Microsoft KB Archive/138034

PUB: Definitions of Commercial Printing Terms

= PUB: Definitions of Commercial Printing Terms =

Q138034
- The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Publisher for Windows 95, version 3.0 -

SUMMARY

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This article contains definitions for many of the common terms found in commercial printing.

MORE INFORMATION

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Many of these terms apply to multicolored printing. When you have a color job printed commercially, each piece of paper is run through a printing press more than one time. Each time the paper goes through the press, a different color of ink is printed.

Printing Term        Definition -        --

Bleed                An object that prints off the edge of a page is a                       bleed.

CMYK                 This is an abbreviation for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and blacK. CMYK is a way of defining a certain color by the relative amounts of process inks required to                      make that color.

Color separations    If you break a single page of a color document into multiple pages or plates, you are color separating it. There is one plate for each color of ink you want to use. Each color plate contains only the parts of the page that are to be printed using a                      certain color ink. After each plate has been used to                      print on a single piece of paper, you have the color page.

Crop marks           Crop marks are L-shaped marks that make it easier to                       cut down or "crop" the final printed output. For example, if your page size is 5-by-7 inches and you print to an 8.5-by-11-inch page, the actual page area of your publication will be surrounded by crop marks.

Knockouts            Knockouts are "holes" left in one color plate to                       leave room for something on another color plate to                       print.

Overprinting         Overprinting is printing one color of ink on top of                       another color of ink. With Publisher for Windows 95, you can allow black overprinting--that is, you can allow objects printed with black ink to print on top of a region of another color of ink. If you don't                      allow black overprinting, there will be holes (or                       "knockouts") left in the spot color plates for the objects on the black plate to fit into. Select this option during Outside Print Setup under Spot Color options.

Allowing overprinting gives your print job a more solid and professional look (there is no chance of                      the paper color showing through around the edge of                       the black shape.) However, with certain ink and paper combinations, the colors can run together. Ask your printing service whether they would prefer overprinting before you send your job.

Pantone(R)           A common method of telling a printing service what color of ink you want used is to use Pantone colors. If you want to be sure your logo prints a certain shade of red, you look in your Pantone swatch book to find the color you want and call the printer with the specific color number. When the printer prints your job, he goes to the ink cabinet and chooses the ink that matches the Pantone number you specified. You can't print Pantone colors without using Pantone inks, although some software allows you to simulate Pantone colors on a home or office color printer.

You can use Pantone colors with Publisher for Windows 95. If you use Publisher's spot color feature, you can tell the printer which Pantone color to use for each spot color (you will have to get a Pantone                      color table or swatch book first).

Process color        If you create colors by using multiple color plates with industry standard Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, and Black ink, you are using process color.

Registration         Registering two or more color plates means that you are lining them up. Color comics in Sunday newspapers are notorious for having bad registration (that is, the colors don't line up very well).

Registration marks   Marks placed on color plates to help register them are called registration marks. They generally look like one or two concentric circles superimposed on a                      set of cross-hairs.

Shade                A shade is a color made by overprinting black and a                       color. A 10 percent shade is one part of the original color and nine parts black.

Signature            This is a bookbinding term that means multiple pages of a book printed on a single sheet of paper. After printing, the signature is folded and cut as                      necessary. Each signature can have 4 pages (2 on                      each side), 8 pages (4 on each side), 32 (16 on each                       side) or sometimes 64 (32 on each side). Publisher's                      book layout give you signatures of 4 (2 pages on                       each side).

Spot color           You are using spot color if you print colors by using multiple color plates with specifically designated inks. The color of the ink can be designated by a                      Pantone number or a similar color matching designation.

Tint                 A tint is a color printed at less than full intensity. A 10 percent tint is one part of the original color and nine parts white (or the paper                      color).

Trapping             Trapping means allowing two colors of ink to print on                       top of each other around the edges of a shape. If                      trapping is disabled, the knockouts left in one color plate will be exactly the same size as the objects on another color plate. If trapping is                      enabled, the knockouts left in one color plate will be slightly smaller than the objects on the other. This prevents the paper color from showing through around the edge of the object if the printer's                      registration is slightly off. Publisher currently does not support trapping.

Web                  A Web is a continuous roll of paper. If you print to                      a Web, your pages are printed on a continuous roll of paper instead of individual sheets. The pages are cut apart at the end of the printing job. Newspapers are printed using a Web process.

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