The print guys here at Midas Creative have produced a glossary of print terms to help the average buyer navigate the minefield that is printing terminology. Over the coming weeks we will be putting together some useful terms which you may come across when sourcing print. There are literally 100′s of terms so we are choosing the most relevant and common you are likely to encounter. Let’s start with A-C…

A

Acetate – Thin, flexible sheet of transparent plastic used to make overlays.

Airbrush – Pen-shaped ink sprayer used to retouch photographic prints and create illustrations.

Alteration – Change in copy or specifications made after production has begun.

Artwork – Images, including type and photos, prepared for printing.

B

Backbone – Alternate term for Spine.

Banding - Method of packaging printed pieces using paper, rubber, or fibreglass bands.

Base negative – Negative made from copy pasted to mounting board, not overlays.

Basic size – The one standard size of each grade of paper used to calculate basis weight.

Bind – To fasten sheets or signatures and adhere covers with glue, wire, thread, or by other means.

Bleed – Printing that extends to the edge of a sheet or page after trimming.

Blind emboss – To emboss without added ink or foil the embossed image.

Board paper – Grade of paper commonly used for file folders, display, and post cards.

Bond paper – Grade of paper commonly used for writing, printing, and photocopying.

Bookbinder – Alternate term for Trade bindery.

Book paper – Grade of paper suitable for books, magazines, and general printing needs.

Brightness – Characteristic of paper referring to how much light it reflects.

Broker – Agent who supplies printing from many printing companies.

Burn – In photography, to give extra exposure to a specific area of a print. In lithography, to expose a blueline proof or printing plate with light.

C

Calender – To make paper smooth and glossy by passing it between rollers during manufacturing.

Caliper – Thickness of paper, expressed in thousandths of an inch..

Cardboard – General term for stiff, bulky paper such as index, tag, or bristol.

Cast coated – Coated paper with a surface similar to that of a glossy photograph.

Chrome – Alternate term for Transparency.

Cleat bind – Alternate term for Side stitch.

Clip art – High-contrast drawings printed on white, glossy paper and made to be cut out and pasted to a mechanical.

CMYK -  Abbreviation for cyan, magenta, yellow and black process colours or inks.

Coated paper – Paper with a coating of clay that improves ink holdout.

Collate – To assemble sheets into proper sequence.

Collateral - Ad agency term for printed pieces, such as brochures and annual reports, that are not directly involved in advertising.

Colour correct -To retouch or enhance colour separation negatives.

Colour matching system – System of numbered ink swatches that facilitates communication about colour.

Colour swatch – Sample of an ink colour.

Comb bind -To bind by inserting teeth of a flexible plastic comb through holes in a stack of paper.

Commercial artist – Artist whose work is planned for reproduction by printing.

Comp – Short for Comprehensive dummy.

Composite film – Graphic arts negative made by combining two or more images.

Composite proof – Proof of colour separations in position with graphics and type.

Contact print – Photographic print made by exposing a negative in direct uniform contact with paper.

Contact sheet – Alternate term for Proof sheet.

Continuous-tone copy – All photographs and those illustrations having a range of shades.

Contract proof – A colour proof that represents an agreement between the printer and the client regarding exactly how the printed product will appear.

Contrast – Range of gradations in tones between lightest white and darkest black in continuous-tone copy or the abrupt change between light and dark in line copy.

Copy – For an editor or typesetter, all written material. For a graphic designer or printer, everything that will be printed: art, photographs, and graphics as well as words.

Copyright – Ownership of creative work by the writer, photographer, or artist who made it.

Copywriter – Person who writes copy for advertising.

Corner marks – Lines on a mechanical, negative, plate, or press sheet showing the corners of a page or finished piece.

Corrugated – Characteristic of board for boxes made by sandwiching fluted kraft paper between sheets of paper or cardboard.

Cover paper – Grade of paper made for covers and post cards.

Crop – To eliminate portions of an illustration or photograph so the remainder is more clear, interesting, or able to fit the layout.

Crop marks – Lines near the edges of an image showing portions to be eliminated

Crossover – Image that continues from one page of a publication across the gutter to the opposite page.

Cutoff – The circumference of the impression cylinder of a web press, therefore also the length of the sheet the press will cut from the roll of paper.

Cut stock – Paper distributor term for paper 11 x 17 or smaller.

Cyan – One of the four process colours; also known as process blue.

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