|
Printing Terminology
ART/PRINTING TERMINOLOGY
• Art BLEEDs when it is imprinted across a hinge or off the edge of the manufactured
piece. BLEEDs vary according to materials and manufacturing processes.
• OPTICALLY CENTERED specifically describes art that is centered right and left on a
panel and is at the bottom of the top third looking from top to bottom.
• When touching colors on a printed piece are TRAPPING it is referring to the amount
that the colors overlap to eliminate white lines between the colors. This is usually measured in points.
Typically in silk-screening the trap is .5pt.
• HALFTONES refer to art that is made up of dots.
• When an artwork gradually fades away until it blends into the substrate material it is
referred to as a VIGNETTE or GRADUATION.
• RASTORIZED images are bitmap images. They are either scanned or created in a pixel-based
program such as Adobe Photoshop®. The image is made up of pixels with no defined edges to shapes.
The higher the input image resolution is set the more pixels, and in turn, a more well-defined picture.
• VECTORIZED art has well-defined edges to the art and the edges can be re-shaped and manipulated
by the graphic artist. VECTORIZED ART is "resolution independent" meaning it can be scaled to any size
without losing any clarity or detail. It prints with a very clean, smooth edge. Macromedia Freehand®
and Adobe Illustrator® are examples of vector-based software.
• FOUR COLOR PROCESS is a process of printing halftone art through 4 hits on a press of CYAN (C),
MAGENTA (M), YELLOW (Y) and BLACK (K) to form a CONTINUOUS TONE IMAGE (CT).
• A CONTINUOUS TONE IMAGE is halftone image comprised of varying tonalities ranging from black to white.
• A DUOTONE is a two-color halftone image derived from a one color image.
• DOT GAIN is measured by percentages and refers to the amount a dot expands on press. DOT GAIN
generally varies according to press and material substrate.
• FLOOD: When an entire area or whole printed sheet is impressed with a specific color. If the sheet bleeds off all four sides, it is considered a "Full flood."
• SCREEN FREQUENCY is measured in lines per inch(lpi) or lines of cells per inch in a halftone image.
In general terms, it describes how high the resolution of the actual printed piece will be.
• A GRIPPER EDGE is the lead edge of the material substrate to be imprinted. It is gripped by mechanical
fingers and ink must begin printing beyond this area. This area is called the GRIPPER MARGIN, normally 1/2" or less.
• EPS (Encapsulated Post Script) is a type of digital file format used to transport graphic images in
to compatible software application. EPS files can be bitmapped or vector-based art.
• TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) are scanned and bitmapped graphic images designed to be transferred
to compatible software applications.
• PDF (Portable Document File) are digital files that characteristically can transfer to multiple
computer platforms. It is universal and can be read by Adobe's Acrobat Reader® available free on Adobe's web site.
• C1S refers to paper coated 1 side.
• C2S refers to paper coated 2 sides.
• Coated Stock: Paper that has a coating on one or both sides. The coating is usually a clay-like material that fills in most of the pores of the paper allowing the ink pigments to lay on top of the paper rather than being absorbed into the sheet. It usually requires less ink, and has a much different appearance than ink on an uncoated stock. Coatings can be glossy or matte.
• Knock-out: When one color needs to print over the top of another color, the second color may need to be "knocked-out" and trapped to the first color so that the hues of the colors print out correctly.
• Masking Sheet: These are sheets used for positioning negatives and blocking light in preparation for burning a printing plate. Where an image creates a hole in the negative, light passes through and exposes this image on the printing plate.
• Overall Size: This refers to the page size including the length of the tab extension. A page size of 11"x8-1/2" with a tab extension of 3/8" would have an overall size of 11"x8-7/8".
• Perfecting: The term used to describe printing on both sides of the sheet at the same time.
• Plate: A Printing plate can be made of varying materials such as aluminum, paper or various plastics. These plates are coated with a light sensitive material. Masked negatives are placed in contact with the plates and exposed to ultra-violet light. The exposed area repels water. On press, a thin coating of water covers the unexposed area, thus allowing the ink to stick only to the exposed area. Many of today's plates are imaged directly to the plate from a computer.
• Registration: Positioning of printed copy on a sheet. Also refers to the positioning of multiple colors in relation to each other on the printed sheet.
• Register Marks: "Targets" of various shapes and sizes used for lining up different colors properly on a printed piece. They must appear on over-sized paper outside of any bleed areas that will be trimmed off after printing. They are necessary for four-color process jobs and any other jobs with tight registration.
• Reverse Out: When an area is flooded with any color, and the text or image is left to be represented as the material color.
• Step and Repeat: When the size of the press sheet for a job allows for more than one final-sized sheet to be printed, the image repeats across the sheet as many times as necessary to make the most economical use of the sheet.
• Stripping: The art of positioning negatives/ positives on a masking sheet so that a plate can be made with the image in proper position for printing.
• Varnish: A varnish is a clear coating applied over a printed sheet to protect the image beneath from scuffing or scratching. It may also be used as a decorative effect to give a desired gloss or matte look. It is applied on press as a separate operation after the original print has dried.
• Work and Tumble: This is a process in printing a 2-sided piece. First one side is printed, then the sheet is turned over from gripper to back using the same side guide to print the back side.
• Work and Turn: This is a process in printing a 2-sided piece. First one side is printed, then the sheet is turned over from left to right and the back side is printed using the same gripper, but opposite side guide.
TAB/INDEXING TERMINOLOGY
• Bank: A Bank of tabs is the row of tabs in a set.
• Collation: This is the order in which the tab titles will appear in the set.
• Cut: Tab Cut is referred to as the length or size of each tab. For example, 1/5 standard cut is 5 tabs across, with a standard 1/2" indent the tabs are 2" in length.
• Extension: The Tab Extension defines the heighth of the tab. An 11"x8-1/2" sheet with a 1/2" tab extension will result in an overall size of ll"x9". The standard tab extension is 1/2", but can vary in size; typically used are: 1/2", 1/4", 3/8" and 3/4".
• Indent: This refers to the amount of space from the top edge of the page to where the first tab begins.
• Position: Tab position is typically described as 1st,2nd,3rd,4th . . .etc. It refers to where a particular tab title is to be placed in a set.
• Set: Tab Set is the number of tabs in an order. For example, a 1/5 cut of 15 tabs would be a set of 15 with 3 banks of 5 each.
• Tab Style: This refers to the way in which you wish your tabs to appear, whether it be the physical style of the tab or the way in which the copy is laid out on the tab
• Body Copy: Is considered anything on the face of the page outside of the tab area. This can range from a simple part number to a half-tone or solid that floods the sheet.
• Hand Tab: All full cut tabs, some progressive tabs, and any special cut tab that is larger than a 1/2 cut (on an 11" sheet) must be hand-tabbed. This process involves applying the mylar (if required) by hand feeding one sheet at a time into a machine that seals the mylar into place. Each sheet is then hand fed into a machine that cuts the tab. Obviously, this process is considerably slower than if run on automated equipment.
• Mylar: Mylar is a clear or colored piece of protective plastic film laminated on each tab title.
• Mylar Reinforcement: Mylar Reinforcement is clear mylar placed in a strip along the binding edge where the drill or punch holes are. This helps reinforce the holes so they don't rip.
• Progressive Tabs: This style of tabs contain tab cuts where each tab in a bank starts at the same margin and ends at equal intervals beyond the previous tab. Each tab gradually grows longer with the printed area being the area that extends beyond the previous tab, allowing the whole bank to be read all together.
• Stepped Tabs: Stepped tabs are tabs of equal length that overlap each other about half-way, with the print showing in the area that can be seen. The backs are printed at the opposite end so that they may be seen as well.
DECORATION TECHNIQUES
• HOT FOIL STAMPING is a process by which a foil material is pressed on to a substrate by a metal die
that represents the art. Through the application of heat and pressure the foil remains permanent on the material.
• A BLIND DEBOSS is basically the same process as foil stamping without the foil. Through pressure,
the metal die that represents the art is pressed into the material, leaving a depressed imprint into the
material, but with no ink or foil.
• After Debossing an area down an added effect may be to adhere an offset printed piece into this debossed
area, often referred to as a TIP-IN.
• EMBOSSING has the opposite effect of debossing, that is, the image is left raised from the material.
This sometimes requires the use of a male/female die to get optimum embossing effect.
• Heat Seal APPLIQUE is done by taking a piece of vinyl and heat sealing it on to the vinyl substrate
with a metal die which represents the art. It gives the appearance that the art is raised off the surface of the substrate.
• An EMBEDMENT is a printed piece that is "embedded" or sealed under clear vinyl. This is sealed
down completely, all four sides.
• An INSERT is equivalent to an embedment except it is not completely sealed under the vinyl. The
vinyl is sealed on 3 sides, open to the top, so the printed piece may be inserted behind the clear vinyl from the top.
PROOFING METHODS
• XEROX PROOF: Black and white paper copy of artwork created digitally or mechanically.
• PDF PROOF: A Portable Document File may be generated from digital art and proofed via the internet.
• BLUELINE PROOF: This type of proof is to check art positioning only. It is a photo print generated
by stripped up negative or positive films.
• MATCHPRINT PROOF: Matchprints are generally made to proof 4 color process art. The films that are
used to make plates in the printing process are used to generate a proof through the use of light sensitive
process color material. This process produces a very accurate color proof on laminated paper.
• KODAK APPROVAL PROOF: This is a high-end digital proof that is comparable to the color quality of a matchprint proof.
• DIGITAL COLOR PROOF: This type of digitally generated proof is not classified as color-accurate,
but great to get a general feel for color and position.
• INK DRAW-DOWN PROOF: This proofing method is for color only. Ink or Foil of choice is imprinted on
material of choice, any art is used.
• SILK-SCREEN PROOF: A full color flat silk-screened proof done on material specified by client.
• STAMPED PROOF: A metal die that represents art is purchased. A stamped flat is produced with foil
and material specified by client.
• PRE-PRODUCTION PROOF: This is a fully decorated and manufactured piece that represents the final product.
• PRESS PROOF: You may want to proof your color while we are running the job on press. Let us know and
we will schedule a press approval.
|
