Glossary of Terms & Descriptions
AI (Adobe Illustrator Artwork)
Adobe Illustrator Artwork (AI) is a proprietary file format for representing single-page vector-based drawings. The .ai is the filename extension used by Adobe Illustrator.
Bleed
An element that extends to the edge of the page. To print a bleed, the publication is printed on oversized paper which is trimmed.
Board
Usually refers to paper that is over 250gsm in weight.
Body Text
The main text in a document, as distinct from headlines and captions.
CMYK
Abbreviation for cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black), the four process colours.
Coated Paper
Layers of coating are applied to the paper or board, usually of china-clay. This acts as a 'filler' and improves surface printability.
EPS
Encapsulated postscript, a very versatile file format used for sending files to commercial printers, and thus avoiding the cost of typesetting.
Dummy
A mock-up to show the appearance of the finished print piece
Font
A complete collection of letters, punctuation marks, numbers and special characters with a consistent and identical typeface, weight (Roman or bold), posture (upright or italic) and font size.
Technically, font still refers to one complete set of characters in a given typeface, weight and size, such as Helvetica italic 12 – but the term has come to be used interchangably for refering to typefaces or font families.
Gloss Paper
Multiple coating, resulting in a high sheen finish.
GSM
The unit of measurement for paper weight (grams per square metre).
Leading
The distance in points (pt) between lines of text – pronounced as in 'ledd-ing'
Line Spacing
(See Leading.)
Litho (Lithographic)
Process of printing, usually used for short to medium print runs of 1,000 to 200,000 copies on 70gsm – 400gsm paper and board.
Logo (Logotype)
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.
Matt Paper
A light coating resulting in a smooth, non-glossy finish.
Pantone
See PMS.
Portable Document Format (PDF) is a very versatile file format used for creating artwork files for on-screen and/or print. Compression rates mean they are usually suitable for email and web.
Point Size
A measurement of the size of type; one point is equal to one-seventy-second of an inch. On systems that use millimetres 3 points to one rnillimetre is a useful approximation.
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PMS (Pantone Matching System)
A standard colour-matching system used by printers and graphic designers for inks, papers, and other materials. A PMS colour is a standard colour defined by percentage mixtures of different primary inks.
Proof
Produced by printers, they are used to visually check the job before it is printed on press.
Raster
Raster Images are images, illustrations or graphics made up of pixels to represent the image. ie. all digital camera's produce raster images. Raster images are limited in size by the amount of pixels they are made up of.
Resolution
The crispness of detail or fineness of grain in an image. Screen resolution is measured in dots by lines (for example, 640 x 350); printer resolution is measured in dpi (for example, 300 dpi).
Reversed out
White or light-coloured type of images on a dark background.
RGB
Abbreviation for red, green and blue, the additive colour primaries.
Silk Paper
A light coating resulting in a very smooth, non-glossy finish. May have very slight sheen depending on manufacturer.
Spot Colour Separation
For offset printing, separation of solid premixed ink colours (for example, green, brown, light blue, etc.); used when the areas to be coloured are not adjacent. Spot colour separations can be indicated on the tissue cover of the mechanical, or made with overlays.
Spread
In a double-sided document, the combination of two facing pages, which are designed as a unit. Also, the adjacent inside panels of a brochure when opened.
Stock
Another name for Paper. Mostly used by printers and designers.
TIFF
Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) is a file format for storing images, including photographs and line art. The TIFF format is widely supported by image-manipulation, publishing and page layout applications.
Translucent Paper
Paper with a very low opacity, allowing light to pass through.
Type Alignment
The distribution of white space in a line of type where the characters at their normal set width do not fill the entire line length exactly. Type maybe aligned left, right, centered or right-justified.
Typeface
The set of characters created by a type designer, including uppercase and lowercase alphabetical characters, numbers, punctuation and special characters. A single typeface contains many fonts, at different sizes and styles.
Vector
Vector Graphics are a computational method of representing graphics, logo's, artwork, text and illustrations through the use of very precise lines, curves, boxes, circles, etc – as opposed to pixels (raster) which are used for photographic images. Vector artworks are sometimes preferable as they view and print more precisely than 'pixel' artworks.
Uncoated Paper
Also called offset paper. Uncoated paper has not been coated with clay and therefore does not have a gloss or sheen off the sheet. Ideal for creating a more tactile, natural effect, as printing onto uncoated material results in a deepening of the ink's natural colour.
Watermark
Paper with a deliberate design or pattern that is visible when viewed against the light.
Weight
Denotes the thickness of a letter stroke – light, extra-light, regular, medium, demi-bold, bold, extra bold and ultra bold.