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Print Technology Warehouse - Printing glossary Category: Agriculture and Industry > Printing Date & country: 15/12/2007, UK Words: 1575

Laser printer
A high quality image printing system using a laser beam to produce an image on a photosensitive drum. The image is transferred on to paper by a conventional xerographic printing process. Laser printers range between 300dpi to 600dpi and with interpolation to 1,200dpi. It works by heating up toner to the pattern of the document in the printer's memo…

Laser scanner
An optical bar code reading device that uses a low energy laser light beam to illuminate the code.

Last colour down
Last colour to be printed on the press.

Lateral reversal
A positive or negative image transposed from left to right as in a mirror reflection of the original.

Latex
An emulsion of rubber or resin particles dispersed in an aqueous medium. A natural or synthetic elastomeric dispersion in an aqueous system.

Latex paper
Paper manufactured by two major processes; one of which is where latex is incorporated with the fibers in the beater prior to formation of the sheet, and the second of which is where a preformed web of absorbent fiber is saturated with properly compounded latex. The papers are characterized by strength, folding endurance, resistance to penetration …

Lay flat
A label material with good non-curling characteristics making it suitable for automatic over wrapping, insertion or any other form of further processing requiring a flat sheet (stay flat).

Laydown
The imposition supplied by a printer with all the information for outputting films, with such information as grips and margins.

Laydown sequence
Order in which colours are printed.

Layout
A sketch of a page for printing showing the position of text and illustrations and giving general instructions.

Lead or Leading
(pronounced 'led') space added between lines of type to space out text and provide visual separation of the lines. Leading is as important as type size in determining the overall appearance and readability of a text element or column of type. Measured in points or fractions thereof - from the strips of lead that used to be inserted between lines of…

Leaders
Row of typographic dots or dashes.

Leading
The space, measured in points, between consecutive lines of type. (Original name derived from the strips of lead placed between lines of hot type in the early 1900's.)

Legend
The descriptive matter printed below an illustration, mistakenly referred to as a caption. Also an explanation of signs or symbols used in timetables or maps.

Legend Plate
A small tag, often times engraved, that is affixed to a machine or other object that contains instructions, warnings or mechanical data.

Legging
The stringing out of a P.S. adhesive. This can occur when the label is being removed from a substrate or release liner or when the matrix is being removed during die cutting and stripping.

Legibility
Cumulative effect of printed matter on the human eye.

Letraset
A proprietary name for rub-down or dry transfer lettering used in preparing artwork.

Letter spacing
The addition of space between the letters of words to increase the line-length to a required width or to improve the appearance of a line.

Letterflex
Photopolymer plate used in flexography and letterpress.

Letterpress
A relief printing method. Printing is done using cast metal type or plates on which the image or printing area are raised above the nonprinting areas. Ink rollers touch only the top surface of the raised areas; the nonprinting areas are lower and do not receive ink. The inked image is transferred directly to the page, resulting in type of images th…

Letterset
A printing process combining offset printing with a letterpress relief printing plate.

Library picture
A picture taken from an existing library and not specially commissioned.

Lift tab
Ungummed edge of a label designed to make removal from the release liner easier. Sometimes used with order picking labels.

Lifting
Refers to the condition when a tape, on its own accord comes away from the surface to which it was applied.

Ligature
Letters that are joined together as a single unit of type such as oe and fi.

Light table
A box with a glass top and a light inside making it very useful for paste-ups, as the light allows you to see through the paper, improving alignment.

Lightface
Type having finer strokes than the medium typeface. Not used as frequently as medium.

Lightfastness
How much light exposure paper or film can withstand without losing original characteristics.

Lignin
The natural, glue-like substance that holds together the cellulose fibers of wood plants. Lignin that is left in pulp causes paper to age and yellow over time.

Like-sided
Paper that has the same appearance and characteristics on both sides (the opposite of two-sided).

Line block
A letterpress printing plate made up of solid areas and lines and without tones.

Line break
Command that allows you to break headlines at logical pauses without adding paragraph spacing. Line breaks also help you to avoid an extremely long line followed by a very short line.

Line conversion
Photographic elimination of middle tones from continuous-tone art or photographs to reproduce them as line art.

Line gauge
Or type gauge, a metal rule used by printers - divided into Picas it is 72 picas long (11.952in).

Line hole punching
See feed slots.

Line negative
Film negative of line copy. Image areas are clear, blank, areas are opaque.

Linen Finish
A paper finish that is similar to the texture of linen fabric, such as Champion Carnival Linen. Linen finishes are embossed after the paper comes off the paper machine.

Linen tester
A magnifying glass (or loupe) designed for checking the dot image of a halftone.

Liner
See backing.

Liner Side
In roll form it is referred to that side of the roll protected by a release liner.

Lines Per Inch (LPI)
The number of lines in an inch, as found on the screens that create halftones and four-colour process images (for example, 'printed 175-line screen'). The more lines per inch, the more detailed the printed image will be. With the demand for computer-generated imagery, the term 'dots per inch' (which refers to the resolution of the output), is repla…

Lineup table
A table with an illuminated top used for preparing and checking alignment of page layouts and paste-ups.

Lining figures
Numerals that align on the baseline and at the top.

Links
The navigational tools allowing a Web site visitor to move from place to place within a Web site - moving from page to page or from location to location. They also permit Web sites to be linked together, so that visitors to one Web site can easily visit a Web site devoted to a similar topic or area of interest.

Linotype
Typesetting process that casts complete lines of hot type, known as slugs.

Linting
Printing problem caused when fibers from uncoated paper are pulled onto the blankets, plates or rollers.

Literal
A typesetting error involving one letter.

Litho
Short for lithography or offset lithography.

Lithographic paper
A paper coated on at least one side, suitably prepared for lithographic printing.

Lithography
A printing process in which an inked image is transferred from a plate onto a blanket cylinder and then onto paper. It is based on the principle of the natural aversion of water to grease. The image to be lithographed is created on the plate with greasy material that repels water. Water is run over the plate, and the non-image areas absorb it. When…

Live area
Aka the Image area.

Logo
Short for logotype. A word or combination of letters set as a single unit. Also used to denote a specially styled company name designed as part of a corporate image. From logos, Greek for word.

Loose-leaf
A method of binding which allows the insertion and removal of pages for continuous updating.

Loupe
From the German word for magnifying glass, a lens used by photographers, printers, and designers to examine details in printed materials.

Lower case
The small letters in a font of type.

Lustre
Gloss of a finish.

Machine Coated Paper
Machine Coated paper that is coated on the papermaking machine.

Machine Direction
The direction of any material parallel to its forward movement on the press.

Machine Finish
A paper texture of finish imparted onto the paper white it's still on the papermaking machine.

Machine glazed (MG)
Paper with a high gloss finish on one side only.

Machine proof
Pre-press proof.

MacOS
Disk Operating System (DOS in Windows environment, MacOS in Apple Macintosh environment and Linux et al): Software for computer systems with disk drives that supervises and controls the running of programs. The operating system is 'booted' into the computer from disk by a small program that permanently resides in the memory.

Macro
A series of instructions that would normally be issued one at a time on the keyboard to control a program. A macro facility allows them to be stored and issued automatically by a single keystroke.

Macromedia
A major publisher of DTP software with such programs as Freehand and Dreamweaver.

Magenta
One of the four primary colours for printing. One of the subtractive primaries the hue of which is used for one of the four colour process inks. It reflects blue and red light and absorbs light.

Magnetic Cylinder
A cylinder used in die-cutting that is magnetized to accept and hold in place flexible steel dies. Also used for metal-backed printing plates.

Magnetic Die
A thin, flexible, steel cutting plate that is held on to a base cylinder magnetically. Quite common in EDP label production where identical repeats are frequently used.

Magnetic ink
Magnetized ink that can be read both by humans and by electronic machines. Used in cheque printing.

Make-ready
Steps - or the time - necessary in preparing the press, folder or bindery equipment for a job.

Make-up
The assembling of all elements, to form the printed image.

Makeup
Assembling type and other elements in a page to produce the final arrangement for reproduction.

Making Order
A quantity of paper manufactured to custom specifications, such as a special weight, colour, or size not available as a standard stocking item. Special order requirements are necessary, and should be discussed with a local paper consultant. Also know as manufacturing order.

Mandrel
A shaft upon which cylinders, or other devices, are mounted or affixed. Also unwind or rewind shaft on to which rolls of materials (or labels) are mounted.

Manilla
A tough brown paper used to produce stationery and wrapping paper.

Manuscript (MS)
The original written or typewritten work of an author submitted for publication.

Margin
Space between the live area, or space occupied by text columns or visuals, and the physical edge of a page. Margins provide white space: The non printing areas of page and provide a pleasing contrast with the text columns.

Marginal punching
See feed slots; pin feed.

Mark up
Copy prepared for a compositor setting out in detail all the typesetting instructions.

Mask
Tracing an object, or portion of a photograph, with an image manipulation program prior to applying a different creative effect to it, like a blur, different coloured ink, or texture. Material used to shield artwork or film from additional retouching or exposure to light.

Mass
Sometimes used as another name for the adhesive.

Master plate
Plate containing the image for offset printing.

Master roll
A full width roll that has finished the primary manufacturing process and is usually untrimmed and unslit.

Masthead
Collection of information about a newspaper magazine or newsletter (editorial staff, publisher, business location and the like) usually placed on the first page.

Match Colour
A custom-blended ink that matches a specified colour exactly. Match colours are used to print line copy and halftones in one, two, three, or occasionally more colours. The specified colours are chosen from colour systems. The most widely used systems are the PATONE MATCHING SYSTEM, Colorcurve, and Toyo.

Matchprint
Brand name for a dry colour pre-press proofing system by 3M.

Material
Usually refers to unconverted stock, pressure-sensitive or not.

Material splice
An area where tape has been used to attach two rolls of material together to form one continuous web.

Matrix (waster skeleton)
The face and adhesive layers of a sensitive construction surrounding a die-cut label that have been removed after die cutting.

Matte Coated
A non-glossy coating on paper generally used to refer to papers having little or no gloss. A matte coated sheet is often specified when there is a lot of type, since it makes for easier reading.

Matte Finish
A dull finish. A de-glossed surface. A UV-curable clear coat may also be used to produce a matte or textured finish.

Measure
Width of a column of text. Usually, it is best that a column is no more than 12 or 13 words wide, otherwise the eye can have difficulty tracking back to find the start of the next line. Expressed in pica ems.

Mechanical
Assembly of all camera-ready line copy used to make a printing plate, including size and position of halftone reproductions and instructions to the cameraman and printer. Virtually obsolete now.

Mechanical binding
A method of binding that secures pre-trimmed leaves by the insertion of wire or plastic spirals through holes drilled in the binding edge.

Mechanical Pulping
Separating wood fibers for pulp by grinding wood chips mechanically, rather than by using a chemical process.

Mechanical tint
A pre-printed sheet of dots, lines or patterns that can be laid down on artwork for reproduction.

Memory (1)
The property of a material that attempts to return to its original dimensions after being distorted.

Memory (2)
The part of the computer that stores information for immediate access. Nowadays this consists exclusively of RAM, random access memory, which holds the applications software and data or ROM, read only memory, which holds permanent information.

Menu-driven
Programs that allow the user to request functions by choosing from a list of options.

Merchant
A distributor of papers, often representing several different paper mills or manufacturers.