Color Proof
A sample of the actual substrate to
be printed using the inks that will be printed, pulled from the press prior to
the actual printing of the job as a means of checking the color
balance, registration,
and other aspects of the job which may need to be corrected prior to printing.
Proofs will give you an accurate indication of exactly
what goes where but is not used to give an exact replication for color,
however colors will be run on the press to preset process standards
as will PMS color standards.
Cover Ink
Same as text ink, but for the cover portion, if it differs from the
text.
Coverage %
The amount of ink covering the printed page. Always let the printing
company know if large solid areas of 100% ink exists on the page.
Cover Stock
Heavier card type stock and also used for the printing of the outside
4 pages of your printed item, should it be different from the text
when printing. If it is not, then your printed item is a "self
cover".
Description
The name of the item you need the printing quote for (e.g., book printing,
brochure printing, catalog printing…).
Die Score or Cut
A "steel rule" die is manufactured, which is composed of
thin pieces of steel that will be used to stamp a line or rule on the
printed materiel. To die cut is to cut the printed piece almost like
a cookie cutter. An example of this is a "pocket folder".
DPI
Considered as "dots per square inch," a measure of output
resolution in relationship to printers, imagesetters and monitors.
In print media, DPI refers to dots per square inch. For web graphics,
DPI is usually expressed as pixels per inch instead of DPI.
Emboss
To die stamp the paper from the rear in order to create a raised effect.
The opposite is to de-emboss and stamp from the front of the paper
in order to create a lowered effect.
EPS
Encapsulated Post Script, a known file format usually used to transfer
post script information from one program to another.
Flat/Spread Size
This is the flat and final trimmed size before folding. (Example: an
8 1/2 x 11" 4-page brochure spread out as a 2-page "spread" would
be 17 x 11".) Printers require the width as the first dimension
given.
Foil Stamping
In binding and finishing, a finishing operation in which a design or other
image is pressed onto a substrate. In foil stamping, a heated die containing
a relief (raised) image presses down on a roll of foil passing above the
substrate to be decorated. As the die hits the foil, it is transferred
to the substrate. Many paperback books, hardcover book jackets, and various
types of packaging are foil stamped. Foil is available in many different
colors, patterns, finishes, textures, etc.
Fold Type
The type of fold used to complete your printing job. A letter fold
is a paper folded in thirds. A "z" fold differs in that
the parts do not overlap but form a Z at the end. A parallel fold
is a half fold, double parallel folds in half and then half again
vs. a right angle where the second fold is done on a 90 degree angle
from the first. Accordion fold is just more panels than the Z and
similar. A gate fold is where the two end panels meet in the center
with the center panel being the width equal to both end panels and
a double gate folds in half towards the center after the initial
gate fold.
GIF
Graphics Interchange Format (GIF)
is an 8-bit-per-pixel bitmap image
format that has come into widespread usage on the World
Wide Web due to its wide support and portability. The format uses
a palette of up to 256 distinct colors from the 24-bit RGB color space.
The color limitation
makes the GIF format unsuitable for reproducing color photographs and
other images with continuous color, but it is well-suited for more
simple images such as graphics or logos with solid areas of color.
GIF images are compressed using the Lempel-Ziv-Welch (LZW) lossless
data compression technique to reduce the file size without degrading
the visual quality.
Halftones
The traditional printing technology of converting
the analog photo image to dots that can be etched onto the printing
plate.
(1) To photograph or scan a continuous
tone image to convert the image into halftone dots. (2) A photograph
or continuous-tone illustration that has been half-toned and appears
on film, paper, printing plate or the final printed product.
Halftone Screen
Piece of film or glass containing a grid of lines that breaks light
into dots. Also called contact screen and screen.
JPG/JPEG
Pronounced JAY-peg,
is a commonly used method of compression for
photographic images.
JPG is also considered to be a file format. JPEG is
the most common image format used by digital cameras and other photographic
image capture devices. It is the most common format for storing and transmitting
photographic images on the World
Wide Web.
Match Print
A multiple piece of contact proofing that is pieced together and laminated
as a single piece before printing.
Metallic Inks
A variety of printing ink made with metallic
powders so as to impart a metallic luster to the printed image. Fine metal flakes
that are mixed with a varnish and used as a pigment in some types of printing
inks to impart silver, gold, or other types of metallic luster to the printed
image. Metallic powders used in inks are produced in different grades and with
varying degrees of fineness, depending on the desired end-use characteristics.
Number of Pages
This is different from how many sheets of paper are printing. A single
piece of paper has two sides and therefore is two pages.
Output Ready Disk
A complete disk not requiring further production other then to "rip" to
film or plate if on a digital printing press. It should also contain
folders for all of your images fonts used.
Pantone
The brand-name for a popular color matching system, or series of printed
color swatches used to match, specify, identify, and display specific
colors or colored ink combinations. PANTONE systems are available
for both spot color and process color.
PDF or Portable Document Format
The Portable Document Format, or PDF, is a file format created and
maintained by Adobe Systems. The PDF format is meant to completely
contain and encode all the information necessary to reproduce (display
and/or print) a document exactly, with complete visual fidelity. Each
PDF file contains a complete description of the document including the
text, fonts, images, and 2D vector graphics that compose the document.
PDF files do not include software, hardware or operating specific information.
This ensures that a valid PDF should be rendered the same regardless
of its origin or destination.
Perfect Bind
A squared off edge and glued pages define this bindery type. An
example is your typical "pocket" book printing.
Perforate
Creation of holes either by die or a bindery rolling process for tear
outs or coupons.
Pixel
Short for picture element, a dot made by a computer, scanner or other
digital device. Pixels are also referred to as “dots”,
used in the term, DPI. See definition of DPI.
Preflight
To review a computer file to assure all elements are included and that it will
print properly to an output device.
Resolution
Sharpness of an image on film, paper, computer screen, disc, tape or
other medium. This is usually measured in DPI or pixels per inch.
See definition of DPI or pixel.
RGB
A color model composed of red, green, and blue used
to define colors on a computer monitor.
Saddle Stitch
Two staples added to the center of the piece on the fold line. This
is a typical magazine printing bind.
Sherpa Proof
A proof used
for checking the content of a job. If there are no changes and the
proof is signed off, the data used to produce the proof is then imaged
by the laser, with no re-rendering, to produce the high-resolution
version to plate.
Proofs will give you an accurate indication of exactly
what goes where but is not used to give an exact replication for color,
however colors will be run on the press to preset process standards
as will PMS color standards.
Text Ink
Ink that is used for the printing of the inner pages. This is described
by the number of printing inks you require and the two numbers used
are separated by a slash sign /. If the front of your piece has 4
colors and the back has 1, then your piece would be described as
4/1 or "four over one". CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and
black) is for process printing, such as color photos and Pantone
inks also known as spot color, or PMS stands for Pantone Matching
System. (Note: always count on a slight variation of color from paper
to paper and press to press.
Text Stock
Is the lighter weight paper stock. If there were not a separate cover,
then would be the only paper used (i.e. a "self cover")
or if there is a separate heavier cover used in the printing then
this would refer to the inside paper.
TIF/TIFF
Tagged Image File Format (abbreviated TIFF or TIF),
is a file format for storing images,
including photographs and line
art. The TIFF format
is widely supported by image-manipulation applications, by publishing
and page layout applications, by scanning, faxing, word
processing, optical
character recognition and other applications
Trim Size Folded
The size of the item that you are printing once folded. (Example: if
you fold a letter to fit an envelope, the folded size is the "trim
size" folded, or 3 2/3 x 8 1/2" from the 8.5 x 11" original
size.)
TrueType Font
A digital font technology designed
by Apple Computer, and now used by both Apple and Microsoft in their
operating systems. TrueType fonts offer the highest possible quality
on computer screens and printers, and include a range of features
which make them easy to use. Read more...
Type 1 Font
A format for high quality typefaces used for the graphics industry. Postscript
fonts are Type 1 fonts.
Vector Graphic
A type of computer graphics system which describes a computer image
as a series of complex mathematical formulas and coordinates that decribe
lines, curves, and other geometric shapes. Vector images take up less
disk space and require less processing power and RAM to create and
manipulate. As they are described mathematically, they can be output
at as high a resolution as the output device is capable of generating,
so long as the file format in which the file is saved is one that can
handle vectors. A conventional computer monitor can only display an
image as a bit map, so a vector graphic will never look as smooth on
screen as it does when output, as it will always have to be displayed
at the resolution of the monitor, which is much much less than that
of imagesetters or even laser printers.
