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Orientation of type with regard to edges of the column or paper, such as aligned right (flush right), aligned left (flush left), and aligned on center (centered).


Place where printed products are collated, trimmed, folded, and/or bound. A bindery may be a department within a printing company or a separate business.



Blueline Proof






Clip Art



The four process colors used in offset lithography printing. They are cyan, magenta, yellow and black (the key color). When these four colors are printed with halftone screens of various angles in this subtractive print method, they create oranges, reds, violets, and so on. The color gamut of CMYK is fairly limited, causing loss of color when a continuous tone photograph is reproduced using only 4 colors.

Coated Paper

Paper with a coating of clay and other substances that improves reflectivity and ink holdout. Mills produce coated paper appropriate for publications in three major categories of surface shine: gloss, dull, and matte.

Color Gamut


Color Separations


Continuous Tone Photograph




Crop Marks

Lines near the edges of an image indicating portions to be reproduced. Also called Cut Marks and Tick Marks.


A stamping tool used for embossing or die-cutting.



Drop Shadow

Screen tint or rule touching an illustration, box, or type to give a three-dimensional shadow effect. Also called Flat Shadow.


A duotone begins as a black and white photograph. Duotones are created by generating two halftones of the same image. This will make two separate printing plates for a two color print job. The two plates are printed together and the resulting printed image is rich in tonal values. Duotones are often printed with black and a spot color, but any two colors can be combined. Unusual color combinations will require a press check.




Price that states what a job is likely to cost. Also called bid, quotation, and tender. Printers base estimates on specifications provided by customers.

Finished Size

Size of product after production is complete, as compared to flat size. Also called Trim Size.

Flat Size


Flush Left

Type aligning vertically along the left side of the column. Also called Left Justified or Ranged Left

Flush Right

Type aligning vertically along the right side of the column. Also called Right Justified or Ranged Right.

Fold Marks







Size or layout, depending on context. A publication may have an 8 1/2 x 11 format or a one-column format.

Gloss Finish

Paper with a coating that reflects light well, as compared to dull or matte-coated paper.



Graphic Design


Graphic Designer





Line or fold at which facing pages meet.


Thinnest visible space or rule. Because visibility is determined by factors such as contrast between ink and paper, hairline has no precise measure.



Hard Copy

Copy on a substrate, such as film or paper, as compared to soft copy.













Italic Type

Type slanted to the right, as compared to Roman type.


Joint Photographic Experts Group. A highly compressed graphics format designed to handle computer images of high resolution photographs as efficiently as possible.


Type Type set to extend across the entire width of a column, making it flush right and left.





Line Art



Abbreviation for logotype, an artistic assembly of type and art (or mark) into a distinctive symbol unique to an organization, business, or product. Also called Emblem.

Mailing Service

Business specializing in addressing and mailing large quantities of printed pieces. Also called Lettershop or Fulfillment House.


  1. New design replacing an old design;
  2. Printing job done over again-made over without changes-because of unacceptable flaws in the previous production run.



Mark Up

To write, on a manuscript or proof, instructions about matters such as typesetting, color correcting, or printing.

Matte Finish


Matchprint Proof


Moire Pattern


Monitor Colors (RGB)




Offset Lithography Printing




Original Art

Initial photo or illustration prepared for reproduction.






One side of a leaf in a printed piece. One sheet folded in half yields four pages. An eight-page signature has four pages printed on each side of the sheet.

Page Count

Total number of pages that a printed piece has. Also called Extent.

Page Proof


Pantone Matching System (PMS)®

The registered trade name of a brand of color matching system commonly used in commercial printing. Pantone colors can be specified for ink, papers, plastics, and fabrics. Pantone chips are available for solid spot colors and for process ink mixes. Specifying Pantone colors is the only accurate and predictable way to know that the color in the imaging application is the color that will be printed (your monitor is NOT a predictable indication of printed colors).


Camera work, color separating, stripping, platemaking, and other prepress functions performed by the printer, separator, or a service bureau prior to printing. Also called Preparation.

Press Proof or Press Check






Proofreader Marks

Standard symbols and abbreviations used to mark up manuscripts and proofs. Most dictionaries and style manuals include charts of proofreader marks. Also called Correction Marks.

Proof Sheet

  1. Photographic term for sheet of images made by contact printing negatives (also called contact sheet);
  2. Printing term for any proof or press sheet used as a proof.

Proportion Scale

Device used to calculate percentage that an original image must be reduced or enlarged to yield a specific reproduction size. Also called Percentage Wheel, Proportion Dial, Proportion Wheel, and Scaling Wheel.




Price offered by a printer to produce a specific job, thus alternate for estimate. The quoted price is the printer's side of the contract based on specifications from the customer.

Raster Image



Five hundred sheets of paper.


The correct alignment of colors on paper during printing.

Register Marks

Cross-hair lines on mechanicals and film that help keep flats, plates, and printing in register. Also called Crossmarks and Rosition Marks.




Type, graphic, or illustration reproduced by printing ink around its outline, thus allowing the underlying color or paper to show through and form the image. Also called knockout or liftout. The image "reverses out" of the ink color.

Rough Layout

Sketch giving a general idea of size and placement of text and graphics in the final product. Also called Esquisse or Rough.

Search Engine









To identify the percentage by which photographs or art should be enlarged or reduced to achieve the correct size for printing. An 8" x 10" photo to be reproduced as a 4" x 5" image should be scaled to 50 percent




Printed piece designed to mail without an envelope.



Sheet-fed Press


Show Through



Complete and precisely written description of features of a printing job, such as type size and leading, paper grade and quantity, printing quality, or binding method. Abbreviated specs. Specifications typically include the following: - type specs define typeface, size, line measure, indentations, headlines, and other features of typography. - printing specs concentrate on press work, such as quantities, inkcolors and dot gains, but often include prepress, paper, and finishing. - finishing specs tell folding requirements and trim size.

Spot Color




Stock Photography


Tag Line

Alternate term for subtitle. Also used with logos, often a slogan, description of the business, or the full name.

Tagged Image File Format (TIFF)

A common format for interchanging digital information, generally associated with greyscale or bitmap data.


Pattern used to draw illustrations, make page formats, or lay out press sheets. A template may be a physical object that guides a pencil, an underlay for a light table, or a computer file with preset formats or outlines for the final printed piece.



Text Paper


Text Type

Type used for text and captions, as compared to display type. Also called Body Type and Composition Type.



Tight Register

Subjective term referring to nearly exact register.


  1. Powder forming the images in photocopying and laser printing;
  2. Powder or liquid forming the images in some color proofing systems.


Letters, numerals, punctuation marks, and other symbols produced by a machine and that will be reproduced by printing.


Set of characters with similar design features and weight. Garamond Light is a typeface. Also called Face.

Type Family

Group of typefaces with similar letter forms and an unique name. Garamond, including all weights and styles, such as light, semibold, and bold italic, is a type family.

Type Size


Type Style

Characteristic of a typeface, such as bold, italic, or light.

Ultrabold Type

Type that is heavier than bold. Also called Black Type.

Uncoated Paper

Paper that has not been coated with clay. Also called Offset Paper.


Quantity of printing delivered that is less than the quantity ordered.

Unit Cost

The cost of one item in a print run. Unit cost is computed by dividing the total cost of the printing job-variable costs plus fixed costs-by the quantity of products delivered.

Uppercase Letters

Alternate term for capital letters.

Variable Costs


Vector Graphics


Vellum Finish

Somewhat rough, toothy paper finish.

Washed Out

Characteristic of printing or a photograph whose images appear faded.


Unusable paper or paper damaged during normal makeready, printing, or bindery operations.

White Space

Area of a printed piece that does not contain images or type. Also called Negative Space.