3D print
To use a 3D printer to make (a three-dimensional solid object) from a digital model.
Industrial printing
200 terms in this trade.
4to
Abbreviation of quarto, a corresponding book size.
anilox
A method used to provide a measured amount of ink to a flexo printing plate, involving a hard cylinder whose surface is covered in tiny cells that capture the ink.
back gray
A piece of dark, heavy cotton cloth that is run under another piece of cloth to be printed, serving to take up the color on the roller outside the width of the print cloth.
bang out
To celebrate (a fellow printing or newspaper industry worker) to mark their completion of an apprenticeship or their retirement by (formerly) hitting metal furniture in the printing room or (more recently) hitting one's desk in the newsroom.
bastard type
A type having the face of a larger or smaller size than the body.
beard
That part of a type which is between the shoulder of the shank and the face.
bearer
A type or type-high piece of metal interspersed in blank parts to support the plate when it is shaved.
Ben Day
A printing and photoengraving technique dating from the late 19th century, involving coloured dots or some other simple repeating pattern, spaced or overlapping, to produce more complex mixed colours.
bleed
A narrow edge around a page layout, to be printed but cut off afterwards (added to allow for slight misalignment, especially with pictures that should run to the edge of the finished sheet).
bleeding
Printing past the edge of the leaf (past the trim).
bleeding edge
The situation produced when the image extends beyond the nominal margin.
blind folio
A page number that is counted but not printed on the page.
bokashi
A technique in Japanese woodblock printing that achieves a variation in lightness and darkness of a single colour by means of ink applied by hand in gradations, rather than uniformly.
breve
A semicircular diacritical mark (˘) placed above a vowel, commonly used to mark its quantity as short.
cancel
The suppression on striking out of matter in type, or of a printed page or pages.
canon
A large size of type formerly used for printing the church canons, standardized as 48-point.
cast off
To estimate the amount of space required by the type used for the given copy.
chase
A rectangular steel or iron frame into which pages or columns of type are locked for printing or plate-making.
church text
A tall, thin form of black-letter print.
clicker
An employee who locks the type in the form to make it ready for printing.
CMYK
Initialism of cyan, magenta, yellow, key: the colour model used in colour printing.
colophon
A printer's or publisher's identifying inscription or logo appearing at the front or end of a book, or the same appearing on the spine or dust jacket.
color separation
The process of breaking down a colored image into its component colors in order for it to be printed.
colour bar
A pattern of varying tonal density that enables visual and numeric comparisons to be made across multiple printed sheets or pages.
column inch
One inch of a printed column; a measure of space allocated.
composing frame
A stand for holding cases of type when in use.
composing rule
A thin slip of brass or steel, against which the type is arranged in a composing stick, or by the aid of which stickfuls or handfuls or type are lifted.
copyedit
To correct the spelling, grammar, formatting, etc. of printed material and prepare it for typesetting, printing, or online publishing.
core
particular parts of technical instruments or machines essential in function:
coronis
A device, curved stroke, or flourish formed with a pen, coming at the end of a book or chapter; a colophon. For example: ⸎, ۞.
counterpunch
A punch used in the cutting of other punches, often used to create the negative space in or around a glyph.
crown
A standard size of printing paper measuring 20 × 15 inches.
D
Abbreviation of duodecimo, as adopted by the American Library Association.
device
An image or logo denoting official or proprietary authority or provenience.
digital press
A high-speed industrial digital printer.
distribution
The process of sorting the types and placing them in their proper boxes in the cases.
distributor
An appliance, such as a roller, in a printing press, for distributing ink.
double English
The size of type between double pica and double great primer, standardized as 28-point.
double great primer
The size of type between double English and meridian, standardized as 36-point.
double pica
A large size of type, standardized as (UK) 22- or (US) 24-point.
double small pica
A large size of type, standardized as (UK) 21- or (US) 22-point.
ductor
A device, usually in the form of an oscillating roller, for transferring ink from a source to the ink train rollers in a controlled manner.
duodecimo
A size of paper, so called because it is originally made by folding and cutting a single sheet from a printing press into 12 leaves; (5 by 7¾ inches): 6.5 to 7.5 inches high, approximately 4.5 inches wide.
dust jacket
The detachable paper cover of a book; used to protect the binding, and to provide a blurb.
editio princeps
The first printed edition of a work previously only published in manuscript form.
editioning
The process of making a small number of prints available, in order to make the print more lucrative.
electrotype
a plate, made by electroplating a mold, such as used in letterpress printing
engraving
The art of producing an image from an engraved printing form, typically made of copper.
errata
An added page in a printed work where errors which are discovered after printing and their corrections (corrigenda) are listed.
factotum
A large decorative printing block with a central space into which any letter can be inserted, used to mark the beginning of a chapter of a book in early printing.
flong
A mould, especially one made from papier-mâché, used to create a stereotype.
fly
A vibrating frame with fingers, attached to a power printing press for doing the same work.
fo
Abbreviation of folio, page and book size (10"-12.5" x 15"-20").
foot stick
A bevelled piece of furniture placed against the foot of the page, to hold the type in place.
footstick
A sloped or beveled piece of wood or metal placed against the foot of a page that is being typeset, and locked in place by quoins.
foxing
The discoloration of printed material with brown marks.
friar
A white or pale patch on a printed page caused by poor inking.
frisket
A thin frame in a printing press that holds the sheet of paper in position and acts as a mask.
fudge box
A mechanical contrivance into which linotype slugs containing late-breaking news are clamped.