Printing Glossary of Terms

Saddle stitch.To bind by stapling sheets together where they fold at the spine.

Scale. To identify the percent by which images should be enlarged or reduced.

Scaling wheel.Alternate term for Proportional scale.

Scanner.Electronic device used to make color separations and sometimes halftones and duotones.

Score.To compress paper along a line so it will fold more easily.

Screen.Piece of film with dots of uniform density, used to make plates that will print screen tints. See also Halftone screen.

Screen density.Amount of ink, expressed as percent of coverage, that a specific screen allows to print.

Screen printing.Method of printing by forcing ink through a mesh stencil.

Screen ruling.The number of rows or lines of dots per inch in a screen for tint or halftone.

Screen tint.Area of image printed with dots so ink coverage is less than 100% and simulates shading or a lighter color.

Scribe. To scratch lines into emulsion of a negative.

Scum. Undesirable thin film of ink covering non-image area of printed sheet,

Self-cover.Publication made entirely from the same paper so that cover is printed simultaneously with inside pages.

Self-mailer.Printed piece designed to be mailed without an envelope.

Separation. Alternate term for Color separation.

Setoff.Undesirable transfer of wet ink from the top of one sheet to the underside of another as they lie in the delivery stack of a press.

Sew. To use thread to fasten signatures together at the spine of a book.

Shadows. Darkest areas in a photograph or halftone.

Sharp.Characteristic of an image in clear focus.

Sheeter. Device to cut roll of paper into sheets.

Sheetfed press.Press that prints sheets of paper.

Shingling.Allowance made during pasteup or stripping to compensate for creep.

Short grain.Alternate term for Grain abort (paper).

Show through..Printing on one side of paper that can be seen on the other side.

Shrink wrap.Method of tightly wrapping packages or products in plastic film.

Side guides.Adjustable mechanism on register unit of a press that properly positions a sheet side to side

Side stitch.To bind by stapling through sheets along one edge.

Signature. Sheet of printed pages which, when folded, become part of a publication.

Sizing.Chemicals mixed with pulp that make paper less able to absorb moisture.

Skid.Alternate term for Pallet.

Slip sheet .Blank sheet placed between newly-made printed products to prevent setoff or scuffing during handling and shipping.

Slit. To cut paper using a disk or wheel.

Slow film. Film that requires a relatively large amount of light to record an image.

Slur. Undesirable phenomenon of halftone dots becoming slightly elongated during printing.

Small-format camera.Camera making negatives 35mm or smaller.

Smyth sewn.One pattern of sewn binding.

Soft bind.Alternate term for Perfect bind.

Soft cover.Bound without a case; usually perfect bound, but also sewn and bound with a paper cover.

Solid. Any area of the sheet that has received 100% ink coverage

Special effects.General term for reproduction of photographs using techniques such as line conversion and posterization.

Specialty advertising.Printed advertising on products such as mugs, matchbooks, jewelry, and pencils.

Specialty papers.Paper distributor term for carbonless, pressure-sensitive, synthetic, and other papers made for special applications.

Specialty printer.Printer specializing in making a particular product.

Specifications. Complete and precise descriptions of paper, ink, binding, quantity, and other features of a printing job.

Spec sheet. Short for sheet on which specifications are written.

Spine. Binding edge of a signature or publication.

Spiral bind. To bind using a spiral of wire or plastic looped through holes.

Spirit duplicating. Method of printing that uses a chemical fluid to dissolve a trace of carbon from the plate to make each impression.

Split fountain. Technique of printing more than one ink color at a time from a single printing unit.

Spoilage. Paper wasted during make ready, printing, or bindery operations.

Spot vamish. Varnish applied to portions of a sheet.

Stabilization paper. Paper for typesetting and PMTs that begins deteriorating a few weeks after use.

Stamping. Alternate term for Foil stamping.

Stat. General term for inexpensive photographic print of line copy or halftone.

Stat camera. Small process camera.

Stationery. Letterhead, envelopes, cards, and other printed materials for business correspondence.

Stencil. Piece of fabric or film carrying image for screen printing or mimeograph.

Stitch bind. To bind with wire staples

Stock. Paper or other substrate.

Stock photo. Photograph in a collection maintained for commercial purposes.

Stripper. Person who strips negatives.

Stripping. Assembling negatives in flats in preparation for making printing plates.

Substance weight. Alternate term for Basis weight used when referring to bond papers.

Substrate. Any surface on which printing is done.

Sub weight. Short for substance weight.

Supercalender. To calender paper extensively until very glossy.

Surprint. Alternate term for Overprint.

Swatch book. Book with small samples of paper or ink colors.

Synthetic paper. Plastic or other petroleum-based paper.