Print Terms and Explanations - Part 1

There are so many technical words that are thrown around in the print world, sometimes it's enough to make us dizzy! But don't worry, we've put together a trusty guide for you to be able to sneakily brush up on your print lingo and have you talking like you know it like the back of your hand. 

Finishings - The term finishings refers to two things, the first is the surface characteristics of paper. The second is the general term for trimming, folding, binding and all other post press operations.

Binding -  Binding is the term used for the finish that printers use to hold the pages of a book, brochure, or notepad together.

Bleed - Is the printing that extends to the edge of a page. It is important to always have a bleed set up with content reaching the edge so that when trimming occurs there is no left over white edges (unless that is the design of the piece).

Celloglaze - A plastic film heat bonded to printed products such as booklet covers, business cards and postcards. Not only does it provide protection, it also adds a distinctive matte or gloss finish.

Stock - Sizes, weights and colours of different paper that is available.

Artwork - Refers to designed content for printing, including type, photos and illustrations. Sometimes referred to as art.

Digital Print - Digital printing is uses toner and can print CMYK the same way offset printing does, but it is more cost effective and faster as there are no printing plates to set up and print dries instantly. It is the best choice for smaller businesses who needs well priced, high quality, fast turn around printing solutions.

Creep - What happens to middle pages of a folded booklet that extends slightly beyond outside pages. Also sometimes referred to as feathering, outpush, push out and thrust.

Die Cutting - To cut custom or irregular shapes into paper or paperboard using a die.

Variable Data - Is a form of on-demand printing in which elements (such as text, graphics, photographs, etc) can be quickly and easily changed from one printed piece to the next using information from a database.

Proof -  A printed sample of the project to show exactly how it will look using all stock and ink to be used for the final run. This allows the client to give the all clear before the actual print run is conducted.

DPI / PPI - Dots Per Inch or Pixels Per Inch. Refers to how high of resolution something is. Usually for web the recommended DPI or PPI is 72, for print it is 300.

Crop Marks - The small printed lines around the corners of a printed piece indicating where it should be cut.

Gutter - A blank space or margin between components on a printed piece or press sheet.

Pagination -  The numbering of pages in a book. Some printers prefer to manage pagination themselves and ask for single sheets, others prefer spreads.

Rich Black - Using multiple layers of ink colors in addition to black to produce a deeper and darker black color. The most common CMYK values used for this are 30% Cyan, 20% Magenta, 20% Yellow and 100% Black.

Scoring - Pre-creasing paper for the purpose of making folding easier.

UV Coating - A high gloss coating that is shiny and very durable that can be applied to printed material. It is applied as a liquid then cured with ultraviolet light.

Letterpress - Method of printing from raised surfaces, either metal type or plates whose surfaces have been etched away from image areas. Also called block printing

Spread - The two pages that face each other in any book or publication.

Value - The shade (darkness) or tint (lightness) of a color. Also called brightness, lightness, shade and tone.