Accordion Fold:  Folding paper by bending each fold in the opposite direction of the previous fold creating a pleated or accordion effect.

 

AIDA: An acronym for Attention, Interest, Desire, Action, the four sequential steps of direct mail marketing copy.

 

Alleys: The white spaces between columns on a page. Can be horizontal or vertical.

 

Announcement Envelopes: A style of specialty envelope with a straight flap used for invitations and personal stationery. Also known as A-style.

 

Artwork: The original physical materials, including photos, graphic images, text and other components needed to produce a printed piece. Can also now refer to the electronic or digital components needed for preparing a printed piece for production on a press or copier.

 

Ascender: Any part of a lower case letter which rises above the main body of the letter such as in "d", "b" and "h".

 

Aspect Ratio: The length of an envelope divided by the width. Used by the USPS to determine whether an envelope shape is rectangular. Rectangular envelopes are eligible for the best postage rates.

 

 

 

Baronial Envelope: A style of specialty envelope with a pointed flap used for invitations and personal stationery.

 

Base Line: The imaginary horizontal line upon which stand capitals, lower case letters, punctuation points, etc

 

Basis Weight: The weight in pounds of a ream (500 sheets) of paper in its basic (or parent) size. Also called substance weight.

 

Beat to a Pulp: The first step in making paper out of cotton. The cotton fibers and water are beaten to a pulp in a Hollander beater.

 

Bindery: A business or department within a printing company that does the cutting, folding, collating, drilling and other finishing operations used on printing projects

 

Bit: A value of either 1 or 0 (i.e., either on or off).

 

Black Space: The graphics, photographs and type in a layout.

 

Blanket: The rubberized surfaced material secured onto a cylinder onto which the ink is transferred from the plate and then to the paper.

 

Blanks: A flat sheet of paper cut to the proper size and shape to be converted into an envelope.

 

Bleed: Any element that extends up to or past the edge of a printed page.

 

Blog: A contraction of weblog. A web site on which an individual or group of users regularly record opinions or other information.

 

Blotting Paper: Coarse, gray, unsized paper used to dry wet writing. A reference to blotting paper can be found as early as 1465.

 

Body Copy: The text that forms the main body of a document. Also called body text.

 

Body Type: The type used for the main text of a document.

 

Brand Equity: The added value brought to a company’s products and services. Includes perceived quality and emotional attachment to the brand.

 

Brand Strategy: The plan for communicating and delivering brand messages. Includes who, what, where, when and how the messages will be delivered as well as printed, visual and verbal messaging.

 

Brightness: The percentage of light reflected from the surface of a sheet of paper. An extremely bright sheet reflects back almost all light to the viewer. Brightness is not always a good predictor of paper color or whiteness.

 

Bulk: The thickness of a sheet of paper in relation to its weight. High bulk paper lacks compactness; low bulk paper is compact.

 

Bulk Mail: Mail of any class that is presented in lots of at least 200 or 500 pieces.

 

Bulk Mail Entry Unit (BMEU): A USPS facility that is authorized to accept presorted mail, including EDDM.

 

Bullet: A boldface square or dot used before a sentence to emphasize its importance.

 

Byte: 8 bits.

 

 

 

Caliper: A measure of paper thickness expressed in thousandths of an inch (mils). A micrometer is used to measure caliper.

 

Carbon Sequestration: The process by which carbon is removed from the atmosphere and stored in soil, biomass, geological formations and the ocean.

 

Carrier Route: All mail pieces for delivery to the same city route, rural route, highway contract route, post office box or general delivery unit.

 

Clip Art: Graphic images, designs, and artwork in digital form that can be used in a digital document.

 

Cloth Parchment: An early version of paper that contained wood and straw in addition to cloth.

 

Coated Stock: Any paper that has a mineral coating applied after the paper is made, giving the paper a smoother finish.

 

Coil Binding: Where a metal or plastic wire is spiraled through holes punched along the side of a stack of paper. Commonly used for reports, proposals and manuals. Documents bound with coil have the ability to lay flat and can rotate 360 degrees. Also called spiral binding.

 

Cold Color: Any color that is toward the blue side of the color spectrum.

 

Collate: To gather sheets together in their correct order.

 

Colophon: A printers' or publishers' identifying symbol or emblem.

 

Color Balance: The relative amounts of process colors used to reproduce an image, either digitally or when printed on a press.

 

Color Bars: A color test strip that is printed on the waste portion of a press sheet. It helps a press operator to monitor and control the quality of the printed material relative to ink density, registration and dot gain. It can also include a Star Target, which is designed to detect inking and press problems.

 

Color Separating: The processes of separating the primary color components (CMYK) for printing.

 

Color Sequence: The order in which process inks are printed on a printing press. Also called the color rotation or laydown sequence.

 

Commercial Envelope: A category of envelope used for business correspondence, direct mail, and invoicing/payment.

 

Compile: To assemble information collected from a variety of sources. Mail lists offered for rental are compiled from publicly-available sources and need to be varied before use.

 

Composition: Positioning, formatting and gathering type; also called page makeup.

 

Condensed Type: A narrow, elongated typeface.

 

Contrast: The degree of tonal separation or gradation in the range from black to white.

 

Converting: Making an envelope from an envelope blank cut from a flat sheet of paper.

 

Copy Fit: Making adjustments to text size, spacing between lines, or otherwise editing text so it fits in a given space.

 

Cover: A term describing a general type of paper used for the covers of books, pamphlets, etc., also used for business cards and postcards.

 

Coverage: The extent to which printing ink covers the surface of a printed sheet. Ink coverage is frequently expressed as light, medium or heavy.

 

Crop: To eliminate portions of the image, usually on a photograph. Often indicated by crop marks that print on the press sheet.

 

Crop Marks: Small printed lines around the edges of a printed piece indicating where it is to be cut out of the sheet. Sometimes referred to as cut marks.

 

Cut Size: Ream-wrapped, ready-to-use paper sizes such as 8½x11, 11x14, and 11x17.

 

Cyan: A shade of blue used in four-color process printing. The C in CMYK. Also referred to as process blue.

 

 

 

Database: A comprehensive collection of related data organized for convenient access, generally in a computer. A database is analogous to an electronic filing system.

 

Deduping: The removal of data from a mailing list where that information appears more than once.

 

Demographics: The characteristics of a population, either individual or business. Commonly-used demographics include gender, race, age, income, disabilities, education, home ownership. Also called demographic data.

 

Descender: A term that describes that portion of lower case letters that extends below the main body of the letter, as in "p".

 

Design Grid: A drawn pattern of lines and coordinates used as a framework for a page layout.

 

Destination Post Office: The post office that is the last stop before mail delivery by letter carriers.

 

Die Cutting: The process of cutting paper in a shape or design by the use of a wooden die or block in which are positioned steel rules in the shape of the desired pattern.

 

Digital Proof: Color separation data is digitally stored and then exposed to color photographic paper creating a picture of the final product before it is actually printed with ink.

 

Dingbats: Small, ornamental characters used as design elements. A dingbat consisting of a stylized flower or leaf may also be called a printer’s mark or printer’s flower.

 

Dithering: Using more than one dot to create a pixel.

 

Dot: The smallest individual element of a halftone.

 

Dot Gain: A term used to describe when dots are printing larger than they should.

 

DPI: An abbreviation for dots per inch, a measure of the resolution of a printed photograph.

 

Drill: The drilling of holes into paper for ring or comb binding.

 

Drop Shadow: A shadow image placed offset behind an image to create the affect of the image lifting off the page.

 

Dull Finish: A semi-gloss finish on paper that is less glossy than gloss and more than matte paper.

 

Dummy: The preliminary assemblage of copy and art elements to be reproduced in the desired finished product, also called a comp.

 

Dye Sublimation: A photographic looking color print created by heating dyes on a substrate instead of using inks. Often used for proofing.

 

 

 

ECF/TCF Papers: Acronyms for elemental chlorine free (ECF) and totally chlorine free (TCF) papers, made from pulp that has been bleached using

hydrogen peroxide instead of chlorine.

 

EDDM: An acronym for Every Door Direct Mail, a program of the USPS, consisting of is a mailing sent to every dwelling unit (house, apartment, condominium or mobile home) and business in a specific geographic area.

 

EDDM BMEU: A version of EDDM that requires a permit and has no limit on the number or size of mailings that can be entered daily.

 

EDDM Retail: A version of EDDM designed for do-it-yourself mailers. Does not require a mailing permit and allows mail to be entered at the front counter of the destination post office. Limited to one mailing of up to 5000 pieces per destination post office per day.

 

Embossing: The molding and reshaping of paper by the use of special metal dies and heat, counter dies and pressure, to produce a raised image on the paper surface.

 

Enamel: Another term for gloss coated paper.

 

EPS: Encapsulated Post Script. A standard file format used to transfer postscript formatting information between applications.

 

 

 

Facebook: A social networking website started in 2004. Originally designed for college students, it is now regularly used by businesses.

 

Field: In a database, a space allocated for a one item of information. Fields are the smallest unit of information that can be accessed. In spreadsheets, fields are called cells.

 

File Size: The amount of space an image (such as a photograph) takes up on a storage device. Expressed as kilobytes (one thousand bytes) or megabytes.

 

Finish: The surface quality of a paper.

 

Finishing: A general term for post-print operations; includes trimming, folding, binding, stitching, drilling, padding.

 

Flat Mail: Mail that meets the physical specifications set by the USPS – rectangular in shape, flexible, uniformly thick and with physical dimensions within the minimum and maximum. EDDM specifications differ somewhat from other flat mail. Sometimes called large envelope.

 

Focal Point: The center of interest in a page layout.

 

Folding Dummy: Sheet or sheets assembled and folded to finished size. Can be actual size or miniature.

 

Font: All the characters of the alphabet plus numerals and symbols. In desktop publishing, font is often used interchangeably with type and typeface.

 

Fourdrinier Paper Machine: A papermaking machine invented by a Frenchman, Nicolas Louis Robert in 1798, developed in England by Brian Donkin for Henry and Sealy Fourdrinier, but not placed into operation until 1804. The Fourdrinier paper machine was the first papermaking machine to make continuous paper. Prior to this machine, paper was made in single separate sheets.

 

FPO - For Position Only: Low resolution or mockup images used to indicate placement and size in a design, but not intended for final production.

 

Franking: Affixing postage to an envelope.

 

 

 

Ganging: The combining of two or more different printing projects on the same sheet of paper.

 

Gate Fold: A three or four panel fold where the two outside panels fold inward to meet in the center. In an open gate fold, there are three panels, the bottom of which is twice the size of the folded panels. In a closed gatefold, there are four panels of roughly equal size where the outer panels are folded inward together.

 

GIF: An acronym for Graphics Interchange Format. A graphic file format suited for flat color images and drawings. Created by CompuServ and often used for animated images on the Web.

 

Glyph: The specific shape, design or representation of a character.

 

Google: Brand name of the leading Internet search engine.

 

Grain: Paper fibers lie in a similar direction in a sheet of paper. This direction is called the grain. Printing is usually done so that if folding is required, the fold is done parallel to the grain.

 

Grayscale: A series of neutral colors ranging from black to white where each step’s color value is shifted by a constant amount.

 

Gripper: A series of metal fingers that hold each sheet of paper as it passes through a printing press.

 

Gripper Edge: The side of a piece of paper held by the gripper fingers as it passes through a printing press. Nothing can be printed in this area.

 

Gutter: A blank space or margin between components on a printed piece or press sheet.

 

 

 

Hammer Headline: A headline of few words (three or less) set in a large point size above a smaller main headline used to attract attention to a major article. A hammer should be obvious, like “Stocks Plummet”. Also called hammer head or reverse kicker.

 

Hickey: The effect that occurs when a spec of dust or debris (frequently dried ink) adheres to the printing plate and creates a spot or imperfection in the printing.

 

Highlights: The lightest tones of a photo, printed halftone or illustration. In the finished halftone, these highlights are represented by the finest dots.

 

House List: An internally-developed mail list consisting of the customers, members or donors of a business or organization. A house list can also contain contact information for prospects who match the demographic profile of customers.

 

House Sheet: This is a term that refers to a paper that a printer keeps on hand in their shop.

 

Hue: The pure spectrum colors of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, blue, green and violet. All hues can be mixed from primary colors.

 

 

 

Icon: A symbol or small picture that represents a concept or tangible object.

 

Image Area: That portion of a printing plate that carries ink and prints on paper.

 

Image Resolution: The number of pixels per inch (ppi) or dots per inch (dpi) of any image. A resolution of 72 ppi is sufficient for the web; printing requires 300 dpi. In print, the pixels will be visible in a low resolution file. On the web, a high resolution file will not preview correctly and the file size will be larger than necessary, slowing download time.

 

Image Size: The dimensions of the image, such as an 8x10 photograph.

 

Imposition: The layout of images or pages on a press sheet.

 

Indicia: An alternative way to pay for postage instead of postage stamps or a postage meter. The mailer prints the postage information in a block in the upper right hand corner of the mail piece. Also called permit imprint.

 

Insert: A piece of printed material that is inserted into another piece of printed material, such as a magazine or catalog.

 

Italic: Text that is used to denote emphasis by slanting the type body forward.

 

 

 

Jacket: Or dust jacket. The paper cover sometimes called the "dust cover" of a hardbound book.

 

Jaggies: A curve or diagonal line made up of stair-stepped pixels. The result of insufficient resolution of a photo print. More formally known as pixelation.

 

JPG, JPEG: an acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group. A lossy graphics format best suited for photographs and images with a lot of colors.

 

 

Justification: Adjusting the spacing or hyphenation of words and characters to fill a given line of text from end to end. Sometimes referred to as word spacing.

 

 

 

Kerning: The narrowing of space between two letters so that they become closer and take up less space on the page.

 

Kicker Headline: A smaller-font headline, often underlined, just above the main headline. Kickers use a one or two-word identifier to help readers select articles.

 

Kilobyte (KB): 1,024 bytes.

 

Knockout: White type on a black or dark background. Also called reverse or drop out.

 

 

 

Lamination: Applying thin transparent plastic sheets to both sides of a sheet of paper, providing scuff resistance, waterproofing and extended use.

 

Landscape: A document layout where the width is greater than the height. (the opposite of Portrait)

 

Layout: A rendition that shows the placement of all the elements, images, thumbnails etc., of a final printed piece.

 

Leading: In composition, the spacing between lines of type measured in points.

 

Letter-sized Mail: Mail that is rectangular; at least 3½ inches high and 5 inches long and 0.007 inches thick; and no more than 6-1/8 inches high and 11½ inches long and ¼ inch thick.

 

Letter Carrier: The USPS employee who delivers mail. The term was created to be a gender-neutral substitute for mail man.

 

Letterpress: Printing that utilizes inked raised surfaces, usually type, to create the image.

 

Lettersheet: Illustrated sheets of paper that could be sealed and sent through the mail with no envelope.

 

Letterspacing: The addition of space between typeset letters.

 

Lightness: A range from dark (0%) to fully illuminated (100%) used to lighten or darken a color. An original hue has a lightness level of 50%.

 

Line Art: Drawings, illustrations, sketches or pictures that use no tones (i.e., black and white areas only with no shades of gray).

 

Line of Travel: The order in which a carrier route is served by the letter carrier; mail pieces sequenced in delivery order.

 

Linen: A paper that emulates the look and texture of linen cloth.

 

LinkedIn: A business-oriented social networking site launched in May 2003.

 

Lithography: The process of printing that utilizes flat or curved inked surfaces to create the printed images.

 

Logo: An abbreviation of logotype, a graphic mark, emblem or symbol used to promote public recognition of a commercial enterprise or organization. A logo may be graphic (consisting of symbols and icons) or may be the name of the organization written in a distinctive manner.

 

Logotype: A personalized type or design symbol for a company or product.

 

Loupe: A small magnifier used to observe the details on a printed sheet.

 

 

 

Magenta: One of the four process colors, or CMYK, the M is for magenta. Magenta is a predominately red color with some blue. Magenta, cyan and yellow are also the three subtractive primary colors.

 

Mail Panel: The area of a mail piece containing the outbound address, return address and postage payment method (postage stamp, meter mark or indicia).

 

Marriage Mail: Two or more messages, perhaps from different businesses, sent to a an address as a single mail piece. Also called shared mail.

 

Matte Finish: A coated paper finish that goes through minimal calendaring.

 

Megabyte (MB): 1,024 kilobytes (1,048,576 bytes). A megabyte of storage will hold 873 pages of plain text or about 4 books.

 

Megapixel (MP): One million pixels.

 

Metallic Ink: Ink that looks metallic when printed. Made with powdered metal or pigments that look metallic. The most common colors used are gold and silver.

 

Mill Broke: In a paper mill, the trim and other scrap paper resulting from the paper manufacturing process. Mill broke is recycled within the paper mill.

 

Millennials: The demographic cohort following Generation X; sometimes called Generation Y. Born between 1980 and the mid-2000s, Millennials are the largest generation in the United States, representing one-third of the total U.S. population in 2013.

 

Model Release: A legal release signed by the subject of a photograph granting permission to publish the photograph. Also known as a liability waiver.

 

Monogram: A motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters to form one symbol.

 

Mulready: Illustrated postal lettersheets and envelopes used briefly in Britain in 1840. Named for the artist, William Mulready.

 

 

 

Natural: A term to describe papers that have a color similar to that of wood, also called cream, off-white or ivory.

 

Negative Space: The space around and between an image. Negative space is most evident when the space around a subject forms a relevant shape. The arrow hidden in the FedEx logo is an example of negative space.

 

Newsprint: A light, low-cost unbleached paper made especially for newspaper printing.

 

 

 

Offset: An erroneous variation of the word "setoff". Ink that is unintentionally transferred from a printed sheet to the back of the sheet above it as the pieces are stacked in a pile when printed.

 

Offset Printing: The most commonly used printing method, where the printed material does not receive ink directly from a printing plate but from an intermediary blanket that receives the ink from the plate and then transfers it to the paper.

 

Offset Paper: A term for sometimes used for uncoated book paper.

Oil paper: paper that has been soaked in oil, making it translucent and waterproof. Can be used as protection from the rain in umbrellas, windows, and tarpaulins.

 

Opacity: The degree to which a sheet of paper will transmit light or show through dark printing.

 

Optical Brightness: The degree to which a sheet appears to be very bright white. When optical brighteners or fluorescent dyes are added to the paper, it absorbs invisible ultraviolet light and converts it to visible light that is reflected back to the viewer.

 

Overprinting: Any printing that is done on an area that has already been printed.

 

Overrun: Quantities of sheets printed over the requested number of copies.

 

 

 

Pagination: The numbering of individual pages in a multi-page document

 

Pantone Matching System: A pigment-based system for classifying hue.

 

Paper: True paper is a thin sheet made from fiber that has been macerated until each individual filament is a separate unit. Medieval paper was made of diluted cotton and linen fiber.

 

Papyrus: A paper-like product made from a grass-like aquatic plant in the sedge family called Cyperus papyrus. The plant stalks are made of layers which are split apart, flattened and placed side-by-side. Additional layers are placed crosswise of the preceding layer. After pressing, drying and adding flour paste, the papyrus is beaten flat and smooth.

 

Parchment: A paper-like product made from sheepskin. The animal skins were de-haired, de-fatted and scraped to make a smooth surface for scribes, illuminators and printers.

 

Parent sheet: A sheet that is larger than the cut stock of the same paper.

 

Parent Size: The size of sheets of paper after converting but before ream-wrapping. Each paper grade has its own parent size.

 

Passive Voice: A verb form in which the subject is acted upon. Example: The boy was called by his mother.

 

PDF: "Portable Document Format." PDF is a multi-platform file format developed by Adobe Systems. A PDF file captures document text, fonts, images, and even formatting of documents from a variety of applications. You can e-mail a PDF document to your friend and it will look the same way on his screen as it looks on yours, even if he has a Mac and you have a PC. Since PDFs contain color-accurate information, they should also print the same way they look on your screen.

 

Peel and Seal: A type of envelope closure method.

 

Penny Black: The first British adhesive postage stamp. Printed using the Jacob Perkins printing process to deter counterfeiting and forgery.

 

Perfect Binding: A binding process where the signatures of a book are held together by a flexible adhesive.

 

Permit: Permission from the USPS to mail at discounted postage rates.

 

Photo Resolution: The number of pixels in an image, usually expressed as the width x the height, or by the total number of pixels in the image (width in pixels x height in pixels).

 

Pica: A typesetting unit of measurement equaling 1/6th of an inch.

 

Pixel: A contraction of picture element. A square containing a series of numbers that describe color or intensity.

 

Plastic Comb: A method of binding books whereby holes are drilled on the spine, and a plastic grasping device is inserted to hold the pages together.

 

PMS: The abbreviation of the Pantone Color Matching System.

 

PNG: An acronym standing for Portable Network Graphics. A graphics format for lossless, highly compressed raster images.

 

Point Size: The height of characters in a font. A point is approximately 1/72nd of an inch.

 

Portrait: A document layout in which the height is greater than the width. (the opposite of Landscape)

 

Post Consumer Waste: Paper and paper products that have been used, collected, separated by type, and recycled into making new paper products.

 

Postal Wrapper: A precursor to the envelope, introduced in 1840 in Britain. Sold as a sheet of 12 printed in a diamond pattern, requiring the user to cut them out, fold, and affix a seal.

 

PostScript: A tradename of Adobe Systems, Inc. for its page description language. This language translates a digital file from an application into a language a compatible printer or other device can use to create its output.

 

PPI: An abbreviation for pixels per inch, a measure of the resolution of a photo or image file.

 

Pre-Consumer Waste: Paper scraps and other material that is recycled during the paper making process.

 

Preflight: Checking a document file to be certain it is ready for raster image processing.

 

Premium: Any paper that is considered better than grade #1 by its manufacturer.

 

Prepress: Preparing digital files for output to a printer, copier or imagesetter.

 

Press and Seal: A type of envelope closure method.

 

Press Check: When a client visits a printing company to view actual printed sheets of their project before a full production press run is started.

 

Primary Colors: The three pigment colors – red, yellow and blue– that cannot be made by mixing other colors. When mixed,primary colors produce all other colors.

 

Primary Colors of Light: Red, green and blue (RGB). When the primary colors of light are mixed, they create white light. Red, blue and green are the primary colors for computer monitors.

 

Primary Colors for Printing: Cyan (blue), magenta and yellow (CMY). When mixed together, the primary colors for printing create a muddy black. Because of this, printers add black (abbreviated as K) as a color.

 

Print Ready File: The final image composition consisting of type, photographs, line art and other graphic elements, laid out in the size and position in which they will appear on the final printed product.

 

Printer Spread: Pages of a booklet or book arranged on a press sheet in an order that minimizes the number of press sheets and simplifies binding.

 

Process Printing: A system where a color image is separated into different color values (cyan, magenta, yellow and black or CMYK) by the use of filters and screens or digitally with a software program and then transferred to printing plates and printed on a printing press, reproducing the original color image.

 

Prospect: In selling, an individual, company, or organization that has been qualified as a potential customer.

 

 

 

Quark: Short for QuarkXPress, one of the primary computer applications used in graphic design.

 

Quote or Quotation: A price estimate to produce a specific printed piece, frequently with custom attributes not priceable in standard online pricing tools.

 

 

 

Ragged Left: The term given to right-justified type that is uneven on the left.

 

Ragged Right: The term given to left-justified type that is uneven on the right.

 

Raster: A dot or line of dots.

 

Raster Image: In computer graphics, a digital image composed of individual pixels. Also known as bitmap image or bitmap. Raster file formats include .gif, .jpg, .tif, .bmp, .pict and .ps.

 

Raster Image Processing: The conversion of images into dots.

 

Raster Image Processor: A device or program for converting the instructions for a page (page geometry, text, line art and continuous tone graphics) to a pattern of dots that can be used by an output device.

 

Reader Spread: Pages of a booklet or book appearing in consecutive order as they will be read.

 

Ream: 500 sheets of paper. The word is derived through Spanish and French from the Arabic word rizmah meaning a bundle.

 

Record: In a database, a record holds all the information about one item or subject. Records are composed of fields; a set of records constitutes a file.

 

Recycled Paper: Paper that has been manufactured from recovered waste paper, derived from one of three primary sources: pre consumer waste, post-consumer waste and converting waste.

 

Recycled Paper Products: Products made from recycled paper, including newsprint, notebook paper, grocery bags, corrugated boxes, envelopes, magazines, cartons, masking tape, paper money, globes, bandages, dust masks, hospital gowns, coffee filters, car insulation, animal bedding, planting pots for seedlings and egg cartons.

 

Register: The arrangement of two or more printed images in exact alignment with each other.

 

Register Marks: Any crossmarks or other symbols used on a press sheet to assure proper registration.

 

RGB: The color space of Red, Green and Blue. These are the primary colors of light, which computers use to display images on your screen. An RGB computer file must be translated into the CMYK (the primary colors of pigment) color space in order to be printed on a printing press.

 

Remoistenable Glue: The most common type of envelope closure method for commercial envelopes.

 

Response Device: An enclosure in a direct mail piece that allows the recipient to respond to the offer.

 

Response Rate: The percentage of inquiries or other responses resulting from a mailing.

 

Reverse: Reversing dark areas to become light and light areas to become dark. A reverse is used when a logo prints on a dark background. The technique of printing white or light-colored text on a black or dark background for emphasis. A reverse greatly reduces legibility, especially with small type.

 

Rice Paper: A paper-like product made from spiral-cut strips of the pith of the rice paper tree (a small Asiatic tree or shrub). The pith is cut into a thin layer of ivory-like texture with a sharp knife. In Central and South America, Polynesia and Africa, rice paper is made from beaten bark of plants like hemp, fig and mulberry.

 

Right Angle Fold: A term that denotes folds that are 90 degrees to each other.

 

Rule: A line used for borders, boxes and other typographic effects. The thickness of a rule is its weight, and is measured in points.

 

Running Head: A title at the top of a page that appears on all pages of a book or chapter of a book.

 

 

 

Saddle Stitch: The binding of booklets or other printed materials by stapling the pages on the folded spine.

 

Saturation: A range from pure color (100%) to gray (0%). A pure color is fully saturated.

 

Saturation Mailing: A range from pure color (100%) to gray (0%) at a constant lightness level. A pure color is fully saturated.

 

Scoring: To crease paper with a metal rule for the purpose of making folding easier.

 

Screen: A wooden framework containing dense wire mesh and a movable wooden frame or deckle. Used to remove paper fibers from paper pulp. Also called a module or mold.

 

Self Cover: A cover that is the same paper stock as the internal sheets.

 

Self-Mailer: A mail piece not enclosed in an envelope or other packaging.

 

Service Mark: A word, phrase, design or combination that identifies and distinguishes the source of a service rather than goods. Analogous to a trademark but for services.

 

Shade: A darker version of a color, made by adding black.

 

Sharpen: To decrease the dot size of a halftone, which in turn decreases the color strength

 

Shingling: In image assembly and layouts, the center or gutter margin that is adjusted according to the position of the page in the signature and the bulk of the paper.

 

Show Through: When the printing on one side of a sheet is seen from the other side, a frequent problem with thin papers.

 

Shutter Speed: The amount of time a camera’s shutter remains open, allowing light to enter into the lens.

 

Side Guide: The guides on the sides of a printing press that consistently positions the sheet sideways as it is fed through the press.

 

Side Stitch: The stapling of sheets or signatures on the side closest to the spine.

 

Signature: In booklet or book making, a group of pages on a single press sheet that have been positioned so that after folding, binding and trimming, the pages appear in proper sequence. Placement of pages in a signature is determined by using a folding dummy.

 

Simplified Address Format: An alternate addressing format that uses Postal Customer or Residential Customer in place of name and address. Used when distribution is intended for each active address in a carrier route.

 

Sizing: A substance applied to the surface of paper to change the absorption and wear characteristics. Reduces the paper’s tendency when dry to absorb liquid, allowing ink or paint to remain on the surface of the paper and to dry there, rather than be absorbed into the paper.

 

Social Bookmarking Site: A web site based on the interaction of “tagging” web sites and searching through web sites bookmarked by others.

 

Social Media Site: A website that both provides information and an opportunity for interaction.

 

Social Networking Site: A web site based on interaction by connecting with friends, commenting on profiles, joining groups and participating in discussions. Example: Facebook, Pinterest.

 

Social News Site: A web site based on interaction by voting for articles and commenting on them. Examples: Digg, Reddit

 

Social Photo and Video Site: A web site based on interaction by sharing photos or videos and commenting on user submissions. Example: YouTube, Pinterest.

 

Social Proof: A method for making a decision based on non-rational factors; determining what is correct by finding out what other people think is correct.

 

Spiral Bind: A type of binding where a metal or plastic wire is spiraled through holes drilled along the binding side of a document.

 

Stock: A term for unprinted paper.

 

Subhead: A title or heading of a subsection of an article, essay or book. Subheads can also appear beneath a headline.

 

Suspect: In selling, an individual, company, or organization that fits the marketing profile but has not yet been qualified as a potential customer.

 

Suppression File: A specific list of people who are not to be sent promotional mail, such as marketer’s current customers, bad debt customers, people who have requested not to receive direct mail promotions and the DMA’s Mail Preference Service List.

 

Synthetic Papers: Any non-wood or cloth paper, usually petroleum (plastic) based.

 

 

 

Tagline: A simple phrase used in conjunction with a logo or brand that describes a product, service or mission. Also called a catch line, strapline or slogan.

 

Targeted Mailing: A mailing directed at a specific group of people based on some attribute they share, such as age, location or shopping patterns.

 

Teaser Copy: Words printed on the outside of a mail piece that interests the reader in opening the mail piece.

 

Tense: The indication of the time at which the event described by the sentence occurred. In English this is a property of the verb.

 

Template: A predesigned document for a particular purpose. For example, an ad template enables a person to generate an advertisement with formatting already complete.

 

Text paper: A high quality light weight printing paper.

 

Thermography: A printing process whereby slow drying ink is applied to paper and, while the ink is still wet, is lightly dusted with a resinous powder. The paper then passes through a heat chamber where the powder melts and fuses with the ink to produce a raised surface.

 

TIFF: Tagged Image File Format. A loss less graphic image file format used for both bitmap and vector images. Originally created by Aldus for use in Postscript printing.

 

Tint: A lighter version of a color, made by adding white.

 

Trademark: A literal extension of the phrase marks of trade. A trademark can be a real or imagined word, name, symbol, color or sound that is used to by a company or organization to identify and distinguish its products.

 

Trapping: The overlapping of one color over a different, adjacent color to ensure that no white space is visible where the two colors meet, especially when there are slight variations in the registration of the two colors during the printing process. Or the process of printing wet ink over wet or dry previously printed ink.

 

Trim Marks: Marks placed on the copy to indicate the edge of the page or image.

 

Trim Size: The final size of a printed piece after being cut from the sheet of paper that it was printed on.

 

Twitter: An instant messaging system for sending brief text messages (up to 140 characters) to a list of followers.

 

Typeface: A set of one or more fonts each composed of glyphs that share common design features. Also known as font family.

 

Typo: A spelling mistake in printed material resulting from a mistake in typing or setting type.

 

 

 

Unique Selling Proposition (USP): A statement of differentiation about a product or service. USP was introduced as a marketing concept in the early 1940s by Ted Bates & Company. Chairman of the board Rosser Reeves provided a definition of USP in his book Reality in Advertising. To be considered a unique selling proposition, the advertisement had to make a proposition to the customer (“buy this product, and you will get this specific benefit.”); the proposition itself had to be unique (something that competitors do not, or will not, offer); and the proposition had to be strong enough to pull new customers to the product.

 

Up: A term used to describe how many similar pieces can be printed on a larger sheet; two up, four up, etc.

 

UV Coating: A very shiny and durable high gloss coating applied to printed material. Applied as a liquid then cured with ultraviolet light.

 

 

 

Variable Data Printing: A form of on-demand printing in which elements (such as text, graphics, photographs, etc) can be changed from one printed piece to the next, without stopping or slowing down the press, using information from a database. For example, a set of personalized letters, each with the same basic layout, can be printed with a different name and address on each letter.

 

Varnish: A clear coating added to printed material as a protective layer for improved scuff resistance and usually higher gloss.

 

Vector Image: In computer graphics, the use of points, lines, curves and shapes or polygons based on mathematical expressions to represent images. Vector file formats include .eps and .ai.

 

Vellum: Parchment made from the skin of calves, lambs or goats. One animal skin yields only a few sheets of vellum.

 

Virgin Fiber: Wood fiber that has never been recycled.

 

Voice: The relationship between the verb and the nouns associated with it (called the subject or the object of the verb). There are two voices in English – active and passive.

 

 

 

Warm Color: A color with a reddish tone rather than a blue tone. Browns, oranges, reds, and yellows are generally considered to be "warm" colors.

 

Washup: The procedure of cleaning a particular ink from the unit of a printing press.

 

Watermark: A recognizable image or pattern in paper that appears when held up to the light. European papermakers used watermarks as a means of identifying the members of the trade organization who manufactured it. Now used as an anti-counterfeiting measure on paper used for bank notes, passports, motor vehicle titles and similar documents.

 

White Space: In design, the absence of type, photographs or graphic elements. Trapped white space is white space appearing within lines of type, usually created by justifying type on a short line length.

 

Widow: A single word or two left at the end of a paragraph, or a part of a sentence ending a paragraph, which loops over to the next page and stands alone. Also, the last sentence of a paragraph, which contains only one or two short words.

 

Word of Mouth Advertising (WOM): The unpaid spread of a positive marketing message from person to person.

 

Wordmark: A type of logo comprised of the name of the individual, company, organization, product or brand set in a specific typeface. May include some special treatment or graphic images. Examples include IBM and Coca Cola.

 

Work and Turn: A printing production format that has the front and back of a printed piece on one side of the paper, that is then printed the same on the back side, producing two copies of the piece.

 

Wove: A smooth paper with a gentle patterned finish.

 

Writing Paper: Another name for bond paper.

 

 

 

Yellow: One of the four process colors of ink, or CMYK. The Y is for yellow.

 

YouTube: A video-sharing website for users to upload, share, and view videos; founded in 2005.

 

 

 

Zip file: Zipping a file compresses one or more files into a smaller archive. It takes up less hard drive space and less time to transfer across a network or the internet.