Category Archives: Self-publish, design and formatting

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Printing jargon is arcane and confusing, perhaps intentionally, which makes it a thrill to parse, simplify, and share. In earlier blogs, I excerpted and simplified key terms and definitions from an excellent print industry website, http://www.printindustry.com. Be sure to go there — and click on “glossary” — if you need more detail than we at White Poppy Press, The Sensible Way to Self-Publish and Modern Memoirs, A Writing, Editing, and Publishing Service provide.

This is a continuation, Q through Z.

 

R

rag paper: paper stock made partly with cotton rags

resolution: sharpness of an image

RGB: red, green, blue (primary colors for print!)

 

S

saddle stitch: to bind sheets by stapling them together where they fold (a stapled pamphlet)

satin finish: dull finish on coated paper

score: to crease paper so that it folds easily and accurately

shadows: darkest areas of an image

side stitch: to bind sheets by stapling them together along one edge (like National Geographic magazine and some notebooks)

signature: a folded sheet that is used for books, magazines and other publications, after being cut

soy-based inks: inks that use vegetable oils (instead of petroleum products) to hold pigment

specialty printer: a printer whose operation is targeted to a particular category of products, such as digital books that are glued and softcovered

specifications: written description of a print job, including type size and leading, paper grade, printing method, binding method, number of copies, and other variables e.g. ribbons

spine: binding edge of a publication

spiral bind: to hold papers together using a spiral (wire, plastic, thread) looped through holes; also called coil bind

split run: (1) use of different advertisements, bindings, and other variables in any given print job (e.g. softcovered books and hardcovered books; magazines with readership-specific advertisements)

spread: facing pages (what you see when you look at most books when open)

stamping (blocking): foil or other means used to show an image on the cover of a hardcovered book (usually spine only if the book has a dustjacket; spine and front cover if it stands alone)

subtractive primary color (CMYK): colors used in color printing (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black)

T

tagged image file format (TIFF): a way to store digital images

template: a standard layout

text paper: [printing] paper with textured surface

thermography: a way to print in which colorless powder takes on the color of underlying ink (also called raised printing)

thumbnail: an initial idea or ideas, jotted down

tint: add white to a color to make it lighter

tip in: insert a page or pages, e.g. a different paper or addition to a book

trade shop: service bureau, printer, or bindery that works for other graphic arts professionals

transparency: positive photographic image on film that light can go through (also called chrome, color transparency and tranny; TX)

trap: to print a coating or additional ink over an ink

trim size: the final size of the printed pages

 

U

uncoated paper: paper that has not been coated with clay

UV coating: liquid that’s been applied to paper after printing, then bonded and cured using ultraviolet light

 

V

value: shade (darkness) or tint (lightness) of a color (also called brightness, lightness, shade, tone)

varnish: a liquid coating  for protection and appearance

vellum finish: paper with a somewhat rough, toothy feel

virgin paper: paper that does not include recycled material

VOC: volatile organic compounds (petroleum substances) used as vehicles for printing inks

 

W

waste: paper that is not needed for the print job

watermark: translucent logo created by slightly embossing a paper when it is about 90 percent water

with the grain: parallel to the grain direction of the paper

woodfree paper: paper made with chemical pulp only

wrong reading: an image that is backwards (also called flopped and reverse reading)

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