Printing is vital in sharing information, ideas, and creativity. To navigate the world of print effectively, it’s helpful to understand key terms used in the industry. This guide offers a clear overview of essential printing vocabulary, covering techniques, materials, tools, and historical references. Whether you’re a designer, student, or simply curious, these terms will help you better grasp the language of print.
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Definition: Printing terms
Printing terms are words and phrases commonly used in the printing industry to describe processes, materials, tools, layouts, and techniques. They help professionals communicate clearly and ensure accuracy throughout the design and production stages.
Your guide to print and production
- Information on printing processes & print production
- Information on materials & optimal use of materials
- Information on print finishing & print processing
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Overview of essential terms
The world of printing uses many specialized terms that can be confusing at first glance. To make things easier, we’ve grouped the most important ones into categories. This quick overview will help you get familiar with common vocabulary used in print production, design, and publishing.
Historical and cultural
Lorem ipsum
Placeholder text used in design layouts.
Papyrus
Early paper-like material used in ancient writing.
Johannes Gutenberg
Inventor of the first movable-type printing press.
Incunabulum
Books printed before the year 1501.
Facsimile
An exact copy or reproduction of a document.
Ex libris
A label indicating the owner of a book.
Imprimatur
Formal approval to print a work, often from an authority.
Print techniques and effect
Black and white
Printing using only black ink.
Blueprint
A detailed reproduction of technical drawings.
Grayscale
Image made of shades of gray, without color.
Monochrome
Printing in one single color or tone.
Blind embossing
Raised design without using ink or foil.
Die-cut
Custom-cut shape or pattern in printed material.
Airbrush
Smooth, sprayed-on color effect.
Dithering
Technique to simulate gradients with small dots.
Watermark
Faint image or text embedded in the paper.
Moiré pattern
Visual distortion caused by overlapping patterns.
Materials and components
Paper stock
The base paper used for printing.
Cover stock
Thicker paper used for covers.
Deckle edge
Rough, untrimmed edge of paper.
Ream
A standard pack of 500 sheets of paper.
Interleaves
Extra sheets placed between printed pages.
Printing hardware and prepress
Prepress
All steps before the actual printing begins.
Printing plate
Surface used to transfer ink to paper.
Printhead
Part of a printer that applies ink.
CDD (Charge-Coupled Device)
Sensor used in scanners.
Densitometer
Tool to measure ink density on prints.
Thread counter
Magnifying tool for checking fine print details.
Layout and design
Golden ratio
Ideal proportion, often used in design.
Scaling
Resizing an image or object up or down.
Contrast
Difference between light and dark areas.
Opacity
How see-through an element is.
Crop marks
Lines showing where to trim a print.
Landscape format
Horizontal page orientation.
Portrait format
Vertical page orientation.
Dog ear
Folded corner of a page.
Bookplate
Decorative label identifying the book owner.
ASCII
A basic text format made of characters and symbols.
Raster
Pixel-based image made of a grid.
Logotype
A text-based logo design.
ISBN
Unique identifier number for books.
Indicia
Postal info printed on bulk mail.
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FAQs
Printing terms are industry-specific words that describe materials, techniques, tools, and processes used in printing and design.
Grayscale uses different shades of gray, while monochrome means one single color (usually black or another solid tone).
“Lorem ipsum” is used as placeholder text to focus on layout and design without being distracted by actual content.
The main methods are: Offset, digital, flexography, gravure, screen, 3D, letterpress, and inkjet printing.
