The North Metro Area's Fastest Growing
Full Service Print Center

Glossary

This is a basic list of words that may help understand printing terminology.
LAN: (Local Area Network) A group of connected computers in a relatively small area that shares access to printers and other peripheral devices.
Landscape: Describes a horizontal orientation of a page format, as opposed to portrait, which is a vertical orientation.
Laser: The acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. A laser is an intense beam with very narrow band width that can produce images by electronic impulses from digital data.
Laser Proofs: Laser proofs are black and white or CMYK digital, non-film proofs which can be run out as composites or as color separated sheets. Lasers are used to check spelling, grammar, image placement, photo cropping and the proper separation of colors. Lasers are the least expensive form of proofing available. However, they are also the least accurate for image detail and color matching. Composite laser proofs indicate that all colors which will print have been used to produce the laser print-out. Color-separated laser proofs indicate that each ink color has been printed out on its own separate laser print-out. (e.g. CMYK separated laser proofs result in four sheets of laser print-outs; one each for the cyan, magenta, yellow and black.)
Leadin: Leading is the vertical space relationship between one line of type and the next. Computer graphics normally default to +2 points of leading for any given point size selected. (i.e. 10 point type uses 12 points of leading and 14 point type uses 16 points of leading). In general, the larger a point size gets, the better it will look with reduced leading. Increased and decreased leading can also be used for copyfitting purposes.
Letter, Legal, Ledger: Standard United States paper sizes. Letter is     8 1/2 x 11 inches; legal is 8 1/2 x 14 inches and ledger (also known as tabloid) is 11x17 inches.
Line art: Line art consists of non-shaded or non-screened black and white images. Line art cannot be continuous tone imagery such as photographs or pencil sketches. Some examples of line art are type matter, solid black and white logos, icons or pen-and-ink drawings.
Line screen: Also known as a straight-line screen. A screen that converts continuous tone copy to lines. As compared to a halftone screen which converts the image to dots.
Lines Per Inch (LPI): Lines per inch refers to the screen ruling for the halftones and color separations in an electronic mechanical. Screen values will vary with process, paper, ink and the quality/detail necessarily to reproduce the image.
Linked Graphics: When creating an electronic mechanical, the designer has an option to embed graphic  files, (make the graphic element a part of the file being created by the page layout software) or link the element. Linking places a pointer in the page layout file indicating that the graphics file (in its native format) needs to be incorporated at the designated location. Linking is transparent to the user, but when the file is ready for final output, all linked files must be resident on the system preparing the RIP. Linked files in many instances are referred in that if problems occur the printer has the ability to make any necessary adjustments. When a file is embedded in the document, the production personnel do not have this option.
Lithography: Lithography is the printing process based on the theory that water and oil will not mix. The lithographic printing process uses a planographic plate to control where the printed image will appear. This plate is sensitized to be ink-receptive in the image areas and water-receptive in the non-image areas. After the plate is placed on the printing press, ink is applied to the surface of the plate and stays in the image areas. A miniscule amount of a watersolution is applied to and stays in the non-image areas of the plate defining where the ink is positioned
Logo: A logo is a stylized name of a company or organization set in a unique way and often accompanied by an illustration or icon. A successful logo should be reproducible in its original color design and a black and white version.
Lower Case: When no capitals letters are used, type has been set in lower case. "
M weight: The actual weight of 1000 sheets of any given size of paper.
Make ready: The activities required to prepare a press for a specific printing job. Also called setup.
Make-ready stock: Paper that is used in the press set-up process before the printing run actually starts.
Margins: Margins are the white space areas which appear at the top, sides, and bottom of a publication."
Mechanical fold: Any fold that can be done by a machine.
Mechanical: A layout consisting of type proofs, artwork, or both, exactly positioned and prepared for making an offset or other printing plate
Moire: An objectionable interference pattern caused by superimposing one regular pattern over another such as with halftones and screen tints, Moires can be caused by misalignment, incorrect screen angles, slipping or slur.
Monarch stationery: Executive-style letterheads and envelopes; slightly smaller than commercial size.
Negative-Processed: Printing plates that are created with film negatives are called negative-processed printing plates. Negative-processing is also used to make proofs for clients before the printing plates are made.
Object: Text or a graphic treated as a single item. Word processing treats text as a set of characters; desktop publishing usually treats text as an object.
Offset: The most commonly used printing method, whereby the printed material does not receive the ink directly from the printing plate but from an intermediary cylinder called a blanket that receives  the ink from the plate and transfers it to the paper.
Offset Paper: Uncoated book paper.
Offset Printing: The term offset is often used interchangeably with lithography. In fact, lithography is the printing process based on the theory that oil and water don't mix and often uses the offset process for printing an image. Offset is the process whereby a printing plate first transfers its inked image areas onto a rubber blanket mounted on a cylinder in the printing press and then the rubber blanket transfers (or offsets) the inked image onto the paper as it passes through the press.
Orphan: The first line of a paragraph printed by itself at the bottom of a column or page.
Outline: An outline is created when the background or a specific area of a photograph or illustration is dropped away. Outlining is also referred to as "masking" or "silhouetting."
OUTPUT (when used in printing): Output is the end result of converting electronic art files into the prepress materials used for printing production. Imagesetters output film negatives or film positives which are used to make printing plates. Platesetters output the printing plates used on the press.
Over print: To print dots of one process color ink over dots of another process color ink to produce  over print colors or secondary colors, such as red, green and blue. To print type of one color cover a background color made up of either process colors or specific PMS colors or screen values of PMS colors. Printing over an area that already has been printed.