Jargon A-Z

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A-Z of commonly used printing terminology

Click on a letter  below to view details.

A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   S   T   U   V   W   

Feeder
Apparatus for feeding and positioning paper sheets in printing presses
and paper processing machines.
 
Film Assembly/Stripping
The process of assembling film negatives
(1) or positives
(2) in correct positions for the preparation of printing plates.
 
Flush Cover
The cover of a book cut to the same dimensions as the pages inside it.
 
Fly Fold   
A folding method producing four pages from a sheet.

Flyer   
A cheaply produced broadsheet or circular for promotional purposes.
 
Foil   
Plastic film with a gold, silver, or metalized colouring, used to block
designs, particularly onto packaging and book covers. Clear, stable film
used as a backing during film assembly.

Foil Stamping (Blocking)   
A means of adding either a metallic (gloss) or pigment (matt) finish to
certain areas of a page. Successful foil stamping is a combination of
the correct heat, pressure and dwell time. The mix will vary enormously
depending on run length - brass dies are generally accepted to give best
results on heavily grained uncoated stock.
 
Folding   
See accordion fold, french fold, parallel fold, and right angle fold.

Foldout
An extension to the leaf of a book, making it wider than the standard
page width.
 
Folio
Technically, the number of a leaf of a book when it is not numbered as
two separate pages. However, a folio number is generally said to mean a
page number.

Four Colour Process/Full Colour Process
The printing process that reproduces full colour images by using three
basic colours - cyan, magenta, and yellow plus black for added density.