Adobe Acrobat Reader
A free software package that allows you to read the compressed and portable file format - PDF. Available from <http://www.adobe.com> Adobe Software.
Artwork
Images or text ready for printing production
see also camera ready artwork
Binding
Fastening papers together for easy reading, transport, and protection. Papers may be bound together with a variety of material, like wire, thread, glue and plastic combs.
Binding Types : Perfect binding
Single sheets are stacked together; the binding edge is ground to create a rough surface; adhesive is applied to the binding edge; and a cover is wrapped around the pages.
Saddle-stitched binding
Folded sheets or signatures of paper are gathered together, one inside the other; placed over a 'saddle'; and stitched or stapled along the spine with wire. Saddle-stitched books will lie flat when open, but may contain only a limited number of pages, as determined by the thickness of the paper used and its ability to fold.
Book Block
The text pages of the book.
C1S
Paper that is coated on one side only (coated one side).
C2S
Paper that is coated on both sides (coated two sides).
Camera Ready Artwork
Copy or illustration that is ready to shoot to film. The film is then stripped and used to make the printing plate.
Caption
The text below a photograph or illustration in a book or magazine that describes the image.
Classification
The genre of the book. i.e. Fiction, Non-fiction, autobiography, biography, Childrens Book, Novel, Memoirs, etc.
Coated paper
Paper with an outer layer of coating applied to one or both sides. The coating may be added while the paper is still moving through the papermaking machine, or after it comes off the machine.
Contrast
The degree of difference between light and dark areas in an image. Extreme lights and darks give an image high contrast. An image with a wide tonal range has lower contrast.
Converting files
Converting files from one format to another
Cover paper
Heavier, generally stiffer paper commonly used for book covers, folders, greeting cards, business cards, and brochures.
see also text paper
Digital Printing
Enables you to print small quantities of multi-colour documents, quickly and cost effectively. Essentially, the main advantage to digital printing, is being able to print what you need when you need it, eliminating the need for costly warehousing and obsolescence. Great for creating direct mail brochures, multi-colour business cards, overhead transparencies, presentation materials, postcards, etc. Also known as On-demand printing.
Digital printing utilizes a direct-to-print work flow with no film separations or match prints. Changes can be made quickly and easily to your digital files.
Dpi-dots per inch
The number of dots that fit horizontally and vertically into a one-inch measure. Generally, the more dots per inch, the more detail is captured, and the sharper the resulting image.
see also halftone
Dummy
An unprinted mock-up of a book, brochure, or 'to-be-printed' piece. A dummy is made of the same paper stocks that will be used in the finished piece, and serves as a reference for the client, designer, printer, mailing house, or distributor.
File Types:
Bitmap
files store pictures as matrices (rows and columns) of squares known as pixels, with each pixel having a particular gray or colour value (also known as a gray depth, colour depth, or bit depth). Bitmap files are typically created by image-edition programs such as Adobe Photoshop, or by the software you use to run your scanner. TIFF (tag image file format), BMP (Windows bitmap), MacPaint, and PCX (PC Paintbrush) are all examples of bitmap-format graphics files.
Metafiles
can contain both vector and bitmap graphics, but they don't have to have both - sometimes you will find metafiles that contain only an image, for instance. Macintosh PICT, Adobe Illustrator, EPS, CGM (computer graphics metafile), and WMF (Windows metafile) formats are all examples of metafiles.
Vector Files
contain sets of instructions for drawing objects - typically geometric shapes such as lines, ellipses, polygons, rectangles, and arcs. Vector files are typically created by drawing programs like Illustrator, Corel Draw and Freehand. PostScript paths and type, such as those you'd find in an Illustrator EPS (encapsulated PostScript) file, are other examples of vector elements, but they are usually contained in a metafile. A big advantage of vector files is their ability to scale without loss of quality.
Postscript Files
(including EPS graphics) are practically the definition of a device-independent file format; they don't make many assumptions about the devices on which they will be used.
PDF
PDF stands for Portable Document Format, a universal file format developed by Adobe that preserves all the fonts, formatting, graphics and color of any source document. It allows a file to read through the use of Acrobat Reader ( a free program available from Adobe) regardless of the hardware or software platform on which the file was created.
Finishes:
Machine finish examples: Antique, Satin, Eggshell, Smooth, Vellum, Wove
Embossed finish examples: Felt (embossed), Canvas, LAID, Groove, Linen, Vertical
Fonts
All alphanumeric characters and punctuation marks in a particular typeface.
Note: It is important to include all fonts used when sending graphic files.
Four-colour process
A method that uses dots of magenta (red), cyan (blue), yellow, and black to simulate the continuous tones and variety of colors in a colour image.
Each halftone separation is printed with its process colour (magenta, cyan, yellow, and black). When we look at the final result, our eyes blend the dots to recreate the continuous tones and variety of colors we see in a colour photograph, painting, or drawing.
see also dots per inch and halftone
Gloss
The property that's responsible for a coated paper's shiny or lustrous appearance; also the measure of a sheet's surface reflectivity.
see also C1S and C2S
Grain
The direction in which most fibers lie in a sheet of paper.
Halftone
A printed picture that uses dots to simulate the tomes between light and dark.
The halftone mimics the continuous tone of a black-and-white photograph by converting the picture to dots. Darker areas of the photograph have bigger dots and lighter areas of the photograph have smaller dots. The result is strikingly similar to the continuous tone of a photograph.
see also four-colour process
Index paper
A stiff, inexpensive paper with a smooth finish. The high bulk but low weight of this paper makes it a popular choice for business reply cards.
Line art
Black and white illustration with no continuous tones or grays.
Matte coated
A non-glossy coating on paper, generally used to refer to papers having little or no gloss. A matte coated sheet is often specified when there is a lot of type, since it makes for easier reading.
see also C1S, C2S, finishes and gloss
Offset
An indirect printing process. Ink is transferred to paper from a blanket that carries an impression from the printing plate, rather than directly from the printing plate itself. Generally, when we say 'offset' we mean 'offset Lithography,' even though other printing processes, such as letterpress, may also use this indirect technique.
Opacity
A measure of how opaque a paper is. The more fibers of fillers a paper has, the more opaque it is, and the less it allows 'show-through' of the printing on the back side or on the next page. Opacity isn't always determined by thickness or weight; a thinner paper may have more opacity than a thicker paper if opacifying thickeners are used.
Page
One side of a sheet of paper. (ie. A one hundred page book contains 50 sheets of paper)
PDF
Portable Document File
A platform independent file developed by Adobe to facilitate file sharing between users. www.adobe.com
Perfect binding
see binding
Postscript
Postscript is a programming language that describes the appearance of a printed page. It was developed by Adobe in 1985 and has become an industry standard for printing and imaging. All major printer manufacturers make printers that contain or can be loaded with Postscript software, which also runs on all major operating system platforms. A Postscript file can be identified by its ".ps" suffix.
Printing
Transferring ink onto paper or other materials to reproduce words or images.
see also offset and digital printing
Print Ready File
A fully formatted, correctly sized & paginated file which requires no further preparation prior to being sent to the output device.
Process colors
The four process colors: magenta (process red), cyan (process blue), yellow, and black used to print four-color images.
see also four-colour process
Proof
Utilized to ensure there are no errors or omissions prior to printing a document.
Resolution
A measure of the amount of information being displayed by a particular device. Generally speaking the higher the resolution the more information is being displayed, therefore the better the image looks.
Saddlestitch
see binding
Scan
To convert an image to a digitized format that may then be manipulated within a computer program i.e. Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Quark Xpress, etc. In the four colour printing process it is used to break down an illustration into the four separate colour images (CMYK). There are different types of scanners being used today such as drum scanners, table scanners, etc.
Self cover
A booklet having a cover made of the same paper as the inside or text pages.
Text paper
Premium uncoated printing paper of fine quality, manufactured in weights suitable for the text of books or brochures. Text papers are made in a wide variety of finishes, including smooth, antique, vellum, laid, felt, and embossed. They are characterized by excellent folding qualities, printability, and durability.
Text papers are used most often for books, annual reports, brochures, booklets, advertising collateral material, and announcements.
see also cover pape.
Trim size
The final size of a printed piece once it's been cut to specification.
Uncoated paper
Paper that doesn't have a coating. Uncoated papers are manufactured in a great variety of finishes, colors, and weights, and offer the versatility needed to meet the creative and practical demands of most print jobs.
Variable Data Printing
A process where each printed piece contains unique elements tailoring the piece for an individual. Typically a database will be used in conjunction with suitable RIP software and a digital output device.