Print Glossary
Bleed. Crop. Letterpress. If you don’t deal with printing every day, the jargon can sound like another language. At Alpine Print in Auckland, we’ve spent over 60 years in the trade and we’re here to make it simple. This glossary pulls together common printing terms and phrases so you can brief your job with confidence, compare quotes, and know exactly what to ask for.
Print Glossary
Bleed. Crop. Letterpress. If you don’t deal with printing every day, the jargon can sound like another language. At Alpine Print in Auckland, we’ve spent over 60 years in the trade and we’re here to make it simple. This glossary pulls together common printing terms and phrases so you can brief your job with confidence, compare quotes, and know exactly what to ask for.
Looking for a particular term in our print glosssary? Click the letter ranges below to jump to a specific section.
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W
A
A4 Paper: ISO paper size 210 x 297mm used for Letterhead.
Against the Grain: At right angles to the grain direction of the paper being used, as compared to with the grain. Also called across the grain and cross grain. See also Grain Direction.
Aqueous Coating: Coating in a water base and applied like ink by a printing press to protect and enhance the printing underneath.
Artwork: All original copy, including type, photos and illustrations, intended for printing. Also called art.
B
Binding: The process of fastening multiple printed pages into a finished piece such as a book, brochure, or magazine. Common options include Wire-O, spiral, saddle-stitch, and PUR (perfect) binding. PUR uses a polyurethane reactive adhesive to create strong, clean edges and excellent durability. Alpine Print can advise on the best binding for your project.
Bleed: An extra 3mm area around your artwork that ensures the design extends beyond the edge when trimmed
C
Carbonless Paper: Paper coated with chemicals that enable transfer of images from one sheet to another with pressure from writing or typing.
CMYK: The four ink colours (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) used in full-colour printing.
Colour Bars: A test strip that’s printed on the waste portion of a press sheet. It helps to monitor and control the quality of the printed material relative to ink density, registration and dot gain.
Colour Gamut: The entire range of hues possible to reproduce using a specific device, such as a computer screen, or system, such as four-color process printing.
Comb Bind: 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.
Coverage: Extent to which ink covers the surface of a substrate. Ink coverage is usually expressed as light, medium or heavy.
Crop Marks: Lines near the edges of an image indicating portions to be reproduced. Also called cut marks and tic marks.
Cure: To dry inks, varnishes or other coatings after printing to ensure good adhesion and prevent setoff.
Cutting Die:Usually a custom ordered item to trim specific and unusual sized printing projects.
D
Deboss: To press an image into paper so it lies below the surface. Also called tool.
Die: Device for cutting, scoring, stamping, embossing and debossing.
Die Cut: To cut irregular shapes in paper or paperboard using a die.
DPI (Dots Per Inch): A measure of print resolution — higher DPI means sharper, more detailed prints. Aim for 300 DPI for best quality.
E
Emboss: To press an image into paper so it lies above the surface.
EPS: Encapsulated Post Script, a known file format usually used to transfer post script information from one program to another.
F
Finishing: Post-print processes like lamination, binding, folding, trimming, and foiling that enhance the final look of your print job.
Finished Size: Size of product after production is completed, as compared to flat size. Also called trimmed size.
Foil Stamp: Method of printing that releases foil from its backing when stamped with the heated die. Also called block print, hot foil stamp and stamp.
Folder: A bindery machine dedicated to folding printed materials.
Fold Marks: With printed matter, markings indicating where a fold is to occur, usually located at the top edges.
G
Gloss: Consider the light reflecting on various objects in the printing industry (e.g., paper, ink, laminates, UV coating, varnish).
Grain Long Paper: Paper whose fibers run parallel to the long dimension of the sheet. Also called long grain paper and narrow web paper.
Grain Short Paper: Paper whose fibers run parallel to the short dimension of the sheet. Also called short grain paper and wide web paper.
Grammage: Basis weight of paper in grams per square meter (gsm).
GSM: The unit of measurement for paper weight (grams per square meter).
Gutter: In the book arena, the inside margins toward the back or the binding edges.
H
I
Imposition: Arrangement of pages on mechanicals or flats so they will appear in proper sequence after press sheets are folded and bound.
J
Job Number: A number assigned to a specific printing project in a printing company for use in tracking and historical record keeping.
K
Kiss Die Cut: To die cut the top layer, but not the backing layer, of self-adhesive paper. Also called face cut.
L
Laminate: A thin transparent plastic sheet (coating) applied to usually a thick stock (covers, post cards, etc.) providing protection against liquid and heavy use, and usually accents existing color, providing a glossy (or lens) effect.
Leaf: One sheet of paper in a publication. Each side of a leaf is one page.
Letterpress: Method of printing from raised surfaces, either metal type or plates whose surfaces have been etched away from image areas. Also called block printing.
M
Makeready: All activities required to prepare a press or other machine to function for a specific printing or bindery job, as compared to production run. Also called setup.
Male Die: Die that applies pressure during embossing or debossing.
Metallic Ink: Ink containing powdered metal or pigments that simulate metal.
N
News Print: Paper used in printing newspapers. Considered low quality and "a short life use."
O
Offset Printing: Printing technique that transfers ink from a plate to a blanket to paper instead of directly from plate to paper.
Overprint: To print one image over a previously printed image, such as printing type over a screen tint. Also called surprint.
Overs: Additional prints beyond the ordered quantity.
P
Page: One side of a leaf in a publication.
Page Count: Total number of pages that a publication has. Also called extent.
Page Proof: Proof of type and graphics as they will look on the finished page complete with elements such as headings, rules and folios.
Pagination: In the book arena, the numbering of pages.
Perfect Bind: To bind sheets that have been ground at the spine and are held to the cover by glue. Also called adhesive bind, cut-back bind, glue bind, paper bind, patent bind, perfecting bind, soft bind and soft cover.
Perfecting Press: Press capable of printing both sides of the paper during a single pass. Also called duplex press and perfector.
Perf Marks: On a "dummy" marking where the perforation is to occur.
Perforating: Taking place on a press or a binder machine, creating a line of small dotted wholes for the purpose of tearing-off a part of a printed matter (usually straight lines, vertical or horizontal).
Plate: Piece of paper, metal, plastic or rubber carrying an image to be reproduced using a printing press.
PMS: Obsolete reference to Pantone Matching System. The correct trade name of the colours in the Pantone Matching System is Pantone colours, not PMS Colours.
Prepress: Camera work, color separations, stripping, platemaking and other prepress functions performed by the printer, separator or a service bureau prior to printing. Also called preparation.
Proof: Test sheet made to reveal errors or flaws, predict results on press and record how a printing job is intended to appear when finished.
Q
R
Register: To place printing properly with regard to the edges of paper and other printing on the same sheet. Such printing is said to be in register.
Resolution: Sharpness of an image on film, paper, computer screen, disc, tape or other medium.
S
Saddle Stitch: To bind by stapling sheets together where they fold at the spine, as compared to side stitch. Also called pamphlet stitch, saddle wire and stitch bind.
Screen Printing: Method of printing by using a squeegee to force ink through an assembly of mesh fabric and a stencil.
Self Cover: This is when a publication does not having a cover stock that is different to the inner pages. A publication only using text stock throughout.
Solid: Any area of the sheet receiving 100 percent ink coverage, as compared to a screen tint.
Soy-based Inks: Inks using vegetable oils instead of petroleum products as pigment vehicles, thus are easier on the environment.
Spot Color or Varnish: One ink or varnish applied to portions of a sheet, as compared to flood or painted sheet.
T
Trim Size: The size of the printed material in its finished stage
U
Up: Term to indicate multiple copies of one image printed in one impression on a single sheet. "Two up" or "three up" means printing the identical piece twice or three times on each sheet.
UV Coating: Liquid applied to a printed sheet, then bonded and cured with ultraviolet light.
V
Varnish: Liquid applied as a coating for protection and appearance.
W
Wash Up: To clean ink and fountain solutions from rollers, fountains, screens, and other press components.
Waste: Unusable paper or paper damage during normal makeready, printing or binding operations, as compared to spoilage.
With the Grain: Parallel to the grain direction of the paper being used, as compared to against the grain.