Glossary for Printing Terms

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A/W - An abbreviation for Artwork.
Absorbent paper - A variety of papers that are made to absorb water and links in varying degrees, such as duplicating, blotting, toweling, and filter papers.
Acetate - A transparent sheet placed over artwork allowing the artist to write instructions or indicate where second color is to be placed. See Overlay.
Accordion fold - Paper that is folded two or more times in a parallel direction similar to the bellows of an accordion.
Acid-free paper - A paper having no acidity and no residual acid-producing chemicals. Acid-free papers may also be slightly on the alkaline side to provide greater longevity.
Against the grain - Folding or feeding paper at right angles to the lie of the paper fibers.
Air - An amount of white space in a layout.
Align - To line up typeset or other graphic material as specified, using a base or vertical line as the reference point.
Anti-aliasing - The rendering of hard-edged objects so they blend smoothly into the background. A technique for merging object-oriented art into bitmaps.
Antique finish - Book or cover paper made with very little calendaring to preserve its rough finish and bulk.
Apron - Additional white space allowed in the margins of text and illustrations when forming a foldout.
Art paper - A smooth coated paper obtained by adding a coating of china clay compound on one or both sides of the paper.
Artwork - A general term used to describe photographs, drawings, paintings, hand lettering, and the like prepared to illustrate printed matter.
Ascender - Any part of a lower case letter extending above the x-height. For example, the upper half of the vertical in the letters b or h.
Authors Alterations (AA) - Changes made to the copy by the author after typesetting but not including those made as a result of errors in keying in the copy.
Auto flow - In some computer applications, the ability to flow text automatically from one page to another or one column to another.

Backing up - To print the second side of printed sheet. Also, to make a duplicate of a computer file as a precaution against losing the original.
Back matter - Also known as end matter.
Back slant - Typeface that slants backward, i.e. opposite to italic, which slopes forward. The effect can be obtained by many headline machines and computer typesetters.
Bad break - Awkward, unattractive or illegible hyphenation of a word at the end of a line of type.
Banding - A visible stair-stepping of shades in a gradient.
Bank - A lightweight writing paper.
Banner - A large headline or title extending across the full page width.
Bar code - A pattern of vertical lines of varying thickness identifying details of a product, conforming to the Universal Product Code (UPC).
Barrel fold - When the paper is folded two or more times in the same direction, sometimes called a wrap-around fold.
Base artwork - Artwork requiring additional components such as halftones or line drawings to be added before the reproduction stage.
Baseline - The line on which the bases of capital letters sit.
Basis weight - The weight of a ream (500 sheets) of paper in the basic size of the grade. The basis weight is determined by weighing a properly conditioned and exactly dimensioned sheet of paper.
Bezier curves - In object-oriented programs, (such as Freehand, Illustrator, or Photoshop) a curve whose shape is defined by points set along its arc.
BF - Abbreviation for bold face.
Binding - The various methods used to secure loose leaves or sections in a book; eg saddle-stitch, perfect bound.
Bitmapped - An image formed (or appearing to be formed) by a rectangular grid of pixels. The computer assigns a value to each pixel, from one bit of information (black or white), to as much as 24 or 30 bits per pixel for full color images. Also used to refer to an image that has too low of a resolution or line screen for the output resolution (“That image looks bitmapped.”; line art scanned at 72dpi when it is to be printed at 2540dpi will be very coarsely bitmapped).
Bitmap Image (bmp) - A graphic image stored as a specific arrangement of screen dots, or pixels. Web graphics are bitmap images. A graphic which is defined by specifying the colors of dots or pixels which make up the picture. Also know as raster graphics. Common types of bitmap graphics are GIF, JPEG, Photoshop, PCX, TIFF, Macintosh Paint, Microsoft Paint, PNG, FAX formats, and TGA.
Bitmapped font - A font made up of bitmapped letters, characterized by jagged edges, as opposed to the smooth edges of an outline font.
Blanket - A sheet made of rexine or rubber that covers the impression cylinder of a press.
Blanket cylinder - The cylinder via which the inked litho plate transfers the image to the paper. The cylinder is covered with a rubber sheet which prevents wear to the litho plate coming into contact with the paper.
Bleed - Layout, type, or pictures that extend 1/8” beyond the trim marks on a page. Illustrations that spread to the edge of the paper without margins are referred to as ‘bled off.
Blind emboss - A raised impression made without using ink or foil. Blind folio - page number counted for reference or identification but not printed on the page itself.
Blow up - An enlargement, most frequently of a graphic image or photograph.
Blueline proof - A proof made from the actual printing plates, so-called because of its blue color. A chance to get one more look at a printing job before it goes to the press.
Board - Paper of more than 200 gsm.
Body - The main text of the work but not including headlines.
Body type - Also called test type. Ranging normally from 6 pt. To 14 pt. It is generally used for text matter.
Bond - A sized finished writing paper of 50gsm or more. Can also be used for printing upon.
Book face - Weight of typeface suitable for large areas of text.
Book paper - A broad variety of paper suitable for printing. Used for book and advertising purposes. Surface finishes vary but include dull, matte, flossy, supercalendered, antique, wove, vellum, eggshell, etc.
Border- A continuous decorative design or rule surrounding the matter on the page.
Box - A section of text marked off by rules or white space and presented separately from the main text and illustrations. Longer boxed sections in magazines are sometimes referred to as sidebars.
Brightness - Measure of how much light is reflected off a printing paper.
Bronzing - An effect produced by dusting wet ink after printing with a metallic powder.

Calibration bars - On a negative, proof, or printed piece, a strip of tones used to check printing quality.
Caliper - The thickness of sheet of paper or board expressed in microns (millionths of a meter). Also the name of the tool used to make the measurement.
Callout - Labels, captions, or numbers used on illustrative work.
Camera ready - Artwork or pasted up material that is ready for reproduction.
Cap line - An imaginary line across the top of capital letters. The distance from the cap line to the baseline is the cap size.
Caps (or “All Caps”) - An abbreviation for capital letters.
Caps and small caps - A style of type that shows capital letters used in the normal way while the body copy is set in capital letters which are of a slightly smaller size.
Caption - Also called a cutline. The line or lines of text that refer to information identifying a picture or illustration.
Carbonless - Paper coated with chemicals and dye which will produce copies without carbon paper. Also referred to as NCR (No Carbon Required).
Caret marks - An indication to the printer of an omission in the copy indicated as ( ) showing the insertion.
Case bound - A hardback book made with stiff outer covers. Cases are usually covered with cloth, vinyl or leather.
Cast coated - Art paper with an exceptionally glossy coated finish usually on one side only.
Cellulose acetate - Plastic sheet material, usually transparent or translucent, available clear or colored and with a shiny or matte finish; used as the basis of artwork and overlays, and is the base material of some photographic film.
Chalking - A powdering effect left on the surface of the paper after the ink has failed to dry satisfactorily due to a fault in printing.
Chipboard - A single-ply cardboard, usually gray or brown in color. Frequently used as the backboard in padding. It is usually made from mixed, repulped paper stock.
Choke - A method of altering the thickness of a shape by overexposure in processing or by means of a built-in option in some computer applications.
Cromalin - A fast proofing system which uses powder as opposed to ink.
Close up - A proof correction mark to reduce the amount of space between characters or words indicated as (‘).
CMYK - Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, Black. The subtractive primaries, or process colors, used in color printing. Black (K) is usually added to enhance color and to print a true black. See subtractive primaries, four color process.
Coated - Printing papers which after making have had a surface coating with clay etc, to give a smoother, more even finish with greater opacity.
Collate - To gather separate sections or leaves of a book together in the correct order for binding.
Color bars - Strip of colors printed on the edge of four-color process proofs to check registration of all colors and to evaluate ink density.
Color break - In multicolor printing, the point where one ink color stops and another begins.
Color cast - A color cast changes the hue (color) of a selected part of an image while keeping the saturation and brightness intact. Viewing an image with a color cast can be similar to viewing it through colored lenses on eyeglasses. A commonly know color cast (in graphic design) is a duotone.
Color correction - The process of adjusting an image to compensate for scanner deficiencies or for the characteristics of the output device.
Color depth - The number of bits that determines the range of possible colors that can be assigned to each pixel. For example, an 8-bit color depth can create 256 colors.
Color palette - The selection of colors used in graphics software.
Color proof - A representation of what the final printed composition will look like. The resolution and quality of different types of color can vary greatly.
Color separations - The division of an image into its component colors for printing. Each color separation is a piece of negative or positive film. Four color or process separations result in 4 pieces of film (CMYK). Spot color separations result in 1 piece of film for each spot color.
Color transparency - A photographic image transparent film used as artwork. 35 mm, 4”x5” and 8”x10” formats are commonly used.
Column rule - A light faced vertical rule used to separate columns of type.
Comprehensive - Often referred to as a comp. An accurate layout showing type and illustrations in position, and suitable as a finished presentation.
Concertina fold - A method of folding in which each fold opens in the opposite direction to its neighbor, giving a concertina or pleated effect.
Condensed - A style of typeface in which the characters have a vertically elongated appearance.
Continuous tone - An image in which the subject has continuous shades of color or gray without being broken up by dots. Continuous tones cannot be reproduced in that form for printing but must be screened to translate the image into dots.
Contact print - Photographic print made by direct contact with the negative, as opposed to enlargement or reduction.
Continuous-tone copy - Image with a complete range of tones from black to white, e.g. photographs and paintings.
Copyright notice - A line such as “Copyright 2007 ACME Co.” that identifies a
copyright holder.
Corrugated - Paperboard that is made of two sheets of paper or cardboard with a sheet of fluted or pleated paper sandwiched in between.
Cotton fiber paper - Sometimes called “rag” paper, made either wholly or in part of cotton fibers derived from textile clippings or cotton linters.
Cover paper - A heavyweight paper made particularly to protect contents and outwardly represent the printed piece such as covers of brochures, books, etc.
Crop marks - Lines printed showing the dimensions of the final printed page. These marks are used for final trimming.
Cropping - The elimination of parts of a photograph or other original that are not required to be printed. Cropping allows the remaining parts of the image to be enlarged to fill the space.
Crossover (aka Gutter bleed) - When an image carries over from one page of a bound publication across the gutter to the opposite page.
Cut flush - A method of trimming a book after the cover has been attached to the pages.
Cutline - Also called a caption. The line or lines of text that refer to information
identifying a picture or illustration.
Cutout - A halftone where the background has been removed to produce a silhouette.

Dagger and double dagger - Symbols used mainly as reference marks for footnotes.
Dampening - A necessary process in lithography of dampening the printing plate to prevent ink from spreading.
Dark field illumination - A method of checking the quality of halftone dots on film by viewing them in angled light against a dark background.
DCS - Desktop Color Separation. A file format which creates five PostScript files for each color image.
Deboss - To produce a sunken image in the surface of paper by means of a die striking above the paper into a counter die below the paper.
Deckle - Normally a text paper with an edge irregular in outline and decreased thickness. Frequently used for announcements. Made in cover or text weights.
Deckle edge - The untrimmed feather edge of paper that is produced at the edges of the web on the paper machine.
Deep-etch halftone - A halftone image from which unwanted screen dots have been removed, so that areas of plain paper will be left on the printed sheet.
Densitometer - A device sensitive to the density of light transmitted or reflected by paper or film. Used to check the accuracy, quality, and consistency of output.
Density - The degree of opacity of a photographic image on paper or film.
Descender - Any part of a lower case letter that extends below the x-height, as in the case of y and j.
Design phase - The process a project team uses for figuring out how to implement a new system. This phase is undertaken after the analysis phase is complete.
DHTML (dynamic HTML) - A variation of the HTML format that allows elements of Web pages to be changed while they are being viewed.
Die - A hardened steel engraving stamp used to print an inked image. Used in the production of good quality letter headings.
Die Cutting - The process of using sharp steel rules to cut special shapes into printed sheets.
Digital - Files for printing that are produced on the computer.
Digital Camera - A camera that takes and stores a digital image instead of recording onto film.
Digitize - To convert non-digital information or media to a digital format through the use of a scanner, sampler, or other input device.
Dingbat - Tiny ornaments used to embellish printed text.
Display type - Larger type used for headings etc. Normally about 18 point or larger.
Dithering - The process of specifying color to adjacent pixels in order to simulate a third color in a bitmapped image. This technique is generally used when a full range of colors is not available.
Dot gain - A printing defect in which dots print larger than intended, causing darker colors or tones; due to the spreading of ink on stock. The more absorbent the stock, the more dot gain. Can vary by type of ink as well.
Dot loss - When the image on the printing plate is less, or sharper, than what is shown on the progressive proofs. (The opposite of dot gain.)
DPI - Dots per inch. A measure of output resolution produced by printers, imagesetters, or monitors.
Double bump - To print two layers of ink for a single image.
Double burn - To expose two or more film images onto a single film to create a composite image.
Double page spread - Two facing pages of newspaper or magazine where the textual material on the left hand side continues across to the right hand side. Abbreviated to DPS.
Drawn on - A method of binding a paper cover to a book by drawing the cover on and gluing to the back of the book.
Drop cap - A large initial letter at the start of the text that drops into the line or lines of text below.
Drop Shadow - A drop shadow gives an image depth by creating a shading offset behind a selected image.
Dry transfer (lettering) - Characters, drawings, etc, that can be transferred to the artwork by rubbing them off the back of the transfer sheet. Best known is Letraset.
Dummy - A sketch of a page showing the position of text and illustrations and giving general instructions.

Elliptical dot - A type of halftone screen dot with an elliptical rather than circular shape, which sometimes produces better tonal gradations.
Elliptical dot screen - A halftone screen with a graduated dot pattern that includeselliptical dots forming middle tones.
Em - A fixed space equal in size to the chosen point size. It gets its name from the letter M which originally was as wide as the type size.
Embossing - A process performed after printing to stamp a raised (or depressed) image into the surface of paper, using engraved metal embossing dies, extreme pressure, and heat. Embossing styles include blind, deboss and foil-embossed.
Emulsion - The coating of light-sensitive material on a piece of film.
En - A fixed space that is half as wide as an em space.
End papers - The four page leaves at the front and end of a book which are pasted to the insides of the front and back covers (boards).
EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) - A file format used to transfer PostScript image information from one program to another. The preferred file format for saving images, as it is resolution independent, as opposed to TIFF.
Expanded type - A typeface with a slightly wider body giving a flatter appearance.
Extended ASCII - Similar to ASCII but with 8-bit character representation instead of 7- bit, allowing for an additional 128 characters.

Face - An abbreviation for typeface referring to a family in a given style.
Family - Group of typefaces in a series with common characteristics of design, but with different weights, such as italic, bold, condensed, expanded, etc.
Felt side - The top side of a sheet of paper, as opposed to the underside, or wire side.
Flag - The designed title of a newspaper as it appears at the top of page one.
Flat color - In printing, any color other than a process color.
Flat tint halftone (aka Fake duotone) - A black halftone printed over a flat tint of a second color.
Fluorescent ink - Inks with fluorescent characteristics that result in a brilliant, glowing effect.
Flute - The pleated paper sandwiched between two sheets of paperboard.
Foil Stamping - The process of applying a thin film of colored foil to paper for decorative purposes.
Folio - Page number.
Folding endurance - A description of the ability of various papers to withstand repeated folding under tension.
Font - Also known as typeface. A complete set of characters in a typeface.
Foot - Margin at the bottom of a page; also the bottom edge of a book.
Four color process - The four basic colors of ink (CMYK - yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) which reproduce full-color photographs or art.
French fold - A sheet which has been printed on one side only and then folded with two right angle folds to form a four page uncut section.
Full measure - A line of type set to the entire line length.

Gang printing (Gang run) - A cost-saving run that prints any number of different jobs or multiple copies of the same job on one sheet of paper.
Gatefold - An oversize page where both sides fold into the gutter in overlapping layers. Used to accommodate maps into books.
Gathering - The operation of inserting the printed pages, sections or signatures of a book in the correct order for binding.
Ghosting - A condition in which a faint repeat of a printed image appears where it was not intended, usually above or below the actual image.
Gloss ink - Quick-drying, non-penetrating ink used on coated paper.
Gothic - Typefaces with no serifs and broad even strokes.
Gradated screen - A smooth transition between black and white, one color and another, or color and the lack of it.
Gradient - A gradient is a gradual transition of colors. Many metallic images are gradients.
Grain - The direction in which the fibers are aligned in paper.
Grayscale - A range of luminance values for evaluating shading through white to black. Also, a term used when referring to a black and white photograph.
Greeking - A software device where areas of gray are used to simulate lines of text.
Grid - A systematic division of a page into areas to enable designers to ensureconsistency. The grid acts as a measuring guide and shows text, illustrations and trim sizes.
Gripper edge - The leading edge of a sheet of paper clamped by metal grippers as it ispulled through the printing press.
Gripper margin - The necessary amount of space that must be allowed on the paper’s edge to keep the grippers from damaging the printed image.
GSM - Grams per square meter. The unit of measurement for paper weight.
Guard - A narrow strip of paper or linen pasted to a single leaf to allow sewing into a section for binding.
Gutter - The central blank area between left and right pages.
Gutter bleed - The continuance of an image from one page across to the facing page of a spread. Also called Cross-over.

Hairline rule - The thinnest rule that can be printed. Hairline rules do not print well. Half-point rules are strongly recommended.
Hairline - The thinnest of the strokes in a typeface.
Hairline register - Register within plus or minus one-half row of dots.
Half up - Artwork one and a half times the size which it will be reproduced.
Halftone - An illustration reproduced by breaking down the original tone into a pattern of dots of varying size. Light areas have small dots and darker areas or shadows have larger dots. Simulating a continuous tone photograph using dots.
Hanging Indentation - Indented setting in which the first line of each paragraph is set full-out to the column measure and the remaining lines are indented.
Hanging punctuation - Punctuation that is allowed to fall outside the margins instead of staying within the measure of the text. This is now seldom used in desktop publishing.
Hard copy - Typewritten copy or computer print-out of digital data. Used to check for errors in typesetting, for example.
Hardback - A case bound book with a separate stiff board cover.
Head - The larger bold text at the top of a page.
Hickies - A dust particle sticking to the printing plate or blanket which appears on the printed sheet as a dark spot surrounded by an halo.
Highlight - The lightest area in a photograph or illustration.
Hologram - A laser-created, three-dimensional recording of a 3-D or 2-D image. Reproduced by hot foil stamping or embossing onto reflective-backed mylar.
House corrections - Alterations made to proofs or script by the publisher or printer, as distinct from those made by the author.
Hue - The characteristic of a color which distinguishes it from all others.

Illustration - General term for any form of drawing, diagram, half tone, or color image included within a piece of print.
Image area - The amount of space given to a particular image in design and printing.The space is assumed to be square or rectangular, even if the image is not.
Imagesetter - A device used to output a computer image or composition at high resolution onto photographic paper or film.
Imposition - Refers to the arrangement of pages on a printed sheet, which when the sheet is finally printed on both sides, folded and trimmed, will place the pages in their correct order.
Impression - The image printed by the process of ink moving from plate or blanket to paper.
Imprint - The name and place of the publisher and printer required by law if a publication is to be published. Sometimes accompanied by codes indicating the quantity printed, month/year of printing and an internal control number.
Indicia - Mailing permit stamped on envelopes and cards.
Ink coverage - The amount of ink covering the paper in relation to the unprinted space.
In-line - Any operation tied to the printing process, such as folding, trimming, embossing, gluing, etc.
Insert - An instruction to the printer for the inclusion of additional copy.
Ivory board - A smooth high white board used for business cards etc.

Justify - The alignment of text along a margin or both margins. This is achieved byadjusting the spacing between the words and characters as necessary so that each line of text finishes at the same point.

Keep standing - To hold type or plates ready for reprints.
Kerned letters - Part of the letter that projects beyond the body or shank, thus overlapping an adjacent character. Kerned letters are common in italic, script, and swash fonts.
Kerning - The adjustment of spacing between certain letter pairs, A and V for example, to obtain a more pleasing appearance.
Keyline - An outline drawn or set on artwork showing the size and position of an illustration or halftone.
Knockout - A shape or object printed by eliminating (knocking out) all background colors. Contrast to overprinting.
Kraft paper - A tough brown paper used for packing.

Laid - Paper with a watermark pattern showing the wire marks used in the paper making process. Usually used for high quality stationery.
Laminate - A thin transparent plastic coating applied to paper or board to provideprotection and give it a glossy finish.
Landscape - Work in which the width used is greater than the height. Also used toindicate the orientation of tables or illustrations which are printed ‘sideways’. See portrait.
Lateral reversal - A positive or negative image transposed from left to right as in a mirror reflection of the original.
Layout - A sketch of a page showing the position of text and illustrations and giving general instructions. More commonly referred to as “layout dummy” or “dummy.”
Lead or leading - Space 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 metal type.
Legend - The descriptive matter printed below an illustration, mostly referred to as a cutline or caption. Also an explanation of signs or symbols used in timetables or maps.
Letraset - A proprietary name for rub-down or dry transfer lettering used in preparing artwork.
Letterpress - A relief printing process in which a raised image is inked to produce an impression; the impression is then transferred by placing paper against image and applying pressure.
Letterset - A printing process combining offset printing with a letterpress relief printing plate.
Letterspacing - The addition of space between the letters of words to increase the line- length to a required width or to improve the appearance of a line.
Ligature - Letters which are joined together as a single unit of type such as oe and fi.
Lightface - Type having finer strokes than the medium typeface. Not used as frequently as medium.
Line conversion - Photographically eliminating middle tones from continuous-tone art or photographs so that it can be reproduced as line copy.
Line Copy - Any copy that is solid black with no gradations in tone and is suitable for reproduction without using a halftone screen.
Line drawing - Artwork consisting of solid black lines. A drawing without half tones.
Linen-finish paper - A paper that has been embossed to achieve a surface resembling linen cloth.
Linen tester - A magnifying glass designed for checking the dot image of a halftone.
Lines per inch (LPI) - A measure of the frequency of a halftone screen (usually ranging from 55-200). 150 lpi is the standard printing resolution. Fewer lines per inch are often used for printing on newsprint or low quality paper.
Lining figures - Numerals that align on the baseline and at the top.
Lithography - A printing process based on the principle of the natural aversion of water to grease. The photographically prepared printing plate when being made is treated chemically so that the image will accept ink and reject water.
Long grain paper - Paper in which the grain direction parallels the longest sheet dimension.
Loose leaf - A method of binding which allows the insertion and removal of pages for continuous updating.
Luminosity - A value corresponding to the brightness of color.

Machine glazed (MG) - Paper with a high gloss finish on one side only.
Magenta - The process color for red.
Magnetic ink - A magnetized ink that can be read both by humans and by electronic machines. Used in check printing.
Making ready - The time spent in making ready the level of the printing surface by packing out under the form or around the impression cylinder.
Manila paper - A tough brown paper used to produce stationery and wrapping paper.
Margins - The non printing areas of page.
Mark up- Copy prepared for a compositor setting out in detail all the typesetting instructions.
Mask - Traditionally, opaque material or masking tape used to block-off an area of the artwork; the inactive area of a bitmapped image which will not respond to changes.
Masthead - Details of publisher and editorial staff usually printed on the contents page.
Matt art - A coated printing paper with a dull surface.
Measure- Denotes column width, expressed in picas.
Mechanical binding - A method of binding which secures pre-trimmed leaves by the insertion of wire or plastic spirals through holes drilled in the binding edge.
Metallic ink - Printing inks which produce an effect gold, silver, bronze or metallic colors.
Mezzotint - A random dot-patterned halftone screen or a method of engraving a plate to produce variations in tone.
MG (Machine glazed) - Paper with a high gloss finish on one side only.
Micrometer - A paper micrometer measures the thickness of paper in increments of 0.0001 inch.
Middle tones - The gray areas of a photograph that are lighter than the shadows and darker than the highlights.
Mock-up - Also known as alayout dummy. The rough visual of a publication or design.
Modern - Refers to type styles introduced towards the end of the 19th century. Times roman is a good example of modern type.
Moire pattern - The result of superimposing half-tone screens at the wrong angle thereby giving a chequered effect on the printed half-tone.
Monochrome - A black and white display with no gray tones.
Monospace - A font in which all characters occupy the same amount of horizontal width regardless of the character.
M-weight - A paper's weight as measured per 1,000 sheets.

Newsprint - Unsized, low quality, absorbent paper used for printing newspapers.
Nipping - A stage in book binding where after sewing the sheets are pressed to expel air.

Oblique - Roman characters that slope to the right, similar to italic, but less cursive.
Offprint - A run-on or reprint of an article first published in a magazine or journal.
Offset Plates - A method in which the plate or cylinder transfers an ink image to an offset or transfer roller, which then transfers the image to stock.
Oldstyle (US) - A style of type characterized by stressed strokes and triangular serifs. An example of an oldstyle face is Garamond.
One-up, two-up - Printing one (two, three, and so on) impression at a time in a single job.
Onion skin - A translucent lightweight paper used in air mail stationery.
Opacity - Term used to describe the degree to which paper will show print through.
Ornaments - Type ornaments used to embellish page borders, chapter headings, title pages, etc.
Orphan - Line of type on its own at the top or bottom of a page.
Outline - A typeface in which the characters are formed with only the outline defined rather than from solid strokes.
Out-of-register - Occurs when the film for the colors of a printed image is misaligned.
Overlay - A transparent sheet used in the preparation of multi-color artwork showing the color breakdown.
Overprinting - Printing over an area already printed. Contrast with knockout.
Overset- Excess type that cannot fit into space specifications.
Overstrike - A method used in word processing to produce a character not in the typeface by superimposing two separate characters, e.g. $ using s and l.

Page layout - The physical positions of elements on a document page, such as headers, footers, page numbers, and graphics.
Page proof - Initial impression of a page pulled for checking purposes before the job is sent to the image assembly department.
Pagination - The numbering of pages in a book.
Pantone Matching System - A registered name for an ink color matching system, usually abbreviated PMS.
Parallel fold - A method of folding; eg two parallel folds will produce a six page sheet.
Parchment - Originally a sheep or goat skin used for a writing surface, but more recently a paper with strong characteristics used for diplomas and certificates.
Paste up - The various elements of a layout mounted in position on pasteboard to form camera-ready artwork. Now seldom used in the era of desktop publishing.
PE - Abbreviation for “Printer's error,“ as opposed to AA.
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.
Perfector - A printing press which prints both sides of the paper at one pass through the machine.
Perforating rule - A device on a letterpress or the cylinders of an offset press used to perforate paper.
PH value - In paper it is the measurement of the degree of acidity and alkalinity.
PI fonts - Characters not usually included in a font, but which are added specially. Examples of these are timetable symbols and mathematical signs.
Pica - A printing industry unit of measurement. There are 12 points to a pica. Originally, one pica was approximately 0.166in. Now, in the era of computerization, a pica is 1/6 of an inch.
Picking - The effect of ink being too tacky and lifting fibers out of the paper. Shows up as small white dots on areas of solid color.
Pigment - Particles that absorb and reflect light and appear colored to our eyes; the substance that gives ink its color.
Pin register - Holes and pins applied to copy, film, plates and presses which are accurately positioned to ensure correct register of colors.
Plate - A metal or plastic sheet coated with light-sensitive photographic emulsion onto which an image is chemically etched. The plate is then mounted on the press and is inked, thereby becoming the image carrier to another roller or to the paper.
Plate cylinder - The cylinder that supports the inked plate on the printing press.
PMS - Pantone Matching System. A commonly used system for identifying specific ink colors.
Portrait - An upright image or page where the height is greater than the width.
Positive - A true photographic image of the original made on paper or film.
Posterization - The deliberate constraint of a gradation into visible steps as a special effect.
Post Script - A page description language developed by Adobe Systems. Widely supported by both hardware and software vendors it represents the current �standard� in the market.
PPI (pixels per inch) - Specifies the resolution of an input device, such as a scanner, digital camera, or monitor. Web page resolution ranges from 72-96 pixels per inch.
Press proof - A copy obtained from inked type, plate, block or screen for checking purposes; a reasonably accurate sample of how a finished piece is intended to look. Also, to check for consistency and accuracy.
Process colors- See four color process.
Progressives - Color proofs taken at each stage of printing showing each color printed singly and then superimposed on the preceding color.
Proofreading marks - A standard set of signs and symbols used in copy preparation and to indicate corrections on proofs. Marks are placed both in the text and in the margin with a line connecting them.
Proportion scale - A wheel-like tool used in sizing art (reduction or enlargement) for reproduction.
Proportional spacing - A method of spacing whereby each character is spaced to accommodate the varying widths of letters or figures, so increasing readability. Books and magazines are set proportionally spaced, typewritten documents are generally monospaced.
Pulp - The fibrous cellulose material which has been mixed, beaten and diluted, to which chemicals and fillers may be added in preparation for the papermaking process.

Quire- 1/20th of a ream (25 sheets).

Rag paper - High quality stationery made from cotton rags.
Ragged right/left - Typesetting style that is characterized by lines that end in unequal length, usually lined up flush on one side or the other example:flush left/ragged right.
Ream - 500 sheets of paper. Recto -A right hand book page (usually odd numbered), more significant than the reverse side, which is called the verso.
Registration marks - Small cross-hairs on film used in the alignment of negatives.
Register - The correct positioning of an image especially when printing one color on another.
Reflective art - Artwork prepared so that it may be photographed or input into a computer by scanner.
Reflective densitometer - Instrument used to measure the density on paper.
Resolution - The measurement used to express the quality of an character/image. Measured in dots per inch, the greater the number of dots, the smoother and cleaner appearance the character/image will have.
Rest in proportion (RIP) - An instruction when giving sizes to artwork or photographs that other parts of the artwork are to be enlarged or reduced in proportion.
Retouching - A means of altering artwork or color separations to correct faults or enhance the image.
Reverse out - To reproduce as a white image out of a solid background.
RGB - Red, green, blue. The additive primary colors used for computer monitor displays; also a color model. Cannot be used for printing. All RGB files must be changed to CMYK to be printed.
Rotary press - A web or reel fed printing press which uses a curved printing plate mounted on the plate cylinder.
Royalty-Free Photos or Images - Photos, graphic images, or other intellectual property that are sold for a single standard fee and may be used repeatedly by the purchaser. Typically with royalty-free clauses, the company that sells you the images still owns all of the rights to the images, and they are allowed for use only by the purchaser (i.e., the same images cannot be used by another company or individual without repurchase).
Runaround (see also Text wrap) - The ability within a program to run text around a graphic image within a document, without the need to adjust each line manually.
Running head - A line of type at the top of a page which repeats a heading.

Saddle stitching - A method of binding where the folded pages are stitched through the spine from the outside, using wire staples. Usually limited to 64 pages size.
Sans serif - A typeface that has no serifs (small strokes at the end of main stroke of the character). Helvetica, Geneva, and Arial are examples of sans-serif fonts.
Saturation - The amount of gray in a color. The higher the gray content, the lower the saturation.
Scale - The means within a program to reduce or enlarge the amount of space an image will occupy. Some programs maintain the aspect ratio between width and height whilst scaling, thereby avoiding distortion.
Score - To crease a sheet of paper or board so that it folds easier.
Screen frequency - The number of lines or dots per inch on a halftone screen.
Security paper - Paper incorporating special features (dyes, watermarks etc) for use on cheques.
Self-cover - The same paper stock is used on the cover as on the inside pages.
Serif - A small cross stroke at the end of the main stroke of the letter.
Set size - The width of the type body of a given point size.
Set solid - Typeset without leading (line spacing) between the lines. Type is often set with extra space; e.g. 9 point set on 10 point.
Set off - The accidental transfer of the printed image from one sheet to the back of another.
Sheet fed - A printing press which prints single sheets of paper, not reels.
Sheetwise - A method of printing a section. Half the pages from a section are imposed and printed. The remaining half of the pages are then printed on the other side of the sheet.
Side stabbed or stitched - The folded sections of a book are stabbed through with wire staples at the binding edge, prior to the covers being drawn on.
Side heading - A subheading set flush into the text at the left edge.
Sidebar - A vertical bar positioned usually on the right hand side of the screen.
Signature - A letter or figure printed on the first page of each section of a book and used as a guide when collating and binding.
Silhouette halftone- A halftone with the background, removed.
Silhouetting - Outlining continuous-tone art with paint or film before it is made into a halftone silhouette.
Size - A solution based on starch or casein which is added to the paper to reduce ink absorbency.
Slurring - A smearing of the image, caused by paper slipping during the impression stage.
Small caps - A set of capital letters which are smaller than standard and are equal in size to the lower case letters for that typesize.
Soft dot- A type of dot in a halftone screen whose edge is not smoothly circular. This can create a fuzzier image. Contrast with hard dot.
binding edge at the back of a book.
Spot Color - A second color, usually in addition to black, to add color to your printed piece. The ink is usually Pantone Matching System (PMS) consisting of named or numbered colors. PMS is generally accepted throughout the printing and graphic arts industry as the standard.
SRA - A paper size in the series of ISO international paper sizes slightly larger than the A series allowing the printer extra space to bleed.
S.S. - Abbreviation for same size. Also indicated S/S.
Stem- The main vertical stroke making up a type character.
Stet - Used in proof correction work to cancel a previous correction. From the Latin, "Let it stand."
Strap - A subheading used above the main headline in a newspaper article.
Strike-through - The effect of ink soaking through the printed sheet.
Subscript - The small characters set below the normal letters or figures.
Subtractive primaries - The inks (cyan, magenta, and yellow) used in process-color printing to create different colors. In contrast to additive primaries, these produce darker colors when combined.
Supercalendered paper - A smooth finished paper with a polished appearance, produced by rolling the paper between calenders. Examples of this are high gloss and art papers.
Superscript - The small characters set above the normal letters or figures.
Swash letters- Italic characters with extra flourishes used at the beginning of chapters.
Swatch - A color sample.

Tabloid - A page half the size of a broadsheet, or twice the size of a sheet of standard typing paper. It is 11" x 17" .
Tabular setting - Text set in columns such as timetables.
Tearsheet - A single paper of a publication containing a specific ad or article in print.
Template - A standard layout usually containing basic details of the page dimensions.
Text type - Typefaces used for the main text of written material. Generally no larger than 14 point in size.
TIFF - A common format for scanned photographs, generally associated with grayscale photos or bitmap line art.
Tint - The effect of adding white to a solid color or of screening a solid area.
Tip in - The separate insertion of a single page into a book either during or after binding by pasting one edge.
Tone line process - The process of producing line art from a continuous tone original. Transparency - A full color photographically produced image on transparent film.
Trapping - A prepress technique which allows for variation in registration during the press run. This is done primarily by allowing an overlap between abutting colors.
Trim - The cutting of the finished product to the correct size. Marks are incorporated on the printed sheet to show where the trimming is to be made.
Turnaround - The length of time elapsing between the start and finish of a particular job.
Twin wire - Paper which has an identical smooth finish on both sides.
Two-color press - A press that prints two colors on one side of a sheet in one pass.
Type area - Area of the page designated to contain text and illustrative matter.
Typeface - A complete set of characters forming a family in a particular design or style.
Type family - Range of typeface designs that are variations of one basic style of design. Thus we have Helvetica bold, light, light italic, condensed, etc.
Typestyle - Variation within a typeface: medium, bold, italic, condensed, etc.
Typography - The design and planning of printed matter using type.

U & lc - An abbreviation for UPPER and lower case.
Undercolor Removal (UCR) - A technique for reducing the amount of magenta, yellow, and cyan in neutral areas and replacing them with an appropriate amount of black.
Universal Copyright Convention (UCC) - Gives protection to authors or originators of text, photographs or illustrations etc, to prevent use without permission or acknowledgment. The publication should carry the copyright mark, the name of the originator and the year of publication.

Varnishing - A finishing process whereby a transparent varnish is applied over the printed sheet to produce a glossy finish.
Vellum - The treated skin of a calf used as a writing material. The name is also used to describe a thick creamy book paper.
Vertical justification - The ability to adjust the interline spacing (leading) and manipulation of text in fine increments to make columns and pages end at the same point on a page.
Vignette - A small illustration in a book not enclosed in a definite border.
Vignette halftone - Etching out the tone around the edges of the image on a halftone to make it fade away.

Watermark - An impression incorporated in the paper making process showing the name of the paper and/or the company logo.
Weight - The degree of boldness or thickness of a letter or font.
WF - An abbreviation for "wrong fount". Used when correcting proofs to indicate where a character is in the wrong typeface.
Widow - A single word left on the last line of a paragraph which falls at the top of a page.
Wire stitching - Aee saddle or side stitching.
Wood free paper - Made from chemical pulp only with size added. Supplied calendared or supercalendered.
Word spacing - Adding or reducing space between words to complete justification.
Word wrap - In word processing, the automatic adjustment of the number of words on a line of text to match the margin settings. The carriage returns set up by this method are termed soft, as against hard carriage returns resulting from the return key being pressed.
Work and tumble - A method of printing where pages are again imposed together. The sheet is then printed on one side with the sheet being turned or tumbled from front to rear to print the opposite side.
Work and turn - A method of printing where pages are imposed in one form or assembled on one film. One side is then printed and the sheet is then turned over and printed from the other edge using the same form. The finished sheet is then cut to produce two complete copies.
Wove - A finely textured paper without visible wire marks.