L

Lamination: A layer of clear plastic applied to a sheet of paper (or other material) for preservation, protection or other purposes. Also refers to the process of applying such a clear plastic layer.

Lap Glue: Lap glue is a generic term to describe hotmelt or cold glue which is applied in the perfect binding process inside the front and back cover, near the spine, to produce a hinge effect on the covers.

Layflat Binding: Perfect binding that has a spine that "floats" - not glued to the pages.

Loop stitching: Loop stitching allows a booklet to be saddle stitched and inserted into a loose-leaf binder without drilling.

Loose-leaf Binding: A means of mechanical binding in which pages are bound together by means of inserting the metal rings or poles of a three-hole binder into drilled or punched holes along the binding edge of the pages.

M

M: In printer lingo, "M" means "One Thousand". So if you want 5,000 finished copies, ask for 5M.

Mechanical Binding: Mechanical binding is a means of fastening sheets of paper together using metal or plastic attachments inserted through punched or drilled holes in the paper. Mechanical binding is the process of binding a book using methods such as cerlox, spiral wire, wire-o or plasticoil binding.

Miniature Folding: Miniature folding is commonly defined as any folding job with a panel size smaller than 2".

O

Offset printing: for high-volume reproduction -- utilizes three rotating drums: a plate cylinder, a blanket cylinder, and an impression cylinder. The printing plate is wrapped around the plate cylinder, inked and dampened. The plate image is transferred, or offset, onto the blanket cylinder. Paper passes between the blanket cylinder and the impression cylinder, and the image is transferred onto the paper.

Opacity: The degree to which you can see the printed image through the other side of the paper. Generally, the thicker the paper, the more opacity you have.

Overrun: This is when your printer prints more copies than you need. Say you asked for 1,000 brochures, and 1,153 get printed. You have an overrun of 153 brochures. The industry allowance is between 5% & 10% of the quantity ordered.

P

Padding: A finishing operation in which a flexible adhesive - called padding glue - is applied to one edge of a stack of sheets. When the adhesive is dry, sheets can be torn off individually. (also used to create notepads)

Padding Glue: A flexible adhesive used in padding.

Perfect Binding: A type of binding in which signatures are bound together with adhesive. This is used to eliminate the thread-sewing method of bookbinding.

Perforating: Any operation that punches tiny slits or holes in a sheet of paper or other substrate. Perforating is performed using perforating dies. Materials are perforated either to allow a portion to be easily removed (such as an order form or coupon), or to allow air to escape from folded signatures, which helps prevent wrinkling.

Pica: A pica is the basic measurement unit in typesetting. There are 6 picas in 1 inch.

Plastic Comb Binding: A means of mechanical binding in which the pages are bound together by means of a plastic comb. This comb consists of a plastic strip off which extend a series of curved plastic prongs, which are inserted into drilled or punched holes along the binding edge of the pages.

Pixel (picture element): the smallest unit that a device can address. Most often refers to display monitors, a pixel being the smallest spot of phosphor that can be lit up on the screen.

Position (tab): Sequential location of a special tab in a bank.

Proof: The proof is a copy of your job, which you then can make corrections on. Proofs can be sent to the client electronically, or as a hard-copy proof. Some hard-copy proofs will incurr additional charges.

PUR Glue: Polyurethane-reactive hot-melt glue which is more flexible than older types of glues and is used as layflat adhesive binding. PUR glue is considered to be the most flexible and durable bookbinding glues on the market. They yield products that lie flatter and require less backbone preparation than other glues.

PVA Glue: PVA glue is applied cold; once dried, the resins pentrate deep into the structure of the paper stock, forming a solid bond.

R

Ream: The basic unit for ordering paper. A ream is 500 sheets.

Resolution: the crispness of detail or fineness of grain in an image. Screen resolution is measured in dots by lines (for example, 640 x 350); printer resolution is measured in dpi (for example, 300 dpi).

RGB: Acronym for "Red, Green, Blue" -- the phosphors on a computer monitor or television screen which create the images you see.

S

Saddle Stitch: A method of securing loose printed pages with staples down the middle of a folded sheaf of papers. Many booklets are saddled-stitched. Side-stitching is a similar method where the pages are stapled about 1/4" from the spine.

Set: One each of every individual tab in a job or group.

Shrink Wrapping: Sealing and heat-shrinking in plastic film of individual or multiple tab sets or pieces.

Signatures: In printing, any single press sheet on which multiple page have been imposed which, when folded and cut, forms a group of pages. Most books and other publications are printed as group of signatures, the multiple imposition allowing a significant reduction in the number of independent pressruns required to print all pages.

Smythe Book Sewing: A form of thread sewing used to attach signatures together.

Spiral Wire Binding: A means of mechanical binding in which the pages are bound together by means of a wire or plastic coil threaded into drilled or punched holes along the binding edge of the pages.

Spot color separation: for offset printing, separation of solid premixed ink colors (for example, green, brown, light blue, etc.); used when the areas to be colored are not adjacent. Spot color separations can be indicated on the tissue cover of the mechanical, or made with overlays.

Spread: in a double-sided document, the combination of two facing pages, which are designed as a unit. Also, the adjacent inside panels of a brochure when opened.

T

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format): for digital gray-scale halftones, a device-independent graphics file format. TIFF files can be used on IBM/compatible or Macintosh computers, and may be output to PostScript printers.

Tip-On: To bind a foldout or other insert into a book by means of an adhesive.

V

Varnish: A coating applied over a printed piece that gives it surface protection against wear. It can also be used to highlight an area for special emphasis. Varnishes come in either glossy or dull finishes.

Vector graphic: Vector graphics are drawn in paths. This allows the designer to resize images freely without getting pixilated edges as is the case with bitmapped images. The vector format is generally used for in printing while the bitmap format is used for onscreen display.

W

Wafer Seal: The technical name for those little gummed labels that are attached to self-mailers to keep them shut during mailing.