Terms & Definitions

Accordion fold: A binding term for two or more parallel folds that open like an accordion.

Bindery: A print shop department that handles the trimming, folding, binding, and most other finishing tasks.

Bitmap: A computerized image made up of dots or pixels. Bitmap images are not ideal for high-quality output.

Black & White: Originals in the single color of black.

Bleed: A printed image that extends beyond the trim edge of a sheet or page.

Camera-Ready copy: High-quality art consisting of type, line art and graphics that have been prepared to be photographed for platemaking.

Card stock: A stiff paper similar to a cover stock or an index sheet. This paper is typically used for post cards and thank you notes. It should always be scored before folding.

Coated Paper: This paper has a smooth finish that can vary between a matte and glossy appearance.

Collate: To gather sheets together in their proper sequence.

Color bar: The strip of colored squares printed near the edge of the press sheet. This bar helps to evaluate ink density and registration.

Color separation: Separating color artwork into cyan, magenta, yellow and black for 4-color process printing.

Copy: all written material, graphics and photographs that need to be printed.

Crop marks: Lines in the corners of the sheet indicating where the artwork should be cut or folded.

Cyan: One of the four process colors. Also known as process blue.

Dpi, or dots per inch: A measure of the resolution of a screen image usually applied to output devices.

Duotone: A halftone image reproduced using two ink colors.

Finished size: The size of the printed piece after all production is complete.

Finishing: The bindery operations that complete the printed piece.

Font: The complete character set in one typeface.

4-color process: A printing technique that uses four different inks to simulate the colors found in photographs.

Ghosting: When a faint image appears on a sheet where it is not intended to be.

Grain: The direction in which fibers in the paper lie.

Gripper edge: The leading edge of the paper as it passes through the press.

Gripper Margin: The edges of the paper where the grippers clasp the sheet. This area is usually ½ inch wide and is unprintable.

Gutter: The inside margin of a book closest to the binding.

Hairline: A very thin line or gap.

Hard copy: Original artwork printed from a desktop printer. This can be used to scan in for duplication.

Image area: The area on the paper on which ink appears.

Impression: One printed page.

Kerning: The space between letters that can be adjusted to make them appear closer together or further apart.

Keyline: Lines either on the computer or on the artwork that serve as guidelines.

Kiss die cut: To die cut without going through the paper.

Laminate: A plastic film that is bonded by heat and pressure to a piece of artwork. Laminates come in different mil's depending on desired thickness.

Lines per inch: The number of lines or rows of dots per inch.

Magenta: One of the four process colors, also known as process red.

Makeready: All processes needed to set up a press before printing begins.

Matte finish: A slightly dull finish on coated stock.

Perfect Binding: A binding method in which the sheets are trimmed at the binding edge and glued to a paper cover.

PMS (Pantone Matching System): A color matching system for printing inks.

Press proof: A proof usually done at the shops' location. The proof uses the same plates, paper and ink specified for the job.

Process Blue: Another name for Cyan.

Process colors: The colors needed for 4-color process printing. Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.

Proof: A test sheet showing how the printed piece will appear.

Saddle stitch: To fasten a booklet by stapling sheets together where they fold at the spine.

Score: Indenting paper along a line to make folding easier.

Self-cover: A booklet created entirely from the same paper so that the cover is printed at the same time as the inside pages.

Shrinkwrap; A bindery task that wraps documentation in a plastic film to keep it separate it protected.

Signature: Printed sheets that form part of a publication once folded.

Slip sheet: Usually a colored piece of paper placed in between publications to show separation.

Spiral bind: A binding method that uses a plastic coil put through holes to keep the book intact.

Spot varnish: Using varnish in specific areas of a printed sheet.

Toner: a powder substance that forms the image on a digital press like a DocuTech.

Trim size: The final size that the printed piece needs to be.

Typeface: A set of letters with design characteristics that make them similar to each other.

Uncoated paper: paper that does not have a coating.

Varnish: a clear liquid that is applied to a printed piece after it has dried. The purpose of varnishing is for both protection and aesthetic quality.

Wire-O: a trade name for a method of binding that uses loops of wire through little holes.

Work-and-Turn: To print one side of a sheet of paper, then turn the sheet over from left to right and print the second side using the same gripper edge for the second side.