Help & Info
JARGON BUSTER - The A to Z of Print Terminology
Making sense of baffling printing terms.
You know everything there is to know about your business. Yet, when it comes to dealing with print suppliers you're probably not clued up on the intricate details. Like every other industry, the Printing industry has its very own language and terminology.
To help keep things simple, we have created a Jargon Buster Guide where you can familiarize yourself with typical print terms and what they actually mean.
Die Cut
Cutting shapes or non-square or rectangular shapes out of paper using die
Digital Printing
Printing done from digital file
Distribution Rollers
The rubber coated rollers responsible for the distribution of ink from the fountain to the ink train in presses
Docutech
Xerox machine that is high end production copier and only does black/black using toner
Dog Ear
A dog Ear occurs when you fold into a fold (such as a letter fold). At the side of one of the folds an indentation forms. It may look like a small inverted triangle. This usually happens when folds are too tight.
Dot
The smallest individual element of a halftone which can be expressed in %
Dot Gain
A Dot Gain occurs due to ink absorption in paper causing halftone dots to enlarge or spread
Draw-down
Test of ink color before going to press. Solid stripes on paper to show what ink will look like
Drier
Describes additives to ink which hasten the drying process
Drill
The actual drilling of holes into paper for ring or comb binding which uses a bit that turns with sharp edges
Drop Shadow
A shadow image placed strategically behind an image to create the affect of a shadow from light
Ductor Roller
The roller between the inking and the dampening rollers
Dull Finish
Any matte finished paper that has very little reflection
Dummy
A representation of copy and art elements to be reproduced to duplicate the finished product and has no ink present, which is also called a comp
Duotone
A two-color halftone reproduction generated from a one-color photo with use of accent color
Duplex Paper
Paper which has a different color on each side
Dutch Cut
Odd number of cuts or pieces placed in different directions
Dutch Cutting
A process of cutting many sheets from the same parent sheet in which the smaller sheets have a different grain direction
