GRAPHICS AND PRINTING TERMINOLOGY

AI
AI drawing created with Adobe Illustrator, a vector graphics editing program; composed of paths connected by points, rather than bitmap image data; commonly used for logos and print media.

ALUMINUM SIGNS
Custom aluminum metal signs have a perfectly smooth finish and project a first class image. Aluminum is strong, light-weight and among the most durable of all sign materials as well as cost effective. Aluminum is in high demand for its unbeatable qualities. Plus, a custom aluminum sign can never rot or deteriorate like a standard wooden sign.

ANTI-ALIASING
The process of averaging between pixels of different colors. This results is a smoother, more blended transition between the edge of two areas rather than a distinctly jagged appearance.

ARTWORK
In printing, this is the original copy which includes all text, graphics, photos and illustrations.

BANNER (Indoor & Outdoor)
Vinyl Banners are a low cost way to make a powerful statement. From a personalized birthday banner to a full size billboard, we can print a custom banner for every event. We use the highest quality, 13 oz. glossy vinyl for long-lasting, indoor/outdoor display. Grommets or pole pockets can be added to facilitate the displaying of your banners.

BATCH
Batching normally involves the operator selecting the documents to be printed and indicating to the batch printing software when, where they should be output and priority of the print job. Then the job is sent to the print queue, and from there they are then sent to the printer.

BLEED
The term bleed refers to any design elements that overlap a document's border. Full bleed printing is the process of printing your artwork on a surface that is slightly larger than the size of the finished product. The excess is then trimmed off, or "cropped," to get the finished product down to its final size. We ask that customers provide a 1/8" or .125" bleed on documents. This .125" bleed will make your file size .25" larger than the final size of your document. Let's say you are printing a 36" x 96" Vinyl Banner. If you add .125" bleed to the left and .125" bleed to the right and then do the same top and bottom, the end result is a document that is 36.25" x 96.25".

CONTRAST
The degree of tones in an image ranging from highlight to shadow.

COROPLAST SIGNS
Coroplast Signs are perfect for inexpensive outdoor advertising such as an upcoming garage sale, real estate signs or election campaigns. Corplast is extremely durable because it is waterproof and resistant to stains and most chemicals.

CMYK
CMYK is the acronym of Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black, the primary pigment colors used in 4 color process printing and most desktop publishing programs. CMY are the subtractive primary colors and are used to reproduce full color on the printed sheet. If these pigments are combined in equal amounts, black is supposed to be produced, but because of imperfections with the pigments, a muddy brown color is produced. For that reason, black (represented by K) is added to give definition to color reproduction and to create bolder text.

COLOR PROFILE
Color profile is a specific description of how any device either sees or produces color information as referenced by an industry standard IT8 color target. Color profiles define the colors we capture with our cameras and see on our displays. They control what colors are used and help provide consistency between devices. Color is a pretty complex subject. Your eyes can see far more colors than your camera can capture or your monitor or even a piece of printed paper can display. This means we need some way to define the subset of colors that cameras can capture and monitors can display. We also need a way to keep colors consistent between the two. A certain shade of red that your camera captures should look the same shade of red on your monitor or your prints. This is where color spaces and color profiles come in. Manufacturers supply color profiles with professional devices. To ensure high-quality results, profiles need to be created individually using special measuring instruments. This procedure may need to be repeated at regular intervals.

CROP MARKS
To speed the printing process, most print projects lay out multiple prints on one large sheet of paper. Crop marks show the printer where to cut the large sheet to get the proper page size. They also indicate where to cut and separate the excess paper and other prints. Printivity does not require their customer to include crop marks within their design.

DPI stands for Dots per inch. It is the number of individual dots that can be placed in a line within the span of 1 inch (2.54 cm).

DYE-SUBLIMATION PRINTING
In thermal inkjet technology, a dye is a colorant dissolved in solution that forms color by the process of selective absorption of wavelengths of light. Dye-sublimation printing (or dye-sub printing) is a computer printing technique which uses heat to transfer dye onto materials such as a plastic, card, paper, or fabric.

ENCAPSULATING
The process of completely sealing a print in laminate film on both sides and all edges using combined heat and pressure.

EPS
Encapsulated Post Script. A standard file format used to transfer postscript formatting information between applications.

FINISHING
Where the printed materials get put into their final format. Examples of finishing include guillotining, folding, binding, drilling, and numbering.

GANG RUN PRINTING
The process where printers combine multiple jobs to print on the same sheet. This process helps to significantly reduce prices by dividing the production costs across several jobs. The two main goals in gang run printing are substantial cost savings and pleasant color matching.

ICC PROFILES
Printer profiling or ICC profiling is considered as the second step of color management process. ICC profiles are color management profiles that meet that meet the ICC standard.

IMAGE AREA
That portion of a printing plate that carries ink and prints on paper

LAMINATION
The process of applying film to one or both sides of a print using either pressure or a combination of heat and pressure.

MAGNETS
Magnets are an inexpensive, yet eye-catching way of getting your company's name on the road. Our high-strength durable magnets are weatherproof and fade resistant. Magnets are perfect for branding your vehicle. These flat magnetic sheets can be printed in full color with your custom design.

MATTE FINISH
A coated paper finish that goes through minimal calendaring.

PANTONE COLORS ISSUES
There are different ways in which Pantone colors affect how your job prints. It could be due to shadows, glows or transparency on top of a Pantone (PMS) Color, or by conversion to CMYK. Click here to learn more.

PMS
The abbreviation of the Pantone Color Matching System.

POINT
A measurement unit equal to 1/72 of an inch. 12 points to a pica, 72 points to an inch.

PORTRAIT
A document layout in which the height is greater than the width. (the opposite of Landscape)

POSTSCRIPT
A tradename of Adobe Systems, Inc. for its page description language. This language translates a digital file from an application into a language a compatible printer or other device can use to create its output.

PPI
Pages per inch or pixels per inch.

PREMIUM
Any paper that is considered better than grade #1 by its manufacturer.

PVC
A polystyrene sign is made from a flexible white substrate . Polystyrene boards can be printed on both sides and have a product durability of 3 to 6 months. Their small closed cells and smooth skin make these boards suitable for a variety of insulating applications. They are also ideal for marketing projects that need to be displayed because they are strong, lightweight, and rigid. These boards offer a bit more flexibility than PVC boards, making them great to mount any posters, graphics, designs, and images you may have!

OVERPRINTING
Any printing that is done on an area that has already been printed.

RASTER IMAGE PROCESSOR OR RIP SOFTWARE
A raster image processor (RIP) is a software that translates (rasterizes) computer vector files (InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, PDF, JPG, etc.) to a raster image also known as bitmap that is composed out of a matrix of dots that the printer can understand and print. The raster image is similar to the pixels on the computer screen. The RIP software processes multiple content types for a specific print environment and communicates that processed data to the printer for final output.

REGISTER MARKS
Any crossmarks or other symbols used on a press sheet to assure proper registration.

RESOLUTION
RGB is an acronym for Red, Green and Blue – the colors that make up all the color combinations seen on a computer screen. Documents and images set for screen viewing are typically in RGB. In order to use the images for print, they must be converted to CMYK. It also helps to make sure they’re at 300ppi, as images taken from the Internet are usually set to 72ppi and may not be large enough to print.

RGB
The color space of Red, Green and Blue. These are the primary colors of light, which computers use to display images on your screen. An RGB computer file must be translated into the CMYK (the primary colors of pigment) color space in order to be printed on a printing press.

RICH BLACK
Using multiple ink colors in addition to black to produce a deep, dark black color. Common CMYK values used are 60% Cyan, 40% Magenta, 40% Yellow and 100% Black.

RIP software enables handling many file types and file sizes. In addition, most RIP software come with ICC (International Color Consortium) color profilers and allow color management. A powerful ICC color profile management maximizes the color gamut of the inks. The RIP can also be used to enlarge images for printing without loss of detail since it increases the file resolution. The RIP is an important component in the printing process as it determines the color, screen pattern and resolution of the printed product. The quality of the RIP software directly determines the quality of the output. RIP ensures reliable color reproduction, saves time in the long run and reduces waste due to multiple reprints.

SCORING
To crease paper with a metal rule for the purpose of making folding easier.

TRIM SIZE
The final size of a printed piece after being cut from the sheet of paper that it was printed on.

UV COATING
A very shiny and durable high gloss coating applied to printed material. It is applied as a liquid then cured with ultraviolet light.

WATERMARK
A translucent mark or image that is embossed during the papermaking process, or printed onto paper, which is visible when the paper is held up to the light.

ZIP FILE
Zipping a file compresses one or more files into a smaller archive. It takes up less hard drive space and less time to transfer across a network or the internet.