Fast quality printing in Bergen County New Jersey
Get a quote for printing in NJ
Glossary of printing industry terms

AA’s (Author's Alterations): Changes made by the client to a prepared file. These changes are usually chargeable to the customer.

Aqueous Coating: A technique used to enhance appearance, and protect against wear and tear.

Bleed: The term used when the image or copy extends off the edges of the sheet.

Blind Embossing: A method which presses type or images into a sheet without ink or foil.

Coated Paper: A type of paper with a clay coating, which gives it a smooth finish.

Collating: Term for gathering sheets in a desired order.

Crop: To cut off portions of an image or photo.

Crop Marks: Lines printed which show where to make the final cuts.

Crossover: When an image crosses over to the facing sheet in a booklet.

Cyan: Refers to the blue used in the standard four color process.

Die: A metal rule or block used to create a final shape.

Digital Printing: The latest technology used to produce printed materials without traditional ink and plates. This method is more eco friendly than the offset process.

Dummy: A rough mock-up of a printed piece to show final position and size.

Duotone: An image made up of two printed colors.

Emboss: Method which creates a raised relief.

Flood: Term for covering an entire printed sheet with ink.

Foil: Used with embossing or foil stamping.

Four color process: Applies to the process of using four colors ( cyan, magenta, yellow and black) to create all other colors.

Hairline: A thin gap or line about the width of a hair 1/100th of an inch.

Hard Copy: A printout of a file intended for reproduction.

Indicia: The area which contains the postal information.

Kiss Cut: The method for cutting only the top layer of a thin sheet of label stock without cutting all the way through.

Magenta: Refers to the red used in the standard four color process.

Makeready: Everything involved in the preparation on press for printing.

Offsetting: Used to describe when the image from a bottom sheet transfers to the sheet above.

Offset Paper: Any stock that is not coated.

Overrun: The quantity printed in excess of the ordered amount.

Perfect Binding: The method which uses glue to bind a cover and book to create a spine.

PMS: Meaning Pantone Matching System, the standard for color choice when printing.

Register Marks: Commonly cross hairs added to a sheet to aid the pressman when setting up a printed piece.

Saddle Stitching: The term used when sheets are bound together with staples on the folded seam to create a booklet.

Score: An intentional crease added to a sheet of paper to facilitate easier folding.

Self-Cover: When the stock used for the cover of a book is the same as the inside pages.

Substrate: Any surface on which printing is done.

Trapping: The ability to print color on color with no gap between them.

UV Coating: A method which applies either a matte or gloss coating over a printed piece for appearance and durability. The fluid is bonded to the sheet with UV light.

Varnish: An alternative method to UV coating.

Copyright 2010 The Print Group • 24 East Wesley Street • South Hackensack, NJ 07606 • T: 201.487.4400 • F: 201.487.1555

The Print Group Footer About Print Group | Services | Equipment List | Common File Types | Glossary | Shop Online | Contact Us | Upload