DoIT Digital Publishing & Printing DoIT Digital Publishing & Printing Glossary

at right angles to the direction of the paper grain; opposite of paper grain direction

a plastic coil that has a 4:1 pitch ratio used as a binding material to hold a book together

heavier-weight (thicker/more-rigid) paper consisting of various grades

print ready copy

a quality control device to measure the density of printing ink

the degree of color or darkness of an image or photograph

metal rule or imaged block used to cut or place an image on paper in the finishing process

printing on both the front and back side of a sheet

3 or 5 holes drilled on the binding edge of a sheet of paper, created by drilling though the paper; standard hole diameter is 5/16 inch

shiny, reflective, smooth finish on paper or laminate

the direction in which the paper fiber lie

metal fingers on a printing press that hold the paper as it passes through the press; the image is registered in relation to the gripper.  Similar to a sideguide.

reoccurring unplanned spots that appear in the printed image from dust, lint, dried ink

the lightest areas in a picture or halftone

portion of paper on which ink can appear

imposition

the arrangement of pages on a press sheet; or, the arrangement of fields on a document

putting an image on paper

adding copy to a previously printed page

marking used on mail as a substitute for a stamp; indicates postage paid

an outline drawing

using a high-temperature process to melt plastic on paper, can be one or two-sided

dull paper, ink, or laminate finish

pronounced “moor-ay”: incorrect screen angles or dot patterns causing an undesirable waviness in an image or photograph

two or more different images place on one sheet; two or more of the same images imposed on one sheet

the same image placed on a single sheet or page of a document multiple times

the image on a film that inverts color

using an intermediate surface to transfer ink. This also occurs when images of freshly printed sheets transfer images to each other.

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.

material that is to be reproduced using various printing methods. i.e., PDFs, documents, photographs, artwork, product sample, or artist's drawing

(PMS) Industry standard for ink mixing

a series of small cuts at regular intervals usually made to help a sheet tear apart evenly

type of binding that uses glue on the spine of the sheets to adhere a cover to the sheets, like a phone book

unit of measurement. One pica = 1/6 inch

two folds at right angles to each other

to use a separate plate for front and back printing, using the same gripper and guide for both sides of the sheet

the mechanical register unit on a printing press that positions a sheet from the side

a sheet of printed pages that when folded become part of a publication (i.e., book, magazine, etc.)

only one side of the page is printed, meaning the back side of each page is blank

the binding edge of a publication (i.e., book, magazine, etc.)

Stitch is a staple added to a printed packet or book, commonly in the upper left corner or along the left side of a booklet.

a type of binding that uses a strip of durable tape to hold a book together

lighter-weight (thinner/pliable) paper consisting of various grades

a shade of a single color or combined colors

used to expand the dominant ink to be printed larger than the less-dominant ink; used to help tighted registration on offset printing

the lines on a drawing showing the final dimensions of a piece

finished size after final trim is made

protective liquid coating applied to printed sheets (similar to varnish), bonded and cured with ultra-violet (UV) light

clear ink-like substance that is applied to printed surfaces for appearance and protection

folding or feeding paper into the press or folder parallel to the grain of paper