|
|
Print Terms Glossary
|
|
|
|
Aconex
A web based project management system. See www.aconex.com.au .
Archive Scanning
Archive scanning is the process of scanning physical document archives for the process of importing them into an electronic document management system.
Author's Corrections
Corrections made by a document author to modify a proof from the original file supplied.
AutoCAD
AutoCAD is the world's leading computer aided design tool for both 2D and 3D design. Its published by Autodesk.
|
|
|
Back to Back
A document page that is printed both sides. Each side is counted as a single page.
Background scanning
A style of archive scanning characterised by a project with no fixed deadline and no time based quotas for scanning targets. The open ended nature of the archive scanning process reduces the cost by up to 50% compared to on demand scanning.
Backing up
Printing the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side.
Banker Envelope
An envelope that has a long closure flap across the long edge of the envelope.
Best Fit
Best Fit is a term used to describe how to enlarge or reduce an image size when its constrained by a given required size. The image is enlarged and reduced so that it fits within the required size, without distorting the image.
Binding
Process of physically assembling paper into a book, finished products can be wire bound, comb bound or perfect bound.
Bleed
The additional print area around a document to allow the image/colour to run off (or 'bleed off') the edge of the finished article. The additional area is then trimmed off once the job is complete.
Blind Embossing
A design that is stamped or pressed into a piece of paper.
Booklet Mailer
A4 envelope that opens on the long edge for ease of inserting documents; also has a window.
Bond paper
Bond paper refers to regular 80gsm uncoated paper suitable for a laser printing process.
|
|
Case Bound
Same as Hard Bound – book bound with very thick card and fabric or other material.
Cast Coated Board
Coated paper dried under pressure against a polished cylinder to produce a high-gloss enamel finish on one side. Commonly used for postcards.
Celloglaze
A plastic film heat bonded to the paper, e.g. book cover, business cards, etc. Can be either gloss or matt and can be applied to either both or just one side of a item. Cannot be applied to just a portion/spot of the printed item, i.e. just a logo or picture.
CMYK
(Acronym of Cyan Magenta Yellow blacK) The color space used for commercial printing and most color computer printers. In theory, cyan, magenta and yellow (CMY) can print all colours, but inks are not pure and black comes out muddy. The black ink (K) is required for quality printing. See color space, RGB and ink coverage.
Coated Paper
A combination of clay and calcium carbonate is applied to the surface of the paper to create the smoother surface. This paper is used for marketing brochures, books and other quality publications.
Collate
To bring sections of work together in correct sequence.
Colour Separation
The separation of the colours making up a full colour original; usually into the three primaries (C,M,Y) plus black, each of which will be reproduced by a separate printing plate.
Colortec
Colortec is a trademark of Xerox. It refers to a type of paper stock which is most commonly 100gsm brushed paper specifically used in colour laser applications.
Cropping
Trimming or masking off unwanted portions of a digital image.
|
|
Delivery Docket
A docket attached to each finished job that details who the job is for. There is a tear off section that includes salient details of the job as filled out by the operator.
Discipline
Discipline refers to the different areas of specialty that are required in the construction industry. The common disciplines are Architectural, Structural (sometimes called Engineering), Mechanical, Electrical & Hydraulic. Drawings can be organised by discipline, which means all the drawings required to complete that component of construction for that discipline.
Die Cutting
The process of using sharp cutting blocks to remove cut out areas/images of a printed sheet.
Digital Colour Printing
A printing process that allows colour printing directly from electronic images without the need for film or colour separations. Only economical on small print runs up to 200 copies. There are two types Digital Laser and Digital Press. Digital laser printing is the same as your standard photocopier and uses toner. A digital press uses ink. Examples of digital presses include HP Indigo, Xerox iGen or Kodak NexPress.
Decal
A vinyl cut sticker that is usually applied to glass windows. Decals actually have areas that are cut out. Typical examples of decals are letters.
Digital Colour Proof
An electronic colour proof reproduced from the electronic data. Digital colour proofs do not always represent the appearance of colours once printed however and are more for layout and copy proofing purposes.
Double sided page
When a page is printed both sides. Each side is counted as a single page.
Dummy
Sample of the proposed work prepared before printing to assist in assessing design and estimating production requirements. A binder's dummy is made to establish the exact dimension of the bound book.
Duplex
To duplex is to print on both sides of a sheet of paper.
DPI
Acronym for 'Dots Per Inch'. Is a measurement of the quality of the image otherwise known as image resolution. High quality print has 300 dots per inch whereas website graphics have a DPI measurement of 72 dots per inch. The number of dots that fit horizontally and vertically into a one-inch measure. The more dots per inch the more detail is captured and the sharper the image will print.
Drawing Register
A drawing register is a list of all drawings for a project. The register may separate the drawings into disciplines or trades. It will also specify the revision number of each drawings and the date when the drawings were revised. A register can be used to check whether Clockwork has the current revisions, or used to order a specific number of drawings.
DWG
DWG is a file extension used for Autocad files. Autocad files are used to store information that describes complex structures such as buildings, parts for machines etc. Clockwork can convert DWG files to PDF.
|
|
Embossing
An image impressed into the stock either raised or relief. |
|
Foiling
When a special foil is bonded to a document, e.g. invitation, booklet cover, etc. Used for prestigious publications to give impact.
Folding
When a printed document requires folding for completion, e.g. A3 folded to A4; A4 folded to A5; A4 folded twice to DL, A0 folded to A4.
Folding – Crash Fold
When a document requires more than one fold and any subsequent folds cross over previous folds, e.g. A3 folded to A4 and then crash folded to DL for mailing.
Folding – Gate Fold
When a printed document is folded twice with the folds meeting at one point to make a 'gate'.
Folding – Roll Fold
Where the fold keeps rolling onto itself.
Folding – Z Fold
Z fold (or Zig Zag fold) when the fold looks like a Z.
Folding – Zig Zag Fold
Same as Z Fold.
Four Colour Process
Where the three primary colours (C,M,Y) and black are used to make photographic quality images.
Full Bleed
Print is cut to the edge of ink to produce a print with no white borders. Laser copiers do not print to edge of paper so guillotining is required to produce this result. |
|
Grain Direction
Paper is made with a grain direction. It is important to keep this fact in mind as it affects several different aspects of the printing process. For example, folding is neater and easier when done with the grain.
GSM (paper weight)
Paper weight is expressed as gsm (or grams / square metre). The higher the number the heavier the stock.
70gsm - what your newspaper is printed on
80gsm - photocopier paper
250gsm - a board stock used for book covers
Guillotine
A device used to cut large quantities of stacked paper and also the verb of the same. |
|
Hole Punching
When holes are added to a job for completion, e.g. 2 to 4 holes to be filed in a ring binder; calendars with a single hole for hanging.
|
|
Inkjet Printing Technology
Inkjet printing is the most common way to produce colour plan prints, posters and canvas prints. It's familiar to most print users; Your home printer uses the same technology. Inkjet inks contain a pigment that's dissolved in water and is applied to the paper or canvas using a print head. Advantages of inkjet technology include high quality colour reproduction and most large format photos and canvas prints which require good quality colour reproduction are printed using this method. The disadvantages of inkjet are that colours will run if the print gets wet and prints will fade over time. Fading accelerates if the print exposed to direct sunlight. Clockwork uses a special UV stabilized ink for its inkjet prints which prolongs the life of prints and an 8 colour printing process that gives the best large format colour reproduction possible. Clockwork can print photographic prints up to 1.5 metres in width by any desired length.
Image Rotation
Rotating a page to either landscape or portrait mode so that the text always reads left to right.
Impose/Imposition
Imposition is used when printing multiple copies of the same document on a larger sheet of paper. It involves arranging the same image on a large sheet of paper in such a fashion that the sheet can be trimmed to produce many copies of the identical smaller output. Its commonly used with business cards, which are printed on a large A3 sheet and then trimmed out. Imposition Software is used to produce an Imposed PDF which is then sent to print. |
|
|
|
|
Key Line
An outline drawing of finished art for folders or die cut diagrams. This line marks areas that should be cut or folded. |
|
Large Format
Refers to any printing over SRA3 size. It can refer to either plan printing or colour plotting.
Lamination / Laminate / Laminating
A plastic film bonded by heart and pressure to a printed sheet for protection or appearance. There are two main types of laminating; Cold and hot laminates. The names refer to the processes used. Hot laminating is the most common style of laminating. It has a characteristic lip of plastic around the document. It is double sided, can be used to laminate flat items that do not include inks or materials that will run or melt with heat. Cold lamination is your best option when laminating heat-sensitive documents including faxes, photos, and documents printed with an ink jet printer. The hardcopy is laminated one side at a time and is trimmed right to the edge. You can laminate both sides if required.
Latex printing
Latex printing is the newest and most flexible technology to hit the market. It uses water based paints to print an image on either paper, canvas, vinyl or other synthetic substrates. The ink technology is based on the same formula as paint you would buy from a hardware store. The ink is applied by a print head, then passes through a special drying area in the printer where the water is evaporated, leaving the paint like particles behind. The ink sits on top of the material, rather than soaking into it. Like paint, it's very durable, UV stable and suitable for outdoor use. Latex prints are not as hard wearing as a solvent print counterpart, because the ink sits on top of the substrate rather than in it. It's ideal for pull up banners, fabric printing, stickers and point of sale posters. Being a water based method this style of printing is also kinder to the environment and doesn't require a specially ventilated room for operation.
Laser printing
Laser printers are the oldest and most reliable print technology. Clockwork operates 5 large format plan printers. Plan printing is commonly used by the construction, architectural and engineering industry. These printers put down toner which is fused to bond paper using heat. Large format plan printers produce prints up to 900mm wide and any length. Rolls of paper come in specific width to provide ISO sized plans in A3, A2, A1, B1 and A0 sizes. Colour laser wide format plan printers do exist, but to date their complexity means that reliable performance can be difficult to achieve.
Lick & Stick Envelope
Where a dry substance along one edge of the closing flap, when moistened and pressed shut, seals the envelope.
|
|
Machine Varnish
A thin, protective coating applied to a printed sheet to reduce finger-marking or scuffing.
Mock-up
A rough sample to assist in understanding sequence of pages, finishing requirements etc.
Monochrome
Monochrome means single colour. Whist it can mean any one single colour it most commonly refers to black. For example a plan print is done with black toner but is called a monochrome print. Monochrome is most commonly used to refer to B&W process.
|
|
|
|
|
Offset Paper
This paper is very similar to Bond. Used for questionnaires, surveys, books. A very serviceable stock.
Opacity
Opacity is affected by the content of the paper. In selecting the stock for your job a weight needs to be selected that doesn't allow a distracting amount of show-through.
Overprinting
Printing onto an already printed page.
|
|
Paper Sizes
ISO standard paper sizes – A Series
In the ISO series each successive size has half the area of the previous size.
A0 841 x 1189 mm
A1 594 x 841 mm
A2 420 x 594 mm
A3 297 x 420 mm
A4 210 x 297 mm
A5 148 x 210 mm
A6 105 x 148 mm
Click here for printable paper size reference sheets.
Pantone Colour
Pantone colours are simply colored inks that are standardised so that they appear as close as possible to the same colour no matter when you use them. There are over a thousand colors available in the Pantone color system. Each color is specified with a label which usually takes the form PMS xxxx .
Pantone colours can only be replicated by the CMYK colour process.
Pantone Matching System
The proprietary colour matching system of Pantone Inc. See http://www.pantone.com.
PDF
PDF is the file extension of a type of computer file, readable by Adobe Acrobat. It stands for Portable Digital Format. Many document types are stored as PDF.
Peel-n-Seal Envelope
Where a covering strip is placed over the sealing substance on the flap. Once peeled back and the envelope is pressed shut it is sealed.
Perfect Binding
Binding for a finished book where the cover wraps around the text pages including the front, spine and back. Glue mechanically wiped onto the spine area seals the cover to the text. A greater margin is required on the inside of pages to allow for ease of reading. Very durable.
Perfecting
Where the both sides of a page is printed in one pass of the press.
Perforating
When a form or page within a document needs to be removed from the bound form, it is then perforated to allow ease of removal.
Permanent Binding - Hard Bound
A special process that only book binding specialists perform. Similar in process to Perfect Binding but with hard covers.
Plain Faced Envelope
An envelope that has no window.
Planwell
A commonly used web based planroom for storing construction, engineering document and specifications. Visit http://www.planwell.com for more information.
Pocket Envelope
An envelope that opens on the short edge.
Press Seal Envelope
Where an envelope has two flaps for closing. A sticky sealing substance on each flap, when pressed together, seals the envelope shut.
Preflighting
Preflighting is a procedure commonly used to detect problems with PDF before they are printed. Adobe InDesign and RIP's have preflighting features that allow you to preview how a PDF will be interpreted by a printer. Preflighting will capture many but not all issues associated with PDFs.
Project Centre
Project centre is a web-based Project Delivery System designed to reduce risks and coordinate efforts of all participants on a project. See http://www.projectcentre.com for more information. |
|
Quality Assurance
Stands for Quality Assurance. Prints are checked and made sure they are correct before being wrapped and given to the client. |
|
Registration Marks
Crosses or other marks placed on the art work to align printing plates when printing with more than one colour.
RIP
Acronym for 'Raster Image Processor.' The RIP is the computer which handles all the printing through the output devices. Typically one RIP can control more than one printer and can do simple image manipulation, colour changes and nest images. Print jobs are queued in the RIP to allow continuous printing.
RGB
(Red Green Blue) The computer's native color space, which is the color system for capturing and displaying images. RGB was derived from our own perception of color because human eyes are sensitive to red, green and blue. |
|
Saddle stitching
Binding for a finished book where the staples appear on the very spine and centre of the book. Pages need to be in multiples of four. Limited to books up to approximately 88 pages of 80gsm Bond. After this the books may need to be hand stitched which is very labour intensive.
Scoring
A process of indenting thicker paper stock so that it folds correctly without the paper cracking.
Side Stitching
Binding for a finished book where the staples can be seen on the front of the book and are pushed through the book to the back.
Single sided page
When a page is to have text/image on only one side.
Solvent Printing Technology
When you need your printed products to last, solvent printing is the method of choice. This method is commonly used for printing outdoor vinyl banners, window displays, a-frames, corflute signs and stickers. Solvent inks use UV stable dyes that are dissolved in an aggressive organic solvent. When the ink is applied to the substrate through the print head, the organic solvent attacks the surface of the material its applied to and permeates through the first few layers of the material. The solvent evaporates away leaving the ink permanently ingrained in the substrate. This creates the longest wearing print that's suitable for constant outdoor exposure. The downside of solvent printing is that the inks used are corrosive, special care must be taken with handling both the ink and ink waste and the printer must be used in a well ventilated area. Clockwork uses this process to print up to 1.8 metres wide by any length for vinyl banners, billboards, self adhesive vinyl stickers and other wide format display products.
Speciality Paper
This is the term used for colourful and textured stocks normally used with a definite purpose in mind. Due to the special processes to manufacture them, they are priced accordingly. As these stocks are used for their special characteristics and the image they portray you need to consider this when the print design is being developed.
Specification
A term used in the building industry for a detailed set of written instructions on how to build a specific item including what materials to use etc.
Spiral Binding
A book bound with wire/plastic spiral form inserted through holes punched along the binding side.
Spot colour
Spot colour is the general term used for any specific ink formulation used to produce a particular print effect. Spot colours can use inks that produce fluorescent colours, metallic colours, glow in the dark colours or specific corporate colours that can't be achieved in the CMYK colourspace. Pantone colours are a subset of spot colours.
Stock
Paper or other material to be printed on.
Set
A set of drawings describes the number of copies of the same group of drawings. For example if you have 5 original drawings and wish to make 5 copies of each of those drawings you would request that 5 sets be produced. Sets denote that the copies will be collated in the same manner as the original.
Scale
A drawing that shows a real object with accurate sizes except they have all been reduced or enlarged by a certain amount (called the scale).The scale is shown as the length in the drawing, then a colon (":"), then the matching length on the real item. Example: this drawing has a scale of "1:10", so anything drawn with the size of "1" would have a size of "10" in the real world, so a measurement of 150mm on the drawing would be 1500mm. Clockwork has produced a set of printable scale rulers available here.
Stock
Stock refers to the type of paper / substrate used to print on.
|
|
Trim Marks
Marks placed in each corner of document to be printed indicating where the job is to be guillotined.
Trades
A trade is defined as a specific area of construction. For example trades include Plumbing, Carpentry, Ceilings, Painting, Air-conditioning, Landscaping etc. Drawings can be organised by trade, which means all the specific drawings required to complete that component of construction for that trade.
TIFF
Acronym for Tagged Image File Format. A widely used bitmapped graphics file format that handles monochrome, gray scale, 8-and 24-bit color. TIFF allows for customisation, and several versions have been created, which does not guarantee compatibility between all programs. TIFF files are compressed using several compression methods. LZW provides ratios of about 1.5:1 to 2:1. Ratios of 10:1 to 20:1 are possible for documents with lots of white space using ITU Group III and IV compression methods (fax).
Tracing Paper
Paper that is translucent, meaning that it is not totally clear and can be used for overlay.
Transparencies
There are two definitions for transparencies. 1. A totally clear film used in copiers for overhead projectors or for overlays on maps.
2. Graphic term relating to images or text that can be put on top of another layer and partially seen through. |
|
Uncoated Paper
Paper with no coating to give a porous, slightly rough texture. It absorbs ink easily giving a faded look. This can be the desired affect but needs to be considered when job is being designed.
USB
Ultra Smooth Banner material
UV Varnish
A heat cured finished applied to spot areas on a document. Often a very glossy finish. |
|
Vignette
An image that fades gradually away until it blends into the unprinted paper.
Tender Package
A 'Tender Package' or a package is a subset of drawings for a project that are required by the person replying to the tender. This subset is needed to accurately cost the job. The subset of drawings can be all from one discipline or can from a mixture of different trades.
Transmittal
A transmittal is a document which is used when new drawings are sent to a person. For example when drawings are emailed, a transmittal document is sometimes attached, which details the revision of the drawings concerned and when the drawings were revised. It usually details all the previous revisions of the drawings.
A transmittal is similar to a drawing register, but is usually concerned with the drawings that are actually 'transmitted' rather than every drawing in the project. The terms 'transmittal' and 'drawing register' are used interchangeably.
Visio
Visio is a Microsoft program used by the construction and engineering sector, that draws flowcharts to assist businesses with mapping the flow of their business. Clockwork can convert Visio files to PDF.
|
|
Weeding
Removing areas on the printed decal that shouldn't form part of the final product.
White Film / Polypropolyne
A polymer based printing substrate used in large format inkjet printing. Essentially a printable plastic, you can easily tell the difference between paper and White Film / Polypropylene because the latter will not tear when you apply shear force.
Wallet Envelope
An envelope that has a long rectangular closure flap across the long edge of the envelope.
Window Faced Envelope
An envelope that has an address window.
Wiro Binding
A continuous double series of wire loops running through punched slots along the binding side of a booklet.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
