Graphic Art, Design and Print like most industries generally contain wording and terminology, which is often unique or offers a different interpretation from those in common usage.
Below is a list of the terms you may encounter when dealing with promotional, marketing or advertising projects.
| Design | The process of creating drawings, lettering, images and general ornamentation. |
| Digital Printing | Printing of electronic images direct to a colour laser printer without the need for offset printing and its associated processes. |
| Die cutting | Process of creating special shapes in paper in the production of a project. |
| Digital Proof | A print of the artwork at various stages of completion on a colour laser printer (normally called a `Proof'). |
| Drop Shadow | A tone of colour or a line which falls on one side of an image or text to create a 3 dimensional effect |
| Dummy | A rough layout of a job to communicate initial ideas and other significant details. |
| Duotone | A halftone picture made up of two printed colours. |
| DVD-ROM | Optical Storage disc, Stores ~ 4.7 Gigabytes of information |
| Embossing | Raised image to achieve a raised printed surface. |
| Foil Stamping | Process, which lays down a foil applied with heat in lieu of a printed image. |
| FTP | Acronym for File Transfer Protocol- a method of transferring files between computers connected to the internet. |
| GIF | A low resolution bitmap file format (Graphical Interchange Format) |
| Gigabyte | One billion bytes of information (1000 megabytes) |
| Graduation | Gradual Transition from one tone to another. i.e. dark to light or one colour to another. |
| Grain | The paper making process imparts a grain direction in which most fibres within that paper stock lie. |
| Grammage | Weight of a standard area of paper, expressed in grams per square metre (gsm). |
| Grey Scale | A range of tones from white to black. |
| Hi-Bulk | A paper made thicker than its standard basis weight. |
| Imposition | Laying out of pages so that they will be incorrect order after the printed sheet is folded. |
| Italic Type | A version of type where the letters slope forward, to provide word emphasis or other distinguishing feature. |
| JPEG | A bitmap file format (Joint Photographic Experts Group). |
| Justify/Justification | The spacing of Words & Letters to vertically align the left and/or right of a column |
| Kerning | Involves closing up of the type body where the letter shape results in uneven spacing e.g. LT |
| Kilobyte | One thousand bytes of information. |
| Laid Finish | A paper containing lines or ribs created during the manufacturing process to enhance the visual appearance of the paper. |
| Laminate | To cover with a fine plastic film to enhance appearance and protect the printed job. |
| Landscape | Orientation of a page whereby the width is greater than the height. |
| Leaf | Two pages of a book, the front and back of a single page. |
| Linen Finish | A paper finished with an embossed texture resembling Linen Cloth. |
| Make Ready | Final machine preparation stage prior to printing. |
| Margins | Space surrounding the print area of a page. |
| Matt Coating/Finish | Paper finish with a dull finish, without any gloss. |
| Megabyte | One million bytes of information. |
| Mottle | Spotty or uneven appearance of printing |
| Negative | Image reversal where dark images turn light and light images turn dark in the same proportions. |