Print Production
The reference for marketers ordering printed materials — color, paper, finishing, binding, and prepress.
Applications
Packaging Design
The discipline of designing the structure and graphics of physical product packaging.
Business Card Specifications
Standard sizes (typically 85×55 mm or 3.5×2 in), bleed, and finish options for business cards.
Brochure Specifications
Common formats including bi-fold, tri-fold, and gate-fold layouts with paneling guidelines.
Poster Specifications
Standard poster sizes from A3 up to billboard formats, with resolution requirements.
Banner Specifications
Print specifications for vinyl, mesh, and fabric banners used outdoors and at events.
Sticker Specifications
Material, finish, and die-cut options for printed stickers.
Packaging Specifications
Substrate, structural, and print specs for primary, secondary, and tertiary packaging.
Binding
Saddle Stitching
Binding by stapling sheets through the spine, used for thin booklets.
Perfect Binding
Binding pages together using adhesive at the spine, used for paperback books.
Spiral Binding
A coil threaded through punched holes along the edge, allowing the book to lie flat.
Hardcover Binding
A rigid binding using boards covered in cloth or paper.
Lay Flat
A binding that allows a book to open completely flat without spine resistance.
Color
CMYK vs RGB
CMYK is a subtractive color model used in physical printing; RGB is an additive model used on screens. Always convert files to CMYK before sending to print.
Spot Colors
Pre-mixed inks reproduced in a single run, used when exact color matching is critical.
Pantone Colors
A standardized color reproduction system widely used across print, fashion, and product design.
Knockout
An area where the top color knocks out underlying colors so they don't print beneath it.
Overprint
Printing one color directly over another so they mix on the page.
Color Profile
An ICC file describing how a device reproduces color, used for accurate cross-device matching.
Color Calibration
The process of adjusting a monitor or printer so its color output matches a known standard.
RGB to CMYK Conversion
The process of mapping screen colors into the printable CMYK gamut.
G7 Calibration
An industry-standard calibration method ensuring consistent gray balance across presses.
Files
Vector Files
Resolution-independent files defined by mathematical paths, ideal for logos and illustrations.
Raster Files
Pixel-based image files with a fixed resolution, ideal for photographs.
PDF/X Standards
A subset of the PDF format designed specifically for the reliable exchange of print-ready files.
Bitmap Image
An image stored as a grid of pixels.
EPS Format
Encapsulated PostScript — a legacy vector format still used in print workflows.
AI Format
Adobe Illustrator's native vector format.
INDD Format
Adobe InDesign's native layout format.
PSD Format
Adobe Photoshop's native layered raster format.
Finishing
Lamination
A protective film applied to printed pieces in matte, gloss, or soft-touch finishes.
Foil Printing
A finishing technique that applies metallic or pigmented foil to a printed surface using heat and pressure.
Embossing
Creating a raised, three-dimensional design on paper by pressing a die from below.
Debossing
The opposite of embossing — pressing a design into the paper to create a recessed image.
Spot UV
A clear varnish applied to specific areas to create a glossy, tactile contrast.
Die Cutting
Using a metal die to cut printed material into custom shapes.
Trim, Score, and Fold
The trio of mechanical finishing operations that turn printed sheets into final pieces.
Spot Varnish
A targeted varnish layer that adds gloss or texture to a specific area of a piece.
Foil Stamping
Applying metallic foil to paper using a heated die.
Foil Block
The metal die used to apply foil to a printed piece.
Edge Painting
Painting the trimmed edges of a book or card for a premium effect.
Aqueous Coating
A water-based protective coating applied on press.
Materials
Coated Paper
Paper with a surface sealant for improved smoothness and ink hold-out.
Uncoated Paper
Paper without a surface coating, giving a tactile, matte feel.
GSM
Grams per Square Meter — the metric measure of paper weight.
Cover Stock
Heavier paper used for book covers, business cards, and packaging.
Text Weight
Lighter paper used for the inside pages of books and brochures.
Recycled Paper
Paper made from post-consumer or post-industrial recovered fibers.
FSC Certification
A certification confirming that paper comes from responsibly managed forests.
Soy Inks
Inks made with soybean oil as a more sustainable alternative to petroleum-based inks.
Substrate
Any material on which printing occurs — paper, plastic, fabric, etc.
Methods
Offset Printing
A high-volume printing technique that transfers ink from a plate to a rubber blanket and then to the paper.
Digital Printing
On-demand printing directly from a digital file, cost-effective for short runs and variable data.
Large Format Printing
Printing on substrates wider than a standard press, used for posters, banners, and signage.
Letterpress
A traditional relief printing method that creates a tactile impression in the paper.
Screen Printing
A method that pushes ink through a mesh stencil onto a substrate, common for apparel and posters.
Flexography
A rotary printing method used widely for packaging and labels.
Gravure Printing
An intaglio printing process for very high-volume runs like magazines and catalogs.
Risograph
A digital duplicator that mixes screen-printing aesthetics with quick reproduction.
UV Printing
A printing process that uses ultraviolet lights to cure ink instantly as it is printed.
Variable Data Printing
A form of digital printing where elements like text or images change from piece to piece.
Letterpress Plate
A raised relief plate used in letterpress printing.
Photopolymer Plate
A modern plastic plate used in letterpress and flexography.
Prepress
Bleed Explained
Bleed is the area of artwork that extends beyond the trim edge — typically 3 mm — so that the final cut piece has no white edges.
Crop Marks
Thin lines placed at the corners of a printed sheet to indicate where the paper should be trimmed.
Print File Checklist
A pre-flight checklist covering bleed, CMYK, fonts, resolution, and crop marks before sending to print.
Trim Size
The final dimensions of a printed piece after cutting.
Safe Area
The area inside the trim where text and key visuals should sit to avoid being cut.
Registration
The precise alignment of multiple ink plates during printing.
Trapping
A prepress technique that slightly overlaps adjacent colors to prevent gaps from registration errors.
Imposition
Arranging multiple pages on a single press sheet so that after folding and trimming the pages appear in correct order.
Soft Proofing
Simulating the printed result on a calibrated monitor before going to press.
Hard Proofing
Printing a physical proof to verify color and layout before the production run.
Ink Coverage
The total percentage of ink applied to a sheet — too high can cause drying and registration issues.
Dot Gain
The phenomenon of halftone dots appearing larger on paper than on plate, which must be compensated for.
Halftone
Reproducing continuous tone images with patterns of dots of varying size.
Live Type vs Outlined
Editable text vs text converted to vector paths — outlining prevents font substitution at the press.
Font Embedding
Including font data inside a PDF so the printer doesn't need the original font files.
Color Bars
Strips of color printed at the edge of a sheet to monitor ink density during the press run.
Print Mock-Up
A physical mockup of a printed piece used for approvals before the press run.
Print Layout
Folio
The page number in a printed publication.
Gutter
The inner margin where two facing pages meet at the spine.
Margin
The blank space between the trim edge and the content.
Baseline Grid
A horizontal grid used to align type across columns and pages.
Master Page
A reusable template page in layout software.
Pull Quote
A short excerpt highlighted in larger type to draw the reader in.
Drop Cap
An enlarged initial letter at the start of a paragraph.
Widow & Orphan
Unwanted single lines isolated at the top or bottom of a column.
Production
Print Bidding
The process of soliciting quotes from multiple printers for a job.
Print Brokering
A service that manages print production on behalf of a client across multiple vendors.
Press Check
Being on press while a job runs to approve color and alignment in real time.
Press Sheet
A large sheet of paper containing multiple imposed pages before trimming.
Print Run
The total number of copies produced in a single printing job.
Press Speed
The number of impressions per hour a printing press can produce.
Resolution
DPI Explained
Dots Per Inch — the number of ink dots a printer lays down in a square inch. 300 DPI is standard for print.
PPI Explained
Pixels Per Inch — the digital equivalent of DPI, describing how many pixels fit into one inch of a raster image.
Print Resolution Guide
Guidelines mapping common print sizes and viewing distances to required pixel dimensions.
Typography
Tracking
The overall spacing across a block of text.
Kerning
The spacing between individual letters.
Leading
The vertical space between lines of type.
X-Height
The height of a lowercase letter excluding ascenders and descenders.
Ligature
A typographic glyph that combines two or more characters into one.
Hanging Indent
A paragraph style where the first line is flush and subsequent lines are indented.