Printing Dictionary

Printing Terms
What is a drum scanner, and how is it different than a CCD

The most scanner? Why do you mean by a text delimited file? What is
complete ASCII? Technology moves fast, and so does the vocabulary in
the printing industry. Trying to keep up can be a real
reference headache. So we have put together a dictionary to make it
easier.
source
available Any additions, comments or suggestions are greatly
appreciated.
Printing Dictionary ©1984-2000 David Groth
A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M|N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z
http://www.uniprint.com/terms.htm [10/27/01 3:08:37 PM]

Printing Terms Dictionary - A
A/D Converter : Analog to Digital Converter. Generic term for any device that changes
continuous wave (analog) activity to binary (digital) codes, or vice versa.
Abend: Abnormal End. Also called system crash. Usually caused by input or data presented to
a computer which is beyond its ability to cope. If an abend happens in a single-task program
(like DOS), the machine will cease to take input ("lock up") and must be restarted ("re-booted").
Multitasking operating systems (like UNIX) allows other programs to continue running while
only stopping the one causing trouble.
Aberration: In lenses, it is a failure to form a perfect image. Two important types of aberration
in photography to avoid are spherical and chromatic.
Ablate: To remove. Used in reference to the formation of laser-readable "pits" in the recording
layer of optical disks.
Abort: The unintentional premature termination of a process or program in an electronic

environment caused by operator, software, or system error or miscommunication.
Absorption: In optics, it is the property which causes the partial suppression of light through a
transparent or translucent material. In paper, the ability to take up liquids (ink and water) in
contact with it. In filters, the ability to absorb part of the spectrum of white light and transmit or
absorb other parts of the spectrum.
Abstract: A brief restatement of the contents of a file or document.
Accelerator board: A printed circuit board added to a PC to increase its performance speeds.
For example, if you have a Macintosh containing a Motorola 68000 CPU, you can purchase an
accelerator board containing the faster 68030 CPU.
Access: The process of obtaining data from, or transfereing data to a storage device, register
or RAM.
Access Method: The technique or the program code in the operating system that provides
input/output services. It defines where a group of data will be stored on a medium. By including
the access method in the basic operating system, computer makers have made the
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/a.htm (1 of 7) [10/27/01 3:08:47 PM]

programmer's job much easier.
Access Time: The amount of time it takes a computer to locate an area of memory for data
storage or retrieval.
Achromatic: Without color. A lens which refracts light of all colors equally is said to be
achromatic.
Acid Paper: Non-permanent papers (PH below 7.0).
Actinic: The chemical change violet or ultraviolet light produces in certain photosensitive film.
Active Display Area: The portion of an image that falls inside the viewing area of a computer
monitor.
Actuator: Mechanism that moves an object; for example, the read/write head on a disk drive.
ADB: Apple Desktop Bus. The Macintosh plug-in port where the keyboard, mouse, trackball,
graphics tablet, etc. are connected.
Additive Color Theory: White light contains equal parts of red, blue
and green. If three lights were to project through the colored filters of red, blue and green to the
same intensities on a white screen, where they overlap all 3 colors would be white. Where only
2 colors overlap the subtractive colors of cyan, magenta or yellow would be formed. (See
Subtractive Color Theory.)
Additive Litho Plate: A substance is added to a plate surface in order to develop the image.
Additive Primaries: Are red, blue and green. In color reproduction, equal parts of red, blue,
and green light give us the sensation of white light. These colors are used in the form of filters
in order to create the complementary colors, cyan, yellow and magenta.
Address: (1) Disks and other storage devices have numbers that identify locations by sector
and by byte. Retrieval software searches for the address assigned to the desired information in

order to locate it. (2) Used as a verb, it means what a computer can access: "This Mac can
address 5 megs of RAM."
Address Mark: Two byte address at the beginning of both the ID field and the data field of the
track format on a disk drive. The first byte is the "A1" data pattern, the second byte is used to
specify either an ID field or a data field.
Addressable Capacity: The number of locations on an image that are addressable. To

calculate, multiply the addressable vertical positions (row) by the addressable horizontal
positions (column). Think of a matrix of dots, 8 across by 16 down. The addressable capacity of
this matrix is 128.
Adhesives: In paper, glues that bind coated paper ingredients together.
Adobe Type Manager: Software from Adobe Systems for Macintosh and IBM PC's that
eliminates jagged edges on screen fonts and allows inexpensive laser printers to reproduce
postscript fonts accurately and clearly. 1-800-64-ADOBE
ADSTAR: Automated Document Storage And Retrieval. Generic term for systems that identify,
select and display images that have been previously electronically stored.
Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA): The agency resposible for the formation of the
forerunner of the Internet. See also Defense Advanced Research Project Agency.
Affinity: Natural attraction for, as salt for moisture.
AFP: AppleTalk Filing Protocol. The protocol that non-Apple networks need to use in order to
access data in an AppleTalk server.
AFS: Andrew File System. Named after Andrew Carnagie by its inventors at Carnegie-Mellon
University, AFS is a distributed file system available for UNIX and other operating systems.
AI: Artificial Intelligence, the field of computer science dedicated to developing computers that
mimic the complex relational functions of the human brain.
AIIM: Association for Information and Image Management. Trade association and professional
society for the micrographics, optical disk and electronic image management markets. 1100
Wayne Ave., Suite 1100, Silver Spring, MD 20910. (301)587-8202.
Air Knife Coating: In paper, coating method wherein a thin blade of air is used to apply coating
to the sheet uniformily.

Algorithm: Set of mathematical steps used to solve a problem or conduct an operation.
Alias: a computer system name that points to another name, instead of an underlying object.
Most Web URLs are either whholly or partly aliases (to protect the underlying file system on the
Web server they point at).
Aliasing: Condition when graphics, either constructed with lines (vectored) or dots
(bitmapped), show jagged edges under magnification.
Alkaline Paper: Permanent papers (PH of 7.5 - 8.2).
Allocate: To reserve the required amounts of a resource, such as memory.
Alpha Testing: Testing conducted internally by the manufacturer, alpha testing takes a new
product through a protocol of testing procedures to verify product functionality and capability.
Alum: Aluminum sulfate (an acid salt) used in the paper making process.
America Online: An online information provider, usually known by its initials (AOL), which got
its start as a dial up service off the Internet and which has become the largest Internet Service
Provider in the world.
Angstrom Unit: A unit of measurement of the length of light waves. It is equal to 1/10 of a
millimicron, or one ten-millionth of a millimeter. There are approximately 254,000,000 Angstrom
units in an inch.
Animated Graphics: Moving diagrams or cartoons. Often found in the computer-based

courseware, animated graphics take up far less disk space than video images.
Annotation: The ability to attach notes to graphics or images by typing them in, using a light
pen or digitizing tablet. Useful for clarifying documents or editing images.
Anodized: In paper, refers to grained.
ANSI: American National Standards Institute. A standards-setting, non-government

organization which develops standards for "voluntary" use in the United States. Standards set
are accepted by vendors in that country. ANSI is located at 1430 Broadway, New York NY
10018, (212)642-4900
Antihalation: The property of a film or plate, usually with an opaque backing, which prevents

halation.
Antioffset Powder: Powder which creates a gap between sheets of paper to aid in the ink
drying process.
Antique Finish: In paper, a toothy, open texture, usually giving a hand-crafted look.
Aperture: A small opening in a plate or sheet. In cameras, the aperture is usually variable in
the form of an iris diaphragm and regulates the amount of light which passes through the lens
to the film.
API: Application Program Interface. Generic term for any language and format used by one
program to help it communicate with another program.
APR: Automatic Picture Replacement. A Scitex term describing a feature in their systems
which allows a low resolution F.P.O. image to be automatically replaced by its high resolution
scan when being output.
Apple: Apple Computer, Inc., Cupertino, CA. Manufacturer of personal computers. Heavy
penetration in the graphics/desktop publishing business.
AppleScript: Apple's scripting launguage for the Macintosh OS, which is commonly used to
program CGIs for Macintosh-based Web servers.
AppleTalk: The Apple networking protocol used to connect Macintosh computers with each
other, or with shared devices. AppleTalk, with the appropriate interface card, can also be used
to connect to DOS-based platform computers.
Application: Generic term for any software program that carries out a useful task. Word
processors and graphics programs are applications.
Applicator Roll Streaks: In paper, streaks on a coated sheet caused by an interruption in

coating flow.
Architecture: Refers to the way a system is designed and how the components are connected
with each other. There are computer architectures, network architectures and software
architectures.
Archival: In paper, the stock contains no groundwood or optical brighteners.
Archive: A copy of data on disks, CD-ROM, mag tape, etc., for the long-term storage and later

possible access.
Areal Density: Bit density multiplied by track density, or bits per square inch of the disk
surface. Bit density is measured around a track, and track density is radially measured.
Array: A table of numbers or text which the computer holds in its memory.
Ascender: A typographic term for the portion of lowercase characters that rises above the main
body of the letter. The lowercase letters b, d, f, h, k, l and t have ascenders.
ASCII: American Standard Code for Information Interchange. Pronounced AS-key. It's the most
popular method used by small computers for converting letters, numbers, punctuation and
control codes into digital form. Once defined, ASCII characters can be recognized and
understood by other computers and by communication devices. ASCII represents characters,
numbers, punctuation marks or signals in seven binary bits. A capital "C", for example, is
1000011, while a "3" is 0110011.
ASCII sort: A means of alphabetizing that accounts for capital letters and numbers. To arrange
something in an ASCII sort, numbers (digits) come first in numerical order, followed by capital
letters in alphabetical order, followed by lower case characters in alphabetical order. This
glossary is NOT in an ASCII sort.
Aspect ratio: The relationship of width to height. When an image is displayed on different
screens or on paper or microform, the aspect ratio must be kept the same. Otherwise the
image will be "stretched" either vertically or horizontally.
Asynchronous Communications: A way for one computer to send data to another, without
requiring precisely sychronized data pulses. All data transmitted via a modem, or sent out of a
computer's serial port, is asynchronous. Special codes are embedded in the stream of pulses
so that the receiving computer can locate each byte of data.
AT Interface: Disk drive interface on the IBM PC-AT computer and compatibles, sometimes
called the IDE interface.
Audio Video Interleaved (AVI): The format of the full-motion video files used by Windows 9x.
Authentication: A method for identifing a user prior to granting permission to access, change,
or delete a system or network resource.
Autoflow: In a word processor package, a mode of text placement in which text flows
continuously onto successive pages or columns. Additional pages are usually created as

needed, depending upon the application.
Copyright © 2001, David Groth
Home

D - Printing Terms
DARPA: See Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Data: According to AT&T Bell Labs: Data is "A representation of facts, concepts or instructions
in a formalized manner, suitable for communication, interpretation or processing."
Data Communications: The movement of data between points, including all the manual and
machine operations necessary for this movement. Contrast with data transfer.
Data Content Model: SGML-speak for the occurence notation that describes what other
markup is legal within the context of a specific markup element.
Data Compression: Reducing the amount of electronic "space" data takes up. Methods
include replacing blank spaces with a character count, or replacing redundant data with shorter
stand-in "codes". No matter how data is compressed, it must be decompressed before it can be
used.
Data File: Any file created within an application: a word processing document, a spreadsheet, a
database file, a chart, etc. Also known as a document.
Data Frame: The structured packets into which data is placed by the Data Link Layer.
Datagram: a packet of information and delivery data that is routed on a network.
Data Shift: In color process printing, it describes a shift in one of the channels of data that
comprise the image file and could cause inconsistent color in some area of the image.
Data Transfer: The movement of data inside a computer system.
Database: Data that has been organized and structured in a disciplined fashion, so that access
to information of interest is as quick as possible. Database management programs form the
foundation for most document storage indexing systems.
DBMS: Database Management System. A complex system of programs and utilities used to
define, maintain, and manage access to large collections of online data.
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/D.htm (1 of 7) [10/27/01 3:09:00 PM]

D - Printing Terms
DCS: Desktop Color Separation. Developed by Quark. A DCS file is composed of five files. The
main file is a composite with pointers to separation files and a low-resolution PICT preview file.
There are four separations files, one for each process color.
DDCP: Direct Digital Color Proofing, a prepress proofing method which creates color proofs
without the need for film or plates by using only digital data.
DDES: Digital Data Exchange Standards, a set of established formats, protocols, and values
allowing one vendor's equipment to exchange data with another vendor's equipment. In color
process printing, data can be exchanged between Color Electronic Prepress Systems.
Debug: The process of detecting, locating, and removing mistakes or malfunctions from newly
developed software or hardware components of a computer.
Decompress: To reverse the procedure conducted by compression software, and thereby

return compressed data to its original size and condition.
Decrement: In color process printing, it describes the decrease of a brightness, hue, or

saturation value in an image.
Dedicated Device: A piece of hardware that is permanently assigned to one task. The task,
however, can be changed by reprogramming or by the introduction of different software.
Dedicated System: Describes the permsnent assignment of an entire electronic system to one
task.
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency: An agency of the U.S. Department of

Defense that sponsored the development of the protocols that became the TCP/IP suite.
DARPA was previously known as ARPA, the Advanced Research Project Agency, when
ARPANET was built.
Degausser: A device that removes unwanted magnetism from monitors or the heads in a tape
or disk drive mechanism.
Delete: Describes the action of discarding data from memory or storage.
Delimiter: The "divider" character, often a comma, between separate fields in database
records. It is a special character that indicates a record or field boundary within a text stream,
rather than being interpreted as an actual part of the text itself.
Demilitarized Zone (DMZ): Computer slang used for a protected network that sits between the

D - Printing Terms
Internet and the corporate network.
Densitometer: In photography, a sensitive photoelectric instrument which measures the

density of photographic images or of colors. In lithography, a reflection densitometer is used to
measure the density of the ink colors to determine they are consistent throughout the run. A
transmission densitometer can be used to check reproduction dot sizes in order to maintain
quality assurance in color. Both measure optical density and are considerably more sensitive
and accurate than is the human eye.
Density: A measure of the relative difference between a white area and a toned or black area.
Can be applied both to black and white and color. Or the ability of a material to absorb light. It is
inversely proportional to the amount of light reflected or transmitted through the sample.
Descenders: A typographic term for the portion of lowercase characters that falls below the
main body of the letter. The lower case letters g, j, p, q and y have descenders.
Desktop: Slang for any computer function that can be done on a standalone PC, rather than a
larger, more powerful, computer.
Desktop Publishing: The term applied to the creation of printed documents using a PC. The
documents may be printed directly from the desktop publishing application software (usually
with a desktop laser printer), or prepared for a commercial printing process. Do not confuse
with "electronic publishing," which refers to electronically preparing documents which are to be
read by electronic means.
Detail Contrast: In electronic scanning, the ability to increase the apparent detail contrast from
light to dark and from dark to light by simple electronic manipulation. This produces an
increased visual contrast on edge sharpness, thereby enhancing the image. The particular
control section of a scanner that carries out this particular function is the unsharp masking area
(USM).
Developing agent: The chemical in a photographic developer that converts exposed silver
halide to visible black metallic silver.
Device: Any gadget that is plugged into a computer. May also be reffered to as an "external
device." Examples are disk drives, video monitors, keyboards and printing devices.
Device Driver: A miniture program that acts like a translator, converting the output from one
device into data that another device can understand. For example, a PC-compatible needs a
device driver before it can understand the signals from a mouse; and a Macintosh needs a
device driver in order to interact with a fax-modem.

D - Printing Terms
Device Independent: A program or file format that can be used with two or more different
computing devices and produce identical results. For example, a page saved in PostScript
format should be printable on an HP LaserPrinter IV or on a Linotronic output. device.
Dialog Box: A rectangular box that either requests or provides information. Many dialog boxes
present options to choose from before Windows can carry out a command. Some dialog boxes
present warnings or explain why a command can't be completed. ˜
Differential Spacing: In typography, allowing letters to take up varying horizontal space in

relation to their widths. For example, and "i" takes up less space than an upper-case "W".
Opposite of fixed spacing, where each letter is assigned the same space, regardless of its
shape or width.
Digital: The use of binary code to record information. "Information" can be text in a binary code
like ASCII, or scanned images in a bit mapped form, or sound in a sampled digital form, or
video. Recording information digitally has many advantages over its analog counter part, mainly
ease in manipulation and accuracy in transmission.
Digital Camera: The newest generation of video cameras transform visual information
(lightness and darkness) into pixels, then translate the pixel's level of light into a number (or, in
the case of color, into three numbers _ one for the level of red, green and blue in the pixel).
These digital images can then be manipulated pixel by pixel to create exciting new applications
in video and film production. They can also be compressed, stored and transmitted in more or
less the same manner as traditional digital data.
Digital File: A art file that resides on disk, usually in a native application format. See also
CREF.
Digital Proof: A proofing system that does not include the use of film. Data is sent to a printer
and imaged directly onto a paper-based material. There are several limitations of a digital proof:
1)they do not use the film that will be used to produce plates, and thus are open to
interpretation of the output device, 2)few of these devices print in the same dot pattern as is
utilized in the printing process, and 3)the ink utilized in these printers is not representative of
the inks used in the printing process and can show a vast color range and density not
attainable on a printing press.
Digitize: To convert an image or signal into binary code. visual images are digitized by
scanning them and assigning a binary code to the resulting vector or raster graphics data.
Sounds are digitized by recording frequent "samples" of the analog wave, and translating that
data into binary code.
Dipthong: In typesetting, two vowels which are joined to form a single character, also known

D - Printing Terms
as digraph. A special form of ligature.
Direct Image Film: Film that maintains the same polarity _ positive for positive, negative for
negative _ as the image which it is duplicating.
Disc: Same as optical disc. A digital storage medium. Optical discs are made of a metal alloy
recording surface sandwiched between a rigid substrate and a plastic protective coating.
Lasers record data in the metal alloy by either creating tiny pits (ablation technique) or by
causing small bubbles to form in the "negative" area, thereby reflecting the laser away.
Generally, and in this dictionary, disc with a "c" means optical disc. Disk with a "k" means
magnetic hard or floppy disk.
Disk: Same as magnetic disk. A round, flat magnetic recording medium with one or more layers
deposited on the surface which data can be recorded onto.
Disk Drive: A device containing motors, electronics and other gadgetry for storing (writing) and
retrieving (reading) data on a disk. A hard disk drive is one which is generally not removable
from the machine. A floppy disk drive accepts removable disk cartridges.
Disk Operating System: Often abbreviated as DOS, a kind of low-level program which has to
be present in the computer's memory at all times while the computer is running, in addition to
any other programs that are being used. The system (known as DOS in PC-compatibles or The
Finder on a Macintosh) manages all disk operations.
Disk Pack: A grouping of magnetic disks, resembling a stack of phonograph records, offering
large capacity information storage.
Disk Space: The amount of bytes on a disk available for recording or storing data.
Display PostScript: The PostScript command set that renders images directly to the screen.
Display Type: Used for headlines and advertising copy, it is larger than 14 points.
Dithering: Simulating gray tones by altering the size, arrangement or shape of background
dots.
DLL: See Dynamic Link Library.
DNS: Domain Name Service. An Internet service that maps sybolic names to IP addresses by
distributing queries among the available pool of DNS servers.

D - Printing Terms
Domain: For DNS, a group of workstations and servers that share a single group name.
Dot: The individual element of a halftone. Its size (density) can be related to the density of the
original used to produce the halftone dot. The size of the dot is indicated by the percentage of
the area it occupies from zero to on hundred percent. It may be several shapes including round,
square or elliptical.
Dot Etching: In lithography, the chemical etching of silver halide halftone emulsions to
increase or reduce the amount of color to be produced. Dot etching negatives increases color;
dot etching positives reduces color.
Dot Gain: An increase in the size of halftone dots that may occur as a result of errors or
imperfections in any of the steps between screening an image and printing it onto paper.
Common causes of mechanical dot gain are incorrect plate exposure, excessive tack or
incorrect viscosity of printing ink, excessive ink film thickness, internal reflection of the ink, or
too much preasure between the blanket roller and the impression cylinder.
Dot Pitch: The distance of one phosphor dot in a CRT to the nearest phosphor dot of the same
color on the adjacent line.
Dot Spread: In printing, a defect in which dots print larger than they should, causing darker
tones or colors. (See dot gain)
Double Burn: The merging of two films into one using a contact screen camera. It is usually
used to bring the black text into the black separation.
Download: The transfer of data from a computer or telecommunications network to another

electronic device or storage medium.
DPI: Dots Per Inch. A measurement of output device resolution and quality. Measures the
number of dots a printer can print per inch both horizontally and vertically. A 600 dpi printer can
print 360,000 (600 by 600) dots on one square inch of paper.
Dr. Web: A group of dedicated individuals who answer Web-related questions about the Web
through a Web screen.
Drag: A function of the mouse by which an element on the screen of a monitor is moved with
the cursor, while holding down the mouse button and moving the mouse.
Drop Capital: At the beginning of a paragraph, the initial capital letter can be modified to make
a drop capital bydescending the letter below the baseline of the first line of text.

D - Printing Terms
Drum: The common name for the photoconductive cylinders used on scanners and plotters.
Dry Processing: Method in which an exposed latent image is made visible without chemical
treatment (usually a heat process.
Dry Silver Film: Thermal process film. A non-gelatin silver film type which is processed by
heat, not chemicals.
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,
color, form and general style of a piece of printing.
Duotone: A two color halftone reproduction from a one-color photograph.
Duplicating Film: Special films made for color and black and white uses.
Dynamic Link Library (DLL): A file of functions, compiled, linked, and saved seperately from
the processes that use them. Functions in DLLs can be used by more than one running
process. The operating system maps the DLLs into the process's address space when the
process is started up or while it is running. Dynamic link libraries are stored in files with the DLL
file extension.
Dynamic Range: A scanner's ability to capture an image's gradations from the lightest highlight
to the darkest shadow.
Home
Copyright 1984-1998 by David Groth

Printing Terms Dictionary - B
Backbone: A high-speed connection designed to interconnect multiple networks. A typical

backbone connects only routers, normal network nodes occur only seldom if ever on
backbones.
Background: (1) The simultaneous, non-interrupting, execution of an automatic program while

the computer is being used for something else. (2) The portion of the Windows environment
that falls behind the desktop panel. (3) The portion of microfilm that doesn't have anything
recorded on it.
Background ink: A reflective ink used to print the parts of a document that are not meant to be
picked up by a scanner or optical character reader.
Back Trimming: Cutting all edges of a sheet of paper with the back (non-beveled) edge of the
trimming knife.
Back Up: The process of copying a file or program in the event the original is damaged, lost, or
unavailable.
Backing Up: Printing the other side of a printed sheet.
Backlit: Any screen that has a light source which shines from the back of the image toward the
viewer, making image sharper and easier to see in low ambient lighting conditions.
Backup: Copy of current and/or recent data for short-term storage in case of catastrophic loss.
Only data changed or added since the backup was made will be lost. Backups should be made
frequently. Their usefulness is over when a more recent backup is made. Contrast with Archive.
Bad Sector: Defective areas on a floppy or hard disk. The MS-DOS "Format" command
recognizes bad sectors, and "locks them out" so the computer won't try to place any data on
those sectors.
Bar Code: A system of portraying data in a series of machine-readable lines of varying widths.
The "UPC" on consumer items is a bar code. In document management, a bar code is used to
encode indexing information. In microfiche, bar codes allow the automatic control of the
duplication process, plus contain indexing information. These bar codes usually appear in the
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/b.htm (1 of 7) [10/27/01 3:09:10 PM]

last two or three title frames in the first title row of a microfiche.
Barrel Fold: Folding a sheet two or more times in the same direction.
Base Alignment: Arrangement that allows columns of text to fall on the same line across the
page, regardless of varying sizes of the elements in the columns.
Baseline: The imaginary horizontal line upon which typeset characters appear to rest.
Base Color: A first color used as a background on which other colors are printed.
Base Font: Typeface that graphics software defaults to if no other font is specified.
BASIC: Beginners All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code. Basic is the computer language
invented by Johhn Kemeny at Dartmouth College in the late 1960s. It's popular because it is
easy to learn and use.
Basic Size: A standard, predetermined size for a particular type of paper.
Basis Weight Scale: An instrument used to measure basis weights in paper.
Basis Weight: The weight in pounds of a predetermined number of sheets of paper having a
specific size for a specific type of paper.
Batch Processing: Conducting a group of computer tasks at one time, instead of throughout
the day.
Baud: A unit of data transmission speed.
BCC Block Check Character: In data transmission, a control character appended to blocks in
character-oriented protocols and used for figuring if the block was received in error. See CRC.
Beam Recording: Using an electron or laser beam to record directly onto film.
BER: Bit error rate. A measurement of the average number of errors which occur (or can occur)
while writing or transmitting data.
Benchmark: (1) A technique to establish a point of reference from which tests can be made
and guidelines determined for the existing performance of a process; for example, the use of a
program to rate the performance of a computer. (2) A technique to evaluate your performance
in specific areas when compared to recognized leaders. You may be comparing yourself to

competitors or similar processes and functions at other geographic locations within your
organization.
Ben Day Process: A method of mechanically transferring line, dot or texture patterns to paper,
metal or glass by general or local pressure on the back of a Ben Day screen (film), the screen
bearing the particular pattern in relief on one side of the film. Invented in 1879 by Benjamin Day
for the introduction of shading effects in line drawings and reproduction therefrom.
Bernoulli Box: A storage disk system that uses the principles of fluid dynamics (discovered by
18th century Swiss scientist Daniel Bernoulli). When the disk is rotated at high speeds, a
cushion of air is created, keeping the read/write head at the perfect distance from the disk
surface.
Beta Testing: The second-stage test-version of a newly developed piece of hardware and/or
software, which is distributed free to a limited sample of users so that they can subject it to daily
use and report any problems to the manufacturer. After the "bugs" are fixed, the final version of
the program is released to the general public.
Bezel: The metal or plastic part _ in short, the frame _ that surrounds a display tube.
Bezier Curve: Mathematically defined curve, used in CAD and graphics application software to
create curved images. A Bezier curve is made up of only four points: the two ends and two
other points that affect its shape. Contrast with spline.
BFT: Binary File Transmission. Standard for transmitting facsimile data between fax boards
directly. Faster than conventional fax modems.
Bidirectional Printing: A typewriter always prints from left to right. So did the early computer
printers. That's unidirectional printing. The newer computer printers will print from left to right,
drop down a line, then print from right to left. Bidirectional. This increase the printer's speed.
Bilevel: A binary scan that assigns each pixel an attribute of either black or white _ no gray
tones, no colors.
Binders: Additives in the paper making process which increase strength and hardness while
decreasing surface fuzz.
Binder's Creep: The slight but cumulative extension of the edges of each inserted spread or
signature beyond the edges of the one that encloses it in a saddle stitch bind.
Binding: The fastening of the assembled sheets or signatures along an edge of a publication.

BIOS: Basic Input/Output System, the portion of the program in some operating systems that
tailors it to a specific computer.
Bit: Contraction for Binary DigiT. The smallest unit of data a computer can process. Represents
one of two conditions: on or off; 1 or 0, mark or space; something or nothing. Bits are arranged
into groups of eight called bytes. A byte is the equivalent of one character.
Bit Map: Representation of characters or graphics by individual pixels, or points of light, dark or
color, arranged in row (horizontal) and column (vertical) order. Each pixel is represented by
either one bit (simple black & white) or up to 32 bits (fancy high definition color).
Bit-mapped Font: A set of dot patterns that represent all the letters, characters and digits in a
type font at a particular size.
Bit-mapped Graphics: Graphic images which are formed with sets of pixels, or dots, with a
specific number of dots per inch. Also called raster graphics and paint-type graphics. Contrast
with vector graphics.
Bit Specifications: Number of colors or levels of gray that can be displayed a one time.
Controlled by the amount of memory in the computer's graphics controller card. An 8-bit
controller can display 256 colors or levels of gray. A 16-bit can show 64,000 colors. A 24-bit
controller can display 16.8 million colors or gray levels.
BITNET: Because It's Time Network. A network that communicates via the Remote Jargon
Entry (RJE) protocals that work over serial lines as well as TCP/IP. Bitnet mail is sent through a
gateway to the Internet. BITNET has recently merged with CSNET, The Computer+Science
Network (another academic computer network) to form CREN: The Corporation for Research
and Educational Networking.
Black and White: Originals or reproductions in a single color, as distinguished from multicolor.
When color separations are made, the result is four black and white negatives, each
representing a process printing color.
Black Liquor: Spent cooking chemicals from the paper making process.
Black Printer: The plate used with the cyan, magenta and yellow plates; often used to enrich
the contrast of the final reproduction.
Blade Coating: A paper coating method which results in a very smooth surface.
Blanket: A fabric coated with natural or synthetic rubber which is clamped around the blanket

cylinder and which transfers the ink from the press plate to the paper.
Blanks and Boards: Paperboards (more than 0.012 in thickness) produced on a cylinder
machine.
Bleed: A printed image(graphic) that extends beyond the trim edge of the paper.
Blistering: Oval or round bubbles visible on coated web sheets.
Block: The amount of data recorded contiguously on magnetic tape or disk in a single
operation. Blocks are separated by physical gaps, or identified by their track/sector addresses.
Blueline: A blue-toned photoprint produced from film negatives which is prepared as a proof to
check placement of elements of an image or portion of an image on a layout.
Bottling: The process of skewing pages to compensate for paper thickness as it is folded.
Primarily used on signitures designed for large web or large sheet-fed presses.
Blow Up: A photographic or lithographic term used to explain the enlargement of an original to
another larger size.
Boot: A common expression used to describe the process of starting a computer with a
bootstrap program.
BPI: Bits Per Inch. Measurement of the number of bits stored per linear inch on magnetic tape.
Measures density.
BPS: Bits Per Second. Measurement of the number of bits transferred in a data
communications system. Measures speed.
Brainstorming: A technique used to generate numerous ideas using the composite talent and
experience of a group in a facilitated meeting environment.
Brightness: In color, the difference in range from white when compared to dark tones and
colors. Could also be considered to be contrast. In photography, brightness is dependent upon
correct exposure. Overexposures will be very bright but will have lost highlight density details.
Underexposures will be very dense and show little brightness. In paper, the reflectance or
brilliance of the paper.
Broadband: Characteristic of any network that multiplexes multiple, independent network

carriers onto a single cable. This is usually done using frequency division multiplexing.

Broadband technology allows several networks to coexist on one single cable; traffic from one
network does not interfere with traffic from another since the "conversations" happen on
different frequencies in the "ether," rather like the commercial radio system.
Brownstock Washing: In the chemical pulping operations during the paper making process,
the process of seperating fibers after cooking.
Browser: An Internet application that lets users access WWW servers and surf the net.
BSD: Berkeley Software Distribution. Term used when describing different versions of the
Berkeley UNIX software, as in 4.3BSD UNIX.
BSOD: Blue Screen of Death. Status of a Windows Servers (or Desktop) that has just had
catarostrophic crash. The only option is to reboot. Somewhat common on NT 3.5 servers. Also
associated with the Green Screen of Death.
Bubble: One technique for recording data on optical discs. A laser strikes the non-image areas
of the recording medium, causing bubbles to form and leaving the image area clear to reflect
the reading laser's light.
Buffer: Device or allocated memory space used for temporary storage. Printers commonly use
buffers, for example, to hold incoming text because the text arrives at a much faster rate than
the printer can output.
Bulletin Board: An electronic information and data transfer service that can be accessed
through the telecommunications network from any computer terminal configured with a modem
and telecommunication software.
Bursting Strength: The amount of uniformily applied pressure required to rupture a sheet of
paper or corrugated product.
Bus: Signal path or line shared by many circuits or devices. Information is often sent to all
devices throughout the same bus; only the device to which it is addressed will accept it. this
makes designing system architecture much easier; devices can be plugged in "anywhere on
the bus."
Byte: Common unit of computer storage. A byte is eight bits of information, one of which may
be a parity bit. Generally, eight bits equal one character. Also called an "octet.'

Home

Printing Terms Dictionary - C
C: Hundred.
C1S: Describes paper stock that is coated on one side.
C2S: Describes paper stock that is coated on two sides.
Cache: Pronounced "cash." Small portion of high-speed memory used for temporary storage of
frequently used data. Reduces the time it would take to access that data, since it no longer has
to be retrieved from the disk.
CAD: Computer Aided (or Assisted) Design or Drafting. It means using computers to design
products or architecture. Sometimes CAD output is sent directly to operate the machinery that
makes the product; this is called Computer Aided Manufacturing. See CAM.
Calcium Carbonate: In alkaline paper making, the primary filter; limestone or chalk.
Calendaring: A buffering process completed during paper manufacturing that polishes the
sheet surface making it less prone to printing production difficulties.
Caliper: Thickness - Measured in thousanths of an inch.
CAM: Computer Aided (or Assisted) Manufacturing. This is when machinery (often robotics) to
build products gets its instructions from computer input. This input usually originates in a CAD
device. The CAD output _ the design for a new widget _ is fed into the CAM device and
translated into instructions to the machinery that makes the widget. When they are integrated
this way, it is known ad CAD/CAM.
Camera Ready Artwork: Paste up artwork (mechanical) in which all type is set and sized
correctly and pasted up in correct position. All corrections have been made, all color breaks
have been made and is complete in every sense. Does not need to have traps and/or reverses
built in, but should include keylines and F.P.O. prints for photographs.
Capstan Design: In imagesetters, a system for moving the film or paper past the laser. The
alternative is the drum design, in which paper or film is wrapped around a rotating drum.
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/c.htm (1 of 6) [10/27/01 3:09:16 PM]

Capsule Damage: Release of chemicalss in a CB carbonless form, caused by excess pressure

or friction.
Carbonless Paper: Chemically coated paper so that duplicate copies can be produced without
the use of carbons.
Case Sensitive: Knows the difference between capital letters and lower case letters. A case-
sensitive search for ""CASE" would not find "case".
Cassette: A magnetic tape storage device, which combines the tape, and supply and take-up
reels into a removable unit. The 1/4'' audio cassette and the VHS and Beta videotape units are
the most familiar forms of cassette. See cartridge.
Cast Coated: Coated paper characterized by a highly polished, mirror-like surface and
exceptional smoothness.
Catalog: Another name for a listing of directories or files stored on a computer or disk.
Cathode Ray Tube: See CRT.
Cause and Effect Diagram: A graphic techique for summarizing the results of a brainstorming
session, identifying the causes of a specified undesirable outcome.
CB (coated back): Top sheet in a carbonless form.
CCD: Charge-Coupled Devices. A type of digital camera technology in which the image is
focused on an array of sensing pixels. The small size of the array itself - approximately
microchip size - and the high resolution _ around 1,000 to 1,018 pixels - of these cameras have
greatly enhanced "image acquisition" capabilities and opened up exciting new applications in
manufacturing quality control and in medicine.
CD: Compact Disc. A standard medium for storage of digital data in machine-readable form,
accessible with a laser-based reader. CDs are 4-3/4'' in diameter. CDs are faster and more
accurate than magnetic tape for data storage. Faster, because even though data is generally
written on a CD contiguously within each track, the tracks themselves are directly accessible.
This means the tracks can be accessed and played back in any order. More accurate, because
data is recorded directly into binary code; mag tape requires data to be translated into analog
form. Also, extraneous noise (tape hiss) associated with mag tape is absent form CDs.
CD-ROM: Compact Disc Read Only Memory. A data storage system using CDs as the
medium. CD-ROMs hold mor than 600 megabytes of data.

CEPS: Color Electronic Prepress System. A computer based system for the graphics art
industry that electronically simulates the traditionally labor intensive or cumbersome tasks
associated with page makeup and color image manipulation.
Centronics: Standard 36-pin parallel interface for connecting printers and other devices to a
computer.
Certificate (Digital Certificate): digital documents (files) that are provided by a certificate
authority to give assurances of a person's identity. They verify a given public key belongs to a
given individual.
CF (coated front): Receiver sheet in a carbonless form.
CFB (coated front & back): Intermediate sheets in a carbonless form.
Chill Roll: In Heat-set Web Printing, the refrigerateed roll sets the ink and cools the web.
Chromatic Aberration: In photographic or lithographic process lens, the result of the unwanted
dispersion of light so that colors of the white light spectrum are focused on slightly different
distances on a single plane. Lenses which have been corrected for this problem are said to be
achromatic.
CMYK: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. The four so-called process colors (technically, they
are "subtractive" colors) that are used in four-color printed reproduction. In desktop publishing
it's one of the color models; the others being HSB, PMS and RGB.
Coated Free Sheet: A paper containing less than 10% groundwood pulp.
Cold Color: In printing and separations, colors which are on the bluish or greenish side. By
using a print viewing filter kit an additive or subtractive solution may be found if a color
correction is required.
Color Keying: A trick motion picture and TV directors use to superimpose one image over
another for special effects. An image (say a person behind the wheel of a fake car) is filmed
against a solid color background (usually blue). That film is sandwiched on top of another film
sequence (say, the view from the rear of a moving vehicle going down the street). The result:
the person appears to be driving a car down the street.
Color Model: How you describe a color. Imagine trying to explain "red" to a blind person. You
can't, without a prearranged "language." Color models are those languages. See CMYK, HSB,
PMS and RGB.

Commercial Registration: Color printing on which misregistration is allowable within +/- one
row of dots.
Communication Protocol: The preliminary signals and settings that must be shared by two
computers before data can be exchanged between them, usually via a modem. A typical
communications protocol will establish the speed of the data flow in bps, error-correction
methods that will be used, and data compression methods.
Composed Files: A PostScript file that represents color pages containing picture elements
specified in terms of red, green, and blue (RGB) or cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CYMK)
color space, as opposed to black and white "gray level" pages which represent seperations.
Composite: The balck and white proof of a publication or, for a color publication, one sheet per
publication page (rather than seperate sheets for each overlay) printed on a color printer.
Composite Video: The standard TV signal in which all the colors and the signaling (vertical
and horizontal controls) are sent together. Unlike RGB, in which the red, green and blue signals
are separate.
Compression: A software or hardware process that "shrinks" images so they occupy less
storage space, and can be transmitted faster and easier. Generally accomplished by removing
the bits that define blank spaces and other redundant data, and replacing them with a smaller
algorithm that represents the removed bits.
Computer Readable: Data which is in a format, such as ASCII, or on a medium, such as disks,
tapes, optical discs or punched cards, that a computer can understand. Same as machine
readable.
Configuration: The specific assemblage of components and devices that make up the
hardware components of a complete system.
Contact Print: A photographic same size copy made by exposure of a sensitized emulsion in
contact with the transparency, negative or positive with the exposing light passing through the
master image.
Contact Screen: a photographically-made halftone screen having a dot structure of a graded

density, used in a vacuum contact situation with a high contrast (litho) frame.
Contiguous: Placed adjacently; one after another.

Continuous Tone: A photographic image which has not been screened and contains gradient
tones from highlight to shadow. The original can be either black and white or color and contain
no dots.
Contrast: The tonal gradation between highlights, middletones, and shadows in an original or a
reproduction. The visual relationship of the original to the reproduction when comparing white
to black ranges.
Control Chart: A graphic technique for identifying whether an operation or process is in or out
of control and tracking the performance of that operation or process against calculated control
and warning limits.
Control Strips: Series of color bars and percent tints placed just outside final image area; used
to help maintain consistency during print runs.
Convergence: In an RGB monitor, where red, green and blue signals all "converge" in one
pixel. At full brightness, the RGB pixel in convergence would be white.
Copy: Any furnished material that is to be used in the production of printing.
Core: Circular tube made of metal or fiberboard on which roll paper is wound.
CPI: Characters Per Inch. The density of characters per inch on tape or paper. See pitch.
CRC: Cyclical Redundancy Checking. An error-checking technique in data communications. A

CRC character is generated at the transmission end. Its value depends on the hexadecimal
value of the number of ones in the data block. The receiving end makes a similar calculation
and compares its results with the sending machine's result. If there is a difference, the recipient
requests retransmission.
CREF: Computer Ready Electronic Files. Designed by a number of printers and separators to
draft a flexible set of standards or guidelines for preparing desktop publishing files for
successful output to film. See also - Mechanical.
Crop: In order to eliminate portions of the copy, photograph or artwork, cropmarks are placed
on the original or overlay to indicate which portions are to be eliminated. Careful cropping can
save money in the final separation stage because color separations are billed for their final
reproduction size on film, not just the portion being used at the printing stage.
CRT: Cathode Ray Tube. The glass, vacuum display device found in television sets and
computer terminals.

Cursor: The symbol on a screen that shows where the next activity will take place. Graphics
programs often change the shape of the cursor, depending on what action the computer is
programmed to take next.
Cutoff: Measured distance around the blanket cylinder of a web press that establishes the
length of repeatability of the image; also a term used to desribe the printed product as a sheet
or signature in web production.
Cycolor: A printing process that allows full color, full tonal reproductions of continuous tone
images. Uses a special film that is embedded with microcapsules containing dyes.
Cyan: One of the colored inks used in four-color printing. One of the subtractive process colors;
reflects blue and green and absorbs red.
Home

E - Printing Terms
Editable PostScript: PostScript commands that have been translated into a text file, which can
then be changed without the need to use the applications program from which the PostScript
file was originally created.
EISA: See Extended Industry Standard Architecture
Electron Gun: The device in the CRT that produces the electron beam that activates the
phosphors, causing them to emit red, green and blue light.
Electronic Mail (eMail): A message service that uses telecommunications and electronics to
deliver soft or hard copy information.
Electrophotographic Printing: The technology used in copy machines and laser printers. An
electrically charged drum is hit with small beams of light Wherever the light hits, the drum loses
its electrical charge. When toner is applied, its sticks to the non-charged parts of the drum.
Paper is then pressed against the drum, and the toner adheres to the paper. The paper is then
heated to "set" the toner.
Electrostatic Printing: Printing process that uses a special paper which is charged by an
electron beam. The tone sticks to the charged areas. Used in large-image plotters.
Ellipsis: Three equally spaced periods, used to indicate omitted or missing material, especially
in quoted text.
Elliptical Dot: Also called a chain dot. Used in a halftone to achieve some of the smoothness
of a round dot without sacrificing the sharpness of the square dot. This dot shape improves the
gradation of middletones and especially skin tones. Most useful in reproducing color for
cosmetic and fashion illustrations.
Em: A relative measurement of horizontal space _ it's a measurement because it is equal to the
width of a capital "M". It's "relative" because it's the width of the capital "M" in whatever font and
size you're dealing with.
Emacs: A powerful, programmable text editor common on many UNIX systems.
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/e.htm (1 of 4) [10/27/01 3:09:34 PM]

E - Printing Terms
EMS Memory: A type of expanded memory available on systems that conform to the Lotus-
Intel-Microsoft Expanded Memory Specification (LIM EMS).
Emulation Mode: A mode in which a device such as a printer can imitate the behavior of a
different device.
Emulsion Side: In photography, the side of the film coated with the silver halide emulsion
which faces the lens during exposure. It is the most susceptible to scratches. In photographic
sheet film, there is usually a code notch indicating what type of film it is as well as which side
the emulsion is on.
En: Half the width on an em.
Encapsulated PostScript: An image description format. EPS translates graphics and text into
descriptions to a printer of how to draw them. The font and pictures themselves need not be
loaded into the printer; they've been "encapsulated" into the EPS code.
Encode: The term used to describe the translation of information, suchas text or photographs,
into binary code.
Envelope Formats:The industry has standardized to simply the process of specifing

envelopes:
Size
Announcement Inches Metric (mm)
A2 4.375 x 5.75 111 x 146
A6 4.75 x 6.50 121 x 165
A7 5.25 x 7.25 133 x 184
Size
Commercial Inches Metric (mm)
6¼ 3.50 x 6.00 90 x 152
6½ 3.563 x 6.25 91 x 159
6¾ 3.625 x 6.50 92 x 165
7 3.75 x 6.75 95 x 171
7¾ (Monarch) 3.875 x 7.50 98 x 191

E - Printing Terms
9 3.875 x 8.875 98 x 225

10 4.125 x 9.50 105 x 241
11 4.50 x 10.375 114 x 264
C5 6.375 x 9.00 162 x 229
DL 4.375 x 8.625 110 x 220
See also standard Page Formats.
Enhanced Metafile: An intermediate file format, consisting of GDI objects and commands,
used in the Windows 95 printing system.
Expanded Memory: Memory in addition to conventional memory that is available for

applications. It is allocated in 16K blocks.
Extended Industry Standard Architecture (EISA): An enhancment to the bus architecture

used on the IBM PC/AT, which allows the use of 32-bit devices in the same type of expansion
slot used by an ISA adapter card. EISA slots and adapters were formerly common in server
computers, but have been mostly replaced with PCI slots.
End Caps: Symbolss, such as an arrowhead or bullet, used to cap the end of a line of text.
Erase: Erasing computer memory changes specified binary data in storage with zeros or other
null codes. Erasing has the effect of clearing the storage area.
Ethernet: A network access method developed by Digital Equipment Corporation, Intel, and
Xerox in the early 1970s, Ethernet is the most widely used local-area network technology
available today. This standard is capable of linking up to 1024 nodes.
Exabyte: An eight-millimeter, two-gigabyte tape drive providing substantial data storage and
archiving on a small cartridge. It is more cost effective than standard magnetic tapes, as fewer
Exabyte tapes are required to store information.
Expansion Bus: The main "data pathway" inside a computer, usually fitted with slots which will
accept circuit boards (cards) to expand and enhance the capabilities of the computer.
Expansion Slot: A long, thin socket mounted in an expansion bus, which accepts an
expansion card.
Export: To save data in a form that another program can read. If you are using an illustration
program, you may choose to export your work to a desktop publishing programs as an EPS file,

E - Printing Terms
for example.
Exposure: The step in photographic processes during which light produces an image on the
light-sensitive film coating.
Extended Memory: Memory in addition to conventional memory that is not readily accessible
to MS-DOS or MS-DOS applications. Extended memory cannot be used on older PC's, such as
8086/88 computers.
Extranet: A private, secure extension of a corporate intranet that allows organizations to build a
persistent network link with customers, vendors, or other business partners.
Home

Printing Terms Dictionary - P
Packet: A networking transmission unit of fixed maximum size that consists of binary
information representing both data, addressing information and error-correction information,
created by the data-link layer.
Packing: In lithography, the paper used to underlay a blanket, plate or proof to bring the
surface to the desired height, the method of adjusting squeeze pressure. The act of inserting
the packing material under the blanket or plate.
Page Formats: The standardized sizes used accross the the industry:
Size
Format Inches Metric (mm)
A3 11.69 x 16.54 297 x 420
A4 8.25 x 11.75 210 x 297
A5 5.83 x 8.25 148 x 210
B5 6.93 x 9.84 176 x 250
Executive (Monarch) 7.25 x 10.5 184 x 267
Legal 8.5 x 14 216 x 356
Letter 8.5 x 11 216 x 279
Magazine - Broad 10 x 12 254 x 305
Magazine - Narrow 8.125 x 10.875 206 x 276
Magazine - Standard 8.375 x 10.875 213 x 276
Magazine - Wide 9 x 10.875 229 x 276
Periodical 10.25 x 13 260 x 330
Tabloid 11 x 17 279 x 432
See also standard Envelope Formats.
Page Make Up: In stripping, the assembly of all elements to make up a page. In electronic
scanning, the assembly of page elements such as type, logos, and color separations in position
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/p.htm (1 of 7) [10/27/01 3:09:41 PM]

to compose a complete page with all elements which are then displayed on a video terminal as
they will appear in the final reproduction.
Pagination: The assignment of page numbers, either manually or electronically, in a document.
Paint Brush: A function in the toolbox of painting, drawing, and image manipulation programs.
By moving the cursor on the video monitor, brush strokes of varying size and shape can be
generated electronically and displayed on the screen.
Pair-kerning: Automatically kerning selected pairs of characters when they would otherwise be
spaced too close or far apart. Characters that are pair-kerned are specified by the font
designer.
Palette: The collection of colors, shades, or patterns that can be selected and displayed on a
video screen with the aid of a computer and a graphics program.
PANTONE Colors: A color system of over 1200 standard colors developed by Pantone, Inc.,
Moonachie, NJ (201)935-5500.
Paragraph Alignment: An electronic function for positioning of text within a box or column;
alignment can be left, right, centered or justified.
Parallel Interface: An interface between a computer and a printer in which the computer sends
multiple bits of information to the printer simultaneously. Parallel and Centronics interfaces are
the same type.
Parallel Transmission: Sending dtat from a computer down several wires simultaneously, the
pulses in one wire being precisely synchronized with the pulses in the other wires.
Parity: Used in error correction. A separate bit _ the parity bit _ is added and manipulated so
that the number of 1s is odd (for odd parity) or even (for even parity). If the number of bits sent
don't conform to the parity, the software detects and error.
Partition: A partition is a portion of a physical disk that functions as it were a physically

seperate unit.
Partition Table: The partition table contains entries showing the start and end point of each of
the primary partitions on the disk. The partition table can hold 4 entries.
Paste: To transfer the contents of the clipboard (˜) to an application. Many applications have a
Paste Command that performs this task.

Pattern Matching: A computerized search operation whereby input values are treated as
patterns and matches are sought in a search database. Whenever exact matches occur, this is
called a hit, the results of a search produce a list of hits for further investigation.
PC: Short for IBM Personal Computer. Used to indicate an IBM or compatible. sometimes used
more generally to indicate any personal computer.
PCI: See Peripheral Component Interconnect.
PDL: Page Description Language.
Peaking: A common expression used to describe the electronic manipulation of gray tones to
increase contrast in an image.
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI): The local bus being promoted as the successor to
VL. This type of bus is used in the Apple PowerPC Macintosh and in most Intel Pentium
computers .
Peripherals: A connectable device that has an auxiliary function outside the permanent system
configuration.
Perl: An interpreted programming launguage developed by Larry Wall, Perl offers superb string-
handling and pattern-matching capabilities and is a favorite among CGI programmers.
Phosphor: Substance which glows when struck by electrons. The back of a cathode ray tube
face is coated with phosphor.
Photochromic: Compounds that become dark when exposed to light, and can be made clear
again by removing the light, or exposing them to light of another wavelength. Proposed as
erasable optical storage media.
Photocomposition: The manipulation and transfer of graphic images and text, using
photographic means, to a light-sensitive paper or film.
Photomechanical: This term is used to describe stripping flats which are to be exposed on a
printing plate. It can include line negs, film positives, halftones and color separations.
Photomultiplier (PM): A photo cathode having extremely high stability and capable of reading
low level light measurements in the entire part of the visible spectrum (as well as some non-
visible radiation). PM's are capable of reacting to extremely short duration exposures of light as
well as continuously changing conditions of light values. These PM's can read, disseminate,

boost up signal and pass the information along (in microseconds) to the color computer where
these signals are adjusted to conform and create the necessary color balance and depth of
color to make the final separation. The photomultiplier is located in a group of four in the
scanners head and measures the light transmitted through or reflected from the original copy
and through corresponding color filters to create the color printers.
Photoshop: An image editing software program created by Adobe Systems, Inc. for the
manipulation of digital images.
Phototypesetter: Device that uses photographic techniques to reproduce machine-readable

text on light-sensitive paper and film.
Pi characters: Special non-text characters, such as mathematical symbols.
Pica: Unit of measurement used in typography and graphic design. Approximately 1/6 inch.
PICT: A picture file format developed by Apple Computer, Inc. for use on Macintosh computers.
The PICT format is adequate for storing and displaying data at 72 dpi, using the Macintosh
screen, but is not sophisticated enough for higher-quality work.
PIF: Program Information File. A file that provides information that Windows needs to run a non-
Windows application. ˜
Pin Register: The use of accurately positioned holes and special pins used on copy, film,
plates and printing presses to insure proper registration and to assure the fit of all elements.
Pixel: An acronym for Picture Element. when an image is defined by many tiny dots, those dots
are pixels. A pixel represents the smallest graphic unit of measurement on a screen. The actual
size of a pixel is screen-dependent, and varies according to the size of the screen and the
resolution being used.
Pixilate: The electronic function by which pixel size can be increased to enable easy
manipulation in creating special effects.
Plot: To use vector graphics: that is, to draw images with many straight lines, rather than dots.
Plotter: A printer that prints vector graphics, i.e., images created by a series of many straight
lines.
PMS: Pantone Matching System. A means of describing colors by assigning them numbers.
See also Pantone Colors.

Point: Unit of measurement in typography, approximately 1/72 inch. There are 12 points in a
pica.
Point to Point Protocol (PPP): The industry standard that is implemented in dial-up
networking. PPP is a line protocol used to connect to remote networking services, including
Interet Service Providers. Prior to the introduction of PPP, another line protocal, SLIP, was
used.
Polaroid Prints: Instant prints, self developing, which are unsuitable for color reproduction.
Poor Trapping: In printing, the condition in wet printing lithography when less ink transfers to a
previously printed ink than to unprinted paper. The general problem is usually unsuitable ink
tack, but can also be affected by the surface of the paper, the pH of the water and alcohol,
improper blanket packing, oversensitive plates, ink of poor quality, incorrect ink sequence, etc.
Port: A socket, usually at the back of a computer, allowing the computer to be connected to
other devices.
Portrait: A page whose width is shorter than its height.
Positive: In photography and lithography, a film or print containing an image in which the light
and dark values are the same as the original. The reverse would be a negative.
PostScript: A page definition language (PDL) developed by Adobe Systems. When a page of
text and/or graphics is saved as a PostScript file, the page is stored as a set of instructions
specifing the measurements, typefaces, and graphic shapes that make up the page.
PPD File: PostScript Printer Description file. A file that contains information on screen angle,
resolution, page size and device-specific information for a file to be printed on a PostScript
device.
Prepress: The preparation work required to turn "camera-ready" artwork into the printing plates
needed for mass production, i.e., making negatives, "stripping" or placing the negatives in
place, and etching the plates.
Prescan: The initial subscan of the scanning process, following the overview scan. The
predetermined area is scanned with standardized settings to produce a preview image.
Press Proofs: In color reproduction, a proof of a color subject on a printing press, using the
same color inks and paper stocks on which the final run will be done on. This proof is done prior
to the final reproduction and is the only true and predictable way to show proof of what is

contained in the litho films. There is no other proof system that takes into account printing
aspects such as absorbency of stock, hue of inks, trap and other printing mechanics which
occur on a press.
Primary Colors: Additive primaries are red, blue and green. The subtractive primaries are
cyan, magenta and yellow. (see additive and subtractive primaries.)
Print Engine: Inside a laser printer, the mechanism that uses a laser to create an electrostatic
image of a page and transfers it onto a sheet of paper.
Print Quality: In paper, the properties of the paper that affect its appearance and the quality of
the reproduction.
Print Queue: A list of files that have been sent to a particular printer. The list includes the file
currently printing and those waiting to be printed.
Printing Dot: The smallest graphic element, and the particulate base for all graphic elements
when reproduced in print.
Process Colors: In printing, the subtractive primary process ink colors are cyan, magenta,
yellow plus black in four color process printing.
Process Color Printing: The recreation of color by combing two or more of the subtractive
colors _ cyan, magenta, and yellow, plus black.
Process Lens: A highly corrected photographic lens for the graphic arts used to record
linework, halftones or color separations when using the direct screen method.
Process Printing: The printing from a series of two or more plates containing halftones
representing process colors in order to produce intermediate colors, shades and tones.
Progressive Proofs (Progs): Proofs made from separate plates in process work, usually during
a press proof, showing the sequence of printing and the result after each additional color has
been applied. Can be used most effectively to determine if any problems exist and can be used
on a basis for corrections or future reprinting. There are six two-color combinations plus the four
process colors (c&m/c&y/c&k/m&y/m&k/y&k) and there are three (k&c&m/k&y&m/k&c&y) three
color combinations.
Proof: In graphic arts, a colored material, substrate or dye used to simulate the subtractive
printing primaries of cyan, magenta and yellow and also includes black as well as the other
colors. The colorants used in these proof materials should render process colors with no
apparent hue error. When the proof colors are combined in registration they will show the

approximate printing values, colors and hues of how an original will look when printed or
compared to how the original looked.
Proportional Leading: A method of leading in which two-thirds of the leading space is above
the text baseline and one-third of the leading space is below the spaceline.
Protocol: A set of rules that define how computers communicate with each other. Protocols are
used between instances of a particular layer on each computer. Windows 95 includes NetBEUI,
TCP/IP, and IPX/SPX-compatible protocols.
Psychological Aspects of Color: The sensations of color are hue, saturation and brightness.
None of these is directly measurable by the human eye. The eye cannot distinguish component
wavelengths in a single color. When two lights of different colors are mixed to produce a third
color, no human eye can detect its composite nature. The simple fact is that the sensation of
color to one observer can vary and be different to another observer. And in the printing process,
the eye cannot measure ink film thickness. That is why densitometers are used to measure ink
density.
Push, Pull: In photography, the deliberate manipulation of the film speed in order to achieve
exposure and operative controls beyond the normal range and limitations of the film. By
pushing (over development) the effective speed (ASA) can be increase. By pulling (under
development) the effective speed (ASA) of the film can be reduced. Note: pushing and pulling
film create undesirable results such as grain, contrast and color shifts.
Push Installation: A method of installing software automatically accross a network.
Home

F - Printing Terms
Facsimile Transmission: (Fax) The process of scanning graphic images to convert them into
electronic signals, alter and adjust these signals to correctly reproduce the original, then
transmit these electronic signals to produce a recorded likeness of the original on a photo
sensitive material.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions. A list of common qquestions with their answers, maintained
by most special interest groups on the Internet as a way of lowering the frequency of basic
technical questions.
Family Name: The name of a given font family.
Field: In a database, the individual items of related information, for example, policyholder's
name, address, social security number, etc. Together the fields make up a record.
Field Separator: The prearranged code, typically a comma, that separates fields in a record.
Also called a delimiter: "The records in the database are coma-delimited.
File: A document or application that has been given a name.
File Allocation Table (FAT): A table or list maintained by an operating system to keep track of
the status of various segments of disk space used for file storage.
File Attribute: A characteristic of a file - for example, the read-only attribute.
File Format: The structure or arrangement of data stored in a file.
File Mapping: A method of supplying a filename to the outside world that does not reveal the
complete internal file structures involved.
File Server: Local Area Networks (LANs) were invented to allow users on the LAN to share
and thereby conserve the cost of peripherals (printers, modems, scanners) and to likewise
share software. The file server is the machine on the LAN where the shared software is stored.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP): The standard method of transferring files using TCP/IP. FTP
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/f.htm (1 of 4) [10/27/01 3:09:45 PM]

F - Printing Terms
allows you to transfer files between dissimilar computers, with preservation of binary data, and
optional translation of text file formats.
Fill: An electronic function that alters a selected area, usually within a closed line work image,
with a color, gray tone, or pattern.
Film: A negative or positive, photographic or lithographic record made on a light sensitive

material.
Filter: In color separations and photography, a colored piece of gelatin used over or between
the lens to alter the hue, color or to correct for spectural imbalances.
Finger: A UNIX command that provides identification about Internet servers and user names.
Fixed-Width Font: A font in which all characters have uniform widths.
Fixing: Chemical action following development to remove unexposed silver halides, to make
the image stable and insensitive to further exposure. It must be noted here that if inadequate
washing is done after fixing it will accelerate the degeneration of the print or film quality more so
than usually occur over a given length of time.
Flat: In offset lithography, the assembled composite of negatives or positives, mostly on mylar,
orange vinyl, used for making further composites or platemaking. There are one set of flats for
each color. Also, a photograph, transparency or halftone that is lacking in contrast.
Flat Bed: A flat bed optical input or output device (scanner or plotter) transfers images by
means of a flat plane rather than a revolving cylinder.
Flat Etching: The chemical reduction of the silver deposit in a continuous tone or halftone
negative, brought about by placing it in a tray containing etching solution (POTASSIUM
FERACYANIDE).
Flop: Turning a negative over to create aa mirror image. In an electronic enviornment, flop or
mirror is a function that creates a mirror image, either horizontally or vertically, of an image or a
portion of an image.
Floppy Disk: A thin, flexible plastic disk which has been coated with iron oxide, capable of
storing computer data as a magnetic pattern. Almost all programs are sold on floppy disks,
which are also used as a convienent way of swapping data betwenn computers.
Focal Length: In photography, the distance from the center of the lens to the image of an

F - Printing Terms
object at infinity. At same size, the distance from copy to image is four times the focal length of
the lens. This also applies to lithographic process lens as well.
Fog: In photography, density in a no image area.
Folio: A page number.
Footer: A design element that prints at the bottom of a page, often showing the publication's
name and page number.
Font: A graphical design applied to all numerals, symbols and characters in the alphabet. A
font usually comes in different sizes and provides different styles, such as bold, italic, and
underlining for emphasizing text.
Foreground: The immediately accessible portion of the central processing unit (CPU), which
has priority over any background functions in processing.
Form: An assembly of flats occupying a single side on a printing press.
Format: In photography, the size of the original which is being used to make separations.
Smaller formats are 35mm and 2 1/2 square formats. Larger formats are 4x5 and larger. In
printing, the size, style, type, page, margins, printing requirements, etc., of a printed piece.
Frame: A border, outlining and enhancing photos, type, or tint blocks, that has a specified
thickness, style and color.
FreeHand: A computer illustration program developed by the former Aldus Corporation that
was then sold to Adobe. Now developed and maintained by the good folks at Macromedia.
Frequency: The lines per inch (lpi) in a halftone screen.
Friendly Name: A human readable named used to describe an network resource, as an

alternative to the often cryptic computer, port and sharenames. As an example, "Laser Printer
in Laurens Office," as opposed to "HP311PRT."
Front-End System: A workstation or group of workstations that provide one or more operators
with the ability to interact with a large-scale computer system.
"F" Stops: In photography, fixed stops for setting lens apertures. The ability to control the
amount of light as well as the sharpness of an image reaching the surface of the photographic
film.

F - Printing Terms
FTP: See File Transfer Protocol.
Full Duplex: A data communications scheme that permits simultaneous transmission in both
directions.
Full-Page Display: A video monitor capable of showing an entire 8 1/2 X 11 inch page.
Home

G - Printing Terms
Gain: The increase in signaling power as an audio signal is boosted by an electronic device. It's
measured in decibels (dB).
Galley Proof: A proof of text copy before it is formated for the page.
Gamma: A measure of contrast in photographic images. A densimetric evaluation of graph

paper indicating highlight to shadow contrast in terms of density values, plotted on a graph to
establish the maximum and the minimum, the difference between them being the gamma.
Gamut: Every color combination that is possible to produce with a given set of colorants on a
given device or system.
Gang Separations: A group of originals containing slides or prints of the same type, emulsion,
highlight, middletone and shadow characteristics which will all be separated together as one
piece. Highlights, middletones and shadows are set up for the average, Originals falling above
or below the average will be lighter or darker than the average. There are no special tone, or
color corrections done to individual pieces, because the separation is based on average
readings found in the average of all the originals. Request for corrections from gang
separations will result in additional charges.
Garbled: Corrupted data.
Gateway: A connection, in the form of a cable, device or computer, between two computers or
systems that are dissimilar.
Generation: Each succeeding stage in the reproduction from the original copy.
GIF: Graphics Interchange Format. A compressed graphics file format patented by Unisys, and
widely used in the online environment.
Giga: Meaning billion or thousand million. In computers, it is actually 1,024 times mega and is
actually 1,073,741,824. One thousand gigas is a tera. No one knows what a thousand teras is
... yet.
GIGO: Garbage In, Garbage Out. If the input data is wrong or inaccurate, the output data will
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/g.htm (1 of 3) [10/27/01 3:09:53 PM]

G - Printing Terms
be inaccurate or wrong. GIGO is often the problem with data entered by hand into computer
systems.
GPIB: General Purpose Interface Bus, an interface bus developed by Hewlett Packard that
became the standard interface bus recognized by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic
Engineers (IEEE).
Gradation: In photographic originals and lithographic reproductions, the range of tones from
the brightest highlights to the deepest shadows.
Grain: In photography, the grain is the granular particles in photographic emulsion of an

original print or negative. The printing process causes the grain to become more apparent than
in the original.
Graphics: For the purposes of this glossary, graphics are one of the three types of data that
can be created, stored retrieved and manipulated (the other two are text and documents).
Graphics are basically pictures and drawings, either created by computer or entered into the
computer by scanning or photographing. See vector graphics, raster graphics and bit map for
more.
Graphic Resolution: The level of quality of which graphics are printed. The higher the
resolution, the better the quality of the printed graphics.
Gray Balance: In four-color process printing, proper proportions of the three-process colors
(yellow, magenta and cyan) create the appearance of neutral gray with no apparent hue.
Gray Component Replacement (GCR): A technique for removing some or all of the cyan,
magenta and yellow from color separations. If properly executed, the reproduction will appear
the same or better than one that used conventional color reproduction without GCR.
Gray scale: The spectrum, or range, of shades of black an image has. Scanners' and
terminals' gray scales are determined by the number of gray shades, or steps, they can
recognize and reproduce. A scanner that can only see a gray scale of 16 will not produce as
accurate an image as one that distinguishes a gray scale of 256.
Gray Value: The number (usually between 0 and 256) that specifies a particular shade of gray.
Gripper Margin: The unprintable blank edge on which the paper is gripped as it passes
through a printing press. Usually measures a half inch or less.
GUI: Graphical User Interface. Pronounced gooey. A generic name for any computer interface

G - Printing Terms
that uses graphics, windows, or a pointing device instead of a purely character-mode interface.
GUI were first developed by Xerox at Xerox PARC in Palo Alto, California, and first put into use
with the MacOS.
Gutter: The two inner margins of facing pages of a publication.
Home

H - Printing Terms
H&J: Hyphenation and Justification. The arrangement of text evenly in a column (justification),
usually requiring the breaking of words at their appropriate syllable breaks (hyphenation). For
this feature, desktop publishing programs include large dictionaries which instruct where
hyphens can be correctly placed.
Hairline: A .25-point rule.
Half Duplex: Data communications mode which permits transmission in both directions, but
only in one direction at a time.
Halftone: The production of continuous-tone artwork, such as a photograph, through a screen

that converts the image into dots of various sizes. When printed, the dots merge to give an
illusion of continuous tone to the naked eye.
Handshake: A flow-control, or "go-ahead" signal sent by a local computer to a remote

computer when working with a communications program. XON/XOFF is the standard software
handshaking method, although it can't be used with remote systems that use a hardware
handshaking method.
Hanging Indent: The first line of a paragraph specified to start to the left of the other lines in
the paragraph.
Hard Copy: A printed paper copy of output in readable form. It is also a transparency film or
photograph of an image displayed on the monitor.
Hard Disk: A mass storage device for digital data. One or more magnetic platters in a single
casing, it can store data more precisely and access it more quickly than other forms of
magnetic storage.
Hard Dot: see "soft" dot.
Hash Table: A computer data structure that performs a mathmatical calculation on a field
identifier (called a hash) to determine where a data element in a large table or index is located.
Header: Text that appears at the top of every page of a document when it is printed.
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/h.htm (1 of 3) [10/27/01 3:10:02 PM]

H - Printing Terms
Hex: Short for Hexadecimal. Counting system using the base 16 - 10 digits and six letters. In
hexadecimal notation, the decimal numbers 0 through 15 are represented by the decimal 0
through 9 and the alphabet digits A through F.
Hierarchial: A form of document or file structure, also known as a tree structure, where all
elements except the root have parents, and all elements may or may not have children.
High Density: Floppy disks which have been manufactured for high capacity. High-density 5-
1/4'' disks hold 1.2 megabytes; 3-1/2'' floppy disks hold 1.4 megabytes.
High Key: An image that mainly consists of highlights and midtones.
High Resolution: Basically, any image that is displayed in better quality by increasing the
number of dots, or pixels, per inch than normal. Usually refers to better quality computer
displays, but can describe printer quality as well. Called hi-res, for short.
Highlight: The lightest or whitest part in a photograph represented in a halftone reproduction

by the smallest dot or absence of dots in the highlight. The highlight should have no color cast.
Highlight Intensification (Catchlights): The ability of a scanner to electronically remove all

printing dots in a highlight area in order to boost the contrast. Specular highlights in chrome,
gloss and other highly reflective surfaces are the only areas effected. Tonal gradations are not
effected except in the specular highlight area. Highlights brighter than those that are to be
dropped out will also be dropped. Highlights lower than the intended highlights to be dropped
out may also be somewhat effected.
HMA: High Memory Area. The first 64K of extended memory. This area is used by some
applications.
Horizoning: The process of aligning a transparency to the angle required by the mechanical to
advoid the need for image rotation on the system later.
Horizontal Scale: The alteration or horizontal dimension in characters without changing height.
HSB: Hue Saturation Brightness. To artists, it is an abbreviation for all of a color's

characteristics: hue (the pigment); the saturation (the amount of pigment); and brightness (the
amount of white included). With the HSB model, all colors can be defined by expressing their
levels of hue, saturation and brightness in percentages.
HSL Image: A red, green, blue (RGB) image displayed on a video monitor in three channels

H - Printing Terms
(hue, saturation, brightness), although only one channel is displayed at a time.
HTTP: HyperText Transfer Protocol. The TCP\IP-based communications protocol developed for
use on the WWW, HTTP defines how clients and servers communicate over the Web.
Hue: In color, the ability to perceive the main attributes of colors by using the human eye.
Sometimes the ability to perceive the correct hues are altered by the lighting, or a room
containing other colors, or imperfections or diseases of the eye. Standardization of lighting for
viewing color is necessary and will correct many of the problems in hue perception.
Hue Error: The difference between the printed color and the ideal color which it is supposed to
represent. For example, cyan ink used in four-color process work should ideally reflect all the
green and blue frequencies of light that fall on it, while it should absorb all of the red
frequencies. In reality, the ink will not achieve this state of perfection.
Hyphenation: Two classes of hyphenation are used in preparing documentation: editorial and
typesetting. Editorial hyphenation considers hyphenation for compound words and prefixes;
judgements are made on context and standard use of the language at a given time. Typesetting
hyphenation considers the breaking of words by syllable at the end of lines to create an elegant
text design.
Hypo: An abbreviation for sodium thiosulfate or sodium hyposulfate, a chemical used to fix the
image on a photographic film after the latent image has been developed.
Home

I - Printing Terms
I-way: A synonym for information superhighway, it usually refers to the Internet as the only
example of the highway that is working today.
Icon: A graphical representation of various elements in Windows, such as disk drives,

applications and documents. ˜
IEEE: Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. An international professional society that
issues its own standards and is a member of ANSI and ISO.
Illustrator: A computer illustration program developed by Adobe Systems, Inc.
Image: The computerized representation of a picture or graphic.
Image Enhancements: Electronic functions, such as shading, highlighting and zooming, that
accent an image or portion of an image.
Image Processing: Think of "data processing": it refers to the manipulation of raw data to solve
some problem or enlighten the user in some way not possible without the manipulation. So it is
with image processing. Digitized images which have been "acquired" (scanned, captured by
digital cameras) can be manipulated. The purpose may be simply to improve the image -
change its size, its color, or simply to touch-up parts of it. But a more important application of
image processing is to compare and analyze images for characteristics that a human eye alone
couldn't perceive. This ability to perceive minute variations in color, shape and relationship has
opened up applications for image processing in high-speed manufacturing quality control,
criminal forensics, medicine, defense, entertainment and the graphic arts.
Image Processor: Device that takes input data and changes it into the proper format for an
imaging device _ printer, display, microform, or computer.
Image Resolution: The fineness or coarseness of an image as it was digitized, measured as

dots-per-inch (DPI).
Imagesetter: An imaging device specially applied to create type and graphics. Uses either
raster or vector techniques to expose photographic paper or film. Contrasted with a character
setter, which creates only alphanumeric characters by exposing paper or film through a mask
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/i.htm (1 of 3) [10/27/01 3:10:06 PM]

I - Printing Terms
with the shapes of the letters engraved in it.
Import: To merge text and graphics into a document that you are currently creating or editing
with the aid of a computer program.
Imposition: Laying out pages in a press form so that they will be in the correct order after the
printed sheet is folded. In color reproduction, laying out originals in position in order that all
components of a page can be gang scanned in position in one scan (See gang separation).
Indents: The positions where lines of text begin and end within the specified margins.
Independent Graphic: A graphic placed in a publication that is not tied to the text surrounding
it.
Industry Standard Architecture (ISA): A computer system that is is built on the Industry
Standard Architecture is one that adheres to the same design rules and constraints that the
IBM PC/AT adhered to.
Inline Graphic: A graphic that is embedded in a text block or line of text.
Input Resolution: The number of samples taken at the scanner per unit of length when
digitizing an image. Input resolution is often set the same as the system resolution. If the image
is destined to be resized, however, the scanner resolution is set to accomidate interactive
enlargement or reduction of the image at the workstation.
Insert: A printed piece prepared for insertion into a publication or other printed piece. In color
separations, the placement of one piece of color into another.
Insertion Point: The place where text will be inserted when you type. The insertion point
usually appears as a flashing vertical bar in the application's window or in a dialog box. The text
you type will appear to the left of the insertion point, which is pushed to the right as you type.
Instance: A particular occurance of an object, such as a window, module, named pipe, or DDE
session. Each instance has a unique handle that distinguishes it from other instances of the
same type.
Interface: The hardware and software that enables electronic devices to share information.
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN): A high-bandwidth communications service,

ISDN combines voice and digital services over a single medium, enabling telephone lines to
handle both on a single wire. ISDN permits connections upto 128Kbps. ISDN requires a special

I - Printing Terms
adapter for your computer. An ISDN connection is available in most areas of the United States
for a reasonable cost, unless you live in New Mexico.
International Standards Organization. (ISO): The organization that produces many of the
world's standards. Open System Interconnect(OSI) is only one of the many areas standardized
by the ISO.
Internet: The name for a world-wide, TCP/IP-based networked computing community with
millions of users worldwide that links government, business, research, industry, and education
together.
Internet Protocol (IP): The primary network layer protocol of the TCP/IP protocol suite, IP is
probably the most widely used network protocol in the world. IP is responsible for addressing
and sending TCP packets over the network.
Internetworking Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange (IPX/SPX): Transport

protocols used in Novell NetWare networks.
IP Address: Used to identify a node on a network and to specify routing information on an

internetwork. Each node of the inernetwork must be assigned an unique IP address, which is
made up of the network ID, plus a unique host ID assigned by the network administrator. The
subnet mask is used to seperate an IP address into the host ID and network ID.
ISDN: See Integrated Services Digital Network.
ISP: Internet Service Provider. Any organization that will provide Internet access to a
consumer, usually for a fee.
Home

J - Printing Terms
Java: An object-oriented programming language and environment from Sun Microsystems.

Along with C, Java is compiled into an architecture-nuetral binary object and then interpreted
like Perl or Tcl for a specific computer architecture.
JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group. A highly compressed graphics format designed to
handle computer images of high resolution photographs as efficiently as possible.
Justify: The process by which a line of text is spaced between specified right- and left-hand
margins.
Home
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/j.htm [10/27/01 3:10:08 PM]

K - Printing Terms Dictionary
Kbs: Kilobytes per second.
Kbyte (K): Kilobyte. One thousand bytes. To a computer, it's actually 1,024 bytes.
Kelvin, 5000 degrees: Color temperature is frequently used to describe the color quality of
light in terms of degrees of Kelvin. The lower the temperature the more yellow and red are
found the higher the temperature and the bluer the light will look. 5000 degrees is an average.
It is considered to produce reflected or transmitted colors as close to normal sunlight (as is
possible). In the printing and photographic industries, it is used as a normal viewing condition
for purposes of standardization industry wide. Fluorescent lights which are 5000 degrees Kelvin
with a CRI index of 90 or more are required.
Kernel: The Windows 9x core component responsible for implementing the basic operating
system functions of Windows 9x including virtual memory management, task scheduling and
file I/O services. The kernel is completely 32 bit, and its implementation is Kernel32.dll.
Kerning: The amount of space between characters, initially determined by the design of the
font. You can adjust the spacing between to make it more aesthetically pleasing.
Keyline: A black lined area on a layout or art board indicating a precise area for the placement
of a color or black and white reproduction. It is generally noted specifically to use the black line
to "trap" the photo to the background or to drop the black line and simply use the keyline to
create the window for a halftone placement.
Keyword: An essential or definitive term that can be used for indexing data, for later search
and retrieval.
Kludge: A programming term for a workaround or an inelegant solution to a problem.
Knockout: An area on a printer's spot-color overlay in which the overlapping color is deleted so
the background color shows through.
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/k.htm (1 of 2) [10/27/01 3:10:14 PM]

K - Printing Terms Dictionary
Home
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/k.htm (2 of 2) [10/27/01 3:10:14 PM]

Printing Terms Dictionary - I
L*A*B*: A system for describing, measuring, and controlling color, using hue, luminance, and
brightness established by the International Committee on Illumination (CIE).
LAN: Local Area Network. High-speed transmissions over twisted pair, coax, or fiber optic cables that
connect terminals, personal computers, mainframe computers, and peripherals together at distances of
about 1 mile or less.
Landscape: Page or monitor orientation in which the page width exceeds the page length. Contrast with
portrait.
Laser: The acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission by radiation. The laser is an intense
light beam with a very narrow band width that can produce images by electronic impulses. It makes
possible imaging by remote control from computers or facsimile transmissions.
Layout: The drawing or sketch of a proposed printed piece. In platemaking, a sheet indicating the
settings or distance between images when step and repeat processes are involved.
LCD: Liquid Cyrstal Display. An electronic component containing a tiny quantity of liquid that
crystalizes (turns black) when a small electrical current passes through it, and returns to a liquid state
when the current is switched off.
Leaders: Dashes or dots arranged in a row to guide the eye across the page. Leaders are commonly used
in tabular work.
Leading: Pronounced "ledding". A typesetting term for the distance from baseline to baseline between
lines of printed text.
Letterspacing: Small amounts of extra space inserted between letters in typeset text, to improve their
appearance and readability or to fill out a line.
Ligature: Certain letter combinations that appear frequently together in fonts are combined as one
character.
Line Screen: The resolution of a halftone, expressed in lines per inch.
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/l.htm (1 of 2) [10/27/01 3:10:17 PM]

Printing Terms Dictionary - I
Line Shot: A negative image, photographed from mechanical art, that is used for stripping or scanning.
Line Work: Artwork that, unlike a continous-tone image, has no gradations of tone and, therefore, does
not require screening for reproduction in print.
Link: In desktop publishing, joining text boxes so that text will flow from box to box. It also refers to
hardware/software which allows otherwise incompatible systems to pass data back and forth.
Lo-res: Short for low resolution. Low quality reproduction because of a small number of dots or lines per
inch.
LocalTalk: A basic, inexpensive implementation of the AppleTalk networking protocol.
Look Up Table: A set of values in tabular form for input or output relationships. Such tables are most
often associated with color calibration issues and determining how a color system translates from one
color space to another.
Low Key: Describes an image that mainly consists of midtones and shadows.
LPI: Lines per inch. Measure of resolution for halftones.
Luminance: One of the components of an HSL (hue, saturation, luminance) RGB (red, green, blue)
image on a video monitor. It is the highest of the RGB values plus the lowest of the RGB values, dived
by two.
Home
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/l.htm (2 of 2) [10/27/01 3:10:17 PM]

M - Printing Terms Dictionary
Macro: A series of special instructions for a program or a metalanguage that allows a name to be
substituted for a repeated sequence of operations or text within a document or program.
Magenta: One of the subtractive primaries the hue of which is used for one of the 4 color process inks. It
reflects blue and red light and absorbs green light. Often confused with the additive primary color or red,
especially when requesting color corrections.
Magenta Screen: A dyed contact screen. Generally only used in black and white reproduction of
halftones and not used in color, except in indirect separations.
Mask: In color separations, an intermediate lithographic negative or positive used in color correction and
employed during the direct screening method. For use in making color corrections, a mask made from
rubylith or film is used to alter precise areas of tone or color on litho dupe film.
Match Art: In color reproduction most clients ask for match art reproduction. The client submits artwork
or photography containing many colors and tones and asks that all colors and tones be reproduced
exactly. This however is an unusually difficult task since it is virtually impossible to recreate all colors
and tones from only four printing inks: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. It is therefore necessary for
clients to pre-visualize how certain colors and tones will render when using process inks and dots created
from the continuous tone original.
Matte Finish: In printing paper - a dull finish without any gloss or luster. In photography - a color or
black and white paper with low gloss or luster which is most ideal for retouching.
Maximum Density: The measurement of the blackest or darkest area of an image on film; that is, the
area with the maximum ability to stop light.
Mechanical: An assembly of type and/or artwork, usually on paper stuck to a sheet of art board.
Megabyte: Approximately one million bytes.
Memory Colors: Colors such as red apples, blue skies, skin tones and green grass. These are the colors
most people agree upon for color, density and tone.
Memory Resident Software: Software that is loaded into memory and is available for use even when
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/m.htm (1 of 3) [10/27/01 3:10:22 PM]

another application is active. Also known as TSR software.
Metalanguage: A formal language like SGML that is used to describe other languages.
Metameric Pairs: Two colors that are different yet look the same when viewed under a particular light
source. In technical terms, the colors have the same set of color coordinates but different spectral
reflectance curves.
Metamerism: The tendency for color to shift in hue as it is viewed under different lighting conditions.
Microprocessor: The silicon chip with thousands of electronic components that serves as the central
processing unit (CPU) in microcomputers.
Middle Tones: The tonal range between highlights and shadows of a photograph or reproduction.
Middletones are very important because they contain the majority of the detail in a reproduction and
must remain neutral and in balance in order to match the original.
MIF: Maker Interchange Format. The export format produced by FrameMaker for sharing data with
other word processors or text-handling systems.
Mil: One one-thousandth (1/1000) of an inch; used to describe paper and tape thickness.
MIME: Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions. Extensions to the RFC822 mail message format to
permit more complex data and file types than just plain text.
Minimum Density: The measurement of the whitest, or lightest area of an image on film.
MIPS: Million of Instructions Per Second.
Mirror: The process or tool that copies a selected object and inverts it by reflecting it across an
imaginary line on the screen.
MOD: Magnetic Optical Disk: Storage medium for large amounts of data. MODs with memories of 620
MB and 1.2 GB are common.
Modem: Short for modulator-demodulator. Device that allows digital signals to be transmitted and
received over analog telephone lines.
Moire: In color process printing, the pattern which exists because of one screen angle overprinting
another or several other screen angles. Sometimes the moire pattern becomes objectionable because the
screen angles are less than 30 degrees, creating an "interference effect." However, the yellow screen in

process color is always less than 30 degree angle from other colors but since the yellow dots are virtually
invisible to the eye these patterns are unseen.
Monospaced: A type of screen or type font where all characters have the same width.
Montage: In artwork, several photographs ("C" prints) or several transparencies (all the same
reproduction size) are pasted or taped to an art board or acetate in order to create a pleasing layout which
is capable of being separated in one piece. Originals should contain similar highlight, middletone and
shadow characteristics.
Motherboard: The assembly in a computer into which printed circuit cards, modules, or boards are
connected. In a microcomputer, this is the maincircuit board.
Mouse: Hand-driven input and pointing device for personal computers.
MS-DOS: The basic command system _called disk operating system, or DOS _ for IBM and IBM clone
personal computers.
Multiples: (see also Number Up) Placing more than 1 image of the same product onto a single form.
Multitasking: Running two or more computer programs simultaneously.
Mylar: In image assembly; a polyester based film specifically suited for stripping film upon because of
its mechanical strength and dimensional stability.
Home

N - Printnting Terms Dictionary
NCSA: National Center for Supercomputing Applications. An arm of the University of Illinois, where
Mosaic was originally developed.
Negative: In photography, film containing an image in which values of the original are reversed so that
the dark areas appear light and vice versa. In lithography; a film containing type or halftones in which the
values are reversed, whites are black and blacks are clear film.
Net-pointers: URLs, ftp addresses, or other locations on the Internet where you can go to get interesting
information.
Network: A group of computers connected by cables and using software that allows them to share
equipment (such as printers) and exchange information.
Network Disk Drive: A disk drive that is available for public use on a network.
Newsgroups: On USENET, individual topic areas are called newsgroups. Such groups exchange regular
message traffic and are a great source of information for technical topics of all kinds.
Newton Rings: In reproduction from either photography or lithography, an objectionable series or

irregularly colored circles caused by the prismatic action of interfacing different smooth surfaces
together, such as in contact frames or transparencies on a scanner drum.
Noise: Unwanted electronic or optical signals that cause interference in the reproduction of data or an
image.
Number Up: Quantity of images placed on a single flat. (i.e. - 24 postcards can be imaged on a single
26x40 flat. - 24 up)
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/n.htm (1 of 2) [10/27/01 3:10:27 PM]

N - Printnting Terms Dictionary
Home
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/n.htm (2 of 2) [10/27/01 3:10:27 PM]

Printing Terms Dictionary - O
Object Ling and Embedding (OLE): The specification that details the implementation of
Windows Objects, and the interprocess commnication that supports them.
Object-Oriented Graphic: A graphic created with geometric elements that are saved in a draw-
type or EPS file format.
Off-line: Something not presently active or available for access in a system.
Off-loading: Relieving the intensive amount of data processing associated with a specific
application from the CPU by performing these calculations in a dedicated or specialized server.
Oil Mounting: in scanning, it is possible as well as necessary sometimes to mount originals

(usually 35mm) in oil. In cases where the original has been mishandled, has surface abrasion
(on the base) or when exceptionally large reproductions are necessary (over 1000%) the
original is mounted in an optical oil on the small scanning drum.
On-line: Something active or available for access in a system.
One-bit Image: An image with only black or white pixels.
OPI: Open Prepress Interface. A descriptive language developed by Aldus and prepress
vendors to provide a standardized link between desktop publishing and prepress systems. An
OPI file is actually a viewing file which provides a link between the image placed in a page
layout and the high resolution separation. It is automatically swapped out when the file is
prepped for output.
Opaque: In lithography, to block out areas on a negative that are not wanted on the printing
plate. In color reproduction, the blacking out of colors which are not desired in the final
reproduction. The material which is used looks brown or black and is applied to the negative
surface with a fine brush or pen.
Optical Character Recognition (OCR): The ability of a scanner with the proper software to
capture, recognize and translate printed alpha-numeric characters into machine readable text.
Optical Disc: A direct access storage device that is written and read by laser light. Certain
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/o.htm (1 of 3) [10/27/01 3:10:30 PM]

optical discs are considered Write Once Read Many, or WORM, because data is permanently
engraved in the disc's surface either by gouging pits (ablation); or by causing the non-image
area to bubble, reflecting light away from the reading head. Erasable optical drives use
technologies such as the magneto-optic technique, which electrically alters the bias of grains of
material after they have been heated by a laser. Compact discs (CDs) and laser (or video) discs
are optical discs. Their storage capacities are far greater than magnetic media, and are likely to
replace magnetic hard disks and tape in the near future.
Optical Scanner: Input device that translates human-readable or microform images to bit-
mapped or rastered machine-readable data.
Optical storage: The means of storing or archiving data on optical discs such as CDs or laser
discs.
Orientation: The relative direction of a display or printed page, either horizontal (called
"landscape" orientation) or vertical (called "portrait" orientation).
Orphan: One or more ending lines of a paragraph at the beginning of a page or column and
seperated from the rest of the paragraph at the end of the previous page or column.
Orthocromatic: Photographic and lithographic films which are insensitive to red but sensitive to
ultraviolet, blue, green and yellow areas of the spectrum.
Outline Mask: An electronic filtering function that can trace an area or object in an image and
extract it. A silhouetting function used in page makeup is also referred to as an outline mask.
Output: Information that has been manipulated by the central processing unit (CPU) of the
computer, and displayed either on the video monitor or rendered on paper or film as hard copy,
or saved on disk in a digital format.
Output device: Any device by which a computer transforms its information to the "outside
world." In general, you can think of an output device as a machine that translates machine-
readable data into human-readable information. Examples: printers, microform devices, video
screens.
Output Resolution: Stated in lines per inch or lines per millimeter, output resolution reflects the
number of pixels per unit size the plotter can put onto the film.
Overprinting (Double Printing): Printing over an area that has already been printed. Often used
in color printing in order to enhance a particular color, or contrast and distinguish a particular
color from other similar colors. It is used when the normal process color system is unable to
discern close color differences, but are required by the customer.

Home

Printing Terms Dictionary - Q
Quadratone: A black-and-white image reproduced through the four-color process in which

black is simulated by levels of gray to bring out detail and provide dimension.
Quality Control: In printing, the process of taking random samples during the press run to
check the consistency of quality. In photography, the viewing of color originals under a color
corrected light source to determine if highlights, middletone and shadows are correct.
Quarter Tones: A neutral gray area on a reproduction scale located between the highlight and
the middletone.
Queue: see print queue.
QuickTime: Apple's format for multimedia files.
Home
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/q.htm [10/27/01 3:10:39 PM]

Printing Terms Dictionary - R
Random Access Memory (RAM): The memory that is used to run applications and perform
other necessary tasks while the computer is on. When the computer is turned off, all
information in RAM is lost. When PC's were first introduced, they could address as much as
640K RAM. With the advent of X86 architecture and DOS upgrades, this barrier was broken
and increased to 32Meg (32,000K) of RAM. Microsoft's Windows NT has promised to break this
barrier and be able to address up to 32Gigs (32,000,000K) of RAM.
Random Proof: Also known as a loose-color proof or a scatter proof. A press proof or off-press
which is made from just one image, to check its appearance before it is stripped into position
with other images in a page layout.
Raster Display: The most common type of display terminal. Uses pixels in a column-and-row
array to display text and images.
Raster Font: A font created as a graphic bitmap image. It is available only in a fixed size - not
scaleable. A raster font is used mainly on the screen, but is also used by some dot-matrix
printers and built into some laser printers.
Raster Image: An image displayed as a series of lines of dots or video "blips."
RC Paper: Resin-coated photographic paper used in photo typesetters for imager output.
Read: The process by which the central processing unit (CPU) of the computer is instructed to
find specified data for display or output.
Reader's Spread: Two sequentially numbered pages of a document placed side-by-side for
work of some sort to be carried out.
Real Time: Processing on a system which responds immediately to the user's instructions.
Red: An additive primary color the hue of which is created by overprinting equal parts of
magenta and yellow which are primary subtractive printing colors.
Reflection Copy: In lithography, an illustration copy or photograph that is viewed and must be
reproduced by reflecting light from the surface of such an original.
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/r.htm (1 of 3) [10/27/01 3:10:44 PM]

Refresh Rate: Measure of how often the image on a CRT is redrawn; often expressed in hertz.
Typically 60 times per second, or 60 Hz in the United States.
Register: In printing and image assembly, the fitting of two or more images on the same exact
spot either on paper or mylar thereby insuring exact alignment with each other.
Render: To interpret the contents of a document, image, or othher file so that it can be
displayed or played back on a computer.
Repagination: The process used to change page numbers in multiple documents, while
retaining a uniform format and proper numerical sequence.
Re-Screening Color Separations: In lithography, the ability to make a color separation from
an original which has already been separated and published. There are limitations. Since the
same basic screens and screen angles are used, it is necessary to slightly enlarge (104% or
greater) or reduce (90% or smaller) in order to reduce or eliminate conflicting screen angles
causing a moiré pattern. The further use of a sharp or unsharp masking controls and the use of
selective focus may also be necessary.
Resolution: 1. Measure of imager output capability, usually expressed in dots per inch (dpi). 2.
Measure of halftone quality, usually expressed in lines per inch (lpi).
Retouching (Color): The correction or deliberate manipulation of color, tone or detail in an

original work of art, photograph or other original which needs correction. Note: retouching
materials, especially in photography, must be specifically designed for use on photographic
materials such as prints or transparencies. Often when incompatible materials are used, it
becomes difficult if not impossible to reproduce a similar or exact color.
RGB: Red, Green, Blue. The primary colors, called "additive" colors, used by color monitor
displays and TVs. The combination and intensities of these three colors can represent the
whole spectrum.
Right Reading: Normal left-to-right image reproduction. Contrast with wrong reading.
RIP: Raster Image Processor, the hardware/software which converts data which has been
stored in a computer into a series of lines of tiny dots which are output on film or photographic
paper. In line work, the dots can be grouped to create solid areas.
ROM: Read Only Memory. Data stored in a medium that allows it to be accessed but not
erased or altered.

Rosette Pattern: A screen dot pattern which is formed by printing two or more halftone screens
over one another and which have a 30ø or more angle difference between them. Example: a 45
degree, a 75 degree and a 105 degree combination would yield a good three color rosette
pattern without an objectionable pattern. When a screen which has less than a 30 degree angle
is included, an objectionable pattern develops and can be seen (unless it is used in the yellow
printer) this is called a moiré pattern.
Rotation: Tilting an image in response to customer requests or to align it with other page
elements. Rotating an image that has been transformed into computer data is a time
consuming and relatively expensive operation.
RRED: In lithography, Right Reading Emulsion Down. This means a film image that when
plated would read correctly. Not always ideal since it requires intermediate films to be made
during composite work.
RREU: In lithography, Right Reading Emulsion Up. This means film whose image would print
wrong when plated. The image has been flopped when this is the case. The term RREU is
generally used when ordering a color separation when a flopped image is required. (But watch
for type and other images that would give it away.) For composite film work, many separations
are scanned RREU in order to save the intermediate film required when doing contact film work
E to E.
RTF: Rich Text Format. An export file format supported by many word processors and desktop
publishing programs.
Rule: A vertical or horizontal straight line of specific thickness that is used to accent a design.
Runnability: The paper properties that affect the ability of the paper to run on the press. These
properties also affect how the inks make contact to the paper, the rate of the absorbency, the
trap and the hold out of the ink on paper combination.
Home

Printing Terms Dictionary - S
Safelights: In photography and lithography, the use of special dark room lights for illumination
which the materials being used are not sensitive to: Example: orthochromatic film is blue
sensitive, therefore red safelights containing no blue spectrum are used.
Sans Serif: Describes typefaces that have the same weight and thickness throughout.
Saturation: In color, the nature of colors in terms of density. A color with heavy saturation will
have a higher densitometric values when compared to a color having less saturation and lower
densitometric values. In photography, a saturated color original would show colors at their
maximum reproduction density without reproduction as a shadow. Color will tend to appear
pure in nature when heavy with nature.
Scale Compression: The shortening of the tonal scale used in conventional lithographic
processes to compensate the ink and paper press gains often found in the printing process. It
can also effectively lighten a dark original when scanning. This scale compensation always
takes place, we don't have any choice, it is part of the color reproduction process.
Scaled Point Size: A point size that approximates a specific point size for use on the screen.
Scaling: Determining the proper size of an image to be produced (or reduced/enlarged). It is

important that both directions be scaled in order to ensure proper fit in the final reproduction.
Scan: To convert human-readable images into bit-mapped or ASCII machine-readable code.
Scanner: An electronic device used in making color separations. Originals are placed on
drums, which are rotated, reproduce the original via digital and electronic signals transferred to
the finished film size through fiber optics. Scanners utilize electronic circuits to correct color,
compress the tones and enhance the detail.
Scanner Screen Angles: The screen angles differ from standard screen angles in that all
angles have been advanced by 6 degrees. The reason for this is that if a standard yellow
screen set at 90 degrees when scanned would create an objectionable screen pattern, thus
creating an interference pattern that would be noticeable in the final reproduction as a moiré.
Scanning Direction: During set up on an electronic scanner, the operator determines whether
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/s.htm (1 of 5) [10/27/01 3:10:48 PM]

or not to run an original right reading or wrong reading. There are several reasons for doing
this. 1. The layout indicates the client wants it this way. 2. In order to save money on film at the
composite stage, all stripping is done RREU emulsions and duped to a final negative which is
correctly oriented for platemaking.
Scatter Proof: See random proof.
Screen Angles: In lithography, it is necessary to rotate the angles of the screens in order to
create a rosette pattern. Using a horizontal line as a base plane, the first angle would be found
at 45 degree angle from the base, 75 degrees would be the next, 90 degrees and finally 105
degrees.
Screen Font: A raster font designed to duplicate a printer font on the screen. See also raster
font.
Screen Ruling: The number of lines or dots per inch in both directions on a contact screen to
make halftones or separations. Screen rulings are available from 65 lines per inch to 200 lines
per inch. For color separations, however, it is best to use 150 line screens for best press control
and visual resolution.
Scroll: To move text or graphics up or down, or left or right, in order to see parts of the file that
cannot fit on the screen.
Scroll Bars: The bars at the bottom and right edge of a window whose contents are not entirely
visible. Each scroll bar contains a small box, called a scroll box, and two scroll arrows to allow
different types of scrolling.
SCSI: Small Computer System Interface. pronounced "scuzzy." An industry standard for
connecting peripheral devices and their controllers to a microprocessor. The SCSI defines both
hardware and software standards for communication between a host computer and a
peripheral. Computers and peripheral devices designed to meet SCSI specifications should
work together.
Sectors: Divisions on magnetic media used for storing digital information: a single sector is the
smallest contiguous unit of information; multiple sectors make up a track.
Sequential Storage: Recording data in a linear mode, stringing codes sequentially on a

magnetic tape. Although it is often less expensive than random access storage, sequential
storage requires more access time because the central processing unit must read more data,
whatever is in the string between memory areas accessed, to find the area requested.
Serial Communication: See asynchronous communication.

Serial Interface: An interface on a computer, usually COM1, where you plug in a cable for a
serial printer or other serial communication device such as a modem.
Serif: Short cross-lines appearing at the ends of the main strokes of characters in a typeface.
Server: A computer which is dedicated to one task. A database or directory server would be
responsible for responding to a user's search request, returning the list of stored documents
that meets with the parameters of the request.
Set Solid: Describes lines in which leading equals point size and which appears to be almost
flush with the lines above and below.
SGML: Standard Generalized Markup Language. A metalanguage suitable for describing all
kinds of markup languages, including HTML.
Shadow: The darkest parts of a photograph, which receive little or no light, represented in a
halftone by the largest dots and greatest printing density. In photography, it is extremely
important not to include an significant information in the shadow area because when
separations are made, the tones and ranges of the original are compressed, making it difficult
or impossible to maintain shadow details having no contrast.
Share: A partition of a network disk drive.
Sharpen: The electronic manipulation of an image to alter the edge contrast of its elements.
Shortcut Key: A key combination that carries out some action in a software program. For
example, in Windows, pressing ALT + ESC switches among loaded applications.
Shrink: The contact manipulation of litho film due to the intentional over exposure of a film
positive made from a film negative. The width is determined by the amount of trap necessary to
visually trap two areas together.
Signature: In printing, the name given to a printed sheet which is to be folded. In stripping, the
name given to the stripped flats to be printed and folded.
Silhouette: An electronic filtering function that can outline an area or object in an image and
extract the background.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP): The application layer protocol that supports
messaging functions over the Internet.

Skew: To slant a selected item in any direction; used in graphics and desktop publishing.
Soft Dot: In lithography, a dot is called "soft" when a halation or fringe around the dot is evident
or excessive. On the other hand the reverse would be true if the dot had little or no fringe
noticeable and the dot is very sharp, this would be considered a "hard" dot. A hard dot can be
made by etching or contact work.
Soft Font: A font that is downloaded to your printer's memory from a disk provided by the font
manufacturer.
Soft Proof: A proof that is seen on a color video monitor, as opposed to a hard proof on paper.
Spectralphotometer: The basic tool of color measurement, the spectralphotometer splits color
into individual color components, which are then described in units of measurement.
Spectrum: The complete range of colors in light in a rainbow, from short wavelengths
(ultraviolet) to long wavelengths (infrared) red.
Spooler: A method by which a computer can store data and feed it gradually to an external
device, such as a printer, which is operating more slowly than the computer.
Spot Color: A specific color in a design, usually designated to be printed with a specific
matching ink, rather than through process CMYK printing.
Spread: In lithographic image assembly, the use of exposure manipulation in order to alter the
size of the original mask (enlarge slightly) so it will trap against a positive (reverse) of the mask
so that a slight overlapping of the two images is the result. (See Shrink.)
Square Dot: Differs from an elliptical dot in that the dots have a square appearance instead of
round or elongated. Best used for commercial web printing.
Staging: Often called stopping out, in color correction it is the application of opaque to litho
negatives, or the application of special mastoid material to protect areas in the negatives (or
positives) in order to prevent reduction of dot sizes during etching.
Standard Screen Angles: 45 degrees, 75 degrees, 90 degrees and 105 degrees. Screen
angles vary 30 degrees from one to another except for the yellow printer which will always be at
90 degrees. This angle causes an objectionable moiré but is not apparent because the human
eye is not sensitive to the yellow dot information, only its hue and chroma.
Storage Media: The physical device itself, onto which data is recorded. Mag tape, optical

discs, floppy disks are all storage media.
Stripping: In offset-lithography, the positioning of negatives (or positives) on a flat (mylar,

plastic, rubylith, etc.) prior to platemaking. (See Image Assembly).
Subdirectory: A directory contained within another directory. All directories are subdirectories
of the root directory.
Swap File: An area of your hard disk that is set aside for exclusive use by Windows in 386
enhanced mode, or any other program that requires additional memory. This area is used only
when your system runs low on memory.
SWOP: Specifications for Web Offset Publications. A standard set of specifications for color
separations, proofs, and printing to encourage uniform standards in the industry.
SyQuest Drive: A product of SyQuest Co., it is a removable mass storage system that comes
in 44 Mb and 80 Mb sizes. The mechanism is assembled by several companies under different
names using different drives although the interior technology is compatible with all SyQuest
disks.
System Time: The time set by your computer's internal clock.
Home |

Printing Terms Dictionary - T
Tab Alignment: An electronic function for alignment of text on tab stops; alignment can be left,
right, centered or decimal.
Tack: In printing inks, the property of cohesion between particles; the pulling power or
separation force of ink in its transfer from a press blanket to its intended printing surface. A
tacky ink has high separation forces and can cause surface picking or splitting of weak papers.
A lack of tack has very little ability to transfer properly from blanket to paper because it has a
low adhesion tendency, this effects trap.
Task: An open application.
Task Switching: A feature offered by some disk operating systems (such as Multifinder on the
Macintosh) allowing the user to copy two or more programs into computer memory at the same
time, so that the user can switch quickly from one program to another. Note that this is not the
same as multitasking, in which programs not only reside in memory simultaneously but may be
used simultaneously.
Tb: Abbreviation for Terabyte, equal to approximately one billion kilobytes and often used to
measure optical disk storage capacity.
Template: A dummy publication that acts as a model for the structure and general layout of
another publication.
Text File: A file containing only letters, digits and symbols. A text file usually consists of
characters coded from the ASCII character set.
Three Quarter Tones: A neutral gray area on a reproduction scale located between the
middletones and the shadow.
Thumbnail: A miniature copy of a page.
TIFF: Tag Image File Format. A document format developed by Aldus, Microsoft and leading
scanner vendors as a standard for bitmapped graphics, including scanned images.
Tiling: Reproducing oversize artwork or documents by breaking the image area into parts
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/t.htm (1 of 4) [10/27/01 3:10:54 PM]

(called tiles). Adjacent tiles repeat a small portion of the image, and they may contain crop
marks as well. The repeated portion of the image (the overlap) and the crop marks aid in
reconstructing the overall image from the tiles.
Tints: Various even tones (strengths) of a solid color. Created by the use of photomechanical
tints usually available in percentages of 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 and 95% screen
tints from various manufacturers. Sometimes referred to as Bendays.
Tissue Overlay: A thin, translucent paper placed over artwork (mostly mechanical) for
protection; used to indicate color breaks, position of halftones and color separations and areas
on color originals which need color correction.
Tonal Merge: In photography, colors, textures, shapes, and details which are recorded and
compressed in a shadow area which merge and record as shadows. If these details are
important they should have enough light placed upon them so they render as middletones and
not shadows. In color separations, similar colors, tones and areas which when separated,
reproduce as like tones, especially in shadow areas where there are little or no tonal
differences. If the details which already have tonal merges are necessary in the final
reproduction, it is highly recommended to go back and re-photograph or go to the added
expense of overprinting a 5th color. (See Overprinting.)
Tone Reproduction: The contrast of an original must adjust during color reproduction to
conform to the ranges of the halftone screens from 1% to 100%. It is virtually impossible to print
densities more than 100% and tones less than 2 or 3% will have no detail. This is one of the
most difficult limitations of the printing process to understand or accept.
Toner: A dry ink powder which has been electrically charged. Used in printers, fax machines
and copiers. Generally, the image is translated into bit mapped charges of the opposite polarity
on a special drum in the printer. The toner is attracted to the charged areas, where it is
transferred to paper. The toner is then "set", usually by heat.
Track Kerning: A method of uniformly increasing or decreasing the amount of letter and word
spacing over a range of text, depending upon the specific font and size.
Tracking: Adjusting the letterspacing uniformly throughout a selected portion of text. See
kerning.
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP): A connection-based protocol, responsible for breaking

data into packets, which the IP protocol sends over the network. This protocol provides a
reliable, sequenced communication stream of internetwork communication.
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP): The primary wide area network

used on the world-wide Internet, which is a world-wide internetwork of universities, reseach

labs, organizations, and corporations. TCP/IP includes standards for how computers
communicate and conventions for connecting networks and routing traffic, as well as
specifications for utilities.
Transparency: A film-based positive image that is viewed and reproduced through transmitted
light.
Transparent Copy: In photography, illustrative copy such as a color transparency, through

which light must pass in order for it to be seen or reproduced. Transparencies generally
produce better than reflective art (color prints) because they contain a larger tonal range and
more overall density.
Trapping: The ability to print wet ink film over previously printed ink. Wet trapping is dependent
upon several press and paper conditions including hardness and holdout of the paper, tack of
the inks, and general condition of the rollers, cylinders and blankets on the press. Dry trapping
is printing wet ink over dry ink. Improper trapping will cause color changes.
Trichromatic: The technical name for RGB representation of color, i.e., using red , green and
blue to create all the colors in the spectrum.
Trim Marks: Guides that show where a document will be cut to fit the specifications of a final
printed product.
Tritone: An image reproduced using three colors.
TRUMATCH: A color matching system which is based solely on color attributes attainable from
CYMK printing as opposed to spot ink colors. Like PMS, an electronic version of the system is
a feature of many color painting, drawing, and layout software products.
TrueType TM: A font format created by Microsoft and Apple Computer intended to replace
Adobe Postscript fonts, mainly on lower-cost publishing systems.
TSR Software: Terminate and Stay Resident. See memory-resident software.
Tungsten Lighting: In photography, this type of electrical light source which provides specific
color temperature light at a fairly even rate. The two types of illumination which are most
popular are 3200 degree Kelvin and 3400 degree Kelvin. Films capable of accurately recording
each of these specific areas of the spectrum are available. When used in a daylight situation,
the tungsten film will record parts of the tungsten spectrum and parts of the daylight spectrum
rendering unsuitable results.

Type 1 Fonts: PostScript Bezier outline format fonts with special encryption for compactness
and improved quality on low-resolution output devices.
Type Style: A variation, such as bold or italic, or outline, of a font.
Home

Printing Terms Dictionary - U
Under Color Removal (UCR): Removing excessive densities of cyan, magenta and yellow in
neutral shadow areas to allow for more press controllability without plugging up the shadows
Undo: A common software command which cancels the previous action.
Unit: In multicolor printing presses, refers to the combination of inking, plate and impression
operations to print a single color. A four color press has four printing units each with its own
inking, plate and impression functions.
UNIX: A general-purpose, multi-user, multitasking operating system invented by AT&T. UNIX is

powerful and complex, and needs a computer with a large amount of RAM memory to support
its power. UNIX allows a computer to handle multiple users and multiple programs
simultaneously. And it works on many different computers, which means you can often take
applications software and move it _ with little changing _ to a bigger, different computer, or to a
smaller, different computer. This process of moving programs to other computers is known as
"porting."
Unsharp Mask: A masking method done electronically to exaggerate the edges of the images
and the difference between light and dark areas or hues to enhance the detail in the final
reproduction. (See also Detail Contrast and Electronic Enhancement.) Also known as peaking.
URL: Uniform Resource Locator. The primary naming scheme used to identify Web resources,
URL's dfefine the protocols to be used, the domain name of the Web server where a resource
resides, the port address to be used for communication, and the directory path to access a
named Web document or resource.
USENET: An Internet protocol and service that provides access to a vast array of named
newsgroups, where users congregate to exchange information and materials related to a
specific topic.
User Interface: The method by which a user gives instructions to a computer and receives a
response.
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/u.htm (1 of 2) [10/27/01 3:11:01 PM]

Printing Terms Dictionary - U
Home
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/u.htm (2 of 2) [10/27/01 3:11:01 PM]

Printing Terms Dictionary - V
Vacuum Frame: In platemaking and composite film making, a vacuum device for holding
stripped materials in exact position while making close contact to a photosensitive material (film
or plate) prior to and during exposure.
Value: A density or numeric assignment of a color, tone or density made by direct comparison
or by use of a densitometer. Color printing values range from 2% minimum controllable dot to
98% maximum controllable dot. Values in color can be pre-selected for density, hue and depth
by using a process printing guide. This is an excellent way to pre-visualize how a particular
color may be expected to reproduce on a printing press.
Value Key: Windows 95 - A parameter under a key or subkey in the Registry. A value entry has
three components: name, type, and value. The value component can be a string, binary data,
or DWORD.
Vaporware: A semi-affectionate slang term for software which has been announced and
perhaps even demonstrated, but not delivered to commercial customers.
VAR/VAD: Value Added Reseller/Dealer. Essentially, VARs or VADs are companies that buy
equipment from computer or telephone manufacturers, add some of their own software and
possibly some peripheral hardware to it, then resell the whole computer or telephone system to
end users.
VCR: Video Cassette Recorder. A magnetic recording and playback machine. Generally used
for recording and viewing full-motion video, but useful (when adapted) as a data backup device.
VDT: Video Display Terminal. Generic, slightly inaccurate name for any display terminal.
Vector: Images defined by sets of straight lines, defined by the locations of the end points. At
larger magnifications, curves may appear jagged. This condition is call aliasing.
Vector Display: Terminal that displays images with vectored line segments, rather than pixels.
Vector Font: A series of dots connected by lines that can be scaled to different sizes. Also
known as stroke fonts.
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/v.htm (1 of 3) [10/27/01 3:11:04 PM]

Vectorization: Translation of a pixel-based image to a vector-based image.
VGA: Video Graphics Array. Standard IBM video display standard. Provides medium-resolution
text and graphics.
Video Camera: Camera capable of acquiring and delivering to a recording device full-motion
video. Converts the moving image into a series of horizontal lines, which are further broken
down into continuously varying pixels for display. Most often analog, but digital video cameras
which use charge coupled devices (CCDs) are becoming common.
Vignette: An illustration in which the background fades gradually away until it blends into the
unprinted paper.
Virtual Device Driver (VxD): The x represents the type of device. For example, a virtual device
driver for a display is a VDD and a virtual device driver for a printer is a VPD.
Virtual Machine: An environment created by Windows running in 386 enhanced mode in which
an application can run and behave as if it had an entire machine all to itself. Windows in 386
enhanced mode can have multiple applications running in their own separate virtual machines
at the same time.
Virtual Memory: The use of a portion of the hard disk to swap out data when insufficient RAM
exists to hold all such data.
Virus: A small program, commonly imbedded in another program, that infects programs and
causes them to malfunction. It is often designed to destroy data and infect other programs,
drives and disks.
Virtual Private Network (VPN): A private data network that makes use of the public telephone
infrastructure. Privacy is maintained by the use of a tunneling protocol, encryption, and other
security features.
Volatile Storage: Computer storage that is erased when power is turned off. RAM is volatile
storage.
Volume Label: A name that identifies a disk. In Windows File Manager, the volume label
appears in the title bar of the Directory Tree window.

Home

Printing Terms Dictionary - W
W3: World Wide Web.
Wall Paper: A picture or bitmapped pattern that appears as the desktop.
Warm Color: In printing or color separations, a color which has a reddish or yellowish cast. By
using a color print viewing filter set a more desirable color may be selected if a color correction
is necessary.
Web: 1) A roll of paper used in web or rotary printing. 2) An abbreviation ffor the World Wide
Web.
Web Press: A press which prints from rolls (or webs) of paper, as this type of press differs
when compared to a sheet-fed press.
Web Sites: Individual Web document collections named by home pages or other unique URLs.
WebCrawler: A class of computer programs designed to ceaselessly search the Web, looking
for specific content or simply following links to see where they go.
WebMaster: The individual responsible for managing a specific Web site.
Widow: A word or portion of a word that is left alone on a line at the end of a paragraph. Space
adjustments should be made to the text blocks to remove widows.
Wildcard Character: A character that represents another character. In DOS filenames, you
can use the asterisk (*) as a wildcard to indicate any character or group of characters that might
match that position in other filenames.
Window: (1)In stripping, an opening in a rubylith or film flat that allows light to be transmitted
through a screen, halftone or color separation in order for a precise area of information to be
transferred to another piece of film or a printing plate. When making dupe composited
negatives it often becomes necessary to use film windows instead of rubylith to prevent newton
rings which appear in the transferred image area. (2) On a PC, a rectangular area on your
screen in which you view an application or document.
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/w.htm (1 of 2) [10/27/01 3:11:07 PM]

Printing Terms Dictionary - W
Windows: A Microsoft operating system that features multiple screen and a graphical user
interface. Similar to the Macintosh interface, as the original interface designed at the Xerox
PARC.
Windows 95/98: A Microsoft operating system that move the GUI much closer to that of the
Macintosh. Is a true 32 bit operating system and true multi-tasking environment.
Word Space: The amount of white space between words, based on values set by the font
designer.
Word Wrap: A feature that moves text from the end of a line to the beginning of a new line as
you type. With word wrap, you do not have to press ENTER at the end of each line in a
paragraph.
World Wide Web: The graphical portion of the Internet.
Work Space: The area of a window that displays the information contained in the application or
document you are working with.
WORM: Write Once Read Many. Optical storage device on which data is permanently
recorded. Data can be erased, but not altered, and no additional data can be added.
WYSIWYG: What You See Is What You Get. Pronounced "wizzy-wig." It refers to a graphics or
publishing program that displays images on the screen the way they will appear on paper.
Home
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/w.htm (2 of 2) [10/27/01 3:11:07 PM]

Printing Terms Dictionary - X
X.121: The addressing format used by X.25 base networks.
X.25: A connection-oriented network facility.
X.400: An international messaging standard, used in electronic mail systems.
x86-based Computer: A computer using a microprocessor equivalent to an Intel 80386 or

higher chip.
XGA: Extended Graphics Adapter. IBM's graphics standard that includes VGA and supports
higher resolutions, up to 1024 pixels by 768 lines interlaced.
X-height: A way of measuring type, it's the height of the lower case letter "x" in the particular
font.
XModem/CRC: A communications protocol for transmitting binary files that uses a cyclic
redundancy check (CRC) to detect any transmission errors. Both computers must be set to
transmit and receive 8 data bits per character.
X/Open: A group of computer manufacturers that promotes the development of portable

applications based on UNIX. They publish a document called the X/Open Portability Guide.
X Recommendations: The CCITT documents that describe data communication network

standards. Well-known ones include: X.25 Packet Switching standard, X.400 Message
Handling System, and X.500 Directory Services.
Home
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/x.htm [10/27/01 3:11:10 PM]

Y - Printing Terms Dictionary
Yahoo: Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle. A database written and maintained by David
Filo and Jerry Yang, who style themselves as self-proclaimed Yahoos. One of the leading
search engines on the Internet.
Yellow: One of the subtractive primaries the hue of which is used for one of the four color
process inks. It reflects red and green light and absorbs blue light.
Home
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/y.htm [10/27/01 3:11:17 PM]

Z - Printing Terms Dictionary
Z39.50: The name of the data transmission protocol used for WAIS requests and responses.
ZIP: To compress a file using the program PKZIP. This program has been widely distributed as
shareware through many bulletin board systems and shareware services. Also available from
the publishers site.
ZIP Drive: A disk drive designed and marketed by Iomega that stores 100MB or 250MB of
information in a small footprint cartridge. Designed to be the next generation floppy drive.
Zone: A logical group of network devices (AppleTalk).
Zoom: To enlarge a portion of an image in order to see it more clearly or make it easier to alter.
Home
http://www.uniprint.com/terms/z.htm [10/27/01 3:11:24 PM]

Universal Printing and Publishing, Inc.
Universal Printing and Publishing, It's Sat Oct 27 15:11:30

Agfa Galileo Inc. now offers the latest direct-to- GMT-0700 (Pacific Daylight
Time) 2001.
Direct-to-Plate plate imaging technology in the
Agfa Galileo.
Technology Briefs
The Agfa Galileo helps you
achieve the full potential of digital ..........
platesetting by raising quality, Local Events -
automating workflows, and Planning a web press
responding more quickly to your check? October 2nd through
10th is The 1999 Kodak
needs as a customer. When
Albuquerque International
designing Galileo, Agfa met with
Balloon Fiesta. Reserve
printers and their customers,
your press time today and
around the world to find out more make it a couple of days to
about what they needed in a plate remember!
manufacturing system. Agfa
engineers apprenticed at printing Locations -
plants to learn firsthand about real- In Albuquerque? Try one of
world production requirements. New Mexico's finest
And examined existing platesetting restaurants at the Landry's
systems to identify opportunities Seafood House, located at
for improvement. The result is 5001 Jefferson Street NE.
Dress is casual. Call
Galileo--a fully integrated (505)875-0101 for more
platesetter with a wide range of information.
patented innovations that make it
Download the 6/97 issue of the the most advanced solution on the Take a ride on the world's
Seybold Report.
market today. For maximum quality longest aerial tramway, at
Computer-to-Plate Imaging: State of
the Industry, Imprint '97 and productivity in an extremely the Sandia Peak Tramway.
(40 pp; 884 K) flexible platesetting solution, Call (505)856-7325 for more
Galileo is the answer. information.
Agfa's expertise in electronics, Company

optics, workflow, and digital plate
http://www.uniprint.com/index.htm (1 of 4) [10/27/01 3:12:10 PM]

technologies results in a plate

manufacturing system that is
News
ideally suited for printers. Galileo ........
features an innovative, productivity-
enhancing PlateManagerTM, a ● Employment -
reliable imaging engine, a Looking for a new
convenient on-line processor, and carreer? We are
a full range of high-quality plates. looking for the Right
The entire system is optimized for People!
the highest quality, reliability, and ● Corporate Buyers -
performance today. The system is Are you getting the
implemented with Agfa's best service for your
PostScript Level 3 RIPs and printing dollars? Put
your buying power to
servers, that fit seamlessly into
work.
emerging PDF workflows.
Platesetting occurs at a crucial

juncture in the prepress process,
so the highest quality must be
achieved with remarkable reliability
and consistency. Galileo's
innovative internal drum design
establishes a stable, precision-
engineered foundation for reliable
platesetting. This unique vacuum-
chambered drum holds all size
plates securely throughout the
imaging process.
Galileo's generous format -- 44.5 x

32.3" (1130 x 820 mm) -- is ideal
for fully imposed 8-up plate
production. Resolutions from 1200
to 3600 dots per inch support
applications from black and white
technical documentation,
textbooks, and datasheets to high-
end color catalogs, brochures, and
art books with CristalRaster
screening.
Call Universal Printing for more

information on how the Galileo can

help meet your quality and quick

turn-around requirements.
Offering a Complete Universal Printing and Publishing is the leading high-quality, commercial
printing facility in the Southwestern United States. We specialize in offering a
Solution complete solution for corporate accounts by providing full marketing, printing
and direct mail services. We also provide custom solutions to meet your
printing needs, such as our Corporate Advantages Program that is offered to
our corporate accounts.
From high-speed copiers, a full desktop publishing, design and electronic pre-
press service, a Small Press Division producing many business products, to
a complete printing facility with medium format (26") sheet-fed presses and
New Mexico's top quality heat-set web, supported by a complete domestic
and international mailing and fulfilment service, we can make you and your
company shine.
Contact Information Universal Printing and Publishing can be reached via voice line at (505)842-
8820, or fax at (505)842-0202. The mailing address is 1224 Bellamah NW,
Albuquerque, New Mexico USA, 87104. You can also contact our Web
Administrator via e-mail.
Printing Dictionary ©1984-2000 David Groth

Site powered and design by Buoy Digital Media
Copyright ©2000 Universal Printing and Publishing, Inc.

Search
Universal Site Search - Do not use Advanced Syntax (And, or, not, near)

http://www.uniprint.com/docs/seybold_ctp.pdf
Embedded Secure Document

The file http://www.uniprint.com/docs/seybold_ctp.pdf is a secure document that has been embedded in
this document. Double click the pushpin to view.
http://www.uniprint.com/docs/seybold_ctp.pdf [10/27/01 3:20:26 PM]

Universal Printing - Employment Opportunities
Account Executives Account Executive - Currently looking for an experienced Sales

Representative or Account Executive. The applicant should have
at least 2 years sales experience with similar Quality-based sheet-
fed and/or heat-set web shop. Possibility of earning $40K or more
on full commission basis, per year. If developing accounts and
growing in a sales organization is your expertise or your goal -
Email Qualifications Brief (Resume) to Tony Medrano or fax to
(505)842-0202.
Management Press Division Supervisor - Currently looking for an

experienced Supervisor to manage its sheet-fed and web press
division. The applicant should have at least 5 years experience
with similar sized equipment in a Quality-based shop. Successful
applicant will be responsible for all staffing, scheduling and
support issues in a multi-shift environment. Full benefits provided.
Fax Cover Letter, Resume, References, and Salary
Requirements to Dan Simons at (505)842-0202.
Post Date: Oct 21st, 1998. Close Date: Open.
Press Division 5 Color Press Operator - Currently looking for an experienced 4

or 5 color Pressman to operate its 25" 5 color Omni (sheetfed
litho). The applicant should have at least 2 years experience with
similar sized equipment in a Quality-based shop. Full benefits
provided. Possibility of night shift or 3 day schedules. Fax
Resume and References to Dan Simons at (505)842-0202.
Bindery Division Folder Operator - Currently looking for an experienced folder

operator. The applicant should have at least 2 years experience
with similar sized equipment in a Quality-based shop. Full
benefits provided. Possibility of night shift. Fax Resume and
References to Dan Simons at (505)842-0202.
http://www.uniprint.com/people/jobs.htm [10/27/01 3:20:54 PM]

Universal Printing CAP - Buying Printing Smarter for your Company
Universal Printing & Publishing, working closely with some of its largest clients, saw a need for greater
service and communication channels for its premier customers. The solution is the Corporate
Advantages Program. By developing a program that works within your corporate America environment,
we can save you money on your overall printing expenditures.
CAP provides a professional, knowledgeable staff

member with years of printing experience, to your
organization, to provide a centralized contact point for
your printing communications needs. Your Corporate
Advantages Program representative will provide support
in areas that include technical training in all aspects of
the printing industry, training in print cost reduction
management, job planning, job order entry, on-site
support of jobs in process, and shipping and fulfillment
management.
The advantage to your company is that Universal

Printing & Publishing’s CAP representative becomes a
resource in your business environment to help you
make informed decisions about your printing
expenditures.
http://www.uniprint.com/cap/index.html (1 of 2) [10/27/01 3:21:41 PM]

Universal Printing CAP - Buying Printing Smarter for your Company
As a member of the CAP program, your

company can take full advantage of your
buying power. Universal Printing guarantees
that you will receive the lowest pricing level in
the market, as compared to similar sized print
buyers, while receiving the highest level of
service available from our company.
For more information, call (505)884-8820.
Required Resources:
● On-Site Office Space (with access to that space, including

security badges, parking access, etc.)
● Communication Tools (equipment and supplies required to
communicate with your organization at the level of your
current environment)
● Marketing Channels (to help you promote the service
within your organization)
http://www.uniprint.com/cap/index.html (2 of 2) [10/27/01 3:21:41 PM]

Universal Printing Account Executives
As the company's President, Tony still remembers his

Tony Medrano beginnings as a stripper almost 27 years ago. Under his
direction, Universal Printing has evolved into a full service
printing, marketing, and mailing entity. Now, he manages
many of the larger corporate partner accounts, and our
Corporate Advantages Program, while keeping an eye on the
contact between our Account Executives and all of our
corporate business partners. Send e-mail to Tony.
David brings an insight to the workings of the printing
David Sanchez industry through his dedication to service and to the support
he provides for his customers. He excels in the corporate
envirnment, offering complete print purchasing solutions. Call
David at (505)842-8820 for all of your printing needs.
Mike graduated from The University of New Mexico, with a
Mike Hermann Bachelor'sDegree in Business in 1986. He entered the printing
industry shortly thereafter and has been involved in printing
sales ever since.
Mike's attention to detail and total commitment to
understanding cusdtomer service has allowed him to establish
and maintain many mutually beneficial] customer
relationships. He is both knowledgable and experienced in all
facets of printing from single color offset through 4-color
process, heat-set web, and forms management.
Mike believes that he does more than sell ink on paper - he
wants to help you find economical and timely solutions to
your printing needs, with an emphasis on the establishment of
a long standing partnership.
Frank joins the Universal staff as a new member in 1999 and
Frank Crispin brings along the knowledge and expertise to bring your
projects in on time and within your budget. Call Frank today
for you printing needs.
De Roy (or "Dee") has added a new market to the Universal
De Roy staff, by supporting our customers in Colorado Springs and
Shinnes Denver. Dee came on board in 1999 and brings along the
knowledge and expertise to bring your projects in on time and
within your budget. Call Dee today for you printing needs.
http://www.uniprint.com/acctexec.htm (1 of 2) [10/27/01 3:23:56 PM]

Universal Printing Account Executives
Jan's position of Client Support Specialist exemplifies the

Jan Price importance that Universal places upon communication
between itself and its clients. Jan comes from a strong sales
and administrative background that has added a distintive
edge to the Customer Service Department. Jan is the main
contact if you need information or support when an Account
Executive is not handy. Send e-mail to Jan.
Updated 11/11/1999
http://www.uniprint.com/acctexec.htm (2 of 2) [10/27/01 3:23:56 PM]

Awards and Recognition

1997 - The International Association of Printing House
Craftmen has awarded Universal Printing and Publishing a
Silver Award for its entry in the 1997 Gallery of Superb
Printing. The selection criteria for the award is based overall
attention to quality and the level of craftsmenship involved in
the process.
The Columbine Shop catalog, which shows off their latest
collections of sterling silver and 14k gold belt buckles and
premium quality exotic leather belts, was an opportunity for
Universal. The client's requirements for quality and
craftmanship allowed Universal to shine.
A limited quantity are available from the Columbine Shop
(retail price $8.00) at (800)645-5556.
1996 - In conjunction with the design firm of Kilmer, Kilmer

and James, Universal Printing and Publishing received a Best
of Division for Excellence in Print Quality award from the
Mountain States chapter of Printing Industries Association for
our work on Calvary Chapel's Abbrations of The Gospel book
cover.
http://www.uniprint.com/awards.htm (1 of 3) [10/27/01 3:24:55 PM]

1996 - In conjunction with the design firm of Add Design,

Universal Printing and Publishing received a Best of Division
for Excellence in Print Quality award from the Mountain
States chapter of Printing Industries Association for our work
on City of Clovis (New Mexico) Tourism Brochure.
1996 - Universal Printing and Publishing's staff received a

Best of Division for Excellence in Print Quality award from
the Mountain States chapter of Printing Industries Association
for our work on our own Presentation Folders. The folders
exemplify Universal's commitment to quality.
1995 - In conjunction with the

design firm of Kilmer, Kilmer
and James, Universal Printing
and Publishing received a
Citation of Excellence from the
New Mexico Advertising
Federation's 1995 Addy
Awards for the work on
Calvary Chapel's Genesis
Christmas Card. The award was
given in the Collateral Material -
Special Events catagory.

1995 - The team of Kilmer, Kilmer and James, Universal

Printing and Calvary Chapel were also awarded an 1995
Addy for their work on the Book of Ruth project, which fell
within the Collateral Material - Cover catagory.
1988 - Universal Printing and Publishing was named The

1988 Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce Small
Business of the Year for its continued community
involvement.

Corporate Printing Partners
● Acoma Pueblo
● Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Burueau
● Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce
● American Society of Radiologic Technologists
● Bank of America
● Calvary Chapel of Albuquerque
● Chaparral Publishing
● Chick's Harley-Davidson
● City of Albuquerque
● Frank's Supply
● Great Locations of New Mexico
● Intel Corporation
● Jones Intercable
● Mulhern & Company, Advertising
● New Mexico Business Journal
● New Mexico Scorpions Hockey (WPHL)
● New Mexico State University
● New Mexico Stock Photography
● Orlie's Lowriding Magazine
● Our Secret
● Overeaters Anonymous
● Intel Corporation
● Premium Shopping Guide
● Public Service Company of New Mexico
● QualMed
● San Francisco 49ers Football (NFL)
● San Jose Sharks Hockey (NHL)
● Sierra Publishing
● Studio 7 Photography
● University of New Mexico
● US1 Internet
● Wayne Scheiner & Company
● Woodford Publishing
http://www.uniprint.com/accounts.htm (1 of 2) [10/27/01 3:25:15 PM]

Corporate Printing Partners
● Xerox Corporation
http://www.uniprint.com/accounts.htm (2 of 2) [10/27/01 3:25:15 PM]

Universal Printing, Printing Estimates
Within the next 60 days, we plan to release a complete online

Estimating estimating package that will allow you to price jobs accross
the Internet. You can call us, at (505)842-8820 or you can
send e-mail directly to our Estimating Department, just
remember to include as much information about your project
as you can.
Estimate Request Form
Name:
E-Mail Address:
Company Name:
Street Address:
Street Address 2:
City, State, Zip: ,
Country: U.S.A.
Phone #:
Fax #:
Please fill out the appropriate text blocks

http://www.uniprint.com/estimate.htm (1 of 3) [10/27/01 3:26:02 PM]
Job Title:
Quantity:
Finished Size:
Ink Color Front:
Ink Color Back:
Type Of Stock:
Please click on applicable check blocks

Will you FTP or Modem a print filedirectly to us?
Will you supply the negatives: Camera ready artwork: Do we compose:
Bleeds: Perforation: Scoring: Gluing:
Numbering: Die Cutting: Drilling: Gathering:
Folding: What kind of fold?:
Booked: Sets per book:
Tagboard: Spiral Bound:
Padding: Quantity per pad:
Saddle Stitch: Perfect Bound: Case Bound:
Wrapping Poly Paper How many per package:

Submit Form Reset / Cancel

Universal Printing Corporate History
Account Executives | Awards | Partners | Estimates | Home | Ownership | Services | Printing Terms
Heading for our 13th Universal Printing and Publishing was founded in 1985 in
Albuquerque, New Mexico by two partners who believed that they
Year could provide quality offset printing to the Southwestern corporate
market.
While developing strong relationships with several major corporate accounts within the their
marketplace, the partners put into place a foundation for providing world class service, which has
now become the hallmark of Universal Printing.
1991
Tony Medrano became the sole owner with a renewed vision for quality printing. Always solution
driven, he expanded into new office space and met many more of the needs of his clients. The new
space not merely offered more room for equipment and services while also providing docks and a
railroad spur for enhanced shipping and receiving services.
1992
The corporation added a mailing and fulfillment division. This was in response to the growing
concerns of its customers, to include ink jet labelling technology, as well as, pressure-sensitive and
cheshire labelling equipment. This division has now become one of the strongest mailing centers in
the Southwest.
1995
Universal added a new 5 color, 26" Omni-Stadt, sheet-fed press which allows greater flexability in
the production of quality projects from a wide variety of clients. With its' built in perfecting unit, which
allows printing on both sides of a sheet of paper during a single pass through the press, it is also
used for a majority of 2 and 3 color projects that demand high quality.
1996
The company has grown to over 40 full-time employees, from the 2 that started the company a little
over 10 years ago. In Q2 of 1996, Universal aquired the addition of 18,000 square feet of facility
space, to accomidate our consolidation of services into a single facility.
● April 1996 Marked the release of our first venture into the World Wide Web. After forming a
strong relationship with US1 Internet, Universal released the first version of its web
presence on the 15th. Universal released Rev 2.0 on May 1st to rave reviews. Universal has
since developed over 500 pages for Internet and intranet sites for a variety of customers.
● June 1996 - saw the unveiling of the Linotype-Hell Herkules Pro Imagesetter, Delta RIP and
Topaz Scanner. This equipment allows Universal to provide high quality desktop scans,
http://www.uniprint.com/history.htm (1 of 2) [10/27/01 3:26:20 PM]

Universal Printing Corporate History
quick through put time, and high resolution output imaged imposition for our presses.
● August 1996 Installed the newest VideoJet Ink Jet Labelling machine, in the Southwest,
that can be mounted on a variety of bindery equipment. This allows for products to be
labelled as it comes off of folders and stitchers, taking one less time consuming cost station
from the product mix.
1997
The company has grown to over 60 full-time employees. In Q2 of 1997, Universal aquired the
addition of 16,000 square feet of facility space, to accomidate our growth of services into a 40,000
square foot facility.
● November 1997 - Saw the unveiling of New Mexico's first heat-set web, a Harris M-1000A.
The five unit press, designed to run at over 30,000 impressions an hour has a 23-1/2 inch
cut off, allowing for production of premium 8-1/2x11 magazines. The press, built by Friedel's
Manufacturing of Chicago, is the most technologically advanced M-1000, of its type, in the
world. It has been re-engineered to be the most dynamically controllable press in the world.
http://www.uniprint.com/history.htm (2 of 2) [10/27/01 3:26:20 PM]

Universal Printing Ownership
Universal Printing and Publishing is 100% minority owned.

Minority
Ownership Universal Printing and Publishing was named The 1988
Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce Small Business
Status of the Year for its continued community involvement while its
business has grown within the competative Southwestern
market.
http://www.uniprint.com/ownershp.htm [10/27/01 3:26:40 PM]

Universal Printing - Services
Electronic Pre- Universal Printing and Publishing provides a complete solution Other Pre-Press
foryour design and imaging requirements. While maintaining a Information
Press complete staff of designers, typographers, and stripping
professionals, we have striven to become the technology leader
in the Western Region. We offer a full design and photography
● Download
service that utilizes both the Macintosh and PC platforms, as
PPD and File
both offer advantages for our clients. We offer high resolution
output from a Linotronic-Hell Herkules Pro imagesetter which is Utilities
a large format, high-speed drum recorder. This machine will
image upto 5080 dpi at 305 lines per inch onto film, paper, or
polyester plates with an exposure area of 29.5 x 21.9 inches.
Another element of our Electronic Pre-Press Department is the

Delta Technology RIP. The DeltaTechnology RIP is an entirely
new concept in RIPs. It combines both easy-to-use software
elements while relying on the productivity of a hardware RIP to
efficiently process information to our Hercules Pro Imagesetter
from both our Macintosh and PC platforms.
We have made another addition to our department by adding

the Linotype-Hell TOPAZ 3D scanner that will scan all types of
originals. Aside from the normal range of transparencies (35mm
to 8x18), this CCD scanner will also scan reflective art 12x18
inches, and upto 1 inch deep while maintaining the quality of a
drum scanner.
Press Room As the reqirements of our clients have changed, so has our sheet- Other Press Room
fed printing equipment. We now offer three distinct departments in Information
our organization.
● Our Small Press Divisionis comprised of single and two ● New House
color smaller presses (upto 17 inches). We offer both Gloss Sheet
paper and metal plates in the division for the different decreses
types of service offered in this department.
Raw
● Our Large Press Division consists of single, two and five
color sheet-fed presses which will all print on upto a 26 Materials
inch sheet. We currently offer metal plates in this division, Cost to End
as its primary focus is long-run and high-quality work. User
● Our Heat-Set Web Press Division consists of New
http://www.uniprint.com/services.htm (1 of 3) [10/27/01 3:27:09 PM]

Mexico's only Harris M-1000A Heat-Set Web press. The

five unit press has a 23-1/2 inch cutoff and can
accomidate a 38 inch wide web. This division markets to
the short (50,000) to medium (150,000) run booklet-format
publication.
Bindery and Universal maintains a full internal bindery that includes multiple
folders, saddle-stithers, collating stations,drilling equipment, and
Finishing laminators to provide for almost any project. The large range of
equipment allows us to maintain a level of control over a project
that is oftenunavailable when utilizing outside services. We are
proudof our diversified department and the level of quality they
produce.
High Speed Our clients requested and we responded to there need for a Other Links
high speed copier service with copiers from Xerox that provide
Copiers for same day turn around while maintaining the quality that
Xerox has always been known for.
● Xerox
Corporation
Our machines are equiped to handle the most stringent of your
copying requirements, from image manipulation to custom
binding.
Mailing and Universal Printing and Publishing saw a need to offer More Information
aninternal service for our clients to complete their projects.We
Labelling have installed equipment that allows us the most flexability
within the Southwest. We offer label application services from
● Press
supplied labels, both cheshires and pressure-sensitive to direct
imaging of the final piece with several types of ink jet Release -
equipment. We also offer CASS certification for database files, Mailing
that can then be ink jet labelled on to your project, here at Equipment
Universal. expands
resources to
Customers
● CASS
Certification

Delivery Universal maintains a complete fleet of delivery vehicles to More Information

meetthe different needs of our clients, from smaller trucks, to mid-
Services sizecargo vans, to dock-height trucks for our immediate delivery
area. We have also entered into corporate relationships with
● Federal
several international companies for overnight and second day
Express
deliveries, world-wide.
● United Parcel
Service

Printing Dictionary

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Printing Dictionary

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Printing Dictionary

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Printing Terms

What is a drum scanner, and how is it different than a CCD

Printing Dictionary ©1984-2000 David Groth

http://www.uniprint.com/terms.htm [10/27/01 3:08:37 PM]

Abort: The unintentional premature termination of a process or program in an electronic

Abstract: A brief restatement of the contents of a file or document.

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/a.htm (1 of 7) [10/27/01 3:08:47 PM]

programmer's job much easier.

Acid Paper: Non-permanent papers (PH below 7.0).

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/a.htm (2 of 7) [10/27/01 3:08:47 PM]

Addressable Capacity: The number of locations on an image that are addressable. To

Adhesives: In paper, glues that bind coated paper ingredients together.

Affinity: Natural attraction for, as salt for moisture.

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/a.htm (3 of 7) [10/27/01 3:08:47 PM]

Algorithm: Set of mathematical steps used to solve a problem or conduct an operation.

Alkaline Paper: Permanent papers (PH of 7.5 - 8.2).

Allocate: To reserve the required amounts of a resource, such as memory.

Animated Graphics: Moving diagrams or cartoons. Often found in the computer-based

Anodized: In paper, refers to grained.

ANSI: American National Standards Institute. A standards-setting, non-government

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/a.htm (4 of 7) [10/27/01 3:08:47 PM]

Applicator Roll Streaks: In paper, streaks on a coated sheet caused by an interruption in

Archival: In paper, the stock contains no groundwood or optical brighteners.

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/a.htm (5 of 7) [10/27/01 3:08:47 PM]

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/a.htm (6 of 7) [10/27/01 3:08:47 PM]

needed, depending upon the application.

Copyright © 2001, David Groth

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/a.htm (7 of 7) [10/27/01 3:08:47 PM]

DARPA: See Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Datagram: a packet of information and delivery data that is routed on a network.

Data Transfer: The movement of data inside a computer system.

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/D.htm (1 of 7) [10/27/01 3:09:00 PM]

Decompress: To reverse the procedure conducted by compression software, and thereby

Decrement: In color process printing, it describes the decrease of a brightness, hue, or

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency: An agency of the U.S. Department of

Delete: Describes the action of discarding data from memory or storage.

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/D.htm (2 of 7) [10/27/01 3:09:00 PM]

Internet and the corporate network.

Densitometer: In photography, a sensitive photoelectric instrument which measures the

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/D.htm (3 of 7) [10/27/01 3:09:00 PM]

Differential Spacing: In typography, allowing letters to take up varying horizontal space in

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/D.htm (4 of 7) [10/27/01 3:09:00 PM]

as digraph. A special form of ligature.

DLL: See Dynamic Link Library.

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/D.htm (5 of 7) [10/27/01 3:09:00 PM]

Download: The transfer of data from a computer or telecommunications network to another

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/D.htm (6 of 7) [10/27/01 3:09:00 PM]

Duotone: A two color halftone reproduction from a one-color photograph.

Copyright © 2001, David Groth

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/D.htm (7 of 7) [10/27/01 3:09:00 PM]

Backbone: A high-speed connection designed to interconnect multiple networks. A typical

Background: (1) The simultaneous, non-interrupting, execution of an automatic program while

Backing Up: Printing the other side of a printed sheet.

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/b.htm (1 of 7) [10/27/01 3:09:10 PM]

Basic Size: A standard, predetermined size for a particular type of paper.

Basis Weight Scale: An instrument used to measure basis weights in paper.

Baud: A unit of data transmission speed.

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/b.htm (2 of 7) [10/27/01 3:09:10 PM]

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/b.htm (3 of 7) [10/27/01 3:09:10 PM]

http://www.uniprint.com/terms/b.htm (4 of 7) [10/27/01 3:09:10 PM]