|
Back
to "Preparing your Files"
Printing and Graphics
Definitions:
Acid-free paper
Papermade from pulp containing little or no acid so it resists deterioration
from age. Also called alkaline paper, archival paper, neutral pH
paper, permanent paper and thesis paper.
Against The Grain
Folding or feeding paper at right angles
to the grain direction of the paper. Also called crossgrain.
Anti-aliasing
A software implemented technique used to compensate for the inaccuracies
caused by digitizing subtle geometric shapes onto a fixed rectangular
grid.
Artwork
Any black and white or color original prepared for reproduction.
Aqueous Coating
Coating in a water base and applied like ink by a printing press
to protect and enhance the printing underneath.
Banding
A visible stair stepping of shades in
a gradient.
Bind
To
fasten sheets or signatures with wire, thread, glue or by other
means.
Bindery
The finishing department of a print shop or firm specializing in
finishing printed products. The are responsible for collating, folding
and trimming various printing projects.
Bitmap
A digital representation of an image in which the sense of each
binary bit indicates whether the corresponding point of the image
is black, white or a color.
back
to top
Bleed
The area of illustrations, solids or rules, which extends beyond
the trimmed edge of a printed page and the extra width, added to
artwork to make bleeding possible.
Blind embossing
An image pressed into a sheet without ink or foil.
Blueline (Prepress)
photographic proof where all colors show as blue image on white
paper.
Body text
An area, or column of type, usually in size range of 5-14 point.
Body
type
The main text of a document, as distinct from the headings; also
called body copy
Boiler Plate
Blocks of repetitive type used and copied over and over again.
Bond paper
Strong durable paper grade used for letterheads and business forms.
Book Paper
Category of paper suitable for books, magazines, catalogs, advertising
and general printing needs. Book paper is divided into uncoated
paper (also called offset paper), coated paper (also called art
paper, enamel paper, gloss paper and slick paper) and text paper.
Bulk pack
Boxing printed product without wrapping or banding. C1S and C2S
Abbreviations for coated one side and coated two sides.
Camera-ready copy
Mechanicals, photographs, and art fully prepared to be photographed
for plate making according to the technical requirements of the
printing or decorating process.
Carton
Selling unit of paper weighing approximately 150 pounds (60 kilos).
A carton can contain anywhere from 500 to 5,000 sheets, depending
on the size of sheets and their basis weight.
Center spread
The pair of pages that come at the center of a folded section (e.g.
pages 4 and 5 in an 8-page section)
CMYK
Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, the four process ink colors used
in four-color process printing. Creating a color separation breaks
an image into cyan, magenta, yellow, and black components, from
which most colors can be reproduced. The theory, 100% of cyan, magenta
and yellow create black. In practice, though, the addition of black
ink (abbreviated R) is necessary to print a true black. See also
RGB, subtracting primaries.
Coated paper
A clay coated printing paper with a smooth finish. Paper with a
coating of clay and other substances that improves reflectivity
and ink holdout. Mills produce coated paper in the four major categories
cast, gloss, dull and matte.
Back
to top
Collate
A finishing term for gathering paper in a precise order.
Color bar
Strip of colors printed near the edge of a press sheet to help evaluate
ink density.
Color break
In multicolor printing, the point or line at which one ink color
stops and another begins.
Color correct
To adjust the relationship among the process colors to achieve desirable
colors.
Color matching
Specifying flat colors according to numbered samples on a color
chart available from the printer or in a swatch book, such as Pantone®.
Process colors are usually specified in percentages of screens of
the four colors, for example, XY 5M 2C 1K (X usually means 100%,
so here it calls for 100% yellow, 50% magenta, 20% cyan, and 10%
black). The letter K designates black to avoid confusion with the
word blue, which is often used instead of cyan. Often the word red
is used instead of magenta.
Color proof
A representation of the final printed product, for checking color
accuracy and other elements. A color proof can be created in a number
of ways: when the piece is in digital form, a composite proof can
be printed on a desktop color printer, from the plate-ready negatives,
a "dry-proof" can be created with a system such as 3M¹s Matchprint
of DuPont¹s Chromalin; or, after the printing plates have been made,
a "press proof" can be printed on a printing press.
Color separation
Strictly, the process of splitting full color artwork into its spot-color
or its CMYK components, loosely, one or all of the separate process
of film from which a multicolor version will be printed. This is
known as a set of halftone negatives for making plates for 4-color
process or spot color printing.
Color shift
Change in image color resulting from changes in register, ink densities
or dot gain during four-color process printing.
Comprehensive or comp
A preliminary version of a design, often created for client input
or approval; a comp or short for Comprehensive dummy. When produced
on a promotional product, comps are often called "spec samples."
Composite film
Graphic arts negative made by combining two or more images.
Composite proof
Proof of color separations in position with graphics and type.
Concept proof
Color proof (printout) from desktop color PostScript printer. The
concept proof is used to preview for design, layout, text positioning
and color selection. Used by service provider, printer or decorator
to give to client for project approval.
Copy
To store a duplicate; (print) the original manuscript or typescript
from which text is to be keyboarded.
Creep
Phenomenon of middle pages of a folded signature extending slightly
beyond outside pages.
Back to top
Cropping
Cutting an illustration to fit a given area or to remove unwanted
background along the edges. Definition of a certain rectangular
area of a picture. This area is the portion of the original that
should be processed. The remaining area will be truncated. Cropping
can be done at scanning time or at the graphics workstation.
CTP (Computer-to-Plate)
Completely electronic system that digitally transfers your art directly
from the computer to the printing plate for direct mounting on the
press, without the use of film.
Deboss
To
press an image into paper so it lies below the surface.
Die cut
A shape or slit cutout made by a steel-rule die.
Digitized graphics
An
alternate term for Digital Graphics.
Digitizing
To translate analog information (an unstructured form such as a
contone image) into digital information which can be represented
by values within a computer file. A photograph is digitized in a
modern graphics system by a scanner. Direct digital color proof
Proof made directly from digital data output by a desktop or high-end
color prepress systems, without an intermediate film stage.
Dithering
Alternating the values of adjacent dots or pixels to create the
effect of intermediate values of color.
Dither patterns
An electronic process whereby, when using low resolution output
devices such as a laser printer, a halftone effect is produced by
a pattern of differing densities (dots per square unit of image)
of black dots.
Dot gain
The change in size of a printing dot from the film to the printed
sheet, expressed as a percentage; an increase in dot size from 50
percent to 60 percent is called a 10 percent gain. (See Fill-in)
DPI
Dots per inch indicate screen or printer resolution. A single figure
(e.g.,: 1270 dpi) means dots per linear inch both vertically and
horizontally, while two figures (e.g.: 400 x 800 dpi) indicate horizontal
and vertical resolutions respectively. See also LPI, PPI.
Drilling
Is another process that can be a common everyday thing such as three
hole drilled for your notebook or a much more specific application
such as a 1/16" single hole in the top of a clothing hang tag. All
different size holes and positions are available, yet more holes
and positions mean more cost.
Drop-out
The loss of small highlight dots during the halftone reproduction
process. This is sometimes produced deliberately for special effects
or to remove a highlight background.
Drop-shadow
A tint or solid lay to one side of an illustration or type form
to give a shadow effect.
Dummy
Preliminary drawing or layout showing visual elements. Also a simulation
of a printed piece using paper specified for a job.
Duotone
In Photomechanics, a term for a 2-color halftone reproduction from
a 1-color photograph.
Drum scanner
An image scanner or digitizer in which the original is wrapped around
the surface of a cylindrical drum.
Back
to top
Electronic publishing
Publishing by printing with a computer-controlled photocopy machine.
Electronic retouching
Using a computer to enhance or correct a scanned photograph. The
photographic coating applied to film to make it photosensitive.
When contacting or platemaking, emulsion contact should always be
made.
Embossing
Embossed is a fancy way of saying that the surface of the paper
is raised. This term can apply either to a decoration or icon on
the page or to the text.
Emulsion
Casting of light-sensitive chemicals on papers, films, printing
plates and stencils.
Emulsion Down/Emulsion Up
Film whose emulsion side faces down (away from the viewer) or up
(toward the viewer) when ready to make a plate or stencil. Abbreviated
ED, EU. Also called E up/down and face down/face up.
Engraving
In this traditional printing technique, writing is carved into a
copper plate. This plate is then forced onto the paper, which raises
the type and slightly bruises the back. This "bruising" on the reverse
side easily differentiates it from thermography. Engraving is usually
done on heavy, rich cotton or linen papers. The feel and look of
the printing is very elegant, making this the quintessential technique
for formal correspondence.
EPS (Encapsulated PostScript)
In digital prepress, an alternative picture file format that allows
PostScript data to be stored and edited and is easy to transfer
between Macintosh, MS-DOS and other systems.
Estimate
Price that states what a job will probably cost. Also called bid,
quotation and tender.
Finish
(1) Surface characteristics of paper. (2) General term for trimming,
folding, binding and all other post press operations.
Flat Size
Size
of product after printing and trimming, but before folding, as compared
to finished size.
Flood
To cover a printed page with ink, varnish, or plastic coating.
Foil
metallic or pigmented coatings on plastic sheets or rolls used in
foil stamping and foil embossing.
Foil emboss
Foil stamping and embossing an image on paper with a die.
Foil stamping
Using a die to place a metallic or pigmented image on paper.
Font
A complete set of characters (letters, figures, punctuation, etc.)
in a typeface. In digital typography, the data that describes the
complete character set for a given typeface. For example, using
Postscript technology, screen fonts are made up of displayed fonts
or pixels, while printer fonts are scalable outlines that can print
characters of virtually any size.
For Position Only
Refers to inexpensive copies of photos or art used on mechanical
to indicate placement and scaling, but not intended for reproduction.
Abbreviated FPO.
Four-color Process Printing
Technique of printing that uses the four process colors of ink to
simulate color photographs or illustrations. See CMYK, color separation,
and Process Printing.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
A common procedure for transferring files on the Internet.
Back
to top
Gang
To reproduce two or more printed pieces or multiple copies of the
same piece simultaneously on one sheet of paper. Also, to halftone
or separate more than one image in only one exposure.
Gang scan
Process whereby a number of images are scanned in one pass and then
separated into individual files on the graphics workstation. Typefaces
with no serifs.
Gate fold
A sheet that folds where both sides fold toward the gutter in overlapping
layers. Generation: Stages of reproduction from original copy. A
first generation reproduction yields the best quality.
Ghosting
A faint printed image that appears on a printed sheet where it was
not intended.
Gloss
A shiny look reflecting light.
Gradients (also called Graduated
tints or shades)
A term used to describe the pattern of shades or tints including
mixtures of different colors that change from one color to another,
or highlight to shadow or vice versa.
Grain
In papermaking, the direction in which most fibers lay that corresponds
with the direction the paper is made on a paper machine.
Graphic Design
Arrangement of type and visual elements along with specifications
for paper, ink colors and printing processes that, when combined,
convey a visual message.
Graphics
Visual elements that supplement type to make printed messages more
clear or interesting.
Grayscale
The range of tones from black to white, usually in the context of
computer graphics. A Grayscale scanner is used to convert the continuous
tones of a black & white image (such as a photograph) into digital
information specifying gray levels. Gray level formats Image formats
such as TIFF, EPSF, and RIFF that can save gray level information
Gripper
Margin
Unprintable blank edge of paper on which grippers bear, usually
1/2" or less.
Gutter
The space between columns; also the two inside margins of facing
pages.
Hairline
A very fine rule. Also a very fine line making up part of a character.
Halftone
A piece of artwork (film or paper, positive or negative) in which
continuous tones are simulated by regularly spaced array of small
dots of varying size (smaller dots represent lighter areas and larger
dots darker areas). Printing a black-and-white photograph on a printing
press requires the creation of a single halftone; four-color process
printing requires a separate halftone for each of the process colors.
Halo Effect
Faint shadow sometimes-surrounding halftone dots printed. Also called
halation. The halo itself is also called a fringe.
Hickeys
In offset lithography, spots or imperfections in the printing due
to such things as dirt on the press, dried ink skin, paper particles,
etc.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
In imaging for the World Wide Web, the coding language that is used
to create Hypertext documents.
Image area
Portion of a negative or plate corresponding to inking on paper;
portion of paper on which ink appears.
Back
to top
Image file format
An expression used to describe a computer file consisting of image
data. Examples of such files, not all of which are acceptable for
printing, are TIFF, EPS, RIFF, BMP, PCT, PCX, GIF, PNG and JPG.
Impression
Putting an image on paper.
Imprint
Adding copy to a previously printed page.
Imprint area
The allowable portion of a promotional product reserved for the
printed advertising message.
Justify
The alignment of text along a margin or both margins. This is achieved
by adjusting the spacing between the words and characters as necessary
so that each line of text finishes at the same point.
Kern or Kerning
Part of a character that overhangs another to aid even spacing.
Knockout
The absence of printing inks in a specified area. An object of a
given color is often printed over an identically shaped knockout
of other colors, to avoid mixing inks in that area. The alternative
is an overprint, in which one object is printed on top of another.
Landscape
Work in which the width of the sheet or layout used is greater than
the height. It is also used to indicate the orientation of tasks
or illustrations, which are printed "sideways". (See Portrait)
Laminate
To cover with film, to bond or glue one surface to another.
Layout
A drawing or sketch of the image as they are to appear on a particular
page.
Lead or leading
Spaces added between lines of type to space out text and provide
visual separation of the lines. Measured in points or fractions
thereof. Named after the strips of lead, which used to be inserted
between lines of hot metal type.
Letterpress
A relief printing method. Printing is done from cast metal or plates
on which the image or printing areas 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 paper.
Letter spacing
The
addition of space between the letters or words to increase the line
length to a required width or to improve the appearance of a line.
Line art
An image having only two gray scale values, black and white, as
opposed to a continuous tone image which has much gray scale values.
Line art images are digitized in 1-bit to capture black and white
for any one pixel.
Lines per inch (LPI)
The number of lines or rows of dots there are per inch in a screen
and therefore in a screen tint, halftone, or separation. See also
DPI, PPI.
Live Area
Area on a mechanical within which images will print. Also called
safe area.
Logo (Logotype)
A company, partnership or corporate creation (design) that denotes
a unique entity. A possible combination of letters and artwork to
create a "sole" entity symbol of that specific unit.
Back
to top
Make-ready
Setting and testing of all the press controls just prior to a printing
run.
Mark up
Copy prepared for a compositor setting out in detail all the typesetting
instructions.
Mask
Traditionally, to cover selected areas of artwork with opaque material,
to keep them form being exposed to light in plate making; in computer
graphics, any equivalent procedure that creates an inactive area.
Matchprint
Trade name for 3M integral color proof.
Matte finish
Dull paper or ink finish.
Mid-tone
These are the areas of the contone and the halftone that fall between
the highlight and shadow.
Mockup
Alternate term for Dummy.
Moiré (Pattern)
An undesirable pattern of visible "waves" caused by overprinting
halftones whose screen angles are aligned improperly. A moiré can
result from two superimposed halftones, as shown; with four halftones,
as in a color separation, the likelihood is correspondingly greater.
Monotone
A reproduction in one color. The term "monochrome" is commonly used
in the area of gravure reproduction photography in place of the
term more frequently used in other areas of reproduction photography,
e.g. "black and white reproduction".
Negative
An image in which the light and dark areas are reversed with respect
to the original.
OCR
Optical Character Recognition. Software which allows typewritten
copy to be scanned into any of several text-editing applications,
thus saving retyping time.
Offset lithography
Usually shortened to "offset." A process of printing from a flat
surface in which the printing areas are greasy and the non-printing
areas are damp. The greasy and inked image is set off from the printing
plate onto a rubber blanket, which transfers it to the paper.
Opacity
A material's lack of transparency; for printing ink, the ability
to hide or cover up the image or tone over which it is applied.
An opacity value of 100 corresponds to a transmission density of
2.00 D.
Opaque ink
Heavily pigmented ink that block out color of underlying ink or
paper.
OPI
Open Prepress Interface, a set of PostScript-language comment conventions
developed to provide a standard format for passing layout information
about scanned images to color-separation software. Various desktop
separation software programs, such as Quark Xpress, and high-end
color prepress systems can use OPI to automate the stripping of
color images for printed publications.
Back
to top
Overlay
Transparent paper or film placed over artwork to protect it from
damage, to indicate instructions to the printer, or to show the
breakdown of color in mechanical color separations.
Overlay proof
Color proof consisting of acetate sheets covering each other in
register, one for each color to be printed.
Overprint
An object that is printed atop background colors (e.g., black type
might be printed as an overprint on a colored background). The alternative
is a knockout. In many Postscript compatible illustration software
programs, inks can be selectively specified for overprint, which
will affect the way color separations are produced. PMS: The abbreviated
name of the Pantone Color Matching System.
Overrun
In printing, copies printed in excess of the specified quantity.
Page Formats
Size of page to be printed by imagesetter. Most commonly encountered
formats are: A4 210 x 297 mm A3 420 x 297 mm US Letter (A) 216 x
279 mm (8.5 x 11 inches) Tabloid (B) 280 x 430 mm (11 x 17 inches)
Broadsheet 400 x 600 mm approx.
Pagination
Assembly of type with other line copy into page format. When done
by hand, this is makeup or paste-up; when done electronically, it
is computer aided pagination (CAP).
Pantone®
Pantone, Inc.¹s check-standard trademarks for color reproduction
and color reproduction materials. The PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM (sometimes
referred to as "PMS") identifies over 500 colors and the formulas
for creating inks in those colors. Four-color process printing can
only approximate many of these colors. You can select PANTONE Colors
in various illustration and desktop publishing software programs.
Paper Weight
In linens, you look for thread count, and in stationery, you look
for paperweight and fiber content. For running off documents in
your office, 20 to 40 lb. paper is standard. However, fine stationery
requires a heavy feel and is usually printed on 80 to 100 lb. stock.
In addition, papers come in a variety of fibers; most typically
cotton, linen or wood based pulp. Cotton and linen papers tend to
be the finest and most expensive. Combinations can also be quite
appealing at a slightly lower cost. Paste-up Type proofs and illustrations
stuck down together as a guide; the various elements of a layout
(typeset, text, illustrations, etc.) mounted and pasted in position
to form camera-ready artwork.
PDF (Portable Document Format)
A Proprietary format for the transfer of designs across multiple
computer platforms. PDF is a universal electronic file format, modeled
after PostScript language and is devise- and resolution- independent.
Documents in the PDF format can be viewed, navigated and printed
from any computer, regardless of the fonts or software programs
used to create the original.
Perfect Binding
An inexpensive bookbinding technique in which the pages are glued
rather than sewn to the cover and used primarily for paperbacks,
small manuals, phone books, etc.
Perfecting Press
A printing press that prints both sides of the paper in one pass
through the press.
Perforating
Taking place on a press or a binder machine, creating a line of
small dotted wholes for the purpose of tearing-off a part of a printed
matter (usually straight lines, vertical or horizontal).
Picture element, also called
Pixel
A component part of a graphic such as a single dot in a halftone.
Pica A printing industry unit of measurement. There are 12 points
to a pica, one pica = 0.166 inch.
Pixel
The basic unit which a scanned or output image is divided into.
For contones each pixel also has a gray level component. The number
of pixels per inch in an image that can be captured by a scanner
or that can be output by an imagesetter or LaserWriter is referred
to as their resolution.
Pixels per inch (PPI)
Pixels per inch, a measure of the resolution of a computer screen
of scanner. See also DPI, LPI. Plate A sheet of metal, plastic,
or rubber used to transfer an ink image to paper as part of the
print process.
Plate-making
The operation of producing a finished image carrier that is in the
form of a plate, usually the flexible type, designed to be mounted
around a printing cylinder.
PMS (Pantone Matching Systems)
Color charts that have over 700 preprinted color patches of blended
inks, used to identify, display or define special colors.
Back
to top
Point
A unit of measure for specifying type; about 1/72nd of an inch,
or 1/12th of a pica. Portrait Work in which the height of the sheet
or layout used is greater than the width. (See Landscape)
Positive
A photograph reproduction on paper or film in which the tonal values
corresponds to the original.
Posterization
An effect whereby the transitions between gray levels can be seen.
Caused by insufficient gray levels being supported by the input
scanner, application software, or imagesetter.
PostScript
A Page Description Language (PDL) developed by Adobe Systems that
renders text and graphic images on computer monitors and output
devices such as image-setters, laser printers, and other devices
using PostScript RIP¹s from various front-ends. PostScript has
been the language used by most printing technology since the middle1980¹s.
PostScript information can also be stored in EPSF files. (See EPSF)
Preflight
In digital prepress, the text used to evaluate or analyze every
component needed to produce a printing job.
Preparation
Camera work, stripping, plate making, and other activities by a
trade camera service or printer before presswork begins. Also called
prep. Prepress Alternate term for Preparation.
Press proof
Proof made on press using the plates, paper, and ink specified for
the job.
Preprint
To print portions of sheets that will be used for later imprinting.
Printer font
Font format required by any high quality output device for correct
representation of a typeface. PostScript fonts have both printer
and screen font formats.
Printing
Any process that repeatedly transfers an image from a plate, die,
negative, stencil, or electronic memory.
Process colors
The four ink colors used in four-color process printing: cyan, magenta,
yellow, and black. See also CMYK. Process-color inks Three subtractive
primaries used in conjunction with black to reproduce full-color
originals. Process yellow reflects red and green light and absorbs
blue light. Cyan (blue) reflects blue and green light and absorbs
red light. Magenta (red) reflects red and blue light and absorbs
green light.
Process printing
The process of printing color images by means of four separate printing
plates with magenta, yellow, cyan, and black ink pigments. Also
called Four Color Process Printing.
Proof test
sheet made to reveal errors or flaws, predict results, and record
how a printing job is intended to appear.
Rasterization
The conversion of computerized image data into tiny dots. Raster
dots are distinct from halftone dots: everything on a rasterized
page, whether a solid area of a halftone, is made up of raster dots.
For instance, when an imagesetter rasterizes and prints and entire
page at 2540 dpi, including a 150-LPI halftone, each halftone dot
is composed of thousands of raster dots.
Readability
A function of how type is used. Given a legible type, the readability
of a page will depend as much upon the layout as on the typeface.
Ream: Five hundred sheets of paper.
Back
to top
Registration
The precise alignment of film of plates for printing. Register marks,
usually placed outside the trim area, assist the stripper and printer
in achieving accurate registration in multiple-color jobs. Register
1. The location of one printing plate in relation to another plate.
2. Fitting two or more printed images on the same paper in exact
alignment with each other.
Registration marks
Crosshair targets on color separations to allow precise positioning
of the various pieces of film.
Resolution
The number of dots available to represent graphic detail in a given
area. On a computer screen., resolution is measured in pixels per
(liner) inch, or PPI; on a printer, it¹s measured in dots per (linear)
inch, or dpi, on a scanner, in pixels or dots per (linear) inch;
and in a halftone, in lines per (linear) inch, or LPI. The sharpness
of definition of a digitized image depends on the number of PPI,
DPI, or LPI.
Retouch
Manual adjustment to an illustration or other image.
Reversing out
Printing a white image on a solid background or tint panel. Reverse
type White characters set on a dark background. RGB Red, green,
and blue, the additive primaries; RGB is the basic additive color
model used for color video display, as on a computer monitor. Mixing
various percentages of red, green, and blue light can recreate most
of the spectrum; combining 100% of all three creates white light.
See also CMYK.
RIP
Raster image processor, the component of an output device (such
as a printer or imagesetter) that performs the rasterization of
the image; may be either a hardware or software component.
Saddle stitch
Binding a booklet or magazine with staples in the seam where it
folds. Scanner An optical device for converting continuous-tone
artwork into digitized data. Scanners can be black-and-white or
color, may scan reflective copy or transparencies or both, and vary
from handheld or desktop models to highly sophisticated color imagers.
Score
To mark card with a blunt blade along the line of a fold before
creasing to prevent cracking.
Screen
Traditionally, the device (a piece of glass or film with tiny transparent
areas) through which a photograph is converted into a halftone;
loosely, the halftone pattern itself. The eye sees a pattern of
dots as a shade of gray. The smaller the dots, the lighter the shade;
the larger the dots, the darker the shade perceived. Photographing
the artwork (photograph or any contone illustration) produces dots
through a screen of fine lines, which can vary from 65 to 150 or
more per inch. 65 or 85 line screens are used for printing newsprint.
Better paper can accommodate more detailed printing produced by
finer screens, which yield higher resolution. A screen has three
attributes:
1.
The angle at which rows of dots are placed relative to the horizontal
plane
2. The screen ruling (also known as resolution but NOT resolution
of the output device) in lines per inch, specifying pitch of the
screen (space between rows of dots)
3. Dot shape (shapes of dot most commonly used are round, elliptical,
and line). Screen font Font format required by a computer to display
a representation of the typeface on the monitor when using PostScript
fonts. Bitmap fonts displayed on the screen, the characters being
made up of dots or pixels to the resolution of that screen. When
used in conjunction with font management extensions such as Adobe
Type Manager, text can appear smooth on the monitor at all sizes
with only a single screen font of any size being present. Side stitch:
Binding by stapling along one side of a sheet.
Server
Provides
file data interchange between compatible peripheral devices on a
local area network. Servers are identified by the type of resource
they provide (e.g., disk server, file server, printer server, communications
server).
Silhouette halftoning
A halftone with all of the background removed.
Spine
The
binding edge of a book or publication.
Back
to top
Spot color
A color applied to text or graphics (rather than derived through
color separation). A spot color can be achieved by the addition
of a specially mixed ink (often as a second color with black), or
simulated by specifying percentages of cyan, magenta, yellow and
black inks (in a four-color job). When printing using processes
that do not rely on 4-color process, spot colors are often chosen
from swatch libraries, such as Pantone or Toyo. Some printers offer
their own "house" colors.
Spot varnish
Varnish used to highlight a specific part of the printed sheet.
Spread
A pair of facing pages; in printing, the enlargement of a color
area to build trap with adjacent areas of different color.
Step-and-Repeat
In photomechanics, the procedure of multiple exposures using the
same image by stepping it in position according to a predetermined
layout or program.
Stripping
In offset lithography, the positioning of negatives (or positives)
on a flat to compose a page or layout for platemaking.
Text paper
Grades of uncoated paper with textured surfaces.
TIFF
Tag Image File Format, a file format for exchanging bitmapped and
grayscale images among applications. Care must be taken when using
TIFF, as many different standards have been created, not all of,
which are compatible with each other.
Transparency
Any artwork that is viewed by light passing through it (e.g., a
35-mm photographic slide), rather than reflecting off it. See also
reflective copy.
Transparent media
Media which allows light to transmit through it, e.g. negatives,
overhead viewgraphs. Non-transparent, or opaque media, includes
printed photographs and line drawings.
Trap
To overlap abutting ink colors slightly, so that imperfect registration
or press irregularities will not cause a white space to show.
Trapping
The ability to print one ink over the other.
Trim marks
Similar to crop or register marks. These marks show where to trim
the printed sheet.
Trim size
The final size of one printed image after the last trim is made.
Typesetting
Text generated in a recognizable typeface.
Typography
The practice of arranging type and the study of type forms. Sometimes
used inaccurately in PCs to mean "typeface."
Back
to top
UCR
Under color removal, a technique in four-color process printing
in which percentages of the cyan, magenta, and yellow inks are removed
in the gray areas of an image. By reducing total ink usage, UCR
can minimize on-press problems and save money. This technique is
most often used in printing on absorbent materials such as wearables.
See also GGR.
Underscore
A word or sentence underlined with a thin rule.
Up
Printing two or three up means printing multiple copies of the same
image on the same sheet.
UV coating
Liquid laminate bonded and cured with ultraviolet light. Environmentally
friendly.
Varnish
A clear liquid applied to printed surfaces for looks and protection.
(UV coating looks better.)
Vellum
Vellum paper is frosted and translucent. It is often layered over
cards to add an extra touch of luxury.
Vector graphics
A method of image generation uses a number of straight lines and/or
arcs of different length and angular orientation.
Vectors
Straight and/or curved lines (arcs) are plotting the contour of
any letterform or graphic image.
Washup
Removing printing ink from a press, washing the rollers and blanket.
Certain ink colors require multiple washups to avoid ink and chemical
contamination.
Watermark
Design, pattern or symbol impressed in paper while it is being formed
on the wet end of a paper machine. Appears as a lighter or darker
area when paper is held up to light. Usually created from an intricate
wire design attached to a dandy roll, modifying opacity where it
contacts the wet paper.
With the Grain
Folding or feeding paper into a press parallel to the grain of the
paper.
Work-and-Tumble
To print one side of a sheet of paper, then turn it over from gripper
to back using the same side guide and plate to print the second
side.
Work-and-Turn
To print one side of a sheet of paper, then turn it over from left
to right and print the second side using the same gripper and plate
but opposite side guide.
Back
to top
Call (480)830-1001 or e-mail
us a request for ideas or product pricing for your next project.
You will be glad you did!
|
