Vocabulary
Aqueous coating
Provides a high gloss surface that deters dirt and fingerprints. Aqueous coating improves the durability; it also looks beautiful on brochures, catalog covers, and stand-alone flyers. Not as glossy as UV, but more environmentally friendly.
Basis weight
Basis or basic weight refers to the weight, in pounds, of a ream (500 sheets).
Binders board
Paper board used in making the front and back covers of a case bound book. The board is covered by suitable cover material (e.g. cloth or leather or laminated paper). Strawboard, pulpboard, or boxboard types may be used.
Bleed
An area of print that extends beyond the trim size (bleeds off), without leaving a border.
C1S and C2S
Acronyms for Coated One Side and Coated Two Sides paper stock. A cover stock with a glossy finish on one side and uncoated on the other.
Case binding
Books bound using hard board (case) covers.
CMYK
Stands for "Cyan Magenta Yellow Black." These are the four basic colors used for printing color images. Unlike RGB (red, green, blue), which is used for creating images on your computer screen, CMYK colors are "subtractive." This means the colors get darker as you blend them together. Since RGB colors are used for light, not pigments, the colors grow brighter as you blend them or increase their intensity.
Color bars
A color test strip that is printed on the waste portion of a press sheet.
Creep
The slight but cumulative extension of the edges of each inserted spread or signature beyond the edges of the signature that encloses it, this results in a progressively smaller trim size on the inside pages. Alternative terms: binders creep, thrust, push out.
Deboss
A plate-sunk image that creates an imprinted surface.
Drop shadow
A shadow image placed offset behind an image to create the effect of the image lifting off the page.
Edge gilding
Coating the borders of the book’s pages with gold leaf.
Edge staining
Coloring one or more of the trimmed ends of a book.
Embossing
Relief image that creates a raised printed surface (blind embossing gives an un-inked impression on blank paper).
Endpapers
An integral step in bookbinding case-bound books. A folded pair of papers attached to the first and last signatures of a book and pasted to the inside covers. Endpapers add to binding strength. Self-endpapers are a type of endpaper which uses the text pages.
Flush Cover
Cover trimmed to the same size as the text pages (e.g. paperback books).
Foil
The metal sheet that is applied to paper using the foil stamping process. Frequently gold colored, but available in many colors.
Foil stamping
Applying a metal sheet to paper using a heated die. The foil is frequently gold colored, but is available in many colors. Foil can also be stamped as part of the debossing or embossing process.
GSM
Grams per square meter (gm2): a standard measure of the weight of paper.
Headbands
Strips of material (often decorative) placed at the head and sometimes also at the foot of the spine of a case bound book block.
Imposition
The correct sequential arrangement of pages that are to be printed, along with all the margins in proper alignment, before producing the plates for printing.
Insert
Specially printed piece for insertion in a publication.
Jacket
The paper cover of a hardbound book. Sometimes called the “dust cover" or "dust jacket".
Justification
Adjusting the spacing or hyphenation of words and characters to fill a given line of text from end to end. Sometimes referred to as word spacing.
Kerning
The narrowing of space between two letters so that they become closer and take up less space on the page.
Laminate
Using heat a pressure to bond a clear plastic film to a sheet of paper. Protects the print and improves its appearance.
Library binding
Strong binding suitable for library book usage. The requirements include stitched signatures, sewn-on-four-cord thread, strong endpapers, and backlining extended into the boards.
M weight
The actual weight of 1000 sheets of any given size of paper.
Matte finish
A coated paper finish that goes through minimal calendaring.
Metallic ink
Ink that looks metallic when printed. Made with powdered metal or pigments.
Offset
Ink that is unintentionally transferred from a printed sheet to the back of the sheet above it as the pieces are stacked in a pile when printed.
Overrun
Quantities of sheets printed over the required number of copies.
Perfect binding
An adhesive-binding method. Signatures are collated, the spine of the book block is sawn offand roughened before adhesive is applied and the cover is drawn on. Note that 3mm of the back of the book is trimmed off during binding.
Pica
A typesetting unit of measurement equaling 1/6th of an inch.
PMS
PMS is the Pantone Matching System; a proprietary name for one of the most commonly used systems for color matching.
Rag paper
Papers with a complete or partial content of cotton fibers.
Ream
500 sheets of paper.
Run
Number of copies to be produced. Also called a print run.
Saddle stitching
Securing pages by wire staples through the centerfold. In saddle-stitched work, the printed sections are inserted one inside the other.
Show through
When the printing on one side of a sheet is seen from the other side, a frequent problem with thin papers.
Signature
A printed sheet with multiple pages on it that is folded so that the pages are in their proper numbered sequence, as in a book.
Smyth Sewn
A method of sewing together folded, gathered, and collated signatures with a single thread sewn through the folds of individual signatures. This creates a book that lays flatter when opened, it is mostly used with larger high school books.
Tipped-in
An illustration or other matter printed separately from the main work and pasted in correct position at its inner edge to the page following or preceding it.
Trim marks
Marks placed on the printed sheet to indicate where cuts should be made.
Typo
A spelling mistake in printed material resulting from a mistake in typing or setting type.
Variable data printing
Is a form of on-demand printing in which elements (such as text, graphics, photographs, etc) can be changed from one printed piece to the next, without stopping or slowing down the press, using information from a database. For example, a set of personalized letters, each with the same basic layout, can be printed with a different name and address on each letter.
Watermark
A translucent mark or image that is embossed during the papermaking process, or printed onto paper, and is visible when the paper is held up to the light.
Widow
A single word or two left at the end of a paragraph, or in part of a sentence ending a paragraph, which loops over to the next page and stands alone. Also, the last line of a paragraph when that line only contains one or two short words.
80# dull/matte text
This stock is finely coated with a non-gloss finish. It provides an excellent opaque base for easy to read, crisp typography. Standard uses: Brochures, Catalog Inserts, and Flyers, etc.
80# Gloss text
Standard glossy paper stock, about as thick as a light magazine cover. The shiny finish provides an excellent opaque base for rich process color printing. This is our most popular stock for: Brochures, Catalog Inserts, Flyers, Posters, etc.
100# Gloss text
Similar to the 80# gloss text, but 25% thicker and heavier, for a piece that feels more substantial. Standard uses: Brochures, Information Sheets, Self-mailers, etc.
80# Gloss cover
As a “cover” stock, this paper is stiff, about like a postcard or baseball card. This stock is coated with a glossy finish, making photographs and other images look beautiful. Standard uses: durable, heavy-weight Brochures, Catalog Covers, Product Spec Sheets.
100# Uncoated cover
An option for business cards, rack cards and bookmarks. This bright white smooth #1 grade cover stock is 14 pt in thickness and matches the 70# text-weight stock we use for letterhead and envelopes.
120# Gloss cover
We offer this high-quality, thick 14 pt stock on all of our card products. The glossy, coated finish makes photographs and other images look beautiful. Consider adding aqueous coating to your four color sides for added protection and shine.