A Glossary of 100 Printing Terms

Crop. Absorption. Lock Bound. When you don’t come across printing terms every day (like we do!), they can be a bit confusing — almost like speaking another language. 

As printing professionals with over 60 years of experience in the industry, we’re always happy to share our knowledge with anyone who needs help getting to grips with various printing terms. 

That’s why we’ve put together this glossary of common terms and phrases from the world of print, so that next time you have a conversation about your printing requirements, you’ll know exactly what to ask for. 

Looking for a particular term? Click the letter ranges below to jump to a specific section.

The Complete Glossary Of Printing Terms

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3D Printing: 3D printing allows printers to create three-dimensional objects from a computer-created design. 3D printers work in layers, gradually building the 3D shape, model, or part. This type of printing has broad applications across numerous sectors, including aerospace and food manufacturing. 

A-C

A, B and C Series: These terms refer to the various different standardised paper sizes used in most countries around the world. You’ll be familiar with A4, a common paper size for documents, notebooks, diaries, and envelopes — this is an example of an A series paper size. Each series has various paper sizes, but don’t worry, you don’t need to know about them in detail. This is something your print expert will be able to help you with should you require more information. 

Absorption: When the first inks are drying onto the surface of the printed material, it’s usually referred to as absorption.

Adhesives: In print, adhesives are substances which are used to make things stick firmly together. The adhesives we use at B&B Press are designed to do their job well, holding things together reliably. Everything we use meets ISO Quality and Environmental Standards, so you can trust that it’s free from harmful substances. 

That said, we haven’t yet managed to switch to adhesives that fully align with our sustainability goals. We’ve been testing different adhesive options that have a less harmful impact on the environment, however we’ve found them not to be as durable, and therefore failing to meet the quality standards we’re committed to. 

Since we need to balance both quality and sustainability, this has been a tricky area to navigate. 

If clients have specific requirements for environmentally-friendly adhesives or laminates, we’re always happy to explore those options. We strive to be as sustainable as possible, however, a big part of sustainability is quality, and we always need to ensure the end product performs as expected. 

Anti-Scuff (Finish): Anti-scuff is a type of finish that can be applied to protect your final product from damage, scratches and scuffs. 

Barcodes (also see QR Codes): Barcodes present data and information in a way that can be read by a machine. They appear as a series of black and white parallel bars of varying widths, which can be scanned and the data interpreted by a computer.  

Bespoke Printing: Bespoke printing is pretty much what it says on the tin — your print solution, created bespoke to you. With bespoke printing, your options are practically limitless, with a whole range of products, materials, sizes, and finishes to choose from. The technique is all about meeting a company's needs to create something truly unique which can't be produced elsewhere.

Binding: Binding refers to the method of fastening multiple printed pages together, such as in a book, brochure, or magazine. Some printers (like us!) offer a binding service alongside their printing services. There are various different types of binding to choose from, including wire-o binding, spiral binding, saddle-stitch, and PUR binding (also known as perfect binding), which uses Polyurethane Reactive (PUR) adhesive to create clean and perfect edges. 

Bleed: After paper has been printed, the inks may run over the trim marks of the paper. This is known as ‘bleeding.’ Both the trim and the bleed need to be accounted for in the design stage to ensure a flawless end result.

Bulk: A term sometimes used when describing the thickness and feel of a piece of paper. “Bulk” can also be used when placing an order for a high quantity of products (i.e. “ordering in bulk”). 

Caliper: A caliper is an instrument used to measure the dimensions of an object or hole, including the length, width, thickness, diameter, or depth. In the print world, these measurements are often given in thousandths of an inch, or millimetres (mm). 

Carbon-Balanced Paper: The simple way to reduce your carbon impact when printing, and there’s very little or no cost to the end user. You can use the World Land Trust Paper Supplier directory to find a certified supplier of Carbon-Balanced Paper near you. 

Carbon-Balanced Print: Choosing a Carbon-Balanced Printer helps support your sustainability initiatives, as not only have the carbon emissions from the paper production been offset, but so have the emissions from the print process itself. Read our Green Glossary to learn more about Carbon-Balanced Print. 

Coating: To reduce the risk of ink smudging after printing, a special liquid coating can be applied to the paper. It’s particularly beneficial for literature prints. At B&B Press, we’re proud to have invested in an LED UV press, which dries coatings in a matter of seconds and prevents them from shrinking (as they would with traditional printing methods), making this method of print a much better friend to the environment. 

Colour Bars: A test strip that’s printed on the waste portion of a press sheet. It helps to monitor and control the quality of the printed material relative to ink density, registration and dot gain.

Colour Separation: The process of separating colours into their basic elements. This results in a four-colour process printing system where a coloured image is divided into four separate colours - cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (B) - using filters. 

During the printing process, these colours are combined in the printer to create different colours. 

This process is a key part of print, as it involves translating the colours we see on-screen, which exist as an RGB (red, green and blue) computer file, and translating them into this new four-colour system so they can be printed accurately. 

This is different again to Pantone colours, which a lot of designers work with. Pantone shades can be converted to RGB for digital display or CMYK for print, depending on requirements. 

Colour Sequence: The order in which inks are printed in the press. Also known as colour rotation.

Creep (Web Creep): Refers to the movement or shift that happens to the margins in a document when pages are folded during the finishing process of a booklet. The amount of creep can vary depending on the thickness of paper and the number of pages.

Crop Marks: Lines put onto the pages to show where the document or print will be trimmed. It’s important to make sure no element of the final design sits outside of the crop marks, as this won’t be seen in the finished product.

D-F

Debossing: Stamping a design into the surface of an object or paper so that there’s an indent.

Deckle Edge: An untrimmed edge that's feathered or rough. 

Die-cut: In the world of print, die-cutting involves the use of a precise, razor-sharp steel blade (known as a die) to make an identical cut to multiple pieces of the same printed material. Die cuts are often used to create custom shapes and designs for labels. Much of our die cutting is done with a Veloblade machine, which automates this process to allow for ultimate precision. 

Digital Printing: Digital printing uses lasers to produce printed materials quickly. It’s ideal for small-scale jobs that need to be completed quickly, and is the go-to method for printing in offices and at home. 

Display Print: Display print, also known in the print world as wide or large format printing, is commonly used for point-of-sale (POS) materials and signage, offering impactful, large-scale visuals for marketing and branding.

Dot Gain: A term used to describe a printing defect when dots appear larger than in the original image. As a result, printed images may appear darker or fuzzier than intended. 

Dummy: Before printing a large quantity, it’s the norm to print a ‘dummy’ to show the customer an example of the finished product. A printed dummy is different to a print sample in that a dummy will usually be mocked up using generic placeholder content and is more about demonstrating the final print effect, whereas a sample will use the customer’s intended content to show how the final product will come together using their design. 

Dust Jacket: A detachable outer layer of paper used to encase a book and protect the cover itself from being damaged. Dust jackets are usually found on hardback books and printed with text and illustrations that may be the same or different to the design on the cover beneath. 

Elasticity: When a printed product has high elasticity, it means it doesn’t lose its shape when it’s opened or handled.

Embossing: The process of creating raised relief images on paper and other materials. The design will appear as a 3D impression or bulge on the paper. 

Endpapers: Used to to protect the valuable text at the beginning and end of a book and quite literally holds the book together.

The pages that are glued to the insides of a book’s front and back covers. Also known as end sheets or end leaves, endpapers hold the book’s cover to the interior pages and protect the first and last pages. In some novels, endpapers are decorated with maps, bookplates, or other relevant information about the publication. 

Finishing: A term used to refer to the finishing touches of a print (for example, cutting the crop lines and adding protective gloss), usually carried out in the printer’s Finishing department. 

Flexography: A rotary relief printing method commonly used for printing onto uneven surfaces such as packaging, using a flexible relief plate. It’s a popular method for printing on fabrics and impervious materials such as plastic. Flexography printing is not something we currently offer at B&B Press. 

Folds: The different options available for manipulating the physical layout of your printed materials. Fold variations include concertina, gated fold, closed gate, and French fold, all of which will encourage readers to interact with and digest your printed content in a different way. 

Font: Also known as a typeface, font refers to the style of the letters in written words. 

G-I

Ghosting: A term used when a faint version of a designed image appears unintentionally on the printed material. This may be because of issues with the press, such as insufficient ink or incorrect pressure, or issues with the paper or drying process. 

Grayscale: A printing technique that uses various shades of grey to create images and text. Grayscale printing is used when the desired final effect is for the print to contain no colour. 

Hickey: An accidental imperfection mark that appears on a finished printing product; it may be caused by dust or issues with the ink.

Imposition: The arrangement of pages in a sequence which reads consecutively when the printed sheet is folded.

Ink Set-Off: Ink that is unintentionally transferred from a printed sheet to the back of the sheet above it when the materials have been printed and are stacked in a pile. This is prevented with methods such as LED UV printing, which allows for fast drying. 

Interleaves: Printed pages loosely inserted in a publication, typically blank.

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Kerning: In typography, this is the process of adjusting the visual spacing between characters, usually to achieve a more aesthetically pleasing result.

Laminate: A thin transparent, plastic sheet applied to paper using heat to provide a glossy layer that protects against damage from liquid and heavy use. It’s usually heavier paper stocks that are laminated. 

LED UV: LED UV is a print technique which provides a high-end finish. Inks are mixed and pressed onto the stock (which may be paper, card, or other materials). The print then gets blasted under LED lights to dry it quickly, keeping colours sharp and speeding up the whole printing process.

Lithography: Lithographic printing is popularly used for high-quality image printing. The image is placed on a lithography plate, inked, and then printed onto the paper. It’s a fast and smooth printing process that produces flawless and impactful visuals.

Lock Bound: Often used for publications that need to be durable, an adhesive is pushed between the perforations during the binding process. It’s a stronger method of book binding and helps to ensure longevity.

Logotype: A visual representation of a brand, company or product that uses text or letters. Logotypes are also known as wordmarks or letter marks. 

Metallic Ink: Metallic ink is made with powdered metal or pigments that reflect light to give a shiny finish. The most common colours used are silver and gold.

Monochrome: An image in black and white or varying tones of only one colour. For example, you might have a monochromatic colour scheme using different shades of green: forest, royal, lime, olive, British racing green, etc. 

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N-Q

Opacity: The quality of the paper defines its opacity (i.e. whether or not you can see through it). If it isn’t opaque enough, your design might show through to the other side.

Overprinting: The process of adding another printed aspect in an area that’s already been printed. This can include printing one colour over the top of another, or adding additional text or graphics to a print.

Pantone Colour (see also: Colour Separation, or Spot Colour): A universal colour language that designers, printing companies and brand owners use. It helps to ensure colour consistency across designed and printed products. 

Paper-Over-Board: Paper-covered cardboard. Having an outer layer made of paper is ideal for printing photo-quality artwork in a variety of finishes, allowing for more creativity when it comes to textures and illustrations. 

Paper Stock: Stock refers to the material that you’re intending to print on. It’s most often paper, but may be card or foil. The stock you select can greatly affect the appearance and end result of your print. Types of paper stock include:

• Silk and Gloss Paper: Both are coated options, with silk providing a smooth finish, and gloss providing a shiny finish to the print.
• Speciality Papers: High-quality stock options from suppliers like GF Smith, perfect for bespoke projects. These paper types are suitable for both digital and litho printing. For display or wide-format printing, materials like vinyl and polypropylene are typically used instead.
• Uncoated Paper: The most natural stock option, delivering excellent results on our LED UV press. 

PPI: An abbreviation for pages or pixels per inch. PPI can also mean “printed postage impression” — something to consider for printed mailouts. 

Print Blemishing: Blemishing refers to the small marks or flaws that can appear on printed products when an unsuitable or outdated printing technique is used, spoiling the overall appearance or quality of the final product. 

Process Colours: The four process colours are cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (B). See Colour Separation for more information. 

Proofing: A prototype of your final print that provides an accurate representation of how your design will look when professionally printed. Reviewing your print proof carefully is the best way to avoid expensive mistakes in printing. It’s important to pay close attention to the proofs you receive to ensure the design, copy and colour has no errors. 

QR Code: A QR Code (Quick Response Code) is a printed square code that can be scanned using a smartphone or QR reader to instantly access digital content. It’s an excellent way to bridge the gap between print and digital marketing, allowing customers to quickly connect to websites, videos, product information, or promotions with ease.

R-S

Ream: The collective term for 500 sheets of paper. 

Reel: A continuous length of paper wrapped around a cylinder. Paper reels are commonly used to store and move paper, and to create parent rolls for further processing. They can also be used in packaging. 

Register: Marks used to accurately position an image or text onto paper, register marks are used as reference points. 

Satin Finish: A smooth and soft finish over the paper.

Screen Printing: With screen printing, a fine mesh is used to transfer an image onto another material. It’s useful for printing logos onto clothes and printing fabric banners.

Solvent Evaporation: A drying method that enables the liquid parts of the ink to evaporate, thereby removing the solvents and leaving the pigments in place. This process is a part of many different printing methods, including inkjet or digital printing, and flexography. When sustainability is a priority, you may choose to avoid a process that involves solvent evaporation and instead opt for LED UV print. 

Spot Colour: Spot colors are created using premixed inks that are designed to produce a specific color. This is achieved by actually mixing ink into the desired colour you want in your print project, as opposed to using the CMYK process to achieve it. 

Spot Varnish: A way of highlighting a certain area of a page by selectively applying a varnish to it.

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Thread-sewn: A very strong binding method that provides a high-quality, long-lasting finish on bound publications. This method is ideal for publications that need to be opened flat without causing splitting along the spine.

Tint: The process of changing a colour by adding white to it.

Transparency: This refers to images or text that aren’t completely opaque. Just make sure to flatten your transparency and spot colour to CMYK to avoid issues when printing.  

Trim: Printed products are cut along the trim line to produce the finished size. The trim cuts through the bleed area to ensure a continuous and sharp edge around a design.  

Typo: A spelling mistake in the printed text material.  

Typography: Everything related to the text on the printed product. Your printer will want to know the layout of your text, along with colour and style.

UV Curing: A drying method which uses light instead of heat. It's a photochemical process where the high-intensity UV light instantly cures or dries inks, coatings and adhesives, providing a quality finish.

UV Varnish: A thin coating which is applied to a printed sheet to enhance the appearance of the design and provide an additional layer of protection. It's dried immediately by UV light.

Varnish: A glossy finish added to a printed product to give it an extra shine and protect against damage.

Veloblade: An automated method of precision-cutting printed products in bulk. See also: Die-Cut.

Vignette: An illustration where the background gradually fades away until it blends into the unprinted paper. 

W-Z

Watermark: A logo or design printed onto the paper, usually only visible under light, to protect copyrighted content. 

Work and Tumble: The process of printing one side of the paper and then turning the paper over to print the other side. The paper has to be precisely aligned to ensure continuity and accuracy.

Work and Turn: A cost-effective printing method that allows printers to print on both sides of a sheet of paper using the same plate.

Xanita Board: A sustainable material for point of sale displays, Xanita board is made almost entirely from post-consumer paper waste, making it not only recyclable, but 100% repulpable too. It’s non-toxic with a crush strength of over 60 tonnes per square metre, and designed for the wide-format print industry, so it can easily be printed on both sides. 

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