Layout & Pre-press
German – English Terms
From A to Z. English technical term small above the German one.
All technical terms of the course from A to Z. Above each term is the English technical term, as it appears in programmes and when communicating with print shops.
A
BLEED
Bleed
Part of an image or area that extends beyond the final trim size into the bleed.
OUTPUT PREVIEW
Output preview
Acrobat Pro tool that displays colour separations, overprinting and ink coverage of a PDF.
B
BLEED
Bleed
Allowance beyond the finished format, usually 3 mm, to prevent any white edges showing after trimming.
DUMMY
Mock-up
Blank sample on the actual paper to check the format, spine, and feel.
GUTTER
Bund
Inside margin towards the binding.
C
CMYK
CMYK
Colour model for four-colour printing consisting of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (Key).
Thu
DOCUMENT SIZE
Data format
Finished size plus bleed on all sides, e.g. 154 × 216 mm for A5.
Effective resolution
Resolution of an image at its placed size; enlarging to 200% halves it.
E
TRIM SIZE
Final format
Finished size of a printed product after trimming.
F
FOLD
Fold
The edge along which a sheet is folded. Roll folds, concertina folds, and French folds are common types.
COLOUR PROFILE
Colour profile
Description of how colours appear on a specific paper using a specific process.
G
BASELINE GRID
Baseline grid
A grid of horizontal lines on which all lines of text sit.
PRINT APPROVAL
Ready for print
Binding approval of print data by the client.
K
PERFECT BINDING
Perfect binding
Binding in which the pages are glued to a cover at the spine.
M
MASTER PAGE
Master page
Template for recurring elements such as grids, page numbers, and running headers.
Passer
The accuracy with which the colour separations are printed on top of one another; discrepancies are called misregistration.
P
PDF/X
PDF/X
Standardised PDF variant for printing, nowadays usually PDF/X-4.
PIXELS PER INCH
ppi
Pixels per inch. Together with the final size, it determines how sharp an image will be printed.
PREFLIGHT
Pre-flight
Automatic check of print files for errors such as missing fonts or RGB images.
PROOF
Proof
Colour-accurate proof or certified PDF prior to the print run.
R
RGB
RGB
Colour model for screens consisting of red, green, and blue.
SCORING
Rilling
Pre-creased line to prevent thick paper from cracking when folded.
SADDLE STITCH
Saddle stitching
Stapled binding in the fold. For thin booklets, page count must be divisible by four.
S
SAFE ZONE
Safe Zone
Area on social media formats that is not obscured by controls.
TYPE AREA
Type area
Area of a page containing text and images.
Orphan and widow
An isolated line of a paragraph at the bottom of a page (orphan) or the top of a page (widow); regarded as a typesetting error.
SAFETY MARGIN
safety distance
Inner margin to the edge where no important content is placed.
SPOT COLOUR
Spot colour
Pre-mixed printing ink, such as Pantone, for exact brand colours.
sRGB
sRGB
Standard colour space for screens, web and social media.
DIELINE
Cutter guide
Line along which a shape is die-cut. Set up as a spot colour, not printed.
T
RICH BLACK
Jet black
Rich black using multiple colours, e.g. C40 M30 Y30 K100. For large areas only.
U
OVERPRINT
Overprinting
One colour is printed over the underlying one, rather than knocking it out.
V
LINK
Shortcut
Reference an external image file in the layout instead of embedding it.