CAXTONPRINTERS HOME CONTACT US PRINTING SCHOOL SERVICES ELECTIONS PUBLISHING PRINTING PORTAL STAFF Helpful Information Paper Weight Comparison Chart Glossary Accordion fold In binding, a term used for two or more parallel folds which open like an accordion. Against the grain Folding or feeding paper at right angles to the grain direction of the paper. Aqueous Coating A water-based coating that is applied like varnish to protect the printed surface. Aqueous coating can be applied in-line or off-line. Backing up Printing the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side. Binding The use of thread, staples, wire, glue, or other agents to collect sections or signatures into books, brochures and pamphlets. Blanket In offset printing, a rubber-surfaced fabric which is clamped around a cylinder, to which the image is transferred from the plate, and from which it is transferred to the paper. Bleed An extra amount of printed image which extends beyond the trim edge of the sheet or page. Book paper A general term for coated and uncoated papers. The basic size is 25×38. Calibrate (color calibrate) To fix, check or correct the gradation of color on a color monitor. Caliper The thickness of paper, usually expressed in thousandths of an inch (mils). In board, however, it is expressed as points. Chokes and spreads Overlap of overprinting images to avoid color or white fringes or borders around image detail. Called trapping in digital imaging systems. CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black) The subtractive process colors used in color printing. Black (K) is added to enhance color and contrast. Coated paper Paper having a surface coating which produces a smooth finish. Surfaces vary from eggshell to glossy. Coating An emulsion, varnish or lacquer applied over a printed surface to protect it. Collate In binding, the gathering of sheets and signatures. Color correction Any method such as masking, dot-etching, re-etching and scanning, used to improve color. Contrast The tonal gradation between the highlights, middle tones and shadows in an original or reproduction. Cover paper A term applied to a variety of papers used for the covers of catalogs, brochures, booklets and similar pieces. Creep Sometimes called push out it is the distance margins shift when paper is folded and/or inserted during finishing. The amount of creep will vary depending on both the number and thickness of the sheets and must be compensated for during layout and imposition. Crop To eliminate portions of the copy, usually on a photograph or plate, indicated on the original by cropmarks. Crossover An image that straddles two pages or runs across a spread. Critical for bindery work, particularly when the crossover image is created from two separate pages. Not all bindery methods area good candidates when crossovers need to match up exactly. Cyan Hue of a subtractive primary and a 4-color process ink. It reflects or transmits blue and green light and absorbs red light. Densitometer In photography, a photoelectric instrument which measures the density of photographic images, or of colors. In printing, a reflection desitometer is used to measure and control the density of color inks on the substrate. Diecutting The process of using sharp steel rules to cut special shapes for labels, boxes and containers, from printed sheets. Diecutting can be done on either flatbed or rotary presses. Rotary diecutting is usually done inline with the printing. Digital color proof A color proof produced from digital data without the need for separation films. Digital printing Printing by plateless imaging systems that are imaged by digital data from prepress systems. Dot Smallest screening element. The fineness of a halftone screen is measured in lines per inch or lpi. In AM screening the dots vary in size. In FM screening the dots are all the same size. Dot gain In printing, a defect in which dots print larger than they should, causing darker tones or stronger colors. Dots Per Inch (dpi) Number of dots in a line screen per inch.A measure of the resolution of a screen image or printed page. Duotone In photomechanics, a term for a two-color halftone reproduction from a one-color photograph. Embossing Impressing an image in relief to achieve a raised surface; either overprinting or on blank paper (called blind embossing). Feeder In printing presses, the section that separates the sheets and feeds them in position for printing. Finish Surface Texture of a paperstock. Foil Stamping Printing method that releases foil from its backing when stamped with a heated plate or die. Folding dummies A mock-up of the job using the actual paper trimmed and folded to exact specifications. Folding To bend or crease a sheet of paper to create a printed or bound document. Font In composition, a complete assortment of letters, numbers, punctuations, etc., of a given size and design. Grain In papermaking, the direction in which most fibers lie which corresponds with the direction in which the paper is made on a paper machine. Gray scale A strip of standard gray tones, ranging from white to black, placed at the side of original copy during photography to measure tonal range and contrast (gamma) obtained. Gripper margin Unprintable blank edge of paper on which grippers bear, usually 1/2 or less. Grippers In sheetfed printing presses, metal fingers that clamp on paper and control its flow as it passes through. Gutter The blank space or inner margin from printing area to binding. Hickeys In offset lithography, spots or imperfections in the printing due to dirt on the press, dried ink skin, paper particles, etc. Hi-res (high resolution) An image that has sufficient sharpness (measured by the number of pixels per inch) to make it suitable for print reproduction. Hue In color, the main attribute of a color which distinguishes it from other colors. Imposition In image assembly, the positioning of pages on a signature so that after printing, folding and cutting, all pages will appear in the proper sequence. Impression cylinder In printing, the cylinder on a printing press against which the paper picks up the impression from the inked plate in direct printing, or the blanket in offset printing. Ink coverage The amount of ink added in the printing process. Also describes the maximum allowed amount of each component color on a certain paper in a printing process. Expressed as a percent. Jog To align sheets of paper into a compact pile. Knockouts Type or images that reverse out of a solid or tint, allowing the paper to show through. Also called reverse. Lamination A plastic film bonded by heat and pressure to a printed sheet for protection or appearance. Lines Per Inch (lpi) The number of lines of output per inch; for example, a halftone of 85 lines per inch is lower resolution than a halftone of 120 lines per inch; lines per inch, lpi, line screen and screen frequency are all synonymous. Lithographic Offset Printing (litho) Printing method using plates whose image areas attract ink and whose non-image areas repel ink. Non-image areas may be coated with water or a coating, such as silicon, to repel ink. Loupe A magnifying lens held close to the eye to examine printing. The most common is an eight-power, which enlarges an image by a factor of eight. Magenta Hue of a subtractive primary and a four-color process ink. It reflects or transmits blue and red light and absorbs green light. Makeready In printing, all work done to set up a press for printing. Match color A custom-mixed ink color that exactly matches a specified color. Typically chosen from numbered color matching systems. Also called spot color. Matte finish Dull paper finish without gloss or luster. Metallic Inks Inks containing metal powder that have a shiny reflective appearance. Misregistration A print phenomenon in which the component colors do print directly on top of each other (i.e. in register). Offset In printing, the process of using an intermediate blanket cylinder to transfer an image from the image carrier to the substrate. Short for offset lithography. Opacity That property of paper which minimizes the show-through of printing from the back side or the next sheet. Opaque ink An ink that conceals all color beneath it. Overprinting Double printing; Printing over an area that already has been printed. Overrun In printing, copies printed in excess of the specified quantity. PDF (Portable Document File) PDF is a universal electronic file format, modeled after the PostScript language and is device-and resolution-independent. Documents in the PDF format can be viewed, navigated and printed from any computer regardless of the fonts or software programs used to create the original. Perfect Binding A method of binding which uses adhesive to hold signatures or pages together. Perfecting press A printing press that prints both sides of the paper in one pass through the press. Pigment In printing inks, the fine solid particles used to give inks color, transparency or opacity. Pixel Short for picture element. A pixel is the smallest resolvable point of a raster image. It is the basic unit of digital imaging. Pixels per inch (ppi) States the resolution of images, monitors and scanners. PMS (Pantone Matching System) Color charts that have over 700 preprinted color patches of blended inks, used to identify, display or define special colors. Position proof Color proof for checking position, layout and/or color breakout of image elements. Preflighting In digital prepress, the test used to evaluate or analyze every component needed to produce a printing job. Preflight confirms the type of disk being submitted, the color gamut, color breaks, and any art required (illustrations, transparencies, reflective photos, etc.) plus layout files, screen fonts, printer fonts, EPS or TIFF files, laser proofs, page sizes, print driver, cropmarks, etc. Press proofs In color reproduction, a proof of a color subject made on a printing press, in advance of the production run. Process colors In printing, the subtractive primaries yellow, magenta and cyan, plus black in four-color process printing. Ream Five hundred sheets of paper. Register In printing, fitting of two or more printing images in exact alignment with each other. Register marks Crosses or other targets applied to original copy prior to photography. Used for positioning films in register, or for register of two or more colors in process printing. Resolution In electronic imaging, the quantification of printout quality using the number of dots per inch. Right-angle fold In binding, a term used for two or more folds that are at 90 degree angles to each other. Saddle stitch In binding, to fasten a booklet by wiring it through the middle fold of the sheets. Also called saddle wire. Score To impress or indent a mark in the paper to make folding easier. Screen A method of printing that breaks up continuous-tone images into printable dots. Screen printing A printing method used for large formats, such as billboards and hard print carriers, such as steel signs. The printing form consists of a finely woven cloth that lets through printing ink and is tightened to a frame. The non-printing surfaces are covered so that the ink cannot get through the cloth. Self cover A cover of the same paper as inside text pages. Shadow The darkest parts in a photograph, represented in a halftone by the largest dots. Sharpen To decrease in color strength, as when halftone dots become smaller; opposite of dot spread or dot gain. Sheetfed Printing from stacks of sheets that feed one at a time through the press. Sheetwise 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 same gripper and opposite side guide. Show-through In printing, the undesirable condition in which the printing on the reverse side of a sheet can be seen through the sheet under normal lighting conditions. Side guide On sheetfed presses, a guide on the feed board to position the sheet sideways as it feeds into the front guides before entering the impression cylinder. Sidestitching A method of common binding where the folded signatures or pages are stitched along the side near the gutter margin. The pages will not lie flat. Signature In printing and binding, the name given to a printed sheet after it has been folded. Spiral binding A book bound with wires in spiral form inserted through holes punched along the binding side. Spot color Printing inks of special colors, for example from the color matching systems and swatch books. Generally used as a complement to black or to achieve an exact color four-color inks cannot provide. Mixed according to a recipe. Also called match color. Spot varnish Varnish applied to specific areas of a sheet, as compared to flood varnish. Spreads A technique of slightly enlarging the size of an image to accomplish a trap with another image.Also, a two-page arrangement of copy. Stet A proofreader mark, written in the margin, signifying that copy marked for corrections should remain as it was. Stock Paper or other material to be printed. Tagged image file format (TIFF) A file format for graphics suited for representing scanned images and other large bitmaps. TIFF is a neutral format designed for compatibility with all applications. TIFF was created specifically for storing grayscale images, and it is the standard format for scanned images such as photographs- no called TIFF/IT. Thermography Printing method using colorless resin powder that takes on the color of the underlying ink to create a raised printed surface. Tints Various even tone areas (strengths) of a solid color created by dots rather than solid ink coverage. Also called screen tints. Toner In digital printing, imaging material also called digital inks, used in plateless printing systems like electrophotography, magnetography, ion or electron deposition and laser printers. In inks, dye used to tone printing inks, especially black. Trapping In printing, the ability to print a wet ink film over previously printed ink. Dry trapping is printing wet ink over dry ink. Wet trapping is printing wet ink over previously printed wet ink. In prepress, refers to how much overprinting colors overlap to eliminate white lines between colors in printing. Trim marks In printing, marks placed on the copy to indicate the edge of the page. Uncoated stock Paper that has not been coated. There are varying degrees of quality with the highest being Writing, Text and Cover papers. -up In printing, two-up, three-up, etc., refers to imposition of material to be printed on a larger size sheet to take advantage of full press capacity. UV inks In printing, solventless inks that are cured by UV radiation. They are used extensively in screen printing, narrow web letterpress and flexographic printing. Vellum finish In papermaking, a toothy finish which is relatively absorbent for fast ink penetration. Viscosity In printing inks, a broad term encompassing the properties of tack and flow. Warm color In printing, a color with a yellowish or reddish cast Washup The process of cleaning the rollers, form or plate, and sometimes the ink fountain of a printing press. Web press A press which prints on a roll of paper. Wire-o binding A continuous double series of wire loops run through punched slots along the binding side of a booklet. With the grain Folding or feeding paper into a press with the grain of the paper parallel to the blade of the folder or the axis of the impression cylinder. Work-and-turn To print one side of a sheet of paper, then turn it over from left to right and print the second side using the same gripper and plate but opposite side guide. Community Involvement History Staff Textbooks Search FAQ Copyright 2020 The Caxton Printers Ltd. P. 800-657-6465 P. 208-459-7421 F. 208-459-7450 info@caxtonprinters.com Monday – Friday 8:00 am 5:00 pm M.S.T. Office is closed from Noon until 1:00 pm for lunch each day.