back to basics
Printing terms and definitions
Digital workflow
A multi-layer manufacturing process leading
to the printing of a product, or the posting
of information onto a website. The digital
workflow lies at the heart of a system,
connecting devices in the production cycle
to produce reliable and repeatable results.
Distributing rollers
The rollers on a printing press that move
the ink from the ducts onto the plates.
Print is littered with
industry-specific terms that can
Dot gain
make print ordering a confusing business. Here is
A half-tone dot will become larger in the
a handy dictionary of some common printing terms
transition from plate to print, which has to be
to assist you with your print-based terminology.
planned for within the reproduction process.
DTP
Barn door Colour control bar
Desktop publishing. Computer-based
This is a printed product with a ‘split’ Similar to the calibration bars, this is a strip
typesetting and page layout systems,
covering page that opens out in the style on the margin of the printed sheet used to
introduced in the final three decades of the
of a barn door to reveal the page beneath. verify printing quality.
Printing
last century, which revolutionised the print
Bell
P
yband Cover mount and publishing industries.
A band of paper usually printed with a An object that is glued onto the cover of a
Dummy
promotional message, that can be either magazine, often used as an inducement for
An example of a proposed publication, usually
wrapped around the entire magazine
r
, readers to purchase the publication.
made out of the paper specified.
or with the ends stuck to specific pages
Crease
in order to steer the reader’s attention
Epro
An indent made on a sheet before folding,
towards a specific piece of editorial or
Royal Mail’s internet-based docketing system.
so as to prevent cracking.
advertisement.
HeadStart
CTP
inting
Blanket cylinder
Headley Brothers’ web-based file delivery and
Computer to plate. Technology whereby the
A blanket cylinder holds a multi-ply fabric
approval system.
digital file is sent directly from the imposition
carcass laminated with rubber adhesive and
program to a platesetter.
HeadWay
coated on the top face with several layers
Headley Brothers’ online print procurement
of rubber, which form the hard accurate DAM
system.
surface that transfers the inked image from Digital asset management. The storing,
printing plate to paper. retrieving and managing of specific items
HeadSet
Printing
of content within a workflow, for use
Headley Brothers’ image customisation system.
Bleed
and re-use.
Where material is printed to the extremity
HeadStore
of the page, it is customary to extend the Densitometer Machine
Headley Brothers’ digital asset management
printed area by 3mm beyond the trim size A machine used to monitor the density
system.
to ensure accuracy when trimming. This of colour in printed material.
Imposition
extended area is known as ‘bleed’.
Die-cut
The arrangement of the pages of a document
Bulk Unusual and bespoke shapes that can be
into their relative positions on the printing
Thickness of paper. cut into paper using a specially shaped die.
plate (according to the size of the plate and
the number of pages within the section), so
Calibration
Digital asset they will be in correct sequence when the
Using a fixed measurement to ensure
Digital media e.g. images, graphics, audio, printed sheet is folded.
accurate performance in a machine or
video, web pages and text documents.
process.
Interleaving
Digital printing
Also known as slip-sheeting. When sheets of
CMYK
Printing by plateless imaging systems that are
paper are placed between printed sheets as
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black; the
imaged by digital data from pre-press systems.
they come off the printer to avoid set-off.
subtractive primary colours used within
the four-colour printing process.
Digital proof
Knocking-up
A proof that is created from the electronic
A mechanical process that involves ‘knocking’
10 headsup
document to check colour and layout.
loose pages or sections up to a block,
therefore ensuring that the edges are flush.
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