Abbreviation
Shortened form of a word.

Absorption
In paper, the property which causes it to take up liquids or vapours in contact with it. In optics, the partial suppression of light through a transparent or translucent material.

Acid Free
Papers which are free from traces of acid, ie. made under neutral sizing conditions.

Acronym
Word formed from the initial letters of other words often replaces the original longer title.

Addendum
Addition after a work has been printed.

Additive Primaries
In colour reproduction, red, green and blue. When lights of these colours are added together, they produce the sensation of white light.

Against the Grain
Folding paper at right angles to the grain of the paper.

Agate Line
Little used standard of measurement for depth of advertising columns (mainly in press). There are 5.5 agate lines per column centimetre.

Airbrush
In artwork, a small pressure gun shaped like a pencil that sprays watercolour pigment. Used to correct and obtain tone or graduate tone effects. In platemaking, used with an abrasive-like pumice to remove spots or other unwanted areas. In electronic imaging, a retouching technique.

Air Knife Coating
Method of coating used in paper making. the coating mixture is applied by a metal roller and distributed by a thin, flat jet of air from a slot in a metal blade extending across the machine.

Alteration
Changes made to copy at any point after it has been set in type.

AM (Amplitude Modulation)
Halftone screening, as opposed to FM screening, has dots of variable size with equal spacing between dot centres (see halftone).

Ampersand
The symbol for ‘and’ ‘&’.

Anti-Offset or Set-off Spray
In printing, dry spray of finely powdered starch used on press to prevent wet ink from transferring from the top of one sheet to the bottom of the next sheet.

Antique
Book paper having the appearance of hand made paper.

Aperture
In photography, lens opening or lens stop expressed as f/no. Such as f/22.

Aperture Card (Slide Frame)
Holder which frames a transparency, as in microfilming or for projection.

Aqueous
Fast drying, water based, protective coating.

Arabic Numerals
The characters 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, in general western use since the 12th century.

Artboard
Artboard is similar to gloss coated art paper, but is manufactured on a specialised board making machine. The feel of a true artboard is more rigid or stiff than an art paper, typically it will have more bulk than an art paper of the equivalent weight.

Art Paper
Paper usually of high gloss coated with china clay.

Artwork
The complete material including fonts, images, graphics & master file from which proofs are made for production of printing plates.

Ascender
The part of a letter which arises above the main type body as in ‘b’.

ASCII
American Standard Code for Information Interchange.

Author’s Corrections (A/C)
Any alterations made by the client at any stage of the production after initial setting.

Author’s Proof
Proof showing corrections made by the author or editor.

Autolithography
Lithography from plates prepared or drawn by hand, now usually a form of fine art for limited edition prints.

Back
Inner margin of a page.

Backbone
Back of a bound book connecting the two covers, also called spine.

Back Lining
Paper or fabric adhering to the backbone or spine in a hard case book.

Backing
Binding operation to consolidate the back of a book.

Backing Up
Printing the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side.

Bad Break
Typesetting the last part of a hyphenated word to appear as the first word on a page. Also, incorrect word hyphenation.

Bank Paper
Thin, tough writing paper, usually less than 61 gsm in weight.

Banker
Envelopes with the opening on its longer dimension with the flap in the shape of “V”.

Base
Metal below the shoulder of type. The block on which letterpress printing plates are mounted to make them “type high”.

Bastard Title
See ‘Half-Title’

Bearer
In photoengraving, the dead metal left on a plate. In composition, type-high slugs locked up inside a chase to protect the printing surface. In presses, the surface-to-surface ends of cylinders that come into contact with each other.

Beating
Beating to mesh the pulp of fibres in papermaking so that the fibres produce the desired quality of paper.

Bed
Base on which the type rests on a flat-bed letterpress printing machine.

Bible Paper
Thin printing paper (India paper) used for the bible and works to reduce bulk.

Bibliography
List of reference books included in a book.

Bimetal Plate
Lithographic plate in which the printing image base is copper or brass and the non-printing area is aluminium, stainless steel, or chromium.

Binary Notation
Numerical system which forms the basis of computer mathematics. Only two digits are used, “0” and “1”.

Binders Board
Stock or paper board used in making the cover of a cased book.

Bit
Contraction of “binary digit”; the binary notation has only two digits “0” and “1”.

Bite
In photoengraving, the various stages of acid etching, the depth increasing after each bite.

Bit Map
In computer imaging, the electronic representation of a page, indicating the position of every possible dot.

Black-and-White
Originals or reproduction printed in black (as distinct from multicolour).

Black-Letter
Old English or Fraktur classification.

Black Printer
In colour reproduction, the black plate made to increase contrast of dark tones.

Blade Coating
A method of coating in paper-making. The mixture is applied to the surface by rollers to give a thin film to protect the printing surface while excess is removed by a thin flexible metal blade as it smoothes the surface.

Blanket
In offset lithography, a flexible fabric & rubber material clamped around the cylinder, which transfers the image to the paper under impression.

Bleaching
Papermaking process to whiten cellulose fibres.

Bleed
An extra amount of printed image which extends beyond the trim edge of the sheet or page.

Blind Embossing
A design which is stamped without metallic leaf or ink, giving a bas-relief effect.

Blind P
See “paragraph Mark”

Blind Image
In lithography, an image that has lost its ink receptivity and fails to print.

Blindtamp
See “Emboss”

Block
See “Line Block”

Blocking
Lettering or ornamentation impressed into the cover of a book.

Blocking Out
Eliminating backgrounds or other portions on a negative by opaquing or masking out.

Blownup
Enlargement

Blueprint
In offset lithography and photoengraving, a photoprint made from stripped-up negatives or positives, used as a proof to check position and image elements.

Blurb
Publisher’s description of a book, printed on a dust jacket or elsewhere.

Body Size
Depth of a type as distinct from its face size.

Body Type
Type used for the text of a book, as distinguished from headings.

Bold-Face Type
Type that has been thickened for distinction from other type.

Bond Paper
Writing or printing paper where strength, durability and performance are required, used for business forms, letterheads, etc.

Book Paper

General term used to define a class or group of papers having common physical characteristics that, in general, are most suitable for book production.

Box
Type area enclosed by rules, area assigned for a picture.

Brace
Connecting device for two or more lines of type.

Brackets
Square brackets or parentheses used as a grammatical device.

Break for Colour
In reflection art, to separate the parts to be printed in different colours.

Broadsheet
Imperial paper measuring 24″ x 16″. Also a large single sheet printed on one side only.

Brochure
Pamphlet bound in the form of a booklet.

Bromide
Photographic paper used for proofing and reproduction.

Bronzing
After printing, while ink is still wet, bronze powder is applied to give the affect of metal lustre.

Brush Coating
A method of applying coating (pigment and adhesive) to paper by cylindrical brushes or metal rollers. The coating is smoothed by means of oscillating flat brushes on the web as it is drawn tightly over a moving rubber apron or revolving drum.

Bulk
Thickness of paper.

Burst Binding
Form of binding in which the pages are attached to the cover by means of heat-set glue.

Byte
A byte is a series of 8 bits also called a character.

CAD/CAM
Acronym for Computer Assisted Design / Computer Assisted Makeup or Manufacturing.

Calendar
Stack of horizontal cast iron or steel rolls at the end of a paper making machine. The paper is pressed between the rolls to increase the smoothness and gloss of the paper.

Caliper
Thickness of paper, expressed in microns.

Calligraphy
Handwriting, penmanship.

Camera Ready Copy
Complete copy which a printer uses as an original for making a printing plate without further work being necessary.

Canadian bound Full
The wiro is passed through the one-piece covers at the front and rear to provide a spine to a wiro bound book.

Canadian bound Half
The wiro is passed through the one-piece covers at the rear only to provide a spine to a wiro bound book.

Caps
Capital letters.

Caps and Small Caps
Words with the initial letters in capitals and the other letters in small capitals.

Caption
Term applied to the explanatory text accompanying an illustration.

Caret
Editing symbol to indicate that something is to be inserted.

Cartridge Paper
Tough paper usually with a rough surface often used for drawing.

Case
In bookbinding, the covers of a hard bound book.

Case-bound
Books bound in stiff board covered by fabric, or other material.

Cast Coated
Coated paper dried under pressure against a polished cylinder to produce a highly glossed mirror-like finish.

Casting Off
Calculating the number of line of type the typescript or manuscript will make in a predetermined size.

Catch-Line
Headline used to identify the contents of galley proofs. A precis of the following material.

Catching Up
Inking up of non image area caused by imbalance of ink and dampening solution.

CD-ROM
Acronym for Compact Disc-Read-Only Memory. A CD-ROM drive uses the CD format as a computer storage medium.

Cellosheen
Thin film of plastic adhered to printed sheets for protection and embellishment – can be gloss or matt, (See laminate).

Chain Marks
Lines on laid paper, parallel with grain, usually about one inch apart.

Chain of Custody
The step-by-step verification process through which products are traced from their origins to their final end product.

Chalking
Improper drying of ink. Pigment dusts off because the ink solution vehicle has been absorbed too rapidly into the paper.

Character Generation
The production of typographic images using font master data. Generated to screens or output devices.

Chase
Metal frame in which type and plates are securely locked for letterpress printing.

Chemical Proof
A colour proof made photographically from final film for simulation of final printed job.

Chemical Pulp
In papermaking, treatment of ground wood chips with chemicals to remove impurities such as lignin, resins and gums. There are two types, sulphite and sulphate.

Chemical Wood Paper
Paper made from wood pulp treated chemically to remove the lignin – see “Papermaking”.

Chokes and Spreads
Overlap or overprinting of images to avoid colour or white fringes or borders around image detail. Called trapping in digital imaging systems.

Chlorine Bleaching
A process of bleaching paper to create a white sheet using chlorine.

Chlorine Free
A process of bleaching paper to create a white sheet without using chlorine (often oxygen alone is used).

Circular Screen
Circular-shaped halftone screen which enables the camera operator to obtain proper screen.

Clean Proof
Printers proof which requires no corrections.

CMYK
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black – subtractive primary colours. Printing colours for process colour reproduction. ‘K’ is used to abbreviate Black because it is believed that ‘B’ would be confusing with Cyan. The other school of thought is that ‘K’ may be the abbreviation for the Key colour.

Close Up
Remove word or line spacing.

Coated Paper
Paper with a surface coating to produce a smooth finish either matt or gloss.

Cold Type
Type set by direct-impression method or by photo composing machines. These processes do not use hot metal.

Collate
To bring sections of work together in correct sequence.

Collotype
Method of high quality screenless printing using a plate consisting of gelatin coating on glass. Suitable for short runs only.

Colophon
An ornamental tail-piece once used on books. The title page now carries this information.

Colour Balance
The correct combination of cyan, magenta and yellow to (1) reproduce a photograph without the colour cast (2) produce a neutral grey, or (3) reproduce the colours in the original scene or object.

Colour Bars
Band of colour strips often placed at the back of a print job for measuring colour density, dot gain, trapping & hue.

Colour Correction
Masking, dot-etching or digital method used to improve the quality of colour rendition.

Colour Filter
Sheet of dyed glass, gelatin, plastic or dyed gelatin cemented between glass plates, used in photography to absorb certain colours and permit better rendition of others. Essential to the old colour separation.

Colour Proofs
A colour proof made photographically from final film for simulation of final printed job.

Colour Separation
Separation of the colours making up full colour original, usually into the three primaries plus black, each of which will be reproduced by a separate printing plate. Additional colours are often needed for fine reproduction.

Column Rule
Rule used to separate vertical columns of type in text or in tabulations.

Combination Plate
In photoengraving, halftone and line work combined on one plate; etched for both halftone and line depth.

Commercial Register
Colour printing on which the misregister allowable is within + one row of dots.

Composing
Setting type.

Composing Stick
A hand tool in which type is assembled and justified.

Compositor
Tradesperson typesetter.

Concertina Fold
Term used for two or more parallel paper folds which open in concertina fashion.

Condensed Type Face
A typeface in which the normal width of letters has been reduced. Useful for words displayed in a narrow space.

Contact Print
Photographic print made from negative or positive in contact with sensitized paper film, or printing plate.

Contact Screen
A halftone screen on film having a dot structure of graded density, used in vacuum contact with the photographic film to produce halftones.

Contents
List of chapter titles, main headings or other divisions of a book inserted in the preliminary pages before the main text.

Continuous Tone
Photographic image which has not been screened.

Contraction
Shortened form of a word which ends in the same letter as the word itself.

Contour
The process of eliminating the background in a picture and leaving subject of picture intact.

Contrast
Tonal gradation between highlights and shadows in an original or reproduction.

Copy
Any furnished material (typewritten manuscript, pictures, artwork etc) to be used in the production of printing.

Copyboard
Frame to hold the original copy while it is being photographed by the process camera.

Copyfitting
In composition, checking type size, arrangement or content of copy to fit a given area.

Copy Preparation
In photomechanical processes, directions as to desired size and other details for illustrations and the arrangement into proper position of various parts of the page to be photographed for reproduction. In typesetting, the checking of original copy to ensure a minimum of changes after type is set.

Counters
Enclosed spaces within a letter eg. the loop of the lower case “e”.

Cover Paper
Papers used for the outside covers of catalogues, brochures and booklets.

CPU
Central Processing Unit. Components of a data processing system, comprising the arithmetical and logical circuits and the control unit which initiates instructions.

Creep
The moving or shift that occurs to the margins in a document when pages are folded. The amount of creep can vary depending on the thickness of the paper used and the number of pages in a booklet.

Critical Image
Image that is imperative to the job ie. type, folios, headings etc.

Crop
To eliminate portions of the copy, usually on a photograph or plate, indicated on the original by cropmarks.

Crossline Screen (Glass Screen)
In halftone photography, a grid-pattern with opaque lines crossing each other at right angles, thus forming transparent squares or “screen apertures”.

Crossmarks
Register marks for accurate positioning of images in step-and-repeat, double or multicolour printing, also in superimposing overlays onto a base or to each other.

Crown
Imperial paper size measuring 20″ x 15″

CRT
Cathode Ray Tube – a video display.

Crystallisation
Condition in which a dried ink film repels a second ink which must be printed on top of it.

CTP
Computer-To-Plate.

CTS
Computer Type Setting. The generic term used to describe the operations undertaken by computers to assist in the process of typesetting.

Curl
In paper, distortion of the unrestrained sheet due to differences in structure or coatings from one side to the other. The curl side is the concave side of the sheet.

Cursive
Italic types. So called because of its broad similarity to the handwritten form.

Curved Plate
In letterpress, an electrotype or stereotype, backed up to proper thickness and recurved to fit the cylinder of a rotary press.

Cut
In letterpress, photoengraving of any kind.

Cut-in Illustration
Illustration occupying less than a page width with type set alongside it.

Cut-out Halftone
The process of eliminating the background in a picture and leave subject of picture intact.

Cutscore
In die-cutting, a sharp-edge knife, usually lower than the cutting rules in a die, made to cut part way into paper or board to facilitate folding.

Cutting Forme
Shaped cutting and creasing rules set in wood used for cutting cartons, presentation folders and the like.

Cyan
Hue of a subtractive primary and one of the 4 colour process inks, reflects or transmits blue and green light and absorbs red light.

Dagger
Second of the reference marks, following the asterisk. Also known as the obelisk.

Dampeners
In lithography, cloth-covered, parchment paper or rubber (bare back) rollers that distribute the dampening solution to the printing plate.

Dandy Roll
In papermaking, a wire cylinder on papermaking machines that makes watermarks or wove or laid effects which can be seen by holding paper up to the light. Used in the manufacture of better grades of business and book papers.

Deboss
Relief image to achieve a sunken printing surface.

Deckle Edge
Untrimmed feather edge of a sheet of paper formed where the pulp flows against the deckle. A characteristic of hand-made paper.

Deckle Etch
In offset lithography, a positive working plate used for long runs where the inked areas are slightly recessed below the surface. In photoengraving, an additional etch given to relief plates to ensure that non-printing areas do not receive ink.

Deep Page
A page with one or more extra lines.

De Inking
A process used in recycling of waste paper where most of the printing ink is removed to allow it to be re-used.

Demy
Imperial paper size measuring 22 1/2″ x 17 1/2″.

Densitometer
Photoelectric instrument which measures the density of photographic images, or of colours. Used in colour printing and quality control to determine accurately whether colours are consistent throughout the run. The densitometer reads the solid colour bars to be seen on the untrimmed printing sheet.

Density (apparent Density)
Weight per unit column of a sheet of paper, calculated by dividing the grammage by thickness (caliper), expressed as g/cm; the lower density, the greater the bulk.

Descender
That part of the letter which extends below the main body, as in “p”.

Desensitiser
In lithographic platemaking, making non-image areas of a plate non-receptive to ink through chemical treatment of the metal. In photography, an agent for decreasing colour sensitivity of photographic emulsion to facilitate development under comparatively bright light.

Developer
In photography, the chemical agent and the process employed to render photographic images visible after exposure to light. In lithographic platemaking, the material used to remove non image area.

Diazo
Copying or colouring process using a compound decomposed by light.

Didone
Type face classification using British Standard Type Classification system. Used to describe types where there is a marked contrast between thick and thin strokes such as Bodoni, Corvinus and others.

Didot
European point size. The Didot point measures 0.3759mm (0.148″). Twelve Didot points equal to one Cicero.

Die-Cutting
The process of using sharp steel rules to cut special shapes for labels, boxes and containers from printed sheets. Die-cutting can be done on either flatbed or rotary presses. Rotary die-cutting is usually done inline with the printing.

Die-Stamping
Printing from images engraved into copper or steel.

Digesting
The process by which softwood chips are “cooked” with chemicals to produce pulp for paper manufacture.

Digital Colour Proof
An off-press colour proof, produced from digital data without the need for separated films.

Digital Printing
Printing by plateless imaging systems that are imaged by digital data from prepress systems.

Dimensional Stability
Resistance of paper or film to dimensional changes, with changes in moisture content.

Dipthong
Two vowels joined together.

Direct Screen Halftone
In colour separation, a halftone negative made by direct exposure of a colour image through a halftone screen.

Discretionary Hyphen
Hyphen inserted at the discretion of a typesetter.

Display Type
Used for headings, titles, advertisements etc. In composition, type set larger than text.

Distributing Roller
Rubber covered roller which conveys ink from the fountain to the ink rollers of a printing press.

Doctor Blade
In gravure, a knife-edged blade pressed against the engraved printing cylinder to wipe excess ink from non-printing areas.

Dot
The basic constituent of a halftone.

Dot Etching
In photography, chemically reducing halftones dots to vary the amount of colour to be printed. Dot etching on negatives increases colour, dot etching on positives reduces colour.

Dot Gain
In printing, a normal occurrence in which dots print larger than original, causing darker tones.

DPI
Dots Per Inch – a measure of the resolution of a screen image or printed page.

Dot Ruling
Number of lines per centimeter or inch on a screen.

Double Gate Fold
Folding method, start with a landscape sheet, fold the two outer edges so as they meet in the centre, then fold in half again.

Double Parallel
Folding method, start with a landscape sheet, fold in half from left to right, then fold in half from right to left.

Double Dagger
The third of the reference marks – it follows the dagger.

Double Dot Halftone
In lithography, two halftone negatives combined into one printing plate, adding greater tonal range than conventional halftones. One negative reproduces highlights and shadows; the other reproducers middletones.

Draw-Down
In inkmaking, the ink chemist’s method of roughly determining colour shade. Ink is placed on paper and drawn with the edge of a spatula to get a thin film of ink.

Drier
In inkmaking, a substance added to hasten the drying of the printed sheet.

Dropout
Halftone with no screen dots in the highlights.

Drop Shadow
A tone of colour, or line, which falls on one side on horizontal and vertical parts of type, as would a shadow on a three dimensional object.

Dropped Initial
Initial capital which extends below the first line of the text, lining up at its top with the first line of a chapter.

Ductor Roller
In lithography, the roller in both inking and dampening mechanisms on a press which alternately contacts fountain roller and vibrating drum roller.

Dull Finish
A paper finish with little or no gloss.

Dummy
Sample of proposed work prepared before printing to assist in assessing design and estimating production requirements. A binder’s dummy is made to establish the exact dimensions of the bound book.

Duotone
A term for a two-colour halftone reproduced from a one-colour photograph.

Duplex Paper
Paper having a different colour or finish on either side.

Duplicator Paper
Smooth, hard surfaced paper made for use on spirit duplicators.

Dust Jacket
Wrapper paper around a case-bound book to protect the binding.

Dyeline
Proof prepared photographically.

DVD
Digital Video Disk.

ECF (Elemental Chlorine Free)
see Elemental Chlorine Free.

Edition
Print involving resetting; or a book produced to a different format; eg. pocket edition, paperback.

EDP
Electronic Desktop Publishing using computer to produce art & film.

Elemental Chlorine Free
Woodpulps bleached without the use of chlorine gas, a product found to cause toxins in pulp mill effluents.

Electrotype
Electroplated letterpress printing plate.

Elite
Typewriter typeface having twelve characters to the inch.

Ellipsis
Omission of words; indicated by three dots.

Elliptical Dot
In halftone photography, elongated dots which give improved graduation of lines particularly in middle tones and vignettes.

Em
A letterpress printing term, square of the body type. Commonly, but incorrectly used instead of pica as a general measure of 12 points.

EMAS (European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme)
see European Eco-Management and Audit System.

Embossed Finish
Paper with a relief or intaglio surface to imitate wood, cloth, leather, metal or other pattern or the raised print resulting from printing of an engraved plate.

Emboss
Relief image to achieve a raised printing surface (blind embossing gives an un-inked impression on blank paper).

EMS (Environmental Management Scheme)
see Environmental Management Scheme.

En
One half the width of an em.

Enamel
Term applied to coated paper or to paper-coating material.

Endmatter
Printed matter (usually explanatory) following the text of a book eg. appendices, bibliography, index etc.

Endnotes
Explanatory material printed at the end of a chapter, article or text.

Endpapers
An integral step in bookbinding casebound books. A folded pair of papers attached to the first and last signatures of a book, one fold is pasted to the inside cover, to cover the edge of the book cover fabric.

English Finish
Book paper with a smoother, more uniform surface than machine finish.

Environmental Management Scheme
An internal system for handling environmental issues within a company. It sets requirements for how activities impacting the environment are accounted for and documented. Examples of environmental management systems are ISO14001 and EMAS.

EPS
Encapsulated PostScript file. An alternative picture file format that follows PostScript data to be stored and edited and is easy to transfer between Macintosh, MS-DOS and other systems.

Errata Slips
Correction slips – tipped in or inserted as separate sheets, after printing.

Etch
In photoengraving, to produce an image on a plate by chemical or electrolytic action. In offset lithography, an acidified gum solution used to desensitise the non-printing areas of the plate. Acid solution added to the fountain water to help keep non-printing areas of the plate free of ink.

Even Pages
Left-handed pages bearing even numbers.

Expanded Type
Type in which the letters are wider than normal; extended type.

Exposure
The step in photographic processes during which light produces the image on the light-sensitive coating.

Face
Printing surface of type.

Facsimile
Exact reproduction of a letter, document or signature. Sometimes abbreviated as “facsim” or “fax”: A system now widely used for the reproduction in transmission of printed or typed material.

Fashion Board
Art board used for artists for illustration varying in texture for line or wash drawings.

Featherweight
Light bulky paper made with little or no calendering.

Feeder
Section of press which separates the sheets and feeds them into position for printing.

Feet
The base metal type. Metal type which is not sitting properly on the bed of the machine is said to be “off its feet”.

Felt Side
Smoother side of printing paper. The top surface of the sheet in paper manufacturing. The texture and appearance of paper usually differs on either side of the sheet.

Figure
Illustration or diagram printed with text.

Filling In (or Filling Up)
Letterpress or offset lithography where ink fills the space between the halftone dots or areas of type.

Fill-Ups
Material inserted in periodicals where columns fall short.

Filmsetting
see “Photocomposition”

Fixing (Solution)
Chemical solution to remove unexposed silver salts in an emulsion without affecting the metallic silver which has been deposited by the developer. The photographic image is thus made permanent.

Flange
Projecting flat rim on the edge of letterpress blocks.

Flash Card
A memory card that works with flash memory.

Flash Exposure
In halftone photography, supplementary exposure to strengthen dots in the shadow areas of negatives.

Flat
In offset lithography, the assembled composite of negatives or positives, ready for platemaking. Also, a picture lacking in contrast.

Flat Etching
Reduction of silver deposits in a continuous tone or halftone plate, by placing it in a tray containing etching solution.

FM
Frequency Modulation Screening, a means of digital screening. Increasing or decreasing the amount of dots per given area to assist contrast.

Flexography
A process involving printing from rubber or (more recently) plastic plates.

Flong
Papier mache material used for making “mats” (matrices); the moulds used for casting stereotypes.

Flow
Ability of ink to spread over a surface or into a thin film.

Flowers
Type ornaments used to embellish borders, etc.

Flush Mounting
Mounting a relief plate so that the printing surface is flush with the edge of the block.

Flush Cover
Cover trimmed to the same size as the text pages, eg. paperback books.

Flush/Range Left (or Right)
In composition, type set to line up on the left (or right).

Flush Paragraph
Paragraph with no indentation.

Fly-Leaf
Blank leaf at the beginning or end of a book.

Flying Paster
In web printing, an automatic device that splices a new web of paper onto an expiring roll, without stopping the press.

Fog
Photographic defect in which the image is veiled by a deposit of silver, caused by stray light or incorrectly mixed chemical solutions.

Foil Stamping
Process which employs the same basic principle as letterpress printing, the ink being replaced by foil, applied with heat.

Folder
Printed work which is simply creased or folded.

Folio
The page number (not necessarily the ‘physical page number).

Follow Copy
Typesetting instruction to set type in accordance with copy, making no changes in spelling, capitalisation or punctuation.

Font
Complete range of type of one size and face.

Foolscap
Imperial paper size measuring 13 1/4″ x 8 1/8″

Footnotes
Notes set in small type at the foot of a page.

Fore-Edge
Outer margin of a page opposite side to spine.

Forest Stewardship Council
An international, non-government organisation, which promotes responsible and sustainable forest management. The FSC® system of forest certification and product labeling allows papermakers to identify woodpulp that comes from well managed forests.

Foreword
Prelude to the true text, usually written by someone other that the author.

Forme
In offset, the assembly of pages and other images for printing. In letterpress, type and other matter locked in a chase for printing.

Format
Size, style, type, margins, printing requirements, etc. of any printed piece.

Forme Rollers
Ink rollers which come into direct contact with the plate or metal.

Fountain Solution
In lithography, a solution of water, gum arabic and other chemicals used to dampen the plate. Moistened non-printing areas do not accept ink.

Free Sheet (Wood-free)
Paper free of mechanical wood pulp.

French Fold
In half and in half again at right angle to first fold.

French Joint
In bookbinding, a joint having a deep groove to allow thick binding material (eg. leather) to be used without making the book difficult to open.

Frontispiece
Left hand page illustration facing the title-page.

“F” Stops
Fixed sizes at which the aperture of a lens can be set to alter the focal length.

FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council)
see Forest Stewardship Council.

FTP
File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used for the transfer of computer files between a client and server on a computer network.

Fugitive Ink
Ink (usually water soluble) used in security printing to combat forgery.

Full Canadian bound
The wiro is passed through the one-piece covers at the front and rear to provide a spine to a wiro bound book.

Full Out
Type set to full measure with no indentation.

Furniture
Wood, metal or plastic placed within a letterpress forme to fill the areas between printing surfaces.

Fuse Binding
A form of binding developed by Printgraphics that has greater strength than burst binding and similar nail heading to perfect binding, in which the pages are attached to the cover by the means of heat-set glue.

Fuzz
Fibres standing up from a paper surface.

Galley
Shallow metal tray used to hold type.

Galley Page Proofs
Proofs of pages on galley length paper.

Galley Proof
Proof of type standing in a galley prior to assembly into pages.

Gama
Photographic term for contrast resulting from development, not the contrast of the original photographic exposure.

Garalde
Type face classification based on the British Standard Type Classification System. Used to describe Old Style types such as Bembo, Caslon and Garamond.

Gatefold
Flap from the fore-page, with a fold running parallel to the spine of the book. The finished page is marginally smaller than the normal trimmed page. A double fold, usually of card or heavy board, from the two outside edges of a folder. The two folded pages meet in the centre of the page, edge to edge, rather like a double gate.

Gathering
Placing the sections of a book in correct order before binding.

GCR
Grey Component Replacement.

Ghosted
Details reduced in tone, to isolate a particular component in a photograph, eg. an engine of a motor vehicle.

Gigabyte (GB)
One billion bytes.

Glyphic
British Standard type face classification. Used for types such a Albertus, Latin etc.

GM2
see “GSM” Grams per square metre.

Goldenrod Paper
In offset lithography, a specially coated yellow or orange masking paper used to assemble and position negatives for exposure onto press plates.

Gothic
see “Serif Type”

Graduation
Gradual transition from one tone to another, ie. dark to light or one colour to another.

Grain
In papermaking, the direction in which most fibres lie corresponding to the direction the paper travels during the papermaking process.

Graining
In lithography, subjecting the surface of metal plates to the action of abrasives. Greater water retention is imparted to an otherwise non-porous surface.

Grammage
Weight of a standard area of paper expressed in grams per square metre, abbreviated gsm or gm2.

Graphic
Type classification covering types which look as though they have been drawn, eg. Old English, Cartoon.

Graphics
The drawing or design components of material prepared for printing. These can be hand drawn, derive photographically or computer generated.

Grey Balance
The dot values or densities of cyan, magenta and yellow that produce a neutral grey.

Grey Level
The number of grey values that can be distinguished by a colour separation filter – usually 28 or 256.

Grey Scale
The range of tones from white to black, placed at the side of original copy during photography to measure the tonal range.

Grip
The unprintable leading edge of paper as it passed through a printing press. The front edge of a lithographic plate secured to the front clamp of plate cylinder.

Gripper Margin
Unprinted blank edge of paper on which grippers bear, normally 8- 16mm.

Grippers
Metal fingers that clamp on paper to hold it as it passes through printing press.

Groundwood Pulp
Mechanical wood pulp used in the manufacture of newsprint and other unsurfaced papers.

GSM
Grams per Square Metre; a standard measure of the weight of paper. Also expressed as gm2.

Guard
Narrow strip of paper or other material sewn into a book. It may have a sheet such as a fold-out map attached.

Gum Arabic
In offset lithography, used in plate making and on press to desensitise non printing areas of plates.

Gutter
The blank space or inner margin from printing area to binding.

Hair Spaces
Very thin spaces between letters and words.

Halation (Halo)
In photography, a blurred effect, resembling a halo, occurring in highlight areas or around objects, caused by reflection of rays of light from the back of negative material.

Half Canadian bound
The wiro is passed through the one-piece covers at the rear only to provide a spine to a wiro bound book.

Half-Title
Title of work printed on the right hand page immediately preceding the title page. Also known as a bastard title.

Halftone
Reproduction of continuous tone artwork, such as a photograph, with the image translated into dots of various sizes.

Hand-Made Paper
Method of papermaking in which the operator dips a mould or wire screen into the pulp vat and lifts it out, taking sufficient pulp to form a sheet of paper. The fibres are felted together by shaking the mould by hand.

Hanging Figures
Numeral with ascenders and descenders. Also known as old-style figures.

Hanging Indentation
Arrangement of type in which the first line of the text is set full out. Following lines are indented at the left.

Hard Copy
Product of a word processor at various stages in data processing or as visual check to typesetting. Hard copy is often used for proof reading and correction of data where the system does not incorporate a verification stage.

Hardware
Physical equipment of a computer.

Head (Margin)
Margin from the top of the type area to the top of the page.

Headbands
Strips of material (often decorative) placed at the head (sometimes also the foot) of the spine of a bound book.

Hickey
Spot or imperfection in printing due to dirt on the printing plate, hardened specks of ink etc.

Highlight
Whitest parts of photograph represented by the smallest dots, or the absence of dots.

Hot-Metal Setting
Typesetting systems using hot metal (eg. Linotype, Monotype).

Humanist
British Standard Type Classification. System for types such as Verona, Centaur, Kennerley.

HSV
Hue, Saturation and Value (or brilliance or luminance) – a colour space used in some graphic programs.

Hue
In colour, the main attribute of a colour which distinguishes it from the other colours.

Hydrophilic
Water loving; can be wet by water, rejects oil.

Hydrophobic
Water rejecting, water repellant.

Hypo
Abbreviation for sodium thiosulphate, or sodium hyposulphite, a chemical used to fix the image on a photographic film after development.

Imposition
The arranging of pages to ensure the correct order after the printed sheet is folded and trimmed.

Impression
In printing, the impression of type, plate or blanket as it comes in contact with the paper.

Imprint
Name and address of publisher or printer or both.

Indent
Blank space at the beginning of a line or lines. The first line of a new paragraph is usually indented. Buy paper from mill, uniform specifications.

Index
Alphabetical listing of topics or subjects in a book showing the page numbers on which they appear.

India Paper
Thin, strong, opaque paper (Bible Paper), usually made of rag, suitable for Bibles and other works which would be of excessive bulk if printed on thicker paper.

Inferiors
Small letters or figures printed below the level of the line or type, as in chemical formulae.

Initial Letters
Large capital letters, plain or ornamental, used at the beginning of a work and at the beginning of chapters. These may be “dropped” or “raised”.

Ink
Printing pigment, combined with vehicle, dryers and other chemicals.

Ink Fountain
The container which supplies ink to the ink rollers of a press.

Inner
One side of a printed section, the side of the section that after folding will be on the inside.

Insert
Specifically printed piece for insertion in a publication.

Insides
Term applied to complete text before binding.

Intaglio Printing
Method of printing from plates or cylinders in which the image is etched or engraved below the surface, as in gravure, steel or copper engraving.

Interleaf
Leaves inserted between pages of a book.

Interneg
Negative used to make a black and white photoprint from a colour transparency.

Intertype
Hot-metal slug-setting composing machine, similar to Linotype; a trade name.

IR
Infra Red. (Drying system used in Litho Printing).

ISBN
International Standard Book Numbering System.

ISO
International Standards Organization.

ISO14001
International Environmental Management standard. It specefies the actual requirements for an environmental management system. It applies to those environmental aspects over which the organisation has control and can be expected to have an influence.

ISSN
International Standard Serial Number.

Italic
Type version where the letters slope forward as distinct from upright, or Roman letters. Used to distinguish word emphasis or where a word is used in a foreign language.

Jobbing Printing
Printing other than book, periodical and newspaper work, usually short run or stationery.

Jog
To stack sheets of paper into a compact flush edged pile.

JPG (JPEG)
Joint Photographics Expert Group File format, introduced for use on the Internet, self extracting files.

Justify
To space words and letters to a given measure. Vertical alignment at the right and left of the column.

K
Abbreviation for a quantity of 1000. In four-colour process it refers to the colour black.

Keep Down
Use lower case type except where capitals are specifically marked.

Keep Standing
Retention of material for possible reprinting.

Kern(ing)
In type, the part of a letter which overhangs the type body. Kerning involves closing up type where the letter shape results in uneven letterspacing eg. LT.

Key
To code copy to a layout by means of symbols usually letters. Insertions are sometimes “keyed” in like manner. In lockup, a device for operating quoins.

Keyline Drawing
Simplified overlay with instructions as a guide to illustrated material.

Key Plate
In colour printing, the plate (usually black) used as a guide for the register of other colours.

Kilobyte (KB)
1,000 bytes.

Kraft
Paper or board made from unbleached woodpulp (brown in colour) by the sulphite process.

Laid
Paper which when held to the light, shows a series of ribbed lines.

Laminate
Bonding clear plastic film by heat and pressure to a sheet of paper to protect the print and improve its appearance, can be gloss or matt.

Landscape
Page or illustration wider than it is deep.

Large Post
Imperial paper size of 21″ x 16 1/2″.

Laser
The acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The laser is an intense light beam with very narrow band width that can produce images by electronic impulses from digital data.

Layout
Sketch to plan specifying size, position of type and illustrations, treatment of headings etc. Widely used in the preparation of advertisements.

Lay
The common corner of a sheet that the image is positioned and worked to in printing and finishing processes.

Leaders
Line of dots to lead the eye from one point to another, as in tables.

Lead
In composition, a thin strip of metal used for spacing between lines of type.

Leaf
Two pages of a book, the front and back of a single piece of paper.

Ledger Paper
Business paper used for keeping records, subjected to wear, thus needing a high degree of durability and permanence.

Legend
Explanatory symbol detail included within the boundaries of a map or illustration.

Letterset (Dry Offset)
Printing process which uses a blanket (like a conventional press) to transfer an image from plate to paper. Unlike lithography, it uses a relief plate and requires no dampening system.

Letterspacing
Spacing between letters.

Letterpress
Printing direct from raised type or blocks.

Lift
To stop production of a job before it has been completed.

Ligature
Tied letters such as ff, ffi.

Line Block
Letterpress engraving consisting of lines rather that halftone dot screen. No process graduation of tone.

Line Copy
Copy suitable for reproduction without using a screen.

Lineale
A type face classification which is subdivided into four groups – Grotesque, Neo-grotesque, Geometric and Humanist. Lineale faces are also known as Sans Serif.

Lining Figures
Numerals of the same height as the capital letters of a typeface. Also known as modern figures.

Linofilm (Lintron)
Phototypesetting system, trade names.

Linotype
Composing machine which sets type and cast in metal in solid lines, known as “slugs”; a trade name.

Literals
Typesetting errors, wrong letters, wrong fonts, misspellings etc.

Lithography
Printing process the same as off-set printing.

Litho Varnish
Varnishing using the lithography process, can be gloss or matt.

Loading
Process by which china clay, titanium dioxide or barium sulphate is added to paper to improve opacity and whiten the surface.

Local Area Network (LAN)
In electronic publishing, the linking of workstations, storage units (file servers) in printout devices (print servers).

Loc.cit
In the place cited.

Lockup
In letterpress, to lock a forme in a chase for printing.

Logotype (or Logo)
Trademark or corporate mark. A unique design used in advertising and printed matter.

Long Ink
Ink that has a good flow to press ink rollers.

Loop Staple
Saddle stitching with staples formed with a loop for inserting into a ring binder.

Lower Case
Small letters in type, as distinct from capital letters.

LPI
Number of Lines Per Inch on a screen.

Ludlow
Semi-automatic hot-metal composition system; a trade name.

Lumitype
Phototypesetting system, later known also as the Photon, a trade name.

m
Abbreviation for a quantity of 1000.

Machine Coated
Paper machine coated on one or more sides during paper making.

Machine Direction
Grain of the paper resulting from water travelling across the fibres during manufacture.

Machine Finish (MF)
Paper which has received no additional finishing process after leaving the paper machine.

Magenta
Hue of a subtractive primary and one of the 4 colour process inks. It reflects or transmits blue and red light and absorbs green light.

Make-Ready
Final machine preparation for printing. Can be a significant percentage of the costs of printing, particularly for short runs of colour work.

Make-Up
Arrangement of type matter and illustrations into pages.

Manuscript
Originally “hand written” usually applied to the original text of a book.

Marbled Paper
A simulated marble finish applied to paper by floating an oil based ink on the surface of water. Often used as end papers in books.

Margins
Space surrounding the print area of a page.

Mask
In colour separation, a intermediate photographic negative or positive used in colour correction of an original. In offset lithography, opaque material used to cover or remove areas of printing plates during exposure.

Masking
A method of removing or shaping illustrations or maps. Can be used to change the proportions of a photograph or picture.

Matrix
Mould in which type is cast in linecasting machines. In stereotyping, the paper mould or mat made from a type form.

Matt Finish
Paper finish without gloss.

Matt Print
Photoprint having a dull finish.

Measure
Width to which type is set.

Mechanical (Pasteup)
Assembly page or layout prepared as an original or photomechanical reproduction.

Mechanical Tints
Preprinted patterns used to simulate shading or textures. Are available in screen form or as rubdown transfers.

Mechanical Wood Paper
Paper made from mechanically treated wood paper pulp.

Medium
Imperial paper size measuring 18″ x 23″.

Megabyte
One million bytes.

Memory Stick
A portable USB memory card.

Micrometer
Measuring device for measuring the bulk of paper.

Middletones
Tonal range between highlights and shadows of a photograph or reproduction.

Mitre
To cut the ends of rules and borders, at an angle of 45 degrees, so that the corners join at right angles.

Mock-Up
Model of the finished book or magazine with essential detail sketched in.

Modem
MOdulator/DEModulator. A device that converts computer data into high-frequency signals or vice versa, for transmission over telephone lines.

Modern
Figures see “Lining Figures”

Moire
Screen pattern in printing caused by overlaying conflicting screen angles. Resembles the moire pattern in silk.

Monotype
Typesetting system consisting of separate keyboard and typecasting machines; a trade name.

Montague
Combination of related pieces of copy appearing as one to tell a complete story.

Mortise
To remove part of a mounted letterpress engraving to permit the insertion of type or other matter.

Mottle
The spotty or uneven appearance of printing, mostly in solid areas.

Mould-Made Paper
Imitation hand-made paper produced on a flat or cylindrical mould whose surface is divided into sections by thin rubber strips.

Mount
Adhering paper to board to enhance the thickness of the product often used for show cards, counter cards, etc.

Mount Flush
To mount a letterpress block on its base without flanges at one or more edges.

Mullen Tester
Machine for testing the bursting strength of paper.

Nail Heading
The amount that the spine of a burst, fuse or perfect bound book “grows” in thickness along the spine compared to the balance of the book.

Nanometer
A unit in which wavelengths of light are expressed. One nanometer is one-billionth of a metre.

Negative
Photographic image on film in which black values in the original subject are transparent, and white values are opaque; light greys are dark and dark greys are light.

Newsprint
Paper made mostly from ground wood pulp with a small percentage of chemical pulp; used for printing newspapers.

Nicheltype (Nickelo)
In electrotyping, a plate on which the first deposit is nickel and the remainder of the shell is copper. Nickeltypes give sharper definition in printing and are more durable than copper.

Nonpareil
Type or space of 6 pt size.

Obelisk
see “Dagger”

Oblong (Landscape)
Book or brochure wider than it is deep.

OCR
Optical Character Recognition of type by a scanner which senses light reflected from the printed image and provides impulses to recognition circuits to identify each character.

Octavo
Size of a broadsheet folded to make eight leaves (sixteen pages).

Odd Pages
Right hand page bearing odd numbers.

Offset
Printing in which the image is transferred from plate to paper by means of rubber-covered cylinder. A general term for offset lithography.

Offset Lithography
Printing process using water to separate image and non image areas. The image is transferred from the plate to the blanket and then to the stock. The principal being water repels oil and inks are oil based.

Offset Paper
Uncoated paper specially made for printing by offset lithography.

Old Style Figures
see “Hanging Figures”

Oleophilic
Oil receptive.

Oleophobic
Oil repellant.

Op.cit
In the work cited.

Opacity
Property which minimizes “show through” of printing from the reverse side on a sheet of paper.

Opaque
In photoengraving and offset lithography, to paint out areas on negative or positive film not wanted on the plate.

Opaque Ink
The special ink used to “opaque” or eliminate unwanted features of work on film.

Orthochromatic
Photographic emulsions which are insensitive to ultraviolet, blue, green, yellow and orange light.

Outer
One side of a printed section, the side of the section that after folding will be on the outside.

Overhang Cover
Cover larger in size than the pages it encloses.

Overlay
In artwork, transparent covering over a copy on which instructions or corrections can be marked.

Overmatter
Matter which has been set but cannot be accommodated on any page. Also known as overset.

Overprinting
Double printing, printing over an area already printed.

Overrun
To turn over words from one line to the next for as long as is necessary after a deletion or insertion has been made.

Overs
Copies of print matter in excess of the quantity required.

Overset
Type set in excess of space available.

Oxygen Bleaching
A process of bleaching to create a whiter sheet using oxygen inplace of chlorine.

Page-on-Galley
Page proofs on galley-length paper.

Page Proof
Proof pulled after the work has been made up into pages.

Pagination
Paging of a book and the numbering of the pages. Trade name for an electronic system used in colour scanning.

Panchromatic
Photographic film sensitive to all visible colours.

Paper
The word derives from Papyrus a reed-like plant growing in Egypt along the banks of rivers.

Paper Master
Paper printing plate used on an offset duplicator. The image is made by hand drawing or typewriter.

Papyrus
An aquatic plant of the sedge family. Papyrus antiquorum, once grew prolifically in Egypt.

Paragraph Mark
Sixth of the reference marks, following the section mark.

Parallel Mark
Fifth of the reference marks following the section mark. Also known as “Blind P”.

Parchment
A paper-like material used for writing from around 500BC, made from the skins of sheep or goats, steeped in lime, stretched and pared down to reduce thickness.

Parchment Paper
A type of paper with some similarity to parchment, made by passing paper through acid baths.

Parentheses
Round brackets.

Passim
Refers to allusions or phases to be found in specified book or author’s work. Hence, “Shakespeare passim”.

Paste Drier
Drier used in printing inks usually a combination of lead and manganese compounds.

Paste-up
Type of illustrations assembled and pasted in position.

Pasteboard
Board made up of several thicknesses of paper and glued together.

Patent Base
A slotted metal base on which unmounted engravings or other plates are secured for printing.

PDF
Portable Document Format.

Pebbling
Process of embossing paper after printing to give a uniform ripple effect.

Perfect Binding
Form of binding in which the pages are attached to the cover by means of heat-set glue. Similar appearance to burst binding.

Perfecting Press
Printing press that prints both sides of the paper in one operation.

pH
Number used for expressing the acidity or alkalinity of solutions. A value of 7 is neutral in a scale ranging from 0-14. Solutions of a lower value are acid while those higher are alkaline.

Photocomposition
Typesetting by photographic means. Also known as phototypesetting, filmsetting, cold-type composition.

Photographic Proof
Proof taken photographically from artwork or film to be used for platemaking.

Photogravure
Printing by intaglio process from plates made by photography and etching.

Photomechanical
Pertaining to any process of printing by mechanical means from a photographically prepared printing plate.

Pi
Type mixed, and in an unusable condition.

Pica
Em of 12 points, 6 picas make approximately 1 inch. Typewriter face having ten characters to the inch.

Picking
Lifting the paper surface, occurs when ink tack exceeds the surface strength of paper.

Pigment
The colour particles that give colour, body or opacity to printing inks.

Piling
The build up or caking of ink on rollers, plate or blanket or the paper build up on the blanket of an offset printing press.

Plate
Printing surface such as an electro, a stereo or a litho plate. The name given to an illustration inset in a book.

Plate cylinder
The cylinder of a press on which the plate is mounted.

Plate Finish
Term describing a smooth, hard finish of paper.

Platesetter
Imagesetter for making plates.

Point
Printer’s point of measurement, used principally for designing type sizes. There are 12 points to a pica; approximately 72 points to an inch.

Positive
In photography, film containing an image in which the dark and light values are the same as the original. The reverse of negative.

Post-consumer waste
Waste collected after the consumer has used and disposed of it. Recovered printed materials that can be de-inked to form a recycled pulp.

PostScript
A computer description language that allows a programmer to create complex pages using a series of commands, preparing a file for output to proof, film or plate.

pp
Printed Page.

Pre-consumer waste
Paper that has been reclaimed, for example; waste paper produced by mills during the paper making process that has traditionally been reused in manufacturing paper. Also known as ‘Mill Waste’.

Press Proofs
A proof to indicate the appearance of a colour subject printed on a production or proof press. The last proof taken before a print run.

Pressure-Sensitive Paper
Paper coated with an adhesive coating, which will stick on contact.

Primary Colours
In subtractive; yellow, magenta, and cyan, in additive: red, green and blue.

Process Colours
Cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

Process Lens
Photographic lens used in reproduction of line, halftone and colour originals by a process camera.

Process Printing
In four-colour process: cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

Progressive Proofs
In colour separation, a series of proofs of a colour process reproduction pulled in each component colour and in the correct sequence enabling printers to check the colour quality progressively during a print run, for 1 or 2 colour presses.

Proof
Facsimile of final job for client to check before proceeding to next stage.

Psychrometer
Wet-and-dry bulb type of hygrometer. The most accurate of industrial instruments used to determine relative humidity.

Pulp
Cellulose fibre that has been seperated from a plant into a form suitable for the manufacture of paper.

PUR Binding
A process of binding similair to perfect binding – except using polyurathane glue making it much stronger.

Put Down
Reduce from capitals to lower case.

Put Up
Promote from lower case to capitals.

Quad
Prefix to imperial paper size names to denote a sheet four times the single and twice the double area; eg. Demy 22 1/2″ x 17 1/2″, used principally for designating type sizes. Metal lower than type height used to fill up spaces and short lines in an assemblage of type (em quad, en quad).

Qwerty
Standard keyboard layout.

Quarto
The size of an imperial broadsheet folded to make four leaves.

Quire
A set of 24 uniform sheets of paper. Bookbinding – the section of leaves or pages in proper sequence after the printed sheet or sheets have been folded.

Quoins
Wedges or mechanical expanding devices used to lock up letterpress formes.

Raised Initial
Initial letter which projects above the first line of type.

Range
To align elements on a printed page, such as illustration and caption. Unjustified settings may range left or right.

Raster
A computer term for the pattern of scanning lines, also a brand name for FM screening.Raster image processor (RIP)In computer imaging, the computerized process that results in an electronic bit map which indicates every spot position on a page in preparation for an actual printout.

Reader
Person employed to check type proofs.

Ream
A standard of quantity of paper meaning 20 quires or 500 sheets (formerly 480 sheets)

Recto
Right-hand page of book.

Recycled Paper
Recycled papers can contain both pre consumer and post consumer waste. A genuine recycled paper should contain at least 20-30% post consumer waste. Each time paper is recycled some of the fibres breakdown, which means recycled paper is classified as a lower grade of paper than that of virgin fibre. Recycled paper is not always the best environmental choice that can be made when choosing paper. Many other paper grades carry sound environmental certifications and can be used as alternate environmental choices

Reference Marks
Signs used to direct the reader from the text to a note.

Reflection Art
Opaque copy for reproduction. Must be photographed by light reflected from its surface as distinct from transparencies which are photographed by transmitted light.

Register
Accurate superimposition of colours in multicolour printing; exact alignment of pages so that they back one another precisely.

Register Marks
Crosses or other marks on originals to act as a guide for platemaking, printing and colour registration, sometimes known as keys.

Relative Humidity (RH)
Amount of water vapour present in the atmosphere expressed as a percentage of the maximum that could be present at the same temperature. Printing paper can be affected by high relative humidity.

Relief Printing
see “Letterpress”

Render
Process of converting an art file to a printable file by converting to CMYK applying trapping and screening.

Repro Bromide
Now widely used as the material supplied by advertisers to newspapers for reproduction as black and white advertisement. A repro bromide is required to have a print standard image. All detail must be clear, halftone dots should be of correct shape and gradation and in focus. See “Bromide”

Reproduction Proof
In composition, proof of typeface setting suitable for photographic reproduction.

Reprography
Reproduction by photography; used loosely to describe all duplicating and copying processes, whether involving photography or not.

Rescreen
Halftone which is rescanned or photographed to be printed again.

Resolution
In electronic imaging, the quantification of printout quality using the number of dots per inch.

Reverse Plate
Printing plate in which the parts that usually appear black or shaded are reversed so as to appear white or grey.

Reverse Printing
Printed image reversed either from right to left, from black to white or from one colour to another.

RGB
Red , Green , Blue additive primary colours. Colours used in monitors.

Right-Angle Fold
In binding, a term used for two or more folds that are at 90 degree angles to each other.

Ripple Finish
Irregular paper finish suggestive of ripples, produced by an embossing process.

Roller Stripping
Where ink does not adhere to the lithographic ink rollers on a press.

Rolling Up
The inking of the finished litho plate without taking a proof or impression.

Roman
Normal upright typeface, as distinct from italics or from bold.

Roman Numerals
The numerals in the ancient Roman system of notation, still used for certain limited purposes. One to Nine are: I, II, III, IV, V,VI, VII, VIII, IX

Rough
Artists sketch or visual, preliminary to preparation of art, photography and type.

Rounding
Process by which the sewn and trimmed sections of a book are rounded at the binding edge to eliminate swelling at the back.

Routing
Cutting away the non-printing areas of a letterpress plate.

Royal
Imperial paper size measuring 25″ x 20″.

Rubbermark
Alternative to a watermark; the pattern is impressed into the wet web of paper during paper making.

Rub Proof
In printing, an ink that has reached maximum dryness and does not mark with normal abrasion.

Rule
Printed line.

Run
Number of copies to be printed.

Run-Around
A type area set in measures that are adjusted to fit around a picture.

Run-On
Additional copies printed while the job is still on the printing machine. Sentences set to follow each other without a paragraph break; to start chapters without beginning a fresh page.

Running Head
Title repeated at the top of each page.

Running Headline
Brief descriptive heading printed at the top of a page.

S Pos
Singular apostrophe placed after the terminal letter of a noun to indicate the possessive, after the “s” of a plural noun.

Saddle Stitching/Staple
Securing pages by wire staples through the centre fold. In saddle stitched work the printed sections are inserted one inside the other.

Safelight
Special darkroom (usually red) lamp used for illumination without fogging sensitised materials.

Sans Serif
Typeface without serifs, loosely referred to as “Sans”.

Satin Sealer
A litho varnish designed especially to ‘seal’ the ink behind the varnish.

Scaling
Determining the proper size for an image to be reduced or enlarged.

Scanner
Electronic device used in the making of colour separations.

Scoring
Compressing a line in a sheet, particularly if it is heavy stock, so that it will fold without cracking.

Screen
Photo screen used to convert a continuous tone image to dot formation. The greater the number of lines to a centimetre the finer the screen.

Screen Angles
In color reproduction, angles at which the half-tone screens are placed with relation to one another, to avoid undesirable moiré patterns. A set of angles often used is: black 45 degrees, magenta 75 degrees, yellow 90 degrees, cyan 105 degrees.

Screen Printing
see “Silk Screen” Screen Ruling Number of lines per centimetre or inch on a screen.

SCSI
Acronym for Small Computer Systems Interface. SCSI is an industry-standard interface between computers and peripheral device controllers.

Script
Typeface classification, indicating a cursive type. Handlettering to imitate the handwritten form.

Scum
In offset lithography, a greasy film which tends to sensitise non-image areas in a plate to accept ink.

Section
Printed forme of a book or magazine, to be folded up and collated with other section to create the finished product.

Section Mark
Fourth of the reference marks following the double dagger.

Self-Cover
Cover printed on the same stock as the text.

Separation
Separation of colours preparatory to printing.

Serial Publications
Magazines, journals etc, issued in installments.

Serif
Short cross-lines at the ends of the main strokes of letters in some typefaces.

Set Flush
Set full measure without indentation.

Set-off
In printing, when the ink of a printed sheet rubs or marks the next sheet as it is being delivered.

Shadow
Darkest parts in a photograph, represented in a halftone by the largest dots.

Sharpen
To decrease in strength, as when halftone dots become smaller; opposite of “thicken” or “dot spread”.

Sheet
Single sheet of paper.

Sheetfed
Printing method when sheets are feed through individually, often considered as high quality.

Sheetwork
To print one side of a sheet of paper, with one plate, then turn the sheet over and print the other side with another plate using the same gripper and side lay.

Short-Grain Paper
Paper in which the grain direction is parallel to its shorter dimension.

Short Ink
Ink that is buttery and does not flow freely.

Show-Through
Condition where printing one side of paper can be seen from the other side.

Side Heading
Heading set to the left of the page or column as a separate line.

Side-Stitching
Securing sections of a book by inserting stitches through from the first sheet to the last.

Sidenotes
Notes appearing in the margin alongside the passages to which they refer.

Signature
The name given to a printed sheet after it has been folded. Also the sections of a book which are gathered for binding.

Signature Mark
Used in bookwork as a guide to gathering. The signature mark is usually a small capital letter, but may also be a figure or bar printed at the bottom of the first page of each section (signature) of the book. The sequence of signatures is progressive throughout the book.

Silk Screen (Screen-Printing)
Method of printing from stencils through a fine mesh of silk, metal or other material. The stencils may be photographic or cut by hand.

Sizing
Treatment of paper to resist the penetration of liquids or vapours.

Skid
Platform support for a pile of cut sheets.

Slab-serif
Typeface classification. Cairo is slab-serif type.

Slitting
Cutting printed sheets or webs into two or more sections by means of cutting wheels on a press, folder or paper converter.

Small Caps
Alphabet of small capital letters available in most Roman typefaces approximately the size of the lower case letters. Used in combination with larger capital letters.

Soft Ink
Descriptive of consistency of lithographic inks.

Soft Dot
When the edge of the dot is not sharp.

Solid Matter
Typeset with extra space in between the lines.

Solidus
Oblique stroke or diagonal eg. visual/comprehensive.

Space Galleys
Galley proofs in which the required space has been inserted above and below quoted matter, headings, tables etc.

Specification Sheets
Detailed instructions for printing, covering such things as type, weight of paper, ink etc.

Specimen Pages
Prepared to show typestyle, make-up, imposition and trimming.

Spectrum
The complete range of colors in the rainbow, from short wavelengths (blue) to long wavelengths (red).

SPC
Statistical Process Control.

Spill
Type that overruns the page.

Spine
Part of a book cover or jacket, visible when the book is on a shelf.

Spread
When two or more images ‘butt’ together, the extra amount of overlap allowed for press tolerance and paper movement.

Spiral Binding
Book bound with wires in spiral form inserted through holes punched along the binding side.

Standing Matter
Type, blocks, stereotypes, moulds, lithographic negatives or plates stored for re-use.

Static Neutraliser
Printing press attachment designed to remove static electricity from paper to avoid ink set-off and feed problems with the paper.

Step-and-Repeat
A system of repeating an image on a plate by “stepping” it into position according to a predetermined layout. Used for multiple printing of images on a sheet.

Stereotype
Plate cast in molten metal from a matrix or mould on which a replica of the type and any illustrations has been impressed.

Stet
A proofreader’s mark, written in the margin, signifying that copy marked for corrections should remain as it was.

Stipple
Series of dots of even size to create an image or tonal value.

Stochastic Screening
Brand name for frequency Modulation Screening a means of digital screening. Increasing or decreasing the amount of dots per given area to assist contrast.

Stock
Paper or other material to be printed.

Stopping Out
Opaquing of parts of photographic negatives; staging of halftone plates relief etching; protecting certain areas of deep-etch plates so that no ink will be deposited on the protected areas.

Strawboard
Cheap board used in bookbinding for front and back covers. The board is covered by suitable cover material, eg. cloth or hide.

Strike-Through
The penetration of ink through paper during printing.

Strip
To combine two or more negatives or positives in an illustration.

Stripping
In offset lithography, the positioning of negatives (or positives) prior to platemaking. In finishing, breakout cartons and the like after forme cutting.

Style Sheets
Normally comprise two or more composite pages of printed matter with instructions on typesetting, margins, make-up, treatment of heading etc.

Substrate
Surface that can be printed on (i.e. paper). Subtractive Primaries Yellow, magenta and cyan, the hues used for process colour printing inks.

Sulphite Pulp
Paper pulp made from wood chips cooked under pressure in a solution of caustic soda and sodium sulphide. Known as Kraft.

Supercalender
In paper making, a calender stack, separate from the papermaking machine, with alternate metal and resilient rolls, used to produce a high finish on paper.

Supercalendered paper
Paper which has been passed between heavy rollers to give a smooth surface of moderate gloss.

Superiors
Small letters or figures appearing above the level of the line of type. Often used to indicate notes and references or to indicate powers, eg.

Sustainable Forests
Sustainability forests are those which are planned and managed to achieve environmental, social and economic targets. There are a number of schemes for certifying this.

Surprint
Exposure from a second negative superimposed upon a previously exposed image of the first negative.

Swash Letters
Ornate letters, usually capitals in an italic font.

System Board
Type of board used for card indexes, punch cards and other date processing purposes.

Tabular
Work Statistical and other matter set in columns to form a table.

Tack
Viscosity – property of cohesion between particles of an ink against another surface. Tacky ink does not break apart readily.

TCF (Totally Chlorine Free)
see Totally Chlorine Free.

TIFF
Tagged Image File Format – a file format for exchanging bitmapped images (usually scans) between applications.

Tail
Margin from the bottom of the type area to the bottom of the page.

Tail-Piece
Illustration or decoration at the end of a book or chapter.

Take
Copy divided into consecutively numbered batches (takes) for distribution among the operators.

Ten-Pitch
Typewriter faces which have ten characters to the inch. See “Pica”.

Terabyte
One thousand billion bytes (1,000,000,000,000).

Text
Body matter of a page or book, as distinguished from heading.

Text Paper
General term applied to high quality antique or laid papers, made in white and colours; used for booklets, programs, announcements and advertising printing.

Thermal Printers
These printers use a transfer sheet that carries ink in contact with the paper or transparency, and heated printhead driven by digital data that touches the transfer sheet to transfer images to the right points on the page.

Thermography
Process by which an image is first printed by letterpress, lithography or screen printing using a special slow-drying ink, dusted with a fine resinous powder and finally subjected to heat, thus fusing the resin into a glossy “engraved” image. Gives the impression of an “engraved” image.

Throw-Out
Folded map or plan printed bound in a book to fold out to a size larger than the page size.

Thumb Index
Alphabetical or subject index cut into the fore-edge of a book (thumb cut) to facilitate quick reference, Dictionaries are sometimes thumb cut.

Tints
Even tones areas (strengths) of solid colour using stipples.

Tipped In
Illustration or other matter printed separately from the main work and pasted in correct position at its inner edge to the page following or proceeding it.

Tissue Overlay
Thin translucent paper placed over artwork for protection; also used to indicate colour break and corrections.

Title Page
Right-hand page at the front of a book following the half-title page. Title page shows the title of the book, the authors name, the publishers name and the year of publication.

Tone Drawing
Drawings which cannot be reproduced by line because they use brush, wash or other forms of shading to merge gradually from black to white.

Tone Drop-Out
Photograph treated to remove the halftones to enable it to be reproduced in line form. A similar result can be achieved by photocopying a photograph using a liner as negative.

Tooth
Quality of paper which causes it to take ink readily.

Totally Chlorine Free
Paper made from woodpulps bleached without the use of chlorine chemicals.

Transitional
Typeface classification referring to type designs midway between traditional and modern type designs.

Transparency (Tranny)
Monochrome or full-colour photographic positive picture on a transparent support, intended for viewing and reproduction by transmitted light.

Transparent
see “Show-Through”

Transparent Inks
Inks which permit underprinting to show through; the two colours blending to produce a third.

Transpose
To move letters, words, lines, paragraphs etc. from one position to another.

Trapping of Inks
Proper trapping is the condition when the same amount of ink transfers to previously printed ink as to blank paper.

Trim
To take a small cut off the outer edge.

Trim Marks
Marks placed on a copy to indicate the edge of the page for trimming.

Turnover
If setting occupies more than one line, the second and subsequent lines are called turnovers.

Twelve Pitch
Typewriter faces which have twelve characters to the inch. see “Elite”.

Twin Wire Papers
Papers made in two halves and joined while still wet so that they have the same surface on each side of the sheet.

Type Area
Printed area of page.

Type Gauge
Printers tool calibrated in picas used to measure the various sizes of type and measure of setting.

Type Height
In letterpress uniform height 0.918″ (23.32mm) at which metal type is cast and illustrations are mounted so that a uniform impression will be achieved.

Type High
0.918″ (23.3172mm); the standard in letterpress.

Typescript
Typewritten copy.

UCA
Under Color Addition.

UCR (Under Colour Removal)
In process multicolor printing, color separation films are reduced in neutral areas where all three colors overprint and the black film is increased an equivalent amount in these areas. This improves trapping and can reduce makeready and ink costs.

Underline
Rule printed under a word or words. Also for marking copy and proof. see “Type Corrections”.

Um
1000th of a millimeter used to measure the bulk of paper.

Unders
Number of copies short of the quantity ordered.

Uniset
Systems of computer typesetting in which all characters are the same width, as on ordinary typewriter. Sometimes called unispace.

Unjustified
Type set so that successive lines are of different widths.

Upper Case
Capital letters.

USB
Universal Serial Bus.

UV
Ultraviolet rays used as an ink vehicle drying method.

UV Varnish
Hi-gloss varnish using UV dryers.

UV ink
Solventless ink that is cured by UV radiation.

Vacuum Frame
In platemaking, a vacuum device for holding copy and reproduction material in contact during exposure.

Varnish
Thin, protective coating applied to a printed sheet for protection or appearance. In inkmaking, it can be all or part of the ink vehicle.

Vegetable Based Inks
Inks made predominately from vegetable oil such as soy, linseed and corn.

Vehicle
In printing inks, the fluid component which acts as a carrier for the pigment.

Vellum
An early paper-like material similar to parchment. Made from the skins of young calves or stillborn lambs. Was in use through the Middle Ages.

Vellum Finish
In papermaking, a toothy paper finish which is relatively absorbent for fast ink penetration.

Veranda
Projection of the boards beyond the head, fore-edge and tail of a book. Sometimes known as squares.VerkoA brand name, see “Thermography”

Verso
Left hand page of a book.

Vignette
An illustration in which the background fades gradually away until it blends into the unprinted paper.

Virgin Fibre
Wood fibre that has never been used in the manufacture of paper or board.

Viscosity
The runability of a liquid.

Visuals
Rough sketches prepared by a designer in deciding the layout of printed matter.

VOC
Volatile Organic Compounds are carbon containing compounds that contribute to air and water pollution when they escape into the air by evaporation.

Waisted Point
see “Decimal Point”

Walk-Off
In lithography, the failure of part of an image to adhere to the metal plate during printing.

Warm color
In printing, a color with a yellowish or reddish cast.

Washup
Process of cleaning the rollers, forme or plate and sometimes the fountain of the press.

Waterless printing
In offset , printing on a press using special waterless plates and no dampening systems.

Watermark
A name or design impressed into paper by the raised pattern of the dandy roll during paper manufacture.

Wax Engraving
A method of reproducing ruled forms by cutting liners into a wax case backed by a thin sheet of copper, moulding or stamping type, then electrotyping.

Web
Paper not cut into sheets but reels. Thus web-fed, web-offset.

Web Tension
Amount of pull or tension applied in the direction of travel of a web of paper by the action of a web-fed press.

White
Part of the page on which printing does not appear. In tabular work, the space normally occupied by a single line of type; one white, two whites etc.

White Out
To space out type so that it will fill the required area. To delete unwanted matter with white correcting fluid or paint.

Widow
In composition, a single word in a line ending a paragraph; frowned upon in good typography.

Wipe-On Plate
In offset lithography, a plate on which a light sensitive coating is wiped on or applied with a coating machine.

Wire-O-Binding
Continuous double series of wire loops run through punched slots along the binding side of a booklet.

Wire Side
The side of a sheet next to the wire in papermaking; opposite from felt side.

With the Grain
A term applied to folding paper parallel to the grain of paper.

Woodcut
Illustration cut in relief on wood for the purpose of making prints. Can be printed by letterpress process.

Wood-free Paper
Paper made from wood pulp treated chemically to remove lignin.

Work-and-Tumble
To print one side of a sheet of paper, then turn the sheet over from gripper to back using the same side lay and print the second side using another grip edge.

Work-and-Turn
To print one side of a sheet of paper; then turn the sheet over from left to right and print the second side. The same gripper is used for printing both sides.

Work-and-Twist
Method of imposition in which the second printing is taken from the same forme and on the same side of paper as the first, the paper being “twisted” (180 degrees) between printings.

Work-Up
A space, lead or other spacing material which works itself to the surface during letterpress printing, caused by poor lockup.

Wove
Term applied to papers made on an ordinary web in which the wires are woven.

Wraparound Plate
In rotary letterpress, a thin one-piece relief plate wrapped around the press cylinder like an offset plate. Can be used for direct and indirect (offset) printing.

Wrinkles
Creases in paper occurring during printing. In inks, the uneven surface formed during drying.

WYSIWYG
In electronic publishing , an acronym for What You See Is What You Get which means that the composite page viewed on the screen of a workstation.

X-Height
The height of a lower case “x” in a font.

Xerography
An elecrophotographic copying process that uses a corona charged selenium photoconductor surface, electrostatic forces and dry, or liquid toner to form an image.

Yellow
Hue of a subtractive primary and one of the 4-colour process inks. It reflects red and green light and absorbs blue light.