Print Glossary
Listed below in our Print Glossary are the common terms used within the printing industry in everyday speak as well as a few definitions and explanations that will be of great help to you. If you ever wondered what is meant when a job 'bleeds' or when a 'dummy' is needed, then here is your chance to wise up on printers' jargon.
Click on the links below to view glossary terms
DCS |
An extension to the EPS system which enables CMYK separations to be saved and read by other computer programs than the one that created it |
Densitometer |
Machine used to monitor the density of colour on printed material |
Density |
The degree of colour or darkness of an image or photograph |
Density Control Bar |
Found on the side of proofs and printed material, these calibration bars are a strip of tones used to ensure printing quality and consistency. On film, the strips are calibration bars, and on paper they are colour control bars |
Die |
Metal rule or imaged block used to cut or place an image on paper in the finishing process |
Die Cutting |
Cutting images in or out of paper |
Distribution Rollers |
These are the rollers on a printing machine that move the ink from the ducts to the plate |
Dithering |
A technique of simulating colours from adjacent pixels to compensate for a limited colour range |
Dot Gain or Spread |
A halftone dot will become larger in the transition from film to print – this has to be planned for in the reproduction process; A term used to explain the difference in size between the dot on film v paper – This change is called ‘dot gain percentage’, as it will always be a plus factor, ie 30% dot on film, 40% printed dot – this increase is referred to as 10% dot gain. This press dot gain must be anticipated at the film stage and the film dot size reduced to counteract the percentage gain. This is not a linear change as it varies depending on the original film dot size |
DPI |
Dots per Inch. This measurement indicates the quality of the resolution. The higher the number (i.e. 6000) the greater the resolution |
Dummy |
An example of a proposed publication, usually made out of the paper specified; A rough layout of a printed piece showing position and finished size; A sample of a proposed job made up with the actual materials and cut to the correct size to show bulk, style of binding, etc. Also a complete layout of a job showing position of type matter and illustrations, margins etc. |
Duotone |
A two colour halftone produced from two halftone images of the same original |
Dot |
An element of halftones. Using a loupe you will see that printed pictures are made many dots |
DPI |
Dots per Inch |