Click on the letter of your choice
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
Aqueous Coating: A clear, fast-drying, water-based, protective coating applied on press to achieve a variety of finishes. Aqueous coatings provide excellent rub and scuff resistance. Aqueous coatings make the printed piece more resistant to smudges, fingerprints and scratches. They are available in gloss, satin and matte finishes. (see also Varnish)
Artwork: The design or layout of a printed piece including text, graphics, photos and charts, etc. Our professional designers can design effective artwork for your printed project, or we can print from clients’ design work.
Author’s Alterations (AAs): Changes where customer is responsible for additional charges. This is usually because the customer changed his/her mind from when they originally supplied text or files to the printer.
B
Banner (newsletters): In newsletter design, the top of page one which typically includes the publication name, issue and date. Also called a Nameplate.
Banner (vinyl sign): A large format print on vinyl material, that often has grommets for hanging.
Bindery: A department responsible for collating, folding, trimming and various other finishing processes to printing projects.
Binding: Various methods of securing folded sections together and or fastening them to a cover, to form single copies of a book.
Bleed: Ink that extends beyond the edge of a sheet or page after trimming.
Blind Embossing: Raised image on paper that does not register to ink, foil, varnish, die-cut, etc. (see also Foil Stamping)
Branding: The combined effect of logo use and all designing, printing and advertising for a particular company that influences perception and buying within the market. Often involves using consistent design elements and treatments across different media.
Brochure: A printed piece that promotes a company, product or service that is often approximately 11×8.5″ with two folds, usually called a 6-panel brochure (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a tri-fold brochure). Can be other sizes, such as 17×11″ with one fold. Typically when a brochure becomes 8 pages, it is called a catalog.
C
Carbonless Paper: Paper that is chemically treated to transfer the copy through two or more pieces of paper in a set. Mostly used for forms. Also called NCR paper. (see also NCR Paper)
Catalog: A printed piece that promotes a company, product or service. It can be various sizes (often 17×11″ folded down to 8.5×11″. Usually at least 8 pages.
Coated Paper: Any paper that has a mineral coating applied after the paper is made, giving the paper a smoother finish. Usually available in gloss, matte and dull finishes.
Collate: To gather sheets or signatures together in their correct order.
Color Matching System: A system of formulated ink colors used for communicating color. At DavCo, we use the Pantone Matching System for spot color printing.
Color Separations: The process of preparing artwork, photographs, or computer generated art for printing by separating into the four primary printing colors: cyan, magenta, yellow and black, or into more than one spot color. (see also Four-Color Process and Spot Color)
Copy: All customer-supplied material for a job to be designed and/or printed.
Copyright: Gives protection to the creator of text, artwork, illustration or photography to prevent use without express permission of the originator. DavCo requires the completion of a copyright consent form to reproduce anything that is copyrighted.
Crop: To cut off parts of a picture or image.
Crop Marks: Lines near the edges of a photo or image indicating portions to be eliminated. (see also Trim Marks)
Cyan: One of the four standard process colors. The blue color.
D
Deboss: To press an image into paper so it lies below the surface. (see also Emboss)
Die Cutting: The process of cutting paper in a shape or design by the use of a wooden die or block with steel rules in the shape of the desired pattern.
Digital Proof: Electronic representation of the printed piece to check for accuracy before printing. Typically a PDF file.
Dot Gain: Photos and some graphics are converted to a series of small dots for printing on press. As each dot comes in contact with the paper, it expands slightly as it absorbs into the paper. This effect is called dot gain. Printing on uncoated paper results in more dot gain. Printing on coated paper results in less dot gain. (see also Coated and Uncoated)
Dots Per Inch: The level of detail in an image is usually measured in dots per inch. In digital photography, the amount of data in a photograph at a given size. Abbreviated “DPI”. (see also Resolution)
Dull Finish: Flat (not glossy) finish on coated paper; slightly smoother than matte. (see also Matte and Glossy)
Duotone: Tone graduated image composed of varying sized dots or lines, with equidistant centers and printed in two colors with different screen angles. Used to represent a photograph in two colors of ink, typically spot colors.
E
Emboss: To press an image into paper so it rises above the surface. (see also Deboss)
F
Feathering: Soft edges on a photo.
File Sharing Service: DavCo Advertising’s online subscription-only service for subscribers to offer photos of their products, and PDFs of brochures and catalogs to their dealers and customers. Files are stored on a secure website, and can only be accessed with a username and password that each subscriber distributes as they wish.
Flyer or Sell Sheet: A printed piece that promotes a company, product or service that is typically 8.5×11″ with no folds. Can be one-sided or two-sided.
Foil Stamping: Imprinting foil on paper.
Font: The complete collection of characters, letters, and numbers designed in a particular style and size. (see also Typeface and Typography)
Four-color Process: Printing technique that uses cyan, magenta, yellow and black (abbreviated CMYK) to simulate full-color images. At DavCo, we can print all four process colors, plus an aqueous coating in one pass through the press. (see also Aqueous Coating)
FPO: A placeholder for image or text. Stands for: For Position Only or For Placement Only. Designers usually use FPOs when the final image isn’t ready, but the design needs to be worked on.
G
Gloss Finish: Shiny (not dull) finish on coated paper; the smoothest finish. (see also Dull and Matte)
Gradient: A transition of color, creating a gradual change between percentages of a single color, or between two different colors.
Grain: The direction in which the fibers lie within a sheet
of paper.
Graphic Design: The process of arranging elements (text, colors, shapes, photos, illustrations, etc.) on a page in a way that communicates, and achieves specific purposes for the client.
Grayscale: An image that consists of black ink only and up to 256 shades of gray is called a grayscale image.
Gripper: A series of metal fingers that holds each sheet of paper as it passes through the various stages of the printing press.
H
Halftone: A photo needs to be converted into a halftone to print on press in one color. A halftone is a series of small dots of varying sizes, but with equidistant centers.
I
Image Area: Portion of a press sheet within which the image will print. Also called live area.
Imposition: Positioning printed pages so they will fold in the proper order after the press sheets are folded and bound.
Indicia: Postage information on a printed piece.
L
Laid Finish: An embossed texture on paper with parallel ridges that simulate the surface of handmade paper. Laid lines are close together and run against the grain.
Laminate: To cover with film, to bond or glue one surface to another.
Linen Finish: An embossed texture on paper that simulates the pattern of linen cloth.
Live Area: Portion of a press sheet within which the images will print. Also called image area.
Logo: An illustration and text (company name) that serves as a representation of the company in print and digital media. Sometimes a logo does not include an illustration, but is simply stylized letters.
M
Masthead: In newsletter design, the publication information that often includes editor, staff, board, edition, issue and date, and is often found on page 2. Sometimes confused with Nameplate or Banner.
Magenta: One of the four standard process colors. The red color.
Matte Finish: Flat (not glossy) finish on coated paper; not as smooth as dull finish. (see also Dull and Glossy)
Micrometer: A tool used to measure the thickness of paper.
Mock-up: The combined instructions for the designer showing all text, photos and graphics to be included in the finished product; sometimes called a comp or a dummy.
N
Nameplate (newsletters): In newsletter design, the top of page one which typically includes the publication name, issue and date. Also called a Banner.
NCR Paper: A type of chemically treated paper that allows the transfer of hand-written information through multiple copies. Stands for No Carbon Required.
Numbering: A process that adds sequential numbers, often to forms or tickets. This can be a bindery operation, or it can be achieved using variable data on our digital press. (see also Variable Data)
O
Overruns or Overs: Copies printed in excess of the specified quantity. Printing trade terms allow for + or – 10% to represent a completed order. (see also Underruns)
P
Pantone Matching System: A system of specifying spot colors in printing.
Perfect Bind: A type of binding that glues the edge of sheets to the spine of a cover like a paperback book
Perforating: Punching small holes or slits in a sheet of paper or cardboard to facilitate tearing along a desired line.
Pixelated: Photos are described as pixelated when they are low resolution and details in the photo have jagged or rough edges.
Plate: A sheet of metal onto which an image is burned using light. Plates are placed on a press for transferring printing ink onto paper.
PMS: The abbreviated name of the Pantone Matching System. Colors in the system are more correctly called
Pantone colors. (see also Pantone Matching System)
Poster: A large format print on paper material, that often gets laminated and/or mounted.
Process Color: The use of cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks to produce a full color image. Also abbreviated CMYK. (related: Spot Color)
Proof: A proof is the client’s opportunity to check the content and design of their project before it goes to press. It might come as a PDF via email, or by mail, fax, or it could be a color copy from one of our sales representatives.
R
Raster Files: Raster or bitmap files use many colored pixels or individual dots to form a complete image. JPEG and TIF are common raster file formats. Raster files are constructed using a fixed number of colored pixels, and can’t be dramatically enlarged without negatively affecting their resolution and quality. When enlarged to fit a space they weren’t designed to fill, their pixels become visibly jagged and low quality.
Registration: To position the image properly on press with regard to the edges of paper and other printing on the same sheet so all the colors combine correctly. Such printing is said to be in register.
Registration Marks: Cross-hair lines on plates and/or press sheets that help keep the finished printed piece in register. (see also Registration)
Resolution: The level of detail in an image, usually measured in dots per inch (DPI) or pixels per inch. In digital photography, the amount of data in a photograph at a given size. (see also Dots Per Inch)
Reverse Print: Type or graphic reproduced by printing the background rather than the image itself, allowing the underlying color of paper or previously printed ink to show in the shape of the image or type. For example, reversed text would appear white on a black background.
S
Saddle Stitch: To bind paper by stapling sheets together where they fold at the spine.
Score: A crease put on paper to help it fold more cleanly and accurately. Generally used on cover stock.
Self-cover: Using the same paper as the text for the cover.
Sell Sheet or Flyer: A printed piece that promotes a company, product or service that is typically 8.5×11″ with no folds. Can be one-sided or two-sided.
Signature: A group of pages, printed on one sheet of paper, which when folded becomes part of a book or publication.
Silhouette: To remove the background from a photo. For example, a photo of a gazebo would be silhouetted if everything but the gazebo itself would be removed from the photo.
Spot Color: Ink that has been mixed before printing, creating a solid color (as opposed to a series of dots that make up process color). Spot colors are usually Pantone colors, mixed to precise specifications. (see also Process Color)
Stock: The paper to be printed on.
T
Tint: A shade of a spot color or combined colors. Represented by a series of dots. Also called a screen.
Trim Marks: Similar to crop marks. These marks show where to trim the printed sheet. (see also Crop Marks)
Trim Size: The final size of a printed page after excess edges have been cut off. Trim marks to indicate where to cut are printed in the edges that are then trimmed after printing.
Typeface: The full range of characters that comprise an entire font family. Typically includes several styles (bold, italic, light, heavy, etc.), as well as any size.
Typography: The art of designing with type. It involves choice of typeface, size, style, color, kerning, leading, etc. for the purpose of communication.
U
Uncoated Paper: Any paper that does not have a mineral coating applied after the paper is made (not glossy). Uncoated paper tends to absorb ink causing dot gain, while ink tends to sit on top of coated paper. Common finishes for uncoated paper are smooth/wove, linen and laid. (see also Coated Paper and Dot Gain)
Under-runs or Unders: Production of fewer copies than ordered. Printing trade terms allow for + or – 10% to represent a completed order. (see also Overrun)
Up: Indicates that multiple copies of the printed piece will be run on one larger press sheet. “4-up” indicates that four postcards, for example, will be printed on one press sheet, then trimmed to result in the ordered quantity.
UV Coating: Liquid lamination bonded and cured with ultraviolet light.
V
Variable Data: Our digital press allows us to merge variable data such as names and mailing addresses with our graphic design work to create a unique postcard or brochure for each recipient.
Varnish: Clear coating applied like ink by a printing press to protect and enhance the printing underneath. Available in different finishes. (see also Aqueous Coating)
Vector Files: A graphic made of lines and shapes as opposed to bitmap or raster images (photos) which are made of pixels (or dots). Vector graphics can be enlarged indefinitely without loss of quality. EPS and AI are common vector file formats. (see also Raster Files)
W
Watermark: A distinctive design created in paper that can be seen by holding the paper up to a light. Generally used only in writing grade papers for letterhead.
Wire-O binding: A method of wire binding using double loops of wire through holes punched in the paper. This binding method allows the book to lay flat when open.