Calendered:

A method of using rollers to compress paper during its making, to impact a finish or smoothness, it reduces the thickness and increases the density.

Caliper:

Caliper is a measure of paper thickness under specified conditions expressed in thousandths of an inch. The micrometer is used to measure caliper. See also gauge.

Camera-ready copy:

Print ready mechanical art.

Carbonless:

Paper coated with chemicals and dye which will produce copies without carbon paper. Also referred to as NCR -No Carbon Required.

Carload:

A truck load of paper weighing 40000 pounds.

Cartridge:

A tough opaque paper suitable for basic printing and drawing.

Case Bind:

A type of binding used in making hard cover books using glue. It is achieved by gluing signatures to a case made of binder's board covered with fabric, plastic or leather.

Cast Coated:

Art paper with exceptionally glossy coated finish usually on one-side only.

CBS2 80 GSM:

Refers to clearing bank standard two, the paper on which bank giros are printed on.

CBS1 96 GSM:

Refers to clearing bank standard one, the paper on which checks are printed

CD-ROM:

Stands for Compact Disk, Read Only Memory. To use one with your computer, you need a CD-ROM reader. A CD­ROM can hold up to 700 megabytes of information -the equivalent of about 700 regular floppy disks. In order to write information to a CD-ROM, you must have a CD writer. Once information is placed on a CD-ROM, it cannot be erased.

Chalking:

A powdering effect left on the surface of the paper after the ink has failed to dry satisfactorily due to a fault in printing.

Chip:

The most essential electronic component of a computer. A tiny piece of silicon (about the size of a baby's fingernail) with an electronic circuit embedded in it. The Mac's processor and memory (RAM and ROM) are chips that are normally mounted on boards or SIMMs.

Chrome:

A term for a transparency.

CIE:

Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage. An organisation that has established a number of widely used colour definitions.

Client Software:

Proprietary graphical user interface (GUI) communication utility to access your printer online. Available for both Macintosh and Windows computers.

CMYK:

Cyan, magenta, yellow and black are the process colours of toner or ink used in offset and digital printing. The colours overlap and appear to mix visually to reproduce a complete spectrum of colours. Black (K) is usually added to enhance colour and to print a true black. See also Process Colour.

Coated Paper:

Made with a surface coating, -often China clay and calcium carbonate combined with starch and latex binder ­which allows for maximum smoothness and ink holdout in the printing process. Coated papers are available in a range of finishes from dull to matte, and gloss.

Coefficient of Friction (C.O.F.):

The amount of slip exhibited when one surface is dragged against an adjacent surface. Static COF is the force required to begin the structure moving. Kinetic COF is the force required to maintain structure movement at the test pull speed.

Collate:

A finishing term referring to the assembling of a set of individual sheets or signatures in proper sequence for binding.

Colour:

Also known as tint but not to be confused with the tints used in colour printing. Colour is added to paper during the course of production or during the finishing stage for darker colours. Different manufacturers supply limited ranges of coloured papers and boards.

Colours:

Colours can be defined a variety of ways in desktop applications. To ensure correct colour output, it is important to select the colours in the job by the method that the job will be output.

Colour Bar:

A strip of colours printed at edge of press sheets used to evaluate ink density for quality control purposes.

Colour Bias:

Where there is too much of one colour in a transparency as a result of colour reflected light outside the image or colour distortion within it.

Colour Break-up:

To indicate on an overlay to the artwork showing the parts to be printed in different colours.

Colour Correction:

Methods of improving colour separations.

Colour Fastness:

The measurement of the permanence of a colour in its resistance to sunlight and various chemicals as may be expressed.

Colour Filter:

Filters used in making colour separations, being red, blue, and green.

Colour Gamut:

The range of colours available for printing or on screen viewing.

Colour Key:

Colour proofs in layers of acetate which show the approximate expected result of a four-colour printing, provided by the colour separator or printer. See also Cromalin.

Colour Management:

Colour management systems promise to alleviate some of the colour matching problems between scanner colour monitors, printers, scanners and digital output devices. The colour management system will ultimately be developed in the form of a standardised colour language used by the various output devices. Currently each RIP manufacturer addresses colour matching with its' own system.

Colour Mark Up:

The details of the colours to be used which are written on the overlay sheet for the printer to work from

Colour Matching System:

A system of formulated and numbered ink swatches used for communicating about colour, such as the Pantone Matching System (PMS). Read more...

Colour Negative:

The film used by a photographer to obtain colour prints

Colour Separation:

The process used to reproduce synthetic artwork, continuous tone artwork, and photographs whereby an original image is separated into four components: cyan, magenta, yellow and black. This may be done by scanning a colour original, by filtering an original or by manual separation. The term colour separation is also used in programs for electronic image processing (EIP).

Colour Settings:

These determine how the colours in a job will be output.

Colour Transparency:

A full-colour transparent positive image. Also called a chrome, or slide.

Comb Bind:

To bind by inserting teeth of flexible plastic comb into holes punched in a stack of pages.

Comb Binding:

A type of mechanical binding, using a piece of rigid vinyl plastic sheeting die-cut in the shape of a comb or rake and rolled to make a cylinder of any thickness.

Compatible Version:

The same version of a computer program, or one that is capable of reading a file while still maintaining all the elements of the file.

Composite Film:

Combining two or more images on one or more pieces of film.

Compression:

When a file is compressed, it is made smaller and takes up less space on a disk, as well being able to be transmitted more quickly over a network. A compression utility (software) is used to compress the file.

Compression Software:

Software that compresses computer files file, such as DiskDoubler, Stuffit, Compact Pro and WinZip.

Computer Stationery:

Forms being printed with data from computers on either tractor fed or laser printers.

Computer to Plate (CTP):

The latest technology from disc supplied by designer requires no film and is printed by producing a digital cromalin directly from the computer, once passed for press data is imaged directly to the printing plate.

Concertina Fold:

A method of folding in which each fold opens in the opposite direction to its neighbour, giving a concertina or pleated effect.

Configuration:

The process of matching the physical devices and the environment with the logical operation of the connected system.

Connectivity:

The ability to connect a computer to an external digital output device.

Continuous Stationary:

Forms produced from reels of paper and finished fan folded. These can be single or multi part forms

Continuous Tone:

An image in which the subject has continuous shades of colour or grey without being broken up by dots. Continuous tones cannot be reproduced in that form for printing but must be screened to translate the image into dots.

Continuous Tone Copy:

Illustrations, photographs or computer files that contain gradient tones from black to white or light to dark.

Continuous Tone Image:

An image that has a broad range of grays that blend evenly from one shade to the next, for example, a photograph, a painting, a coloured drawing. Also referred to as a contone. The same term designates the medium tonal values of an image as opposed to the lighter tonal values (quarter tones) or shadow areas (three-quarter tones).

Contrast:

The tonal change in colour from light to dark.

Controller/RIP Copier Controls:

An interface device that relays information and manages the communications between a computer and an output device. The most basic features of the RIP are the controls that replace the control panel of the colour copier. From the RIP, the number of pages in the document, number of images and media size can be selected. In addition some minor colour balancing and contrast adjustments can be achieved.

Conversion Software:

Software, such as MacLink Plus or Conversions Plus, that contain filters for converting files from one format to another. Conversion software works best when used in conjunction with a robust installed base of application software.

Convert:

To convert something means just what you think it does ­to change it from one form to another. This term is most often used when you are talking about converting information stored in one type of file format to another file format.

Copy:

In printing, all supplied material (type, pictures, artwork, etc) to be used in production of the printing, in advertising or design, or the text.

Courier:

A typeface commonly substituted for a missing font. It is generally built into or installed on most printers. Courier, the typeface you are now reading, looks like the print of a regular typewriter.

Cover Paper:

Also called card stock, these papers are heavyweight coated or uncoated paper with good folding characteristics. Their diverse uses include folders, booklet covers, brochures and pamphlets.

Cover Stock:

Papers used for covers of catalogues, brochures, booklets, postcards or similar pieces.

CPS -Characters Per Second:

A measure of matrix printer speed.

Crash Number:

Numerical numbering which transfers through parts of a bond and carbon or carbonless business form.

Crease:

To mechanically press a rule into heavy paper or board to enable folding without cracking. When folding it is often necessary to pre-crease. Best results are obtained when folds are made parallel to the grain. Always fold into the bead. Creasing on a litho machine or with the Rotary score method will not always give a satisfactory result.

Create-Distribute-Print:

Term coined by Xerox to define a model of creating documents, distributing them to various locations and then printing. This is a paradigm shift from the Create-Print-Distribute model that has been used in the past. CDP frees you from costly inventory and allows you to print what is needed, when needed, where it is needed.

Creep:

Phenomenon of the middle pages of a folded signature extending slightly beyond the outside pages. To adjust for the creep, pages can be shingled in stripping to slightly different page widths.

Crimping:

The most common method of holding together of multi­part continuous forms, usually with puncture marks.

CristalRaster:

A stochastic or frequency modulation screening technology available on some postscript RIPs.

Cromalin:

DuPont trade name for an integral a colour proofing material consisting of transparent layers laminated in one piece to a backing. Each layer represents the film for one colour. The result is a crisp, bright simulation of the printed product.

Cromalin (R) Proof:

Cromalin is the registered trade name of the DuPont system. See also dye transfer proof.

Crop:

To cut off parts of a picture or image.

Crop Marks:

Lines near the edges of an image showing portions to be eliminated.

Cropping:

The elimination of parts of a photograph or other original that are not required to be printed. Cropping allows the remaining parts of the image to be enlarged to fill the space.

Cross-Platform:

Refers to software (or anything else) that will work on more than one platform (type of computer).

Cross Gluing:

A line of glue that goes across the form.

Cross Perf:

A perforation that runs across the full width of the form.

Crossover:

Printing across the gutter or from one page to the facing page of a publication.

Curl:

An undesirable condition caused by uneven rates of absorption or evaporation of moisture, uneven rates of contraction or expansion, or internal stresses in the material. Curl is most prevalent in laminated structures where the components have differing physical properties.

Customer Service Representative:

The person who promptly and cheerfully answers or gets the answers to all your packaging questions, follows your order from beginning to shipment, and advises you when your order ships.

Customisation:

On digital output devices, the ability to customise individual pages with images or text in a single print run.

Cut Flush:

A style of finding where the cover is trimmed flush with the pages of the book.

Cut Marks:

Lines on artwork, negative, plate or press sheets showing where the page is trimmed after printing. See also: Crop Marks.

Cut Out:

1. A halftone where the background has been removed to produce a silhouette.

2. When an original is cut around an image to reproduce that part of it only.

Cut Set:

A multi part form that has been glued together and kept as a single document.

Cutting:

Trimming off waste material, usually at the finishing stage.

Cyan:

One of the three subtractive primary colours. In printing, one of four process inks. The blue colour.