Against the grain
at right angles to the direction of the paper grain; opposite of paper grain direction
Bead
a border of lamination material that extends beyond the edge of the printed piece; standard border is 1/8 inch
Black
K: one of the four colors of the CMYK printing process, black in color. Also referred to as the Key color.
Collate
a finishing term for gathering paper in a precise order
Crop marks
printed lines showing where to trim a printed sheet
Customer's Originals
print ready copy
Cyan
C: one of the four process colors used in the CMYK printing process; blue in color
Foamcore
strong, sytrofoam-like board to which printed material is applied or mounted
Grain
the direction in which the paper fiber lie
Halftone
converting a continuous tone to dots for printing
Head-to-head
right-reading sheets with the head on top that, when duplexed, heads run together on the front and back of sheet; the back sheet is right-side up
Head-to-toe
right reading sheets with head on top, that, when duplexed, heads run opposite on front and back of sheet. The back sheet is upside down
Make-ready
all the activities required to prepare a press for printing
Matte finish
dull paper, ink, or laminate finish
Negative
the image on a film that inverts color
Offset Paper
term for uncoated paper
Opacity
the amount of show-through on a printed sheet. The thicker the paper, the lesser amount of show-through; the thinner the paper, the more amount of show-through.
Overlay
transparent cover sheet on artwork often used for instructions
Page count
total number of pages in a book including blanks
Pantone Matching System
(PMS) Industry standard for ink mixing
Pica
unit of measurement. One pica = 1/6 inch
plate
a metal plate imaged in a setting machine for each color separation; required for offset printing
Plate gap
The area where the grippers hold the sheet as it passes through the press
Right-Angle fold
two folds at right angles to each other
Sample
rough layout of a printed piece showing position and finished size
Signature
a sheet of printed pages that when folded become part of a publication (i.e., book, magazine, etc.)
Stack by page or subset
to keep each piece separate or independent
staple
added to a printed packet or book, commonly in the upper left corner or along the left side of a booklet
Step-and-repeat
the process of placing the same image on a single sheet or page of a document multiple times
Tape Bind
a type of binding that uses a strip of durable tape to hold a book together
Trapping
used to expand the dominant ink to be printed larger than the less-dominant ink; used to help tighted registration on offset printing
UV Coating
protective liquid coating applied to printed sheets (similar to varnish), bonded and cured with ultra-violet (UV) light
Watermark
distinctive design created in paper at the time of manufacture that can be easily seen by holding the paper up to a light
Work and tumble
using the same plate and same guide, printing one side of a sheet, and flipping it from gripper to tail to print on the back of the sheet. Similar to perfecting but 2 passes.
Work and turn
using the same plate and common guide, printing one side of a sheet, and flipping it from left to right to print on the back of the sheet