30 terms in our glossary

B

1 term

Bleed

The area of a printed piece that extends beyond the trim edge. Bleed ensures that ink coverage extends to the edge of th...

C

1 term

CMYK

A color model used in color printing. Stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black). These four ink colors are combi...

D

2 terms

Die Cut

A process where a sharp steel blade (die) is used to cut paper or other materials into custom shapes. Commonly used for...

DPI

Dots Per Inch. A measure of printing resolution that indicates how many individual dots a printer can produce within a l...

E

1 term

Embossing

A finishing technique that creates a raised design on paper by pressing it between two dies. Debossing creates an indent...

F

1 term

Foil Stamping

A printing technique where metallic or pigmented foil is applied to paper using heat and pressure. Creates a shiny, refl...

G

1 term

GSM

Grams per Square Meter. The standard measurement of paper weight used internationally. Higher GSM indicates thicker, hea...

H

1 term

Halftone

A reprographic technique that simulates continuous-tone imagery through the use of dots of varying size and spacing. Use...

I

1 term

ICC Profile

A set of data that characterizes a color input or output device according to International Color Consortium standards. U...

K

1 term

Kerning

The adjustment of space between individual letter pairs in a typeface. Proper kerning improves readability and visual ap...

L

2 terms

Lamination

A finishing process where a thin plastic film is applied to printed material for protection and enhanced appearance. Ava...

Lithography

A printing method based on the principle that oil and water do not mix. The image area on the printing plate accepts ink...

M

1 term

Moire Pattern

An undesirable visual pattern that occurs when halftone screens are improperly aligned or when scanning printed material...

O

2 terms

Offset Printing

The most common commercial printing method where ink is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to paper. Ide...

Overprint

Printing one ink on top of another. Black text is often set to overprint to avoid registration issues. Overprinting crea...

P

2 terms

Pantone

A standardized color matching system used in the printing industry. Pantone colors (also called spot colors or PMS color...

PPI

Pixels Per Inch. A measure of image resolution for digital images and screens. Often confused with DPI. For print, image...

R

3 terms

Registration

The accurate alignment of two or more printed colors or images on a sheet. Registration marks are used to ensure proper...

Resolution

The amount of detail in an image, measured in DPI or PPI. Higher resolution means more detail. For quality printing, 300...

RGB

Red, Green, Blue. An additive color model used for screens and digital displays. RGB files must be converted to CMYK for...

S

3 terms

Saddle Stitch

A binding method where folded sheets are nested together and stapled through the spine fold. Common for booklets, catalo...

Spot Color

A specially mixed ink color used in printing, as opposed to process colors (CMYK). Spot colors ensure exact color matchi...

Substrate

The base material on which printing is done. Can include paper, cardboard, plastic, fabric, metal, glass, or any other p...

T

2 terms

Trapping

A pre-press technique where adjacent colors are slightly overlapped to prevent gaps (white lines) between colors due to...

Trim Size

The final size of a printed piece after it has been cut from the press sheet. Also known as the finished size.

U

1 term

UV Coating

A liquid coating applied to printed material and cured with ultraviolet light. Provides a high-gloss, durable finish tha...

V

2 terms

Varnish

A clear coating applied to printed material for protection and to enhance appearance. Available in gloss, matte, and sat...

Vector Graphics

Images defined by mathematical formulas rather than pixels. Vector graphics can be scaled to any size without loss of qu...

W

1 term

Watermark

A faint image or pattern embedded in paper during manufacturing, visible when held up to light. Used for security on cur...

X

1 term

X-Height

The height of lowercase letters in a typeface, specifically measured from the baseline to the top of lowercase x. A key...