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Frequently Asked Questions
Glossery of Terms
» 4-color-process
» Accordion Fold
» Artwork
» Bleed
» Blind Embossing
» Calligraphy
» Camera-ready copy
» Crop marks
» Deckle Edge
» Die
» DPI or Resolution
» Engraving
» Feather Edge
» Flat Cards
» Flat Printed
» Foil
» Foil Stamping
» Foldover Notes or Foldover Cards
» Font
» Format
» French fold
» Gloss
» Gray Scale
» Kraft Paper
» Laminate
» Letterpress
» Liners
» Lithography
» Logo
» Matte finish
» Metallic Ink
» Perforating
» PMS
» Positioning
» Postcard
» Proof
» Registeration
» Resolution
» Reverse
» Score
» Stock
» Thermography
» Vellum
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4-color-process |
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The process of combining four basic colors to create a printed color picture or colors composed from the basic four colors. |
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Accordion Fold |
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Bindery term, two or more parallel folds which open like an accordion. |
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Artwork |
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- All original copy, including type, photos and illustrations, intended for printing. Also called art.
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Bleed |
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Printing that goes to the edge of the sheet after trimming. |
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Blind Embossing |
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An image pressed into a sheet without ink or foil. |
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Calligraphy |
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The text is done by a professional calligrapher rather than having the text typeset by a machine. |
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Camera-ready copy |
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Print ready mechanical art. |
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Crop marks |
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Printed lines showing where to trim a printed sheet. |
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Deckle Edge |
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- Edge of paper left ragged as it comes from the papermaking machine instead of being cleanly cut. Also called feather edge.
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Die |
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Metal rule or imaged block used to cut or place an image on paper in the finishing process. |
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DPI or Resolution |
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- Measure of resolution of input devices such as scanners, display devices such as monitors, and output devices such as laser printers, imagesetters and monitors. Abbreviated DPI.
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Engraving |
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- Printing method using a plate, also called a die, with an image cut into its surface.
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Feather Edge |
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Edge of paper left ragged as it comes from the papermaking machine instead of being cleanly cut. Also called Deckle Edge. |
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Flat Cards |
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Notecards where the personalization is typically printed at the top or bottom of the card. The cards do not fold open on a flat card. |
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Flat Printed |
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A printing technique that produces an image on the stock that is flat, not raised. |
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Foil |
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A metallic or pigmented coating on plastic sheets or rolls used in foil stamping and foil embossing. |
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Foil Stamping |
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- Colored foil heat-stamped into the product. Foils usually have a metallic finish in either matte or high gloss finish.
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Foldover Notes or Foldover Cards |
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These are cards which fold open when using them. The personalization is typically on the outside cover of the card. The user writes their note on the inside of the card. |
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Font |
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- The font refers to the style of lettering, also called Type or Typestyle or Lettering Style.
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Format |
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The format is the style that the font is shown, such as Upper/Lowercase, all lowercase, all UPPERCASE, etc. |
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French fold |
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Two folds at right angles to each other which results in one side that may open left and the other side that may open right, like a french door, typically exposing written or decorative printed material on the inside layer. |
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Gloss |
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A shiny look reflecting light. |
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Gray Scale |
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- Strip of gray values ranging from white to black. Used by process camera and scanner operators to calibrate exposure times for film and plates.
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Kraft Paper |
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- Strong paper used for wrapping and to make grocery bags and large envelopes.
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Laminate |
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To cover with film, to bond or glue one surface to another. |
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Letterpress |
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A relief printing method done using cast metal plates resulting in type of images that may actually be depressed or debossed into the paper by the pressure of the press. Letterpress Printing dates back to the early 1900's as the traditional means to print stationery products. This process is more manual and requires more tooling and craftsmanship to achieve the desired quality. To achieve a quality product, a letterpress produt will generally be done on heavier, higher quality papers. |
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Liners |
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A color or patterened paper used to line the inside of an envelope. Most factories use linings that do not go all the way to the bottom of the envelope today. |
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Lithography |
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- Method of printing using plates whose image areas attract ink and whose nonimage areas repel ink. Nonimage areas may be coated with water to repel the oily ink or may have a surface, such as silicon, that repels ink.
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Logo |
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- A company, partnership or corporate creation (design) that denotes a unique entity. A possible combination of letters and art work to create a "sole" entity symbol of that specific unit.
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Matte finish |
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Dull paper or ink finish. |
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Metallic Ink |
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- Ink containing powdered metal or pigments that simulate metal.
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Perforating |
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- Taking place on a press or a binder machine, creating a line of small dotted wholes for the purpose of tearing-off a part of a printed matter (usually straight lines, vertical or horizontal).
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PMS |
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The abbreviated name of the Pantone Color Matching System. |
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Positioning |
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The location of the imprint. |
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Postcard |
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A card specifically made with the intention that it could be mailed by itself without an envelope.
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Proof |
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- Test sheet made to reveal errors or flaws, predict results on press and record how a printing job is intended to appear when finished.
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Registeration |
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To position print in the proper position in relation to the edge of the sheet and to other printing on the same sheet. |
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Resolution |
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- Sharpness of an image on film, paper, computer screen, disc, tape or other medium.
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Reverse |
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The opposite of what you see. Printing the background of an image. For example; type your name on a piece of paper. The reverse of this would be a black piece of paper with a white name. |
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Score |
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- To compress paper along a straight line so it folds more easily and accurately. Also called crease.
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Thermography |
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- Thermography is currently the traditional process used to produce many stationery type products. Thermography, also called "raised printing", is an offset printing process in which a powder is applied to a wet ink and then melted, causing a raised print surface. Thermography began as a more economical way to achieve an engraved look.
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Vellum |
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A transparent paper which comes in either plain, colored, or patterned variations. |
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