Against the grain
at right angles to the direction of the paper grain; opposite of paper grain direction
Cover weight
heavier-weight (thicker/more-rigid) paper consisting of various grades
Customer's Originals
print ready copy
Die
metal rule or imaged block used to cut or place an image on paper in the finishing process
Double-sided
printing on both the front and back side of a sheet
Drill
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
Gloss finish
shiny, reflective, smooth finish on paper or laminate
Grain
the direction in which the paper fiber lie
Grippers
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.
Highlight
the lightest areas in a picture or halftone
IMP
imposition
Imposition
the arrangement of pages on a press sheet; or, the arrangement of fields on a document
Impression
putting an image on paper
Imprint
adding copy to a previously printed page
Matte finish
dull paper, ink, or laminate finish
Moire
pronounced “moor-ay”: incorrect screen angles or dot patterns causing an undesirable waviness in an image or photograph
Multi up
the same image placed on a single sheet or page of a document multiple times
Negative
the image on a film that inverts color
Offsetting
using an intermediate surface to transfer ink. This also occurs when images of freshly printed sheets transfer images to each other.
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.
Pantone Matching System
(PMS) Industry standard for ink mixing
Perfect bind
type of binding that uses glue on the spine of the sheets to adhere a cover to the sheets, like a phone book
Pica
unit of measurement. One pica = 1/6 inch
Right-Angle fold
two folds at right angles to each other
Sheetwise
to use a separate plate for front and back printing, using the same gripper and guide for both sides of the sheet
Side guide
the mechanical register unit on a printing press that positions a sheet from the side
Signature
a sheet of printed pages that when folded become part of a publication (i.e., book, magazine, etc.)
Single-sided
only one side of the page is printed, meaning the back side of each page is blank
Spine
the binding edge of a publication (i.e., book, magazine, etc.)
stitch
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.
Tape Bind
a type of binding that uses a strip of durable tape to hold a book together
Text weight
lighter-weight (thinner/pliable) paper consisting of various grades
Tints
a shade of a single color or combined colors
Trapping
used to expand the dominant ink to be printed larger than the less-dominant ink; used to help tighted registration on offset printing
Trim Box
the lines on a drawing showing the final dimensions of a piece
Trim size
finished size after final trim is made
UV Coating
protective liquid coating applied to printed sheets (similar to varnish), bonded and cured with ultra-violet (UV) light