Glossary of Terms
Bleed - Is a printing term. Printers cannot print right to the edge of a paper sheet. To create that effect, the printer must use a sheet which is larger than the document size. Then the printer prints beyond the edge of the document size (usually 1/8), then cuts the paper down to the document size. It is the designer’s responsibility to set the bleed correctly. Although 1/8 is standard, different printers have different requirements. Speak to your printer about how much bleed he needs before you design your job.
If the program you are using does not support bleeds, like Word, you can still get the bleed effect. Anything that you don’t want chopped off should be pulled in 1/8+ about 3/8. If you are still confused make a test file and send it us. For some this is a hard concept.
CMYK - The initials of the four process colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. K is used for black so that it isn’t confused for blue.
Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) - A standard file format for importing and exporting PostScript files. It is usually a single page PostScript program that describes an illustration or entire page. The purpose of an EPS file is to be included in other pages. Sometimes EPS files are called EPSF files. EPSF simply stands for Encapsulated PostScript Format.
An EPS file can contain any combination of text, graphics and images. Since it is actually a PostScript file, it is the most versatile file format that is available. To avoid the need for a PostScript interpreter, EPS-files usually contain a small preview image that is used to visualize its content.
EPS files can be generated by all drawing applications as well as most layout applications. Image manipulation programs like Adobe PhotoShop can also save bitmap images as EPS-files. Some printer drivers are also capable of generating EPS-files as well as PostScript files.
Four Color Process - Refers to the printing method that uses the four process colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. These four colors can be combined to create thousands of colors.
Tip#1 Try not to build black, instead use 100% black, your text or art will look sharper and stand out better.
Tip#2 The brightest red build is 100% magenta and 100% yellow.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - A common method of moving files from system to system using TCP/IP. To work properly, it requires an FTP client to contact an FTP server in order to transmit data back and forth.
If you work from a Mac, the you will need special FTP software. See our links page.
Imagesetter - An imagesetter is a high resolution printer: it can print up to about 2540 dpi, typically. Unlike your laser printer, an imagesetter prints to film (negatives). Imagesetters are very expensive, so they’re not for the home office. You’ll find imagesetters at some printers and at service bureaus.
PDF, Portable Document Format - PDF is also an abbreviation for the Netware Printer Definition File. PDF (Portable Document Format) is a file format that has captured all the elements of a printed document as an electronic image that you can view, navigate, print, or forward to someone else. PDF files are created using Adobe Acrobat, Acrobat Capture, or similar products. To view and use the files, you need the free Acrobat Reader, which you can easily download. Once you’ve downloaded the Reader, it will start automatically whenever you want to look at a PDF file. If you want to create your own PDFS, see our links page.
PDF files are especially useful for documents such as magazine articles, product brochures, or flyers in which you want to preserve the original graphic appearance online. A PDF file contains one or more page images, each of which you can zoom in on or out from. You can page forward and backward.
PMS -The PANTONE MATCHING SYSTEM - The definitive international reference for selecting, specifying, matching and controlling ink colors. The PANTONE formula guide, a three-guide set consisting of 1,114 solid PANTONE Colors on coated, uncoated and matte stock, shows corresponding printing ink formulas for each color, and the three-book set of solid chips provides coated, uncoated and matte perforated tear-out chips that can be used for quality control.
The printer you select will use a specific PMS ink color designated by you and your logo designer. By always using this PMS ink color, you can be assured your logo will be a consistent color in all of your materials and documents.
Here is an example of some of the Pantone colors and how their numbering system works:
There are, of course, many more colors than those displayed here. Your printer or designer should have a printed color chart you can look at to determine the exact color you want to use. It is difficult to
select a specific color solely by seeing it on a computer screen because computer monitors very greatly in how they display colors, so make sure you see an actual printed sample.
PostScript - A page description language used by printers. Essentially, when you print to a PostScript printer, the printer turns your design into a series of commands.
A PostScript file is actually a text file that can be opened with any text editor and edited.
Only PostScript printers can print EPS graphics and PostScript fonts. However, if you have Adobe Type Manager (ATM), you can print PostScript fonts to a non-PostScript printer. Be aware that most service bureaus prefer PostScript fonts.
Resolution – Defines the quality of graphics in relation to the number of “dots”, or bits or pixels the graphic has. A high resolution graphic has more dots per inch (dpi), while a low resolution graphic has a lower dpi. Resolution applies to both graphics designed for print (typically high resolution) or graphics created for the Web (low resolution). Low and high resolution is also applied to printers. A 300 dpi laser printer is low resolution, but a 2450 dpi imagesetter is high resolution.
RGB & Displays - One common application of the RGB color model is the display of colors on a cathode ray tube, liquid crystal display, or plasma display, such as a television or computer’s monitor. Each pixel on the screen can be represented in the computer’s memory as independent values for red, green and blue. These values are converted into intensities and sent to the display. By using the appropriate combination of red, green and blue light intensities, the screen can reproduce many of the colors between its black level and white point. Typical display hardware used for computer monitors in 2003 uses a total of 24 bits of information for each pixel (commonly known as bits per pixel or bpp). This corresponds to 8 bits each for red, green, and blue, giving a range of 256 possible values, or intensities, for each color. With this system, approximately 16.7 million discrete colors can be reproduced.
What does this have to do with printing? Printers and digital color machines print CMYK not RBG. The color has to be converted. What you see on the screen will most likely turn out much different than what is handed to you on paper.
Spot Color – Refers to colors that are solids and aren’t made up of CMYK values. The Pantone Matching System (PMS) is probably the most well known system of spot colors used in graphic design.
Typeface – A typeface is a style of type. Times Roman and Helvetica are typefaces, for example. One typeface includes all the various fonts in that style. Some examples of different fonts that may be available (most typefaces won’t have all these fonts available, but only some):Roman or Regular, Bold, Italic, Bold Italic, Expert Set, Swash Capitals, Condensed, Expanded