.

Boiler Plate

Repetitive blocks of type that are picked up and included routinely without recreating them.

Bold Type

Type that appears darker than the next type of the same typeface.

Bond Paper

A type of office reprographic paper, widely used for letterheads and business forms. Bond papers are characterized by strength, durability, and performance during electronic printing. They are manufactured with a basic size of 17""x22"". "

Bonding Strength

The internal strength of a paper; the ability of the fibers within a paper to hold to one another. Bonding strength measures the ability of the paper to hold together on the printing press. Good bonding strength prevents fibers from coming loose picking.

Book Paper

A type of offset paper with a basic size of 25""x38"". The primary applications for these products are book publishing, commercial printing, direct mail, technical documents, and manuals. "

Brightness

The reflectivity of pulp, paper, or paperboard under test conditions, using a specially calibrated measuring instrument. If paper lacks brightness it will absorb too much light, so little will reflect back through the ink. "

Bristol Paper

Solid or laminated heavyweight paper made to a caliper thickness of .006"" or higher. Bristols are generally used for tags, covers, and file folders and have a basic size of 24.5""x30.5"". "

Build a Color

To overlap two or more screen tints to create a new color. Such an over-lap is called a build, color build, stacked screen build, or tint build. "

Bulk

The thickness of a stack of paper, technically measured as the thickness of a specified number of sheets under a specified pressure. For example, using the measurement of an inch, it may take less that 100 bulky bristol sheets to make an inch- deep pile. On the other hand, it might take hundreds of sheets to make an inch of a lower-bulk text paper. Where thickness or the illusion of substance is a desired effect, bulk is a key factor. "

Bullet

Bold dot used for typographic emphasis or to identify elements in a list.

Burn

To expose photo sensitive media to light, ie., burning a negative or Burning a printing plate. Also, to dodge and ""burn"" a photo print (makes the image darker in an area that is burned, ads detail to lightly exposed areas). "

Burnish

Creating a polished finish on paper by rubbing with stone or hand smooth surface.

C1S

A trade acronym for Coated 1 (one) Side. C1S stock is typically card/cover weight. It is commonly used for post cards and flyers. The lack of coating makes writing on the uncoated side much easier.

C2S

Paper that is coated on both sides (coated two sides). Calcium Carbonate CaCO3

Calendering

The process of finishing a sheet of dried paper by pressing it between the highly polished metal cylinders of a calendar ""stack"". The calendar smooths the paper by compression.

Caliper

The thickness of a single sheet of paper, as measured with a sensitive tool called a micrometer, and expressed in units of thousandths of an inch. Caliper is a critical measure of uniformity. Excessive variation in caliper can lead to print variation, undesirable visual effects, and uneven stretch or press-feeding problems. It can also create problems in folding and binding.

Call Out

A number, letter, or combination thereof (sometimes printed in reverse) placed outside a specific element on a page, then attached by a line or arrow to the part of the illustration to which it refers. Descriptive information appears elsewhere on the page or on a following page.

Camera Ready Type and/or Artwork

Type or artwork that has been pasted into position, laser prints, or other artwork to be photographed for plate ready film. Final film for line art and text is usually produced with a camera shot rather than a scan. This photographic process is quicker, less expensive, and provides a higher quality output than a scan. Artwork that has all type, line-art and graphics in place, and is ready to be photographed is said to be camera ready.

Cap Height

Height of capital letters in one type size of a font.

Caption

Identifying or descriptive text accompanying a photograph, illustration, map, chart or other visual element. Also called cutline, legend and underline.

Card Stock

A stiff or rigid paper stock. Card (also referred to as Cover) stock is often used for post cards, catalog covers and other items which require rigidity. Card stock is usually described by a ""Point"" size. Point designations state the thickness of the sheet in thousandths of inches (0.001""). For example, 10 pt card is 0.010"" thick, 12 pt is .012"" and so on. Card stock can also be described by pound weights. Standard US pound (#) weight is determined as the weight of 500, 20"" x 26"" sheets. (Text stock is measured differently than card and assumes 500 sheets of 25"" x 38"" to determine pound weight).

Cast Coating

Paper produced with a surface that is a reasonably accurate replication of some other surface. To manufacture cast-coated paper, a paper web with wet or moistened coating is brought into contact with a polished chrome drum surface, which is replicated in the coated sheet. There are two basic cast-coating technologies

Cellulose Fiber

The main component of the walls of all plant cells, cellulose gives plants their structural support and makes plant material fibrous. Both cotton and wood fibers are mostly made up of cellulose.

Character

Any letter, numeral, punctuation mark or other alphanumeric symbol.

Chemical Pulping

Manufacturing pulp by pressure-cooking wood or other raw fibrous material into its component parts with solutions of various chemical liquors. The predominant chemical pulping process is the sulfate (kraft) process.

Choke (Choking)

When trapping color closing in an area that has another color inside so the choked color overlaps, also spreading.

Chromalin

A color proofing system, usually the final color proof before going on the press. This is a high quality proof and all corrections and alterations should be made prior to this.

Clay

A naturally occurring substance commonly used in the paper industry. Clay is used as both a filler and a coating ingredient. By adding clay, papermakers can improve a paper's smoothness, brightness, opacity, and affinity for ink. See also additives, coated paper, filler, opacity.

CMYK

Abbreviation for the four process color inks

Coated Paper

Paper with an outer layer of coating applied to one of both sides. The coating may be added while the paper is still moving through the papermaking machine, or after it comes off the machine. Coated papers are available in a variety of finishes, like gloss, dull, and matte. They tend to have good ink holdout and minimal dot gain, which can be especially important for recreating sharp, bright images, black and white halftones, and four-color process images. The smooth surface of coated papers also helps to reflect light evenly. See also cast coating, clay, dot gain, dull coated, four-color process, gloss, halftone, ink holdout, matte coated, off-machine coating.

Coated Stock

To enhance quality and printability most paper used in full color printing is ""coated"". This coating allows the paper to be printed without significant ink absorption. This lack of absorption assures that the ink doesn't run or spread and cause blurriness or lack of contrast.

Collating Marks

Black step-marks printed on the back of folded sheets, to facilitate collating and checking of the sequence of book signatures.

Color Build

Specific colors can be ""built"" by using different combinations of the four process ink colors. For example, PMS 185, (bright red) can be built by combining 0% Cyan, 91% Magenta, 76% Yellow, and 0% Black. Color builds are often used for background, text and graphics where it is important that the color remain very consistent over the entire piece.

Color Key

A printer's proof usually used for viewing the individual layers of C, M, Y & K, four sheets of colored acetate, for examining the quality of process color separations.

Color Print

A photographic print, as opposed to transparency.

Color Separation

The process of separating color originals into the primary color components in negative or positive form. Each color to be printed must have its own printing plate. Usually referred to in a photographic sense a color separation of a photo done either digitally or traditionally on a scanner.

Color-curve System

A color matching system based on light reflectance curves rather than on ink formulations. It is intended to coordinate colors across a variety of surfaces and materials and to reduce metamerism.

Colorfastness

Having color that won't run when wet, and won't fade in bright light.

Colors Bar

Rectangles of color printed on press sheets and color proofs to check the ink densities, trapping, and other technical factors required to conform to quality standards.

Column Gutter

Space between two or more columns of type on one page.

Commercial Register

Color printing on which misregister is permissible, plus or minus one row of dots.

Comp (Comprehensive)

A complete but prospective example of a design project, demonstrating size, layout of images and type, use of color, and paper.

Composite Film

Complete separations ready for printing are referred to as composite film. Composite film is usually created from separations by a process called stripping.

Composite Image

A photograph or other graphic image, that is made of a combination of multiple images. "

Composition

The assembly of characters into words, lines and paragraphs of text or body matter for reproduction by printing.

Condensed Type

Characters relatively narrow in proportion to their height, thus seeming tall and tightly spaced. "

Contact Print

A photographic print made from either a negative or a positive in contact with sensitized paper, film, or printing plate. "

Continuous Tone

Having an unbroken range of intensities, as found in black and white photographs. Continuous tone images have not been screened, and contain gradient tones from black to white. "

Contrast

The degree of difference between light and dark areas in an image. Extreme lights and darks give an image high contrast. An image with a wide tonal range has lover contrast.

Conversion

The process of creating a three-dimensional (3D) item from a flat sheet of paper; ie. envelope conversion / box conversion.

Copy

The written information and other text used in advertising and printed material.

Copyfitting

Calculation of how much space a given amount of copy will occupy in a given size and typeface; also, adjustment of the type size to make it fit in a given amount of space. "

Copyright

A group of legal rights granted to the author or creator of written or visual work. All work appearing with the © symbol or the word ""copyright"" is protected by its creator or his heirs. "

Copyright Notice

Statement of copyright ownership that has the word ""copyright"" or symbol C, the year of publication, and the name of the copyright owner. For example, ""Copyright 1999 Nikko Media."" "

Copywriter

The individual who writes the written information or ""copy"" for an advertisement, newsletter, publication or brochure. "

Cotton Paper

Paper with a minimum cotton fiber content of 25%, and a maxi- mum fiber content of 100%. When fiber other than cotton is used, the balance comes from wood pulp. Cotton pulp is made from rags or clippings from textile mills, raw cotton, and cotton linters. Cotton papers are primarily used as writing papers. "

Cover Paper

Heavier, generally stiffer paper commonly used for book covers, folders, greeting cards, business cards, and brochures. Uncoated cover papers generally match the color and finish of corresponding text papers. The basic size of cover stock is 20""x26"". "

Cover Stock

See cover stock.

Creep

Result of added thickness of folded sheets being behind one another in a folded signature. Outer edges of sheets creep away from back most fold as more folded sheets are inserted inside the middle.

Crop

Reduce in size by removing a part of the image.

Crop Marks

Crop marks show where a page, photo or transparency is to be cut. Crop marks determine which sections of a photo or transparency should be reproduced when only part of the original image is desired. "

Cross Marks

Register marks, for accurate positioning of images in step-and-repeat, double, or multi-color printing; also, in superimposing overlays onto a base or to each other. "

Cross-over

Elements that cross page boundaries and land on two consecutive pages (usually rules).

Curl

The waviness of a sheet of paper generally seen along its edges. Curling is generally the result of physical stresses or changes in humidity, and may occur at the paper mill, in the pressroom, on press, or after binding. Paper tends to curl along, rather than across, the grain of the paper. Recycled and recycled content papers have less tendency to curl than virgin fiber papers because their fibers are shorter. "

Cut-size

Writing or business papers that are cut to a finished size of 8.5""x11"", 8.5""x14"", or 11""x17"". Cut-size papers are usually packed in reams of 500 sheets before leaving the mill. "

Cutter

Machine for accurately cutting stacks of paper to desired dimensions...can also be used to crease. Also trims out final bound books top size (soft cover).

Cutting Die

Sharp edged device usually made of steel rule, to cut paper, cardboard, etc., on a printing press. "

Cylinder

A type of papermaking machine. Wire covered cylinders are rotated through a vat of pulp, and paper is formed as the water drains from the cylinder. Cylinder machines are mostly used for manufacturing paperboard. Multicylinder machines are capable or producing multi-layered paperboard (one layer for each cylinder). see also paperboard, papermaking."

Dandy Roll

A wire mesh cylinder used to smooth the top of paper as it forms. Enhancing both surface smoothness and formation, the dandy roll may also carry a design, which will create a watermark, identifying the sheet. "

De-inking

Removing ink and other finishing materials, like coatings, sizings, and adhesives from printed paper. The complex de-inking process is what makes recycling paper difficult and ultimately adds to the cost of a recycled sheet of paper. To produce high-quality recycled or recycled content papers for printing and writing, the de-inking process needs to be thorough. The goal is to end up with reusable fiber that has few impurities, since impurities lower the quality of a recycled sheet and can sometimes damage equipment in the papermaking and printing process. Modern offset and flexographic ink, photocopier and laser printing ""ink,"" ultraviolet and thermography coatings, and adhesives make it increasingly difficult to de-ink paper. "

Debossing

Pressing letters or illustrations into a sheet of paper using a metal or plastic die to create a depressed (debossed) image.

Deckle Edge

The feathery edge on a sheet of paper, created as the paper machine sprays a stream of water or a jet of air across the paper as it's being formed. Deckle edges can also be created after the paper is made, using a die. This method creates a less feathery, harder-edged deckle. "

Densitometer

An instrument used throughout a print run to measure the optical density of ink on paper.

Density

The weight of a sheet of paper as compared to its bulk. For example, a paper that weighs more than another paper but is thinner has a higher density. Compacting the fibers creates a dense paper. "

Descender

Portion of a lowercase letter falling below its baseline.

Desktop Publishing

A process for creating camera ready and plate ready artwork on a personal computer.

Die-cutting

Using a formed, meta-edged die to precision cut, or to cut shapes into a piece of paper. If a printing project requires a custom-made die, the total cost of the job will increase. "

Digital Imaging

The process of creating a digital output of an illustration, photographic image, computer file or other computer generated materials. Output media can be film, paper, transparencies, vinyl and other materials. "

Digital Photography

The process of recording images using a digital camera or a conventional camera with a digital adapter, it records on a disk or on microchip which can then be downloaded directly to a computer in tiff, pict or eps format. "

Digital Printing

A type of printing which uses digital imaging process that transfers the image directly onto plain paper immediately, without traditional offset rollers and plates. "

Dimensional Stability

A measure of paper's tendency to stretch or shrink, especially when affected by changes in moisture content from humidity, the printing process, or even the passage of time. Paper that maintains its original dimensions has a high degree of dimensional stability. "

Display Type

Type used for headlines, advertising and signs. Also called headline type. "

Dot

The individual element of a halftone or screen.

Dot Compensation

Adjusting the size of the dots in halftones or four-color images to allow for dot gain and to ensure that the color and detail of the image print as intended.

Dot Gain

A printing term which describes wet ink coming in contact with paper and spreading as it is transfers. As the halftone dots are applied to the paper, the wet ink spreads, causing the dots to increase in size and halftones to appear darker. Paper weight, type of paper (coated or uncoated), press type (especially web presses), affect the amount of dot gain in a given printed piece. Dot gain may be compensated for by calculating its effect before a print job and lessen the density of the images to be printed before you output film. "

DPI (dots per inch)

The number of dots that fit horizontally and vertically into a one- inch measure. Computer based image setters create film with dot patterns. Generally, the more dots per inch, the more detail is captured, and the sharper the resulting image. 300 or 600 d.p.i. is okay for reproducing line work, though screens and halftones are another matter. Dot-gain must also be factored in. "

Drilling

Holes for three ring binding are drilled, rather than punched. The standard hole punch used in most offices can only punch a few sheets at a time. However, a specialized drilling machine performs the same function on up to 1000 sheets in a single pass. "

Drop Folio

Page number printed at foot of page.

Drop Shadow

Screen tint or rule touching an illustration, box or type to give a three-dimensional shadow effect. Also called flat shadow. "

Drop-in Color

Changing the color of the original line drawing or text (usually black) to a new color is sometimes referred to as a Drop-in Color. Most often used to create text and background colors.

Dropped Cap

Large capital letter that extends down into the first two or more lines. Used as a design element.

Dry End

The drying section of the papermaking machine, after the press section, at which point most water has been removed from the paper. As paper moves through the dry end, the drying process is completed and the paper reel is wound.

Dry Trap

A layer of wet ink being applied over a previous layer of dry ink in a separate run of the printing press. Dry trapping usually produces sharper images than wet trapping because subsequent layers of ink aren't diluted by prior wet or damp layers. Dry trapping is also more expensive because the paper travels through the press more than once.

Drying

The step in the papermaking process that brings the moisture content of paper to approximately 5%. This is done by moving the web of paper around a series of heated iron drums in the dry end of the paper machine.

Dryography

Waterless offset lithography. This printing process is able to use extremely fine line screens to produce high-resolution printing.

Dull Coated

A coated paper finish that falls between glossy and matte.

Dummy

An un-printed mock-up of a book, brochure, or ""to-be-printed"" piece. A dummy is made of the same paper stocks that will be used in the finished piece, and serves as a reference for the client, designer, printer, mailing, house, or distributor. The printer, paper, merchant, or paper consultant generally provides the dummy at the request of the designer.

Duotone

A two-color halftone of the same images created with two screens, two plates, and two colors. Most halftones are one-color halftones, printed with black ink on white paper. By blending the black of the tiny ink dots and the white of the paper, the human eye sees shades of gray. Duotones are made by printing an image with two colors, generally black and a second color. The full range of tones are printed black and the middle range of tones are printed in the second color. The result is a striking image with more richness and depth that a one-color halftone. The image can be further enhanced by printing a tritone or a quadratone; these are also reproductions of black and white images, perhaps with a touch of color. The cost of printing tritones or quadratones may be as high as or higher than four- color process printing.

Duplicates

Also, ""dupes."" Reproductions of an original transparency made for the purpose of changing size, ganging, or making additional copies.

Dust

Tiny, free pieces of fiber, filler, and/or coating on paper. During printing, dust may adhere to the blanket and create imperfections by not allowing ink to reach the paper surface.

Electronic Publishing

A new process by which information is distributed in electronic formats. The Internet is a prime example of electronic publishing. Also books on CD ROM are considered Electronic publishing.

Electrophotography, Electronic Printing

A printing process that uses principles of electricity and electrically-charged particles to create images. In photocopiers and laser printers, electric charges create the image on an electrophographic surface that works as a printing plate. This surface is cleared after each image or copy is made, and is used over again for the next copy..

Elemental Chlorine Free (ECF)

The more common name for molecular chlorine free, and a bleaching that doesn't use chlorine gas. The process uses chlorine dioxide rather than elemental chlorine in the pulp and bleaching processes. see also bleaching, process, papermaking.

Em Space

A lateral space equal to the width of the lower case letter ""m"". Likewise, En space, is the space of the lower case ""n"". Used in typography and typesetting.

Embossing

A process by which a dye is used for raising an area of paper to create letterforms, shapes and textures. The dye can be made of magnesium, which is created from exposing light to the magnesium and leaving only the form of the artwork to be pressed into paper, or brass which is hand done, is more expensive but looks very good with beveled edges and fine detail.

Emulsion

The chemically treated side of photographic film. (The dull side not the shiny side.) Depending on the printing process involved, film will be requested usually as ""right reading emulsion down.""

Emulsion

The side of the film coated with the silver halide emulsion which should face the lens during exposure.

Enamel

A general term referring to coated paper that has a higher basis weight than coated publication (magazine) paper, but a lower basis weight and caliper than coated cover paper.

Engraving

A printing process using intaglio, or recessed plates. Made from steel or copper, engraving plates cost more than plates used in most other printing processes, such as lithography. Ink sits in the recessed wells of the plate while the printing press exerts force on the paper, pushing it into the wells and onto the ink. The pressure creates raised letters and images on the front of the page and indentations on the back. The raised lettering effect of engraving can be simulated using a less costly process, called thermography. see also intaglio, plate, printing methods, thermography.

Envelope

Paper that is folded and glued in a wide variety of sizes and shapes, for containing letter of other materials. Many printing jobs will end up in an envelope. The closer a finished piece is to an envelope size, the easier it will be to mail and the less chance it will be damaged by jostling around inside the envelope. An envelope maker can make just about any size envelope needed, but a custom envelope requires a custom die and carries a custom price.

EPS (EPSF)

Encapsulated Postscript File. A vector based, computer graphics file format developed by Adobe Systems. EPS is the preferred format for many computer illustrations, because of its efficient use of memory and fine color control. The artwork description is ""plotted"" by the computer. Example

Estimate

Price that states what a job will probably cost. Also called bid, quotation and tender. Printers base estimates on specifications provided by customers.

Estimator

One who computes or approximates evaluation of cost of work to be done on which quotation may be based.

Extended Type

Characters wide in proportion to their height, thus seeming fat. Also called expanded type.

Felt

A fabric of natural or synthetic fibers used in the press section of a papermaking machine to absorb water from the paper as it is manufactured. see also felt finish, papermaking.

Felt Finish

A soft texture that affects the look but not the strength of an uncoated paper. A felt finish can be created at the wet end during the papermaking process in one of two ways; either with a roll that is covered with a felt, or with a rubber roll with a felt-patterned finish. An embossed felt finish is created off the machine, after the paper has dried.

Felt Side

The top side of the paper, which comes in contact with the dandy roll and felts during the papermaking process. The bottom side of the paper, which comes in contact with the wire (forming fabric) or the papermaking machine, is called the wire side. The felt side of a paper may appear to be softer, while the wire side of a paper may have more ""tooth."" During printing, the softer texture of the felt side of an uncoated paper may pick up slightly more ink than the wire side of the same sheet, and the printer may have to adjust ink densities to compensate for this. Paper is generally packed and shipped as it is made

Fiber

Filaments of plant tissue, such as cotton fiber and wood fiber. Some specialty papers may contain synthetic fibers, such as rayon or nylon.

Fiber-added Paper

Paper with visible fibers, flecks, and specks. The term may be a bit misleading because all paper is made from fiber. The most common fiber additives are wood chips, colored cotton fibers, and colored rayon fibers.

Filler

Materials like clay added to pulp before it's formed into paper. Fillers improve a sheet's smoothness, brightness, and affinity for ink.

Finish

The surface characteristics of a paper. Finishes may be created on-machine or off-machine. On-machine finishing can be done two ways

Finishing Specs

Tell folding requirements and trim size.

Fixed Cost

Costs that remain the same regardless of how many copies are printed, as compared to variable costs. The costs of copywriting, photography and design are examples of fixed costs.

Flat

In lithography the assembly of photographic negatives or positives or vinyl acetate for exposure in vacuum frame in contact with sensitized metal press plate.

Flexography

A direct (not offset) printing method that uses relief plates, similar to rubber stamps, which are made from rubber or photopolymer. The flexible plates are wrapped around a cylinder on the printing press. ""Flexo"" works best when printing large areas of solid color, making it popular for printing plastic bags, wrapping paper, and milk cartons. It's also used for the Sunday color comics and newspaper inserts. Rubber manufactures, eager to find new uses for rubber, have invested heavily in flexographic research, and improvements have been made in ink coverage and four-color registration. "

Floating Rule

Rule, usually between columns, whose ends do not touch other rules. "

Flop

To change the orientation of an image so it is the mirror image of its original.

Flotation

A method for removing ink from paper during the de-inking process by floating if off the paper. see also de-inking.

Fluorescent Dye

A coloring agent added to paper to increase its brightness. Fluorescent dyes give white papers added brilliance in natural light and may add a slight cast like blue or green.

Fluorescent Inks

Printing inks that both emit and reflect light. Generally, these inks are brighter and more opaque than traditional inks. Using one or more fluorescent inks can actually brighten a printed image - especially four-color process printing on uncoated stock. On the down side, fluorescent inks are not colorfast and will fade in bright light and sunlight over time. They can also have a negative effect on dot gain and trapping, making the printing less sharp and without as much detail. "

Flush ( left or right )

Typeset copy vertically aligned at the left or right margins.

Focaltone

A proprietary color matching system for process color

Fogging Back

Lowering density of an image in a specific area usually to make type more legible while still letting image show through.

Foil Stamping

To cover paper with a thin, flexible sheet of metal or other material. The foil, which may be clear or opaque, comes in a range of colors, and is carried on a plastic sheet. Stamping separates the foil from the plastic and makes it adhere to the paper. Foil stamping can be combined with embossing or debossing as an added design element. "

Folder

Machine used to fold signatures down into sections.

Folding

Doubling up a sheet of paper so that one part lies on top of another. Folding stresses the paper fibers. To create a smooth, straight fold, heavy papers, like cover stocks and bristols, need to be scored before they're folded. Multiple fold strength is important in printed pieces like books, maps, and pamphlets. It's far less important in one-fold operations like greeting cards or envelops, where fold cracking is the vital consideration. Folding strength is negatively affected y the drying heat of various printing and finishing operations. see also binding, finishing, gatefold, imposition, scoring, signature. "

Folio, Page Number

Number of page at top or bottom either centered, flushed left or flushed right often with running headline. "

Font

Complete assortment of upper- and lowercase characters, numerals, punctuation and other symbols of one typeface. A font is a concept, not a physical object. Fonts can be held in the storage or memory of a computer, on sheets of transfer lettering, on film, or in job cases holding metal type. "

Footer

Information, such as page number or chapter title, that appears at the bottom of every page. Also called running foot. "

Form

The assembled pages and images as printed on a single large sheet, before trimming. With the correct imposition, the pages of a form will be in correct order after folding and trimming. Once folded and trimmed, a form becomes a ""signature.""

Formation

The uniformity of fibers in a sheet of paper. For example, paper with fine formation has evenly dispersed fibers, and will be smoother and more uniform than a paper with uneven formation. The tighter the fibers are bound, the more uniform the surface, and the better the printed sheet usually looks.

Four-color process

A method that uses dots of magenta (red), cyan (blue), yellow, and black to simulate the continuous tones and variety of colors in a color image. Reproducing a four-color image begins with separating the image into four different halftones by using color filters of the opposite (or negative) color. For instance, a red filter is used to capture the cyan halftone, a blue filter is used to capture the yellow halftone, and a green filter is used to capture the magenta halftone. Because a printing press can't change the tone intensity of ink, four-color process relies on a trick of the eye to mimic light and dark areas. Each halftone separation is printed with its process color (magenta, cyan, yellow, and black). When we look at the final result, our eyes blend the dots to recreate the continuous tones and variety of colors we see in a color photograph, painting, or drawing.

Fourdrinier

A papermaking machine with a horizontal continuous wire belt. A slurry of pulp is poured or sprayed onto the wire (forming fabric); the water is then drained off and pressed out; and the paper is dried.

FPO (For Position Only)

Refers to inexpensive copies of photos or art used on mechanicals to indicate placement and scaling, but not intended for reproduction.

Freesheet

Paper that contains no more than 10% mechanical wood pulp. Most freesheet papers are ""free"" of mechanical (groundwood) pulp.

Furnish

Fully prepared pulp and all its ingredients

Gang Run

Printing more than one job on the same press at the same time.

Gatefold

Two or more parallel folds on a sheet of paper with the end flaps folding inward.

Gather

To assemble or collect sections into single copies of complete books for binding (also known as collating).

Ghosting

Image which appears as a lighter area on a subsequent print due to local blanket depressions from previous image areas on a letterpress rotary machine as well as on an offset press. Also the marring a print by an image on it of work printed on the reverse side which has interfered with its drying so that differences in the trapping frame colors or glass variations are apparent.

GIF

An eight bit (256 colors or shades of grey) or less computer file format by Compuserve. Commonly used to post photographic images to computer bulletin boards and the Internet, GIF files are almost never used for professional printing.

Gilding

Sticking on gold leaf to edges of books with a liquid agent and made permanent with burnishing tools.

Gloss

A shiny coating on a paper is called a gloss finish. Gloss coatings allow very little ink absorption and offer excellent color definition and contrast.

Grade

A type or class of paper identified as having the same composition and characteristics. Grade is a generic paper category, such as writing, offset, cover, tag, and index paper. It can also refer to the quality level of the paper; or to a mill's specific brand of paper.

Graduated Screen

An area of image where halftone dots range continuously from one density to another.

Grain

The direction in which more fibers lie in a sheet of paper. As paper is formed, the slurry of fibers moves forward on the forming wire at high speeds, aligning the fibers in the direction of the movement and creating the grain. At the same time, the machine shakes the slurry of fibers from side to side, so that the fibers crisscross. This crisscrossing creates a web of fibers, and gives the paper strength in both directions while maintaining a predominant grain, or direction. As the moisture in the air changes, the individual fibers take in moisture and swell sideways, rather than from end to end; this explains why paper will expand or shrink across the grain, and is more flexible along the grain and stiffer against the grain. For books and other bound work, the grain should run parallel with the binding, creating a smoother fold, making the pages easier to turn, and allowing the paper to swell across the grain.

Grain Long

Grain running along the length, or long side, of a sheet of paper (23""x35""). Fibers line up parallel to the long side of the paper.

Grain Short

Grain running along the width, or short side, of a sheet of paper (35""x23""). Fibers line up parallel to the short side of the paper.

Grainy

Appearance of a photograph or halftone that has been enlarged so much that the pattern of crystals in the emulsion can be seen in the photo or its reproduction.

Grammage

Weight in grams of a quantity of paper cut to sheets that measure one square meter. Graphic

Gravure

A printing process that uses intaglio, or recessed, image carriers. The image carrier, which is flat or cylindrical, moves through an ink pool. A blade scrapes excess ink off the plane of the plate, leaving ink in the recessed wells. A second cylinder presses the paper onto the plates, where it picks up ink from the wells. The high speed of gravure presses and the durability of the metal intaglio plates make gravure an economical printing method suitable for large print runs (more than two million copies).

Grayscale

Strip of standard gray tones, ranging from white to black, placed next to original copy during photography to measure the tonal range obtained.

Greek

Usually nonsense words and letterforms that are not legible, used in a design to approximate the ""color"" of a page. Used primarily before final text is available for a client comp.

Grid

1) Pattern of lines representing the layout of a newsletter. A grid may be imaginary, or it may be printed on paper or displayed on a computer screen. 2) Pattern of nonprinting guidelines on a pasteup board or computer screen. Grids help align and organize copy.

Gripper

The row of clips holding the sheet of paper as it speeds through the press.

Gripper Edge

The leading edge of paper that moves through a printing press or folding machine. No printing can take place on the outside 3/8"" of the paper on the gripper edge.

Gripper Margin

The unprintable part of a sheet, caused by the press's gripper. The size of the margin varies according to the press used. It's safe to factor ‡"" for our larger presses and º"" for our duplicators, or small presses.

Groove Finish

A textured paper with shallow, parallel furrows or grooves running along the surface. This finish is created by embossing the paper after it comes off the paper-making machine. Groundwood Paper

Gutter

Space between pages in the printing frame of a book, or inside margin towards the back or binding edge.

Hairline

Thinnest visible space or rule. Because visibility is determined by factors such as contrast between ink and paper and eyesight of the viewer, hairline has no precise meaning. Hairlines exist in the eye of the beholder.

Hairline Register

Subjective term referring to very close register. Halftone

Hard Copy

The output from a computer printer, as opposed to soft copy. "

Hard Mechanical

Mechanical consisting of paper and/or acetate, as compared to electronic mechanical. "

Hardwood Pulp

Pulp made from deciduous trees (trees that drop their leaves, such as maple and oak). Hardwood pulp has short fibers, which give paper bulk, body, and smoothness. Papers are often made from a blend of hardwood and softwood pulps, combining the qualities of both into a single paper. "

Headbox

The compartment that holds pulp slurry before it is sprayed or poured onto the paper-forming wire of a papermaking machine.

Header

Information, such as page number or chapter title, that appears at the top of every page of a newsletter. "

Hexachrome

A proprietary color separation process, developed by Pantone, that uses six (6) instead of four process colors. "

Hickey

An irregularity in the ink coverage of a printed area. Hickeys are caused by paper or pressroom dust, dirt, or pick out on the printing blanket, all of which prevents the ink from adhering to the paper surface. "

Highlight Dot

The highest density of a halftone image. see also halftone, midtone dot, screen, shadow dot. "

Highlights

Lightest portions of a photograph or halftone, as compared to midtones and shadows. "

House Style

Guidelines for grammar, typography, color and other graphic features, as adopted by a specific organization. "

Hydropulper

Equipment used to slurry pulp. Water is added to dry pulp and fillers, and agitated until the mixture becomes about the consistency of oatmeal cereal."

IFC

Inside front cover.

Imagesetter

An extremely high quality printer. Imagesetters are used to create the film in computer based pre-press operations. In process color work, the imagesetter creates the separated output film by ""printing"" the image four times (once each in Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black). "

Imposition

Also called image assembly; refers to assembling printed matter in a way that results in pages appearing in correct sequence.

Impression

Product resulting from one cycle of printing machine.

Impression Cylinder

The cylinder or flat bed of a printing press that holds paper while an inked image from the blanket is pressed upon it.

Imprint

To print new copy on a previously printed sheet, such as imprinting an employee's name on business cards. Also called surprint.

Inch

A unit of measurement equal to six (6) picas or seventy-two (72) points.

Index Paper

A stiff, inexpensive paper with a smooth finish. The high bulk but low weight of this paper makes it a popular choice for business reply cards. The basic size of index paper is 25.5""x30.5"". Ingredients of Paper

Ink

A combination of pigment, pigment carrier or vehicle, and additives. Careful ink formulation by the printer can reduce or prevent smudging, unevenness, picking, and additional printing problems associated with ink. The ink used for a particular job depends on the paper specified and the printing process used.

Ink Absorption

Capacity to accept or absorb ink.

Ink Holdout

Resistance to the penetration of ink. Coated papers tend to have good ink holdout. The ink pigments sit on the surface of the coating, and are not absorbed into the spaces between the paper fibers. This minimizes dot spread and results in a sharp image. Uncoated papers tend to absorb ink into the sheet, but printers can compensate for this and still produce a very bright, sharp image on uncoated paper.

Insert

Extra printed page(s) inserted loosely into printed pieces.

Intaglio

A method of printing in which an image or letter is cut into the surface of wood or metal, creating tiny wells. Printing ink sits in these wells, and the paper is pressed onto the plate and into the wells, picking up the ink.

Italic Type

Type slanted to the right to resemble handwriting, as compared to Roman type.

Jog

To shake a stack of papers, either on a machine or by hand, so that the edges line up. Printers jog the paper to get rid of any dust or particles, and to ensure proper feeding into the press.

Jogger

Vibrating sloping platform that evens up the edges of stacks of paper.

jpeg

Joint Photographic Electronic Group. A common standard for compressing image data.

Jump

Point at which text moves from one page to another. When the second page does not immediately follow the first, the jump is indicated with ""continued on p. __.

Justified Type

Type set flush right and left.

Kern

To adjust the lateral space between letters so that they appear to be better fitted to each other.

Key

To relate loose pieces of copy to their positions on a layout or mechanical using a system of numbers or letters.

Keylines

Lines on a mechanical or negative showing the exact size, shape and location of photographs or other graphic elements. Also called holding lines. "

Knockout

When type or line art is to be printed over a photograph or other variable color background, the best way to produce a consistent color is to first ""reverse"" the type or artwork out of the background, then drop in the desired color. This process is referred to as Knocking Out. Also called Masking. "

Kraft Paper

A paper manufactured using kraft pulp, usually noted for its strength. In the kraft pulping process, fiber is separated from lignin by cooking wood chips with steam and pressure."

Laid

A paper with a translucent pattern of lines running both parallel to, and across the grain. Laid finished paper is created by dropping a patterned dandy roll onto the paper machine while the paper is still wet. "

Laser Compatible

Paper that performs on a laser printer or copier. Laser compatible paper has good dimensional stability that keeps it from curling, changing shape, and causing paper jams in printers and copiers. "

Lay Edge

Edge of a sheet of paper being fed into a printing press.

Leaders

Dots, dashes or other symbols that guide the eye from one item to another, as in a table of contents. Pronounced ""leeder"" because the term refers to the verb ""to lead. "

Leading

(pronounced ledding) The space, measured in points, between consecutive lines of type. (Original name derived from the strips of lead placed between lines of hot type in the early 1900s.) "

Leaf

One of a number of folds (each containing two pages) which compose a book or manuscript.

Letter Fold

Two folds creating three panels that allow a sheet of letterhead to fit a business envelope. Also called barrel fold and wrap-around fold.

Letterpress

(A relief printing method. Printing is done using cast metal type or plates on which the image or printing area are raised above the nonprinting areas. Ink rollers touch only the top surface of the raised areas; the nonprinting areas are lower and do not receive ink. The inked image is transferred directly to the page, resulting in type of images that may actually be depressed or debossed into the paper by the pressure of the press. "

Lignin

The natural, glue-like substance that holds together the cellulose fibers of wood plants. Lignin that is left in pulp causes paper to age and yellow over time. see also acid-free paper, cellulose fiber. "

Like-sided

Paper that has the same appearance and characteristics on both sides (the opposite of two-sided).

Line Copy

Any high-contrast image, including type, as compared to continuous- tone copy. Also called line art and line work. "

Line Screen

The finer the ""Screen"" used to create the printing film and plates, the more detail can be portrayed in the final printed piece. Most color printing is performed between 133 and 175 lines per inch. "

Linen Finish

A paper finish that is similar to the texture of linen fabric. Linen finishes are embossed after the paper comes off the paper machine.

Lines Per Inch

The number of lines in an inch, as found on the screens that create halftones and four-color process images (for example, ""printed 175-line screen""). The more lines per inch, the more detailed the printed image will be. With the demand for computer-generated imagery, the term ""dots per inch"" (which refers to the resolution of the output), is replacing the term ""lines per inch.""

Lino Paper

Short for Linotronic Paper. Photographic paper generated from a Linotronic which produces a high-quality black and white image. Lino paper is often used for paste up by production artists to assemble camera-ready artwork.

Lithography

A printing process using flat surface planographic plates (originally stone) that is based on the principle that oil and water don't mix. The image to be lithographed is created on the plate with greasy material that repels water. Water is run over the plate, and the non-image areas absorb it. When the oily ink hits the plate, it's attracted to the similarly greasy image, and repelled by the rest of the wet plate. When paper is pressed onto the plate, it picks up the ink (and a bit of the water). This process is now used primarily for limited-edition prints. also called litho.

Loupe

From the French word for magnifying glass, a lens used by photographers, printers, and designers to examine details in printed materials.

M

Quantity of 1000.

M Weight

The weight in pounds of 1,000 sheets (or two standard 500- sheet reams) or paper. On the label of a paper ream, the M weight is often given after the dimensions of the paper in the ream

Machine

Coated paper that is coated on the papermaking machine.

Machine finish

(A paper texture of finish imparted onto the paper white it's still on the papermaking machine.

Make-ready

All the activities involved in preparing a printing press for a print run, such as setting the registration, balancing the color, and adjusting the plates and blankets for paper thickness..

Making order, Manufacturing Order

A quantity of paper manufactured to custom specifications, such as a special weight, color, or size not available as a standard stocking item. Special order requirements are necessary, and should be discussed with a local paper consultant. Mark-up

Mask

To prevent light from reaching part of an image, therefore isolating the remaining part. Also called knock out.

Masking Material

Opaque paper or plastic used to prevent light from reaching selected areas of film or a printing plate. Also called knockout film. Masking material is often referred to by brand names, such as Amberlith, Goldenrod and Rubylith.

Masthead

Block of information in a newsletter that indicates its publisher and editor and tells about advertising and subscribing.

Match Color

A custom-blended ink that matches a specified color exactly. Match colors are used to print line copy and halftones in one, two, three, or occasionally more colors. The specified colors are chosen from color systems. The most widely used systems are the PATONE MATCHING SYSTEM, Colorcurve, and Toyo.

Match Print

A color proofing system developed by 3M. A high quality proofing system.

Matte Coated

A non-glossy coating on paper, generally used to refer to papers having little or no gloss. A matte coated sheet is often specified when there is a lot of type, since it makes for easier reading. "

Matte, Matte Finish

A matte coating is not shiny like a gloss, but still keeps much of the ink from being absorbed by the paper and provides an excellent print image. Matte stocks can be written on with most pens and pencils, while gloss stocks will often smudge or smear. "

Measure

Width of a column of type. With justified type, all lines have the same measure. With ragged type, measure equals the longest possible line. Also called line measure. "

Mechanical

The actual artwork sent to the printer or trade bureau is referred to as a mechanical. However, common usage goes further in specifying a mechanical as a board or base layer onto which camera ready artwork has been mounted. A second layer, often a clear sheet of plastic, contains the photographs and or transparencies mounted in position. A sheet of tracing or other semi-transparent paper is often attached and includes special information or instructions (eg. ""make this type blue, or this logo red""). "

Mechanical Pulping

Separating wood fibers for pulp by grinding wood chips mechanically, rather than by using a chemical process. "

Metamerism

The tendency of color to change with the light source in which it's viewed. For example, two reds may appear to match under fluorescent light, but clash badly in the light of the sun. "

Midtone Dot

Commonly taken as the area between highlight and shadow area of subjects face in halftone image.

MIL

The standard measure of card thickness. Each mil. is 1/1000 of an inch.

Mill

The physical site where paper is manufactured; refers to a company that manufactures paper.

Mill Broke

Paper generated at the paper mill prior to completion of the manufacturing process. Wet mill broke originates at the wet end of the papermaking machine, while dry mill broke comes from the dry end of the papermaking machine. "

Moire

A pattern created by printing several repetitive designs on top of each other. In four-color process printing, four screens of colored dots print on top of each other. If the angles of the halftone screens of each of the four colors are not properly aligned with each other, an undesirable, blurry pattern, called ""moire"" appears in the final image; the term is from the watery or wavy pattern seen on moire silk. "

Mottle

Spotty or uneven appearance of printing, most pronounced in solid areas."

Newsprint Paper

A grade of paper made primarily from groundwood (mechanical) pulp rather than chemical pulp, resulting in a short lifespan. Newsprint is one of the least expensive printing papers. "

Non-repro Blue

A light blue color that is often used to make crop marks and or notes. In one and two color printing, the non-repro blue will usually not be reproduced on the actual printing job. However, in full-color work, the blue is reproduced just as any other color."

OBC

Outside back cover.

OD100 Process

A proprietary term used to describe Champion's bleaching technology that combines oxygen delignification and 100% substitution of chlorine dioxide for elemental chlorine.

OFC

Outside front cover.

Off-machine Coating

Coating paper after it comes off the papermaking machine rather than while it is still on the machine. Off-machine coaters may be used to add a single layer of coating to a paper, or to add a second layer to a paper that has already been machine coated.

Offset Printing (Offset Lithography)

An indirect printing process. Ink is transferred to paper from a blanket that carries an impression from the printing plate, rather than directly from the printing plate itself. Generally, when we say ""offset"" we mean ""offset lithography,"" even though other printing processes, such as letterpress, may also use this indirect technique. The term offset (or ""set off"") can also refer to the smudges created when ink from one printed sheet transfers to another. Offset spray is used to prevent this.

Opacity

A measure of how opaque a paper is. The more fibers or fillers a paper has, the more opaque it is, and the less it allows ""show- through"" of the printing on the back side or on the next page. Opacity isn't always determined by thickness or weight; a thinner paper may have more opacity than a thicker paper if opacifying thickeners are used.

Out of Registration

When two sheet passes on a press are misaligned.

Over Run

Surplus of copies printed. Also called ""overs.""

Overlay

Layer of material taped to a mechanical, photo or proof. An overlay has the same dimensions as the mounting board that it covers. There are two types of overlays

Overprint

To print one image over a previously printed image, such as printing type over a screen tint. Also called surprint.

Oxygen Delignification

A processing step that takes place after pulping and before bleaching. Oxygen is used to remove lignin (delignify) resulting in lower chemical usage in the bleach plant.

Page Proofs

Proofs made up from pages.

Pantone Matching System

PANTONE Matching System

Paper-ink Affinity

The tendency for paper and ink to attract and stay attracted to each other. This keeps the ink on the paper and off the reader's hands or the next sheet. An incompatibility between ink and paper can cause printing problems. see also dry trap, tack, wet trap printing.

Paperboard

Paper with a caliper greater than .012 inches, or 12 points. Paperboard is used primarily for packaging and construction materials. Paperboard doesn't need to have the same whiteness and brightness as premium printing and writing papers, and because the process of de-inking is less important in its manufacture, it is a perfect product for using recovered fiber.

Parallel Fold

Two or more folds in the same direction made in succession.

Parchment

A writing substance made from the skin of animals. Today, parchment-like paper, or vegetable parchment, is made by dipping paper quickly into sulfuric acid, then quickly washing it and neutralizing the acid. This melts the fibers on the outside, which in turn coats the other fibers and fills the void between them. The result is a grease resistant sheet that is difficult to recycle.

Paste up

Camera ready artwork consisting of linework, photos, type, etc. all on one piece of artboard. Also the preparation of positive materials into a layout for photographing to film negatives.

Pattern Gluing

The application of glue to the paper in register with the printed image.

PDF

A proprietary format developed by Adobe Systems for the transfer of designs across multiple computer platforms.

Perf Marks

Markings usually dotted lines at edges showing where perforations should occur.

Perfect Binding

A book binding process where pages are glued together and directly to the cover of the book. The appearance is of a flat spine on the end of the book such as a paperback book.

Perfecting

Printing both sides of the paper (or other material) at the same pass through the printing machine.

Perfecting Press

A printing press that simultaneously prints both sides of a sheet of paper as it passes through the press. On other presses, printing both sides means running the street through the press to print one side, allowing the ink to dry, turning the paper over, and then running the sheet through the press again to print the other side.

Perforating

Punching small holes or slits in a sheet of paper or cardboard to facilitate tearing along a desired line.

Permanence

A paper's ability to resist tears, fading, and general aging over time. The national standard for permanence requires a pH of 7.5-8.5; at least 2% calcium carbonate; and no ground wood or unbleached fiber. The standard also has specific fold endurance and tear resistance requirements. Paper meeting the standard for permanence can be expected to last more than 100 years. Paper with a pH level of 5.5 or higher can be expected to last up to 50 years.

Petroleum-based Ink

An ink using petroleum as the vehicle for carrying the pigment. Ink manufacturers are seeking new vehicles to reduce the need for petroleum-based solvents, which may be toxic at high levels.

pH

The measure of the acidity or alkalinity of a material. Paper with a pH below 7.0 is considered acidic; paper with a pH above 7.0 is considered acid-free, or alkaline.

Photo CD

A proprietary format developed by Eastman Kodak for storing photographic images on a compact disc. Usually 35mm format. Images can be easily accessed for use in professional printing.

Photo Illustration

An image, primarily consisting of a photograph or composite image containing a photograph.

Photo Plate

A light sensitive printing plate. The plate is developed like film, then used on a printing press.

Pica

A unit of measurement equal to twelve (12) points or one sixth (1/6) of an inch. Used by designers and other graphics professional for its precision.

Pick Out

A problem on press caused by unevenly sealed paper, or paper with low bonding strength. The ink ""picks"" off weak areas of the paper, lifting coating from a coated stock, or lifting fibers from an uncoated stock, and transferring them to the printing blanket. These fibers will eventually be transferred back onto the sheets being printed, causing inking and surface inconsistencies.

Pick Resistance

The ability of paper fibers to hold together during the printing process.

Pick Resistance

The ability of paper fibers to hold together during the printing process.

Picking

A problem generally resulting from using an ink that's too tacky for the paper it's printed on. The ink actually pulls tiny pieces of the paper off the surface of the sheet. Two types of picking are fiber bundles and coating picking. Fiber bundles are caused by weak fiber bond, and coating picking occurs when the adhesive properties of coating binder aren't strong enough to hold up the high tack of the offset printing process.

Pigment

A material, such as titanium dioxide, added to pulp before it is formed into paper. White pigments boost brightness and opacity; colored pigments and dyes control the shade or change the color.

Pinhole

Failure of printed ink to form a completely continuous film, visible in the form of small holes in the printed areas.

Pixel Depth

The amount of data used to describe each colored dot on the computer screen. i.e. Monochrome is 1 bit deep. Greyscale is 8 bits deep. RGB is 24 bits deep. Images to be printed as cmyk separation should be 32 bits deep.

Planographic

A method for printing ink onto paper, where the image sits on the same surface as the printing plate. The image area is greased to attract ink, while the rest of the plate attracts water and repels ink. As the paper is pressed onto the flat surface of the plate, it picks up ink from the greasy image areas and a small bit of water from blank areas. This is the printing process used in lithography and offset lithography.

Plate

Brief for printing plate, generally a thin sheet of metal that carries the printing image. The plate surface is treated or configured so that only the printing image is ink receptive.

Plate-ready Film

Photographic film used to ""burn"" printing plates.

Platemaking

Making a printing plate from a film or flat includes preparation of the plate surface, sensitizing, exposure through the flat, development or processing and finishing.

Plus Cover

A booklet having a cover that is not counted with the inside or text pages. Cover does not factor into page signatures and may be a different weight or stock from the interior pages.

PMS Color (Pantone Matching System)

A proprietary color system for choosing and matching specific spot colors. Almost all printers worldwide use this system for color matching.

PMS Match

The process of mixing exact quantities of process colors to make specific other colors.

Point

The thickness of cover/card stock is often described in units called ""points"". A point is one one-thousandth of an inch. Ten point stock is 10/1000 or .010 inch.

Porosity

Refers to the openness or compactness of the fibers in a paper and is measured by the ability of air to pass through the sheet. The more open a paper is, the greater its porosity.

Post-consumer Recovered Paper

Paper material recovered after being used by a consumer. PostScript

PPI

Paper per inch, or the number of sheets in a one-inch stack of paper; used to describe the bulk of a paper. Also known as pixels per inch and interchangeable with dpi.

Pre-consumer Recovered Paper

Paper recovered after the papermaking process, but before use by a consumer.

Pre-press

The various printing related services, performed before ink is actually put on the printing press (ie. stripping, scanning, color separating, etc...).

Precision Sheeting

Converting rolls of paper into finished sheet sizes in a single operation.

Press Check

Event at which make-ready sheets from the press are examined before authorizing full production to begin.

Press Proof

A test printing of a subject prior to the final production run. Press proofs are generally printed on the paper stock that will be used for the finished project. A few sheets are run as a final check before printing the entire job. Also known as a ""proof.""

Print Quality

The overall excellence of a printed piece. Paper, ink, press, and the skill of the press operators all affect print quality.

Printability

How well a paper performs with ink on press. Absorbency, smoothness, ink holdout, and opacity all affect printability.

Printer Pairs

wo consecutive pages as they appear on a flat or signature.

Printer Spreads

Imposition whereby pages are ordered in a manner consistent with the final product. Example

Printing Specs

Concentrate on press work, such as quantities, ink colors and dot gains, but often include pre-press, paper and finishing."

Process Colors

The four process colors

Production Artist

A skilled laborer who produces finished camera ready or plate-ready artwork from the visual elements and instructions provided by the designer or client.

Progressive Proofs

In color separation, a series of proofs of a color process reproduction pulled in each color; and, in combinations of two, three and four colors. Used to indicate color quality and ink values and as a guide for printing.

Proof

Impression from composed type or blocks, taken for checking and correction, from a lithographic plate to check accuracy of layout, type matter, tone and color reproduction. Also known as a ""press proof.""

Proofreader Marks

Standard symbols and abbreviations used to mark up manuscripts and proofs. Most dictionaries and style manuals include charts of proofreader marks. Also called correction marks.

Proportion Scale

Round device used to calculate percent that an original image must be reduced or enlarged to yield a specific reproduction size. Also called percentage wheel, proportion dial, proportion wheel and scaling wheel.

Pt.

Abbreviation for ""point.""

Pull for Position

Guide sheet for the positioning of type, blocks, etc.

Pulp

A wet slurry of fibers and water that is the basic ingredient of paper.

Pulping Wood

Transforming wood, the raw material of most paper, into pulp. Pulping breaks wood apart, separating the rows of cellulose fibers that are stuck together with lignin. These separated fibers will later create the matted web of fibers we know as paper. Paper may be made with pulp from just one of the following processes, or by mixing mechanical and chemical pulps."

Quadratone

A black and white image printed with four screens and four colors, such as one or more blacks and different shades of gray, used to enrich the contrast between light and dark areas."

Rag Paper

Paper with at least 25% and as much as 100% cotton fibers.

Ragged-left/right Type

Type whose line beginnings/endings are not aligned vertically.

Reader Pairs

Two consecutive pages as they appear in printed piece.

Ream

A package containing 500 sheets of printing paper.

Ream Weight

The actual weight in pounds of a ream (500 sheets) of paper.

Recovered Paper

Paper that has been separated, diverted, or removed from the solid waste stream. "

Recycled Content Paper

A paper product containing some, but consisting of less than 100% recovered fiber. "

Refining

The process of cutting, breaking, and flattening the cellulose fibers in pulp. In order to form a strong, flexible paper, pulp fibers need to be flattened and frayed. The refiner has metal discs that can be adjusted to create longer or shorter fibers. "

Reflective Art

Original material which reflects light. Examples of reflective art are photographs, drawings and printed material. "

Refractiveness

A measure of how much a sheet of paper deflects the light that hits it. The more light a sheet deflects, the greater its refractiveness, allowing a printed image to be more brilliant and detailed. "

Registration

The process of alignment of the different elements in a printing job, such as the different colored inks on a print job, so they are correctly printed next to each other or over each other (ie. if the inks can be seen to overlap improperly or to leave white gaps on the page, the printing is said to be ""out of registration"" or ""poorly registered"".) "

Registration Marks

Registration marks are used to help align the various levels of film during the stripping process. Without registration marks it is very difficult to keep all four colors (CMYK) in exactly the correct position on the final printing plates, making color distortion difficult to avoid. "

Relative Humidity

Balance the relative humidity of the pressroom compared to the relative humidity of the paper to be printed. Relative humidity is a measure of how much moisture air or paper can hold versus how much it is actually holding at a given temperature. Before printing a job, the printer must ""cure"" the paper by letting it sit, wrapped, in the pressroom for a determined amount of time. This will bring the paper to the same temperature and humidity as the pressroom, helping to prevent several printing problems. For instance, ink on cold paper takes longer to dry than ink on room-temperature paper. Ink on dry paper may ""chalk"" if the dry paper absorbs the liquid in the pigment before the solid pigments adhere to the paper. Paper with too much humidity will expand, causing it to wrinkle on press. This can cause misalignment and a lack or registration in the printing. see also registration. "

Relief

A method for printing ink on paper, using type of images that rise above the surface of the printing plate. Ink sits on top of these raised surfaces, and as the paper is pressed onto them it picks up ink. Letterpress, flexography, and rubber stamps all use relief plates. In letterpress, intense pressure can cause images to be slightly debossed or depressed below the surface of the paper. "

Reproduction Proof

An exact and carefully pulled proof of type composition or other printing matter that is suitable for photographic reproduction. (""Repros"") "

Rescreen

To create a halftone of an image that is already printed as a half- tone; for example, rescreening a photo appearing in a magazine for reprinting in a newsletter. When not done properly, rescreening yields a ""moire"". "

Resilience

The ability of paper to return to its original form after being stressed by bending, stretching, or compressing during the printing and finishing processes. "

Resin

A generic term referring to the materials used by paper manufactures to ""size"" paper. Rosin, a natural resin from pine trees, is used in the manufacture of acidic paper. Synthetic resins are used in the manufacture of alkaline and acid-free papers. "

Resolution

Sharpness of an image on film, paper, computer screen, disk, tape or other medium. "

Retouching

Editing images to alter or change them or to eliminate imperfections-can be done by hand, by airbrush, or electronically on digitized images, black-and-white, or color. "

Reverse

Type, graphic or illustration reproduced by printing ink around its outline, thus allowing the underlying color or paper to show through and form the image. Also called knockout and liftout. The image ""reverses out"" of the ink color. "

Reversed Type

The background is printed instead of the type.

RGB

Red, Green, and Blue are used in television and computer monitors to create all colors. RGB is similar to the CMYK used in process printing in that all colors are created by various combinations of a few base colors. However, the colors seen on your RGB screen will only accurately represent the colors printed in CMYK when high quality, calibrated computer systems and translators are used. "

RIP

A raster image processor or RIP is used to convert the output of a wet trap printing computer system into a format usable by an imagesetter.

Roman Type

Type with serifs and that is upright, as compared to italic. Also called plain type. Roman is the basic typeface in any type family. Other typefaces in the family are based on the Roman. For example, light is lighter than Roman and bold is darker. "

Rosette

The formation created by the dots that make up four-color images. The dots, in magenta (red), cyan (blue), yellow, and black, overlap each other in a cluster. Because the dots are not perfectly round, and because they are turned at angles to each other, this cluster resembles the arrangement of petals in a rose. "

Rosin

A natural resin from pine trees, used to size acidic paper. see also resin. "

Rule

Line used as a graphic element to separate or organize copy. The width of rules is measured in points or millimeters.

Runability

The ease with which a paper moves through a printing press. For example, offset lithography puts more stress on paper than other printing processes because of

Runaround

Type set to conform to part or all of the shape of a neighboring photograph or illustration. Also called wraparound.

Saddle Stitch

A book binding process where pages are stapled together through the spine of the book. Traditionally performed on V shaped saddle. Many magazines are saddle stitched or stapled.

Sans Serif

A type face that has no tails or curled points (serifs) at the ends.

Scaling images, Scale

To identify the percent by which photographs or art should be enlarged or reduced to achieve the correct size for printing. An 8"" x 10"" photo to be reproduced as a 4"" x 5"" image should be scaled to 50 percent.

Scalloped Columns

Page layout in which columns of equal length are aligned at the top so their bottoms vary. Also called hanging columns.

Scanner

Electronic device used to scan an image.

Scanning

The process of acquiring the information from either reflective or transparent artwork. In a digital scan, the data is stored as ones and zeroes on a computer disk. In an analog scan, the input information is used directly to expose film.

Score

A shallow crease where a sheet of paper will be folded. This keeps the ink (and paper) from cracking at the edge of the fold.

Scoring

Pressing a channel into a sheet of paper to allow it to fold more easily. Scoring and pressing the paper fibers together creates an emossed channel that does two things

Screen

The lined glass, now called contact film, through which images are photographed to create halftones. Shooting through the mesh of a screen breaks an image into tiny dots. The closer the lines of the screen, the smaller the dots and the more dots per inch; the farther apart the lines of the screen, the bigger the dots and the fewer the dots per inch. The higher the dots per inch, the smaller the dots are, therefore creating a finer, crisper image. The coarseness or fineness of the screen is measured in the number of horizontal and vertical lines per inch. The less a paper absorbs and spreads ink, the finer the screen that can be used. Newspapers use coarse screens with 55 to 85 lines per inch. Most trade publications use 85 to 110 lines. With traditional printing, a coated paper can hold the small dots from a 200-line screen. With waterless printing, the paper can hold the dots from an even finer screen, 400 lines and greater. Though this approaches the quality of continuous tone, it is hard for the eye see to discern the differences in resolution above 200 lines per inch.

Screen Angles

In color reproduction, any of the particular angles at which a halftone screen or the original itself is placed for each of the color separation negatives, in order to prevent formation of interference patterns (moire) in the completed color reproduction (angles of 30 degrees between colors produce minimum patterns).

Screen Density

Refers to the amount of ink that a screen tint allows to print. Also called screen percentage. Screen density is expressed as percent of ink coverage.

Screen Printing

A printing process also called silk screening, where ink is transferred through a porous screen, such as nylon, onto the surface to be decorated. An emulsion or stencil is used to block out the negative, or non-printing areas of the screen. A squeegee forces ink through the open areas of the screen and onto the paper, plastic, cardboard, wood, fabric, glass, or other material.

Screen Ruling

Number of rows or lines of dots per inch or centimeter in a screen for making a screen tint or halftone. Also called line count, ruling, screen frequency, screen size and screen value.

Screen Tint

Color created by dots instead of solid ink coverage. Also called Benday, fill pattern, screen tone, shading, tint and tone.

Screens

In the generation of final film, screens can be used which cause a fixed percentage or density of an ink to be printed. For example, the process color match (from the PANTONE Matching System) of PMS* 185, (bright red) is created by combining 0% Cyan, 91% Magenta, 76% Yellow, and 0% Black. "

Script

A type face that mimics the appearance of hand written text.

Scrolls

Long sheets of papyrus, parchment, or paper rolled for storage. "

Self Cover

A booklet having a cover made of the same paper as the inside or text pages.

Semi-chemical Pulping

Using chemicals and mechanical grinding to separate the cellulose fibers of wood. Because this pulping process doesn't remove lignin, it isn't generally used for fine printing and writing papers. It's used instead for papers not requiring permanence. "

Semibold Type

Type darker than normal but lighter than bold.

Separation

A full color image broken down into four process ink colors (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black). The original image is printed by combining these colors in the proper places and densities on paper. "

Serif

The curls and points that appear as outward lateral extensions of the bottoms and tops of letterforms on some type faces. Many designers consider serif type used for body text for easy readability. Times Roman is a well known serif type font.

Service Bureau

The facility that provides professional services to graphics and printing professionals especially related to computer output. (i.e. plate ready film, matchprints, colorkeys, etc...) "

Shade

The color depth and hue in comparison to papers that are the same color; also used to describe the color achieved by adding dye to pulp slurry. There is a wide shade variety in white papers, as well as in colored papers. "

Shading Film

Dry transfer materials used to make screen tints.

Shadow Dot

The lowest density of a halftone image.

Shadows

Darkest areas of a photograph or illustration, as compared to midtones and highlights. "

Sharpen

To decrease in strength, as when halftone dots become smaller; opposite of ""thicken"" or ""dot spread."" "

Sheet-fed Press

A press that prints single sheets of paper, rather than a continuous roll or web of paper. A sheet-fed press prints more slowly than a web press, and is typically used for shorter runs. "

Sheetwise

See imposition.

Sheffield

A test used to measure the smoothness of paper by measuring the rate of air-flow over the surface of the sheet. The lower the number, the smoother the sheet. "

Show-through

See opacity.

Side Stitching

Stitching where the wire staples pass through the pile of sections or leaves gathered upon each other and are clinched on the underside.

Signature, Section

Printed sheet (or its flat) that consists of a number of pages of a book, so laced out that they will fold and bind together as a section of a book. The printed sheet after folding. "

Silhouette

Eliminating the background from behind an object in a photograph or piece of art.

Silk Screen

see screen printing.

Sizing

A Resin, such as rosin, added to pulp before it's formed into paper, or added to the surface of the paper after it's dry. Sizing acts as a glue to keep the fibers of the finished paper tight, since loose fibers on the surface of the paper can cause printing problems. Sizing also helps the finished paper repel water, which is an especially important property for stock that will be used for offset printing. "

Skid

A platform built with a solid wood bottom, for holding stacks of paper not packed in cartons. Paper may be ordered in skids or cartons. When printers are printing a large job, they generally prefer skids to cartons. "

Slurry

A thin, watery mixture. The mixture of pulp and water that is poured onto the papermaking machine is often referred to as slurry. "

Small Caps

Capital letters approximately the x height of lowercase letters in the same font. Used for logos and nameplates and to soften the impact of normal caps.

Smooth Finish

Paper finished to a Sheffield smoothness between 50 and 150.

Smoothness

The surface property of paper that describes its degree of uniform evenness and flatness. When printing, the smoother the paper, the better the ink dot formation and the sharper the image. "

Soft Copy, Electronic Proof

Copy viewed on a computer screen, as compared to hard copy. "

Softwood Pulp

Pulp made from coniferous trees (evergreen tress with cones and needles, such as pine and fir trees). Paper is often made using a blend of pulps; softwood pulp has long fibers, giving paper strength; hardwood fibers are short, lending smoothness, bulk, and body. "

Solid

Any area of the sheet receiving 100 percent ink coverage, as compared to a screen tint. An area of an image on film or a plate that will print as 100 percent coverage is also called a solid. 2) Type set with no leading. "

Specification

Complete and precisely written description of features of a printing job, such as type size and leading, paper grade and quantity, printing quality or binding method. Abbreviated specs. Specifications typically include the following:"

Specifying Paper

Choosing the appropriate paper for a specific printing job, in order to meet its individual design, printing, handling, and economic requirements. Designers and printers are frequently assisted by a paper merchant or a paper mill consultant when choosing a paper. "

Spot Color

Single colors applied to printing when process color is not necessary (ie. one, two and three color printing), or when process colors need to be augmented (ie. a fluorescent pink headline or a metallic tint). "

Spot Varnish

When only a specific area of a printed piece is varnished, it is referred to as spot varnishing. Spot varnishing is very effective at drawing special attention to a specific part of a flyer or sales sheet. "

Spread 1

A design that encompasses two or more facing pages (ie. the center spread in the morning newspaper)

Spread 2

Spreading the ink beyond the edge of an object so that there is no gap between it and the next colored object. ""Choke and Spread"" are common methods of trapping elements of a printing job. "

Stabbing

To receive a pile of sections or leaves, the required number of staples is first inserted from one side. The wire feed control is set so that the shank of the staple is not long enough to pass through the underside of the pile. The job is then said to be ""stabbed."" "

Stencil

A sheet of plastic, paper, or other material with letters or an image cut out of it. When placed on a surface and inked, it reproduces the cut-away images onto the material behind it. "

Stochastic

A relatively new method for creating halftones. Rather than producing the regularly space dots of lined screens, stochastic screening generates randomly placed dots. Because the generation of the dots is frequently modulated, the technique is also called FM screening. Registration on press is slightly more difficult than with lined screens, but the colors rests can be brilliant. "

Stock

Paper or other material that will be printed. To a paper mill, a ""stock item"" is a manufactured item that is inventoried, as opposed to a ""manufacturing order,"" which is custom made. "

Stripping

The process of assembling and combining film and/or negatives to create the final 4 pieces of film used for process printing. Stripping completes the films which are then used to create the actual printing plates.

Stumping, Blocking

Impressing book covers, etc., by means of hot die, brass types or blocks. "

Style Sheet

A method of designating the type faces to be used in a design. ie. Headlines, captions and body text, this is listed on a ""sheet"", usually in a ""floating pallet"" on a program like Pagemaker. "

Subtractive Colors

The three primary process printing colors; magenta, cyan, and yellow, as opposed to the three additive primary colors of green, red, and blue. Color separations are created by shooting or scanning a color through filters of additive colors to generate halftones of subtractive colors. Subtracting the additive color of green from white light leaves magenta; subtracting red leaves cyan; and subtracting blue leaves yellow. The subtractive color halftones are then combined on a printing press to create full-color images. "

Supercalender

Alternating steel and fiber-covered calendar rolls that increase a sheet's gloss and smoothness. The supercalender is a separate piece of equipment located close to the dry end of the paper machine.

Swatchbook

A booklet containing paper samples and paper specifications for a line of paper.

Tag Paper

A heavy utility grade of paper used to print tags, such as the store tags on clothing. Tag paper must be strong and durable, yet have good affinity for printing inks. "

Tak Stickiness

Tack is a critical property of the ink used in lithography. Because the ink sits on a flat surface, it needs internal cohesion; in other words, it needs to stick to itself so that it doesn't run all over the plate. However, too much tack can cause it to pull the paper apart. When printing two or more ink colors in line, the ink tack and sequence must be adjusted in order for the ink to adhere to each other as well as to the paper. "

Tear Strength

A measure of how likely a paper will continue to tear once started. Tear strength will be different with and against the grain of paper. Paper that will be punched should have good tear strength.

Template

Pattern used to draw illustrations, make page formats, or lay out press sheets. A template may be a physical object that guides a pencil, an underlay for a light table, or a computer file with present formats or outlines for the final printed piece. "

Tensile Strength

A measure of how likely a paper is to break when pulled at opposite ends, in opposite directions. A web offset paper must have good tensile strength if it is to withstand the high speed of the printing press. "

Text Paper

Premium uncoated printing paper of fine quality, manufactured in weights suitable for the text of books or brochures. Text papers are made in a wide variety of finishes, including smooth, antique, vellum, laid, felt, and embossed. They are characterized by excellent folding qualities, printablity, and durability. Text papers are used most often for books, annual reports, brochures, booklets, advertising collateral material, and announcements, and have a basic size of 25""x38"". "

Text Stock

A paper stock used for sales sheets, data sheets, and other printing where the stiffness of card stock is not required. Text stock is described by pound weights. Standard US text pound (#) weight is determined by the weight of 500, 25"" x 38"" sheets. For example; 500 sheets of 80 lb. text stock, cut 25"" x 38"" would weigh 80 lbs. (Note that card stock is measured differently than text and assumes 500 sheets of 20"" x 26"" to determine pound weight). "

Text type

Type used for text and captions, as compared to display type. Also called body type and composition type. "

Thickness

The thickness of a single piece of paper, as measured in thousandths of an inch, called ""caliper."" Thickness measurements define the bulkiness of a sheet of paper, but the actual number of sheets in an inch-high stack of paper is referred to as PPI, or pages per inch. "

Thumbnail

Small rough sketch of a design.

TIFF

Tagged Image File Format, a bitmapped file format used for the reproduction of digitally scanned images such as photographs, illustrations & logos. "

Tight Register

Subjective term referring to nearly exact register.

Tint

To vary a color by adding white. Also, a very light or delicate variation of a color. "

Titanium Dioxide

An exceptionally opaque and expensive compound used as a white pigment and opacifier in papermaking. Elemental titanium is a lustrous, lightweight, white metal with exceptional strength. "

Tooth

Refers to paper's surface roughness, a characteristic that allows it to take up ink. "

Touchplate

In four-color process printing, an additional fifth plate of ink that adds more of one color to enhance the image. "

Toyo

A system used for color matching.

Transparent Art

Artwork which allows light to pass through rather than reflect off. Examples of transparent art include 35 mm slides and standard photographer transparencies.

Trap or Trapping

The removal of small gaps in ink coverage between two or more adjacent, colored objects. When two objects of different color are butted against each other, a small white or other color gap can sometimes appear if the films and plates are in perfect register. To avoid these gaps, an overlap between the objects is sometimes created. The color of the overlap is selected to minimize the visual effect of the overlap, and yet fill the Trap space as necessary. "

Trim Size, Finished Size

The final size of a printed piece once it's been cut to specification.

Trimming

Cutting paper after printing to make all sheets the same or a specified size. After binding printed papers, the head, foot, and edge of a book are often trimmed in a guillotine to make all the papers even. The inner pages of each signature have a tighter fold and will be slightly longer than the outer pages. "

Tritone

A black and white image printed with three screens and three colors, such as one black and two grays, used to enrich the contrast between light and dark areas. see also continuous tone, duotone, halftone, quadratone, screen. "

Tumble

To print a sheet, then turn it over head to foot, using the same plate but opposite gripper margin. "

Twin-wire Machine

A paper making machine with two continuous forming wires, rather than just one. Twin-wires were designed to create a less two-sided paper than manufactured on a Fourdrinier paper machine. Other techniques for reducing two-sidedness have since been developed, enabling paper manufactures to created paper on single-wire machines with little side-to-side variation. "

Two-sidedness

The tendency of some papers to have slightly different characteristics and printing results from side-to-side.

Type Size

Height of a typeface measured from the top of its ascenders to the bottom of its descenders, expressed in points. "

Type Specimen Book

Book of printed samples of type families and typefaces offered by a type shop or a type font company.

Type Specs

Define typeface, size, line measure, indentations, headlines, and other features of typography."

Type Style

Characteristic of a typeface, such as bold, italic or light. "

Typeface

Set of characters with similar design features and weight. Garamond Light is a typeface. Also called face.

Typography

The art and science of composing type to make it legible, readable and pleasing. 2) The arrangement of type on a page."

Ultrabold Type

Type that is heavier than bold. Also called black type.

Uncoated

Often referred to as copier paper, this stock has no coating and allows ink absorption during the printing process. As the ink is absorbed by the various paper fibers, it diffuses the image and lessens contrast between colors. Uncoated stock is less expensive than coated stocks, and is often used to reduce costs on jobs where quality is not the primary concern. "

Uncoated Freesheet

Uncoated paper containing no more than 10% mechanical wood pulp. Most uncoated freesheet paper is entirely free of mechanical wood pulp. Most uncoated printing and writing papers are classified into the broader category of uncoated freesheet.

Uncoated Groundwood

All paper, that isn't coated, containing more than 10% groundwood fiber in its furnish. "

Uncoated Paper

Paper that doesn't have coating. Uncoated papers are manufactured in a great variety of finishes, colors, and weights, and offer the versatility needed to meet the creative and practical demands of most print jobs. "

Unit Cost

The cost of one item in a print run. Unit cost is computed by dividing the total cost of the printing job--variable costs plus fixed costs--by the quantity of products delivered.

UV Coating

A very slick, glossy coating applied to the printed paper surface and dried on press with ultraviolet (UV) light. The slick surface of UV coating makes it eye catching, and therefore very popular for printing the covers of paperback novels. Because UV coating can cause slight variations in match colors, consulting with an ink manufacturer or printer will yield best results. "

UV Ink

Ink specially formulated to dry quickly with ultraviolet (UV) light while still on press. UV drying improves turnaround time because it eliminates waiting for the first side to dry before printing the second side. This eliminates the need for the paper to pass through the press more than once.

Vandyke

Brown print.

Variable Cost

Costs of a printing job that change depending on how many pieces are produced, as compared to fixed costs. Costs for paper, printing and binding are examples of variable costs. "

Variable Cost

See de-inking.

Variable Data

Computer generated text such as PINs, control numbers and serial numbers. "

Varnish

A coating printed on top of a printed sheet to protect it, add a finish, and/or add a tinge of color. An entire sheet may be varnished, or certain areas, like halftones, may be spot varnished to add emphasis and appeal. "

Vegetable-based Ink

Ink using vegetable oil, rather than petroleum solvents, as the vehicle for carrying pigment. Vegetable ink colors tend to be more vibrant than petroleum-based inks, but may take longer to dry. "

Vellum

An uncoated paper finish that is fairly even, but not quite as even as a smooth finish. Vellum is probably the most popular finish for uncoated paper. "

Velox

A paper type imaging material created by using a large printers camera and exposing the paper to light through a lens. Used for camera ready logos, half tones.

Vignette

Fade to white or small decorative design or illustration.

Washed Out

Characteristic of printing or a photograph whose images appear faded.

Waste

Unusable paper or paper damaged during normal make-ready, printing or bindery operations, as compared to spoilage.

Waterless Printing

A printing process that runs on offset lithography presses, but without using water. The non-image areas of the plate are coated with silicone, allowing the ink to run off freely into shallow wells, in the plate. Because finer dots can be used in waterless printing, the image is very detailed. The cost for this printing process is high, but the results can be magnificent.

Watermark

A mark in fine papers, imparted during manufacture, that identifies a paper. It doesn't leave an impression in the paper, instead it leaves behind a translucent mark.

Web

A roll of paper.

Web Break

A tear through a roll of paper, either while it is being manufactured at the mill, or while it is running through a printing press. When the web breaks, either at the mill or on press, machinery must be shut down, causing a loss of production time.

Web Paper

Paper that comes in a roll rather than in sheets. A web press runs this paper, folding and/or cutting it after it is printed. A web press is a press specifically designed to print rolls of paper called webs, rather than sheets. A web press runs much faster than a sheet-fed press

Web Press

A high speed printing press that prints on both sides of a continuous roll of paper. Web presses are used for high volume printing such as newspapers and magazines.

Weight

The tonnage or poundage of a quantity of paper. The weight of paper may be expressed as basis weight, ream weight, M weight, or grammage. Basis weight is the weight in pounds of 500 sheets of paper cut to a given standard size (called basic size), such as 25""x38"", depending on the grade of paper. Ream weight is the actual weight in pounds of 500 sheets of paper, regardless of basic size of grade. M weight is the actual weight of 1,000 sheets of paper. Because this is twice the quantity of a ream of paper, it is also twice the ream weight. Grammage is a metric measure similar to the basis weight of paper. Unlike basis weight, which uses different basic sizes for different grades of paper, grammage always uses the same sheet size - one square meter - regardless of the paper grade.

Wet End

The front end of the papermaking machine, including the head- box, wire, and presses. Paper is more water than fiber in this section of the machine.

Wet Trap Printing

A layer of wet ink over, or adjacent to, a previous layer of wet ink.

Whiteness

The measure of the amount of light reflected from a sheet of paper. How white a paper is depends on how evenly it reflects all colors in the visible spectrum. If it reflects more blue than red and yellow, it will have a cool, blue tinge to it, making it appear brighter than white. A cool paper will appear brighter than a similar paper with a warm tinge. A cool or warm tinge doesn't affect paper quality, but it does create optical impressions. For example, in color printing with blues and blacks predominating, a cool white sheet tends to brighten the colors. But color printing with reds, oranges, and yellows predominating, a neutral or warm white sheet tends to make the colors appear clearer and stronger.

Window

On a mechanical, an area that has been marked for placement of a halftone. When photographed using graphic arts film, a window made using masking material (dark area) creates a window on the film (transparent area).

Wire Side

The bottom side of the paper that comes in contact with the wire (now called the forming fabric) of the paper machine during the papermaking process. The top side of the paper is called the felt side. As the water drains through the wire during manufacture, it carries fibers, fillers, and other chemicals with it, depositing more of them on the wire side than on the felt side of the paper. This can result in the wire and felt sides having slightly different textures. "

Wire-O

A binding method in which a continuous series of wire loops run through punched slots on one side of a booklet.

Work and Back

See imposition.

Work and Tumble

See imposition.

Work and Turn

To print a sheet then turn it over left to right, using the same plate and gripper margin. "

Wove Finish

Uncoated paper that has an even finish with slight toothiness.

X Height

Vertical height of a lowercase x in a typeface. X height varies from one typeface to another. Also called body height.

Xerography

An inkless printing process that uses static electricity.

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