The Printer’s Dictionary

March 8th, 2010 | No Comments »

Often times printers, like ourselves, can assume that everyone knows that printing business language. We take for granted that we can talk this way amongst ourselves and expect a fellow printer to understand us. For the average joe, some of these terms may be foreign. Therefore, this post will act as a constantly updated, compiled list of terms that we printer’s use from time to time in daily discussion.

Bleed

Printing. (of printed matter) to run off the edges of a page, either by design or through mutilation caused by too close trimming.

Dots

Printing. an individual element in a halftone reproduction.

Gutter

the white space formed by the inner margins of two facing pages in a bound book, magazine, or newspaper.

Imposition

The arrangement of page plates in proper order on a press for printing a signature.

Margin

The space around the printed or written matter on a page.

Offset

A process in which a lithographic stone or metal or paper plate is used to make an inked impression on a rubber blanket that transfers it to the paper being printed, instead of being made directly on the paper.

Pantone

A set of standard colors for printing, each of which is specified by a single number. You can buy a Pantone swatch book containing samples of each color. Some computer graphics software allows colors to be specified as Pantone numbers. Even though a computer monitor can only show an approximation to some of the colors, the software can output a color separation for each different Pantone color, enabling a print shop to exactly reproduce the original desired color.

Press Check

As soon as the ink is up to run-specifications, the pressman will pull a sheet for you to look at, approve and probably sign off on.

Process

is a subtractive color model, used in color printing, also used to describe the printing process itself. CMYK refers to the four inks used in most color printing: cyan, magenta, yellow, and key black

Proof

a. a trial impression, as of composed type, taken to correct errors and make alterations.
b. one of a number of early and superior impressions taken before the printing of the ordinary issue: to pull a proof.

Spot Color

is a specially mixed ink using in printing. Spot color inks come in a rainbow of colors, including some specialty inks such as metallic and fluorescent.

Spread

Two facing pages, as of a newspaper, magazine, or book.

Varnish

A preparation consisting of resinous matter, as copal or lac, dissolved in an oil (oil varnish)  or in alcohol (spirit varnish) or other volatile liquid. When applied to the surface of wood, metal, etc., it dries and leaves a hard, more or less glossy, usually transparent coating.

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