AA's	Authors Alterations, changes other than corrections, made by a client after the proofing process has begun. AA's are usually charged to a client as billable time.
Acid-free paper	Paper manufactured on a paper machine with the wet-end chemistry controlled to a neutral or slightly alkaline pH.
Actual weight	The true weight of any volume of paper. The actual weight of paper is used to determine both purchase price and shipping costs. See also basic size, basis weight, weight.
Aqueous Coating	A water-based coating applied after printing, either while the paper is still on press ("in line"), or after it's off press. An aqueous coating usually gives a gloss, dull, or matte finish, and helps prevent the underlying ink from rubbing off. Unlike a UV coating or a varnish, an aqueous coating will accept ink-jet printing, making it a natural choice for jobs that require printing addresses for mass mailings. See also , finishing, UV coating, varnish.
Basic Size	The customary sheet size used to establish the basis weight of a ream (500 sheets) of a given grade of paper. Standard basic sizes vary by paper grade. For example, the basic size of book paper is 25"x38", while the basic size of cover stock is 20"x26". See also basis weight, weight.
Basis Weight	The weight, in pounds, of a ream (500 sheets) of paper cut to a given standard (basic size). Each major paper grade, like cover, bond, or offset, has its own basic sheet size, which determines its basis weight. For example, the basic size of book paper is 25"x38" for 500 sheets; therefore, 500 sheets of 70lb. offset book paper in 25"x38" will actually weigh 70 pounds. See also basic size, weight.
Binding	Fastening papers together for easy reading, transport, and protection. Papers may be bound together with a variety of materials, like wire, thread, glue, and plastic combs. types of binding. See also finishing, folding, imposition, scoring, signature.
Bleed	An image or printed color that runs off the trimmed edge of a page. Bleeding one or more edges of a printed page generally increases both the amount of paper needed and the overall production cost of a printed job. Bleeds are created by trimming the page after printing.
Blind Embossing	Stamping raised letters or images into paper using pressure and a die, but without using foil or ink to add color to the raised areas. Braille is an example of blind embossing.
Blueline	A printer's proof, actually blue on white paper. All AA's and corrections should have been made prior to seeing a blueline.
BMP	A computer graphics format "Bitmap IBM format" not generally used in professional printing.
Bond Paper	A type of office reprographic paper, widely used for letterheads and business forms. Bond papers are characterized by strength, durability, and performance during electronic printing. They are manufactured with a basic size of 17"x22". See also basic size.
Bonding Strength	The internal strength of a paper; the ability of the fibers within a paper to hold to one another. Bonding strength measures the ability of the paper to hold together on the printing press. Good bonding strength prevents fibers from coming loose ("picking"). See also picking.
Book Paper	A type of offset paper with a basic size of 25"x38". The primary applications for these products are book publishing, commercial printing, direct mail, technical documents, and manuals. See also basic size, offset papers, text papers.
Brightness	The reflectiveness of pulp, paper, or paperboard under test conditions, using a specially calibrated measuring instrument. If paper lacks brightness it will absorb too much light, so little will reflect back through the ink. See also whiteness.
Bristol Paper	Solid or laminated heavyweight paper made to a caliper thickness of .006" or higher. Bristols are generally used for tags, covers, and file folders and have a basic size of 24.5"x30.5". See also basic size, cover paper, tag paper.
Bulk	The thickness of a stack of paper, technically measured as the thickness of a specified number of sheets under a specified pressure. For example, using the measurement of an inch, it may take less that 100 bulky bristol sheets to make an inch deep pile. On the other hand, it might take hundreds of sheets to make an inch of a lower-bulk text paper. Where thickness or the illusion of substance is a desired effect, bulk is a key factor. See also caliper, thickness.
Burn	To expose photo sensitive media to light. i.e. Burning a negative or Burning a printing plate.
C1S	Paper that is coated on one side only (coated one side).
C2S	Paper that is coated on both sides (coated two sides).
Caliper	The thickness of a single sheet of paper, as measured with a sensitive tool called a micrometer, and expressed in units of thousandths of an inch. Caliper is a critical measure of uniformity. Excessive variation in caliper can lead to print variation, undesirable visual effects, and uneven stretch or press-feeding problems. It can also create problems in folding and binding. See also bulk, thickness.
Case Binding	See binding.
Cast-coating	Paper produced with a surface that is a reasonably accurate replication of some other surface. To manufacture cast-coated paper, a paper web with wet or moistened coating is brought into contact with a polished chrome drum surface, which is replicated in the coated sheet. There are two basic cast-coating technologies: the "wet process", invented and developed by Champion in 1937; and the "re-wet" process. Both methods remain in use to produce the world's output of cast-coated products. The advantage of the "wet process," used to manufacture Champion Kromekote, is that the sheet is both smooth and absorbent, not just smooth, allowing for excellent ink transfer with minimal pressure. Cast-coated papers allow inks to set and dry quickly, making wet trapping easier and minimizing dot gain. In general, cast-coated papers uniquely combine a superior flat surface with excellent ink receptivity, making them the best of printing surfaces, regardless of the type of printing process. See also coated-paper, dot gain, finish.
Camera Ready	Type and/or artwork that has been pasted into position, laser prints, or other artwork to be photographed for plate ready film.
Choke	(Choking) When trapping color closing in an area that has another color inside so the choked color overlaps, See also spreading.
Chromalin	A color proofing system, usually the final color proof before going on the press. This is a high quality proof and all corrections and alterations should be made prior to this.
CMYK	Abbreviation for the four process color inks: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black.
Coated Paper	Paper with an outer layer of coating applied to one of both sides. The coating may be added while the paper is still moving through the papermaking machine, or after it comes off the machine. Coated papers are available in a variety of finishes, like gloss, dull, and matte. They tend to have good ink holdout and minimal dot gain, which can be especially important for recreating sharp, bright images, black and white halftones, and four-color process images. The smooth surface of coated papers also helps to reflect light evenly. See also cast-coating, dot gain, dull coated, four-color process, gloss, halftone, matte coated.
Color Key	A printer's proof usually used for viewing the individual layers of C,M,Y & K, four sheets of colored acetate, for examining the quality of process color separations.
Color Separation	Literally separating the areas of a piece to be printed into its component spot and process ink colors. Each color to be printed must have its own printing plate. Usually referred to in a photographic sense a color separation of a photo done either digitally or traditionally on a scanner.
Comp (comprehensive)	A complete but prospective example of a design project, demonstrating size, layout of images and type, use of color, and paper. See also dummy.
Composite Image	A photograph or other graphic image, that is made of a combination of multiple images.
Continuous Tone	Having an unbroken range of intensities, as found in black and white photographs. Continuous tone images have not been screened, and contain gradient tones from black to white. See also halftone, screen.
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 lover contrast.
Conversion	The process of creating a three dimensional (3D) item from a flat sheet of paper. i.e. envelope conversion / box conversion.
Copy	The written information and other text used in advertising and printed material.
Copyright	(©) A group of legal rights granted to the author or creator of written or visual work. All work appearing with the © symbol or the word "copyright" is protected by its creator or his heirs. For more information, contact your attorney.
Cotton Paper	Paper with a minimum cotton fiber content of 25%, and a maximum fiber content of 100%. When fiber other than cotton is used, the balance comes from wood pulp. Cotton pulp is made from rags or clippings from textile mills, raw cotton, and cotton linters. Cotton papers are primarily used as writing papers.
Cover Paper	Heavier, generally stiffer paper commonly used for book covers, folders, greeting cards, business cards, and brochures. Uncoated cover papers generally match the color and finish of corresponding text papers. The basic size of cover stock is 20"x26". See also basic size, text paper.
Curl	The waviness of a sheet of paper generally seen along its edges. Curling is generally the result of physical stresses or changes in humidity, and may occur at the paper mill, in the pressroom, on press, or after binding. Paper tends to curl along, rather than across, the grain of the paper. Recycled and recycled content papers have less tendency to curl than virgin fiber papers because their fibers are shorter. See also grain.
Cut-size	Writing or business papers that are cut to a finished size of 8.5"x11", 8.5"x14", or 11"x17". Cut-size papers, like Champion Inkjet, are usually packed in reams of 500 sheets before leaving the mill.
Debossing	Pressing letters or illustrations into a sheet of paper using a metal or plastic die to create a depressed (debossed) image. See also embossing.
Deckle Edge	The feathery edge on a sheet of paper, created as the paper machine sprays a stream of water or a jet of air across the paper as it's being formed. Deckle edges can also be created after the paper is made, using a die. This method creates a less feathery, harder-edged deckle.
Densitometer	An instrument used throughout a print run to measure the optical density of ink on paper.
Density	The weight of a sheet of paper as compared to its bulk. For example, a paper that weighs more than another paper but is thinner has a higher density. Compacting the fibers creates a dense paper. See also bulk, weight.
Desktop Publishing	A process for creating camera ready and plate ready artwork on a personal computer.
Die-cutting	Using a formed, metal edged die to precision cut , or to cut shapes into a piece of paper. If a printing project requires a custom-made die, the total cost of the job will increase.
Digital Imaging	The process of creating a digital output of an illustration, photographic image, computer file or other computer generated materials. Output media can be film, paper, transparencies, vinyl and other materials.
Digital Photography	The process of recording images using a digital camera or a conventional camera with a digital adapter, it records on a disk or on microchip which can then be downloaded directly to a computer in tiff, pict or eps format.
Digital Printing	A type of printing which uses digital imaging process that transfers the image directly onto plain paper immediately, without traditional offset rollers and plates.
Dot Compensation	Adjusting the size of the dots in halftones or four-color images to allow for dot gain and to ensure that the color and detail of the image print as intended. See also dot gain, four-color process, halftone, screen.
Dot Gain	A printing term which describes wet ink coming in contact with paper and spreading as it is transfers. As the halftone dots are applied to the paper, the wet ink spreads, causing the dots to increase in size and halftones to appear darker. Paper weight, type of paper (coated or uncoated), press type (especially web presses), effect the amount of dot gain in a given printed piece. You may compensate for dot gain by calculating the dot gain before a print job and lessen the density of the images to be printed before you output film. See also dot compensation, four-color process, halftone.
DPI (dot 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, lines per inch, screen.
Dull Coated	A coated paper finish that falls between glossy and matte. See also coated paper, gloss, matte coated.
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. The printer, paper, merchant, or paper consultant generally provides the dummy at the request of the designer. See also comp.
Duotone	A two-color halftone of the same images created with two screens, two plates, and two colors. Most halftones are one-color halftones, printed with black ink on white paper. By blending the black of the tiny ink dots and the white of the paper, the human eye sees shades of gray. Duotones are made by printing an image with two colors, generally black and a second color. The full range of tones are printed black and the middle range of tones are printed in the second color. The result is a striking image with more richness and depth that a one-color halftone. The image can be further enhanced by printing a tritone or a quadratone; these are also reproductions of black and white images, perhaps with a touch of color. The cost of printing tritones or quadratones may be as high as or higher than four-color process printing. See also four-color process, halftone, quadratone, screen, tritone.
Electronic Publishing	A new process by which information is distributed in electronic formats. The Internet is a prime example of electronic publishing. Also books on CD ROM are considered Electronic publishing.
Em Space	A lateral space equal to the width of the lower case letter "m". Likewise, En space, is the space of the lower case "n". Used in typography and typesetting.
Emboss	A process by which a dye is used for raising an area of paper to create letterforms, shapes and textures. The dye can be made of magnesium, which is created from exposing light to the magnesium and leaving only the form of the artwork to be pressed into paper, or brass which is hand done, is more expensive but looks very good with beveled edges and fine detail. See also blind embossing, debossing.
Emulsion	The chemically treated side of photographic film. (The dull side not the shiny side.) Depending on the printing process involved, film will be requested usually as "right reading emulsion down".
Engraving	A printing process using intaglio, or recessed plates. Made from steel or copper, engraving plates cost more than plates used in most other printing processes, such as lithography. Ink sits in the recessed wells of the plate while the printing press exerts force on the paper, pushing it into the wells and onto the ink. The pressure creates raised letters and images on the front of the page and indentations on the back. The raised lettering effect of engraving can be simulated using a less costly process, called thermography. See also plate, thermography.
EPS	(EPSF) Encapsulated Postscript File. A vector based, computer graphics file format developed by Adobe Systems. EPS is the preferred format for many computer illustrations, because of its efficient use of memory and fine color control. The artwork description is "plotted" by the computer. Example: point "A" has a line that goes to point "B" then continues to point "C", and is filled with a color. (bitmapped artwork attributes a color for every pixel on the computer screen and is not postscript)
Finishing	preparing printed pages for use. Most printed jobs require one or more finishing steps, such as trimming, folding, or binding. See also binding, folding, trimming.
Flexography	A direct (not offset) printing method that uses relief plates, similar to rubber stamps, which are made from rubber or photopolymer. The flexible plates are wrapped around a cylinder on the printing press. "Flexo" works best when printing large areas of solid color, making it popular for printing plastic bags, wrapping paper, and milk cartons. It's also used for the Sunday color comics and newspaper inserts. Rubber manufactures, eager to find new uses for rubber, have invested heavily in flexographic research, and improvements have been made in ink coverage and four-color registration. See also four-color process, offset, plate, registration, relief.
Foil Stamping	To cover paper with a thin, flexible sheet of metal or other material. The foil, which may be clear or opaque, comes in a range of colors, and is carried on a plastic sheet. Stamping separates the foil from the plastic and makes it adhere to the paper. Foil stamping can be combined with embossing or debossing as an added design element. See also debossing, embossing.
Folding	Doubling up a sheet of paper so that one part lies on top of another. Folding stresses the paper fibers. To create a smooth, straight fold, heavy papers, like cover stocks and bristols, need to be scored before they're folded. Multiple fold strength is important in printed pieces like books, maps, and pamphlets. It's far less important in one fold operations like greeting cards or envelops, where fold cracking is the vital consideration. Folding strength is negatively affected by the drying heat of various printing and finishing operations. See also binding, finishing, gatefold, imposition, scoring, signature.
Form	The assembled pages and images as printed on a single large sheet, before trimming. With the correct imposition, the pages of a form will be in correct order after folding and trimming. Once folded and trimmed, a form becomes a "signature." See also folding, imposition, signature, trimming.
Four-color 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 color image. Reproducing a four-color image begins with separating the image into four different halftones by using color filters of the opposite (or negative) color. For instance, a red filter is used to capture the cyan halftone, a blue filter is used to capture the yellow halftone, and a green filter is used to capture the magenta halftone. Because a printing press can't change the tone intensity of ink, four-color process relies on a trick of the eye to mimic light and dark areas. Each halftone separation is printed with its process color (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 color photograph, painting, or drawing. See also color separation, continuous tone, dots per inch, halftone.
Gatefold	Two or more parallel folds on a sheet of paper with the end flaps folding inward. See also folding.
GIF	An eight bit (256 colors or shades of grey) or less computer file format by CompuServe. Commonly used to post photographic images to computer bulletin boards and the Internet, GIF files are almost never used for professional printing.
Gloss	the property that's responsible for coated paper's shiny or lustrous appearance; also the measure of a sheet's surface reflectiveness. Gloss is often associated with quality: higher quality coated papers exhibit high gloss. Champion Kromekote is a paper noted and sold for its exceptionally high gloss. See also cast coating, coated paper.
Grade	A type or class of paper identified as having the same composition and characteristics. Grade is a generic paper category, such as writing, offset, cover, tag, and index paper. It can also refer to the quality level of the paper; or to a mill's specific rank of paper.
Grain	The direction in which more fibers lie in a sheet of paper. As paper is formed, the slurry of fibers moves forward on the forming wire at high speeds, aligning the fibers in the direction of the movement and creating the grain. At the same time, the machine shakes the slurry of fibers from side to side, so that the fibers crisscross. This crisscrossing creates a web of fibers, and gives the paper strength in both directions while maintaining a predominant grain, or direction. As the moisture in the air changes, the individual fibers take in moisture and swell sideways, rather than from end to end; this explains why paper will expand or shrink across the grain, and is more flexible along the grain and stiffer against the grain. For books and other bound work, the grain should run parallel with the binding, creating a smoother fold, making the pages easier to turn, and allowing the paper to swell across the grain. If the binding runs across the grain, the free ends of the paper will swell or shrink with moisture changes, but the bound ends will not. The book will buckle and the binding will weaken. With sheet paper, the grain direction is indicated by underscoring the dimension along which the grain lies, or by changing the order of the numbers. For example, a 23"x35" sheet is grain long; a grain short sheet is indicated by 25"x35", or 35"x23". On web paper, the grain runs along the length of the paper web. See also binding, grain long, grain short.
Grain Long	grain running along the length, or long side, of a sheet of paper (23"x35"). Fibers line up parallel to the long side of the paper. This book in your hands is an example of grain-long binding. See also grain, grain short.
Grain Short	Grain running along the width, or short side, of a sheet of paper (35"x23"). Fibers line up parallel to the short side of the paper. See also grain, grain long.
Graphic	A non text item, illustration, photograph or artwork.
Graphic Design	A way of communication with visual elements and information to present an idea or concept.
Gravure	A printing process that uses intaglio, or recessed, image carriers. The image carrier, which is flat or cylindrical, moves through an ink pool. A blade scrapes excess ink off the plane of the plate, leaving ink in the recessed wells. A second cylinder presses the paper onto the plates, where it picks up ink from the wells. The high speed of gravure presses and the durability of the metal intaglio plates make gravure an economical printing method suitable for large print runs (more than two million copies). See also plate, printing methods.
Greek	Usually nonsense words and letterforms that are not legible, used in a design to approximate the "color" of a page. Used primarily before final text is available for a client comps.
Gripper	The row of clips holding the sheet of paper as it speeds through the press. See also gripper edge.
Gripper Edge	The leading edge of paper that moves through a printing press or folding machine. No printing can take place on the outside 3/8" of the paper on the gripper edge. See also gripper.
Halftone	a printed picture that uses dots to simulate the tones between light and dark. Because a printing press cannot change the tone of ink, it will only print the ink color being used on press. This works well for printing text or line art: the press simply puts a full dose of ink for each letter or line on the paper, creating small solid areas of ink. But black-and-white photographs are continuous tone images, and printing a photograph this way would have the same result: large solid areas of ink. White areas of the photograph would have no ink; black areas would have black ink; and gray areas would have black, not gray ink. The halftone mimics the continuous tone of a black-and-white photograph by converting the picture to dots. Photographing a continuous tone image through a screen creates a duplicate image made of dots. Darker areas of the photograph have bigger dots and lighter area of the photograph have smaller dots. To the human eye, the black of the dots blend with the white of the paper to create shades of gray. The result is strikingly similar to the continuous tone of a photograph. See also continuous tone, duotone, four-color process, quadratone, screen, tritone.
Imagesetter	A high resolution device that prints directly to plate ready film. Many imagesetters output film at 2400 DPI (dots per inch).
Imposition	Also called image assembly; refers to assembling printed matter in a way that results in pages appearing in correct sequence. imposition process See also folding, form, make-ready, signature.
Impression Cylinder	The cylinder or flat bed of a printing press that holds paper while an inked image from the blanket is pressed upon it. See also offset, planographic.
Index Paper	A unit of measurement equal to six (6) picas or seventy two (72) points.
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. The basic size of index paper is 25.5"x30.5". See also basic size.
Ink	A combination of pigment, pigment carrier or vehicle, and additives. Careful ink formulation by the printer can reduce or prevent smudging, unevenness, picking, and additional printing problems associated with ink. The ink used for a particular job depends on the paper specified and the printing process used. See also UV ink, vegetable-based ink.
Jog	To shake a stack of papers, either on a machine or by hand, so that the edges line up. Printers jog the paper to get rid of any dust or particles, and to ensure proper feeding into the press.
JPEG	Joint Photographic Electronic Group. A common standard for compressing image data.
Kern	To adjust the lateral space between letters.
Kraft Paper	A paper manufactured using kraft pulp, usually noted for its strength. In the kraft pulping process, fiber is separated from lignin by cooking wood chips with steam and pressure.
Laid Finish	A paper with a translucent pattern of lines running both parallel to, and across the grain. Laid finished paper like Champion Mystique is created by dropping a patterned dandy roll onto the paper machine while the paper is still wet. finish.
Laser Compatible	Paper that performs on a laser printer or copier. Laser compatible paper has good dimensional stability that keeps it from curling, changing shape, and causing paper jams in printers and copiers. All of the premium writing grades that Champion manufactures are laser compatible.
Leading	The space, measured in points, between consecutive lines of type. (Original name derived from the strips of lead placed between lines of hot type in the early 1900's.)
Letterpress	A relief printing method. Printing is done using cast metal type or plates on which the image or printing area are raised above the non-printing areas. Ink rollers touch only the top surface of the raised areas; the non-printing areas are lower and do not receive ink. The inked image is transferred directly to the page, resulting in type of images that may actually be depressed or debossed into the paper by the pressure of the press. See also printing methods, relief.
Linen Finish	A paper finish that is similar to the texture of linen fabric, such as Champion Carnival Linen. Linen finishes are embossed after the paper comes off the paper machine. See also embossing.
Lines Per Inch (lpi)	The number of lines in an inch, as found on the screens that create halftones and four-color process images (for example, "printed 175-line screen"). The more lines per inch, the more detailed the printed image will be. With the demand for computer-generated imagery, the term "dots per inch" (which refers to the resolution of the output), is replacing the term "lines per inch." See also dots per inch, four-color process, halftone, screen.
Litho	Short for lithography or offset lithography.
Lithography	A printing process using flat surface planographic plates that is based on the principle that oil and water don't mix. The image to be lithographed is created on the plate with greasy material that repels water. Water is run over the plate, and the non-image areas absorb it. When the oily ink hits the plate, it's attracted to the similarly greasy image, and repelled by the rest of the wet plate. When paper is pressed onto the plate, it picks up the ink (and a bit of the water). This process is now used primarily for limited-edition prints. See also offset, planographic, plate.
Lupe	From the German word for magnifying glass, a lens used by photographers, printers, and designers to examine details in printed materials.
M weight	The weight in pounds of 1,000 sheets (or two standard 500sheet reams) or paper. On the label of a paper ream, the M weight is often given after the dimensions of the paper in the ream: for example, 23"x29"-42M. The capital letter M, like the Roman numeral M, designates 1,000; the 42 indicates that the 1,000 sheets weigh 42 lbs. See also basis weight, weight.
Make-ready	All the activities involved in preparing a printing press for a print run, such as setting the registration, balancing the color, and adjusting the plates and blankets for paper thickness. See also imposition, plate, printing methods, registration.
Making Order	See manufacturing order also know as making order. A quantity of paper manufactured to custom specifications, such as a special weight, color, or size not available as a standard stocking item. Special order requirements are necessary, and should be discussed with a local paper consultant. See also imposition, stock.
Match Color	A custom-blended ink that matches a specified color exactly. Match colors are used to print line copy and halftones in one, two, three, or occasionally more colors. The specified colors are chosen from color systems. The most widely used systems are the Pantone Matching System, Colorcurve, and Toyo. See also Pantone Matching System.
Match Print	A color proofing system developed by 3M. A high quality proofing system.
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 coated paper, dull coated, gloss.
Mill	The physical site where paper is manufactured: refers to a company that manufactures paper.
Moire	A pattern created by printing several repetitive designs on top of each other. In four-color process printing, four screens of colored dots print on top of each other. If the angles of the halftone screens of each of the four colors are not properly aligned with each other, an undesirable, blurry pattern, called "moire" appears in the final image; the term is from the watery or wavy pattern seen on moire silk. See also four-color process, halftone, rosette, screen.
Newsprint Paper	A grade of paper made primarily from groundwood (mechanical) pulp rather than chemical pulp, resulting in a short life-span. Newsprint is one of the least expensive printing papers.
Offset Printing	(Offset lithography) Currently the most common commercial printing method, in which ink is offset from the printing plate to to a second roller then to paper.
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. The term offset (or "set off") can also refer to the smudges created when ink from one printed sheet transfers to another. Offset spray is used to prevent this. See also lithography, planographic, plate.
Offset Papers	Book and text weight papers that are made to withstand the rigors of offset printing. These papers are more resistant to water and less susceptible to picking. Most book and text grades of paper can be used on offset presses. Often the term "offset" is used synonymously with "book." The basic size of offset papers is 25"x38". See also basic size, book papers, picking, text paper.
Opacity	A measure of how opaque a paper is. The more fibers or 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. See also thickness, weight.
Pallet	A platform with a slatted bottom, used to hold and ship cartons of paper stacked on top of each other.
Pantone Matching System	The most widely used system for specifying and blending match colors. The Pantone Matching System identifies more than 700 colors. It provides designers with swatches for specific colors, and gives printers the recipes for making those colors. Pantone Matching System was developed by neither a commercial printer nor an ink manufacture, leaving the choice of ink brand up to the printer. See also match color.
Paper	A complex matted web of cellulose fibers.
Paper Cut	The excruciating, often unforeseeable, and usually invisible-to- the-naked-eye cut received when skin slides along the edge of a piece of paper at just the wrong angle.
Paperboard	Paper with a caliper greater than .012 inches, or 12 points. Paperboard is used primarily for packaging and construction materials. Paperboard doesn't need to have the same whiteness and brightness as premium printing and writing papers, and because the process of deinking is less important in its manufacture, it is a perfect product for using recovered fiber. See also caliper.
PDF	Portable Document file. A proprietary format developed by Adobe Systems for the transfer of designs across multiple computer platforms.
Perfect Binding	A book binding process where pages are glued together and directly to the cover of the book. The appearance is of a flat spine on the end of the book such as a paperback book.
Perfecting Press	A printing press that simultaneously prints both sides of a sheet of paper as it passes through the press. On other presses, printing both sides means running the street through the press to print one side, allowing the ink to dry, turning the paper over, and then running the sheet through the press again to print the other side. See also imposition, printing methods.
Petroleum-based Ink	An ink using petroleum as the vehicle for carrying the pigment. Ink manufacturers are seeking new vehicles to reduce the need for petroleum-based solvents, which may be toxic at high levels. See also ink, vegetable-based ink.
Photo CD	A proprietary format developed by Eastman Kodak for storing photographic images on a compact disc. Usually 35mm format. Images can be easily accessed for use in professional printing.
Photocopy	A mechanical printing process that uses a light sensitive printing element, magnetic toner and a heating element to fuse the toner to the paper.
Photo Illustration	An image, primarily consisting of a photograph or composite image containing a photograph.
Pica	A unit of measurement equal to twelve (12) points or one sixth (1/6) of an inch. Used by designers and other graphics professional for its precision.
Picking	A problem generally resulting from using an ink that's too tacky for the paper it's printed on. The ink actually pulls tiny pieces of the paper off the surface of the sheet. Two types of picking are fiber bundles and coating picking. Fiber bundles are caused by weak fiber bond, and coating picking occurs when the adhesive properties of coating binder aren't strong enough to hold up the high tack of the offset printing process. See also bonding strength.
Planographic	A method for printing ink onto paper, where the image sits on the same surface as the printing plate. The image area is greased to attract ink, while the rest of the plate attracts water and repels ink. As the paper is pressed onto the flat surface of the plate, it picks up ink from the greasy image areas and a small bit of water from blank areas. This is the printing process used in lithography and offset lithography. See also lithography, offset, plate, printing methods.
Plate	Brief for printing plate, generally a thin sheet of metal that carries the printing image. The plate surface is treated or configured so that only the printing image is ink receptive. See also letterpress, lithography, offset, planographic, printing methods, vegetable-based ink.
Plate Ready Film	Final photographic film used to "burn" printing plates.
PMS color	(Pantone Matching System) A proprietary color system for choosing and matching specific spot colors. Almost all printers worldwide use this system for color matching.
Point	In measurements of the thickness of paper, one point is 1/1000 or .001 inches; measurements of the size of type, one point is 1/72 inch. See also caliper, thickness.
Post-consumer Waste	Paper material recovered after being used by a consumer. See also recycled content paper, recycled paper.
PrePress	The various printing related services, performed before ink is actually put on the printing press. (i.e. stripping, scanning, color separating, etc. . .)
Press Proof	A test printing of a subject prior to the final production run. Press proofs are generally printed on the paper stock that will be used for the finished project. A few sheets are run as a final check before printing the entire job.
Printability	How well a paper performs with ink on press. Absorbency, smoothness, ink holdout, and opacity all affect printability. See also opacity.
Printing	The process of applying images to a variety of surfaces. Some printing processes include: offset lithography, thermography, la gravure, letterpress, silkscreen, digital, laser, dye sub, photographic.
Print Quality	The overall excellence of a printed piece. Paper, ink, press, and the skill of the press operators all affect print quality. See also printability.
Printing Methods	A means or tool for placing ink on paper. Most printing is done with a plate. The four main types of printing methods are relief, where words or images are raised above the surface of the plate; intaglio, where they are etched through the surface; planographic, on the same plane as the surface; and stencil, or screen printing, cut below the plate surface. Words and images may also be "printed" electronically, using photocopiers and inkjet printers. See also letterpress, lithography, offset, planographic, plate, vegetable-based ink, screen printing, web press.
Process Colors	The four process colors: magenta (process red), cyan (process blue), yellow, and black used to print four-color images. See also color separating, four-color process.
Process Color	The mechanical process of reproducing a full color image with the three primary subtractive color inks (CMYK/ Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) and black. When viewed under a lupe, the individual color halftone dots can be seen in a process color image.
Pt.	Abbreviation for "point." See also point.
Quadratone	A black and white image printed with four screens and four colors, such as one or more blacks and different shades of gray, used to enrich the contrast between light and dark areas. See also continuous tone, duotone, halftone, screen, tritone.
Rag Paper	Paper with at least 25% and as much as 100% cotton fibers. See also cotton paper.
Ream	a package containing 500 sheets of printing paper.
Recyclable	Recycled paper, recycled paper recyclable suited for recycling. This term may be misleading. For example, it may be physically possible to recycle a given material, but if it is too costly to do so, or if a collection process is not in place, recycling may be impossible or economically not feasible.
Recycled Content Paper	A paper product containing some, but consisting of less than 100% recovered fiber. .
Recycled Paper	A paper product consisting of 100% recovered fiber. Recovered fiber includes pre- and/or post-consumer sources. Champion Benefit is an example of a 100% recycle paper. See also recycled content paper.
Registration	The process of alignment of the different elements in a printing job. Such as the different colored inks on a print job, so they are correctly printed next to each other or over each other . (i.e. If the inks can be seen to overlap improperly or to leave white gaps on the page, the printing is said to be "out of registration" or "poorly registered".)
Relief	A method for printing ink on paper, using type of images that rise above the surface of the printing plate. Ink sits on top of these raised surfaces, and as the paper is pressed onto them it picks up ink. Letterpress, flexography, and rubber stamps all use relief plates. In letterpress, intense pressure can cause images to be slightly debossed or depressed below the surface of the paper. See also flexography, letterpress, plate, printing methods.
Resilience	The ability of paper to return to its original form after being stressed by bending, stretching, or compressing during the printing and finishing processes. See also tensile strength.
RGB	Red Green Blue, the colors used by a computer monitor to create color images on the screen. When all three colors are combined over each other the color of light is white.
Rosette	The formation created by the dots that make up four-color images. The dots, in magenta (red), cyan (blue), yellow, and black, overlap each other in a cluster. Because the dots are not perfectly round, and because they are turned at angles to each other, this cluster resembles the arrangement of petals in a rose. See also four-color process.
Saddle Stitch	A book binding process where pages are stapled together through the spine of the book. Traditionally performed on V shaped saddle. Many magazines are saddle stitched or stapled.
Sans Serif	A type face that has no tails or curled points (serifs) at the ends.
Scaling Images	Here is one of my favorite ways to scale a photo or graphic for the printer, it is a simple formula that is pretty much foolproof. Using a pica ruler, points, or even inches if you wish but in decimals points only. SIZE TO ________ Divided by: SIZE FROM __________ percent key = ________ (answer) Here is an example: scaling TO 4.5 inches divided FROM 9 inches, percent = 50 percent.
Scoring	Pressing a channel into a sheet of paper to allow it to fold more easily. Scoring and pressing the paper fibers together creates an embossed channel that does two things: acts as a guide for easier folding, and creates a hinge that keeps the fiber stretch short. The score should run parallel to the paper grain; the thicker the paper, the wider the score should be. Paper should be folded with the scored side on the outside, making two short stretches rather than one long one. The outcome is a straight, durable fold that doesn't crack or break. See also finishing, folding, grain.
Screen	The lined glass, now called contact film, through which images are photographed to create halftones. Shooting through the mesh of a screen breaks an image into tiny dots. The closer the lines of the screen, the smaller the dots and the more dots per inch; the farther apart the lines of the screen, the bigger the dots and the fewer the dots per inch. The higher the dots per inch, the smaller the dots are, therefore creating a finer, crisper image. The coarseness or fineness of the screen is measured in the number of horizontal and vertical lines per inch. The less a paper absorbs and spreads ink, the finer the screen that can be used. Newspapers use coarse screens with 55 to 85 lines per inch. Most trade publications use 85 to 110 lines. With traditional printing, a coated paper can hold the small dots from a 200-line screen. With waterless printing, the paper can hold the dots from an even finer screen, 400 lines and greater. Though this approaches the quality of continuous tone, it is hard for the eye to discern the differences in resolution above 200 lines per inch. See also continuous tone, dot gain, dots per inch.
Screen Printing	A printing process also called silk screening, where ink is transferred through a porous screen, such as nylon, onto the surface to be decorated. An emulsion or stencil is used to block out the negative, or non-printing areas of the screen. A squeegee forces ink through the open areas of the screen and onto the paper, plastic, cardboard, wood, fabric, glass, or other material.
Script	A type face that mimics the appearance of hand written text.
Self Cover	A booklet having a cover made of the same paper as the inside or text pages.
Serif	The curls and points that appear as outward lateral extensions of the bottoms and tops of letterforms on some type faces. Many designers consider serif type used for body text for easy readability. Times Roman is a well known serif typeface.
Service Bureau	The facility that provides professional services to graphics and printing professionals especially related to computer output. (i.e. plate ready film, matchprints, colorkeys, etc...)
Shade	The color depth and hue in comparison to papers that are the same color; also used to describe the color achieved by adding dye to pulp slurry. There is a wide shade variety in white papers, as well as in colored papers.
Sheet-fed Press	A press that prints single sheets of paper, rather than a continuous roll or web of paper. A sheet-fed press prints more slowly than a web press, and is typically used for shorter runs. See also offset, web press.
Sheetwise	See imposition.
Show-through	See opacity.
Signature	The collated pages of one folded and trimmed form, making up one section of a bound book. See also binding, form, imposition, trimming.
Skid	A platform built with a solid wood bottom, for holding stacks of paper not packed in cartons. Paper may be ordered in skids or cartons. When printers are printing a large job, they generally prefer skids to cartons.
Spot Color	Single colors applied to printing when process color is not necessary (i.e. one, two and three color printing), or when process colors need to be augmented (i.e. a fluorescent pink headline or a metallic tint).
Spread 1)	A design that encompasses two or more facing pages (i.e. the center spread in the morning newspaper)
Spread 2)	Spreading the ink beyond the edge of an object so that there is no gap between it and the next colored object. "Choke and Spread" are common methods of trapping elements of a printing job.
Stock Paper	To a paper mill, a "stock item" is a manufactured item that is inventoried, as opposed to a "manufacturing order," which is custom made.
Style Sheet	A method of designating the type faces to be used in a design. i.e. Headlines, captions and body text, this is listed on a "sheet", usually in a "floating pallet" on a program like Pagemaker.
Subtractive Colors	The three primary process printing colors; magenta, cyan, and yellow, as opposed to the three additive primary colors of green, red, and blue. Color separations are created by shooting or scanning a color through filters of additive colors to generate halftones of subtractive colors. Subtracting the additive color of green from white light leaves magenta; subtracting red leaves cyan; and subtracting blue leaves yellow. The subtractive color halftones are then combined on a printing press to create full- color images. See also color separation, four-color process, halftone.
Swatchbook	A booklet containing paper samples and paper specifications for a line of paper. Champion produces individual swatchbooks for each of its fine printing papers.
Tag	Paper a heavy utility grade of paper used to print tags, such as the store tags on clothing. Tag paper must be strong and durable, yet have good affinity for printing inks.
Tear Strength	A measure of how likely a paper will continue to tear once started. Tear strength will be different with and against the grain of paper. Paper that will be punched should have good tear strength. See also bonding strength, grain.
Tensile Strength	A measure of how likely a paper is to break when pulled at opposite ends, in opposite directions. A web offset paper must have good tensile strength if it is to withstand the high speed of the printing press. See also bonding strength, web press.
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, and have a basic size of 25"x38". See also basic size, book paper, cover paper, offset paper.
Thermography	A finishing applied after printing that creates the raised effect of engraved printing. Special inks are used during offset printing; a powder is applied to the paper; and the paper is passed through a heater. See also engraving, offset, printing methods.
Thickness	The thickness of a single piece of paper, as measured in thousandths of an inch, called "caliper." Thickness measurements define the bulkiness of a sheet of paper, but the actual number of sheets in an inch-high stack of paper is referred to as PPI, or pages per inch. See also bulk, caliper.
TIFF	Tagged Image File Format, a bitmapped file format used for the reproduction of digitally scanned images such as photographs, illustrations & logos.
Tint	To vary a color by adding white. Also, a very light or delicate variation of a color.
Tooth	Refers to paper's surface roughness, a characteristic that allows it to take up ink.
Trapping	Printing ink over previously printed ink. Trapping is also used to describe the very slight overlapping of adjacent colors. Trapping color is achieved by use of chokes and spreads.
Trim Size	The final size of a printed piece once it's been cut to specification.
Trimming	Cutting paper after printing to make all sheets the same or a specified size. After binding printed papers, the head, foot, and edge of a book are often trimmed in a guillotine to make all the pages even. The inner pages of each signature have a tighter fold and will be slightly longer than the outer pages. See also finishing, signature, trim size.
Tritone	A black and white image printed with three screens and three colors, such as one black and two grays, used to enrich the contrast between light and dark areas. See also continuous tone, duotone, halftone, quadratone, screen.
Uncoated Paper	Paper that doesn't have 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. See also book paper, cotton paper, cover paper, offset papers, text papers, vellum.
UV Coating	A very slick, glossy coating applied to the printed paper surface and dried on press with ultraviolet (UV) light. The slick surface of UV coating makes it eye catching, and therefore very popular for printing the covers of paperback novels. Because UV coating can cause slight variations in match colors, consulting with an ink manufacturer or printer will yield best results.
UV Ink	Ink specially formulated to dry quickly with ultraviolet (UV) light while still on press. UV drying improves turnaround time because it eliminates waiting for the first side to dry before printing the second side. This eliminates the need for the paper to pass through the press more than once. See alsoink.
Varnish	A coating printed on top of a printed sheet to protect it, add a finish, and/or add a tinge of color. An entire sheet may be varnished, or certain areas, like halftones, may be spot varnished to add emphasis and appeal.
Vegetable-based Ink	And ink using vegetable oil, rather than petroleum solvents, as the vehicle for carrying pigment. Vegetable ink colors tend to be more vibrant than petroleum-based inks, but may take longer to dry. This book, Words on Paper, is printed with soybased ink, a type of vegetable-based ink. See also ink, petroleum-based ink.
Vellum	An uncoated paper finish that is fairly even, but not quite as even as a smooth finish. Vellum is probably the most popular finish for uncoated paper. See also uncoated paper.
Velox	A paper type imaging material created by using a large printers camera and exposing the paper to light through a lens. Used for camera ready logos, halftones. Virgin fiber fiber that has never been used before in the manufacture of paper or other products.
Watermark	A mark in fine papers, imparted during manufacture, that identifies a paper. It doesn't leave an impression in the paper, instead it leaves behind a translucent mark.
Web Press	A high speed printing press that prints on both sides of a continuous roll of paper. Web presses are used for high volume printing such as newspapers and magazines.
Weight	The tonnage or poundage of a quantity of paper. The weight of paper may be expressed as basis weight, ream weight, M weight, or grammage. Basis weight is the weight in pounds of 500 sheets of paper cut to a given standard size (called basic size), such as 25"x38", depending on the grade of paper. Ream weight is the actual weight in pounds of 500 sheets of paper, regardless of basic size< of grade. M weight is the actual weight of 1,000 sheets of paper. Because this is twice the quantity of a ream of paper, it is also twice the ream weight. Grammage is a metric measure similar to the basis weight of paper. Unlike basis weight, which uses different basic sizes for different grades of paper, grammage always uses the same sheet size one square meter regardless of the paper grade. See also actual weight, basis weight, M weight.
Whiteness	The measure of the amount of light reflected from a sheet of paper. How white a paper is depends on how evenly it reflects all colors in the visible spectrum. If it reflects more blue than red and yellow, it will have a cool, blue tinge to it, making it appear brighter than white. A cool paper will appear brighter than a similar paper with a warm tinge. A cool or warm tinge doesn't affect paper quality, but it does create optical impressions. For example, in color printing with blues and blacks predominating, a cool white sheet tends to brighten the colors. But color printing with reds, oranges, and yellows predominating, a neutral or warm white sheet tends to make the colors appear clearer and stronger. See also brightness.
Work and Tumble	See imposition.
Work and Turn	See imposition.
Wove Finish	Uncoated paper that has an even finish with slight toothiness. See also tooth.
Zapateado	The rhythmic stamping of the heels, characteristic of Spanish flamenco dances can be practiced while reading this web page!