Glossary of Printing Terms: An A–Z in Plain English

Print has its own language. Here are the terms you will meet when ordering flyers, booklets, banners and signs, explained in plain English and linked to the products they apply to. Cannot find a term? Ring us on 01305 819 879 and we will talk it through.

A · B · C · D · E · F · G · H · I · K · L · M · O · P · R · S · T · V · W · Z

A

A sizes: The ISO paper sizes used across the UK. A6 is 105 × 148mm (postcard), A5 148 × 210mm, A4 210 × 297mm, A3 297 × 420mm, and each size is exactly half the one above. → Flyers & Leaflets, Posters

Artwork: The finished design file you send us to print from. It should be final, checked for typos and set up at the size it will be printed. → Artwork templates

B

Bleed: Extra image that runs 3mm past the trim edge on every side. Paper moves slightly as it is cut, so bleed stops thin white slivers appearing along the edge. Anything that touches the edge of your design needs bleed. → Artwork templates

Booklet: Several sheets printed, folded and bound together, usually by saddle stitching (staples through the spine) for shorter runs and perfect binding for thicker ones. → Booklets

C

CMYK: Cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black): the four inks a press prints with. Screens use RGB, which can show brighter colours than ink can reproduce, so always set print artwork up in CMYK.

Coated and uncoated stock: Coated paper (gloss or silk) has a sealed surface, so ink sits on top and colours stay crisp and bright. Uncoated paper is more absorbent, has a natural feel and is easy to write on, which suits letterheads, forms and recycled print. → Eco & Recycled

Correx: Fluted polypropylene board, the light, waterproof material used for estate agent boards, site signs and short-term outdoor signage. → Rigid Boards & Signage

Creasing (scoring): Pressing a line into card before it is folded so the fibres bend cleanly instead of cracking. Anything over about 170gsm should be creased before folding. → Menus & Hospitality

Crop marks: Small lines outside the page area of a PDF that show where the sheet will be trimmed.

D

Dibond: Aluminium composite panel: two thin aluminium skins with a solid core. It is rigid, weatherproof and long-lasting, so it is used for permanent outdoor signs. → Rigid Boards & Signage

Die-cutting: Cutting print to a custom shape with a shaped blade (the die) rather than a straight guillotine cut. It is used for shaped stickers, cards and packaging. → Stickers & Labels

Digital print: Toner or inkjet printing straight from the file with no printing plates. It is quick to set up, so it is the most economical choice for short runs and fast turnarounds.

DL: A 99 × 210mm size, one third of an A4 sheet. It fits a standard DL envelope and is the classic size for compliment slips, leaflets and rack cards. → Flyers & Leaflets

DPI (dots per inch): A measure of image resolution. Photos and images need to be 300dpi at the size they will print to look sharp. A web image that looks fine on screen is often only 72dpi and prints soft.

DTF (direct to film): A garment decoration method. Your design is printed onto a transfer film and then heat-pressed onto the fabric. It gives full colour with fine detail on cotton, polyester and blends. → Clothing

E

Eyelets: Metal rings punched through the hem of a banner so it can be tied or hooked into place. They are usually spaced every 50cm or so around the edge. → Banners

F

Finishing: Everything that happens after printing: cutting, folding, creasing, laminating, binding, drilling, rounding corners and so on.

Foamex: Lightweight PVC foam board with a smooth white surface. It is ideal for indoor signs, point-of-sale and display panels. → Rigid Boards & Signage

Folds: A half fold creases a sheet once to make four panels. A roll fold (tri-fold) wraps three panels inwards, as on a DL leaflet. A Z-fold concertinas the panels in alternate directions. → Flyers & Leaflets

Foiling: Metallic or coloured foil pressed onto the stock with heat, for a premium shine on logos and lettering. → Business Cards

G

GSM: Grams per square metre: the weight of a paper or card. As a guide, 80–100gsm is letterhead paper, 130–170gsm is flyer and leaflet stock, and 350–450gsm is business card board. → Business Stationery

Gloss, silk and matt: The three common coated finishes. Gloss is shiny and makes colours pop, silk is a smooth low sheen that is easy to read, and matt has no shine at all.

H

Hemming: Folding and welding or stitching the edge of a banner to strengthen it before eyelets are added. → Banners

I

Imposition: Arranging pages on the press sheet so that, once the sheet is printed, folded and trimmed, they come out in the right order and the right way up. It is part of our prepress.

K

Kraft: Brown, unbleached paper or board with a natural, rustic look. It is popular for eco branding, tags and packaging. → Eco & Recycled

L

Lamination: A thin plastic film bonded to the printed sheet to protect it and change how it feels. Matt is soft and understated, gloss is shiny and bold, and soft-touch has a velvety, premium feel. → Business Cards

Litho (offset lithography): Printing with plates, ink and water. It has a higher set-up cost but a very low cost per copy, so it wins on long runs.

M

Mesh banner: A PVC banner woven with tiny holes so wind passes through it. It is used on scaffolding, fencing and exposed sites. → Banners

O

Outlining fonts: Converting text to vector shapes so the file no longer depends on the fonts being installed. The other option is to embed the fonts in your PDF. Either way, nothing reflows or substitutes when it reaches us.

P

Pantone (PMS): A standardised colour-matching system. If a brand colour has to be exact, give us the Pantone reference and we will match it as closely as the process allows.

Perfect binding: Pages glued into a square spine with a wraparound cover, like a paperback. It suits thicker booklets and brochures where staples won't reach. → Booklets

Perforation: A line of small cuts so part of a printed piece tears off cleanly, as on vouchers, tickets and reply slips. → Flyers & Leaflets

Prepress: Checking and preparing your file before it goes to print: resolution, bleed, colour setup, fonts, sizing and imposition. Every order we take gets a free prepress check.

Print-ready PDF: A PDF at the correct size, in CMYK, with 3mm bleed, 300dpi images and fonts embedded or outlined. It is the best file format to send us. → Artwork templates

Proof: A preview of your job to check before it is printed. Look at spelling, phone numbers, dates and layout: once it is approved, it prints as shown.

PVC banner: A heavy-duty vinyl banner printed with weather-resistant solvent inks, hemmed and eyeleted, for outdoor use. → Banners

R

Resolution: The amount of detail in an image, measured in DPI. See DPI above: aim for 300dpi at the final print size.

RGB: Red, green and blue: the colour model screens use. RGB files are converted to CMYK for print, and bright blues and greens can dull in the process. Convert your artwork to CMYK first so there are no surprises.

Rich black: Black built from all four inks rather than black ink alone, which gives a deeper solid on large areas. Keep small text in plain 100% black so it stays sharp.

Roller banner (pull-up banner): A printed graphic that rolls out of a sprung base and is held up by a pole. It sets up in seconds and packs into a carry bag. → Roller Banners

Rounded corners: Corners cut to a radius for a softer, more durable finish. They are popular on business cards and loyalty cards. → Business Cards

S

Saddle stitch: Booklet binding where folded sheets are nested and stapled through the spine. The page count has to be a multiple of four. → Saddle Stitch booklets

Safe area: The zone about 3–5mm inside the trim edge. Keep text and logos inside it so nothing important is trimmed off.

Self-cover: A booklet whose cover is printed on the same paper as the inside pages, as opposed to a heavier separate cover. → Booklets

Solvent print: Large-format printing with durable, weatherproof inks, used for PVC banners, vinyl and outdoor graphics. → Outdoor

Spot UV: A clear, glossy varnish applied only to chosen areas, such as a logo, so they catch the light against a matt background. → Business Cards

Stock: Printer's shorthand for the paper or board a job is printed on.

T

Tension fabric: Printed stretch fabric pulled over a lightweight aluminium frame to make crease-free exhibition walls and backdrops. → Stands & Backdrops

Trim: The final cut line and finished size of a printed piece. Everything outside it (the bleed) is cut away.

Turnaround: How long a job takes to produce once the artwork is approved. Delivery time is extra.

V

Vector and raster: Vector artwork (AI, EPS, SVG and most PDFs) is built from shapes and scales to any size without losing quality, so logos should always be vector. Raster images (JPG, PNG) are made of pixels and blur when enlarged.

Vinyl: Self-adhesive PVC film used for weatherproof stickers, window graphics and vehicle lettering. → Stickers & Labels

W

Wiro binding: Pages held together by a double-loop wire through punched holes. The document opens flat and folds back on itself, which suits manuals, calendars and presentations. → Booklets

Z

Z-fold: A sheet folded twice in alternate directions so it opens out like a concertina. → Flyers & Leaflets

Every order includes a free prepress check, so if anything above sounds daunting, send us what you have and we will get it print-ready. Get a quote