| Author's Alterations(AAs) | Changes and additions to text after it has been typeset. |
| Back Up | Printing the second side of a sheet already printed on one side. |
| Bleed | Printing that goes off the edge of the sheet after trimming. |
| Coated Paper | A clay coated printing paper with a smooth finish. |
| Color Bar | A quality control term regarding the spots of ink color on the tail of a sheet. |
| Crop Marks | Printed lines showing where to trim a printed sheet. |
| Duotone | A halftone picture made up of two printed colors. |
| Emboss | Pressing an image into paper so that it will create a raised relief. |
| Four-color Process | Combining four colors to create a printed color picture or colors composed from the basic four colors (CMYK). |
| Grippers | The metal fingers on a printing press that hold the paper as it passes through the press. |
| Imposition | Positioning printed pages so they will fold in the proper order. |
| Indicia | Postal information placed on a printed product. |
| Make-ready | All the activities required to prepare a press for printing. |
| Matte Finish | Dull paper or ink finish. |
| PMS | The abbreviated name of the Pantone Color Matching System. |
| PostScript | The computer language most recognized by printing devices. |
| Process Colors | Cyan, magenta, yellow, black.. |
| Ream | Five hundred sheets of paper. |
| Register Marks | Cross-hair lines or marks on film, plates, and paper that guide strippers, platemakers, pressmen, and bindery personnel in processing a print order from start to fini |
| Reverse | The opposite of what you see. For example, type your name on a piece of paper. The reverse of this would be a black piece of paper with a white name. |
| Rip Film | A method of making printing negatives from PostScript files created by desktop publishing. |
| Self Cover | Using the same paper for the text as for the cover. |
| Signature | A sheet of printed pages which when folded become a part of a book or publication. |
| Spot Varnish | Varnish used to highlight a specific part of the printed sheet. |
| Stet | A proof mark meaning let the original copy stand. |
| Trim Size | The final size of one printed image after the last trim is made. |
| Up | Printing multiple copies of the same image on the same sheet. |
| With the Grain | Feeding paper into the press or folder parallel to the grain of the paper. |
| Work and Tumble | Printing one side of a sheet and turning it over from the gripper to the tail to print the second side using the same side guide and plate for the second side. |
| Work and Turn | Printing one side of a sheet and turning it over from left to right using the same side guides and plate for the second side. |
Common Printing Terms