Glossary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
A
AA. Author's alteration, or any alteration in text or illustrative matter which is not a PE (printer's error).
Abrasion resistance. Ability of ink or paper to withstand rubbing and scuffing.
Absorbency. The degree to which ink or water will soak into a stock
Accordion fold. Series of parallel folds in paper in which each fold opens in the opposite direction from the previous fold-like an accordion.
Acetate. Transparent cellulose acetate sheet placed over mechanical on which color separation can be indicated or directions to platemaker given.
Acetate proof. See Color overleaf proof.
Acetone. Volatile, fast-drying solvent.
Adhesive binding. See Perfect binding.
Against the grain. Folding paper at right angles to the grain.
Agate. Unit of measurement used in newspapers to calculate column space: 14 agate lines equal 1 inch. (Agate was originally the name of a 5 1/2 point type.)
Airbrush. Small pressure gun, shaped like a fountain pen, that sprays paint by means of compressed air. Used to create effects of gradated tone; ideal for retouching photographs.
Albumin plate. A standard albumin-coated offset press plate made from negatives. See also Deep-etch plate and Pre-sensitized plate.
Alcohols. Solvents used in flexographic and gravure inks.
Align. To line up, or place letters or words on the same horizontal or vertical line.
Alignment. Arrangement of type in straight lines so different sizes justify at the bottom (base-aligning) and ends of lines appear even on the page.
Alphanumeric. Refers to any system of letters and numbers (alphabet plus numerals). An example of an alphanumeric designation is "AB 220."
Alphasette. Phototypesetting system manufactured by Alphatype Corporation.
Amberlith. Also known as camera amber. Brand name for a red- or orange-coated acetate sheet used on a mechanical or on artwork as marking material to position halftones, areas of color, and tints. The coating is "strippable"; that is, it can be selectively cut and peeled away to create outlines and silhouettes.
Analogue computer. A type of computer that represents numerical quantities as electrical or physical variables, used in the industry to turn valves or machinery off and on. Such computers are not used in phototypesetting. -See Digital computer.
Aniline dye. A synthetic organic dye, used in flexographic printing inks.
Aniline printing. Old term for flexography .
Antique finish. Soft, bulky paper with a relatively rough surface, similar to the old handmade papers.
Aquatone. Printing method combining finescreen gelatin plates and offset lithography.
Archival printing. Techniques for printing permanent records intended to last for 150 or more years.
Arc lamp. Lamp that produces light by a current arcing across two electrodes, usually of carbon (thus, carbon arcs). Used as a light source in photography or platemaking.
Art. All original copy, whether prepared by an artist, camera, or other mechanical means. Loosely speaking, any copy to be reproduced.
Artype. A brand name for self-adhering type printed on transparent sheets that can be cut out and placed on artwork. Available in a wide range of type styles and sizes.
Ascender. That part of the lowercase letter that rises above the body of the letter, as in b, d, f, h, k, /, and t.
Asymmetrical type. Lines of type set with no predictable pattern in terms of placement.
Author's alteration. See AA.
B
Backbone. Also called spine. In binding that part of a book binding that connects the front and back covers.
Backing. A metal backing soldered to duplicate printing plates to make them 11 points (0.52") thick for use on patent blocks or printing bed bases.
Backing-up. In presswork, printing the reverse side of a sheet.
Back lining. Paper or fabric that adheres to the backbone, or spine, of a hardcover book.
Back pressure. Pressure between the blanket and the impression cylinder.
Bad break. In composition, when the first line of a page is hyphenated. Also, incorrect end-of-line hyphenation.
Bag paper. Usually kraft paper , used for making bags. Paper weight varies depending on bag size.
Bank. Cabinet or bench on which type is made up or stored in readiness for makeup.
Bar code. Printed symbols which can be read by OCR (Optical Character Recognition) equipment.
Baronial envelope. Square type of envelope used for announcements, formal correspondence, and many kinds of greeting cards.
Base. See Patent base.
Baseline. Horizontal line upon which all the characters in a given line stand.
Basis weight Weight in pounds of 500 sheets (a ream) of paper cut to a given standard size (this size is called the basis
size and varies depending on the grade of paper).
Bastard progressives or progs. Also called Hollywood progs. A set of progressive proofs showing every possible color combination of the four process colors. The exact and specific effect of any two or three colors can be determined and intelligent comments formulated for correction by the platemaker. Sequence of a normal set of bastard progs is: yellow, red, yellow-red, blue, yellow-blue, red-blue, yellow-red-blue, black, yellow-black, red-black, blue-black, yellow-red-black, yellow-blue-black, red-blue-black, and yellow-red-blue-black.
Bastard size. A nonstandard size of any material used in the graphic arts.
Bearers. In composition, strips of type-high metal placed around the type form to protect the printing surface when the form is to be electrotyped. In photoengraving, the excess, or "dead" metal left on the printing plate to protect the live matter from excess pressure when molding for electroplating. On printing presses, metal rims beside the gears on which the printing cylinder rides. In reproduction proofing, strips of typehigh metal placed outside the live matter of the form to even up the printing pressure and prevent the ink rollers from slurring the form.
Bed. In letterpress printing, the flat part of the press that holds the type form during printing: a job that is ready for the press is ready to be "put to bed."
Benday process. Application of dot or line patterns to line plates in order to create the effect of flat tones or shadings. Named after the man who developed the process, Ben Day. Now an obsolete process, superseded by laying photographic screen tints.
Bevel. Sloping edge around the outside of an engraving or electrotype that permits it to be locked with hooks onto a patent base .
BF. Boldface .
Bible paper. A thin, opaque, high-tensile-strength book paper used where low bulk is essential: for bibles, insurance rate books, encyclopedias, etc. Basis weights normally range from 14 to 30 pounds.
Binary. In computer system, a base-2 numbering system using the digits 0 and 1.
Binary code. In computer systems, a code that makes use of two distinct characters, usually 0 and 1.
Binder. Person who does bindery work. Also, a device equipped with metal rings for holding loose-leaf sheets.
Binder board. High-quality, single-ply, solid pulp binding board.
Binder's creep. The slight but cumulative extension of the edges of each inserted spread or signature beyond the edges of the one that encloses it in a saddle-stitch bind.
Bindery. An establishment that binds books, pamphlets, etc.
Binding. The fastening together of printed sheets in the form of signatures into books, booklets, magazines, etc. Also, the covers and backing of a book.
Binding board. Paper board, either binder board or pasteboard, used in bookbinding for the covers of casebound (hardcover) books.
Bit. In computer systems, the smallest unit of information representing one binary digit, 0 or 1. The word is derived from the first two letter of binary and the last letter of digit.
Bite. In photoengraving, the time required when etching with acid to produce a given depth: the depth of the etch increases with each ''bite."
Black letter. Also known as gothic. A style of handwriting popular in the fifteenth century. Also, the name of a type style based on this handwriting.
Black printer. The plate used with the cyan, magenta, and yellow plates; often used to enrich the contrast of the final reproduction.
Blanket. In offset lithography, the rubbersurfaced sheet clamped around the cylinder which transfers the image from plate to paper.
Bleed. Area of plate or print that extends ("bleeds'' off) beyond the edge to be trimmed. Applies mostly to photographs or areas of color. When a design involves a bleed image, the designer must allow from 1/9" to 1/4" beyond the trim page size for trimming. Also, the printer must use a slightly larger sheet to accommodate bleeds.
Blind embossing. A bas-relief impression made with a regular stamping die , except that no ink or foil is used.
Blind image. A plate image that has lost its ink receptivity and fails to print.
Blind keyboard. In photocomposition, a tape-producing keyboard which has no visual display and which produces no hard copy.
Block. In computer systems, a group of words, characters, or digits held in one section of an input/output medium and handled as a unit.
Blocking. In letterpress, mounting an engraving on a block of wood or metal to make it type-high, permitting it to be locked up in a form to be printed. Also, the sticking together of printed sheets when piled too high before the ink has dried.
Blow-up. An enlargement of copy: photograph, artwork, or type.
Blueprints. Also called blues. Blue contact photoprints made on paper, usually used as a guide for negative assembly, preparing layouts, or as a preliminary proof for checking purposes.
Blurb. Summary of contents of a book presented as jacket copy. Also, a short commentary, such as a caption or the text in comic strip balloons.
Boards. See Binder board.
Board stock. See Paperboard.
Body. In composition, the metal block of a piece of type that carries the printing surface, It is the depth of the body that gives the type its point size. In printing, a term that refers to the viscosity, consistency, and flow of a vehicle or ink.
Body matter. Also called body copy. Regular reading matter, or text, as contrasted with display lines.
Body size. The depth of the body of a piece of type measured in points.
Body type. Also called text type. Type, from 6 point to 14 point, generally used for body matter.
Boldface. A heavier version of a regular typeface. Indicated as BF.
Bond paper. A grade of writing and printing paper with a surface treated to take pen and ink well and have good erasure qualities. Cheaper grades of bond paper are made from all wood fiber; the better grades are made from rag fiber (25%, 50%, or 100% rag content). Used where strength, durability, and permanence are required.
Booklet. A small book, commonly bound in paper covers. Generally used for advertising or promotional purposes.
Book paper. A category or group of printing papers that have certain physical characteristics in common which make them suitable for the graphic arts. Used for books, magazines, and just about everything we read, with the exception of newspapers and pulp novels.
Books. Generally applies to printed, bound works. Books published as textbooks are called school books; those published for sale by bookstores are called trade books. Books printed and bound with paper covers are called paperbacks.
Borders. Decorative lines or designs available in type, used to surround a type form or page.
Brackets. Pair of marks ([ ]) used to set off matter extraneous or incidental to the context.
Brayer. Hand roller used to apply ink to type or printing plates when rough proofs are desired.
Break for color. To separate, color by color, the parts of a job to be printed in different colors.
Brightype. Trade name for a machine for converting letterpress type or engravings into a photographic image that can be used for offset lithography or gravure printing. The metal type form is sprayed with a black lacquer which is then selectively removed by rubbing the printing surface, making the surface reflective and the background light-absorbent. The form is then photographed in shadowless lighting as if it were line copy, resulting in a photographic film negative. Manufactured by Ludlow Typograph Company. See also Cronapress and Scotchprint.
Bristol board. Also called Bristol. A good grade of thin cardboard or pasteboard with a smooth surface. Available in a variety of finishes and colors; ideal for drawing, writing, and printing. Used for cards, posters, displays, announcements, or for any job where stiffness is required. Bristol boards are sometimes filled, but usually pasted or plied.
Broadside. Large printed sheet folded for mailing.
Bourges. (Pronounced burgess.) Trade name for a thin, color-coated acetate overlay sheet keyed to standard printing inks. Used to produce color separations in art. Also comes in degrees of whites and grays for modifying photo backgrounds. The coating is removed either by a fluid or by scratching.
Brochure. Pamphlet bound in the form of a booklet, usually consisting of eight or more pages.
Broken package. A quantity of paper less than a standard wrapped amount (usually less than a ream). When ordered, broken packages carry a penalty charge.
Bronzing. Applying bronze or metallic powder over printed sizing ink while it is still wet to produce a metallic luster.
Brownprint. Also called a brownline or Van Dyke. A photoprint made from a negative and used as a proof to check the position of the elements before the printing plate is made.
Buckram. Sized, heavy-weave cotton cloth used for binding books.
Buffer. In computer systems, a data-storage area situated between computer units. It may be a piece of hardware, an area of memory, a disc, or a tape.
Built-up letter. A letter in which the outline is drawn first and then filled in.
Bulk. The thickness of paper, measured by the caliper of pages per inch (PPI).
Bullet. Large dot used as ornamental device.
Bulletin. Loosely used to describe several forms of printing, however it generally refers to one of a sequence of factual reports issued at irregular intervals. There is no particular form for a bulletin; it can be a single leaf, a folder, or a booklet.
Bump. Ink applied from a fifth or higher plate in four-color process printing, usually to strengthen a specific color; also referred to as a touchplate.
Burin. In engraving, a pointed steel cutting tool
Burnish. In photoengraving, to darken local areas of a printing plate by rubbing down the lines and dots, thus increasing their printing surfaces. Also, a general term for smoothing down self-adhering letters and shading sheets.
Burr. Rough edge or curl of metal left on a photoengraving as the result of burnishing, routing, or cutting.
Butted lines. Two or more linecast slugs placed side by side to produce a single line of type.
Byte. In computer systems, a group of adjacent bits operated on as a unit and usually shorter than a word. It can be one complete character.
C
C. & s.c. Capitals and small capitals. In composition, used to specify words that begin with a capital letter and have the remaining letters in small capitals, which are the same height as the body of the lowercase letters.
Calender. A set, or "stack," of cast-iron rollers with chilled, hardened surfaces, resting on one another in a vertical bank at the end of the papermaking machine. The paper passes through all or some of these rollers to increase the smoothness and gloss of its surface. See also Supercalender.
Calendered paper. Paper with a smooth finish produced by its being passed through the calender of the papermaking machine.
California job case. Tray in which handset type is stored and from which it is set. The individual cubicles are arranged for a minimum of motion and are sized to accommodate letters in quantities related to frequency of use.
Caliper. The thickness of a sheet measured under specific conditions. The paper is measured with a micrometer and is usually expressed in thousandths-of-an-inch (mils or points).
Calligraphy. Elegant handwriting, or the art of producing such handwriting.
Cameo. A die-stamping process in which the lettering or design slants up in relief.
Camera-ready art. Copy assembled and suitable for photographing by a process camera with a minimum number of steps.
Capitals. Also known as caps or uppercase. Capital letters of the alphabet.
Caps and small caps. Two sizes of capital letters on one typeface, the small caps being the same size as the body of the lowercase letters. Indicated as c&sc. LOOKS LIKE THIS.
Caption. Explanatory text accompanying illustrations.
Carbon black. A fine, intensely black pigment obtained by burning natural gas or oil with restricted air supply. Used in the manufacture of ink.
Carbon tissue. In rotogravure printing, a paper sheet coated with gelatin, plasticizers, and pigments used for photoprinting. It is exposed to strong lights through a gravure screen to produce what will be used as a resist for etching gravure cylinders.
Cardboard. A general term used to describe a stiff, strong sheet made up of several layers of low-quality paper pasted together.
Case. A type tray. Each character in a font of type has its own section in the tray, called a type case. Also, the covers of a casebound or hardcover book.
Casebound. See Edition binding.
Casing-in. The process of inserting the signatures of a book into its cover, or case.
Cast-coated paper. Paper that goes through the process of cast-coating .
Cast-coating. A process in which the paper is pressed against a heated, polished drum while the coating is in a highly plastic condition. Cast-coating gives the paper an exceptionally high gloss and smoothness similar to that of a glossy photograph.
Casting. A typesetting process in which molten metal is forced into type molds (matrices). Type can be cast as single characters or as complete lines. Also, the casting of metal printing plates (stereotypes) from matrices (mats) for newspaper or book work.
Casting box. Device used for casting flat stereotypes .
Casting-off. Calculating the length of manuscript copy in order to determine the amount of space it will occupy when set in a given typeface and measure.
Cathode ray tube. In phototypesetting, electronic tube used to display letter images, in the form of dots (computer logic character formation) or lines (character projection), for exposure onto film, photopaper, microfilm, or offset plates.
Cell. In gravure printing, small etched depression (representing one halftone dot) in the surface of the gravure cylinder that carries the ink.
Centered type. Lines of type set centered on the line measure.
Center spread. See Spread.
Chad. In phototypesetting, the paper waste resulting from holes being punched in paper tape or cards.
Chain lines. Also called chain marks. The widely spaced watermark lines (usually about 1" apart), caused by chain marks. which run with the grain in laid papers. Chain lines are natural in handmade papers and can be imitated in machine-made papers.
Chalking. Also called powdering. In printing, a condition in which the pigment in the printing ink does not adhere properly to the printing surface and can be rubbed off as powder or chalk.
Chapter heads. Chapter title and/or number of the opening page of each chapter.
Character count. The total number of characters in a line, paragraph, or piece of copy.
Character generation. In CRT phototypesetting, the projection or formation of typographic images on the face of a cathode ray tube, usually in association with a highspeed computerized photocomposition system.
Characters. Individual letters, figures, punctuation marks, etc. of the alphabet.
Characters-per-pica (CPP). System of copyfitting that utilizes the average number of characters per pica as a means of determining the length of the copy when set in type.
Chase. In letterpress printing, the rectangular steel frame into which type and engravings are locked up for printing.
Chipboard. Low-grade binding board made from wastepaper, usually used for backing padded forms.
Choke. The opposite of spread .
Chroma. Also referred to as hue. Pure color, free from white or gray.
Chrome. See Color transparency.
Circulating matrix. In composition, the mold (matrix) from which Linotype and Intertype linecasting machines cast type. Called "circulating" because the matrices are automatically returned to the magazine for reuse.
Clasp envelope. Envelope in which the flap closes with a metal clasp. Flap may also have glue for sealing.
Coalesce. To fuse the structure of a substrate such as paper or film by means of pressure in order to change its light-transmitting characteristics.
Coated paper. Paper with a surface treated with clay or some other pigment and adhesive material to improve the finish in terms of printing quality. A coated finish can vary from dull to very glossy and provides an excellent printing surface that is especially suited to fine halftones. Coated paper is a must for halftones printed by letterpress. Examples are pigmented or film-coated, conversion-coated, blade-coated, castcoated.
Cobalt drier. very strong surface drier.
Cockle finish. The pucker characteristic of many bond papers, especially rag bonds, which adds a crispness to the paper.
Cold-set inks. Inks in solid form which are melted and applied to a hot press. They solidify again upon contact with the printing surface.
Collate. To arrange sheets or signatures in proper sequence so the pages will be in the correct order before sewing and binding. In photocomposition, to compare and merge two or more identically ordered sets of items into one ordered set.
Collotype. Also known as photogelatin. A photomechanical method of printing, similar to lithography, that utilizes an unscreened gelatin-coated plate rather than a halftone screen to print continuous-tone copy. Coliotype is the only feasible form of halftone reproduction that does not require a halftone screen. Produces extremely true reproductions but is suitable for short runs only.
Color. In composition, the tone or density of type on a page,
Color bars. Carried on all four-color process proofs to show the printer the four colors that were used to print the image. Color bars show the amount of ink used, the trapping, and the relative densities across the press sheet. Used mainly as a guide for the platemaker and printer.
Color comp print. Paper print made from a transparency. Not up to the standards of a dye transfer and used primarily for layouts and presentations.
Color correction. Changing the color values in a set of separations to correct or compensate for errors in photographing, separation, etc. Color is usually corrected by masking, retouching, or dot etching (all of which see), Also, the act of indicating on a set of color proofs what color corrections are to be made by the printer.
Color filters. Transparent filters placed over the lens of the printer's camera that separate the colors in the original copy into the process colors for four-color process printing . The original copy is photographed four times through color filters. A blue filter produces the yellow printer (the negative used to make the printing plate), a green filter produces the magenta (red) printer, a yellow filter produces the cyan (blue) printer, and a combination of all three is used to produce the black printer.
Color guide. Instructions on art or mechanical (usually flat color work) indicating the position and percentage of color required or an actual sample of the color.
Color-matching system. Method of specifying flat color by means of numbered color samples available in swatchbooks.
Color overleaf proof. Transparent acetate sheets that are photomechanically developed and used as proofs or for presentations. Available in a wide range of colors, including the four process colors. Suitable for simulating pre-press proofs of full-color art.
Color print. Photographic print in color, such as Anscochrome, Cibachrome, dye transfer, Kodacolor, and Kodak Type C.
Color process. Term used to describe multicolor printing from process-separated materials, as opposed to multicolor printing in nonprocess colors.
Color proof. Printed color image which enables the printer to see what is on the film and the client to make sure the color is accurate and in register. Ideally, the proof should be printed on the same press and paper that will be used for the finished job.
Color reference. A set of process inks printed on standard paper and used for color control.
Color scanner. See Electronic scanner.
Color separation. The operation of separating artwork into the four process colors by means of filters in a process camera or by electronic scanners. The result is four continuous-tone films (negatives or positives) which when screened are used to make printing plates.
Color separation negative. A single black and white negative which carries a record of the proportion and distribution of one of the process colors as found in the original full-color image. A set of separation negatives consists of four black and white negatives (called printers), one each for the yellow, red, blue, and black.
Color terminology. In the printing industry, color is described in terms of hue (chroma), strength (saturation), and gray (value). Hue is the pure color, strength refers to the color's strength, or saturation, and gray refers to how "clean" the color is. These are not terms used by the artist; they have been suggested by the printing industry to help communication between designer, client, and printer.
Color transparency. Also called a chrome. A full-color photographic positive on transparent film: Agfa Color, Cibachrome, Ektachrome, Kodachrome, etc.
Column Inch. A measure commonly used by smaller newspapers based on a space 1 " deep and a column wide.
Command. In phototypesetting, the portion of a computer instruction that specifies the operation to be performed. For example, flush left, center, etc.
Combination plate. Also called a combo. Halftone and line work combined on one plate.
Comp. See Comprehensive.
Comparison of type sizes. Although America and England use the pica system for measuring type, Europe uses the Didot system. Here is a comparison between the two systems of the more common type sizes:
Didot Pica 4 4.3 5 5.4 6 6.4 7 7.5 8 8.6 9 9.7 10 10.7 11 11.8 12 12.9 14 15.0
Composing room. That part of a typesetting shop or a printing plant in which type is set, or composed.
Composing stick. In metal composition, a metal traylike device used to assemble type when it is being set by hand. It is adjustable so that lines can be set to different measures.
Composition. Typesetting .
Compositor. A person who sets and arranges type, either by hand or machine.
Comprehensive. More commonly referred to as a comp. An accurate layout showing type and illustrations in position and suitable as a finished presentation.
Computer. A device for performing sequences of arithmetic and logical processes used in typesetting to store information and make the mathematical, grammatical, and typographic spacing and end-of-line decisions, i.e., hyphenation and justification.
Computerized composition. Sometimes (erroneously) called computer composition. Composition produced with the aid of a computer, which when properly programmed, speeds up the mathematical decisions needed to drive a typesetting machine. An unjustified ("idiot") tape is produced on a keyboard and subsequently run through a computer which instantaneously adds up the set widths of every character and space on the line, makes all the end-of-line decisions such as hyphenation and justification, and then produces (outputs) a second, justified, tape used to drive the phototypesetter (or metal linecasting machine).
Connected dot. Halftone dots of 50% value or more which are joined together in negative or plate.
Consumable textbook. A self-contained book designed to be written in and completely consumed by the student and which does not depend on any other textbook or material. A consumable textbook would be used by one student for one term and then discarded, as opposed to a non-consumable textbook.
Condensed type. Narrow version of a regular typeface.
Consistency. See Body.
Contact print. Photographic print made by direct contact as opposed to enlargements or reductions made by projection where there is no direct contact. Prints are made from either a film negative or positive in direct contact with photographic paper, film, or printing plate. The size is a one-to-one relationship. Contact prints are usually made on a vacuum frame (contact printing frame).
Contact printing frame. See Vacuum frame.
Contact screen. A halftone screen placed in direct contact with the film. Used for screening halftones. The "sandwich" through which light passes is made up of the following: continuous-tone positive, contact screen, and the new, unexposed film which will receive the light, resulting in a screened film negative ready for platemaking.
Continuous tone. Any image that has an assortment of tone values ranging from dark to light that does not contain halftone dots. A photograph is a continuous-tone image, as opposed to a pen-and-ink drawing which might be formed of pure blacks and whites.
Contrast. Wide range of tonal gradations between highlights and shadows.
Conversion systems. Systems by which metal type or plates are converted into film images. Used in converting from one printing method to another. See Brightype, Cronapress, and Scotchprint.
Coal colors. Blue, green, and violet, as opposed to warm colors, red, yellow, and orange.
Contrast. The difference in brightness between the darkest and lightest tones in an image. Overall contrast refers to the entire image, while local contrast refers to the difference between adjacent tones within an image.
Copy. In design and typesetting, typewritten copy. In printing, all artwork to be printed: type, photographs, illustrations. See also Continuous-tone copy and Line copy.
Copyfitting. Determining the area required for a given amount of copy in a specified typeface.
Counter. Space enclosed by the strokes of a letter, such as the bowl of the b, d, p, etc.
Counting keyboard. In phototypesetting, an input keyboard which adds up the unit widths of the characters and spaces set and indicates the space used and the space remaining in a line. The keyboard operator must make all end-of-line decisions regarding hyphenation and justification. The counting keyboard produces a perforated justified paper tape used to drive a typesetting machine. See also Noncounting keyboard.
Covering power. Also called opacity. In printing, an ink's ability to cover the material beneath it to produce a uniform, opaque surface.
Cover paper. Term applied to a variety of heavy papers used for the outside covers of brochures, booklets, and catalogs.
CPI- Characters Per Inch. The measurement of the packing density of a magnetic tape, drum, disc or any linear device that information is recorded on.
CPS. Characters Per Second. A measurement referring to the output speeds of phototypesetting equipment.
Crash finish. A paper finish that simulates the look and feel of coarse linen.
Crawling. Term applied to the contraction of ink after printing on a surface that it has not completely wet.
Cracking. Also called rub-off. Smudging or transfer of dry particles of ink by rubbing after job has dried.
Creep. The process of compensating for the shifting position of the page in a saddle-stitched bind. Creep moves the inside pages or signatures toward the spine.
Cronapress. A trade name for DuPont's system of converting metal type or letterpress printing plates into film. This film can then be used to make offset plates, gravure cylinders, or very faithful duplicate letterpress plates. The material to be converted is covered with a special pressure-sensitive film and pressure is applied with vibrating steel balls or pins which coalesce the film to make it clear, or transparent, at the points at which the raised letterpress dots or type touch it. The material is then dyed to make the non-coalesced areas light-blocking. The result is a film negative. See also Brightype and Scotchprint.
Crop. To eliminate portions of copy so that it better fits the page design. Usually done by using cropmarks on the original copy to indicate to the printer where to trim the image.
Cropmarks. In design, the lines drawn on an overlay or in the margins of a photograph to indicate to the printer where the image should be trimmed.
CRT. See Cathode ray tube.
Crystallization. In printing, a condition in which a printed, dried ink film has insufficient tack to permit trapping, or the laydown of a second ink which is printed on top of it.
Cursives. Typefaces that resemble hand - writing, but in which the letters are disconnected.
Curved plate. In letterpress and flexography, a press plate curved to fit the printing cylinder. In offset lithography, plates are thin metal sheets which are wrapped around the plate cylinder.
Cut. Also called (in Europe) block. A commonly used word for any typographic printing plate or engraving.
Cutoff. In web press, the distance, or interval, between cutting knives which chop the web into individual sheets.
Cutoff rule. A hairline that marks the point where a block of type moves from one column to another, or the end of a story in a column of type. Also, in newspapers, the horizontal dividing line between typographic elements.
Cut-out lettering. Self-adhering transfer type carried on acetate sheets that is cut out and placed on the working surface. Examples are Formatt and Letraset.
Cyan. Also referred to as process blue. One of the process colors. Also, one of the filters used in making color separations.
Cylinder press. A letterpress printing press in which a cylinder is used to impress the paper upon the type.
D
Dampeners. Rollers that carry and apply dampening solution to the plate.
Dandy roll. Also called a dandy. The wire cylinder on the papermaking machine that impresses laid and wove patterns and watermarks on the surface of the paper.
Data. General term for any collection of information (facts, numbers, letters, symbols, etc.) used as input for, or desired as output from, a computer.
Data bank. The mass storage of information which may be selectively retrieved from a computer.
Data processing. A generic term for all operations carried out on data according to precise rules of procedure. The manipulation of data by a computer.
Day-Glow. Trade name for inks and papers containing fluorescent pigments.
Dead metal. In printing, areas on an engraving not intended for printing; these must be routed, or cut away after molding. If the engraving is to be molded for electrotyping or stereotyping, dead metal is carried on the plate as interval bearers to protect the live matter from damage.
Dead white. A neutral white that has no perceptible tint.
Decimal equivalents. Here are some of the more common fractions that you might be called upon to change into their decimal equivalents:
Sixteenths Eighths 1/16 .0625 1/8 .125 3/16 .1875 3/8 .375 5/16 .3125 5/8 .625 7/16 .4375 7/8 .875 9/16 .5625 Quarters, Thirds, Halfs 11/16 .6875 1/4 .250
13/16 .8125 1/3 .333
15/16 .9375 1/2 .500
2/3 .666
3/4 .750
Deckle edge. Irregular, ragged edge on handmade papers, or the outside edges of machine-made paper produced by the "Pisser" on the papermaking machine (so called because a jet of water ''pisses" on the edge of the unformed pulp as it travels on the wire just before it becomes paper). This action ''cuts'' the edge of the unformed pulp. Because the deckle edge has esthetic value. Fancy papers and cover stocks are sold with these edges untrimmed.
Deep etch. In printing, the process by which a printing plate is produced by two separate etching operations. Used when type and line work must be etched separately from tone work or illustrations so as to render the proper depth to ensure printability.
Deep-etched plate. In offset, a plate (made from a positive film) on which printing areas have been recessed below the surface so that the plate may be used for long runs.
Deep etching. In engraving, additional etching to the first bite given line plates or coarse-screen halftones.
Definition. The degree of sharpness in a negative or print.
Delivery end. in printing. that part of the press at which the finished, printed sheet is delivered.
Desensitize. To make the non-image area of the plate non-receptive to ink.
Densitometer. An instrument having a light-sensitive photoelectric eye which measures density . Used by the cameraman to get the correct exposure when shooting copy and by the printer to control the quality of the presswork. There are two types of densitometers: reflection and transmission.
Density. In photography, measurement of the opacity of a transparent or translucent object. On a film negative, the greater the density area, the more black, or more developed, it is. Density is measured from 0 to 4.0.
Density range. The range of density, expressed numerically, from shadow reading to highlight reading, on negative or positive film, or on a printed sheet. Density range is measured by a densitometer .
Descenders. That part of a lowercase letter that falls below the body of the letter, as in g, j, p. q, and y.
Diazo, In phototypesetting, a photographic diazo-process-developed proofing positive commonly used to produce positive photoproofs and better-quality photorepros from film positives by contact exposure.
Die cut. Paper or cardboard cut into shapes other than rectangular by means of die cutting .
Die-cutting. The cutting of paper or cardboard by pressure or by a blow with thin steel blades made up on a form (called a die) so that part of the sheet is excised, or slit, so that it can be folded away from the rest of the sheet for a "pop-up" effect. Used in mailing pieces, folding boxes, greeting cards, and in sales displays.
Dimensional stability. Resistance of paper or film to changes in dimensions due to moisture.
Dimension marks, L-shaped points or short marks indicated on mechanicals or camera copy outside the area of the image to be reproduced, between which the size of reduction or enlargement is marked.
Direct Impression composition. See Typewriter composition.
Direction of travel. In printing, the direction in which the printing stock or web moves through the press.
Direct process. In direct process color separation, the original copy is separated, screened, and sized in one step by a process camera using glass halftone screens. As opposed to the indirect process .
Disc. In phototypesetting, the circular image-carrier of negative type fonts.
Display type. Type which is used to attract attention, usually 18 point or larger.
Distribution. In composition, the act of returning the type, leads, rules, slugs, furniture, and other printing materials to their storage places after use.
Ditto. Trade name for a type of office duplicator, manufactured by Ditto, Inc. Also, the name for typographic mark used as an abbreviation for ''repeat what is above." Looks like this: ".
Doctor blade. In gravure, a thin-edged, flexible metal blade fitted on rotogravure presses that scrapes off excess ink from the surface of the engraved printing cylinder prior to printing. This procedure cleans the surface, leaving only the cells filled with ink.
Dot. Individual element of a halftone.
Dot etching. Local color correction, done by hand, on film containing screened color separations. Dot etching changes the size of the halftone dots, thereby changing the tone dots, halftone. Minute, symmetrical individual subdivisions of the printing surface formed by a halftone screen .
Dot gain. An increase in the size of a halftone dot from film to paper.
Double-black duotone. A duotone in which both plates are printed 'in black.
Double burning. To expose the images of two or more films onto a new film or a printing plate, thereby creating a single image.
Double-dot halftone. Two halftone negatives combined into one printing plate, producing a printed reproduction with a greater tonal range than a conventional halftone. One negative reproduces the highlights and shadows, the other reproduces the middletones. Used primarily in offset lithography.
Double-thick cover. Two thicknesses of regular-weight cover paper pasted together.
Double-tone halftone. Imitation of a duotone in which the color plate is purposely printed out of register to produce a duotone effect.
Downtime. The time interval during which a device (typesetting equipment, printing press, etc.) is malfunctioning or not operating; or the time spent waiting for materials, instructions O.K.'s, etc., during which work is held up.
Drawdown. Ink film deposited on paper by a smooth-edged blade to enable an evaluation of the color and density of the ink.
Drawing paper. A general term for a wide assortment of papers used for pen or pencil drawing. Fiber composition ranges from rag stock to groundwood.
Driers. In printing, film-forming substances (oils, resins, etc.) or metallic additives added to inks to hasten their drying time.
Drilling. Perforating, by drilling, sheets to be bound in loose-leaf folders or spiral-type bindings. Done by a special machine that has a row of drills, which can penetrate a greater thickness of sheets than can punches.
Dropout halftone. Also called a highlight halftone. In printing, a halftone in which the highlight areas have no screen dots; all that appears in the highlight areas is the white of the paper.
Dropout type. See Reverse type.
Dry back. Change in ink density and visual appearance of a printed sheet between freshly printed and fully dry.
Dryer. In printing, a mechanical device used to accelerate the drying time of printing inks.
Drying time. In printing, the time required for an ink to form a rub- or tack-free surface. Also, the time needed for drying before the opposite side of a sheet can be printed or finished.
Dry-mounting. A method of adhering photographs to mounting boards by using a special wax-backed tissue that bonds under heat and pressure.
Dry offset. See Letterset.
Dry-transfer type. See Pressure-sensitive lettering.
Dummy. The preliminary layout of a printed piece, showing how the various elements will be arranged. It may be either rough or elaborate, according to the client's needs.
Duotone. A two-color halftone made from a regular black and white photograph. One plate is made for the black, picking up the highlight and shadow areas; a second plate is made for the second color, picking up the middletones. When printed, these two plates produce a monochromatic color reproduction with a wide range of tones.
Duplex. In linecaster machines, a matrix that carries two molds. Also refers to the character that occupies the secondary position in a duplex matrix.
Duplex paper. Paper or board with a different color or finish on each side.
Duplicate plates. Plates made from the same negative film, or in the case of letterpress, from a Cronapress negative made from the original plates. Also, molded duplicates of original plates produced by electrotyping, stereotyping, or other molding processes. Duplicate plates make it possible to print multiple images in the same sheet, as well as to use more than one press at a time (for example, in cases when one ad must appear in more than one publication at the same time). The most commonly used letterpress duplicate plates are stereotypes, electrotypes, plastic plates, and rubber plates.
Duplicate transparency. A duplicate of an existing photograph, in transparency form. Done when more than one piece of the same art is required, when the transparency must be retouched, when the transparency is to be ganged up with others on a flat for same-focus enlargement or reduction, or when the original is too valuable to release.
Duplicator. Small office-type printing machine that reproduces copy in small quantities: Mimeograph, Multigraph, Multilith.
Dycril. Trade name for DuPont's PPDI plates .
Dyes. A soluble coloring matter, as opposed to pigments, which are insoluble.
Dye transfer. A full-color print made on specially coated paper from reflective art or transparency copy. The process involves color separating the art into three colors, making gelatin matrices that selectively absorb dye, and transferring the dye (one color per matrix) to the gelatin-coated paper. Used by artists for doing retouching or as short-run quantity displays.
Dylux. Trade name for a fast, self-fixing, light-sensitive proofing paper manufactured by DuPont. Proofs can be made from either positive or negative film and are processed in as little as 30 seconds. The paper is sensitive on both sides, permitting the creation of accurate dummies.
E
Edge-gliding. In binding, the addition of gold leaf to the page edges of a book. Common practice with bibles or finely printed limited edition books.
Editing. Checking copy for fact, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and consistency of style before releasing it to the typesetter.
Editing terminal. Also called an editing and correcting terminal. In phototypesetting, a tape-operated visual display unit (VDT), using a cathode ray tube on which is displayed the results of keyboarding (captured on tape) for editing purposes via its attached input keyboard prior to processing the copy in a typesetting machine.
Edition binding. Generally refers to all commercial bindings, such as wirestitched, perfect, mechanical, and casebound, as opposed to custom or handmade bindings. More specifically, it refers to just the latter, casebound, also referred to as hardcover. Edition binding is the most permanent of all binding methods: the signatures are gathered, sewn together, and cased-in . This book is edition bound.
Eggshell antique. A soft, bulky paper with a finish that resembles the shell of an egg.
Egyptian. Type style recognizable by its heavy, square serif.
Electronic scanner. Photoelectric equipment for scanning full-color copy by reading the relative densities of the copy to make color separations. The scanner is capable of producing negative or positive film either screened or unscreened. The scanner can only separate copy that is thin enough to be wrapped around a drum, therefore limiting copy to transparencies and photographic prints. In printing, refers to an electric "eye" on a press that scans the printed sheet as it passes through the press for the purpose of register control, quality control, ink density, and register for cutoff, etc.
Electrotype. Also called an electro. A duplicate of an engraving or type form, produced by electroplating. A vinyl mold is made of the original, sprayed with silver and a thin coating of copper, and electroplated, forming a shell-like cast. Extra hardness is obtained by overplating the copper with nickel or chromium after the cast is removed from the mold. After removal the cast is backed-up (filled) with lead alloy to bring it to the proper height and give it the strength to withstand the pressure of the printing press. Where a lighter-weight plate is desirable for purposes of shipping or handling, the backing may be plastic, aluminum, or nylon instead of lead. Electrotypes may be flat, or curved to fit rotary cylinders.
Elite. The smallest size of typewriter type: 12 characters per inch as compared with 10 characters per inch on the pica typewriter.
Ellipses. Three dots that indicate an omission, often used when shortening quoted matter.
Elliptical dot. A halftone dot with a shape like that of a football, rather than the conventional square-dot shape. An advantage of elliptical dots is that they produce a smoother gradation of tones across the 50% tint area of the halftone.
Em. Commonly used shortened term for em-quad . Also, a measurement of linear space, or output, used by typographers, i.e., how many ems does the copy make?
Embossing. Producing a raised image on a printed surface. Embossing is done on a heavy-duty press, using special female dies and creating a male counter by making ready with a special compound. See also Blind embossing.
Also
The swelling of the image on an offset blanket due to absorbing solvents from the ink. (blanket embossing)
Em-quad. Called a mutton to differentiate it from an en-quad, called a nut, which is one half the width of an em. In handset type, a metal space that is the square of the type body size; that is, a 1 10-point em-quad is 10 points wide. The em gets its name from the fact that in early fonts the letter M was usually cast on a square body.
Em-space. A space the width of an emquad .
Emulsification. The breakdown of an inks ability to resist water.
Emulsion. In photographic processes, the photosensitive coating that reacts to light on a substrate.
Emulsion side. The dull, or matte, emulsion-coated side-as opposed to the glossy side-of photographic material.
En. Commonly used shortened term for en quad .
Enamel-finish paper. A smooth-coated paper, excellent for printing fine halftones.
End-of-line decisions. Generally concerned with hyphenation and justification (H/J). Decisions can be either by the keyboard operator or by the computer.
End papers. The sheets at the front and back of a casebound book that attach the pages of the book to the cover, or case. They are usually of a heavier stock than the book paper.
Engrave. To cut, etch, or incise a surface. In printer's language, to make engravings for any printing process.
Engraver. An individual or firm engaged in making printing plates and dies.
Engraving. A relief printing plate used in letterpress. Usually made of zinc, copper, or magnesium. Also refers to the handwork done in the engraving process. Also, the intaglio plate used for the production of engraved cards and stationery.
Enlarger font. Negative film font used by an Alphasette to produce type sizes larger than 16 or 18 point.
En-quad. Also called a nut. The same depth as an em but one half the width: the en space of 10-point type is 5 points wide,
Envelope-stuffer. Also called Envelope enclosure. Any small printed promotional piece that can be inserted into envelopes with statements or business letters. Used to present selected features of products or services.
Etch. The acid used by engravers to etch metal plates. In lithography, the fountain solution used to wet the offset plate when printing.
Etching. In photoengraving, the eating away of the non-printing areas of the printing plate by acid to produce a relief printing surface. In stone lithography, the chemical treatment of the non-printing areas of the printing stone or plate so that they will not accept ink. In gravure, the etching of the image into the copper printing cylinder by acid. Also refers to the fine art intaglio process, or the line engraving of zinc, steel, or copper plates.
Exception dictionary. In computer-assisted typography, that portion of the computer's memory in which exceptional words are stored. Exceptional words are those words which do not hyphenate in accordance with the logical rules of hyphenation. For example, ink-ling would be an exceptional word since computer hyphenation logic would break it inkl-ing.
Exposure. In photography, the time and intensity of illumination acting upon the lightsensitive coating (emulsion) of film or plate.
Extended. Also called expanded. A wide version of a regular typeface.
Extender. In printing, transparent white pigment used to cut, or extend, printing inks to reduce intensity and opacity.
F
Face. That part of metal type that prints. Also, the style or cut of the type: typeface.
Facsimile. Exact reproduction of a letter, document, or signature.
Fade-out. See Ghosting.
Fake process. A very intricate and tedious method of reproducing artwork by having the artist or designer separate, or translate, the color areas by means of overlays, one overlay for each color. Or using a color chart, he can designate the screen values of each color on overlays to be used by the printer as a guide to laying down screens in these areas to make the negatives.
Family of type. All the type sizes and type styles of a particular type face (roman, italic, bold, condensed, expanded, etc.).
Fast-drying Ink. A printing ink that dries soon after printing.
Feathering. A ragged, or feathered, edge on printed type or engravings. Caused by poor ink distribution, incorrect impression, too much ink, or because a printing ink was used that would not release cleanly (split) from the plate during printing. Usually caused by long pigment inks.
Feeder. That section of the printing press that mechanically separates the sheets and feeds them into position for printing.
Feet. That part of a piece of metal type upon which it stands.
Felt side. In paper manufacturing, the top side of the sheet, as opposed to the underside, or wire side. In some papers, the felt finish is made by impressing still-wet paper with variously structured felts.
Filler. Coating material used to fill the interstices in paper or cloth to add bulk, opacity, and create a smoother surface. Fillers may be starch, clay, talc, titanium dioxide, diatomaceous earth, etc.
Filling-in. Also called filling-up. In printing, a condition in which ink fills the area between the halftone dots or plugs up the counters of the type.
Film advance. The distance in points by which the film in the photounit of a phototypesetting machine is advanced between lines. A film advance of 11 points for a 10-point font means that the text is set with 1-point leading.
Film makeup. See Film mechanical.
Film mechanical. Also called a photomechanical. A mechanical made with text, halftones, and display elements all in the form of film positives stripped into position on a sheet of base film. A film mechanical is the equivalent of a complete type form; from the film mechanical photorepros or contact films are made for the platemaker.
Film processor. Machine which automatically processes sensitized and exposed film and/or paper: develops, fixes, washes, and dries.
Filter. A device (gelatin or glass) placed between the subject being photographed and the film in order to reduce or eliminate certain colors while allowing other colors to be recorded on film.
Filter factor. A number that indicates the increase in exposure necessary when a filter is used.
Fine papers. A general term that refers to the grades of paper used for writing and book printing: bond, ledger, cover, and book.
Finish. The surface properties of paper.
Finishing. See Plate finishing.
First color down. In color printing, the first color printed on the sheet as it passes through the press.
First proofs. Proofs submitted for checking by proofreaders, copy editors, etc.
First revise. Also called corrected proof. The proof pulled after errors have been corrected in first proof. Additional corrections may call for second, third (or more) revises.
Fixing. The process by which a photographic image is made permanent.
Flash-in. The double-exposure of negative film.
Flat. An assemblage of various film negatives or positives attached, in register, to a piece of film, goldenrod, or suitable masking material ready to be exposed to a plate. Also, when referring to printed matter, flat refers to a lack of contrast and definition of detail, as opposed to sharp, or contrasty.
Flat-bed press. A letterpress containing a flat metal bed on which locked up forms of type and plates in a chase are positioned for printing. To print, the paper is forced against the printing surface by an impression cylinder.
Flat color. Generally refers to solid colors or tints other than process colors.
Flat-tint halftone. Also called a fake duotone. Printing a black halftone over a flat tint of second color.
Flexography. Formerly known as aniline printing. A relief printing process using wrap-around rubber or soft plastic plates and volatile, fast-drying ink. Widely used in the packaging industry.
Flooding. In printing, an excess of ink on the printing plate.
Flop. To turn over an image (for example, a halftone) so that it faces the opposite way.
Fluorescent Inks. Inks with fluorescent qualities that result in extreme brilliance. A well-known example of this kind of ink is Day-Glo.
Fluorographic. A patented process (Temart) in which dropout, or highlight, halftones can be produced photographically due to the fluorescence of the paper on which the art is rendered, or by treating existing art or photographs with a fluorescent solution.
Flush cover. A cover trimmed to the same size as the text page, as opposed to an overhang cover, which is slightly larger than the page trim size. An example of a flush cover is that used for paperbacks.
Flyer. Advertising handbill or circular.
Flying (misting) Ink droplets thrown off rapidly moving ink rollers.
Foil. Sized metallic or pigment leaf used in stamping lettering or designs on a surface. Used primarily for stamping book covers.
Folder. A printed piece with one or more folds, each section of which presents a complete page.
Folio. Page number. Also refers to a sheet of paper when folded once.
Font. Complete assembly of all the characters (upper and lowercase letters, numerals, punctuation marks, points, reference marks, etc.) of one size of one typeface: for example, 10-point Garamond roman. Font sizes (characters in a font) vary from 96 to 225, depending on the makeup of the font . Special characters (those not in a font) are called pi characters.
Foot. The bottom of a book or a page, as opposed to the top, or head.
Footnote. Note appearing at the bottom of a page referring to an item on same page. Indicated by superior numbers or by symbols such as asterisks, daggers, etc.
Foreword. Introduction to a book, usually written by someone other than the author.
Form. In letterpress, type and other matter set for printing, locked up in a chase, from which either a printed impression is pulled or a plate is made. In off - set, refers to the flat . Also refers to a printed piece or document containing blank spaces for the insertion of details or information and designed for use in office machines.
Form rollers. Ink or dampening rollers that contact the press plate.
Format. General term for style, size, and all over appearance of a publication.
Formatt. A brand name for a self-adhering type, printed on acetate sheets to be cut out and applied to the mechanical.
Formatting. In phototypesetting, translating the designer's type specifications into format, or command, codes for the phototypesetting equipment. Formatting 'is gradually replacing markup.
Folosetter. Trade name for a first-generation, circulating-matrix phototypesetting machine manufactured by Harris-Intertype. No longer made, but about 100 still in use.
Fototronic. Trade name for a line of second- and third-generation phototypesetting machines manufactured by Harris-Intertype.
Fototronic CRT. Trade name for a third-generation phototypesetting system incorporating high-speed cathode-ray tube technology, manufactured by Harris-Intertype.
Foundry type. Metal type characters used in hand composition, cast in special hard metal by type founders.
Foundry lockup. A form properly squared and tightly locked up for making molds for electrotypes, stereotypes, etc. Bearers surround the live matter.
Fountain. On a printing press, the ink reservoir that holds the ink for immediate use while the press is printing, and from which the ink is metered to the form by the rollers. In offset lithography, it is also a reservoir for holding the etch for use in the dampening system. The fountain solution is metered onto the press plate by means of an engraved roller and a series of special cloth covered rollers.
Fountain roller. On a printing press, the roller that revolves in the ink or dampening fountain and meters out the proper amount of ink to the distributing rollers.
Fountain solution. Also referred to as etch. In offset lithography, a mixture of alcohol or water, acid, buffer, and gum arabic that prevents the non-printing areas of the plate from accepting ink. Control of the pH (acidity and alkalinity) of the fountain solution in the dampening unit is crucial.
Four-color process. Method of reproducing full-color copy (original artwork, transparencies, etc.) by separating the color image into its three primary colors-magenta, yellow and cyan-plus black. This results in four printing plates, one for each color, which when printed one over the other produce the effects of all the colors of the original art.
Fourdrinier. Papermaking machine normally employed in the manufacture of all grades of paper.
French fold. A double fold: the sheet is printed on one side only, then folded twice, once vertically and once horizontally, resulting in an economical, attractive four page folder. Used for formal invitations, etc.
Frisket. In letterpress, selectively cut and excised protective paper used on the proofing press to cover any part of a printing plate so that it does not print. Friskets are used in process-color proofing to mash out the dead metal on the plates so that proofs can be pulled for customer submission. Also refers to any covering agent, such as Maskoid or masking tape, used to mask out areas when airbrushing art or photos.
Frontispiece. An illustration on the page facing the title page of a book.
Fugitive Inks. Inks that are not lightfast or permanent; they fade or change color when exposed to light, heat, moisture, or other conditions. As opposed to permanent inks.
Full color. Process color .
Furnish. The ingredients (pulp and additives) that go into the making of paper.
Furniture. In letterpress, the rectangular pieces of wood, metal, or plastic, below the height of the type, used to fill in areas of blank space around the type and engravings when locking up the form for printing.
G
Gallery. Cameras a nd darkroom of an engraving plant.
Galley. In metal composition, a shallow, three-sided metal tray that holds the type forms prior to printing. Also refers to the galley proof .
Galley proof. Also called a rough proof. An impression of type, usually not spaced out or fully assembled, that allows the typographer or client to see if the job has been properly set.
Gang printing. Also called ganging up. In printing, running off any number of different jobs on the same sheet. After printing, the sheet is cut into the individual jobs and the printing cost is prorated.
Gate fold. A page that folds into the gutter, and when unfolded it is about twice the size of a normal page. Commonly used in magazines and catalogs in cases where the regular page is not large enough to contain all the information, or simply to create a special effect.
Gathering. Assembling individual sheets or folded signatures in proper sequence for binding.
Gear streaks. Parallel streaks appearing across the printed sheet at the same interval as gear teeth on a cylinder.
Ghosting. A condition in which the printed image appears faint where not intended, caused by an abrupt change in ink take-off on the rollers. Ghosting often occurs when printing flat borders, L-shaped solids, and circles; it can generally be avoided in design by making sure the solid areas are well separated to give the ink sufficient time to build up on the rollers.
Gigo. Garbage in, garbage out. Programming slang for bad input produces bad output.
Glaze. A gradual build-up on rollers caused by an accumulation of dried ink varnishes and gum.
Glossy. A photoprint made on glossy paper. As opposed to matte.
Goldenrod. In offset printing, a sheet of opaque orange paper into which the negative films are stripped to make up a flat from which a printing plate is made.
Grain. Predominant direction of the fibers in a sheet of paper. When folding, the direction of the grain is important: a sheet folded with the grain folds easily; a sheet folded across the grain does not. In photography, the minute variations of density in a developed photographic emulsion caused by the irregular distribution of the silver crystals.
Gravure. Printing method based on intaglio printing, in which the image area is etched below the surface of the printing plate. The gravure plate or cylinder is immersed in ink then wiped clean with a doctor blade, leaving ink only in the etched areas. The areas cut below the surface of the printing plate carry the image, which is transferred directly, by means of pressure, to the paper. There are two basic gravure presses: rotogravure, which prints from cylinders
onto a web of paper; and sheet-fed, which prints from flat plates curved around the cylinder of the press onto individual sheets.
Gray balance. The proper amount of process yellow, magenta and cyan to produce a gray scale with no apparent dominant hue.
Gray component replacement (GCR). A technique for removing some of the cyan, magenta and yellow from color separations and replacing it with shades of black.
Gray scale. A series of values of usually 16 or 21 steps from white through logarithmic (not arithmetic) gradations of gray to black. Used in processing film or photographically processed materials such as paper and plates.
Greige goods. (Pronounced gray goods.) The basic cloth, usually cotton, used for woven bookbinding materials.
Grid. In photocomposition, the rectangular carrier of a negative type font used in some systems. Also refers to the cross-ruled transparent grids over which all parts of a page or book layout will be assembled, or made up, in phototypography.
Gripper edge. The leading edge of a sheet of paper clamped by the grippers as it passes through the printing press. Allowance must be made on the stock to be printed for a gripper bite of from 3/8" to 1/2", depending on the kind of printing press used.
Grippers. In printing, the mechanical "fingers'' on the gripper bar that hold the paper onto the impression cylinder of the press during impression,
Guide. A mechanical device on a printing press that causes all sheets fed up to it to be printed with a uniform margin and in register.
Guide edge. Edge of the sheet that is fed to the guide.
Guideline. A line drawn on artwork to indicate the limits of the area to be printed.
Gum arabic. Gum obtained from the Acacia tree used in offset fountain solutions and to preserve offset plates.
Gumming. Treating the plate surface with a thin coat of gum arabic to preserve the plate and prevent surface oxidation.
Gum streaks. Streaks produced by uneven gumming up of plates or incomplete removal of old gum when rerunning plates.
Gutter. Blank space where two pages meet at the binding or blank space between the columns of type.
Gutter margin. Inner margin of a single page.
Gutenberg, Johann. Inventor of moveable type and letterpress printing (c. 1455) as we know it today. Although preceded by the Chinese and the Koreans (c. 705 A.D.), it is Gutenberg who is remembered as the father of mass production and the progenitor of the machine age.
H
Hairline. A fine line or rule, the finest line that can be reproduced in printing.
Halation. A blurring of the photographic image, particularly in highlight areas, caused by light reflected from the back surface of the substrate.
Half title page. The first page of a book after the endpapers Carries the title of the book only and always precedes the title page.
Halftone. The photomechanical reproduction of continuous-tone copy (such as photographs) in which the gradations of tone are obtained by the relative size and density of tiny dots produced by photographing the original copy through a fine cross-line screen. For the kinds of halftones possible, see Dropout, Duotone, Double-dot, Highlight, Silhouette, Square, Surprint and Vignette halftones.
Halftone negative. Also called screened negative. The negative film produced by shooting continuous-tone copy through a halftone screen .
Halftone positive. Also called a screened positive. A photographic positive containing screened continuous-tone copy in the form of dots representing the tonal values to be reproduced.
Halftone screen. A fine-line engraved glass or photographic film screen used to convert continuous-tone copy to line copy (dots) for halftone printing.
Halo effect. In printing, the piling up of ink at the edges of the printed letters and halftone dots, especially in letterpress printing. The centers of the dots, although printing, appear lighter, or less dense, than the edges.
Handbill. Generally applies to a single leaf, printed on one side, for distribution by hand from door to door.
Hanging Indentation. In composition, a style in which the first line of copy is set full measure and all the lines that follow are indented.
Hard copy. In phototypesetting, typewritten copy produced simultaneously with paper or magnetic tape and used to help keyboard operator spot errors as he types and to supply proofreaders with copy to read and correct before the tape is committed to typesetting, Also convenient for marking operating instructions to the photounit operator.
Hardcover. See Edition binding.
Hardware. In phototypesetting and the word-processing field, a term referring to the actual computer equipment, as opposed to the procedures and programming, which are known as software.
Head. The top, as opposed to the bottom, or foot, of a book or a page.
Heading. Bold or display type used to emphasize copy.
Headline. The most important line of type in a piece of printing, enticing the reader to read further or summarizing at a glance the content of the copy which follows.
Headliner. In phototypesetting, a trade name for a machine that produces display sizes of type, manufactured by VariTyper Corp.
Head margin. The white space above the first line on a page.
Heat-set Inks. Letterpress and web offset printing inks which dry under heat.
Heavy bodied Inks. Printing inks having a high viscosity and stiff consistency.
Hickey. A defect, or spot, appearing in the printed piece. Hickies are caused by dust, lint, or bits of ink skin on the printing plate, the type form, or the blanket (in offset) and show up as specks surrounded by a halo effect .
High key. Refers to a photograph in which the majority of tonal values are higher, or lighter, than a middle gray.
Highlight. In a photograph, the highlight area is the lightest area. Represented by the smallest dot formation in a halftone.
Highlight halftone. See Dropout halftone.
Holding lines. Lines drawn by the designer on the mechanical to indicate the exact area that is to be occupied by a halftone, color, tint, etc.
Hold-out. The properties of an ink or paper coating that keep the ink on the top surface of the paper resulting in a glossier appearance.
Hot type. Slang expression for type produced by casting hot metal: Linotype, Intertype, Monotype, and Ludlow , and sometimes handset foundry type.
Hue. That characteristic of color that we call ''color": red, green, blue, etc., as opposed to shade, tint .
I
Idiot tape. A common term for an unhyphenated, unjustified tape . Cannot be used to set type until command (format) codes are added and processed by a computer which makes all end-of-line decisions.
Illustration. General term for any form of drawing, diagram, halftone, or color image that serves to enhance a printed piece.
Image master. Also called a type matrix. in phototypesetting, that part of the photounit that holds the type fonts i.e., a disc, etc.
Imposing stone. See Stone,
Imposition. In printing, the arrangement of pages in a press form so they will appear in correct order when the printed sheet is folded and trimmed. Also, the plan for such an arrangement.
Impregnated. In book manufacture, the coating of the cover cloth. Cloths can be pyroxylin-impregnated, vinyl-impregnated, or starch impregnated.
Impression. In printing, the actual process of taking a printed copy from type or plates. Also, the pressure of the printing surface upon the paper. See Kiss impression.
Impression cylinder. Cylinder that holds the paper against the printing surface so that contact is made and an impression produced.
Impression roller. In fluorography, a rubber-coated roller on a printing press which creates an impression on the paper by pressing it against the cylinder.
Imprint. The printing of a person's or a firm's name and address on a previously printed piece by running it through another printing press.
Incunabula. Early printing, specifically that done in the 15th century.
Indicia. Information printed by special permit on cards or envelopes that takes the place of a stamp or postage meter impression.
Indirect letterpress. See Letterset.
Indirect process. In four-color process printing, the original copy is first separated into four continuous-tone (unscreened) negatives which are sized and screened later. As opposed to the direct process 'in which the copy is separated, scaled, and screened in one step.
Infra-red. Heat energy in the infra-red portion of the electromagnetic spectrum used to accelerate drying.
Initial. The first letter of a body of copy, set in display type for decoration or emphasis. Often used to begin a chapter or a section of a book.
Ink fountain. Also called the fountain. That part of the printing press that supplies ink to the inking rollers.
Ink holdout. A characteristic of paper that keeps the ink on the surface and prevents it from being absorbed into the paper's fibers. Too much absorption causes the printed image to lack sharpness and luster. Coated papers have better ink holdout than non-coated papers and are therefore capable of producing finer halftones.
Inkometer. An instrument that measures the tack of litho inks in numerical terms.
Input. In computer composition, the data to be processed.
Insert. A separately prepared and specially printed piece which is inserted into another printed piece or a publication.
Intaglio. In fine art, a printing process in which the image or design is cut or etched into the surface of the plate. In printing, the intaglio process is referred to as gravure , and steel or copper engraving.
Interleave. See Slip sheet.
Interlinespacing. Also called linespacing. In photocomposition, term for leading .
Internegative. In photography, the negative taken by a camera from which a color print or transparency will be made. Also, the negative resulting from copying color art or transparencies for blow-up or reduction from which a final-size print or duplicate transparency will be made.
Intertype. Trade name for a linecasting machine similar to Linotype. Manufactured by Harris-Intertype Corp.
Isopropyl alcohol. Used in many dampening systems, it makes water wetter.
Italic. Letterform that slants to the right: looks like this.
J
Jacket. Also called a dust cover. The paper dust jacket or over-cover of a casebound book.
Job press. A platen press used to print small jobs such as business cards, envelopes, tickets, etc. These presses are often referred to as jobbers.
Job shop. A commercial printing plant, as opposed to a publication, or "captive," shop.
Jog. To straighten or align by vibration the edges of a pile of papers so that they are even.
Joint. That part of a book binding that forms the hinge at the spine.
Justified type. Lines of type that align on both the left and the right of the full measure.
Justify. The act of justifying lines of type to a specified measure, flush right and left, by putting the proper amount of interword space between words in the line to make it even, or "true."
K
Kerned letters. Type characters in which a part of the letter extends, or projects, beyond the body or shank, thus overlapping an adjacent character.
Kerning. Adjusting the space between letters so that part of one extends over the body of the next. Kerned letters are common in italic, script, and swash fonts. In metal type, kerning is accomplished by actually cutting the body of the type for a closer fit. In phototypesetting, it is accomplished by backspacing, and composition set this way is often termed "set tight" or set with minus letterspacing.
Key. To code copy by means of symbols such as numbers or letters. Also refers to a device for tightening quoins or a device to tighten the hooks used with a patent base .
Keyboard. In linecasting, phototypesetting, and typewriter or strike-on composition, that part of the typesetting machine at which the operator sits and types the copy to be set. See also Counting and Noncounting keyboards.
Keyboardist. Keyboard operator.
Keyed advertising. Advertisements that are coded to identify results. Used when the same ad is run in more than one publication.
Keyline. Mechanical . Most paste-up art has key lines, which are the outlines of areas or of objects the designer has drawn, showing where a panel, color tint, or halftone is to be positioned.
Key negative. The negative (or positive) film that contains the basic format of the job and onto which all other negatives of tints or other colors will be registered.
Key plate. The term "key negative" or "key plate" usually refers to a negative or plate that carries most or all the indications as a guide for the stripper.
Kicker. Also called a teaser. A short line above the main line of a head, printed in smaller, or accent, type.
Kid finish. A finish that resembles soft, undressed kid. Used on high-grade or Bristol paper.
Kill. To delete unwanted copy. Also, to "kill type" means to distribute or dump metal type from a form that has already been printed, or to destroy existing negatives or press plates.
Kiss Impression. The ideal meeting of plate and paper: the ink is properly split from the plate and distributed evenly and the paper is properly impressed but not indented.
Kleenstick. A brand name for a pressure sensitive adhesive-backed paper. When repros are pulled on Kleenstick, they can be put down on the mechanical directly, without rubber cement.
Kraft. The name comes from the German word for "strong." A sturdy paper made from sulphate pulp, commonly used for wrapping.
Kromecote. A brand name for a castcoated paper with a very glossy finish.
L
Lacquer. A clear, cellulose-derivative synthetic coating applied to the surface of a printed piece for protection and/or appearance. Before lacquering, the printer must use inks compatible with the lacquering process.
Laid paper. Paper having a laid pattern: a series of parallel lines simulating the look of the old handmade papers.
Laminating. Applying a thin plastic film (acetate or polyester) to a printed sheet for protection and/or appearance. A laminated surface has a hard, high gloss and is impervious to stains. Lamination may be applied in liquid form or in sheets. Liquid acetate is less expensive as it is done on a blade coater. Sheet acetate is applied by a laminating machine and is more expensive, but it is also thicker, has a higher gloss, and offers more protection. However, unlike liquid acetate, sheet acetate may peel if adhesion is not carefully controlled. Before lamination is considered, care must be exercised in notifying the printer to use inks compatible with the type of lamination proposed.
Lampblack. A carbon black pigment used to produce a dull, intensely black ink. Lampblack is prepared by the incomplete combustion of vegetable oils, petroleum, or asphalt materials.
Lap. In color printing, the area where one color overprints, or overlaps, another adjacent color. The amount of lap is specified in points; the thinnest lap is a hairline.
Last color down. In color printing, the last color to be printed.
Laydown sequence. In color printing, the sequence in which the colors are printed.
Layout. The hand-drawn preliminary plan or blueprint of the basic elements of a design shown in their proper positions prior to making a comprehensive ; or showing the sizes and kind of type, illustrations, spacing, and general style as a guide to the printer.
L.C. Lowercase, or small letters of a font.
Leader. A row of dots, periods, or dashes used to lead the eye across the page. Leaders are specified as 2, 3, or 4 to the em; in fine typography they may be specified to align vertically.
Lead-in. The first few words in a block of copy set in a different, contrasting typeface.
Leading. (Pronounced ledding.) In metal type composition, the insertion of leads between lines of type. In phototypesetting, the placement of space between lines of type: also called linespacing or film advance.
Leads. (Pronounced leds.) In metal type composition, the thin strips of metal (in thicknesses of 1 to 2 points) used to create space between the lines of type. Leads are less than type-high and so do not print.
Ledger paper. A tough, smooth, non-receptive paper generally used for keeping business records, such as ledgers.
Legibility. That quality in type and its spacing and composition that affects the speed of perception: the faster, easier, and more accurate the perception, the more legible the type.
Length. In printing inks, that property which enables the ink to be stretched out into a long, thin thread without breaking. Long inks have good flow. Short inks cut off cleaner, permitting the printing of very delicate type and illustrations.
Letraset. Brand name for a rub-off, or dry transfer, type.
Letterfit. In composition, the quality of the space between the individual characters. Letterfit should be uniform and allow for good legibility. In body type, the typesetter has no control over letterfit because it is an integral characteristic of the font structure. In display types, the designer is responsible for obtaining proper letter fit by cutting and fitting the letters (set on paper or film) until the optimum esthetic arrangement is achieved.
Letterpress. The printing method originally used to print using woodblocks or type. It is based on relief printing, which means that the image area is raised. The surface 'is inked by means of a roller and the image i's transferred directly to the paper by pressure. See Flatbed cylinder and Rotary.
Letterset. Also known as dry offset and indirect letterpress. A printing process in which a low-relief plate is used on a modified offset press. As in conventional offset printing, the ink is transferred from the plate to the paper by being offset from a blanket, but unlike offset printing, no dampening system is required.
Letterspace. The space between letters.
Letterspacing. In composition, adding space between the individual letters in order to fill out a line of type to a given measure or to improve appearance. In metal type, letterspacing is achieved by inserting thin paper or metal spaces. which are less than type-high and so do not print, between the letters. In phototypesetting, letterspacing is achieved mechanically by keyboarding extra space between letters or increasing the set width of the face. In phototypesetting, minus letterspacing (or kerning) is also possible.
Ligature. In metal or linecast type, two or three characters joined on one body, or matrix, such as ff, ffi, ffl, Ta, Wa, Ya, etc. Not to be confused with characters used in logotypes cast on a single body.
Lightface. A lighter version of a regular typeface.
Lightfastness. The resistance of a printed piece or colored material to color change when exposed to high-intensity ultraviolet (UV) light (sunlight or artificial light).
Linecaster. A typesetting machine (Linotype, Intertype) that casts entire lines of type in metal, as opposed to those that cast individual characters (Monotype).
Line conversion. The conversion of continuous-tone copy to line copy through the use of conventional halftone screens or patterned special-effects screens.
Line copy. Any copy that is solid black, with no gradation of tones: line work, type, dots, rules, etc.
Line cut. See Line engraving.
Line drawing. Any artwork created by solid black lines: usually pen and ink. A drawing free from wash or diluted tones.
Linen. A kind or finish given to book-covering materials or to paper.
Line engraving. A printing plate which prints only black lines and masses.
Line gauge. Also called a type gauge or a pica rule. Used for copyfitting and measuring typographic materials.
Line mechanical. An accurate paste-up of all line copy, ready to be shot (photographed).
Line negative. A high-contrast negative of line copy. Areas to be recorded are clear; all other areas are light-blocking.
Line overlay. Line work put on overlay to pre-separate line from halftone. Used in preparation of art for reproduction.
Line printer. In phototypesetting, a highspeed tape-activated machine that produces a hard copy printout for editing and correcting purposes. Specifically, a device capable of printing the line of characters across a page, i.e., 100 or more characters simultaneously as continuous paper advances line by line in one direction past type bars, a type cylinder or a type chain capable of printing all characters in all directions.
Line printer proof. Proof printed by a line printer and used for reading purposes, or checking the outcome of typesetting before actual setting.
Linespacing. In phototypesetting, the term for leading .
Line work. Artwork consisting of solid blacks and whites, with no tonal values.
Lining figures. Numerals the same size as the caps in any given typeface. Lining figures align on the baseline.
Linofilm. Trade name for a line of phototypesetting machines and a system manufactured by Mergenthaler Linotype.
Linotron. Trade name for highspeed cathode ray tube phototypesetting machines and systems manufactured by Mergenthaler Linotype.
Linotype. Trade name for a widely used linecasting machine that sets an entire line of type as a single slug. Manufactured by Mergenthaler Linotype.
Lithography. In fine art, a planographic printing process in which the image area is separated from the non-image area by means of chemical repulsion. The commercial form of lithography is offset lithography .
Livering. An irreversible increase in the body of an ink as a result of chemical change during storage.
Lockup. In letterpress printing, a type form properly positioned and made secure in a chase for printing or stereotyping.
Logotype. Commonly referred to as a logo. Two or more type characters which are joined on one body as a trademark or a company signature. Not to be confused with a ligature, which consists to two or more normally connected characters.
Long Ink. Length or stringiness in a printing ink denotes printing, transfer, and water-resistant qualities.
Lowercase. Small letters, or minuscules, as opposed to caps.
Ludlow. Trade name for a typecasting machine for which the matrices are assembled by hand and the type is cast in line slugs. Used principally for setting large display type and newspaper headlines. Manufactured by Ludlow Typograph Co.
Lydel. Trade name for photopolymer offset printing plates manufactured by DuPont.
M
Machine composition. Generic and general term for the composition of metal type matter using mechanical means, as opposed to hand-composition. The use of machines incorporating keyboards and hot metal typecasting equipment, i.e., Linotype, Monotype.
Machine finish. An uncoated paper with a smooth but not glossy finish.
Magazine. The slotted metal container used to store matrices in linecasting machines.
Magazine specifications. Specifications for the making of printing plates to conform to publishers' special printing requirements.
Magenta. Also referred to as process red. One of the process colors . Also, one of the filters used in making color separations.
Magnetic inks. Inks made with iron pigments that can be magnetized after printing to enable the printed matter to be picked up by electronic sensing (reading), or MICR (magnetic ink character reading), equipment. Widely used by banks for printing and machine processing checks.
Magnetic tape. In typewriter composition and photocomposition, a tape or ribbon impregnated with magnetic material on which information may be placed in the form of magnetically polarized spots. Used to store data which can later be further processed and set into type.
Makeready. The process of arranging the form on the press preparatory to printing so that the impression will be sharp and even. In letterpress, makeready is done by evening-up the impression under the tympan packing to make certain all the printing elements are typehigh and that the paper and form come together close enough to transfer the ink, but not so close that the surface will be bruised or the paper punctured. The object of makeready is to ensure a "kiss impression."
Makeup. Assembling the typographic elements (type and engravings) and adding space to form a page or a group of pages of a newspaper, magazine, or book. Makeup is the management of white space; that is, the mechanical and esthetic arrangement of the elements of a piece into a legible format for final reproduction.
Manilla paper. A smooth, sturdy, buff-colored paper made from manilla hemp. Used for folders, envelopes, etc.
Manuscript. Copy to be set in type. Usually abbreviated to MS. (sing.) and MSS. (pl.). Can also refer to handwritten, as opposed to typewritten, material.
Margins. The areas that are left around type and/or illustrative matter on a page: the top, bottom, and sides.
Markup. In typesetting, to mark the type specifications on layout and copy for the typesetter. Generally consists of the typeface, size, line length, leading, etc. See Formatting.
Mask. Generally refers to any material used to block off, or mask, portions of an illustration or area in order to protect it. In photochemical work, light-blocking material is used to block off an area to prevent it from being exposed to light. In offset lithography, opaque material is used to protect non-printing areas of the printing plate during exposure. Also, an overlay supplied to create outline shapes for halftones by photography.
Masking. In process-color reproduction, a photomechanical method using equipment and special filters to control or modulate color contrast and detail over the total area of each separation negative used for printed color reproduction. Masking is used primarily to reduce the contrast of transmitted light so that maximum reproductive value for reflected light can be attained. It is also used to heighten contrast when this quality is lacking in the transparency. Photographic masks may be either positive or negative, depending on the desired correction.
Masking paper. See Goldenrod.
Masking tape. A translucent, light-blocking red or solid black press u re-sensitive tape used to mask out unwanted areas of copy on negative or positive film. Also, a pressure-sensitive brown or white opaque tape used extensively in preparing artwork and making mechanicals.
Master proof. Also called a printer's proof or reader's proof. A galley proof containing queries and corrections which should be checked by the client and returned to the typographer.
Masthead. Any design or logotype used as identification by a newspaper or publication.
Masstone. Color of ink in the can which differs radically from the printed color of the same ink.
Mat. In cast-type composition; the common (slang) term for a Linotype, Ludlow, or Monotype matrix. In stereotyping, the papier-maché or plastic mold of type and engraving forms from which stereotypes are cast. In rubber-plate work (flexography), the mold from which the rubber printing plates are cast. Also refers to a decorative matboard "frame" used to support a picture, as well as for purely esthetic effect, when framing.
Match color. See Flat color.
Matrix. (More commonly called a mat.) In foundry-cast type, the mold from which the type is cast. In linecasting, the specially designed mold for casting a character; lines of matrices are assembled for casting a slug. In phototypesetting, the glass plate that contains the film font negative: also referred to as a type master.
Matte finish. A paper with an uncalandered, lightly finished surface, Also, in photography, a textured, finely grained finish on a photograph or photostat. As opposed to glossy.
Mean line. More often called the x-line. The line that marks the tops of lowercase letters without ascenders.
Measure. The length of a line of type, normally expressed in picas, or in picas and points.
Mechanical. Camera-ready paste-up assembly of all type and design elements pasted on artboard or illustration board in exact position and containing instructions, either in the margins or on an overlay, for the platemaker.
Mechanical binding. A binding method in which the pages are held together by mechanical means, usually by metal or plastic coils.
Mechanical separations. Copy prepared by the designer with overlays showing each color to be printed: one overlay for each color, all overlays in exact register with the base mechanical.
Merge. In photocomposition, a technique for combining items from two or more sequenced tapes into one, usually in a specified sequence, using a computer to incorporate new or corrected copy into existing copy and produce a clean tape for typesetting.
Metallic Inks. Inks containing metallic bronze or aluminum powders in a varnish base which produce the appearance of gold, silver, copper, or bronze.
Metals. In letterpress, the kinds of metals used in platemaking are as follows: copper, for fine detail line work and quality halftone reproduction; magnesium, for long-run jobs such as packaging; zinc, for line work and coarse-screen halftones. In lithography, aluminum, zinc, or bi-metal and trimetal combinations of these metals with copper or photosensitive polymers.
Metric system. A decimal system of measures and weights with the meter and the gram as the bases. Here are some of the more common measures and their equivalents:
Kilometer 00.62137 mile
meter 39.37 inches
centimeter 00.3937 inch
millimeter 00.03937 inch
kilogram 02.2046 lbs.
gram 15.432 grs, (av.)
inch 02.54 cms.
foot 00.3048 meter
yard 00.9144 meter
pound 00.4536 kilogram
Mezzotint. In fine art, a form of etching in which the entire surface is ''burred.'' Also, a line conversion of a photograph which imitates the mezzotint effect,
Microfilm. Photographic reproduction of data in a size too small to be read without magnification. Usually done on standard size 70mm, 35mm. or 16mm film, Microfilm is currently being produced by computer assisted CRT phototypesetting devices.
Middle tones (or midtone), The tonal range between highlights and shadows in a photograph or reproduction. Usually represents tones between 30% and 75% value of the copy.
Mimeograph. Brand name for duplicating machine based on a direct-stencil process: ink is forced through a stencil of the original copy and onto a highly absorbent paper. Manufactured by A.B. Dick Co.
Minuscules. Small letters, or lowercase.
Modern. Term used to describe the type style developed in the late 18th century.
Moiré pattern. (Pronounced moh-ray,) Undesirable patterns that occur when reproductions are made from halftone proofs. Caused by optical conflict between the ruling of the halftone screen and the dots or lines contained in the original; a similar pattern can occur in multicolor halftone reproductions due either to incorrect screen angles or misregister of the color impressions during printing. In four color process work, the yellow printer is sometimes screened at a different screen (133-line) from the other three colors (120line) to avoid a moire,
Mold. See Matrix.
Molleton. Cloth covered roller used in conventional dampening. It holds a reservoir of water and releases it to the plate.
Monochromatic. Made up of tints and shades of only one color.
Monophoto. Trade name for a phototypesetting machine based on the same mechanical principles as Monotype . Manufactured by The Monotype Corporation Ltd., England.
Monotone. Any type of artwork reproduced in one color only. Also black and white copy.
Monotype. Trade name for a typecasting machine that casts individual characters in lines (rather than lines of type as a solid slug, as in Linotype). Manufactured by The Monotype Corporation Ltd., England.
Montage. Single image made up of several images.
Morgue. Collection or file of reference material.
Mortising. Cutting of a rectangular cavity, or hole, in an engraving block to allow type or other engravings to be inserted.
Mottle. In printing, spotty, mottled, or uneven areas, especially noticeable in printed solids, caused by tacky, transparent inks whose film split badly during impression.
Mounting. Backing engravings with blocks of wood to make them type-high. Also refers to the pasting of photographic prints onto stiff mounting board.
Mullen tester. A machine used to determine the bursting strength of paper.
Multicolor printing. Printing in more than one color.
Multilith. Trade name for a small offset duplicator press used for small jobs such as cards, letterheads, envelopes, forms, etc. Manufactured by Addressograph-Multigraph Co.
Munsell system. A system of numerical gradation used to designate and specify colors.
Mutton quad. Also called a mutt. Nickname for an em-quad .
M weight. The weight of 1,000 sheets of any given paper size, Not to be confused with basis weight, which is the weight of 500 sheets of a specific paper size. For example, the basis weight of 500 sheets of 25" x 38" paper would be 50 lbs., but the M weight of the same sheet would be 100 lbs., generally written as 100M.
N
Natural. An off-white color of paper, like ivory. Also, a kind of finish given book-covering materials.
Negative. A reverse photographic image on film or paper: white becomes black and black becomes white; intermediate tone values are reversed. Also, a short form of the term "film negative" used in photography or in photomechanical processes to make printing plates.
Negative assembly. Assembling or combining negatives on a flat in exact position according to a layout so that a plate can be exposed, etched, and printed as a complete unit.
News Inks. Printing inks used on newsprint. News inks dry by absorption.
Newsprint. A grade of paper containing about 85% groundwood and 15% unbleached sulfite. The weight is from 30 to 45 lbs. and the surface is coarse and absorbent. Used for printing newspapers and low-cost flyers or broadsides.
Nick. In hand composition, the grooves in the body of the type pieces that help the compositor assemble the letters. In film, a notch or notches in the edge of the film used to identify the type of film when handling in the darkroom.
Nickeltype. An electrotype plated with nickel or chromium instead of copper. In letterpress printing, the plates used to print red (magenta) inks are always chromium or nickel plated to prevent chemical reactions between plate and ink.
Non-consumable textbook. A textbook intended to be used and re-used over a number of terms. As opposed to a consumable textbook,
Non-counting keyboard. In phototypesetting, a keyboard at which the operator types the copy to be set, producing a continuous tape which is then fed into a computer to determine line length and hyphenation and justification.
Non-scratch inks. Inks that when dry are highly resistant to mars and abrasions.
Non-woven. In binding, any material that is not woven: paper, reinforced paper, and synthetic fibers.
Novelty printing. Non-publication printing, such as on balloons, calendars, pencils, matchbook covers , badges, etc.
Numbering. Printing consecutive numbers on invoices, tickets, etc. with a numbering machine. Usually done by letterpress, although some offset presses have numbering attachments.
Nut. Nickname for an en-quad.
O
Oblique. Roman characters that slant to the right.
Oblong. In book binding, refers to a book that is bound on the short end rather than on the long end.
Offline. Refers to equipment not directly controlled by a central processing unit or to operations conducted out-of-process. As opposed to online.
Offset. Commonly used term for offset lithography . Also used interchangeably with set-off .
Offset lithography. Also called photolithography and, most commonly, offset. The commercial form of lithographic printing. Offset lithography is a planographic printing method; it is the only major printing method in which the image area and the non-image area of the printing plate are on the same plane. They are separated by chemical means, on the principle that grease (ink) and water (the etch in the fountain solution) do not mix. The ink is transferred from the plate onto a rubber blanket and then to the paper.
Offset paper. Paper specially made for offset printing. It may be coated or uncoated. It must be sized and strong enough to resist the pull of the tacky inks used and the washing away of the coating by the dampening system.
Old Style. A style of type developed in the early 17th century.
One-up, two-up, etc. In printing, making one impression of a job at a time. By using duplicate plates, or by step-and-repeating the job on one plate, jobs may be printed two-up, three-up and so on.
Onionskin. A term applied to lightweight, semitransparent bond-type paper used for making carbon duplicates when typing. Also used for airmail stationery to cut down on weight and save postage.
Online. Refers to equipment directly controlled by a central processing unit. As opposed to offline. The term generally refers to the operation of input/output devices.
Opacity. That quality in a sheet of paper that prevents the type or image printed on one side from showing through to the other: the more opaque the sheet, the less show-through it will have. Also, the covering power of an ink.
Opaque. Non-transparent; not allowing light to pass through. Also, to paint out unwanted areas on a film negative so they will not reproduce during platemaking.
Opaque inks. Inks formulated to cover up underlying stock or printing.
Opaquing. The process of eliminating any portion of a film negative by painting over the unwanted areas with an opaque solution. Also; painting resist on areas of metal engravings not to be etched.
Optical center. A point 10% above the mathematical center of a page or layout.
Optical Character Recognition. The process of electronically reading typewritten, printed, or handwritten documents used in photocomposition. Copy to be set is typed on a special typewriter, then read by an OCR scanner which produces a tape for typesetting. This avoids the necessity for keyboarding by the keyboard operator, permitting typesetting by a typist.
Ornamented. A typeface that is embellished for decorative effect.
Orthochromatic. Photographic emulsion sensitive to blue, green, and yellow, but not red light.
Outline. A typeface with only the outline defined.
Outline halftone. See Silhouette halftone.
Output. In phototypesetting, type that has been set. Also, the processed tape from a computer.
Overhang cover. A cover larger than the trim size of the pages it encloses, as opposed to a flush cover, which is the same size.
Overlay. Transparent paper or film flap placed over artwork for the purpose of (1) protecting it from dirt and damage, (2) indicating instructions to the platemaker or printer, or (3) showing the breakdown of color in mechanical color separations.
Overprinting. Also called surprinting. Printing one color over another, or surprinting type over a halftone reproduction.
Overprint varnish. A varnish applied to improve gloss and mar resistance.
Overrun. Printing a quantity in excess of what is ordered. Also, printing a quantity in excess of what is actually required. Buyers of printing should be aware of the extra charges that nonregulated overruns may add to the bill.
Ozalid. Photocopying machine used to produce paper proofs of strike-on or phototypeset typography.
P
Packing. In printing, the layers of paper between the impression cylinder and the tympan upon which the paper rests during printing in letterpress, or between the plate and the cylinder in offset lithography. Manipulating the packing to ensure a perfect printing impression is called makeready.
Page proofs. Impression or proof pulled of page before the print run for checking purposes.
Pagination. To number pages in consecutive order.
Pamphlet. Generally used interchangeably with the booklet. Also used to designate a minor booklet of a few pages.
Pamphlet binding. The binding of small pamphlets or booklets, usually by saddlewire stitching or side-wire stitching .
Panchromatic. Photographic emulsion sensitive to all colors. The range of color sensitivity approximates that of the human eye.
Pantone Matching System. Brand name for a widely used color-matching system .
Paper. The name given all kinds of matted or felted sheets of fiber (usually vegetable, but sometimes mineral, animal, or synthetic) formed on a fine screen from a water suspension. Also, specifically, one of the two broad subdivisions of paper, the other being paperboard.
Paper basis weight. See Basis weight.
Paperboard. One of the two broad subdivisions of the general category of fibrous sheets known as paper, the other being the specific term paper. Generally, paperboard is heavier, thicker, and more rigid than paper. All sheets 12 points (0.012") or more in thickness are classified as paperboard.
Paper conditioning. The process of adding moisture to or taking moisture from paper to attain proper paper condition for printing.
Paper grades. Categories of paper based on such characteristics as size, weight, and grain. The grade is often defined in terms of use. For example, bond, offset, tag, book, newsprint, etc.
Paper surface efficiency (PSE). A method of determining the printability of a sheet of paper. It is dictated by how much ink the paper absorbs and the smoothness of the surface. Evenness of the caliper of paper will also influence printability.
Paper tape. A strip of paper of specified dimensions on which data may be recorded, usually in the form of punched holes. Each character recorded on the tape is represented by a unique pattern of holes, called the frame or row. Frames usually consist of 5, 6, 7, or 8 tracks or channels, although some tape-controlled typesetting equipment requires 15- or 31-channel tape.
Paragraph openers. Typographic elements use to direct the eye to the beginning of a paragraph. Often used when the paragraph is not indented.
Parameter. A variable that is given a constant value for a specific process. Commonly used in the printing industry to refer to the limits of any given system.
Parchment. A sheet of writing material made from goat or sheep skin. An imitation parchment is made from paper impregnated with vegetable oils.
Pass. A machine run: a complete cycle of one program or set of programs, input to output.
Pasteboard. Laminated chipboard used as binding board.
Paste-up. A mechanical .
Patch film. Film added or stripped into film that has already been made up for the camera. This happens when repro patches are sent in late, shot, and stripped in film form (as opposed to being pasted on the mechanical and the entire mechanical page being reshot).
Patching. Method of making corrections in repros or film in which the corrected "patch" is set separately and pasted into position on the repros or shot and stripped into film (see Patch film).
Patent base. In letterpress, a diagonally slotted metal base on which unmounted .06311 plates or electrotypes are secured with locking hooks to bring them to typehigh.
PE. Printer's error, or mistake made by the typesetter, as opposed to AA .
Pebble finish. A finish made up of fine designs embossed on the paper. A pebble finish adds texture to the surface. A sheet can be pebbled prior to printing or it can be pebbled by a pebbler after printing.
Perfect binding. A relatively inexpensive method of binding in which the pages are held together and fixed to the cover by means of flexible adhesive. Widely used for paperbacks, manuals, textbooks, and telephone books.
Perfecting press. A printing press that prints both sides of a sheet or a web in a single pass through the press.
Perforating. The punching of a line of minute holes in a sheet so that a part may be easily torn away in the manner of postage stamps. In letterpress, perforating is done on press by steel perforating rules . In offset and gravure, it is usually done off press as a binding operation, using a perforator or a perforating die,
Perforating rules. In letterpress printing, hardened steel rules, 1 or 2 points in width and slightly higher than type-high, which are made up in the form in the outline of the area to be perforated.
Perforator. In composition, a keyboard unit that produces punched paper tape. Each character and function is given a unique code which is punched across the tape. In bindery work, a machine that punches a series of closely spaced holes in paper.
Permanent inks. Inks which do not fade or change color when exposed to sun or artificial light. As opposed to fugitive inks, which do.
pH. A scale used for expressing the acidity or alkalinity of solutions.
Photocomposing. To photomechanically arrange continuous-tone, line, or halftone copy for reproduction. Not a synonym for photocomposition. Also, the technique of exposing photosensitive materials onto film or press plates using a photocomposing machine (also called a step-and-repeat machine).
Photocomposition. See Phototypesetting.
Photocopy. A duplicate photograph, made from the original. Also, the correct generic term for Photostat, which is a trade name.
Photodisplay. Display matter set on paper or film by photographic means: phototype display type.
Photodisplay font. A font in the form of a grid, or negative film strip, that carries a display alphabet.
Photodisplay unit. Machine that photographically sets display type.
Photogengraving. Also called an engraving block (in Europe) or a cut. A relief printing plate produced by photochemistry, used in letterpress printing. Photoengravings can be produced as individual units or as multiple-page forms.
Photogelatin. See Collotype.
Photographic paper. The chemically sensitized paper used for photographic printing.
Photogravure. The process of printing from an intaglio plate or cylinder in which the image to be printed is screened and etched below the surface of the plate.
Photolithography. Lithography using photomechanically prepared plates, as opposed to hand-drawn stones or plates. See also Offset lithography.
Photomechanical. The complete assembly of type, line art, and halftone art in the form of film positives onto a transparent film base from which autopositive diazo proofs can be pulled for checking and from which a one-piece control film negative can be made for the production of printing plates.
Photomechanical Transfer materials (PMT). Photomechanical papers manufactured by Eastman Kodak: Kodak PMT Negative Paper, for making enlarged or reduced copies in a process camera; Kodak PMT Reflex Paper, for making reflex copies or contact proofs of line and halftone negatives in a contact frame; Kodak PMT Receiver Paper, a chemically sensitive paper for making positive prints in a diffusion transfer processor (can also be used to make photorepros).
Photon. Trade name for a line of typesetting machines, available in a variety of models. Manufactured by Photon, Inc.
Photopolymer plates. Printing plates made of light-sensitive, polymerizable plastic mounted on steel and aluminum. Photopolymer printing plates are used in letterpress as well as letterset and offset printing. Manufactured by DuPont and by Eastman Kodak Co.
Photoprint. Also called a photorepro or photocopy. In phototypesetting, final proof with all typographic elements in position ready to be pasted into mechanical. Similar to a reproduction proof i