Sometimes, it’s fun to talk the talk! Here’s a short list of sheet-fed printing terms you might find useful when communicating about your project. Be sure to download this printable version and visit our solutions page to read more about sheet-fed printing.
Offset Printing: A printing technique where an inked image is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket, then onto the printing surface.
Sheet-Fed Press: A type of printing press that uses individual sheets of paper, rather than a continuous roll.
Plate: A metal sheet that carries the image to be printed.
Blanket: A rubber sheet that transfers the image from the plate to the paper.
Prepress: The process of preparing digital files for printing, including color separation, proofing, and plate-making.
Color Management: Techniques used to ensure consistent color throughout the print run.
Spot Color: A pre-mixed ink used in printing to achieve specific hues not possible with standard CMYK inks.
CMYK: Stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black); the four basic colors used in printing.
Finishing: Post-printing processes such as coating, embossing, and die-cutting that enhance the appearance of the printed material.
Coating: A finishing process that adds a protective or decorative layer to printed material.
Proofing: The process of creating a preliminary version of a print job to ensure accuracy before the final run.
Digital Proof: A proof created on a computer screen to simulate how the final print will look.
Press Proof: A proof created on the actual press to show exactly how the final print will appear.
Binding: The process of assembling and securing printed pages, such as in a book or magazine.
Trim: The final size of a printed piece after excess edges have been cut away.
Bleed: The portion of a printed image that extends beyond the trim edge, ensuring no white borders appear when trimmed.
Imposition: The arrangement of pages on a printer’s sheet to ensure correct order and layout after folding.
Gutter: The space between two facing pages in a printed piece.
Registration: The alignment of different color plates on a printed sheet, ensuring all colors line up correctly.
Moire: An unintended pattern that can occur when screen angles in halftone printing are misaligned.
Halftone: A technique that simulates continuous tone imagery through the use of dots, varying either in size, shape, or spacing.
Color Separation: The process of dividing a full-color image into the four separate colors (CMYK) for printing.
Dot Gain: The tendency of printed dots to increase in size, which can affect the accuracy of the printed image.
Gripper: The mechanism in a printing press that grabs the sheet and feeds it through the press.
Makeready: The process of preparing the press for a print run, including setting up plates, inks, and ensuring correct registration.
Stock: The paper or other material that is printed on.
Scoring: Creating a crease in paper to facilitate folding without cracking.
Die-Cutting: A finishing process where shapes are cut out of printed material using a custom-made die.
Varnish: A transparent coating applied to printed material to protect and enhance its appearance.
DPI (Dots Per Inch): A measure of print resolution; the number of dots of ink per inch in a printed image.
Pantone ®: A standardized color matching system used in printing for consistency across different jobs and materials.
Overprint: Printing one color over another, typically used to avoid gaps between colors.
Undercolor Removal (UCR): A process in color printing that reduces the amount of CMY inks in dark areas and replaces them with black ink to reduce ink coverage and drying time.
Lamination: A finishing process where a thin layer of plastic is applied to printed material to protect and enhance durability.
Collating: The process of arranging printed sheets into a specific order, often used in multi-page documents.
Feeder: The part of the press that feeds sheets of paper into the printing press.