Printing Speak Explained
We know how confusing the printing industry can be at times, and the terminology we use may as well be spoken in a foreign language. Therefore we have tried to explain some of the more commonly asked questions in simple English!
From start to finish...
Artwork
This is normally supplied by a designer, or you may wish to supply this yourself. However if you are unsure we can advise you or supply you with artwork as we have in-house designers that manage this for you. We usually prefer to have this supplied as a pdf. PDF is the standard for viewing electronic documents. This could be anything from a one page form or an entire book. PDF is short for Portable Document Format. PDF is probably the best way to transfer and view any document on the Web or through e-mail.
Bleed
Bleed is the excess image area outside the crop marks. We normally require around 2mm to 3mm bleed. If artwork is supplied without bleed then it creates problems when trimming the final job to the finished size, and you could see a white edge due to slight guillotining inconsistencies, the only way to eliminate this when artwork has been supplied without bleed is to trim the job undersize, which is not the correct procedure.
Crop Marks (or trim marks or cut marks)
Marks on each corner of sheet indicating where the sheet will be guillotined to the finished size
Plates
We have to make a plate for lithographic printing. This is a aluminum sheet that attaches to the printing press with the image that is to print, which is etched onto it during the platemaking process. You need 4 of these to make up full colour printing or the other term used – cmyk. C(cyan) M(magenta) Y(yellow) K(black)
Make Ready
Or set up. This is the operation involved in preparing a printing machine for run.
Run on
The quantity of printed copies above the original amount required.
Paper weights...
GSM – This stands for grams per square metre, meaning how many grams the paper or board will weigh per square metre.
For instance the paper that is commonly used in your printer is normally 80gsm, which is quite thin. The weight will usually increase in implements of 10 grams, 90gsm, 100gsm and so on. Most headed paper is normally printed onto 100gsm, or 120gsm. Paper weights go up as far as 170gsm. Over 170gsm, and it is classed as board weights, which usually go up to 400gsm. Most business cards and folders usually print onto 350gsm.
Paper finishes...
There are quite a few finishes on paper and boards. An uncoated paper or board has no finish, and has a matt finish similar to photocopier paper, or cartridge or an offset paper. Common finishes or coatings can be a silk finish, satin finish, or a gloss finish. On a coated paper or board the coating will add to the weight therefore it may feel thinner than an uncoated paper, but will actually weigh the same as an uncoated paper or board. Therefore put simply, uncoated papers often feel thicker than coated papers, and the printer shouldn't be accused of using thinner paper.
Paper sizes...
| A Sizes | B Sizes | C Sizes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | 594 × 841 | B1 | 707 × 1000 | C1 | 648 × 917 |
| A2 | 420 × 594 | B2 | 500 × 707 | C2 | 458 × 648 |
| A3 | 297 × 420 | B3 | 353 × 500 | C3 | 324 × 458 |
| A4 | 210 × 297 | B4 | 250 × 353 | C4 | 229 × 324 |
| A5 | 148 × 210 | B5 | 176 × 250 | C5 | 162 × 229 |
| A6 | 105 × 148 | B6 | 125 × 176 | C6 | 114 × 162 |
| A7 | 74 × 105 | B7 | 88 × 125 | C7 | 81 × 114 |
| A8 | 52 × 74 | B8 | 62 × 88 | C8 | 57 × 81 |
The ISO standard paper size system covers a wide range of formats, but not all of them are widely used in practice. Among all formats, A4 is clearly the most important one for daily office use, this is the size used for all standard letters. Some main applications of the most popular formats can be summarized as:
- A0, A1 technical drawings, posters
- A1, A2, flip charts, posters
- A2, A3 drawings, diagrams, large tables, posters
- A4 letters, magazines, forms, catalogues, laser printer and copying machine output
- A5 (Half of A4) note pads
- A6 (Quarter of A4) postcards
- B5, A5, B6, A6 books
- C4, C5, C6 envelopes for A4 letters: unfolded (C4), folded once (C5), folded twice (C6)
- B4, A3 newspapers, supported by most copying machines in addition to A4
- B8, A8 playing cards
Ink coatings and sealers
We recommend using a sealer or coating on silk or matt coated paper, as the ink can mark or rub, therefore a sealer will seal the ink and eliminate any marks. Our press has a 6th unit which we use for coating and sealing. You can have a different finish for a coating, a matt, silk, or gloss coating. This will also seal the ink as above, and give the paper a nice feel depending on your choice of coating.
Print Finishing
Print Finishing is the final term and procedure used once a job has been printed. Print finishing can be as simple as guillotining, or trimming a job to size, ie: cutting and boxing business cards. Or it can be for binding a magazine, or brochure, of folding a leaflet.
Binding
Known as perfect binding. This is when a book or brochure has a spine, and not staples. The pages are clamped together and a cover is wrapped around the spine. The pages are then attached to the cover using an adhesive glue.
Saddle stitching or Fold, Stitch & Trim (FST)
This is folding printed sections which are then collated, stitched and trimmed to the finished size. This is where the books or brochures do not have a spine like perfect binding, but normally have 2 staples.
Folding
The process of converting the flat printed sheet into a folded section prior to trimming. There are many different variations and some are listed below.
- 4pp - (The pp stands for printed pages and in the case of a 4pp it means 4 printed sides) and is a single fold, normally in half. This could be an A3 sheet folded to A4, which we would call an A4 4pp.
- Roll fold – This is where the folding rolls inwards into itself.
- Concertina fold – Rather than a roll fold, as explained above, this is where the fold folds inwards then outwards, like a Z effect.
- Gatefold – A fold which turns in on itself from both edges to the centre.
Finishes
There are many different finishes that can be added to the final print job, and again is classed as print finishing being a final procedure.
- Lamination – The most common finish is a lamination. This is where a plastic film is heated onto the paper. The finish can either be a gloss, silk or matt lamination.
- UV Varnish - This is a cheaper alternative to lamination, and is a varnish rather than a film, and gives a high gloss finish.
- Spot uv varnish - This is where perhaps pictures or images are picked out in gloss or matt uv.
- Embossing - This is a raised area, perhaps highlighting a logo or picture.
- Foil Blocking – A technique to apply an image to paper or board using metal foil. This technique is normally used for prestigious literature
Delivery
This is a pretty simple procedure. Alan or Jay, our two very friendly and helful drivers usually load our two vans full of fantastic print work and deliver to all parts of the country.