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A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
4 Color process - (See Four Color Process)
B
Bindery - The department of the print shop where products undergo binding processes
Binding - The process of finishing a product which includes: Collating, stapling, spiral binding, squaring, booklet making, numbering, shrink-wrapping, trimming, and padding.
Bleed - Printing that reaches the edge of the paper, after trimming.
Booklets (Finishing) - Printed sheets with multiple pages, folded so that the pages are in their proper numbered sequence, as in a book (signature).
Brightness - Refers to how reflective paper is.
Brochure - A pamphlet in a folded or booklet form.
Business Reply - A mail piece; such as, a postcard, envelope, or letter, usually sent as an enclosure, which can be mailed back by the respondents without them having to pay for postage.
C
Carbonless paper (Paper Samples) - Paper used for making multiple forms at once--With a copy for the originator, one for the person filling out the form, and perhaps a file copy -- It comes in sets of 2, 3 or 4 parts.
Camera-ready [copy] - Print ready mechanical art.
Card Stock - A thicker paper often used for printing covers, business cards, and postcards.
Coil Binding (Finishing) - A continuous coil of plastic wire that passes through holes along the binding side of a document to secure the document. It allows your documents to lay flat when opened.
Comb Binding (Finishing) - A curled plastic "comb" that is fed through slits punched into the binding side of a document to hold the sheets together. Comb binding allows a book to be disassembled and reassembled to add or remove pages.
Copyright - A legal device that provides the owner the right to control how a creative work is used.
Copyright Notice - Statement and symbol ©, the date of publication, and the author's name.
Collate - A way of ordering print materials in consecutive page order, 1, 2, 3, 4...
Color Separations - Process of separating colors for printing.
Cover - Paper used for the covers of books or manuals.
D
Digital Duplicator - A device that produces copies by digitally scanning an original image on to thin resin-coated master (stencil), and pressing ink onto paper through openings cut in the stencil.
Double Parallel Fold (Folds) - Paper in a double parallel fold is folded in half and then folded in half again with a fold parallel to the first fold.
E
Electronic Files - Computer files.
Estimate - Approximation of cost based on variable job details.
F
Fair Use - One of the rights accorded to the owner of copyright is the right to reproduce or to authorize others to reproduce the work in copies...This right is subject to certain limitations found in sections 107 through 118 of the Copyright Act (title 17, U. S. Code). One of the more important limitations is the doctrine of "Fair use."
Four Color Process - A system where a color image is separated into four different color values by the use of filters and screens, resulting in a color separation of four images that when transferred to printing plates and printed on a printing press reproduces the original color image.
G
Grain - The layout of the paper fibers.
Gripper - The distance between the body of text and the edge of paper.
Gripper Edge - The side of a paper held by the press -- A minimum of ¼ inch gripper margin is required and nothing can be printed in this area.
Gutter Margin - The white space formed by the adjoining inside margins of two facing pages in a book or the space between columns on a page.
H
Hard Copy - Paper originals
Half Tone - Reproduction of a photo/image in which gray tones are changed into an arrangement of tiny dots -- A halftone has no shades of gray, only greater or lesser concentrations of black dots.
Head-to-head - Prints on both sides of paper so that the top of one side of the sheet is at the top of the other side of the sheet.
Head-to-Toe - Prints on both sides of paper so that the top of one side of the sheet is at the bottom of the other side of the sheet (Calendars are an example).
I
Impressions - The amount that actually needs to be printed, i.e. 5 pages x 1000 copies each = 5,000 impressions.
In-house - Printing performed internally at the organization's print shop.
Indicia - An image pre-printed on mailing envelopes in place of text.
L
Landscape - A printing orientation that prints data across the wider side of the paper.
Layout - A rendition of a print that shows the proper placement of all the elements as they will appear on the final product.
Letter Fold (Folds) - Two folds creating three panels that allow a sheet of letterhead/paper to fit into a business size envelope.
M
Multi Function Device [MFD] - An office machine, which incorporates the functionality of multiple devices in one, i.e. Copier, printer, scanner, fax.
O
Offset printing (Offset) - Printing method whereby the inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. Offset presses prints with ink rather than toner.
Opacity - Opacity is related to the ability of light to pass through paper and the quality of paper determines how easy it is to see through a sheet to the printed material on the opposite side.
Original - Mechanical prepared by the originator for reproduction.
Overprinting - Printing done on an area already printed.
Overrun - A few more copies than the requested work done.
P
Padding - A stack of paper painted with glue on one side to form memo pads, routing slips, and scratch pads, etc.
Pantone Matching System - A color matching system used by many printers and graphic artists to deliver reliable, stable colors in printing
Perforate - A series of punched holes that allows for easy tearing.
Plastic comb - A method of binding books; whereby, holes are punched in the spine and a plastic device is inserted to hold together the pages
PMS - (See Pantone Matching System)
PostScript - Computer language that translates a file into a compatible type used for printing.
Pre-press - The steps that occur before the actual job printing.
Press Run - Length of the copy run (number of sheets to be printed).
Production Schedules - A project plan made up of a set of production requests, containing a timeline that defines the context of the schedule; such as, start time, print date, finishing date and completion date.
Proofs - A trial impression of a document, used to check for errors before the final printing.
Q
Quotation - To state a price for services.
R
Rag Bond - Paper with 25% to 100% percent cotton fiber content.
Ream - Generally 500 sheets of paper-Thicker paper has 250 sheets.
Register - Exact alignment of two or more printed images on the same surface.
Register Marks - Markings (crosshairs) or symbols used in multicolor printing to help check alignment of sequentially printed colors.
S
Saddle Stitch (Finishing) - Binding booklets or other material by stapling the pages on a folded spine.
Score - A crease in paper to help it fold easier.
Set-up time - The time necessary to set up before a job goes to print.
Shrink Wrap - Inexpensive binding option where a job is packaged in plastic wrapping.
Side Stitch (Finishing) - Bindery option: two staples along the binding edge of a document.
Single Fold (Folds) - Paper in a double parallel fold is folded in half.
Signature - Printed sheets with multiple pages, folded so that the pages are in their proper numbered sequence, as in a book.
Specifications - The size, style, ink colors, binding requirements of a printed piece.
Spiral Binding - A type of binding where wire is spiraled though holes along the binding side of a document, i.e. comb binding, coil binding.
Spiral Wire (Finishing) - A continuous plastic wire is used to bind a document.
Spot color - Ink color other than black, used to highlight or grab attention.
Squaring - Process of finishing the spine of a booklet so that it is flat (squared).
Stencil - A thin sheet of resin-coated material (master) -- Text or designs are created by cutting through the stencil so that ink can be forced through the openings onto the paper.
Stock (Our Stock) - The material to be printed on.
T
Tabloid - Describes standard 11x17 paper size.
Tape binding - A method of securing loose printed pages with a strip of tape fused with heat.
Template - A pre-designed document formatted for common purposes such as a fax, invoice, or layout for cards, etc... -- It becomes a custom document after filling in the blanks with your data.
Text paper - Term applied to medium weight paper that comes in different colors and textures; such as, linen, laid, or woven -- Used for booklets,brochures, programs.
Three Hole Paper - Drilled 8 ½ x 11 paper for insertion into a three ring binder.
Trim Marks - Marks placed on the printed sheet to indicate where cuts should be made.
U
Up - A term used to describe how many similar pieces could be printed on a larger sheet, i.e. two up, four up, etc.
V
Variable Costs - Costs of printing that changes depending on the job specs -- Paper, printing and binding options are all variable costs.
Variable Data Printing - Printing that follows the same basic format, with the content differing from each individual item printed.
W
White Space - Area of a printed peace that does not contain any content.
X
Xerographic Paper - Paper made to reproduce well in copy machines.
Z
Z-Fold (Folds) - A fold created by bending the paper back and forth in alternating directions, creating an accordion like effect.
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