Here is a guide to some common terms used in the print industry
A series
Standard international metric range of paper sizes
Acetate
Transparent sheet of plastic
Acid-free paper
Paper made without the use of acidic chemicals which reduce its shelf life
Acrobat
A software developed by Adobe Systems Inc. that allows documents to be read and printed across computer systems, using PDF (portable document format) files
Additive Colour
Colours achieved through the mixing of colours of light. When all of the colours of the spectrum are added together, they produce white light. Computer screens and TV’s use additive colour
Against the grain
Folding or cutting a sheet of paper at right angles to the grain of the paper
Ampersand
The ‘&’ symbol used for the word ‘and’
Anti set-off spray
A fine spray used when printing to stop the ink setting off when the paper is stacked
Antique
A printing paper with a rough textured finish
Apple
The computer system most commonly used in the graphic industry
Archive
Digital storage of previously jobs
Art paper
Gloss paper coated with china clay and then calendared to a gloss finish
Artwork
Copy or digital file used to produce the printed job
Ascender
Part of a letter that extends above the x-height
Attachment
File sent with an email message
Author’s corrections
Corrections made on a proof
B series
Alternative international range of paper sizes
Binding
The process of fastening printed sheets together in a secure way
Bitmap
Digital image file made up of individual pixels
Black and white
Mono or monochrome image in black only
Bleed
Part of the image that beyond the trim area of the print
Blind embossing
The effect created by a non printed raised area on the print
Blocking
Binding process that impresses an image or lettering onto a sheet
Blow-up
When a graphic or area is enlarged
Bmp
Bitmap graphics format
Board
General term for paper above 200gsm
Body text
The main text of the print
Bold
Thick version of a typeface
Bond
A range of uncoated papers often used for stationery
BPIF
British Printing Industries Federation trade body
BPOP
Bulk Packed on Pallets
Bromide
Photographic light-sensitive paper once used in print reproduction
Burst binding
A strong form of adhesive binding for books and brochures
CAD/CAM
Computer-aided design/computer aided manufacture
Camera ready artwork/copy
Conventional artwork ready for processing
Caps
Capital or upper case letters
Carrier sheet
A sheet of paper which shows the delivery address placed inside a film wrapped brochure
Cartridge
Uncoated paper with high opacity and good bulk often used for sckettching
Case
Refers to whether letters are capitalised (upper case) or not (lower case)
Case-bound
A book with a hard case outer cover
Cast coated
Paper with a high mirror like gloss
China clay
Material used for coating onto matt, silk and gloss papers
Chlorine-free paper
Paper whitened without the use of environmentally harmful chlorine chemicals
Clipping path
Outline around an illustration or image which determines the cut out area
CMYK
Abbreviation used for four colour process printing – cyan, magenta, yellow and black (K)
Coated paper
Paper coated with china clay
Collate
Place the printed sheets into the correct order for finishing
Colour bars
Coloured strips and circles added to four-colour process printed sheets showing ink densities and used for quality and consistency
Colour separation
The breaking down of full colour into the four process colours
Colour splits
The separation of the different colours on artwork
Colour swatch
A sample of a specified colour
Colour transparency
A full-colour photographic image on piece of film
Computer-to-plate
System which exposes litho plates by laser or thermal imaging directly from data supplied from a computer file
Continuous stationery
Stationery produced on a reel used on certain computer printers
Continuous tone
An uncountable range of colour variation or shades of grey such as occurs in a photography or painting, which cannot be directly reproduced
Contract proof
A colour proof that was used to mimic the expected result of a printed job
Copier paper
Paper used in photocopying machines usually 80gsm uncoated
Copy date
An agreed date to send copy to the printer
CTP
Computer To Plate (as above)
Crease
Score a line across a sheet of board to assist folding and reduce cracking
Cracking
When the fibres are broken when they are folded
Creep
The effect of the outer printed pages in a brochure or catalogue becoming wider than the inner pages, due to the thickness of paper across the fold
Cromalin
An old proofing system used in full colour litho printing
Crop
Removing an area of an image or illustration to achieve better fit
Crop marks
Marks printed on a sheet indicating where the sheet will be trimmed
Cross fold
A sheet that is folded in half and then again in the opposite direction
Cut marks
See crop marks
Cut-out
Illustration where the background has been removed
Cyan
The blue colour used in full colour printing
Dandy roll
Cylinder on paper making machine which impresses patterns and watermarks onto the surface
Data integrity
The degree to which date is trusted or assumed correct
Densitometer
An optical device used by printers to measure and control the density of ink printed on the paper
Descender
The part of a letter extending below the character baseline
Desktop publishing (DTP)
The production of fully made-up documents using a MAC or PC with page layout software
Die cutting
The process of cutting out shapes from the sheet of card
Digital printing
Printing directly from computer files to paper
Digital proof
A proof generated from a computer fie
Digital workflow system
Prepress system that manages the flow of made-up pages from creation through proofing to imposition on plate
Dingbat
A term for typographical characters such as arrows, starts, hearts and snowflakes
Dithering
A technique used in computer graphics to create the appearance of additional colours and shades of grey
Dot gain
The increase in the size of the dot in a halftone image when printed onto paper
DPI
Abbreviation of dots per inch, which indicates the resolution of images. The more dots per inch, the higher the resolution. Minimum required for printing is 300 dpi for all images
Dots per inch (dpi)
Measurement used to determine the resolution of a printer or scanner
Double spread
Print going across two facing pages
Double-page spread
When two facing pages in a book or periodical are shown
Down-time
The non-productive time when a printing machine is being maintained or serviced
Download
The transfer of files from one computer another
Drawn-on-cover
A binding style in which the cover is wrapped around the spine and glued directly
Drilling
The making of holes in a pile of paper for binding methods, such as loose leaf
Drop-caps
Drop Capital. A letter or letters at the beginning of the paragraph which extend below the depth of the rest of the text line
Drum Scanner
The original method of scanning transparencies using a cylindrical clear drum
Drying time
Time taken for the ink to dry on the printed sheet
Dummy
Mock-up of a book or other piece of printing to show how it will look before the main run
Duotone
A black-and-white image that is reproduced using two colours to add depth
Duplex printing
Printing on both sides of the paper
ECF
Elemental Chlorine Free pulp and paper during manufacture
Edge gilding
Gold-leaf edging on a book
Em
Standard unit of measurement (also called pica). One em = 4.22mm
Em dash
An elongated hyphen (the width of capital M in the font in use)
Embossed finish
Surface pattern pressed in paper
Embossing
See blocking
En
Half the width of an em
En dash
An elongated hyphen (the width of capital N in the font in use)
Encapsulated postscript
Line graphic created using software that produces Postscript code
Endpaper
Strong paper used for securing the body of a book to its case
EPS
See Encapsulated Postscript
Estimator
The person who calculates the cost of a printed job
Expanded type
Typeface with characters wider than the normal font
Extended type
See expanded type
Extent
The length of book expressed in pages
Face
A style of type ie typeface
Facing pages
Pages that face each other in an open book or magazine. Also called double page spread
Fade-out
See ghosting
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Feathering
In printing, ink spread
Feed edge
The edge of the sheet of paper that is presented to the lays of a press that take it into the machine. Also called gripper edge, leading edge or pitch edge
Fill
The pattern and or colour that is inside an object produced in a illustration programme
Fine papers
High quality printing and writing papers
Finish
The type or surface that a particular grade of paper has
Finishing
Bindery process taking place after a job is printed. Ie folding, stitching, cutting inserting etc
Finished size
Size of printed item after production is complete. Also called trimmed size
Flat size
Size of printed item after printing and trimming but before finishing
Firewall
A digital security barrier to prevent external access to a computer system by outside sources
First proof
The first proof used for checking
First revise
The corrected first proof made after errors have been noted
Flat
When a printed image lacks contrast or colour density
Flatbed
A press where the printing surface is flat rather than curved as on a litho press
Flatbed scanner
An image scanner with a flat platen or bed
Flexography
Relief printing process using flexible bendable plates
Flush cover
A bound book or booklet having the cover trimmed to the same size as the text pages
Flyleaf
The plain sheet of paper in a book between the cover and the text pages
Foils
A sheet with a surface that resembles metal
Foil emboss
To stamp and emboss an image onto a sheet of paper, also called a heat stamp
Folding boxboard
High quality board used for making cartons which has good scoring and folding characteristics
Foldout
An extra page that is attached to another page, often used for a map or chart. Also called throw out, gatefold and pullout
Folio
The page number at the head or foot of a page of text
Font
A complete family set of the same typeface and point sizes
Font size
The actual size that the type is produced at. In the UK and US font size is usually given in points
Footer
The common text that appears at the bottom of each page
Format
Trimmed page size or physical specification for a page or a book
Four colour process
See CMYK
Four colour separation
See colour separation
FTP
File Transfer Protocol. An old system for transferring digital files between 2 fixed sites securely
Full colour
See CMYK
Full point
Full stop
Galley proof
An old system of proofing text that is not made up into page finished pages
Gatefold
A page in a magazine or book which folds out twice
Gather
The process of collecting individual sheets of a printed job into the correct sequence for binding
Ghosting
A problem in litho printing where an image can reappear faintly somewhere else on the sheet
GIF
The filename extension for files in Graphics Interchange Format
Gigabyte (Gb)
One thousand million bytes
Gloss art
A paper with a highly calendared/glossy surface
Graduated fill
The gradual change from one colour to another. eg From a dark tone to a light tone across an image
Grain direction</strong
The direction that the fibres that make up a sheet of paper lay
Grammage
How the weight of paper is measured – grams per square metre
Gravure printing
A method of printing in which recesses on a cylinder are filled with ink and then the surplus is removed with a blade. Used for long run magazines and catalogues
Grey board
Particular kind of bulky board used as backing board for pads etc
Grip
The area on the lead edge of the sheet of paper that the litho print machine grabs to feed the sheet of paper into the press
gsm or g/m2
Grams per square metre. How the weight of paper and board is measured
Guillotine
The machine that cuts the sheets of paper
Gummed paper
A paper coated on one side with adhesive
Gutter
The margin used when binding a book
Hairline
Very fine line or stroke in a letter
Halftone
Illustration created by dots of varying sizes
Hard copy
Physical written copy, typed or printed as distinct from a digital file
Hard-bound
See Case-bound
Hardcover
See case-bound
Header
The running headline appearing at the top of each page or letterhead
Hickey
Spot on a printed sheet caused by a spec of dust or dirt that causes an imperfection in the printed image ink. This is particularly noticeable in solids, large type, halftones, tints etc
High resolution
An image produced in high detail
Highlights
The lightest tonal areas in a graphic
Hot-melt
The adhesive used in perfect binding to glue the pages into the spine
Icon
A small picture that is used to represent something
Images
There are two main types of images – Vector Graphics and Bit-Mapped Graphics. Vector images use a composite of lines and nodes while Bit-Mapped Graphics use a composition of a pattern of dots (sometimes called Raster Graphics). Programs that enable you to create and manipulate Vector Graphics are often called drawing programmes (e.g. Adobe Illustrator or Macromedia Freehand). Programmes used for creating and manipulating Bit-Mapped images or photographs are sometimes referred to as image editing or paint programmes (e.g. Adobe Photoshop or MS Paint)
Image area
The printed area of a sheet
Imposition
How the pages are arranged on the printed sheet so that when a publication is folded and bound, the pages run in the correct order
Imprint
The publishers and/or printers identifying tag printed in a book or other work
Indent
Where the type is set further in from the left hand margin of a page than the rest of the surrounding text
India paper
Very thin opaque rag paper often used for high-quality bibles
Indigo
A digital printing process
Ink set-off
Unintentional transfer of wet ink from one printed sheet to another in the paper stack
Insert
A loose sheet of printed material that will be inserted into another piece of printed material such as a magazine or brochure
Interleaves
Blank sheets of paper placed between wet printed sheets to prevent a ink set-off when cutting
Iris proofs
An old system of full colour digital proofing generated from a Postscript file
ISO
International Standards Organisation – the international accepted working standards in paper sizes
Italic
Letters in the font family that slope forward
Ivory board
The traditional high grade smooth white board used for business cards
Jacket
The dust cover on a book
Java
An object-oriented programming language designed for programming the internet
Joint photographic experts group (JPEG)
A standard for coding and compression of colour images
JPEG
See above
Justification
Where the text on a page is aligned with either the left or right margin or with both
Kerning
The adjusting of the space between two adjacent letters to create a better appearance
Kerning pairs
Pairs of letters which invariably need spacing adjustments made to them visually neater
Keyline
A thin line drawn on artwork to show where illustrations or other material should be placed
Kraft
A strong brown paper used in packaging and printing
Laid paper
A high quality paper that has lines parallel to each other imprinted into the paper
Lamination
A thin plastic film that is glued to a sheet of paper or board using heat and pressure that adds to the protection and/or appearance of the finished job
Landscape
The orientation of a page or image or picture so that its width is greater than its height
Leaf
As single sheet, comprising two pages ie printed both sides
Letterpress
A printing process using raised lead metal letters to transfer the ink onto the paper
Letter spacing
Adding or reducing the space between individual characters
Lick-coated paper
Paper with a very light coating
Lightfast ink
Ink that fades more slowly than normal ink on prolonged exposure to strong light
Limp binding
Paperback binding
Literal
A mistake introduced when keying in copy, often only affecting one or two characters
Lithography
Print process in which ink is applied selectively to the plate by chemically treating the image areas to accept ink and the non-image areas to accept water. Shortened to litho
Litho plate
The printing plate used in offset litho
Loose leaf
Binding which uses steel rings passing through drilled holes in the paper to hold the sheets together
Low resolution
Often shortened to low-res. An image that is produced in low quality
Lower case
Small letters as distinct from capitals. Abbreviated as lc
Mac
Abbreviation for the Apple Macintosh computer widely used in the print and publishing industries
Machine binding
Binding printed sheets by machine rather than manually
Machine coated
Paper that is coated during the paper-making process
Machine minder
The person who supervises the running of a printing machine
Machine proof
A proof made by printing from the actual printing plate. Also known as a wet proof
Magenta
One of the colours used in 4 colour printing
Make-ready
The setting up of a printing machine ready to run a specific job
Manila
A tough brown paper made from hemp and often used for envelopes
Matchprint
An old system of dry proofing, similar to a Cromalin
Mechanical binding
Binding system using metal or plastic coils. See also spiral binding
Megabyte (mb)
One million computer bytes
Metallic inks
Inks that contain metallic particles such as gold or silver take give a shiny metallic printed effect
Micrometer
Instrument used to measure the thickness of paper
Micron
Units used to measure the thickness of board
Mid tones
The tonal ranges between highlights and shadows
Mini web
Small web offset machine typically producing 16pp A4 colour sections (8pp A4 to view)
Misregister
One colour or more on the printed sheet do not align up
Moire
Undesirable chequered pattern on the printed sheet caused by a conflict of screen angles of the four colour process dots
Monochrome
Literally means one colour. Often black on white
Monotone
An illustration in one colour
Mutton
An em quad
NCR
The proprietary name given to a paper which has been impregnated with dye on one or both sides of the sheet that transfers an image on to the sheet below when written or typed on
Neckline
White space under a headline
Oblique
Where text or sometimes a graphic is slanted
OCR
Optical Character Recognition. The interpretation of typewritten characters by a machine which scans the text and uses software to store it to a file
Octavo
The Latin word meaning “in eighth” or “for the eighth time”, abbreviated as 8vo. The technical term describing the format of a book, referring to the size of pages produced after folding a flat sheet of paper containing multiple printed pages to form the individual sections of a book
Offprint
Part of a book or journal printed separately. Eg and article from a journal
Offset
The printing process that uses a rubber blanket wrapped around a cylinder to transfer the image onto paper as in offset litho
Offset lithography
See Offset
Offset paper
A term for uncoated book paper
On the fly
Refers to any process which occurs as output is being performed
One sided art
Paper coated on one side only
Onionskin
A lightweight, often translucent paper in book and brochure production
Opacity
The term given to how see through a piece of paper is
OPP lamination
Oriented Polypropylene Lamination. The standard lamination film used in print
Optical character recognition
See OCR
Origination
All the processes used in the production of the original material such as typesetting, up to the plate making, to get the job ready to print
Orphan
The first line of a new paragraph, or a sub head, that appears dangling at the foot of a page that is considered undesirable
Out of register
When one or more of the colours on the printed sheet are out of alignment with the others
Outline
An area comprising of only an outline with no solid area
Overprinting
Additional printing over a previously printed sheet
Overrun
Copies printed in excess of the specified printing number requested
Overs
See spoilage
Page
One side of a sheet of paper
Page proof
Proof of a page before printing
Pagemaker
One of the original DTP programmes – now rarely used
Pagination
The numbering of pages
Pamphlet
A small booklet comprising of only a few pages
Pantone
Proprietary name of a widely used colour matching system
Pantone matching system (PMS)
See Pantone
Parallel Folding
Folding a sheet with all the folds parallel to each other
Parenthesis
A round bracket
Pass
When a job goes through a machine
Pass for press
Customer authorisation of the final form of a job for printing
PDF
PDF is a way of saving a document that protects the document formatting so that it will look exactly the same when viewed on any computer or when printed.
PDF
See Portable Document Format
Perfect binding
Adhesive binding method widely used on paperback books and magazines
Perfecting
Printing both sides of a sheet in one pass
Perforating
Punching a series of tiny holes in paper to facilitate tearing
Photoshop
An raster image manipulation programme from Adobe
Pic
Abbreviation for picture
Pica
A typographical unit of measurement
Picking
The lifting of parts of the paper surface during the printing process
Pigment
The constituent of a printing ink that gives it its colour
Pitch
The horizontal spacing of printer characters
Pixel
An abbreviation for picture elements
Pkzip
A widely used file compression and archiving software on PC’s
Plastic proof
An old system of proofing such as Cromalin or Matchprint etc
Plate
The the piece of aluminium used to transfer the image from the printing blanket to the paper in offset printing
Platesetter
The imaging unit on a ctp device to etch the image into the plate
Plate Sunk
Area of paper compressed
PMS
PMS stands for Pantone Matching System used by the printing industry to print spot colours. It is not always possible to match PMS colours using CMYK.
Point sizes
The unit of measurement for characters in the typeset copy. This is measured by the height of the capital letters. 1 point equals 1/72 of an inch
Pop-ups
A form of portable graphic display system
Portable Document Format (pdf)
The format used by Adobe Acrobat Files
Portrait
The origination of a picture, screen or page, such that its height is greater than its width
Positive
An image on film or paper in which the dark and light values are the same as the original as distinct from a negative
Poster paper
One-sided glazed paper with rough underside suitable for pasting
Postscript
Adobe Systems proprietary page description language
Postscript Level 2
An improved version of Postscript
Postscript Level 3
An even further improved version
pp
Pages
Pre-flight
A process of checking a digital file for errors before sending for proofing or printing.
Pre press
All the functions required by the printer before he is able to print
Pre-printed
Part of a job printed before the main run through the press
Press
Printing machine
Press proof/press pass
Proof taken from the press after make-ready but before the main run
Process colours
The 4 colours CMYK used in printing and the colour separation process
Progressive proofs or progs
An historical proofing system made from each plate in a colour set showing each colour alone and in combination with the others as a guide to colour matching at the printing stage
Proof
A trial printed sheet or copy made before the production run for the purpose of checking
Proof reader’s marks
Symbols used by a proof reader in marking corrections on proofs
Proofreading
Checking typeset copy for accuracy
PUR
A strong system of gluing books and magazines using Polyurethane glue
QuarkXPress
Once the leading DTP or page layout programme in the graphics arts industry
Quarto
A page one quarter of the traditional broadsheet
Quire
One 20th of a ream (25 sheets)
Quotes
Inverted commas
Ragged
Text layout that is not justified
Ream
500 sheets of paper
Ream-wrapped
Paper sheets wrapped in lots of 500
Recto
A right hand page
Reel
The master roll of paper as it comes off the paper making machine before it is cut down to sheets
Register marks
Marks in the same relative position on the printing plates that enable the correct alignment of colours to be achieved
Registration
The alignment of the different colours used in printing
Relative Humidity (RH)
Amount of water vapour present in the atmosphere expressed as a percentage of saturation
Relief
Printing method using a raised image eg letterpress
Reprint
The subsequent printing of the first edition of a publication
Repro
The processes used before a job can be printed – prepress, scanning and make-up
Resolution
Measurement of image quality stated in lines per inch (lpi), dots per inch (dpi) or pixels per inch
Retouching
Correcting a photographic print or transparency before reproduction
Reversed Out
Where the the type printed in white and the background is another colour
Revise
A revised proof for subsequent checking
RGB
Red, Green, Blue – the colour system used in tv’s and computer monitors
Rich Text Format
A basic format for word processing
Right-angle folding
Folding a sheet with one or more folds at right-angles to each other
Ring binding
Binding by means of holes in paper which locate on metal rings in a binder
River
Undesirable formation of word spaces into a vertical river of white in the text
Roman type
Upright letters as distinct from italic
Rough
Sketch or layout
Royal
The traditional standard size of paper 480 x 636 mm
Rule
A line
Rules
Printing lines measured in points
Runnability
Ability of paper to be printed without problems
Running head
A title repeated at the to of each page. Also known as a running headline
s/s
Abbreviation for ‘same size’ in reproduction specifications
Saddle stitching
Method used to bind books with wire staples
Sans serif type
Type in which there are no serifs
Scalable font
A font that can be used at any size and any resolution
Scamp
Rough layout
Scatter proofs
Proofs of illustrations or photos arranged in random order on the sheet for checking
Scoring
To impress into a board with a rule to make folding easier and reduce cracking
Screen angles
Each of the colour dots are printed at a different angles to avoid a moire pattern
Screen clash
A moire pattern is caused by the screen angles being incorrect or when a previously printed image is re screened
Screen ruling
The number of lines or dots per inch on a screen
Screen tint
When a colour is printed as a shade rather than full strength the dots are percentage (10-90%)
Script
A typeface that simulates handwriting
Scum or scumming
The build up of ink on the non image area of an offset plate
Section
A folded sheet which is assembled with others to make up a book. Eg an A2 will provide a section of 8 x A4 pages when folded twice
Section sewing
A conventional method of binding where a thread is used to sew the section together as in most paperback or hardback books
Security paper
Paper incorporating features which make counterfeiting difficult
Self copy paper
Carbonless copy paper
Self cover
Where the paper used for the cover and the text are the same weight
Self adhesive paper
Gummed pressure sensitive paper
Self mailer
Printed piece mailed without envelope
Serif
The terminal stroke at the end of a line making up part of a character
Set-off
The transfer of wet ink onto the sheet
Sew
To fasten the sections of a book with thread
Shade
The lightness or darkness of a colour
Shadows
The dark areas in a photograph or halftone print represented by a 70-100% dot
Sheet
The full size piece of paper used for printing before folding or cutting
Sheet fed
Where individual cut sheets are used for printing as distinct from paper on a continuous reel
Sheet work
Each side of the sheet is printed with a different image. As distinct from work and turn
Show through
Lack of opacity in a sheet of paper to the point where the printed image on one side of a page is excessively visible from the other side
Shrink wrap
Plastic film wrapping used to package printed items
Side lay
The guide on a sheet fed press which positions the sheet sideways to ensure each sheet is in the same position before it starts to travel through the press
Side stabbing
A form of stitching where the stitch goes through the side of the document rather than in the fold
Signature
Synonym for section
Silk screen printing
A printing method which employs a fine mesh screen to support a stencil through which ink is squeezed
Slip case
A cardboard case for a book
Slur
Image distortion caused by drag on the printing machine
Small capitals
Capitals the same size as the x-height of the normal lower case
Smoothness
Evenness of paper surface
Soft cover
A paper cover as distinct from hard case board
Soft proof
A representation on screen of what will be printed in the form of a PDF, rather than a proof on paper
Solid
Printed area where the colour is printed at 100%
Solvent
Ink dissolver
Spec
Specification
Spine
The back edge of a book
Spiral binding
Binding using a continuous spiral of wire or plastic threaded through punched holes in the back margin
Spoilage
Waste incurred during the printing or binding processes
Spot colour
A colour that is usually specified in a document as a particular pantone or PMS number
Spot varnish
Varnish applied to selected parts of a printed sheet
Spread
Pair of facing pages
Stet
Proof-readers instructions meaning ignore the marked correction ie leave it as it was
Stitch
The binding method using a stitch made with a thread or staple
Strip gumming
Applying water soluble adhesive to paper in strips
Subscript
A small character printed below the baseline
Substrate
Surface being printed on
Subtractive Colour
Colours achieved through the mixing of colour pigments such as ink or paint. When all of the colours of the spectrum are added together, they produce black. Printing uses subtractive colour
Superior
Small character set above the line
Tab
To determine the points where the text is to align vertically in typesetting
TCF
Totally Chlorine Free, relating to pulp and paper manufacture
Text
The body type in a book as distinct from headings and display type
Text pages
The body type in a book as distinct from the type on the cover
Text paper
A printing method where the body paper of a magazine or book as distinct from the cover stock
Thermographic printing
A traditional printing method where the ink is coated with a special powder and heated immediately after printing which causes the ink to raise
Thread sewing
The conventional binding method that sews the individual printed sections together to form a book
Throw out
A page which folds out of a book or a magazine to a size beyond the book trim
Thumbnail sketch
Small rough drawing
Tick marks
Alternative term for crop marks or cut marks used for finishing the printed item
TIFF (Tag Image File Format)
A standard format for the storage of bit map graphics and scanned images
Tint
A solid colour reduced in shade by screening, specified as a percentage of the solid colour
Tip in
To fix a single leaf inside a printed section using glue
Tracing paper
A transparent paper
Transparent Inks
Inks such as process inks which permit other colours to show through when over-printed and so produce subsequent mixed colours
Trap, trapping
The overlap between two colours used in printing to ensure that there is no white gap appearing between them as a result of paper movement or poor registration
Trim
To cut the edges off the printed sheet to square up or reduce in size
Trim marks
Alternative term for crop marks or cut marks
Trim to bleed
Trim so that printed solids reach the edge of the trimmed sheet
Tritone
The use of three (usually Pantone) colours in combination to produce a particular effect in printing
Type family
Roman, italic, bold and all other versions of one typeface
Typographer
The name given to the person who used to specialise in the design and layout of printed type matter particularly in the publishing industry
Typographic
Abbreviated to typos. See literals
Uncoated paper
Paper with no coating
Unjustified
Typesetting having a ragged right edge
Unsewn binding
See perfect binding
Unzip
To decompress a file that has been zipped
Upper case
Capital letters
UV varnish
A high gloss varnish that can be used as a spot or overall that is hardened using UltraViolet light
Varnish
A thin, transparent coating applied to printed work for gloss finish and protection
Vector graphics
Another name for an object orientated graphic. The term arises because graphics are defined in terms of vectors, or geometric formulae, rather than bitmaps or pixels
Verso
Left hand page with even number
Vignette
A halftone in the background that gradually fades out
Virgin fibre
Fibre used for the first time to make paper (ie not recycled)
Wash-up
The cleaning of the individual printing units of a press prior to a change of ink or when the machine is shut down
Wet proof
See machine proof
Widow
A single line of a paragraph, printed at the top of a page
Wire stitching
See saddle stitching
Wire Binding or Wire-o-Binding
Binding method comprising a continuous double loop of wire running through punched squares in the margin of a book
Word break
Division of a word at a line ending
Work and Tumble
A printing technique where the reverse side of the sheet is printed by turning it over and using the same plate
Work and Turn
Printing the first side of a sheet, turning the stack across the short axis and then printing the reverse side of the sheet using the same plate
Workflow
The control of documents moving around an organisation
Wove
A paper produced using a plain, woven dandy roll and therefore without laid lines, as distinct from laid paper
x-height
The height of the lower case letter ‘x’ in a particular typeface or font
Xerography
Electrostatic copying process in which toner adhere to charged paper to produce an image
Zapf Dingbats
A typeface designed by Hermann Zapf, which includes common dingbats
Zip
A file format widely used for data compression