Important Printing Terms Everyone Should Know
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by: Guest |
If you want your print job to turn out right, you need to make sure that both you and the commercial printer that you go to are speaking the same language. For example, you do not want to end up with coated paper when you wanted bond paper, right? Knowing at least a few printing terms can really help you communicate with your commercial printer. Here are a few key printing terms to learn:
Alteration: If you need to make an alteration, it means that you need to make a change of copy specification after production has already begun.
Bind: to fasten the sheets together by glue, thread, or other means.
Bond paper: durable paper of a high grade that can be used for important business forms and letterheads.
Butt: to join images without having them overlap.
Caliper: the thickness of paper based in thousandths of an inch.
Cast coated: cast coated paper has a high gloss and reflective finish.
Cyan: blue (one of the 4 standard process colors).
Dummy: a rough layout that shows what the position and finished size will look like.
Flop: the reverse side of an image.
Grain: the direction of the paper fibers.
Hard copy: what a printer puts out (soft copy would be an e-mail file).
Micrometer: this instrument is used to gauge the thickness of different papers.
Page count: the total number of pages, including all blank pages.
Ragged left: the type is justified to the right margin, nice and even, while the line lengths on the left vary. Vice versa is true for ragged right.
Spoilage: this is the planned paper waste for all printing procedures.
Trapping: being able to print one ink over another.
Verso: the left hand page of a book that is open.
Work and turn: to print one side of a sheet and to then turn it over (from left to right) and printing on the other side.
These are, of course, only a few of the many printing terms that you can (and perhaps, should) learn. But even adding just a few printing terms to your vocabulary can really help you out the next time you need to deal with a commercial printer.
Anne Clarke writes numerous articles for websites on gardening, parenting, fashion, and home decor. Her background includes teaching, gardening, and language. For more of her articles on commercial printers and printing terms, please visit Commercial Printers.
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