Part 2 of our guide to decoding the mumbo-jumbo:

Offset Litho(graphy) print
The most common printing process we use, the inked image to be printed is transferred or offset first to a roller layer before coming into contact with the paper which takes up the inked areas .

Pantone matching system
A standardised system for colour referencing and matching used by designers and printers from a common set of colour swatches index by unique number.

PDF (Portable Document Format)
A pdf is a common file type used for both proofing and print ready artwork that combines all elements of a design, images, drawings, layouts and text into one file for easy delivery to the client/printer. PDF’s also have the added advantage of being able to take client mark-up amends.

Perfect binding
Perfect binding is strong, precise and neat binding method where all pages are trimmed to a single sheet size. They are clamped together and a cover is wrapped around the spine. The pages are attached to the cover using a glue adhesive.

Personalisation
Where data can be merged from a spreadsheet to create print tailored for the individual recipient, elements are unique to an individual print piece. Usually facilitated by the digital printing process.

Print ready artwork
The finished design of typesetting, illustrations and photography, composed in a form which is ready for the printer to print.

Process Colours
Another name for the colours that make up full colour printing, Cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

Saddle-stitch
A common cost effective method of binding using metal staples.

Self-cover
Refers to document using the same paper weight throughout the document.

Sign Off
Once a client has approved a project proof for print by way of signature on the proof or an approval form, this is called signed off, which is the stage the final artwork is passed from us to the printer.

Special Colour
A colour which cannot be accurately made from mixing the four CMYK component colours. Often used to accurately recreate corporate colours in a brochure with photographs and text – this is termed a five colour job.

Stochastic screening
Stochastic is an attempt to improve printed image clarity and ‘sharpness’. Coming from the Greek ‘to guess’, stochastic screening renders an image from much smaller dots than would be found in conventional screening. Consequently, there are no rosettes, but stochastic methods are capable of producing a high quality images at relatively low resolutions.

Tint
A percentage shade of a solid colour eg. a 50% tint.

Trapping
The process of slightly overlapping adjacent colours to eliminate the possibility of white lines that could appear between them during printing.

Typesetting
The assembly of text and images on a page traditionally from a hard copy mock-up but now using digital means.

Typo
A spelling or grammar error in the copy of a document. Short for typographical error.

Varnishes
Varnishes are often applied to printed materials to protect from smudging or to enhance appearance. There are five common types – machine, gloss, matt, silk and uv. Varnishes are commonly used on matt or silk coated paper as these are more prone to smudging than gloss coated paper. Varnishes can be applied to a small specific area of a page known as a Spot varnish or to the whole document as an overall varnish.

Web Fed Press
Used for cost effective print on large quantities these presses are fed by paper from a reel, they are normally used for lower quality work such as the small sales leaflets often inserted into many magazines.