Glossary
Backing Up
Printing the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side.
Black and White
Originals or reproductions in single colour (black).
Bleed
Printed area which extends off the trimmed area. It is not possible to print all the way to the edge of the paper sheet. To achieve this effect it is necessary to print a larger area than is required and then trim the paper down. Typically a designer would allow an extra 3mm of bleed to colour and image areas to allow for a little leeway when trimming.
Bond Paper
A basic uncoated paper, often used for copying or laser printers. The better quality bond papers, with higher rag content, can be used for letterheads.
CMYK
Cyan (blue), Magenta (red), Yellow and Black - used as the basic colours in the printing industry. See ‘Four Colour Process’.
Coated Stock
Paper which has a coating usually of china clay. It can be gloss, silk or matt and is suitable for jobs requiring a fine finish such as colour brochures and annual reports.
Crop Marks
In printing, marks placed on the copy to indicate the edge of the paper. Used as a guide when cutting documents to finished size.
Die-Cutting
The process of using sharp steel rules to cut special shapes, such as the pockets of a folder.
Digital Printing
Printing processes in which information is transferred from a computer directly onto paper, without the need for film and printing plates. Digital printing is faster and more cost-effective for small/medium print runs and allows special techniques such as personalisation and printing-on-demand.
Drilling
Making the holes in paper for use in a ring binder.
Encapsulation
A form of protective enclosure for papers and other flat objects; involves placing the item between two sheets of transparent polyester film (available in various thicknesses) that are subsequently sealed around all edges.
Finishing
Any process that follows the actual printing. Can include folding, creasing, stitching, binding and the like.
Four-Colour Process
The most common system for producing full colour print. The four ink colours are Cyan (blue), Magenta (red), Yellow and Black - often referred to as CMYK. The inks can be overprinted and combined in a variety of different proportions to produce a wide range of colours.
Full Colour Printing
See ‘ Four-Colour Process’
GSM
Abbreviation for ‘grams per square metre’. This indicates the weight of paper or other stock. For example a typical photocopier paper is 80gsm, a good letterhead paper might be 120 gsm, a postcard would be about 300gsm.
Laid Paper
Uncoated paper often used for business stationery which has a textured pattern of parallel lines similar to hand made paper. Compare to Wove Paper.
Lamination
A plastic film bonded by heat and pressure to a printed sheet for protection. Available in matt or gloss finish.
Landscape
An oblong artwork or photograph where horizontal dimension is greater than the vertical.
Lithographic Printing (litho)
A conventional (non-digital) print process. The process works by first transferring an image to thin metal, paper, or plastic printing plates. Rollers apply oil-based ink and water to the plates. Only the inked image portion is transferred to a rubber blanket that then transfers the image onto the paper as it passes between it and another cylinder beneath the paper.
Micron
Although paper is usually measured in grams per square metre (weight), it is sometimes measured in microns (thickness). A micron is unit of measure equal to one millionth of a metre or .00004".
Pantone
Pantone, Pantone Matching System and PMS + are Pantone Inc’s industry-standard trademarks for colour standards, colour data, colour reproduction and colour reproduction materials, and other colour related products and services, meeting its specifications, control and quality requirements.
Paper Sizes
The most common system of paper sizes in Europe is the ISO standard. Most people are familiar with the A series which includes A4 the usual letterhead size:
A0 - 841 x 1189mm
A1 - 594 x 841mm
A2 - 420 x 594mm
A3 - 297 x 420mm
A4 - 210 x 297mm
A5 - 148 x 210mm
A6 - 105 x 148mm
The C series is for envelopes - a C4 envelope being ideal for holding an A4 sheet. There is also a B series which provides intermediate sizes for the A series but this is rarely used.
The other series which you may come across is SRA which is used by printers. It is slightly larger than the A series to provide for grip, trim and bleed:
SRA0 - 900 x 1280mm
SRA1 - 640 x 900mm
SRA2 - 450 x 640mm
SRA3 - 320 x 450mm
SRA4 - 225 x 320mm
Portable Document Format - The industry standard for saving files in an acceptable format. Quick, cheap and increasingly stable, often used for viewing proofs and for supply of final artwork.
Perfect Bound
A way of adhesive binding multi-section jobs. Individual sections are collected together and the spine is ground off (typically 3mm). Glue is then applied to the spine and a cover pulled on before the product is trimmed to size.
Portrait
An upright, oblong artwork or photograph where vertical dimension is greater than the horizontal.
Pre-Press
All procedures (and costs) associated with bringing a job to press, such as design, artwork, proofs, set-up etc.
Proof
A version of a document produced specifically for the purpose of review prior to reproduction.
Ream
Five hundred sheets of paper.
RGB
Red, green, blue additive primary colours.
Saddle Stitch
In binding, to fasten a booklet by wiring it (stapling) through the middle fold of the sheets.
Score
To impress or indent a mark in the paper, to make folding easier.
Spiral Binding
A book bound with wires in spiral form inserted through holes punched along the binding.
Spot Varnish
A way of highlighting an area of a page by selectively applying a gloss varnish to it.
Stock
Paper or other material to be printed.
Trim Marks
See ‘Crop Marks’.
UV Varnish
See ‘Spot Varnish’.
Wove Paper
Uncoated paper often used for business stationery which has no obvious surface texture or pattern. Compare to Laid Paper.