Glossary



A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

 

A

Author's Alteration:

 Correction
Acknowledgements:

 Part of the preliminary pages where thanks and special permissions are recognized
Advanced Copies:

Books sent by printer or publisher before publication date
Align:

 To line up type or graphics
Appendix:

 The part of book that follows a chapter (end-of-chapter appendix) or, more commonly, that comes after all the chapters (end-of-book appendix) and contains supplemental material, such as tables or source material, which does not conveniently fit into a chapter
Autobiography:

 A person's life story written by the author
Author Copies:

 Complimentary copies given to an author upon publication
Author Corrections:

At proofing stage

 

B

Bar Code:

 A series of lines readable by machines readable by machines that is printed on products, including books, usually indicating price
Binding:

 The process of joining portions of a book together with stitching, glue or other means
Bleed:

Layout that extends beyond the trim marks on a page; pictures "bleed" if they go to the edge of the page, which often is intentional
Blog:

 Diary-style personal web site
Blurb:

 A short description of a book/author on a book jacket
Bullet:

 A large dot preceding text
Burn:

 To make a permanent copy of a digital file on CD
Byline:

The name of a writer or photographer printed with a magazine or newspaper article

 

C

Camera Ready Copy:

 Artwork that is ready for reproduction
Case Bind:

 Also cloth bind or hard cover bind using glue to a board cover
CIP:

Catalog In Publication operated by the Library of Congress
CMYK:

The abbreviation for cyan, magenta, yellow and black, the four process colors used in printing on paper
Coated Paper:

 Printing papers surface coated for a smoother finish
Compose:

 To set copy into type
Copy:

 All text and photos, illustrations, graphics and tables used in the production of a printed product
Copyright:

 Protection to the originator of material to prevent use without permission
Corner Marks:

 Marks printed on a sheet to indicate the trim or register marks
Crop Marks:

 Printed lines showing where to trim a printed sheet
Cyan:

 Blue, one of four standard process colors

 

D

Double Page Spread:

Textual material on the left hand side continues across the spin to the right hand side
Domain Name:

 Registered Web address or URL of a particular party; often requires a small fee that prevents other parties from registering the same domain.
Download:

 Move file(s) from a server, from a network or from the Internet to a computer; move file(s) from a computer to a diskette, CD or memory stick
DPI:

 Dots Per square Inch, a measure of resolution for monitors, printers and scanners, typically 60, 300 and 1200 respectively
Drop Cap:

A large initial letter at the start of the text that drops into the line or lines of text below
Drop-Out:

 Part of artwork that does not print
Dummy:

 A mock-up of the layout

 

E

eBook:

 Electronic file format to which books may be published; may be read on other platforms such as PDAs and personal computers as well.

Encapsulated Postscript:

 A computer file with images and PostScript commands in EPS format
End Papers/Sheets:

 The four pages at the front and back of a book pasted to the cover boards

 

F

Flush Left:

 Copy aligned to left margin
Flush Right:

 Copy aligned to right margin
Flier:

An inexpensively produced circular for promotional distribution
Flyleaf Leaf:

 Side of the end paper not glued to the case at the front and back of a casebound or hardcover book
Folio (Page Number):

 Actual page number in a publication
Font:

 A set of characters in a typeface
Four Color Process:

Printing in full color using four colors - yellow, magenta, cyan and black

 

G

Galley Proof:

 Copy of text for checking before it finally is assembled for print run
Ghosting:

 Image appears too light because of too little ink or a faint printed image that appears where it was not
Ghost-Writing:

 Writing a book, often an "autobiography" for someone else
Gilding:

Gold leaf on the page edges
Gloss:

 A shiny look reflecting light, which is achieved with ink that dries without penetration
Glyph:

A symbol or stylized figure, such as an arrow, that imparts information nonverbally
Gray Scale:

 Range of luminance values from white to black
Grind Off:

 Approximately 3 mm of spine ground off before perfect binding
Gutter:

 In newsprint, central blank area between left and right pages; with books, the inside margins toward the binding edge

 

H

Hairline:

A very thin line or gap
Head (er):

 The margin at the top of a page
Helvetica:

 A sans serif typeface
Highlight:

 Lightest areas in a picture compared to midtones and shadows
House Style:

 Copy editing rules for spelling, punctuation, etc. used in a publishing house or publication

 

I

Icons:

 Pictorial images used on screen to indicate function in software
Image Area:

 Part of paper, which can be printed
Imposition:

 Positioning of pages so they will be in order when page is folded and cut
Impression:

 Putting an image on paper
Imprint:

 (noun) The name and place of the publisher and printer normally required by law; (verb) Add print on a previously printed sheet
Ink Jet:

 Printing by spraying droplets of ink; some desktop printers are ink jet
Intaglio:

 Printing method with two levels - gravure and engraving are examples of intaglio
ISBN:

International Standard Book Number is a13-digit number that identifies a book or similar object, its publisher and gives booksellers other identifying information.
Italic:

 Type with sloping letters

 

J

Justify:

 Alignment of text with both margins

 

K

Kerning:

 Adjustment of spacing between certain letter pairs
Knock Out:

To block an image from view with use of tools in a program such as Photoshop

 

L

Laminate:

A thin transparent plastic coating applied to paper providing protection or accent color
Landscape:

 Format in which width is greater than height; portrait is opposite
Laser Printer:

 High quality image printing using a laser beam to transfer dry powder to paper; some desktop printers are laser printers
Layout:

 A sketch of a page with instructions
Lead Or Leading:

Originally strips of lead inserted between lines of metal type added between lines of type to space them; now it can be done with through a computer program
Legend:

Caption below an illustration or directions about a how to position an illustration
Letterpress:

 Uses raised image to produce an impression by pressing paper against the inked surface
Literary Agent, Literary Agency:

 Person or organization representing authors and selling their work
Lithography:
Printing process where printing area will accept oil-based inks while rest is water coated
Lower Case:

 Small letters

 

M

Magenta:

 Process red, one of the 4 process colors
Manuscript:

 The original handwritten or typewritten work
Margins:

 Non-printing areas
Mock-Up:

 The rough visual for a design
Miore Pattern:

 Normally undesirable pattern when halftones are made with inappropriately aligned screens

 

N

News Print

 Low quality, absorbent paper used for newspapers
Non-Reproducing Blue:

A blue color that can be filtered from the camera and used to mark up artwork and in TV to superimpose images

 

O

OCR:

 Optical Character Recognition converts a scanned image into the digital codes that can be edited in a computer
Offprint:

A reprint of an article previously published in a magazine
Online Bookseller:

 Bookstore on the Web that sells books and other publications to the customer at retail or discounted prices
Opacity:

 Amount of show-through on a printed sheet
Opaque:

 To cover flaws in negative
Orphan:

 Part of a paragraph on its own at the top or bottom of a page
Over Run:

 Additional print run beyond order

 

P

Pay-per-Click Advertising:

 Arrangement between a Web site host and an advertiser in which the advertiser pays the host a set amount per click on that ad.
Papyrus:

 Writing material made from layers, beaten stem of the plant
Pantone:

 A registered name for an ink color matching system
Pagination:

 The numbering of pages in a book
Page Proof:

Stage following galley proofs where type and sometimes graphics are laid out as they will look on the finished page
Page Count:

 Total number of pages including blank pages
PDF:

Portable Document Format is a popular format for Adobe Acrobat reader for text and graphic material
Perfect Bind:

 Bind sheets and cover with glue, common for paperback books
Pica:

Unit of measure in typesetting; one pica is equal to 1/6 inch
Plate:

 Paper, plastic or metal carrying an image to printing press
Plant Costs:

 Initial costs incurred by a traditional printer in preparation for the first printing run of a given title
Point:

 A unit of thickness for paper, (1/1000 inch); for typesetting a unit of type height (1/72 inch or 1/12 pica)
Portrait:

 An upright image or page where the height is greater than the width and the opposite of "landscape" layout
Pre-Print:

The stage between an article or books acceptance and its publication
Postscript:

 A page description language developed by Adobe Systems
Primary Colors:

Cyan, magenta and yellow which mix to produce black or other colors
Process Blue:

 Blue or cyan color in process printing
Process Colors:

Cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black
Proof Correction Marks:

 A standard set of signs and symbols in the margin to indicate any corrections on proofs
Proof:

 A copy to check printing

 

R

Rag Paper:

Quality stationery made from cotton rags
Ragged Left:

 Type justified to the right margin with line lengths varying on the left
Ragged Right:

 Type justified to left margin
Ream:

500 sheets of paper
Reference Marks:

 Symbols in text linked to a footnote
Register Marks:

Cross hairs used to position film, plates or paper correctly
Register:

Correct positioning of an image
Resolution:

 Measurement used to express image quality; measured in dots per inch
Review Copy:

 Sent to the media and reviewers with the hope they will publish a review or promote the book
RGB:

 Red, green, blue – the three colors that are used when working on a photo for a project that will be used primarily for a light-based work, such as video
Run:

 Time taken to produce a given quantity of books and often taken to mean the quantity

 

S

Saddle Stitch:

Bind by stapling sheets together in the seam where it folds
Sans Serif:

 A typeface that has no small strokes at the end of main stroke of the character
Social Networking:

 Uses special sites to allow users to create a profile and form communities; examples are Facebook, MySpace, Delicious
Score:

 Crease paper along a straight line to fold accurately
Screen Printing:

 Method of forcing ink through mesh of fabric to print an image, like some T-shirts
Sell Sheet:

Concise, one-page document (resembling a flier or brochure more than a press release) that provides details about a book
Self Mailer:

 Printed item which can be mailed without envelope
Serif:

 A small cross stroke at the end of the main stroke of the letter
Shade:

Is made darker by the addition of black - not the same as tint
Shadows:

 Darkest areas of an image
Sheet Fed:

 A printing press, which prints single sheets of paper, not rolls
Side Stitch:

 Staple sheets along one edge
Small Caps:

 Capital letters of equal size type to the lower case letters
Spine:

 Back or binding edge of a book or publication
Spiral Bind:

 Continuous wire or plastic looped through holes punched along bound edge
Spot Color:

 Ink applied to just part of a sheet
Spread:

 Open page size of a book
STM:

 Scientific, technical and medical
STET:

Proof correction cancels a correction
Stock:

 Material, normally paper, to be printed
Subscript:

Small characters set below the normal letters
Superscript:

 Small characters set above the normal letters

 

T

Template:

 Standard layout with basic page and layout dimensions
Thumbnails:

 Sketches, or small versions, of an image
TIFF:

Tagged Image File Format, a type of photo or graphic format; some photos are saved in that format rather than as a jpg
Tints:

 Shade of a color
Tone:

 Color or shade printed onto page
Trim Marks:

 Register marks where to trim sheet
Trim Size:

 Finished size
Trim:

Cut product to the finished size
Typeface:

The raised surface carrying the image of a type character cast in metal. Also used to refer to a complete set of characters forming a family in a particular design or style
Typescript:

A typed manuscript but still a manuscript
Typo:

 Typographical error
Typography:

 Planning printed material

 

U

UC/LC:

 Upper/lower case
UV Coating:

 Laminate cured with ultraviolet light

 

V

Varnish:

 Clear liquid applied after printing for glossy appearance and protection
Vellum:

 Treated skin of a calf used as an ancient paper but generally used to describe a thick, rough book paper
Vignette:

 Design or illustration that fades to white so has no border

 

W

Watermark:

 Design created inside paper surface during manufacture
Web Press:

 Type of press that uses rolls of paper rather than pages
Widget:

 Piece of code that can be installed in another HTML site
Widow:

 A few words left on the last line of a paragraph, which falls on a new page
Wire Mesh:

 Used at the wet end of the paper making process
Wood-Free:

 Special paper made without wood pulp
Word Wrap:

 Adjustment of the words on a line to match the margins
WISIWYG:

 What-you-see-is-what-you-get