Imagesetter
A high-resolution output device that usually provides output on photographic material (either bromide or film) or even directly on printing plates. The software technology is essentially the same as that of the laser print, although the hardware will probably be different. Resolutions can be as high as several thousand dots (or spots) per inch, which are necessary to achieve the output of high-resolution halftones. Most imagesetters today use PostScript. Imagesetters were previously called typesetters.
Imitation cloth
Reinforced and embossed paper commonly used for binding hardback books instead of cotton cloth. Also, fibrefelt. Contrast woven material.
Iris proofs
Full-colour digital proofs generated from PostScript files and increasingly used as contract proofs in place of Cromalin proofs or machine proofs.
Jacket
Dustcover on book.
Jacket paper
High-quality one-sided coated paper used for book jackets.
Japanese vellum
Paper made in Japan from the bark of the mulberry tree.
Jointing
The process of forming the joint or groove in bookbinding.
Justification
The arrangement of the text on a page or screen so that it is aligned with both the left and right margin.
Kerning
Adjusting the spacing between two adjacent letters to create a better visual fit. Traditionally meant decreasing the amount of space, but has come to mean either increasing or decreasing the space between the letters. Note that this is not the same as letterspacing.
Key plate
The printing plate which sets the register position for the other plates.
Kiss impression
Very light printing impression.
Kiss-fit
Printing on an offset press using different colours that touch each other, but using no traps. Kiss-fitting is not suitable for all printing jobs but when it is, the result should be clearer than when traps are used.
Kraft
Strong brown paper used as a second lining, and in many forms of packing application.
Lamination
Thin plastic film applied wth heat and pressure to a printed sheet for protection and/or appearance. Landscape The orientation of a picture, screen or page such that its width is greater than its height. Most screens are landscape, while most books, and certainly journals, are portrait.
Leading
The spacing between lines of type.
Letterset
Also called dry offset, offset letterpress, and indirect letter-press. A relief plate transfers the image to a blanket and thence onto the paper. Linotype
Linecasting machine manufactured by Linotype.
Lithography
Planographic process in which ink is applied selectively to the plate by chemically treating the image areas to accept ink and the non-image areas to accept water. Shortened to litho.
Long grain
Sheet of paper in which the grain direction (or machine direction) runs parallel with the longest side.
Long ink
An ink that flows easily.
Long run
A high printing number for a job.
Low resolution
(Often shortened to low-res.) The opposite of high resolution. While some graphics are just low-resolution to begin with, other graphics are created or scanned as complex high-resolution images (probably for offset printing). However, in order to save disk space and/or to shorten screen display times, low-res versions are produced for use in page make-up and placement of the image. Usually the high-resolution version is merged using the Open PrePress Interface. (See also resolution.)
Luminous
Inks or paints which glow in dark conditions.
Machine proof
Proof made by printing from plates, as opposed to using plastic proofing techniques. Also known as wet proof.
Make-up
Making-up typeset materials into pages.
Marked proof
The proof on which the printer's proof reader has marked their corrections.
Mask
Opaque overlay which masks out the unwanted portion of a photograph.
Masking
In process colour origination using a camera, masking meant the use of colour compensation techniques during the separation process to achieve results more faithful to the original and less liable to colour correction (e.g. applying a tri-mask or other specially made mask to an original to reduce contrast or enhance detail in separate areas and for specific colours). In colour film make-up, masking is the process of marking out specified areas, either electronically or mechanically, which are to undergo tint-laying, reversed out illustration, reversed lettering etc.
Mock-up
A layout or rough of artwork. Also called a visual.
Monotone
Illustrative material in one colour.
Negative
Reverse photographic image on film.
Negative assembly
Combining negatives on a flat ready for platemaking.
Negative-positive print
The standard colour 'en' print.
Negative-working plates
Litho plates which are exposed using negatives.
Neutral sized paper
Paper which is sized with neutral pH7, acid-free, size. This gives it considerable qualities of longevity, but less than those required for the standard of permanent paper which must be acid-free throughout.
Non-reflective ink
Light-absorbing ink used to print machine-readable characters.
Octavo
Abbreviated as 8vo. The eighth part of the traditional broadside sheet. Used to describe book sizes, e.g. Demy Octavo.
Offset
Printing which uses an inter-mediate medium to transfer the image onto paper, e.g. a rubber blanket wrapped around a cylinder as in offset litho.
On-demand publishing
The concept of printing books one at a time from computer store 'on demand', rather than tying up capital by printing for stock.
Opacity
The quality of opaqueness in a paper. Opacity is measured in %, with around 90% being an average for 80g/m2 printing paper.
Optical density
Light-absorbing capacity of an image area.
Orange peel
Multi-indentation effect on paper.
Origination
All the processes involved in the reproduction of original material, including make-up, up to plate-making stages; and also including typesetting.
Out of register
One or more colours out of alignment with the others in a piece of printing.
Overexposure
Too lengthy an exposure of film, causing a thin, 'chipped', image. Underexposure leads to a dense, dark, murky image.
Overlay
1. Transparent cover to artwork containing instructions or additional detail.
2. Paper used on machine cylinder to increase pressure on solid areas of blocks.
Overprinting
An additional printing over a previously printed sheet.
Overrun
Copies printed in excess of the specified printing number.
Ozalid
Print made by a form of diazo copying process and often used for proofing film. See also blueprints.
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