Here’s a concise glossary of common printing terms, focusing on key concepts used in the industry:
– **Additive Color**: A color system where red, green, and blue light combine to create various colors; used in digital displays and some printing processes. White is formed by combining all three.
– **Against the Grain**: Folding or cutting paper perpendicular to its natural grain, which can affect smoothness and folding quality.
– **Alignment**: Positioning of text and images to ensure proper registration and visual balance on the printed page.
– **Aqueous Coating**: A water-based protective layer applied to printed materials to enhance durability and appearance.
– **Banding**: Unwanted visible bands or steps in color gradients due to limitations in printing or digital processing.
– **Bindery**: Post-printing processes like cutting, folding, stitching, or binding to finish a product.
– **Bleed**: Artwork or colors that extend beyond the trim edge of a page to ensure no white borders remain after cutting.
– **CMYK**: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key (Black); the subtractive color model used in most color printing.
– **Coated Paper**: Paper with a surface coating (e.g., gloss or matte) to improve smoothness and print quality.
– **Collate**: Arranging printed pages in a specific order, often for multi-page documents.
– **Crop Marks**: Lines printed in the margins to indicate where a page should be trimmed.
– **DPI (Dots Per Inch)**: A measure of print resolution; higher DPI indicates sharper images (e.g., 300 DPI is standard for high-quality printing).
– **Die Cutting**: Using a metal die to cut paper into specific shapes or patterns.
– **Digital Printing**: Printing directly from digital files, ideal for short runs and variable data (e.g., inkjet or laser printers).
– **Embossing**: Creating a raised design on paper by pressing it between shaped dies.
– **Foil Stamping**: Applying metallic or colored foil to paper using heat and pressure for a shiny effect.
– **Four-Color Process**: Printing method using CMYK inks to produce a wide range of colors.
– **Grain**: The direction in which paper fibers align during manufacturing, affecting folding and strength.
– **Gutter**: The inner margin between facing pages or the space between columns in a layout.
– **Halftone**: A technique that simulates continuous tones using dots of varying sizes or spacing.
– **Imposition**: Arranging pages on a printing plate to ensure correct order and orientation after folding and binding.
– **Inkjet Printing**: A digital printing method where tiny droplets of ink are sprayed onto paper.
– **Letterpress**: A traditional printing method using raised, inked surfaces to press designs into paper.
– **Lithography**: A printing process based on the repulsion of oil and water, commonly used in offset printing.
– **Offset Printing**: A method where ink is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to paper; ideal for large runs.
– **Pantone (PMS)**: A standardized color-matching system for consistent ink colors in printing.
– **Perfect Binding**: A binding method where pages are glued at the spine, as in paperback books.
– **Plate**: A metal or plastic sheet carrying the image to be printed in offset or letterpress printing.
– **Proof**: A test print used to check for errors in color, layout, or content before final production.
– **Registration**: Aligning multiple colors or plates precisely during printing to avoid misalignment.
– **RGB**: Red, Green, Blue; an additive color model used for digital screens, not suitable for print without conversion to CMYK.
– **Saddle Stitching**: Binding method where folded sheets are stapled through the fold, common for magazines.
– **Screen Printing**: A method where ink is pushed through a mesh screen onto a surface, used for textiles and posters.
– **Spot Color**: A single, premixed ink color (e.g., Pantone) used instead of or alongside CMYK for precise color matching.
– **Substrate**: The material being printed on, such as paper, cardstock, or plastic.
– **Trim Size**: The final dimensions of a printed piece after cutting.
– **UV Coating**: A glossy, protective coating cured with ultraviolet light for durability and shine.
– **Variable Data Printing (VDP)**: Digital printing that customizes each piece with unique text or images (e.g., personalized mailers).
– **Web Press**: A high-speed printing press that uses continuous rolls of paper, suited for large print runs like newspapers.
This glossary covers essential terms for understanding printing processes, from design to production.