Printing Glossary

(because we know it is another language)

 

Against the Grain
At right angles to the grain direction of the paper being used, as compared to with the grain. Also called across the grain and cross grain. See also Grain Direction.

Bleed
Printing that extends to the edge of a sheet or page after trimming.

Burst Perfect Bind
To bind by forcing glue into notches along the spines of gathered signatures before affixing a paper cover. Also called burst bind, notch bind and slotted bind. Dobson’s can do a range of different binding. Ask for a quote today!

Case Bind
To bind using glue to hold signatures to a case made of binder board covered with fabric, plastic or leather. Also called cloth bind, edition bind, hard bind and hard cover.

Celloglaze
A plastic coating on paper that provides protection from moisture. extra rigidity, resists folding and gives the item longer life. Dobson’s does in house celloglazing.

CMYK
Abbreviation for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black), the four process colors. Also called full colour.

Coated Paper
Paper with a coating of clay and other substances that improves reflectivity and ink holdout. Mills produce coated paper in the four major categories cast, gloss, dull and matte.

Colour Break
In multicolour printing, the point, line or space at which one ink colour stops and another begins. Also called break for colour.

Composite printing
Dobson’s is a pioneer in this method of printing through D Print. Similar to gang printing, we put multiple items on a single sheet to reduce set up costs and waste. The difference is that we do this in small enough batches as to monitor the quality of the product. Get the best of both worlds- quality and low cost!

Coverage
Extent to which ink covers the surface of a substrate. Ink coverage is usually expressed as light, medium or heavy.

Die Cut
Usually a custom ordered item to trim specific and unusual sized printing projects. Dobson’s can die cut folders, business cards, packaging, marketing materials and more! See our standing knives (link to PDF of knives) for presentation folders.

Duotone
Black-and-white photograph reproduced using two halftone negatives, each shot to emphasize different tonal values in the original.

Emboss
To press an image into paper so it lies above the surface. Also called cameo and tool. Embossing is great for invitations and making a piece special. Ask Dobson’s whether embossing is suitable for your project.

Face
Edge of a bound publication opposite the spine. Also called foredge. Also, an abbreviation for typeface referring to a family of a general style.

Finished Size
Size of product after production is completed, as compared to flat size. Also called trimmed size.

Foil Emboss
To foil stamp (metallic) and emboss an image. Also called heat stamp.

Folio (page number)
The actual page number in a publication.

Gang printing
To reproduce two or more different printed products simultaneously on one sheet of paper during one press run. Also called combination run.

Ghosting
Phenomenon of a faint image appearing on a printed sheet where it was not intended to appear. Chemical ghosting refers to the transfer of the faint image from the front of one sheet to the back of another sheet.

Gloss
Consider the light reflecting on various objects in the printing industry (e.g., paper, ink, laminates, UV coating, varnish).

GSM
The unit of measurement for paper weight (grams per square meter). This is not the same as thickness.

Hickey
Spot or imperfection in printing, most visible in areas of heavy ink coverage, caused by dirt on the plate or blanket. Also called bulls eye and fish eye.

Imposition
Arrangement of pages on mechanicals or flats so they will appear in proper sequence after press sheets are folded and bound.

Laid Finish
Finish on bond or text paper on which grids of parallel lines simulate the surface of handmade paper. Laid lines are close together and run against the grain; chain lines are farther apart and run with the grain.

Laser Bond
Bond paper made especially smooth and dry to run well through laser printers.

Lithography
Method of printing using plates whose image areas attract ink and whose nonimage areas repel ink.

Matt Finish
Flat (not glossy) finish on photographic paper or coated printing paper.

Offset Printing
Printing technique that transfers ink from a plate to a blanket to paper instead of directly from plate to paper. Dobson’s is an offset specialist and also does a range of digital. See our capabilities here.

Perfect Bind
To bind sheets that have been ground at the spine and are held to the cover by glue. Also called adhesive bind, cut-back bind, glue bind, paper bind, patent bind, perfecting bind, soft bind and soft cover. See also Burst Perfect Bind.

Perfecting Press
Press capable of printing both sides of the paper during a single pass. Also called duplex press and perfector.

Perf Marks
On a "dummy" marking where the perforation is to occur.

Perforating
Taking place on a press or a binder machine, creating a line of small dotted wholes for the purpose of tearing-off a part of a printed matter (usually straight lines, vertical or horizontal).

Prepress
Camera work, color separations, stripping, platemaking and other prepress functions performed by the printer, separator or a service bureau prior to printing. Also called preparation. Dobson’s prepress department stops errors before they hit the press.

Press Check
Event at which makeready sheets from the press are examined before authorizing full production to begin.

Ream
500 sheets of paper.

Recycled Paper
New paper made entirely or in part from old paper. See Dobson’s environment page.

Register
To place printing properly with regard to the edges of paper and other printing on the same sheet. Such printing is said to be in register.

Saddle Stitch
To bind by stapling sheets together where they fold at the spine, as compared to side stitch. Also called pamphlet stitch, saddle wire and stitch bind. Dobson’s provides saddle stitching in our inhouse bindery.

Satin Finish
Alternate term for dull finish on coated paper.

Screen Printing
Method of printing by using a squeegee to force ink through an assembly of mesh fabric and a stencil. This technique is ideal for printing on fabrics (such as T Shirts), plastics and metals (often used for promotional materials such as USBs, pens, balloons and cups). It is also used on outdoor products because of its UV resistance.

Self Cover
Usually in the book arena, a publication not having a cover stock. A publication only using text stock throughout.

Spiral Bind
To bind using a spiral of continuous wire or plastic looped through holes. Also called coil bind.

Spot Color or Varnish
One ink or varnish applied to portions of a sheet, as compared to flood or painted sheet.

Spot UV
Liquid applied to a printed sheet, then bonded and cured with ultraviolet light to create a glossy look. Spot UV works particularly well when used to highlight one article on a page such as a logo. Dobson’s can assist you with your Spot UV needs.

Varnish
Liquid applied as a coating for protection and appearance.

Web Press
Press that prints from rolls of paper, usually cutting it into sheets after printing. Also called reel-fed press. Web presses come in many sizes, the most common being mini, half, three quarter (also called 8-pages) and full (also called 16-pages).