Publishing

The publishing glossary is an attempt to assemble some of the more common terms a writer is likely to come across when dealing with the publishing world. It's by no means an exhaustive list. If you can't find what you're looking for, try the computer graphics glossary or the typography glossary.

Click an index letter below to jump to terms:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z #

A4 paper: ISO paper size measuring 210mm X 297mm. It's letterhead size.
accordion fold: Parallel folds that alternate direction.
acid-free paper: Paper that resists deterioration from age because it contains little or no acid.
Acrobat: A suite of programs by Adobe that converts word processing and desktop publishing documents to PDF. Acrobat reader allows you to view PDFs and can be downloaded for free from Adobe.
additive color: The additive colors are red, green, and blue. Adding these colors together creates white (all light reflects back to the eye).
Adobe: A family of programs used for electronic, web, and print publishing. Adobe produces great programs such as Photoshop, GoLive, and FrameMaker.
AI: Adobe Illustrator. Adobe Illustrator native file format.
aliasing: Visual artifacts produced in graphics images that use pixels for display. One example of aliasing is jagged edges on curved lines.
anti-aliasing: Rendering techniques that reduce aliasing. It determines the color value of a pixel by averaging the color value of the pixels around it. This is usually based on some form of interpolation or oversampling.
anti-offset powder: Powder sprayed over the printed surface of coated paper as it leaves the press.
antique finish: This is the roughest finish available from offset printing.
A sizes: ISO paper sizes for standard sized trim that do not use bleeds or need trimming outside the edges.

backslant: A typeface that slants to the left. This is the opposite of italic.
baseline: The imaginary line on which typeface characters rest.
basic size: In the US and Canada, the standard size of sheets of paper used to calculate basic weight.
basic weight: In the US and Canada, the weight (in pounds) of a ream of paper at basic size.
binding: A process used to assemble pages or signatures.
bitmap: An grid of pixels assigned a color and X and Y locations. Bitmap images are resolution dependent, unlike vector graphics (which are resolution independent). Bitmap graphics are also known as raster images.
blanket: The rubber surface fixed on a cylinder that transfers an inked image from plate to paper in offset printing.
blanket cylinder: In offset printing, the metal cylinder the blanket is wrapped around.
bleed: Printing that extends to the edge of a sheet or page of paper after it has been trimmed.
blueline: A photoprint used to proof a printing job.
BMP: Bitmap. A standard Windows uncompressed image format. It supports RGB, indexed-color, grayscale, and Bitmap color modes. It doesn't support alpha channels.
body text: The paragraphs in a document that make up the bulk of its content. Body text is usually set in an appropriate and easy-to-read typeface at a 10-point or 12-point size.
boldface: A typeface that has been rendered in thicker strokes so that it will stand out on the page, usually to enhance a headline. Note that italics are preferable for emphasis in body text.
bottom margin: The white space between the bottom edge of a page and a body of text.
B sizes: Paper sizes around 18% larger than A size paper. Paper this size is usually used for charts, maps, and posters.
bullet: A dot or graphic placed at the beginning of each item in a list to show that each is an individual, but related, point.
butt: When two or more art or color elements meet edge to edge.

calender: The process of making the paper surface smooth by pressing the paper between rollers during manufacturing.
caliper: Thickness of a sheet of paper. This is usually measured in one thousandth of an inch.
case binding: A form off binding that uses glue to hold pages in a case made of binder board with leather, cloth, or plastic. Also known as hard binding.
cast-coated paper: High-class coated paper made by pressing the paper against a hot, polished, metal drum while the coating is still wet.
CCITT: A family of lossless compression techniques for black-and-white images. It's supported by PDF and Postscript file formats. (CCITT is an abbreviation for the French spelling of International Telegraph and Telekeyed Consultive Committee.)
centered: An alignment that places text at an equal distance from the left and right margins.
character: A single typographic element.
character encoding: The method a computer uses to represent letters, numbers, and other symbols.
CIE: Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage. The organization the developed color standards for Postscript and other software.
CMYK: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, black. The four additive colors used in printing. Different portions of each color are used to create all the colors.
color sequence: The order in which process colors are printed.
color value: The tonal value of a color measured from light to dark.
color shift: A printing error where a change in image color occurs resulting from changes in register, dot gain, or ink densities.
composite proof: A proof containing halftones and separations in position with graphics and type.
comprehensive dummy: A mockup of a printed piece complete with graphics, colors, and type.
continuous-tone art: Artwork containing graded tones for colors (for instance as seen in a photograph).
copyfitting: The process of adjusting the size and spacing of type so that it fits within a defined area on a page.
cover stock: Heavyweight paper used for magazine and booklet covers.
creep: A binding phenomenon where the middle pages of a folded signature extend slightly beyond the outside pages.
crop marks: Marks made on images that show what part of the image is not to be printed.
crossover: When a graphic carries over multiple pages.
C sizes: ISO paper size used to make folders and envelopes for objects trimmed to A size.

DCS: Desktop Color Separations. A version of the standard EPS format developed by Quark. The DCS 1.0 format supports CMYK files without alpha channels and clipping paths. The DCS 2.0 format supports multi-channel and CMYK files with a single alpha channel, clipping paths and multiple spot channels.
deckle edge: The ragged edge of uncut paper. It's sometimes implemented as part of a publication's design.
densitometer: A device that measures the density of printed color.
die: The stamp used in embossing and cutting.
direct color process: Color separation and screening done in a single step. An original image is separated (usually) into four monochrome images. Each image is then simultaneously resolved into dots.
display type: Type larger than 14 point.
DOC: Document. Tagged document file for the PC. It's most commonly used in Word.
DocBook: A popular DTD used to create and format documents using a set of SGML or XML tags. The DTD is maintained by DocBook.org and includes tags for several kinds of doucmention, such as printed manuals or online help. You can also get books, tips, tutorials, and other information from this site.
DOT: Document Template. Template files used in Word. I've provided a tutorial on creating a Word template, including a link to some very important information that you should read before you create a template.
dot area: The percentage of ink coverage that a screen tint allows to print.
dot gain: The spread of dots during printing and platemaking. It's measured by the increase in size of a mid-tone dot.
doubling: A printing error caused by the blanket bouncing slightly against paper.
dpi: dots per inch. The display resolution of devices such as monitors or printers.
drop cap: A document style. The first capital letter of a paragraph is larger and it's aligned with the top of the first line. This is usually used at the beginning of a new section or chapter.
DTD: Document Type Definition file. Identifies the language version with which an HTML, XML or SGML document is written and defines the tags that the document uses.
drying oven: An oven used to dry paper after printing.
dry trap: Printing over dry ink.
dummy: Mockup of a final publication.
DWG: AutoCAD Drawing. Standard file format for saving vector graphics created in AutoCAD.

ellipsis (...): Punctuation consisting of 3 dots in a row. It's usually used to show where a word or phrase has been omitted.
em: A unit of measurement equal to the current point size of a particular font. For example, if you are using a 12-point font, then one em equals 12 points. This is typically the width of the uppercase M.
em dash (—): A dash equal to one em. It's used to indicate a break in a sentence.
EMF: Enhanced metaFile. Graphic file format available for Windows and WinNT. It saves both vector and pixel information.
emulsion: Coating of light sensitive chemicals on papers, printing plates, stencils, and film.

en: A unit of measurement equal to half an em. For example, if you are using a 12-point font, then one en equals 6 points. This is typically the width of the uppercase N.
en dash (–): A dash equal to one en. It's typically used to indicate a range of values.
EPS: Encapsulated Postscript. Computer file containing Postscript commands with images.

flexography (flexo): A printing method on a web press. It uses a rubber or soft plastic plate with raised images.
flush cover: A book cover that's trimmed flush with the pages.
flush left: A block of text that is aligned on the left margin. If a block of text is flush left, it is also ragged right. In fact, a block of text can be described as flush-left, ragged-right. Most fiction books are flush left. A block of text that is both flush left and flush right is called justified.
flush right: A block of text that is aligned on the right margin. If a block of text is flush right, it is also ragged left. In fact, a block of text can be described as flush-right, ragged left. A block of text that is both flush right and flush left is called justified.
FM: FrameMaker. Adobe FrameMaker's native file format.
font: One style, width, and weight of a typeface. A typeface can have multiple fonts.
font family: A collection of similar fonts.
fountain: The ink supply for a lithograph press.
four color process printing: A printing technique that uses cyan, magenta, yellow, and black to produce full color images.
FrameMaker: A page-layout program offered by Adobe.

gang run: Two or more printing jobs run at the same time on the same press.
ghosting: Printing error in which a faint images appears on a sheet by accident.
GIF: Graphics Interchange Format. A common file format used to display indexed-color graphics and images for HTML documents. It can display interlaced lines of an image as it downloads. It can also store multiple bitmaps in one file, producing animated GIFs. GIF 89a supports transparency.
GIMP: GNU Image Manipulation Program. A freeware graphics application developed and maintained by Gimp.org as part of the open source movement. It's features are as robust as for-profit applications, like Photoshop.
gloss-ink: Quick drying ink used with coated paper.
grain: The direction in which most of the fibers face in paper.
grain long: Paper with the grain parallel to the length of the paper.
grain short: Paper with the grain parallel to the width of the paper.
graphic: An icon, illustration, or image used to visually depict information contained in a the surrounding body of text.
gravure printing: A form of printing in which ink is held in tiny etches on the plate.
gray scale: A strip of gray values ranging from white to black. It's used to calibrate exposure time.
greeking: The gibberish used to take the place of text in layouts.
gutter: The inside margin of a book where the pages are bound together. This is the right margin for pages on the left side of a book and the left margin for pages on the right side of the book. Margins are often set wider in the gutter to allow for the binding.
gutter bleed: see crossover
GZ: GIMP image file.

hairline: The thinnest line that can be printed (less than half a point).
hairline registration: Registration accurate to within half a row of dots.
halftone process: A process which resolves continuous-tone art into a field of dots.
halo effect: A build up of ink at the edges of a area, making the interior appear lighter.
hanging indent: A design style where the first line of a paragraph is aligned with the margin and the remaining lines of the paragraph are indented. Hanging indents are often used to list information or to align the lines of text in a bullet item.
headline text: A short line of text that introduces a chapter, section, or other body of text. A headline is often set in a different typeface at a larger point size to draw attention to it. Contrary to popular use, headings generally should not be written in all capital letters.
hexadecimal: 16 digits, 0-9 and A-F used to define color values in HTML. Hokum Home has a list of hexadecimal color values you can use when creating your own Web pages.
hickey: A ring-shaped imperfection caused by dust or other particles in the press.
house sheet: Paper kept in stock by a printer.
HSB: hue, saturation, brightness. Based on the human perception of color, the HSB model describes three fundamental characteristics of color.; Hue is the color reflected from or transmitted through an object, such as red, green or blue. It's measured as a location on the color wheel and is expressed as a degree between 0 and 360 on that wheel.; Saturation, also called chroma, is the strength or purity of the color. Saturation represents the amount of gray in proportion to the hue and is measured as a percentage from 0% (gray) to 100% (fully saturated).; Brightness is the relative lightness or darkness of the color, usually measured as a percentage from 0% (black) to 100% (white).
HTM (HTML): Hypertext Markup Language. Nonproprietary language used primarily for developing content on the World Wide Web. The HTML specifications are created and maintained by the W3C.
hue: A specific color, such as red or green.
hypertext: Text that is displayed electronically and contains links.

illustration: A diagram, drawing, photograph, etc. which further explains or clarify the information contained in the surrounding body of text.
imagesetter: Laser device used to output film and plates.
imaging: The stage of the print process in which digital documents are transferred to film to be used to make plates.
imposition: Arranging pages on a large sheet so that when the sheet is folded, the pages appear in order.
impression: One impression equals one press sheet passing once through a printing unit.
impression cylinder: A cylinder that presses paper into contact with an inked surface.
ink coverage: A percentage measurement of the amount of ink covering a page.
ink fountain: The reservoir that holds ink on a printing press.
inner form: Those pages of an imposition that will be on the inside when a sheet is folded into a signature.
intaglio: The carved/etched portions of a plate.
International Organization of Standards: see ISO
interpolation: A method off calculating intermediate values.
ISO: International Organization of Standards. An organization responsible for developing standards for business practices.
ISO sizes: Metric paper sizes.
italic: A slanting or script-like version of a typeface that slants to the right. see also roman

jogging: Vibrating a stack of sheets to bring them into alignment before trimming and binding takes place.
JPG (JPEG): Joint Photographic Experts Group. A commonly used graphics file format that uses lossy compression. It supports up to 24 bit color. Its small size makes it ideal for web graphics.
justified: A block of text that is aligned to both the left and right margins. Most school books and other formal works are justified.

kerning: The adjustment of space between individual characters in a line of text. Kerning is used to create a visual sense that letters are equally spaced so that the eye can smoothly read a line of text.
keyboard mapping: A table that determines which characters are created when you press a certain key (or combination of keys) on your keyboard.

lacquer: A transparent protective coating that gives printed paper a high gloss finish.
lap: Edge of a signature that a machine grips during the printing process.
laydown sequence: The order in which colors are printed.
leading: (pronounced ledding) The amount of space between lines in a block of text. Too much or too little leading decreases the legibility of text.
left margin: The white space between the left edge of a page and a block of text.
letterpress: The oldest form of printing. Raised areas on the plate hold ink and transfer that ink directly to paper.
letterset: A form of printing. Raised areas on the plate transfer ink to a blanket that then transfers ink to paper.
line art: Art that contains no graded tones. Usually black on white (as in comic manga) or solid color on white. In either case there are no middle tones.
lithography: A form of printing in which dry areas on the plate hold and transfer ink. Wet areas on the plate repulse ink.
LZW: Lemple-Zif-Welch. A lossless compression technique supported by TIFF, PDF, GIF and Postscript file formats. It's most useful in compressing images that contain large areas of single color, such as screenshots or simple paint images.

margin: The white spaces from the edge of a page to the text blocks on that page.
make-ready: All activities required to prepare a press or other machine for a printing job or bindery job.
metamerism: When color appears different in different light sources.
mock-up: Alternate term for dummy.
multilith: A small offset lithographic press that can be used to produce single pages (as opposed to printing sheets with multiple pages on each sheet).
multimedia: An application or presentation that uses any combination of animation, audio, images, text, and video to deliver information to an audience.

Office: A suite of productivity programs offered by Microsoft that includes Word (for word processing), Access (for databases), Excel (for spreadsheets), and Power Point (for presentations).
OpenOffice.org (OOo): A suite of freeware productivity applications offered by OpenOffice.org that includes Writer (for word processing and document layout), Calc (for spreadsheets), Draw (for graphics and illustrations), and Impress (for presentations). The software is as robust as for-profit suites, such as Microsoft Office.
outdenting: see hanging indent
overlay proof: Color proof consisting of clear plastic sheets laid on top of each other with their images in register.

PageMaker: A page-layout program offered by Adobe.
pagination: Page numbering.
Pantone Matching System: The registered trademark name of a color matching system used for inks, paper, and design materials.
PDF: Portable Document Format. Computer file format that contains vector and bitmap graphics, and can contain electronic document search/navigation features. The format allows for easy sharing of files between platforms.
perfect binding: An unsewn, flat-spined binding using glue to hold the pages together.
perfecting press: A type of printing press that uses two cylinders to simultaneously print on both sides of a sheet.
pica: A unit of measurement. There are 12 points to a pica and 6 picas to an inch.
PICT: Apple graphic file format. It can include bitmapped or vector images, and can use different compression schemes. It's available only for Apple.
piling: Printing problem in which ink builds up on the plate or blanket.
pixel: picture element. The smallest element that can be independently assigned color.
platen: A type of printing press where paper and plate are brought together by a hinged mechanism.
PNG: Portable Network Graphics. Developed as a patent-free alternative to GIF, it's used for losslessly compressing and displaying images on the Internet. It supports 24-bit images and produces background transparency without jagged edges. It supports grayscale and RGB color modes with a single alpha channel, and Bitmap and indexed-color modes without alpha channels.
point: A unit of measurement. There are 72 points in an inch and 12 points in a pica.
PostScript: Standard software developed by Adobe that controls desktop printers and other devices such as imagesetters.
press proof: A proof taken from the press prior to a full press run.
press run: The number of copies made in a single printing job.
process colors: The colors used for four-color printing (CMYK).
progressive proofs: Proofs made on the press to adjust the final color quality.
proof: Test sheet made to check for error or flaws as well as provide a general idea of what the final product will look like.
PSD: Photoshop native file format. It contains layer and transparency information.
pull quote: Quoted portion of body text that appears graphically different, larger, bolder, or in a different type, from the surrounding text. Pull quotes often appear in magazines.

ragged left: A block of text that is not aligned on the left margin. If a block of text is ragged left, it is also flush right. In fact, a block of text can be described as flush-right, ragged left.
ragged right: A block of text that is not aligned on the right margin. If a block of text is ragged right, it is also flush left. In fact, a block of text can be described as flush-left, ragged-right. Most fiction books are flush left.
raised cap: Design style in which the first capital letter is larger than the rest and is aligned with the baseline.
raster image: An image in which color is specified at each pixel in a grid. The grid is called a raster.
ream: 500 sheets of paper.
register: The correct alignment of colors during printing.
register mark: A symbol defining the correct alignment of overlay copy and color during printing.
relief plate: A printing plate with raised image-bearing surfaces.
reverse: A design style in which white or light-c