Print Terminology
AAs: Author's Alterations. Changes or corrections made to a proof by the client.
Accordion Fold: A binding term for two or more parallel folds that open like an accordion. Brochures and maps often use accordion folds.
Aliasing: The pixelated or stair-step appearance of slanted or curved lines on low-resolution, computer generated images.
Alkaline Paper: A stable, acid-free paper used for products that must resist deterioration
Apparent Dot Area: The dot area of a printed halftone
Binder: An adhesive component of paper designed to hold the paper together
Black Plate Change: Changes made to black text and headlines in process printing. The changes are made on the black plate and thus do not affect the color.
Blanket: A fabric-reinforced sheet of rubber used on offset presses to transfer the impression from the plate onto the paper.
Bleed: Bleeds involved printing colors all the way to the edge of the paper. To accommodate this, the bleed area must be larger than the final trim size. The page is then trimmed right through the bleed area.
Blind Folio: This is a project in which page numbers are not printed on the page.
Blueline: A photographic proof for checking the accuracy of layout and position before printing plates are made.
Brightness: Also called value. One of the three attributes of color, the other two being hue and saturation. Brightness describes differences in the amount of light reflected from or transmitted through an image regardless of its hue and saturation. This is a difficult word to use in marking color correction. People use it for both the addition and substration of color. Correctly used, it refers to the amount of light (paper white) apparent in an area. When speaking about paper, brightness is the light reflectance or brilliance of the paper at a specifc wavelength, often perceived as whiteness. Generally, the higher the brightness rating the better quality the paper.
Character Generation: The process of using master font information to create type images as a series of dots or lines on a computer or typesetter. The type images can be sent either to a screen for display or to an imagesetter for final output.
Coated Paper: Paper coated with clay, white pigments, and a binder.
Color Separation: The photographic or electronic means of separating artwork into cyan, magenta, yellow, and black components
Contrast: The difference of tonal gradation between light and dark values within an image. A high-contrast image is predominantly highlights and shadows with a few gray tones. A low contrast image has few highlights and shadows with predominantly even tones. Image contrast is sacrificed somewhat when tones are compressed to bring an original's density down to a range that can be reproduced on a printing press.
Duotone: Color reproduction from a monochrome original, such as a black and white photograph. Two halftones with different screen angles are made from the same original and printed in two colors
Dynamic Range: The range of tones from the lightest to darkest a scanner can see and resolve
UV Printing: UV printing is used to print on paper, plastic, foil, and specialty substrates. UV light is used to dry specially formulated inks that are printed on non-porous materials. In conventional printing, ink dries as it is absorbed into paper. Because plastic is not absorbent, the ink must be dried on the top surface using UV light.