Glossary Page 3

Glossary of Terms – Page 3.

We take great pride in making our clients feel confident about their jobs during the production process. To help you gain a better understanding of what’s happening to your project, we’ve compiled a glossary of terms that we commonly use in our industry.

M N O P R S T U V W X Y ( Page 1 – Page 2)

• Measure

  The width of type as measured in picas. Reference, picas.

• Mechanical

  A term used to describe finished artwork that is camera ready for reproduction, including all type, photos, illustrations etc.

• Metropolitan Service Area

  A group of ZIP codes usually in close proximity defining a large metropolitan area (e.g. New York City or Los Angeles).

• Midtone Dot

  Commonly taken as the area between highlight and shadow area of a subject’s face in halftone image.

• Moire

  An undesirable halftone pattern produced by the incorrect angles of overprinting halftone screens.

• Molleton

  A cotton fabric used on the dampening rollers of a printing press.

• Molybdate Orange

  An ink pigment made from precipitating lead molybdate, lead sulfate and lead chromate.

• Mottle

  A term used to describe spotty or uneven ink absorption.

• Mull

  Coarse muslin glue placed on the back of book or pads for strengthening.

• Mullen Testing

  A specific test of tensile paper strength; an important factor if web presses are used for printing.

• Natural

  A term to describe papers that have a color similar to that of wood; also called cream, off-white or ivory.

• Negative

  Film that contains the same images as the original print, except that all colors and shades are reversed. Reference, positive.

• Newsprint

  A light, low cost groundwood paper made especially for newspapers. Reference, groundwood.

• Nominal Weight

  When the basis weight of paper differs from the actual weight, the term nominal weight is used.

• OA Of Register

  When two sheet passes on a press are misaligned.

• OBC

  Outside back cover.

• Oblong

  A term used to describe printed books, catalogs etc., that are bound on their shorter side; also referred to as album bound.

• OFC

  Outside front cover.

• Off-shore Paper

  Any papers made outside the US and Canada.

• Offset

  The most commonly used printing method, whereby the printed material does not receive the ink directly from the printing plate but from an intermediary cylinder called a blanket which receives the ink from the plate and transfers it to the paper.

• Offset Gravure

  A complex offset process involving multiple transfers between the gravure plate, the plate cylinder and a solid rubber plate.

• Offset Lithography

  Indirect printing method in which the inked image on the press-plate is first printed onto a rubber blanket, then in turn offsets the inked impression on to the sheet of paper.

• Offset Paper

  A term for uncoated book paper.

• Onionskin

  A light bond paper used for typing and used with carbon paper because of its thinness.

• Opacity

  Quality of papers that defines its opaqueness or ability to prevent two-sided printing from showing through.

• Opaque

  A quality of paper that allows relatively little light to pass through.

• Opaque Ink

  Ink that completely covers any ink under itself.

• Orthochromatic

  Any light sensitive surfaces that are not sensitive to red.

• Over Run

  Surplus of copies printed.

• Overhang Cover

  A cover of a book that extends over the trimmed signatures it contains.

• Overlay

  A transparent sheet placed over artwork, in register with the work it covers; this is used to call out other color components of the work, instructions or corrections.

• Overlay Proof

  A process of proof making whereby the color separations are individually exposed to light sensitive film. This film is then set in registration with a piece of white paper in the background.

• Overprinting

  Any printing that is done on an area that has already been printed.

• Overset

  Type that is set in excess of the allotted space.

• Page

  One side of a leaf.

• Page Makeup

  The assemblage of all the necessary elements required to complete a page.

• Page Proofs

  Proofs made up from pages.

• Panchromatic

  Films or other photographic materials that are sensitive to all colors.

• Paperboard

  Any paper with a thickness (caliper) of 12 points (.3mm) or more.

• Papeterie

  A high-grade soft paper used for personal stationery because it accepts handwriting well.

• Parchment

  A hard finished paper that emulates animal skin; used for documents, such as awards, that require writing by hand.

• Parent Sheet

  A sheet that is larger than the cut stock of the same paper.

• Paste Drier

  Any of a variety of compounds used in enhancing the drying properties of printing inks.

• Paste Ink

  An ink having a high level of viscosity.

• Paste-up

  Preparation of positive materials into a layout for photographing to film negatives.

• Peeling

  Delamination.

• Perf Marks

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

• Perfect

  A term used to describe the binding process where the signatures of a book are held together by a flexible adhesive.

• Perfect Binding

  Binding process where backs of sections are cut off, roughened and glued together, and rung in a cover.

• Perfecting

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

• Perfecting Press

  A printing press that prints on both sides of the page in a single pass.

• Perforating

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

• Phloxine

  A blue red pigment used mostly in news inks; not a good ink for lithographers as it bleeds in alcohol and water.

• Photoengraving

  Making printing plates by exposure of line and halftone negatives on sensitized metal, converting the image into an acid resist, and etching the print to the relief required for letterpress printing.

• Photomechanical

  The platemaking process where plates are coated with photosensitive coatings and exposed to photo negatives or positives.

• Photostat

  A photographic print creating an image using photography and electrostatic processes; also called a stat.

• Phthalocyanine

  The main pigment in the manufacture of cyan ink.

• Pica

  Standard of measurement, 1/6 inch. 1 pica = 12 points 72 points = 1 inch

• Picking (1)

  When the tack of ink is stronger than the surface strength of the paper, some lifting of the paper surface occurs; this is referred to as picking.

• Picking (2)

  An occurrence in printing whereby the tack of ink pulls fibers or coating off the paper surface, leaving spots on the printed surface.

• Piling

  A build up of pigment or paper coatings onto the plate, blankets or rollers.

• Pin Register

  Using metal pins fitted into preset holes of copy sheets, films, plates and presses that will assure the proper registration.

• Pinholing

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

• Plastic Comb

  A method of binding books whereby holes are drilled on the side closest the spine, and a plastic grasping device is inserted to hold the pages together.

• Plasticizer

  An ink additive that adds flexibility, softness and adhesion.

• Plate

  Reproduction of type or cuts in metal, plastic, rubber, or other material, to form a plate bearing a relief, planographic or intaglio printing surface.

• Plate Cylinder

  The cylinder on a printing press on which the plate is mounted.

• Plate Finish

  Any bond, cover or bristol stock with an extremely smooth finish achieved by calendaring.

• Platemaking

  Making a printing plate from a film or flat including preparation of the plate surface, sensitizing, exposing through the flat, developing or processing, and finishing.

• PMT

  Photomechanical transfer.

• Point

  A measurement unit equal to 1/72 of an inch. 12 points to a pica, 72 points to an inch.

• Positive

  Film that contains an image with the same tonal values as the original; opposite of a negative.

• Ppi

  Pixels per inch.

• Premium

  Any paper that is considered better than #1 by its manufacturer.

• Presensitized Plate

  A plate that has been treated with light sensitive coatings by the manufacturer.

• Press-Proof

  Actual press sheet to show image, tone values and colors as well as imposition of frame or press-plate.

• Primary Colors

  In printing the four primary colors are cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black.

• Printability

  The quality of papers to show reproduced printed images.

• Printers Pairs

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

• Process Inks

  Printing inks, usually in sets of four colors. The most frequent combination is yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, which are printed, one over another in that order, to obtain a colored print with the desired hues, whites, blacks, and grays.

• Process Lens

  A high quality specialty lens made for line art, halftone and color photography.

• Process Printing

  Printing from two or more half tones to produce intermediate colors and shades.

• Progressive Proofs

  Any proofs made from the separate plates of a multi-plate-printing project.

• 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.

• Pull For Position

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

• Rag paper

  Papers with a complete or partial content of cotton fibers.

• Ragged Left

  The term given to right-justified type that is uneven on the left.

• Ragged Right

  The term given to left-justified type that is uneven on the right.

• Railroad Board

  A thick, coated paper used for signs; usually waterproof.

• Readers Pairs

  Two consecutive pages as they appear in printed piece.

• Ream

  500 sheets of paper.

• Recto

  The odd numbered pages (right hand side) of books.

• Red Lake “C”

  A common pigment for paste and liquid red inks.

• Reducer

  Any substance that softens and reduces the tack of ink.

• Reel

  The master roll of paper as it comes off the papermaking machine. It is in its original width and is then cut into smaller rolls.

• Register

  The arrangement of two or more images in exact alignment with each other.

• Register Marks

  Any crossmarks or other symbols used on layout to assure proper registration.

• Right Angle Fold

  A term that denotes folds that are 90 degrees to each other.

• Roll To Roll

  A web press printing process where the roll of paper is printed and stored on a roll to be shipped.

• Rub Proof

  That stage of printed ink where the maximum dryness is achieved, and the ink will not smudge.

• Rubine

  A pigment somewhat redder than true magenta.

• Run-Around

  A term given to copy that accommodates the lines of a picture or other image or copy.

• Runability

  A term used to describe how well a paper runs on a printing press.

• Running Head

  A title at the top of a page that appears on all pages of a book or chapter of a book.

• Saddle Stitching

  Stitching where the wire staples pass through the spine from the outside and are clinched in the center. Only used with folded sections, either single sections or two or more sections inset to form a single section.

• Safety Paper

  A paper that shows sign of erasure so that it cannot be altered or tampered with easily.

• Satin Finish

  A smooth delicately embossed finished paper with sheen.

• Scaling

  The enlargement or reduction of an image or copy to fit a specific area.

• Score

  Impressions or cuts in flat material to facilitate bending or tearing.

• Screen Angles

  The placement of halftone screens to avoid unwanted moire patterns. Frequently used angles are black 45deg, magenta 75deg, yellow 90deg, and cyan 105deg.

• Screen Ruling

  A measurement equaling the number of lines or dots per inch on a halftone screen.

• Screened Print

  A photo print made by using a halftone negative; also called a velox.

• Scum

  Unwanted ink marks in the non-image area.

• Self Cover

  A cover made out of the same paper stock as the internal sheets.

• Shadow Dot

  The lowest density of a halftone image.

• Sharpen

  To decrease the dot size of the halftone which in turn decreases the color strength.

• Sheetwise

  The printing of two different images on two different sides of a sheet of paper by turning the page over after the first side is printed and using the same gripper and side guides.

• Short Ink

  Ink that is smooth and creamy but does not flow freely.

• Show Through

  A problem that occurs when the printing on one side of a sheet is seen from the other side.

• Side Guide

  The guides on the sides of the sheet fed press that position the sheet sideways as the paper is led towards the front guides.

• 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, placed so that they will fold and bind together as a section of a book. The printed sheet after folding.

• Silhouette halftone

  A halftone with the background screen removed.

• Silverprint

  Reference, brownline proof.

• Slitting

  A term to describe the process of cutting of printed sheets by the cutting wheels of a printing press.

• Smoothness

  That quality of paper defined by its levelness which allows for pressure consistency in printing, assuring uniformity of print.

• Soft Dot

  An excessively large halo around a dot in a photograph that causes a fringe that diminishes the dot intensity.

• Spine

  Back edge of a book.

• Spiral Bind

  A binding whereby a wire or plastic is spiraled through holes punched along the binding side.

• Spot Color

  Small area printed in a second color.

• Spread

  A film image that is larger than the original image to accommodate ink trapping. Reference, trapping

• Stabbing

  To bind a series of pages with wire staples such that staples enter from the front and back simultaneously, neither side being long enough to exit the opposite side.

• Stability

  The quality of paper to maintain its original size when it undergoes pressure and moisture changes.

• Stagger Cutting

  A process of cutting many sheets from the same parent sheet in which the smaller sheets have different grain directions; also called dutch or bastard cutting.

• Star Target

  The Graphic Arts Technical Foundation, GATF has established various quality control images; the star target appears along with the color bar and helps the pressman detect any irregularity in the ink spread. Reference, Color Bars

• Static Neutralizer

  A device on a printing press that minimizes the amount of static build up on paper as it passes through the press.

• Step And Repeat

  A process of generating multiple exposures by taking an image and stepping it according to a predetermined layout.

• Stet

  A proofreader’s symbol that is usually written in the copy margin, that indicates that the copy, which was marked for correction, should be left as it was.

• Stock

  A term for unprinted paper or other material to be printed.

• Strip-In

  To add an element, such as copy that is shot separately, and then stripped into place on a goldenrod flat.

• Stripping

  Originally, the removal of the photographic emulsion with its image from individual negatives and combining them in position on a glass plate. Now the use of stripfilm materials, and the cutting, attachment, and other operations for assembling. The positioning of positives and negatives on the flat before proceeding to platemaking.

• Stumping Or Blocking

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

• Super Calendaring

  A machine procedure that produces a high finished paper surface that is extremely smooth and exceptional for printing.

• Synthetic Papers

  Any petroleum based waterproof papers with a high tensile strength.

• Tack

  The adhesive quality of inks.

• Tag

  A dense, strong paper stock.

• Tensile Strength

  A paper’s ability to withstand pressure.

• Text

  A high quality printing paper.

• Thermography

  A printing process whereby slow drying ink is applied to paper and while the ink is still wet, it is lightly dusted with a resinous powder. The paper then passes through a heat chamber where the powder melts and fuses with the ink to produce a raised surface.

• Through Drier

  A slower drier that dries the ink throughout without forming a hard crust.

• Ticket Envelope

  Envelopes used mostly for theater tickets, with no other particular usage.

• Tint

  A halftone screen that contains all the same sized dots.

• Titanium Oxide

  A bright white pigment (opaque) used for printing on metal and flexible packaging.

• Toluidine Red

  A red pigment with poor bleed resistance.

• Tooth

  The rough surfaced finish of papers such as vellum or antique.

• Transparent

  Inks that do not block out the colored inks that they print over, but instead blend with them to create intermediate colors.

• Trapping

  The process of printing wet ink over printed ink which may be wet or dry.

• Trim Marks

  Marks placed on the sheet to indicate where to cut the page.

• Twin Wire Machine

  Fourdrinier papermaking machines with two wires, instead of a wire and felt side. This assures higher quality when two sides are used for printing.

• Two-sidedness

  The difference in feel and appearance of either side of a sheet of paper due to the papermaking process having a felt and wire side.

• Uncalendared

  Papers that are not smoothed by going through the calendaring process.

• Up

  A term used to describe how many similar sheets can be produced on a larger sheet; two up, four up, etc.

• Upright

  A term given to books bound on the longer dimension.

• Vacuum Frame

  Also called a contact frame; used in the platemaking process to hold materials in tight contact during exposure.

• Vandyke

  Brown print

• Varnish

  A clear shiny ink used to add gloss to printed pieces. The primary component of the ink vehicle. Reference, vehicle.

• Vehicle

  A combination of varnish, waxes, dryers etc., that contain the pigment of inks and control the flow, the drying and the adhesion of the pigments to the printed surface.

• Vellum

  A finish of paper that is rough, bulky and has a degree of tooth.

• Velour Paper

  A term given to papers that are coated with an adhesive and then flock dusted.

• Velox

  A photographic print which is made from a negative.

• Verso

  A term given to the left-hand or even-numbered pages of a book.

• Vignette

  Fade to white or small decorative design or illustration. A photo or illustration etc., in which the tones fade gradually away until they blend with the surface they are printed on.

• W&B

  An abbreviation for work and back. Reference, sheetwise.

• W&T

  An abbreviation for work and turn.

• Walk-off

  A term given to the occurrence of plate deterioration of the image area during the printing process; usually occurs on long runs.

• Washup

  The procedure of cleaning a particular ink from all of the printing elements (rollers, plate, ink fountain etc.) of a press.

• Watermark

  A translucent logo that is embossed during the papermaking process while the paper slurry is on the dandy roll. Reference, dandy roll

• Web

  The roll of paper that is used in web or rotary printing.

• Web Break

  A tear in a web roll during the printing process.

• Web Press

  Cylinder printing machine in which the paper is fed from a continuous reel, as opposed to sheet fed.

• Web Tension

  The term given to the tension or pull exerted by the web press on the web roll.

• Wedding Paper

  A soft paper that is thick and holds up well under embossing.

• Wet Trapping

  The ability of an ink film to accept subsequent ink films.

• Widow

  A single word or two left at the end of a paragraph, or a part of a sentence ending a paragraph, which loops over to the next page and stands alone. Also, the last sentence of a paragraph which contains only one or two short words.

• Wipe On Plate

  A plate on which is wiped a light sensitive coating by a coating device; usually the first step in this type of platemaking.

• Wire Side

  That side of the paper which lies on the wire screen side of the papermaking machine.

• Wire Stitching Or Stapling

  To fasten together sheets, signatures, or sections with wire staples. 3 methods… saddle stitching, side stitching, and stabbing.

• Wove

  A smooth paper made on finely textured wire that gives the paper a gentle patterned finish.

• Wrinkles

  The unevenly dried surface of printed inks.

• Writing Paper

  Another name for bond paper.

• Xerographic Paper

  Papers made to reproduce well in copy machines and laser printers.

• Yield Value

  The actual amount of force needed to start an ink flowing.