Brochures Printing, Business Cards Printing, Catalog/Magazine Printing, Post Cards Printing, Calendars Printing

A software program that allows you to create "PDF" files that can be examined and printed by anyone even if they don't have the original software used to create the file. The way the industry is heading, we will be hearing a lot about PDF files and Acrobat in the future.

Alkaline Paper:

A stable, acid free paper used for printing projects that must last as long as possible.

Bindery:

Operations after the paper is printed on including: cutting, folding, trimming, collating, stitching, tabbing, wrapping, etc.

Bitmap:

A computerized image made up of dots or pixels. Line art and photos are often saved as bitmaps. To keep artwork from looking jagged, bitmaps should be saved at a minimum of 1200 dots per inch (dpi).

Blanket:

This fabric reinforced rubber sheet is used on our presses to transfer the image from the printing plate to the paper.

Bleed:

Other than what happens when a pressman mis-handles a metal plate, bleeds are when the printed inks run all the way to the edge of the paper. To accommodate the bleed, we must make the bleed area larger than the final trim size. The page is then trimmed right through the bleed area. This adds cost to your job since we have to use larger paper than the final trim size.

Camera-Ready:

This is artwork that has all the type, line art and graphics in place and ready to be photographed or digitally scanned to make a printing plate.

Card Stock:

Also called cover stock. This paper is used for postcards, business cards, catalog covers and other items that need a heavier stock. Card stocks are measured by the weight of (500) 20"x26" sheets (usually 65lb. to 100lb. cover).

CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black):

These are the colors we use for full color process printing. These four inks when mixed together can reproduce a wide range of colors and shades. Not all PMS colors can be reproduced accurately by this system, but it is the standard by which most full color printing is produced.

Computer To Plate (CTP):

CTP is a process where we can take your computer file and output it directly onto a printing plate.

Coated Paper:

Also called enamel and can be glossy or dull. This paper is coated with clay, white pigments and a binder. It reproduces fine detail and photographs better than uncoated paper.

Color Separations:

The photographic or electronic means of separating artwork into cyan, magenta, yellow and black components. Two or three color jobs also need to be color separated before printing.

Corel Draw:

This is a popular drawing program for the Windows market. We don't support Corel Draw specifically but can usually import its files into Macromedia Freehand or Adobe Illustrator if needed. Saving your drawings as an EPS (Encapsulated Postscript) file with all the type converted to graphics is another way we can accept this format.

Crop Marks:

Lines positioned outside the corners of the sheet showing where you want the job to be trimmed or folded.

Desktop Publishing (DTP):

The process of creating fully composed pages using a computer, off-the-shelf software and an output device such as a laser printer.

Die:

Sharp metal rule used for die cutting, or block or metal used for embossing or foil stamping.

Die Cutting:

Cutting irregular shapes in paper using metal rules mounted on a letterpress.

Dummy:

A preliminary layout showing the position of illustrations and text as they are to appear in the final reproduction. A set of blank pages made up in advance to show the size, shape, form and general style of a piece of printing.

Duotone:

Color reproduction from a monochrome original, such as a black and white photograph. Two halftones with different screen angles are made from the same original and printed in register with two colors.

Dynamic Range:

The range of tones from lightest to darkest a scanner can see and resolve.

Embossing:

Raised letters or designs created by squeezing the paper between two metal dies.

EPS (Encapsulated Postscript):

This format of computer file is the preferred format for printing. It allows your graphics to be imaged at the resolution of the final output device. Freehand and Illustrator use this format to save graphics that later will be placed in PageMaker or QuarkXPress.

File Format:

This is what we will ask you when you bring in your computer disks. We need to know what software program and computer platform the file was created on.

Finish Size:

Size of printed product after production is complete.

Freehand:

A professional graphics program produced by Macromedia. We use Freehand for all of our graphic design work such as logos and drawings. We then either print directly from Freehand or export the graphics to PageMaker or QuarkXPress.

Gloss:

A shiny coating on paper. Gloss coatings allow very little ink absorption, providing excellent color definition and contrast.

GIF:

This file format is mainly used for Web graphics. It makes a very small file, but is not extremely accurate. GIF is not acceptable for quality reproduction in printing.

Grain:

In paper, grain is the direction in which most wood pulp fibers lie within the sheet as the paper is made. Folding paper against the grain breaks more wood fibers than folding with the grain, resulting in an uneven, less precise fold.

Gripper Margin:

Unprintable blank edge of paper on which the printing press grippers bear, usually 1/2" or less. Copiers may also have an unprintable gripper margin.

Gutter:

The inside space between pages; that is, the inside margin toward the binding edge of a book or booklet.

Halftone:

The process of converting a continuous tone photograph into a pattern of different size dots that simulate shades of gray. When viewed with a magnifying glass you will see a series of dots but at normal viewing distances appears continuous tone.

Imagesetter:

A general term used for high resolution devices that output film from digital computer files.

Impression:

The results of one rotation of a plate cylinder on a printing press.

InDesign:

The latest, state-of-the-art software from Adobe for publication design and layout.

JPEG:

A file format used for good quality photographic reproduction on the Web. JPEG graphics are capable of reproducing a full range of color while still remaining small enough for Web use. Most of the photographs you see on the Web are JPEG format.

Knockout:

When type or line art is printed over a photo or colored background, the best way to produce a consistent color is to reverse the type or artwork out of the background and then drop in the desired color. This process is referred to as knocking out.

Lines per Inch (lpi):

Halftone screens are measured in lpi. Newspapers print photos at 65 to 85 lpi producing coarse looking screens. Our normal printing process used 133 to 150 line screens. The industry rule of thumb is to scan your photos at two times the lpi they are going to be printed at. This means for best quality, we scan our photos at 250-300 dpi. Any higher dpi than twice the lpi will just increase the file size with very little effect on the quality of the image.

Matte:

A coated paper finish that isn't shiny like a gloss, but still keeps much of the ink from being absorbed by the paper and provides an excellent image.

Newsprint:

Paper made mostly from ground wood pulp and small amounts of chemical pulp; used for printing newspapers (inexpensive and uncoated).

Offset Lithography:

A printing method that uses the repellent properties of oil and water to reproduce an image on a flat surface. The process originated with the practice of drawing on stones (lithography comes from the Greek word for "stone writing") with an oil-based crayon and then wetting the stone. Oil-based ink would then be applied, repelled by the water, and transferred to a sheet of paper pressed upon it.

PageMaker:

One of the standards of the desktop publishing market. Adobe PageMaker is a professional product, which is designed to output color separations and produce high quality output. PageMaker is the software program we use most for our documents. PageMaker was the pioneer desktop publishing program for the Macintosh. It is available for both Macintosh and PC platforms.

Parent Sheet:

Original sheet from which press size sheets are cut.

Perforate:

To punch small slots or holes in the paper so that you can tear away specific parts of the sheet.

Photoshop:

Adobe's premier photo manipulation program. We use Photoshop to color correct and sharpen scans. Photoshop gives us the ability to make great looking reproductions of not-so-great looking photographs. After the photo is adjusted (or created) it is then imported into PageMaker or QuarkXPress. Almost all of the graphics, logos and photos on this Web site were created or modified in Photoshop.

Plate:

Reproduction of type and images on a polyester based material to form a printing surface where ink is attracted to the printing areas and repelled from the non-printing areas.

PMS (Pantone Matching System):

This is a system of color formulas where we can reproduce over 1000 different shades and colors by accurately mixing several "standard" inks. We can print any color listed in the Pantone Matching System so that you will get the exact color you want.

Point:

In measuring type, 1 point is 1/12 of a pica or 1/72 of an inch. In measuring heavy paper stock, 1 point is equivalent to 1/1000 of an inch. Thus 10-point stock is 10/1000 of an inch, or 0.010 inches thick.

Postscript:

A page description language for medium to high resolution printing devices. Since Postscript images are made up of mathematical calculations, they can be resized and still maintain their quality unlike bitmap images.

Preflight:

In digital prepress, the test used to evaluate or analyze every component needed to produce a printing job. Preflight confirms the type of disk being submitted, the color gamut, color breaks, and any art required (illustrations, photographs, etc.) plus layout files, screen fonts, printer fonts, EPS or TIFF files, laser proofs, page sizes, print driver, crop marks, etc.

Publisher:

A software package produced by Microsoft for simple office and home publishing. Publisher prints great to color ink jet printers, but until Publisher 2000 lacked the professional color separation capabilities of PageMaker and QuarkXPress. Using Publisher 2000 we can perform color separations from your Publisher files; note, however, that there might be slight changes in files created with earlier versions of Publisher.

QuarkXPress:

A professional quality desktop publishing program. It is the program of choice for many designers and advertising agencies. We accept QuarkXPress files for output.

Raster Image Processor (RIP):

The process of interpreting a page description language, such as Postscript, to a raster format at the resolution and in the format required for a printer or imagesetter. May also refer to the hardware and/or software used in the process of ripping a file.

Registration:

In printing, the fitting of two or more colors or images in alignment with each other. Hairline register is the fitting of two or more colors in exact alignment with each other.

Registration Marks:

Marks outside the printing area that helps us make sure colors are lined up or "registered" together.

Resolution:

The degree of image sharpness that can be reproduced by a piece of equipment. Resolution is measured in dots per inch (dpi). Most laser printers image are at 600 dpi.

Reverse:

Type or other image reproduced by printing the background rather than the image itself, allowing the paper or underlying ink to show the shape of the image.

RGB:

Red, green and blue. These are the primary colors, which make white light. For printing, secondary colors (cyan, magenta and yellow) are used to simulate the colors required. Black (K) is added to help CMY reproduce rich blacks and shadows. When preparing color files for output, please ensure that all placed graphics and colors are separated for four-color CMYK and not RGB.

Right Angle Fold:

A term used for two or more folds that are at 90-degree angles to each other.

Saddle Stitching:

A binding method where multiple folded sheets is stapled at the center. Booklets, magazines and manuals are some of the projects that get saddle stitched.

Score:

To impress or indent a mark in the paper to make folding easier.

Screen Tint:

Area of image printed with dots so ink coverage is less than 100% and simulated shading or a lighter color.

Sheet Fed Press:

A printing press that uses cut sheets of paper. All of our presses are "sheet fed."

Side Stitching:

A binding method where two or three staples are inserted usually on the left side of the book. Our high volume copier can copy, collate and side stitch automatically.

Text Stock:

Paper stock used for the pages of reports, books and other items where the thickness of card stock is not required. Text stock is described by the weight of 500 25"x38" sheets of stock. For example, 500 sheets of 80lb. text stock cut to 25"x38" weighs 80 pounds.

Trapping:

A technique in which touching colors are slightly overlapped to minimize any mis-register of the printing plates.

Uncoated Paper:

Paper that has not had a final coating applied for smoothness. Uncoated paper is absorbent and soft in appearance.

Varnish:

A clear, liquid coating, either matte or glossy, that is applied to a printed product for protection and appearance.

Watermark:

Distinctive design created in paper during manufacture.

Web Press:

A press that prints images on rolls of paper.

Zip Code Sorting:

Presorting mail into Zip Code sequence prior to delivery to the post office.