Glossary
What does that mean?
This page, like all the others, is a work in progress.
Glossary
- Backup White
- A layer of white ink printed before subsequent colors (usually when printing on a dark substrate) to prevent show through of the underlying color.
- Bitmap
- A basic black and white image using only black and white (no grey tones) (not to be confused with bit map (.bmp) a file format.
- Bleed
- Extra image information that extends beyond where an item is cut (or cropped). Used to provide to-the-edge printing.
- Bold
- A heavy version of a typeface. Created either by design or mechanical means by adding a stroke (faux bold).
- Camera Ready (Film Ready)
- Traditionally; Black and white, color-separated artwork provided at actual size. Increasingly mis-named due to the lack of cameras. Today, "camera ready" would describe a file that is complete and need only be sent to the imagesetter.
- CMYK
- Stands for "Cyan," "Magenta," "Yellow," and "Key" (black) The four traditional subtractive primary colors used in four-color-process printing. See primary colors.
- Compressed (Condensed, Narrow, Tall)
- A typeface family variation that is narrower than its "roman" or "plain" counterpart. Created either by design or by adjusting the horizontal scale.
- Crop (cropmarks)
- 1.) The reduction of an image by trimming image information.
- 2.) The cut off portion of a printed image; indicated by cropmarks.
- Decender
- The portion of a letter form that decends below the baseline.
- Die Cutting
- To trim material (usually after printing) using either a steel-rule or a thermal die. Useful for irregular and non-rectangular shapes.
- Dot (Spot)
- A single unit of a halftone image. Determines how much ink will be put down in a tinted or continuous tone image.
- Dot Gain
- The undesireable tendancy of a haltone dot to enlarge (gain) when printed (either by residual ink around the edges of the stencil or absorption of the ink into the stock) wherein there is more ink put down than intended.
- Duotone
- A method of printing a greyscale image using two colors (or more [tritone, quadtone, etc.]) to produce a richer image and smoother tonal gradations.
- Elliptical dot
- Used primarily in screenprinting. A halftone dot that is oval in appearance.
- Em
- A typographical unit of measure based on the cap-height of the typeface used. Usually as em-space or em-dash.
- Emboss (Deboss)
- To use a non-cutting die to dent or stretch material (usually paper and mylar) to raise or depress an area. Example: a raised logo.
- Emulsion Side
- The side of a piece of film that has the emulsion. In screenprinting, emulsion side is usually up, that is the emulsion side is nearest the veiwer when the image "reads right". For flopped images (images that are printed mirrored) emusion side would be down (away from the veiwer when image is right reading.)
- en
- A typographical unit of measure. One-half of an em or one-half of the cap-height of the typeface used. Usually en-space or en-dash.
- eProof (electronic proof)
- An electronic depiction (file) of what a printed item will look like. Normally in proportion and shown on the background color and shape of the item. eProofs from Graphic Images are normally PDF, although Jpeg can be used at the client's request.
- Extended
- A typeface family variation that is wider than its "roman" or "plain" counterpart. Created by design or by adjusting the horizontal scale.
- Flood Bar
- A smooth metal bar used to flood the screen with ink (reload) after an impression is made.
- Font
- Traditionally: All the characters of a single typeface style at a specific size. (18 pt. Helvetica Bold). Contemporary: A typeface (Helvetica).
- Form
- A complete printed, uncut layout.
- Greyscale [grayscale] (continuous tone)
- A single color image ranging from 0% of the color to 100%. Usually black, but can be printed other colors.
- Gutter
- The space between paragraph columns or other diseparate objects. Also, the spacing between cavities in a multiple up die.
- Hairline
- The thinest possible line. Digitally; a line thickness of one device pixel. Example: Computer monitors are often 96 pixels per inch producing an hairline of 1/96th inch, Laser printers are often 600 dots (pixels) per inch or 1/600th inch.
- Halftone Image
- A reproduction technique that approximates a greyscale image using dots of varying size or spacing.
- Highlight White
- A bump-screen to enhance white areas of an image. Usually on a colored substrate, sometimes used in conjunction with a backup white.
- Imagesetter
- A digital device, similar to a printer, that produces or exposes film.
- Italic
- A typeface family variation that is a skewd, slanted or leaning version of the original. Created either by design or distortion. Some itallic variations resemble handwritten letters.
