Make Ready — All the activites required to prepare a press for printing.

Matte Finish — A non-shiny coating on paper.

Offsetting — Using an intermediate surface to transfer ink to paper; the basis of offset printing.

Offset Paper — Uncoated book paper.

Overrun — Copies printed in excess of the specified quantity.

Perfect Bind — A glued binding in which the edges of the sheets are glued to the cover. Paperback books and a number of magazines are bound in this way.

Pica — A unit of measure equal to 1/6 of an inch; used in typesetting.

PMS Colour — Acronym for "Pantone™ Matching System" colour.

Point — In typesetting, a point is a unit of measure equaling 1/72 of an inch. There are 12 points to a pica. A point is also a unit of measurement indicating a paper's thickness. One point is equal to 1/1000 of an inch.

Process Blue — The blue or cyan colour used in process colour printing.

Process Colours — The four process colours are cyan (blue), magenta (process red), yellow and black.

Ragged Left — Type that is justified / lined up on the right side / margin, with the lengths of the lines varying on the left side.

Ragged Right — Type that is justified / lined up on the left side / margin, with the lengths of the lines varying on the right side.

Register — To position type, graphics and images in the proper position on a page in relation to other printing on the same sheet.

Register Marks — Guides used by printing staff (strippers, platemakers, press personnel and bindery personnel) in processing a print job. The register marks consist of cross-hair lines on film, plates and paper.

Saddle Stitch — A binding method in which sheets are stapled together in the seam where the sheets are folded.

Score — A crease put into a sheet of paper to aid in folding.

Self-cover — Using the same paper for the cover of a printing item as is used for the inside pages of the item. For example, a book that is 24 pages self-cover consists of a cover (4 pages) and 20 inside pages, all printed on the same type of paper.

Side Stitch — A binding method in which sheets of paper are stapled along on side of the sheets.

Signature — A sheet of printed pages which, when folded and trimmed, become part of a book or other printed document.

Spot Varnish — Application of varnish to specific parts of a printed sheet in order to highlight those specific parts. The varnish typically produces a shinier surface to those spots to which it is applied, creating a contrast between it and the other parts of the page.

Stamping — See foil stamping.

Stock — Material to be printed.

Trapping — A technique which compensates for variation in registration during a press run by allowing an overlap between colours which touch each other.

Trim Marks — Marks on a printed sheet which indicate where to cut / trim the printed sheet.

Trim Size — The final size of a printed sheet after all trimming has been completed.

UV Coating — A liquid laminate bonded to a sheet and cured with UV light.

Varnish — A clear liquid applied to printed sheets, often as a design element or to protect the page (ie. helps prevent ink from smudging).

Web Press — A printing press that prints on rolls of paper passed through the press in one continuous piece, as opposed to individual sheets of paper.

Wire-O Binding — A wire binding technique for books which uses double wire loops. The advantage of this type of binding is that, when opened, the book lies flat.

Work and Tumble — Printing one side of a sheet and turning it over from the gripper end to the tail end to print the reverse side using the same plate for the reverse side.

Work and Turn — Printing one side of a sheet and turning it over from left to right to print the reverse side using the same plate for the reverse side.