Glossary of Printing Terms
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This part of the website is currently under construction. Eventually it will be home to a helpful list of terms that we printers use daily, and, since we've been at it for so long, sometimes take for granted that everyone else knows what they mean. Special thanks to Printing Industry Exchange LLC for some of these definitions - which are only placeholders for the moment, until we can supplement them with our own.
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Acid-free Paper
Paper made 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
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Artwork
All original copy, including type, photos and illustrations, intended for printing. Also called art.
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Aqueous Coating
Coating in a water base and applied like ink by a printing press to protect and enhance the printing underneath.
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Bleed
When designing art where the color goes right to the edge of the paper (or "bleeds" off the edge) it usually isn't printed that way. Ideally, the art extends past the actual size of the finished piece and then is cut away after printing. This is to ensure that the art does, in fact, bleed. Most digital copiers don't always run the image in the exact same spot on every single sheet, and paper sizes vary slightly even from ream to ream, so by giving us an 1/8 on all sides of wiggle room, we can make sure the art bleeds correctly. For example, when setting up a standard business card in which you want the art to bleed off the edge, make the backround art extend 1/8" (on all four sides) past the 2" X 3.5", making the new size with bleed margin 2.25" X 3.75"
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Bond paper
Category of paper commonly used for writing, printing and photocopying. Also called business paper, communication paper, correspondence paper and writing paper.
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C1S and C2S
Abbreviations for coated one side and coated two sides.
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Carbonless Paper
Paper coated with chemicals that enable transfer of images from one sheet to another with pressure from writing or typing.
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CMYK
Abbreviation for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black), the four process colors.
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Coated Paper
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.
Collate
To organize printed matter in a specific order as requested.
Color Separation
(1) Technique of using a camera, scanner or computer to divide continuous-tone color images into four halftone negatives. (2) The product resulting from color separating and subsequent four-color process printing. Also called separation.
To bind by inserting the teeth of a flexible plastic comb through holes punched along the edge of a stack of paper. Also called plastic bind and GBC bind (a brand name).
Crop Marks
Crop marks are a helpful way to ensure the finished piece gets cut to the correct size. They aren't crucial, but are really helpful when cutting. Most design software includes the automatic addition of crop marks when creating the PDF.
Densitometer
Instrument used to measure density. Reflection densitometers measure light reflected from paper and other surfaces; transmission densitometers measure light transmitted through film and other materials.
Density
(1) Regarding ink, the relative thickness of a layer of printed ink. (2) Regarding color, the relative ability of a color to absorb light reflected from it or block light passing through it. (3) Regarding paper, the relative tightness or looseness of fibers.
Die Cut
To cut irregular shapes in paper or paperboard using a die.
Digital Dot
Dot created by a computer and printed out by a laser printer or imagesetter. Digital dots are uniform in size, as compared to halftone dots that vary in size.
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Slug
The slug is everything outside of the bleed margin. It's a good place for printers to put registration marks, color bars, and all sorts of other things you probably won't ever need to know. For the person creating the file, it's a handy place to put notes about the job (i.e. quantity, colors, specs, etc.)
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