A
Accordion Fold – Paper having two or more parallel folds which opens up like an accordion.

Aqueous Coating – A glossy water based coating typical in commercial printing.

B
Bindery – In a print shop, it is the department that handles trimming and binding.

Binding – To secure multiple sheets as in a booklet, catalog, publication...Part of the binding process also includes: stitching, trimming, punching, etc.

Bleed – The area of an artwork that extends beyond the cut lines or trim area. Typical bleed is between 1/8” – 1/4”. AiyoPrint.com requires 3/16” on all artwork with full bleed.

Bond Paper – A typical letterhead paper. Many bond papers contain cotton fiber.

Brightness – This is a unit of how white or brilliant a paper reflects.

Burn – The process of platemaking by exposing high-intensity light.

C
C1S - COATING 1 Side

C2S - COATING 2 Sides

CMYK – Acronym for Cyan (blue), Magenta (red), Yellow and Black. A color mode used with offset printing.

COATED PAPER – Paper that has been treated with a finish like gloss, matte, or dull.

Coating – A process in which a material has been applied with a protective or decorative layer like varnish or lacquer to enhance the look or to increase the durability of the material.

Collate - A postpress service. To arrange printed material with multiple sheets in a systematic order. Usually numerically to produce a single product like a book.

Colors – This refers to full color process (CMYK), 1 color, or nothing to be printed.
4/4 = full color printing both sides
4/1 = full color side 1 and 1 color on side 2 (typically black)
4/0 = full color on side 1 and no printing on side 2

Commercial Printer – A printing company that handles large volume printing. AiyoPrint.com is a high-quality commercial printer that can handle sizable orders and quantities as low as 500-1000 units.

Contrast - The change in tone between light and dark.

Cover Stock – A heavy weight paper stock that is typically used for covers and brochures.

Crack-N-Peel – Stickers with a slit cut on the back paper for easy peeling.

Cropping – To cut the unwanted area of an image or artwork.

Crop Marks – These are the trim marks that dictate where to cut.

CTP – Computer-to-Plate. At AiyoPrint.com, we use Agfa Xcalibur 45XT CTP technology to eliminate the need for film which saves time and significantly reduces material costs.

Cut Lines – These are the trim marks; Cut Lines dictate the finish size.

D
Die Cutting – To cut sheet(s) of material using sharp steel rules.

Dot – These are small ink spots that make up a printed image. Dots can be seen with loupe (magnifying glass).

Dot Gain – The amount of ink absorbed by the paper. The higher the dot gain, the more saturated, less clarity, and darker the print becomes.

DPI – Dots per square inch. Higher DPI = higher image quality. When submitting artwork to Aiyoprint.com, make sure all images were created at 300-350 DPI.

Drilling – To piece a stack of paper with a round hole.

Dull – A finish that is near matte, but not quite.

F
Finish Size - The final size of the printed product after it has been folded.

Flat Size – The size of a printed product after press, but before folding.

Flood – To paint an entire sheet of paper with ink or varnish.

Foil Embossing – A combined process process where metallic pigment and an impression is created from a metal die.

Foil Stamping – A process where metallic pigment is pressed against a sheet using a metal die.

Folder - A machine that folds printed material.

Fonts – These are letter styles. A.K.A. typeface.

Four Color Process – Printing that uses CMYK color mode.

French Fold - Two folds that are right angles to each other.

FTP – File Transfer Protocol. A method of transferring digital files from one computer to another via internet.

G
Gang Run – A method of printing multiple jobs on the same printing plate. This is a very common practice among the printing industry as it is an extremely cost-effective alternative to individual printing. Gang Run printing typically has an acceptable 90% color accuracy. While this is the norm in the printing industry, AiyoPrint.com works very hard to ensure better color accuracy.

GIF – This is a bitmap/graphic format that has limiting color range. GIF’s are very small in file size. Typically used for web graphics. Not suitable for printing.

Grain Direction –It is the direction of the paper fiber.

GSM – Grams per square meter – a standard unit to determine paper weight used by most countries in the world, but not in the U.S.

I
Image Area – The printable area of a press sheet.

Indicia – This is the pre-printed and pre-paid postal markings on an envelope, postcards, etc.

L
Laid Finish – Paper with handmade like parallel texture.

Laminate – A transparent plastic layer that adheres to both sides of a paper for protection.

Live Area – This is the safe zone where copy and images should stay within the Cut Lines if it is not intended to be full bleed. AiyoPrint.com recommends that all Live Areas have a 3/16” margin from the Cut Lines.

M
Master Pack – A shipping box that contains smaller boxes of products.

MetalFX – A printing technology that creates virtually unlimited range of metallic colors. AiyoPrint.com has the capability to print with MetalFX.

MB – Megabyte is a unit that represents a digital file size.
1 MB = 1000 KB (Kilobytes), 1000 MB = 1 GB (Gigabyte).

MIL – A unit for thickness. 1 mil. = .001”.

MOQ – Minimum order quantity.

P
PAGE - One side of a sheet. Example: One(1) 8.5”x11” sheet has two(2) pages.

PDF –Acronym for Portable Document Format. Because of it’s versatility, this format has become the standard in digital file sharing & distribution for documents, forms, and e-publishing, print, etc.

Plate – An aluminum plate used to transfer inked images from the aluminum sheet to the press sheet.

Plus Cover – A multi-sheet printed product that uses the same paper for the cover as inside pages (self cover on the other hand, uses different paper for the cover as the inside pages).

PMS - Pantone Matching System. This is the most widely used color matching system.

Point – In font or typeface term, 1 point is a unit of 1/72”. In paper thickness,
1 point = .0001”.

Postscript – A printing technology that communicates with the computer to output high-quality digital images.

Prepress – Includes all processes in preparation for printing.

Press Proof – This is the most accurate type of proofing. Press Proof requires platemaking and uses the actual paper printed from the actual press as a method of ensuring accurate colors and quality. AiyoPrint.com offers press proofing for large orders only, because of the high-cost associated with setting up. This is not recommended for smaller orders.

Proof – A prepress method of previewing the artwork being printed for color accuracy and image quality. There are many different types of proofs. AiyoPrint.com offers PDF proof, Digital Star Proof, and Press Proof.

Prototyping – A development intended to represent the actual product. A working prototype is one that functions like the intended actual product. AiyoPrint.com offers prototyping for packaging and printed consumer products.

R
Registration – The process of positioning the overprints so images will align perfectly.

Registration Marks – Crosshairs created to indicate exact alignment.

Resolution – These are the dots per square inch (DPI) or dots per square cm (DPC). The higher the resolution, the more detail an image will have. Screen resolution is 72 DPI. The minimum DPI for offset commercial printing is 300 DPI. Aiyoprint.com requests 350 DPI images for best output.

RGB – Acronym for Red, Green, Blue. A color mode that is typically used for desktop printing or digital output. Not intended for offset commercial printing.

RFQ – Request for quote.

S
Saddle Stitch – Professional stapling usually used to staple half-fold booklets, usually 32 pages or less.

Satin – a smooth, matte-like finish.

Scale – Image size.

Score – To crease a thin sheet of material in preparation for folding.

Self Cover – A multi-sheet printed product that uses the same paper for the cover as inside pages (plus cover on the other hand, uses different paper for the cover as the inside pages).

Sheet – A thin piece of cut material with a specified size. Example: One(1) 8.5”x11” sheet of paper has two(2) sides or two(2) pages.

Sheetfed Press – Press that prints on pre-cut sheets.

Spot Color – A specific color that has been accurately premixed to be printed in specific areas.

Spot Varnish – A glossy, clear coating that is applied to specific areas to add protection or style to the printed material. The spot varnish is slightly raised and is typically applied over a matte substrate.

Spread – Two facing pages in a publication.

Stamping – See foil stamping.

T
Text Paper – A.K.A Book Paper. This is a category/grade of paper. Text paper is typically used for brochures, flyers, catalogs, posters, etc.

Trim Marks – These marks tell the print shop where to cut.

Trim Size - The finish size or the final cut size of a printed product.

U
Up – This is when the same artwork is printed more than once on the same press sheet.
An Artwork being printed 3 times on the same press sheet is called 3 up.

UV Coating – A high gloss solvent based coating that adds durability to the paper. Used to protect the print from scratching, and adds visual enhancement to the printed material.

V
Varnish – A glossy clear coat that is applied to a material for protection or visual enhancement.

Vellum Finish – A fine sand-like texture.

W
Watermark – A faint design mark on a sheet of paper either by pressing or print.

Web Paper - A roll of press paper.

Web Press – Offset press that prints on continuous rolls of paper.

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