A4 

ISO paper size 210mm x 297mm used for letterhead.

4-color-process 

The process of combining four basic colors to create a printed color picture or colors composed from the basic four colors.

Accordion fold 

Bindery term, two or more parallel folds which open like an accordion.

Achromatic 

Having no color or hue.

Acrobat files 

Preparing cross-platform Acrobat PDF files of customer-supplied materials as alternative or value-added sales opportunity.

Actinic Light 

Light that exposes a coating or emulsion.

Additive Color Theory 

The mixture of red, green and blue light, the primary colors of light, to produce white light.

Against the Grain 

At right angles to the direction of the grain of the paper.

Airbrush 

A function of a color imaging system to add or remove printing ink of any value in a designated picture area.

Aliasing 

A "staircase" or jagged effect that occurs when display resolution is too coarse to minimize the broken or crooked appearance of certain electronic design elements. Aliasing is more visually pronounced in diagonal lines, curves and circles.

Alpha Test 

Conducted internally by the manufacturer, it takes a new product through a protocol of testing procedures to verify product functionality and capability.

Alteration 

Any change made by the customer after copy or artwork has been given to the service bureau, separator or printer. The change could be in copy, specifications, or both. Also called AA, author alteration or customer alteration.

Change in copy of specifications after production has begun.

Amberlith 

The orange or red acetate material that artists cut into elements or shapes to put on areas of keylines indicating where halftones, tints, etc., are to be positioned. Also called rubylith.

Analog 

A mechanism in which data is represented by continuously variable physical quantities such as voltage or density.

Anilox 

This inking system is commonly used in flexographic presses. An elastomer-covered fountain roller runs in the ink pan and is adjustable against a contacting, engraved metering roll. Ink is flooded into the engraved cells of the metering roll, excess is doctored off by the wiping or squeezing action of the fountain roll or a doctor blade, and that which remains beneath the surface of the metering roll is transferred to the printing plates.

Anti-offset Powder 

Finely powdered starch sprayed on the printed surface of coated paper as sheets leave the press to prevent wet ink from transferring from the top of one sheet to the bottom of the next sheet.

Aqueous Coating 

Water based coating applied like ink by a printing press to protect and enhance the printed surface.

Archival Storage 

Copies of digital information stored on magnetic tape, floppy disks, optical disk, CD-ROM or other medium used to ensure against loss in case the original materials are deleted or damaged.

Artboard 

Alternate term for mechanical art.

Artwork 

All original type, photographs, illustrations, and digital files intended for publication.

Ascender 

The part of a lower case letter which rises above the main body, as in "b" or "d".

ASCII 

Acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, the international standard codes that are used by most computers to symbolize letters, numbers, punctuation and certain special commands.

Asynchronous Communication 

Also known as serial communication. A way for one computer to send data to another without requiring precisely synchronized data pulses.

Author's Alteration (AA) 

A code name for a change made by you, the buyer, once a job is already at the printer's. You can be charged for these changes.

Author's corrections 

Also know as "AC's". Changed and additions in copy after it has been typeset.

Automatic Picture Replacement (APR) 

Scitex's implementation of the process in which a low resolution image is automatically replaced by the high resolution version of the image.Automatic plate changing

Back Up 

In printing; to print the second side of a sheet already printed on one side. In computers; to make a copy of your work on a separate disk in case something happens to the original.

Back up 

Printing the second side of a sheet already printed on one side.

Banding 

Method of packaging printed pieces of paper using rubber or paper bands.

Base color 

The first color used as a background on which other colors are printed.

Basic Size 

25" x 38" for book papers, 20" x 26" for cover papers, 22 «" x 28 «" or 22 «" x 35" for bristols, 25 «" x 30 «" for index.

Basis Weight 

Weight in pounds of a ream (500 sheets) of paper cut to a given standard size for that grade; example; 500 sheets of 17" x 22" 20 lb. bond paper weighs 20 pounds. In countries using ISO paper sizes the weight, in grams, of one square meter of paper.

Weight in pounds of a ream of paper cut to the basic size for its grade.

Baud 

A measure of the rate by which data are transmitted; expressed in bits per second, one baud equals one bit per second.

Bearers 

The flat surfaces or rings at the ends of press cylinders that come in contact with each other during printing and serve as a basis for determining packing thickness.

Beta Test 

The second stage test version of a newly developed piece of hardware and/or software which is distributed free to a limited sampling of users so that they can subject it to daily use and report any problems to the manufacturer before release to the public.

Bezier Curves 

Curved lines, defined by anchor points, used in software for drawing and type rendering.

Bind 

To fasten sheets or signatures with wire, thread, glue. or by other means.

Bindery 

The finishing department of a print shop or firm specializing in finishing printed products.

Binding 

The fastening of the assembled sheets or signatures along one edge of a publication.

Bitmap 

A series of individual dots or pixels that define graphics. Each dot or pixel in the image is recorded as either on or off.

Blanket 

In offset printing, a rubber-surfaced fabric that is clamped around a cylinder. The image is transferred from the plate to the blanket, and from there, transferred to the paper.

The thick rubber mat on a printing press that transfers ink from the plate to paper.

Bleed 

Pictures or text that extend to the edge of the page without leaving a margin. To get a "bleed," you have to print the image on a larger paper and then trim the paper down to size. Printed image which extends beyond the trim edge of the sheet or page.

Printing that goes to the edge of the sheet after trimming.

Blind embossing 

An image pressed into a sheet without ink or foil.

Blind Image 

Image that is debossed, embossed or stamped, but not printed with ink or foil.

Blocking 

Sticking together of printed sheets causing damage when the surfaces are separated.

Blueline 

A blue photographic proof used to check position of all image elements.

A proof where all colors, perforations and scorings show as blue images on white paper. Used to evaluate image and page geometry inexpensively. Prepress photographic proof made from stripped negatives where all colors show as shades of a single color on white paper. Also called brownline, silverprint, Dylux.

Board 

Alternate term for mechanical.

Bond & carbon 

Business form with paper and carbon paper.

Bond Paper 

A grade of writing or printing paper where strength, durability and performance are essential requirements; used for letterheads, business forms, etc. The basic size is 17" x 22".

Strong durable paper grade used for letterheads and business forms.

Bond 

A writing or printing paper that weighs 50 grams or more and is treated with a glue-like substance to make it stiffer and shinier.

Book Paper 

A general term for coated and uncoated paper. The basic size is 25" x 38".

Bottling 

The process of skewing pages to compensate for paper thickness as it is folded. Primarily used on signatures designed for large web or large sheetfed presses.

Break for color 

Also known as a color break. To separate mechanically or by software the parts to be printed in different colors.

In artwork and composition, to separate the parts to be printed in different colors.

Brightness 

In paper, the reflectance or brilliance of the paper.

Bristol 

Type of board paper used for post cards, business cards and other heavy-use products.

Bronzing 

Printing with a sizing ink and then applying bronze powder while still wet to produce a metallic luster.

Bulk pack 

Boxing printed product without wrapping or banding.

Bulk 

Thickness of paper stock in thousandths of an inch or number of pages per inch.

Bump 

Ink applied from a fifth or higher plate in four-color process printing, usually to strengthen a specific color; also referred to as a touchplate.

Burn 

Exposing a printing plate to high intensity light or placing an image on a printing plate by light.

Exposure of a plate to light through a negative to create an image for printing.

Burnish 

The term used to describe the rubbing down and securing of copy to a keyline.

Burnthrough 

Condition existing when enough light penetrates a masking sheet to expose the film or plate beneath the sheet. Masking sheeting should prevent light from penetrating to the film, but accumulated exposures-as in step-and-repeat exposures-sometimes sensitize the film, causing burnthrough.

Bus 

The main "data pathway" inside a computer, enabling the CPU to communicate with other devices, such as the video monitor or the disk drive(s).