• Make sure all fonts have been included with files.
• Ensure images have been scanned at the appropriate resolution.
• Make sure all images have been converted to CMYK.
• Make sure all images are roughly 100% of original size.
• Make sure you have allowed for bleeds.
• Flight Check your files when possible.
• Ensure a hard copy or .pdf is provided for proofing purposes.
• Make sure all images are included with files
• Please ensure the document has maintained original quoted size. If it has been modified, please inform you customer service representative.
• For ftp or email submissions, compress files using WINZIP (PC) or Stuffit (MAC). This will ensure file integrity and reduce transfer time.
  
  

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Art - all copy other than text material e.g. illustrations and photographs.

Banding - method of packaging printed pieces using paper, rubber or fiberglass bands.
Bind - to fasten sheets and adhere covers with glue, wire, and thread or by other means.
Bitmap - a computerized image made up of dots. Images are "mapped" directly from corresponding bits in memory. Also referred to as paint format.
Blanket - thick rubber sheet that transfers ink from plate to paper on an offset press.
Bleed - layout, type, graphics or pictures that extend beyond the trim marks on a page. Illustrations that spread to the edge of the paper without margins are referred to as 'bled off.'
Blue Line - a blue photo print on paper made from stripped-up negative or positive film, used as a proof to check position of image elements. A blue line is often the final proof to customers for spot colour jobs. It is sometimes referred to as a Dylux.
Brightness - the brilliance or light reflecting ability of various paper.

Camera Ready - artwork or pasted up material that needs no extra work to be ready for reproduction.
CMYK - a method of representing colour based on the standard printing ink colours of cyan, magenta, yellow and black.
Coated Paper - paper with a coating of clay that improves ink hold out.
Collate - assemble sheets into proper sequence.
Coil Bound - a binding method which requires holes to be drilled in the collated pages; and a wire coil to then be spiraled though the holes to bind the book together.
Colour Film - separated film consisting of (C) cyan, (M) magenta, (Y) yellow and (K) black. Printed on top of one another they create a full colour or "process" image.
Colour Match - a composite proof made from separated CMYK film. Either a colour match or an Iris is used as the final customer proof for process colour jobs before going to press. The pressmen then use the approved colour match to guide the precision of colour.
Colour Separation - the process of separating a colour image into a series of single colour (CMYK) images that will be used as negatives.
Comb Bind - to bind by inserting teeth of a flexible plastic comb through holes in a stack of paper.
Contrast - an image with great highlights or shadows and few grey tones is considered high contrast while an image that mainly consists of grey tones is low contrast.
Copywriter - person who writes copy for advertising or promotional pieces.
Cover Paper - paper made stiff enough for covers and postcards.
Compression - the shrinking or flattening of computer files so that the same information is stored in less memory.
Concept - an abstract or general idea developed or presented as an initial starting point.
Copy - any furnished material (text, pictures, artwork, etc.) to be used in the production of printing
Cropping - the elimination of parts of a photograph or other original art that is not desired.

Deckled Edge - feathered edge on specially made sheets of text and cover paper.
Design - talent which creates, enhances or improves the appearance of various mediums.
Die - sharp metal rule used for die cutting.
Die Cutting - cutting irregular shapes in paper using metal rules mounted on a letterpress.
Direct Mail - mail designed to motivate readers to respond directly to senders with purchase, donation, or other action.
Dot Gain - phenomenon of dots printing larger on paper than they are on negatives or plates. This is due to the spread created when paper absorbs the ink. Uncoated paper has a greater dot gain than coated paper.
Dots Per Inch (DPI) - a measure of the resolution of a screen image or printed image. Dots are also known as pixels.
Drill - to bore holes in paper.

Flat - in photography, characteristic of an image that lacks contrast. In printing, an assembly of negatives either taped to masking material or arranged digitally and ready for plate making.
Flush Left - copy aligned along the left margin.
Flush Right - copy aligned along the right margin.
Fold Marks - marks on the edge of the print area, which indicate precisely where the folds should go.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - this allows a user on one computer to transfer files to and from another through our network.

Generation - a first generation image is the original; second generation is made from the original and third generation is made from the second generation.
Grain - in paper, the direction in which fibers are aligned.
Grid - a guideline that is followed for laying out text, photos and/or illustrations in a specific amount of space.
Gripper - a small device on the press which grabs the sheet on the leading edge and pulls it through a sheetfed press.
Gripper Edge - the leading edge of paper as it is pulled through a press.
Gutter - the central blank area between left and right pages. Gutter also refers to the space between columns of text.

Halftone - because laser printers and printing presses can not produce grey, the reproduction of a continuous tone image such as a photo is processed through a screen that converts the image into dots in various concentrations to provide the illusion of grey.
Highlights - the lightest areas of a photograph or halftone.

Image Area - portion of a negative or plate corresponding to inking on paper; on which ink appears.
Imposition - refers to the arrangement of pages on a printed sheet, which when the sheet is finally printed on both sides, folded and trimmed will place the pages in their correct order.
Imprint - to print additional copy on a previously printed sheet.
Insert - a piece, which is placed in a print piece as an addition to the original piece.
IRIS - a colour proofing system frequently used to produce a precise colour copy of the print item before going to film. It is often the final proof before sending a job to press. All text and art should already be approved and the IRIS is used to insure the accuracy of colour.

Knockout - to cover a selected area of copy or art so it will not appear on a negative or plate.

Laminate - a thin transparent plastic coating applied to paper or board to provide protection and give it a glossy finish.
Large Format Camera - camera that makes 4"x5" negatives or larger.
Layout - a preliminary representation of a page for printing which shows the position of text, illustrations and/or photos and gives general instructions.
Light Table - translucent glass surface lit from below, used by production artists and strippers.
Line Screen - number of dots per square inch on a screen, halftone or colour separation.
Logo - short for logotype. A word or combination of letters set as a single unit, also used to denote a specially styled company name designed as part of a corporate image.

Makeready - all activities required to set up a press before production begins; also refers to paper used in the process.
Matte Finish - slightly dull finish on coated paper.
Medium Format Camera - camera that makes 2.25" x 2.25" negatives.
Mock-up - a representation of the final printed product, created to actual size or to scale.
Model Release - contract authorizing commercial use of a photograph that includes the image of a recognizable person or private property.
Moire - a desirable effect that results when halftone screen patterns become visible in a repetitive pattern.

Negative - piece of film on which a negative image appears.

Offset Printing - method of lithographic printing that transfers ink from a plate to a blanket, then from the blanket to paper.
Onsert - an item which is included with the original print piece, but not placed inside it. They are normally packaged together with poly baging, shrink wrap or envelopes.
Opacity - term used to describe the degree to which paper will show print through.
Overprint - to print over a previously printed image.

Pagination - the numbering of pages in a book.
Pantone - a registered name for an ink colour-matching system.
Portable Document Format (PDF) - self-reliant files that stay intact regardless of the platform in which they were created. It allows you to pass acrobat software from computer to computer and operating systems.
Plates - metal sheets that are customized using customer approved film to burn the image on to the sheet. It is then adhered to a drum on the printing press to transfer the ink to the blanket
Photo Mechanical Transfer (PMT) - high quality photographic reproduction paper used for paste-up or scanning
Poly-bagging - the process of packaging print items in individually sealed bags. This protects the piece while allowing for the opportunity of including onserts.
Point Of Purchase (POP) - materials used to introduce a product or entice a customer to impulse purchase, placed strategically throughout a store.
Press Proof - proof made on press using the plates, paper, and ink specified for the job.
Process Colour - (C) cyan, (M) magenta, (Y) yellow and (K) black are the ink colours combined in differing screen values to allow printing of the full colour spectrum.
Proof - a layout showing the position of illustrations, text and/or photos as they are to appear in the final printed product.

RGB - the abbreviation for red-green-blue; a limited method of displaying colour. Colour must be in CMYK format to go to press.
Register Marks - symbols used in colour printing to position the paper correctly - usually crosses and circles.
Resolution - the degree of clarity of a display or printer image. Resolution is usually specified in dots per square inch. The greater the resolution the higher the number of dpi, the sharper the image.
Register Image Process (RIP) - the process used to convert a page description language to raster format for a specific output device.
Rosette - the pattern created when all four CMYK colour halftone screens are printed at traditional angles, shown to produce the best results in printed colour output and noticeable only under magnification.
Rough - a quick hand rendered sketch of a concept.

Saddle Stitched - a method of binding where the folded pages are stitched through the spine from the outside, using wire staples.
Self-cover - publication made entirely from the same paper so that the cover is printed simultaneously with inside pages.
Self-mailer - printed piece designed to be mailed without an envelope.
Sheet Fed Printing - a printing process that prints single sheets of paper, not reels.
Shrink Wrap - method of tightly wrapping packages or products in plastic film.
Small Format Camera - camera which makes negatives that are 35mm or smaller.
Spine - the binding edge at the back of a book.
Spot Colour - the Pantone Matching System (PMS) colours are produced by a specific mixing formula to achieve a specific colour of ink. They can be used on their own or in addition to process colour.
Spot Varnish - varnish applied to portions of a sheet.
Stock - paper or other substrate.
Stet - used in proof correction work to cancel a previous correction. From the Latin: 'let it stand.'
Stripping - the department in which film is 'stripped' together to make colour matches and to burn plates for the press.

Tag Image File Format (TIFF) - a file format for graphics that is usually used for representing scanned images.
Thumbnails - the first ideas or sketches of a designer noted down for future reference.
Trapping - the amount of overlap of two different, adjoining colours. This will compensate for misregistration on the press.
Transparency - a transparent colour positive piece of film representing a photographic image which is used in scanning.
Trim - the cutting of the finished product to the correct size. Marks are incorporated on the printed sheet to show where the trim is to be made.

Uncoated Paper - paper that is not clay coated.

Varnishing - a finishing process whereby a transparent varnish is applied over the printed sheet, in whole or in part, to produce a glossy or matte finish.

Web Printing - a method of printing which uses a continuous roll of paper.
Work and Tumble - when both sides of a sheet are printed from the same set of plates which contain both the front and back images. The stock is run through the press, rolled over to the other side and run through again, thus changing the gripper edge of the paper to the other side.
Work and Turn - when both sides of the sheet are printed from one set of plates which contain both the front and back images. The stock is run through the press, turned over and run through the press again. This method does not require the gripper edge to change.