​Accordion fold
In binding, a term used for two or more parallel folds that open like an accordion.

Acid free
Paper manufactured in an alkaline environment to make the paper resistant to deterioration.

Aqueous coating
A durable, water-based coating applied to printed press sheets to protect the finished image.

Binding
Binding begins after a printer has laid the ink on the paper. It includes cutting, folding, trimming, gathering (collating), stitching, pasting, insetting, casing-in, etc.

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

Blueline
Prepress, photographic proof where all colors show as blue image on white paper.

Book
In paper, a general term for the type of coated or uncoated paper generally used for brochures, the interior of books, etc.

Bristol
Type of board paper used for post cards, business cards, and other heavy-use products.

Broken type
Incomplete or flawed text characters.

Bulk pack
To pack printed pieces in boxes without prior wrapping in bundles.

Burn
In plate making, exposing a printing plate to light to imprint it with the image to be printed.

C1S
Paper coated on one side.

C2S
Paper coated on both sides.

Camera-ready copy
Mechanicals, photographs and art fully prepared to be photographed for platemaking according to the technical requirements of either quick or commercial printing.

Case binding
Casebound, or cased-in, books are typically hardbound books. The book covers, called 'cases,' consist of rigid or flexible boards that are covered on the outside and on the edges with cloth, leather or other material.

CMYK
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. The four primary ink colors used in four-color process printing.

Coated paper
Paper having a surface coating that produces a smooth finish with increased ink holdout. Finishes range from matte to high gloss.

Collate
This is a finishing term for gathering paper in a precise order.

Color break
In multicolor printing, the point or line at which one ink color stops and another begins.

Color separation
The process of separating a multi-color document of full-color image into the component colors. Each color is output on a different piece of film or paper.

Comb binding
A method of binding books whereby holes are drilled on the spine, and a plastic grasping device is inserted to hold the pages together.

Continuous tone
A photographic image, which contains gradient tones from black to white.

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.

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

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.

Deboss
To press an image into paper so that it lies below the surface.

Die
Device for cutting, scoring, stamping, embossing and debossing.

Die cutting
To cut irregular shapes in paper or paperboard using a die.

Digital Printing/Imaging
Digital printing is very effective since it reduces the time to complete the printing process. It doesn’t need films and plates anymore. What it does is to transfer the digital file directly to the printing press with the help of a computer. It’s relatively fast and customers often rely on digital printing to meet deadlines and schedules.

DPI
Dots per inch. Refers to the image resolution in printing.

Dummy
Preliminary drawing or layout showing visual elements.

Electrostatic Printing
Similar to photocopying, this method lets the color attach to a drum and is blended with the paper with the application of heat. It is similar to digital printing as it also provides cost effective production of short print runs.

Embossing
Pressing an image into paper so that it will create a raised relief.

Estimate
Price that states what a job will probably cost based on initial specifications from customer.

Eurobind
This is a patented method of binding perfect bound books so they will open and lay flatter.

Finish size
Size of printed product after production is complete.

Flood
To cover a sheet with ink or varnish.

Flop
To reproduce a photograph or illustration so that its image faces opposite from the original.

Foil embossing
Foil stamping and embossing an image on paper with a die.

Foil stamping
Using a die to place a metallic or pigmented image on paper.

Folding
The act of laying one part over another part of (as a letter).

Ghosting
Phenomenon in which a faint image appears on a printed sheet where it was not intended.

Ghost halftone
Halftone that has been screened to produce a very faint image.

Gutter
The inner margin on a page from the printing area to the binding.

Halftone
To photograph continuous-tones through a screen to convert the image into dots. The result is also called a halftone and may be either positive or negative and on film or paper.

Hickey
Spot or imperfection in the printing dure to dirt on the press, paper particles, etc.

Imagesetter
In typographic imaging, a device that output type, line and photographs to film or paper.

Imposition
The process of arranging pages in the proper location on the press sheet to ensure the correct position after the printed sheet is folded or trimmed.

Index paper
Light weight board paper for writing and easy erasure.

Indicia
Postal permit information printed on objects to be mailed and accepted by USPS in lieu of stamps.

Ink holdout
A characteristic of paper related to its ability to keep ink sitting on the surface instead of absorbing the ink into the sheet. High ink holdout results in crisper printed images.

Jog
To align sheets of paper into a straight, compact pile.

Kerning
In typesetting, adjusting the amount of space between characters.

Keylines
Lines on a mechanical or negative showing the exact size, shape, and location of photographs or other graphic elements.

Layout
The drawing or sketch of a proposed printed piece, showing the location of type, art, etc.

Letterpress
Created by Gutenberg, the letterpress is considered as one of the first and original printing methods of all time. The letterpress gave birth to the concept of relief printing, where the image being printed is raised from the surface.

Mechanical
The final camera-ready copy of artwork, including type, photographs and line art mounted on a single piece of art board.

Offset Lithography
The most commonly used printing method, where the printed material does not receive ink directly from a printing plate but from an intermediary blanket that receives the ink from the plate and then transfers it to the paper.

Offset paper
Alternate term often used for Uncoated book paper.

Paste up
To adhere copy to mounting boards and, if necessary, overlays so it is assembled into a camera-ready mechanical.

Perfect binding
A book binding process where pages are glued together and directly to the cover of the book. The appearance is of a flat spine on the end of the book such as a paperback book.

Pinhole
Tiny hole in the emulsion of negatives or printing plates resulting in dot-like flaw in the printed item.

PMS
Abbreviation for PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM, a check standard trademark for color reproduction and color reproduction materials owned by Pantone, Inc.

Press check
Event at which test sheets are examined before production run is authorized to begin.

Printing
Printing is the process of applying images to a variety of surfaces.

Proof
Test sheet made to reveal errors or flaws, predict results, and record how a printing job is intended to appear.

Process Printing
A system where a color image is separated into different color values (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black or CMYK) by the use of filters and screens and then transferred to printing plates and printed on a printing press, reproducing the original color image.

Register marks
Targets used for positioning multiple printing images in correct alignment with each other, such as in multi-color printing.

Reverse
Type or other image reproduced by printing the background rather than the image itself, allowing the underlying color of paper or previously printed ink to show in the shape of the image.

RGB
Abbreviation for Red, Green, Blue – the three primary colors of light. Images to be displayed on monitors use RGB formatting.

RIP
Abbreviation for Raster Image Processing, the computerized process that converts documents into an electronic bit map in preparation for digital output.

Saddle stitch binding
A book binding process where pages are stapled together through the spine of the book. Traditionally performed on V shaped saddle. Many magazines are saddle stitched or stapled.

Scoring
The process of applying a crease to a sheet of paper to make it easier to fold.

Screen Printing (also called silk screening)
A printing process where ink is transferred through a porous screen, such as nylon, onto the surface to be decorated. An emulsion or stencil is used to block out the negative or non-printing areas of the screen. A squeegee forces ink through the open areas of the screen and onto the paper, plastic, cardboard, wood, fabric, glass, or other material.

Signature
In printing and binding, a printed sheet that has been folded for use as the interior of a book.

Spiral binding
A type of binding where a metal or plastic wire is spiraled through holes drilled along the binding side of a document.

Stat
General term for inexpensive photographic print of line copy or halftone.

Thermal binding
A type of binding in which a cloth strip with a heat-activated, permanent adhesive is applied down the spine of a book.

Thermography
A printing process whereby slow drying ink is applied to paper and, while the ink is still wet, is lightly dusted with a resinous powder. The paper then passes through a heat chamber where the powder melts and fuses with the ink to produce a raised surface.

Three-ring binding
Holes are punched into the pages and fitted into a binder.

Trapping
The process used to create a slight overlap between neighboring ink colors to eliminate any white space at their borders.

Variable Data Printing/Data Center Printing
This is a form of on-demand printing in which elements (such as text, graphics, photographs, etc) can be changed from one printed piece to the next, without stopping or slowing down the press or copier, using information from a database. For example, a set of personalized letters, each with the same basic layout, can be printed with a different name and address on each letter.

Varnish
A thin gloss or matte coating applies to a printed sheet for special effect or protection of the image below.

Web press
A printing press that prints on rolls of paper passed through the press in one continuous piece, as opposed to individual sheets of paper.

Window
Block of masking material on a mechanical that shows a position of a photograph or other visual element. Also, in an area cut out of masking material.

Wire-O binding
This is a trade name for mechanical binding using double loops of wire through a hole. It is a method of wire binding books along the binding edge that will allow the book to lay flat.