Adhesive Binding – A style of thread less binding in which the leaves of a book are held together at the bound edge by adhesive and a suitable lining.
Adobe Acrobat – Application to create, edit and view PDF files.
Anti-Alias – The blending of pixel colours on the perimeter of hard-edged shapes, like type, to smooth undesirable edges.
Application – A computer programme designed for a specific purpose, such as a page layout or word processor programme.
Art Paper – A smooth coated paper obtained by adding a coating of china clay on one or both sides of the paper.
Artwork – Originally the physical art (sometimes referred to as paste-up, camera-ready artwork or Mechanical) prepared by the designer and including type, graphics and other originals. This was used by the printer to produce the plates. Today the artwork exists almost totally in electronic format. Photos and illustrations are input to the computer using a scanner. All the elements are assembled using page layout software. Proofs can be made using colour laser or inkjet printers. The software then separates the ‘artwork’ and either produces high-resolution films from which the printing plates are made or is output straight to an automated plate maker (see computer-to-plate or CTP).
Authors Corrections – Alterations made by the author on proofs, that amend the original copy. The cost of making such alterations are charged for, in contrast to printer’s errors or house corrections.
B Sizes – ISO International sizes intended primarily for posters, wall charts and similar items. Intermediate between the A series of sizes.
Backing Up – Printing the reverse side of a printed sheet.
Bank – A lightweight paper, usually less than 60gsm.
Bevel – By applying highlight and shadow colours to the inside and outside edges of an image, a raised appearance or bevelled effect is achieved.
Bitmap – TIF, JPG, GIF are examples of bitmaps. A grid of pixels or printed dots generated by computer to depict photographs and images.
They are file formats:
JPG or JPEG = Joint Photographic Expert Group
TIFF = Tagged Image File Format
GIF = Graphic Interchange Format
Blanket – Thick rubber sheet that transfers the ink from the plate to paper on an offset-litho press.
Bleed – Layout, type or images that extend beyond the edge of a page and are trimmed off. Illustrations that spread over the edge of the paper without margins are referred to as ‘bled off’. The black in the image to the right shows the bleed which extends beyond the finished size.
Blend – Also known as a graduated tint, a smooth transition between two colours.
Blind Embossing – A style of embossing where the area is unprinted. The design is only visible as a raised area on the sheet.
Blister Packaging – A method of packaging in which an object is laid in a pre-formed, clear plastic tray and backed by a printed card.
Block – In binding, to impress or stamp a design upon the cover. The design can be blocked in coloured inks, gold leaf or metal foil. In printing, a letterpress block is the etched copper or zinc plate, mounted on wood or metal from which an illustration is printed.
Board – Paper of more than 200gsm.
Bond – A paper often used for laser printers or copiers. The higher quality bond papers, with a higher rag content, can be used for letterheads.
Bound Book – First attach the boards of the cover to the book, then the covering of leather, cloth, or other materials is fixed to the boards. Bound books are more expensive to produce and much stronger than cased books.
Broadsheet – Any sheet in its standard size (not cut or folded); also denotes a newspaper size.
Bulk – A Thick paper and a thin paper both of the same weight can display different “bulk”. It is the relative thickness of a sheet or sheets.
Burst Binding – A style of adhesive binding in which the back of the book block is not sawn
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