Printing Terms Glossary
Print terms can be confusing. To save you from wondering what any of it means, we’ve assembled some of the most popular industry words and phrases and defined them for you in this handy printing terms glossary.
A4 paper
The standard paper size (210mm x 297mm) everywhere except the United States and Canada (which is 8.5” x 11”).
Accordion fold
Six panels (front and back) with two parallel folds that go in opposite directions. This creates an accordion style.
Acid-free paper
Against the grain
Moving at right angles to the direction of the grain of the paper being used. It’s sometimes known as cross grain. It’s less than the best quality for four-color printing.
Airbrush
A small tool that sprays a fine mist of paint, ink, or dye. It’s used primarily to retouch photos or create illustrations.
Alteration
An author or customer change that’s made after the printer or service bureau has received the artwork.
Anti-aliasing
In computer graphics, it’s a process of smoothing the jagged edges between pixels of varying colors, curves, and diagonals. It creates a more blended transition.
Aqueous coating
A clear, glossy or matte coating used to protect printed pieces. It also helps to prevent dirt and fingerprints.
Artwork
All the original, physical materials or electronic files (like photos, graphics, text) used to create a printed piece.
Ascender
The part of a lower-case letter that goes above the primary part of the letter (such as d, b, or h).
Backslant
The opposite of italic—this type leans to the left rather than the right.
Back Up
Two images in alignment with one another on two sides of a printed sheet.
Balloon
Circular line around copy or text, referencing dialogue.
Base line
The imaginary horizontal line for type and punctuation.
Basis weight
The weight (in pounds) of a ream of paper (500 sheets) cut to the basic size for a specific paper grade.
Bible paper
Opaque paper used for Bibles and other books.
Bindery
The part of a printing department that performs finishing tasks like cutting, folding, collating, and drilling.
Blanket
The part of an offset press that takes the inked image from a printing plate and transfers it to the printed surface.
Bleed
Printing that “bleeds” off the edge of a printed page after it’s been trimmed to the final size.
Blind image
Any image that’s not printed with ink or foil. Rather, it’s debossed, embossed, or stamped.
Blocking
When printed sheets stick together and are damaged when they’re separated. The cause is typically from a lack of anti-offset powder or too much ink.
Blueline
A prepress proof of a printed piece where all the images and text show as blue on white paper.
Body
A typography term referencing the main part of a letter, excluding the ascenders or descenders.
Bond
A strong, durable type of paper that’s commonly used in writing, printing, and photocopying.
Book paper
A category of paper used in the production of books, magazines, catalogs, etc. It can be coated (matte or gloss) or uncoated (aka offset).
Bounce
The improper positioning of a printed image on paper while traveling through a printing press. The image is “out of registration.” This means the overlapping colors that make up an image are out of alignment.
Bristol paper
Thicker paper between 90 pounds and 200 pounds. It’s used to print anything from documents and brochures to index cards, file folders, and much more.
Bromide paper
A type of photographic printing paper.
Bronzing
Dusting wet ink with a metallic powder (after printing).
Bulk
The thickness of paper in relation to its weight.
Bullet
A circle or other mark that’s used to designate importance at the beginning of a sentence or other text.
C1S and C2S
Acronyms for coated one side and coated two sides.
Caliper
The thickness of paper measured in thousands of an inch (mils or points).
Catalog paper
Coated paper with a basis weight between 35# and 50#.
Camera-ready copy
Materials like photographs and art that are ready for reproduction in accordance with the technical requirements of the printing process. It’s also known as finished art.
Carbonless paper
Case binding
Books that are bound using
Cast coating
Center spread
The two facing pages at the center of a book, catalog, or magazine.
Chain lines
Blemishes that show up on paper. They’re caused by tracking from the wires of a paper-making machine.
Clip art
Graphics, images, and designs used in a digital document.
CMYK
In the printing world, CMYK is a popular color scheme that stands for “cyan magenta yellow key.” Key usually stands for black.
Coarse screen
Halftone screen (up to 100 lines per inch) typically used in newsprint.
Coated stock
A mineral coating applied to paper after it’s made. This gives it a smooth, reflective finish.
Coil (or spiral) binding
Metal or plastic wire is spiraled through holes punched in the side of a stack of paper. It’s commonly used in reports or manuals so the pages can lay flat on a surface.
Cold color
Colors that feature hues from blue-green through blue-violet. Most grays are included.
Collate
To assemble printed pages in the proper order.
Colophone
The printer’s or publisher’s emblem and/or statement at the end of a book.
Color balance
The
Color bars
A color test strip printed on the trim area of a press sheet. This helps a press operator oversee the quality of the printing process (like ink density, registration, and dot gain).
Color cast
Color correction
Using image editing software to adjust the elements of a color image (like color balance, saturation, contrast, etc.).
Color gamut
The entire range of hues possible to reproduce on a specific system, like a computer screen, or four-color printing press.
Color key
This is the brand name (and sometimes the generic name) for an overlay color proof.
Color separating
Separating the CMYK color components for printing.
Color sequence
The order of printing process inks on a printing press.
Color shift
Changes in image color during four-color process printing.
Color transparency
A positive color image produced on transparent film.
Comb binding
Binding papers together with round, plastic spines—aka “combs.” It’s commonly used in reports or manuals.
Commercial printer
A printer that produces a variety of printed products—from brochures and books to magazines and posters.
Composite proof
Proof (aka final proof) of all the color separations in conjunction with the graphics, images, and type.
Condensed type
A typeface that’s narrow and elongated.
Condition
The process of storing paper in the
Continuous Form
Forms that are folded or wound on rolls with an image and text that continues through a print run. The forms can be personalized with information like names, dates, and more.
Contrast
The tones in an image, from highlights to shadows.
Cover
A specific type of thick paper used for the covers of books and other publications. One sheet amounts to four covers.
Coverage
How much ink covers the surface of a printed sheet. It’s typically expressed as light, medium, or heavy.
Crop marks
Small printed lines along the edge of a printed piece detailing where a cut is to be made from the larger sheet.
Crossover
An item (like a line, image, etc.) on one printed page of a book or magazine that carries over to an adjacent page. The crossover area is called a gutter.
Cutting machine
A machine that cuts, scores, and/or creases stacks of paper to a specific size.
Cyan
This is the C in the CMYK process colors. Cyan is a greenish-blue color. It’s sometimes called process blue.
Dampening
Part of an offset printing press where rollers transfer a solution to a plate that covers the non-printing area. It rejects ink in those areas.
Deboss
To stamp an image into paper so it’s indented.
Deckle edge
The edge of
Densitometer
An instrument that’s used to measure the photographic density of ink or color on a printed image (film or photo).
Density
Measured by a densitometer:
- Ink – The thickness of a layer of printed ink.
- Color – The ability of color to absorb that light reflected from it or to keep light from passing through it.
- Paper – How tight or
loose the paper fibers are.
Descender
The part of a lower-case letter that goes below the primary part of the letter (such as p).
Desktop publishing (DTP)
Using a personal computer to design pages (including all type and graphics), then printing to paper, film, or a printing plate with a laser printer.
Die cut
Cutting irregular shapes into paper using a die.
Digital proof
Page proofs printed via laser or ink-jet printer.
Dithering
Averaging between different-colored pixels. It creates a smooth transition between the edge of two areas.
Dot
The smallest individual part of a halftone.
Dot gain
When halftone dots are printing larger than they should.
Dots-per-inch (DPI)
The measure of resolution from devices like scanners, monitors, laser printers, and monitors.
Double bump
To print in one place twice so it has two layers of ink.
Drill
Drilling holes into paper for binding.
Drop shadow
A shadowed image placed behind an image to make it look like it’s raised off the page.
Dull finish
A semi-gloss finish on paper—somewhere between glossy and matte finishes.
Dummy
A simulation of the final product.
Duotone
The two-color halftone reproduction of one color photo.
Dye sublimation
A color print produced using heated dyes instead of ink. It’s often used as a proof.
Dylux
The brand name for the photographic paper that’s used to create blueline proofs.
Embossing
To stamp a design into paper so it lies above the surface so it’s raised above the surface.
Enamel
Engraving
EPS
Abbreviation for encapsulated
Estimate
A statement that says what a project will likely cost. It’s sometimes referred to as a bid or quotation.
Etch
To carve an image into metal, glass, or film with chemicals.
Felt side
When
Film gauge
The thickness of
Finish
Paper’s surface quality.
Fit
The registration of different colors on a printed sheet.
Flexography
A form of printing on a web press using flexible rubber or plastic plates to print on items that aren’t flat, like cans, bottles, plastics, fabrics, and other items.
Fifth color
A non-standard color added to the 4-color (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) printing process.
Fixed costs
Some costs involved in a print job remain the same regardless of how many pieces are printed. This is typically copywriting, photography, and/or graphic design.
Foil
Thin metal sheet (usually gold) applied to paper with foil stamping.
Foil embossing
Embossing a pattern under foil to create a 3D (raised) section.
Foil stamping
Impressing foil onto paper with a heated die.
Fold marks
The markings on printed materials indicating where to fold (typically top edges).
Font
A complete typeface featuring all the characters.
Four-color process printing
The use of black, magenta, cyan, and yellow to produce four-color images. Also known as full-color printing.
FPO
For position only. Low-res or mockup images that show where something goes in a design. Not intended for final production.
Free sheet
Paper without wood pulp impurities.
Fugitive Glue
A non-abrasive glue used to bind paper together without causing damage to the paper when it’s pulled apart. It’s sometimes called booger glue.
Galley proof
A replica proof (oftentimes uncut and unbound) that’s created before printing for review.
Ganging
Combining multiple print jobs on one sheet of paper.
Gate fold
Two outside panels fold in and meet in the center or gutter.
Gathering
Also known as collating, this is when sheets of paper and signatures are assembled into the proper sequence.
Ghosting
When a faint image appears on a printed sheet where it wasn’t intended to be. This is caused by the vapors from drying ink that
Grade
Grain
Paper fibers that move in a similar direction on a sheet of paper.
Gray scale
The changes in gray values from white to black.
Gripper
The metal fingers that holds a sheet of paper while passing through a printing press.
Groundwood paper
Gutter
The inside margins or blank space between printed components or along the edge of the binding of a book.
Halftone
Small dots create the impression of a continuous-tone image. The dots vary by size and number per square inch.
Hairline (rule)
A very small space or thin line.
Halo effect
A slight shadow sometimes seen around printed halftone dots.
Head
The margin at the top of a page.
Hickey
A mark on the printing plate that creates a spot in the printing.
High-fidelity color
Rather than using a standard four-color printing process, color is reproduced using six, eight, or 12 separations.
High-key photo
A photo whose primary details are located in the highlights.
Highlights
The lightest tones in a photo, halftone, or illustration.
Hot melt
Binding adhesive that needs heat to be applied.
House sheet
Paper that a printer always has on hand in their shop. It works for a wide variety of print projects.
Image area
The part of a printing plate that transfers the ink and prints onto paper.
Imagesetter
A laser printer that uses photosensitive paper or film.
Imposition
The proper order of pages to be printed, with all elements in alignment, before making the plates for printing.
Indicia
An element (text or image) that’s used to replace a stamp on mailing envelopes.
Ink dry back
The part of a printing plate that transfers the ink and prints onto paper.
Inkjet printing
Computer printing process where ink is sprayed through nozzles onto paper, plastic, etc.
Ink fountain
The part of a printing press that holds the ink.
Insert
A printed element, page, or thin booklet that’s inserted into a larger piece of printed material.
ISBN
Abbreviation for International Standard Book Number. This number is given to a published work and it’s usually placed on the front or back of the title page.
Italics
Jacket
The paper covering around a hardbound book. Also known as
Job number
The number assigned by a printing company to a project.
Jogger
A machine that vibrates to align loose pages for trimming and binding.
Justification
Adjusting words and characters so they completely fill a line of text from left to right.
K
An abbreviation for black in four-color process printing. The K in CMYK stands for black.
Kerning
To narrow the space between the letters of a word in order to take up less space.
Keyline
Lines on artwork that indicate precisely where pictures and other elements are supposed to appear.
Kraft paper
Laid finish
Lamination
A transparent plastic covering that provides protection to a piece of paper.
Landscape
Turning a piece of paper so the width is longer than the length. Its opposite is portrait.
Layout
The final placement of all the elements on a page.
Leading
The space between lines of type on a page.
Letterpress printing
Printing from a raised, inked metal plate onto sheets or a roll of paper.
Letterspacing
Adding space between typeset letters.
Line copy
Reproducing copy without a halftone screen.
Linen
Paper with the look and feel of linen cloth.
Lithography
Using a treated flat surface to make the printed images. The ink is repelled except for where it’s required for printing.
Live area
The space on a mechanical where images will print.
Lock Up
Where the ends of a printing plate meet. Because no ink is transferred here, it’s sometimes moved so there’s a bleed on the printed piece.
Logotype
The combination of letters and/or an image(s) to create the official symbol for a company or product.
Loose leaf
Loupe
A small magnifier used to look at the details on a page.
M weight
The weight of 1,000 sheets of any size paper.
Magenta
One of the four process colors. The
Magnetic black
Black ink with iron oxides in it. It’s used for magnetic ink character recognition.
Makeready
The setup process in preparing a press for a print job, including the paper.
Mark-up
Instructions for a printer written on “dummy” copy.
Match print
A four-color process proofing system.
Matte finish
A flat finish on coated paper.
Mechanical
Camera-ready collection of type, graphics, and any other elements with instructions for the printer. A hard mechanical features paper with paste-ups while a soft mechanical is a computer file with the necessary information.
Metallic ink
Ink that’s made with powdered metal or pigments that look like metal. The colors are typically silver and gold.
Midtones
Tones between highlights and shadows created by dots between 30- and 70-percent coverage.
Mock up
A reproduction of the original, possibly including instructions.
Moire
When halftone screens are overprinted, it results in an undesirable pattern.
Mottle
Ink absorption that’s spotty or uneven.
Natural
Newsprint
A lightweight, inexpensive style of paper used primarily for printing newspapers.
Natural
Neutral gray
A color of gray without any hue or cast.
Non-heatset web
A web press that doesn’t feature a drying oven, thus it can’t print on coated paper.
Non-impact printing
Printing via laser, ink jet, heat, or ions in order to apply images onto paper.
Non-reproducing blue
A specific color of light blue that won’t show up on graphic arts film. It’s used to write instructions on mechanicals or layout grids. Aka non-repro blue.
Novelty printing
Printing on promotional products rather than paper—typically pens and pencils, golf balls, coasters, and much more.
Offset printing
The most common method of printing. Ink is transferred from a printing plate to a rubber blanket to the paper.
Offset paper
Uncoated book paper.
Onion skin
Very lightweight paper typically used for typing. It’s rarely used anymore.
Opacity
Level of transparency of paper and the ability to prevent two-sided printing from showing through on the other side.
Overlay proof
A color proof where each sheet (made of polyester) represents the image to be printed in one color. As each sheet is laid on top of one another, together they form a layered proof.
Over run
When a print job produces more than what was requested.
Page count
The total number of pages in a printed work, such as a book or other publication.
Pagination
The ordered numbering of pages in a book.
Parchment
A type of paper typically used for documents to be framed, where some handwriting is involved.
Perfect binding
Multiple sheets that are bound to the cover with glue.
Pica
Unit of measurement in printing—roughly one-sixth of an inch (0.166 inches).
Picking
When a tack of ink pulls some of the fiber or coating off the page as it runs through the press. This leaves spots on the printed page.
Plastic comb
A plastic binding device that holds pages together.
Plate
A one-use metal sheet that attaches around a cylinder on a printing press. It features an emulsion of the printed area.
PMS
Abbreviation for Pantone Color Matching System.
Point
Unit of measurement equal to 1/72 of an inch. There are 12 points to one pica and 72 points to one inch.
Portrait
Turning a piece of paper so the length is longer than the width. Its opposite is landscape.
Ppi
Premium
Any paper that’s manufactured above the top-quality grade.
Prepress
The process of receiving files, proofing
Press check
When a client visits a printer to check on the quality of the printing process before the full production begins.
Press proof
A printed sample that looks like the finished product.
Press time
The amount of time one job spends on the printing press or the time of day it’s scheduled to be printed.
Printing plate
The surface that transfers an image to be printed.
Proof
A test sheet that’s produced to check for mistakes and show what the final printed piece is supposed to look like.
Proofreader marks
The symbols and abbreviations that are used to mark up and correct changes and/or mistakes in proofs.
Proportion scale
Quarto
When a sheet is folded twice, it makes pages one-quarter of the original size.
Quotation
The price estimate offered by a printer to complete a specific job.
Ragged left
Ragged right
Ream
A package of paper that includes 500 sheets.
Recycled paper
New paper made from old paper.
Register
When two or more images are in perfect alignment with one another.
Register marks
The use of
Resolution
How clear an image appears on any given medium (print, computer screen, etc.).
RGB
Abbreviation for red, green, and blue. These are the colors a computer uses to show color on a screen. RGB files must be converted to CMYK before printing.
Rich black
Using multiple colors of ink to produce a deep, dark black color.
Right-angle fold
Folds that are at 90 degrees to the fold before it.
Right reading
When the orientation of a photo looks like the original (not reversed) or when text reads in the language it was originally intended.
Running head
A title line or lines appearing at the top of every page in a book or chapter.
Saddle stitch
Binding printed materials with staples along the fold in the spine.
Satin finish
A dull finish on coated paper.
Scale
The percentage that photos or art should be made larger or smaller to become the correct size for printing.
Scoring
Creasing paper with a metal rule to make it easier to fold.
Screen printing
Printing by forcing ink through a mesh fabric and stencil.
Self cover
The cover of a publication that’s the same paper stock as the inside sheets.
Self mailer
Printed material that’s designed so it doesn’t need an envelope to be mailed.
Separations
Individual pieces of film for four-color process printing. There is one sheet per color for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK).
Self mailer
Printed material that’s designed so it doesn’t need an envelope to be mailed.
Shadows
The darkest areas of a photograph.
Sheetfed press
Unlike the more popular web offset press which prints from a roll of paper, this is a press that prints sheets of paper.
Side guides
Guides affixed to the sides of a printing press that help to keep the sheet in the proper position as it feeds through the press.
Smoothness
The amount of evenness on the surface of the paper.
Soy inks
Environmentally friendly ink that’s made with vegetable oil rather than petroleum as its base.
Spiral bind
Binding with metal or plastic wire spiraled through holes in the printed piece.
Spoilage
Spot color (varnish)
Ink that’s applied only to specific areas of a printed sheet.
Spread
Facing pages that are designed to work together.
Stat
A low-cost photographic print of a halftone or line art.
Stock
A type of paper from a wide variety of unprinted papers.
SWOP
Abbreviation for the specifications of web offset publications.
Synthetic paper
Any paper not derived from wood or cloth. It typically has a petroleum base.
Tabloid
Half a broadsheet or half the size of a standard newspaper.
Text paper
A lightweight but high-quality type of printing paper.
Thermography
Slow-drying ink is applied to paper and while it’s still wet, it’s dusted with a colorless resin powder. During the drying process, the powder melts, creating a raised surface on top of the ink.
TIFF
Abbreviation for tagged image file format—a computer file format that’s used to save images.
Tint
Adding white to a solid color so it lightens that color.
Trapping
Printing one ink over top of another as a coating or varnish and overlapping them so no white space is visible.
Trim marks
Marks on a printed sheet that show where to cut the sheet to its final size.
Trim size
The final size of a printed piece after being cut from the paper it was printed on.
Typo
A spelling mistake.
Undercolor removal
Removing cyan, magenta, or yellow from an image to reduce the amount of ink applied.
Up
The number of like pieces that can be printed on one larger sheet—eg. one up, two up.
UV coating
A shiny, high-gloss liquid coating that’s applied to printed materials, then cured with ultraviolet light.
Variable data printing
Digital printing where text and graphics may be changed from one printed piece to the next, without stopping or slowing down the printing process.
Varnish
Vellum finish
Vignette
Decorative design addition that fades to darker or lighter.
Virgin paper
VOCs
Abbreviation for volatile organic compounds. Many printed inks are made with a petroleum base.
Warm color
Colors that feature reddish tones as opposed to blue tones. Warm colors would include browns, oranges, reds, and yellows.
Wash up
Cleaning ink from the various parts of a printing press.
Watermark
A luminous mark that’s embossed on paper and visible when it’s held up to the light.
Web press
Widow
One or two words that appear on their own line at the end of a paragraph. These words could also get bumped to a page all their own. From a printing perspective, it’s
Woodfree paper
Paper made with wood that’s been processed into a chemical pulp.
Wove
Smooth paper with a lightly patterned finish.
Xerographic paper
Paper that’s created to work especially well in photocopiers.
Yellow
This is the Y in the CMYK process colors.
Zip file
When files are “zipped,” they’re compressed into a smaller archive. This type of file takes up less space, so it’s faster to send via email.