AB

The following is a comprehensive dictionary and lexicon of terms and phrases starting with the letters A or B used in the print and signage industry.

Print and Signage Terminology explained - A,B

A

• Airport Displays - Airports provide many different ways to advertise, including dioramas, posters and exhibits. Most are backlit.
• Allotments - The number of units required to achieve a desired GRP level in a particular market.
• Animation - Technique used to gain added attention to a billboard. Uses moving components, flashing lights, or other special treatment.
• Approach - The total distance measurement that copy on a structure is readable. Usually 1500, 1000, and 500 feet.
• Arteries or Arterials - The major secondary streets of a city (not motorways) where speeds are usually lower.
• Artwork - The visual image of an ad, to scale, that will eventually be posted on a billboard or other advertising structure.
• Audited or Authenticated Circulation - The "Traffic Audit Bureau" is an independent organization made up of ad executives and advertisers. They audit outdoor plants around the country using standard measuring procedures for traffic counts. These numbers are eventually converted into DEC's (daily effective circulation).
• Availability or Avails - Space available for sale at a given time.
• A Pack - 4 sheet portrait poster sites (1524mm x 1016mm). Double-sided. Sold in sets of 6.
• Aisle Width - By law, the more people expected at an exhibition, the wider the aisles need to be. Two to three metres is an acceptable average for a 30,000 visitor exhibition.
• Audience/Visitor Density - Health and safety regulations dictate that only a certain number of people may be in a certain area at a given time. The Audience Density is used to determine the number of visitors within a hall.
• Audio Visual - Equipment that may be hired from a contractor for the duration of an exhibition.
• A/V Production- An audio visual production designed to communicate a sales or corporate message to exhibition visitors. Sometimes used to attract attention to the exhibition stand.
• AA: an abbreviation for author's alternations. When a customer sends an art file to a printer, then request changes this is an author alteration and printers charge for this. Also see PE's (printer errors).
• A/D converter: analog to digital converter. A device that converts a continuous analog signal into digital signals
• Absorption: when the paper being printed on absorbs the ink that is being printed.
• Absorption rate: the rate in which a paper can absorb or repel ink.
• Abrasion resistance: measure of a paper’s durability when subject to abrasive action of erasers.
• Abrasiveness: property of paper causing it to scratch surfaces it contacts.
• A/B problem: when differences occur between odd and even prints or signatures on web press equipped with the blanket cylinders that are twice the diameter of the plate cylinder.
• Ablation: imaging digital proofs or CTP plates by vaporizing small amounts of materials, usually with thermal laser. Can also refer to writing data to optical memory with a laser which burns holes into a then metal film.
• Abort: the computer command that instructs the computer to abandon the current program.
• Abrasion: the wearing away of a sheet of paper through the scratching or wearing of the paper with another object.
• Abrasion marks: photographic print or film the incurs scratches/streaks due to the developer.
• Absorbency: the amount of ink a paper can absorb. Also see absorbtion.
• Accordion fold: a term used in binding for two or more parallel folds that open just like an accordion.Also refer to as fan fold.
• Acetate: a base for stripping films or a clear plastic sheets us to prepare overlays.
• Acetone: a type of solvent used in gravure inks to accelerate drying.
• Acetic Acid: the ingredient used in a stop bath, an acidic processing solution that neutralizes the developing solution remaining on a photographic material.
• Accelerated aging test: a technique used to estimate the permanence of paper by exposing heat and moisture.
• Achromatic: a lens for black and white photography, or without hue or color.
• Acid: a dampening solution ingredient used in lithography that enables Arabic to bind to the blank section of the plate.
• Acid Paper: is a paper containing Alum, its non permanent and contains a ph level lower than 7.0
• Acid free paper: this paper contains a basic or neutral ph level of 7.0 (or slightly higher).Unlike acid paper this acid free paper is made for longevivity and is often used for official documents, for the legal, historical or a document of significant value.
• Acid resist: is a protectant coating used in the making of metal plates, that will resist the effects of etching by the acid for plate making.
• Acid stop bath: when making paper prints, positives, negatives or films and acetic acid photographic solution (referred to as a acid stop bath) is used to stop the development process.
• Acidity: the ph measurement of lithographic fountain solution.
• Acid proof: also known as acid resist, is a material that resists contact with or immersion in acid.
• Acrobat: Adobes software for portable document format. Also known as a pdf.
• Across grain: refers to going across the grain direction in paper. Also see grain direction.
• Acrylic ink: an ink in used in screen printing that contains acrylic polymers and is used to print on plastics or materials that will be exposed to outdoor conditions.
• Actual basis weight: the basis weight of paper measured under its current environmental conditions. The weight can vary because of manufacturing variations. Also see basis weight.
• Actual weight: weight of a given quantity of paper, which is different from the same paper’s nominal weight.
• Acutance: measurement of the sharpness of the edge of a printed shape against the background color.
• Adding machine paper: paper in a roll form for use on adding and tabulating machines. Weight: 16 to 18 lbs. 17″ x 22″/500 sheets.
• Addition agent: in gravure, a material used in small quantities for plating solution.
• Additive: in printing ,any substance added to ink, paper or dampening solutions to improve the flow or workability or suppress certain properties.
• Additive primaries: highly saturated green, red or blue lights that when mixed together can produce any color. Also see subtractive primaries.
• Additives: ingredients added to printing ink to give it special properties or characteristics.
• Additivity failure: ink on paper printing condition where the total density of the overprinted ink films is not equal to the sum of the individual ink densities' that form the over print.
• Adhering: attaching indirect film to the screen fabric in screen printing.
• Adhesion: the measure in which one material stick to another
• Adhesion test: a variety of methods used to test the bonding of an ink coating.
• Adhesives: glues that bind paper ingredients together
• Adhesive binding: to join the pages of a book, forming the backbone. Normally the process of adhesive used is a hot melt.
• Adhesive bleed: adhesive that penetrates from pressure sensitive stock before or after processing the finished product.
• Adhesive-coated paper: paper coated on one side with an adhesive that is activated by moistening or heating. For pressure sensitive stocks the paper can be permanently tacky on the coated side.
• Adobe Acrobat: See Acrobat
• Adobe Acrobat Distiller: software that converts postscript language pages into pdf files.
• Adobe Type Manager: adobe software that eliminates rough or jagged edges on screen fonts and allows laser printers to reproduce postscript fonts accurately and clearly.
• Additive Litho Plate: a substance is added to a plate surface in order to develop the image
• Aesthetic: the qualities having to do with the beauty of a printed image.
• AF & PA: American Forest & Paper Association. they represent member companies which grow, harvest and process wood and wood fiber manufacture pulp, paper and paperboard products from both virgin and recovered fiber and produce solid wood products in the United States.
• After tack: in printing the tack that forms after an ink is expected to dry or after heat drying
• Against the grain: cutting or folding paper in right angles to the grain direction of the paper.
• Agate: the agate is used to measure the depth in newspaper advertising.
• Agate marble paper: paper used as end papers in books.
• Age: a litho etch made from asphaltum, gum Arabic and acid. The asphalt enables the ink to stick the image area, and the gum and acid keep the non-image area clean.
• AICC: Association of Independent Corrugated Converters, an organization of small to medium size corrugated converters.
• AIMCAL: Association of Industrial Metallizers, Coaters and Laminator. An international trade organization serving converters.
• Aimpoints: the highlight, shadow and midtone areas of an original.
• Air: in a printed page, the white space around the image area
• Air cushion drum: in printing the part that supports the sheet on a cushion of air to so that the ink will not smear on the press sheet.
• Air bars: a part of the printing press which secures the press sheets to the impression cylinder.
• Air blast nozzles: a part of the sheet separation unit the forces air to separate the top sheets from the file.
• Air eraser: a hand-held device that removes unwanted images from a lithographic plates by sand blasting
• Air dried paper – the process of air-drying, paper is dried on the paper machine and reeled as a damp roll. The presitgous appearance of high grade bonds and ledger papers is the product of air drying.
• Air drying inks: inks that dry with air used in sheetfed printing,these inks are vegetable based inks.
• Air jets: in printing the compressed air flowing through drying mechanism used to dry the freshly printed image to accelerate the drying process.
• Air knife: a device using heated air the helps dry aqueous coatings applied on a sheetfed press.
• Air knife coater: a device that applies an excess coating to paper and them removes the surplus by imprinting a jet of air upon the fluid coating,leaving a film on the paper.
• Air pull: in screen printing coating the screen with ink without making an impression on the substrate.
• Air shaft: a specialty roller in a roll stand of a web press, that uses grippers to hold the core of the roll of paper.
• Air table: in a bed of a guillotine cutter bed equipped with very small air holes that create air between the table and the stack of paper,redcucing the friction allowing the paper to move with ease.
• Alum: an astringent crystalline substance used in rosin sizing to hold paper fibers together; responsible for introducing acid into paper
• Albumen plate: offset printing plate coated with light-sensitive albumen. Image is formed by the action of light through a photographic image.
• Album paper: a blank cover paper and used for making photographic albums.
• Album binding: to bind a document on the short side of a page instead of the normal binding on the upright long side of the paper.
• Albumin: a sensitive coating in lithographic plates
• Alcohol: an organic solvent used in flexographic inks,is also added to dampening solution of a lithographic press
• Alcohol isopropyl: used in lithographic printing as a dampening solution to reduce the tension of water.
• Alcohol percentage: the measurement of alcohol in relation to the amount of water in the dampening solution.
• Alcohol free fountain solution: an alcohol free fountain solution used in a lithographic printing press
• Alignment: in typesetting alignment means the even measurement of the top or bottom of a font.
• Alkali blue: is a blue pigment used in lithorgraphic varnish and used as a toner for carbon black inks.
• Alkali removable resists: inks that can be wiped off with alkaline solution after drying.
• Alkali paper: this paper is made at a ph level higher than 7. This paper is of highest quality making it ideal for archival paper and legal documents because of its longevity.Also see archival paper.
• Alkali proof: paper that can resist alkali substance.Paper often used is waxed and glassine .
• Alley: the space between copy,often referred to as a gutter,margins or columns.
• Alignment marks: preprinted mark on a form used to assist the user in positioning the form so that entries are accurately positioned.
• Alpha pulp: wood pulp refined with exceptional paper making properties: high chemical purity, high brightness, great permanence and high resiliency.
• Aluminum-coated board: board coated with aluminum foil.
• American Paper Institute (API): an organization for the paper and paperboard industry.
• Ammonium biflouride: a chemical used while working with lithographic plates be used as a chemical graining agent.
• Amplitude-modulated screening: in printing the process os screening in which the numbers of dots remain consistent creating the illusion that its one solid tone.
• Analytical method: the process of finding the ingredients in paper.
• Anastigmat: a photographic lens that prevent imperfect or blurred image from occurring.
• Angle squeegee: a squeege blade is used in screen printing.Its the angle formed by the face of the squeegee blade in the going in the direction of the printing.
• Aninline dyes: a dye coloring made from coal-tar derivatives.
• Aniline printing: letterpress printing process in which the ink contains rapidly evaporating solvents. Printing plates for this process are ordinarily made from rubber.
• Anilox: an Interchemical corporation trademark used in the 1930′s to assign the aniline process of printing.Anilox eventually became flexo.
• Anilox hand proofer: a engraved cylinder in a hand held mechanism that is used to print test strips.
• Anilox roll: the metering roll on a flexographic press,which distributes a predetermined amount of ink to the printing plates.
• Anilox system: the most common inking system used on a flexographic presses
• Animal size: the glue and gelatin extracted from animal hides.
• Anodized plate: refers to a speciality protected lithographic plate ,that is protected by electrical discharge.Which makes the plate have a longer run time.
• Aperture: in screen printing,the open space between the threads in the fabric.
• Aperture Percentage: refers to the area of the fabric in screen printing which ink can pass through.
• Apparent density: weight per unit volume
• Appearance properties: in paper ,describes the color,gloss or brightness.
• Applicator roll: the cylinder used to spread lacquer,varnish or coating
• Apron: in bindery,the blank space at the edge of the sheet to be folded without touching the copy.
• Antique finish: in paper,a term used to describe a rougher than normal finish.The color is usual a creme.
• Antifoaming agent: in offset printing,an additive that disperces bubbles that could form in dampening solution.
• Announcements: A folded card,note card with matching envelopes used for social stationery and announcements.Also widely used by companies to announce upcoming events and changes with their organization.
• Antique glaze: a two sided paper,one side with a high finish the other with an antique glaze.
• Antihalation: refers to poly plate ,paper or film,the property that has an opaque backing the prevents light rays from reflecting.
• Antisetoff spray: a powder used in lithographic printing to prevent the transfering of the inks printing to the back of the adjacent sheets.
• Antiskinning additive: a material that is added to ink to prevent the drying and hardening of the top surface of the ink pale.
• Apex: the upper point of letters that are descending in form.
• Aqueous dispersion: in screen printing,pigments that change from water soluble form to water insoluble form when heating or curing .
• Archival Paper: a paper with long-standing qualities designed to last 150 years, acid free, lignin free, usually with good color retention.
• Art paper: in printing,coated paper used for printing halftones.
• Art type: designs ,typefaces and individual characters screen printed onto acetate sheets.
• Art type pre-printed: sheets with the complete letters of the alphabet,numbers,punctuation marks in that particular type .
• Ash: the residue left over after burning paper to determine the percentage of filler used.
• Artificial parchement: a fake parchement paper,is grease proof.Also see parchement paper.
• Artist paper: paper that is tight woven,that is ideal for drawing.
• Artifact: a visual error or defect on an electronic image that is caused by the hardware or software.
• Artwork: in printing,drawing,photos,electronic images and other materials used in the illustration of the printing plates.
• Ascender: in typography, an ascender is the portion of a letter that extends above the mean line of a font. That is, the part of a lower-case letter that is taller than the font’s x-height.The x-height or corpus size baseline and the mean line in a typeface. Also refer to descender
• Assembling: in bindery,collecting sheets into a sequenece,to form a numbered book etc.Also see collating.
• Ash: the residue left over after burning paper to determine the percentage of filler used.
• ASQC: American society of quality control
• Attachments: refering additions in an envelope like clamps,button and strings.
• Auxiliary roll stand: A second roller stand, for use on a web press, that can be mounted on top of another roll stand. Reduces downtime since it permits one stand to be reloaded while another continues to unwind.
• Authors Alterations: Refer to AA
• Authors corrections: Changes made after composition stage where customer is responsible for additional charges.Also known as AC’s
• Authors proof: Artwork sent from the print vendor to the client,for approval.Normally to approve a copy must be signed.
• Authoring: In multimedia,the process in which the writing,sound creation and video components is put together for a presentation.
• Autochrome: The first screen plate for color photography .It was invinted in 1904 by Louis Luminere in France.
• Autokerning: Refers to the process of the reduction of unwanted whitespace between typeface.
• Automatic feeder: The device responsible for picking up one sheet at a time and automatically feeding them into the press for printing.
• Automatic reject: on mechanism used on binder equipment to ensure quality control,that direct rejected or flawed products to a special tray.
• Autopositive: Photo materials which provide positive images without a negative.
• Autotype: in litho stripping,the material used to outline typographic characters.
• Azure: the light blue colour used in the nomenclature of “laid” and “wove” papers.

B

• Backbone: In a bound book,the back piece connecting the two covers and spine.
• Back cylinder: A hard metal cylinder that presses the paper against the inked blanket cylinder,which transfers the image to the sheet. Also refered to as impression cylinder
• Back-edge curl: In offset printing,the curve that occurs at the end of a press sheet, from
  printing heavy solids.
• Back etching:A color correction technique used to reduce the density continuous negative tone
• Back gauge: On a paper cutter the movable metal stop that the paper press’s against to ensure the paper is properly cut, and squared.
• Back Gum Adhesives: In envelope making, adhesive used to seal between the bottom and side envelope flaps
• Back gray cloth: In screen printing, the cotton fabric material that is placed over the waterproof layer and on top of the felt padding in the screen-printing table in order to prevent the printed dyes from being absorbed into the felt padding.
• Back grounding: a term used in electro photography when an uneven print happens due to a worn out blade,wrong signed toner particles or toner particles not properly charged.
• Back mark: in making paper, the marks left in paper from being pole dried
• Back Margin: refers to the distance between the fold edge and the edge of the body of type that lays next to the fold. Also referred to as a binding margin
• Back matter: front and back matter is information about a book that is included in the book. Normally refers to the following Appendix, Bibliography, Copyright information, Glossary, Index, Preface and post face
• Backing up: printing on one side of the sheet after it has already been printed on the other side.
• Back-lining paper: a smooth finish, hard-sized paper that varies in thickness from .009 to .011 an inch.
• Bagasse pulp: the fibers from crushed sugar cane stalks after the sugar liquor has been removed.
• Balance: in design and layout,creating of harmonious color’s and even space.
• Banding – when the changes from screen percentage to screen percentage in a gradient can be seen, instead of a solid blending from dark to light or from color to color.
• Bank note paper: the cotton fiber bond used for bank notes or currency. the papers thickness/weight is: 20 to 24 lbs.
• Back roller:refers to the steel roller in gravure printing that is used to push the impression roller against the engraved cylinder in order to override deflection problems.
• Base sheet:refers to the paper or index stock which images are assembled for exact positioning.
• Base white: a diluted used in inks to lighten the appearance/color.
• Baseline: in typesetting the line above which a character is
  printed.
• Baseline shift: in typesetting a baseline shift moves the type out of its normal position.
• Basic stock: a paper that is used as a base for laminating or coating
• Basic size: standard sheet size from which the basis weight of a given grade is determined
• Back Spinner:in binding, and using a perfect binder the back spinner is the roller that removes the excess glue from the backbone of a book in order to control the glue thickness
• Basis weight: weight, measured in pounds in reams (500 sheets) of paper in its basic size.
• Bath: a chemical solution used in electrotyping,electroplating and photoengraving.
• Baume’ Hydrometer:a flotation device used to give the specific gravity, density, and thus concentration of a solution. Can be expressed in Baume’ units.
• Bearers:Rings of steel at the ends of offset printing press plate and blanket cylinders that make rolling contact on impression for meshing of drive gears and for structural support of wide press cylinders. These rings are raised above the cylinder plane to provide a fixed base for determining the packing of plate and blanket.
• Bekk Smoothness:The smoothness of paper as measured by the Bekk instrument, expressed as the time required for a given volume of air to flow between the measuring surface and the paper surface.
• Belt Press:A printing press that uses two continuous belts for printing books in an inline operation from a paper roll to a delivered book block, ready for binding at the end of the press. Individual polymer plates for each pager are mounted on the belts. The plates are raised types. The most common belt press is the Cameron.
• Beater: in the paper making process, a Tub-like machine originally used to beat pulp. But now is often used mostly for mixing additives and color
• Beater additive: in paper making, the Starch, gum or resin added to papermaking stock in the beater to improve the utilitarian quality of the paper
• Beater colored: the method used in the paper making process to dye paper stock by adding color to the pulp beater.
• Bed: on a gullatoine cutter,the flat metal surface that the paper lays on.
• Bed knife: a stationery cutter tool on the frame of a sheeterbekk
• Smoothness: the measurement of paper, by the bekk measurement instrument.
• Bellows: in printing ,the folding portion of the press that the plate is supported on during the printing.
• Belt press:a book printing press,in which two continuous belts for printing books on an inline operation from a paper roll to a book,then ready for binding at the end of the press.
• Bender: a paper board that can be scored or folded without breaking
• Between-set perforations: in forms,the perforations that separate one sheet from the next.
• Benday: a process named after the inventor Benjamin Day. Benjamin invented the process for applying patterns on line plates or in artwork by putting etching resist or ink on an embossed texture film and then transferring to the desired areas on the plate or copy.
• Bevel edge: refers to when the selection of cover board is excessively thick (i.e. 1/4″), the cover boards are generally beveled at the edge that goes into the hinge. Using excessively thick board will not allow the cover to close properly, but beveling rectifies this problem. The other three edges of the board may also be beveled, for aesthetic purposes only.
• Blade Coater:A device that first applies a surplus coating to a paper web and then evenly levels and distributes it by means of a flexible steel blade.
• Blade Coating:The coating method which uses a knife blade to apply a smooth and level, but non-uniform thickness, of coating to the surface of a sheet of paper. The primary paper coating process.
• Blade Streak: a very fine line or indentation in the coated surface (less than 1/8″ wide), in the machine direction, and varying in length from a few feet to several hundred feet. Streaks can be visible under low angle illumination on the surface or appear less opaque than the general coated area when viewed by transmitted light. This defect can sometimes be observed as an actual cut in the sheet, when the streak is deep enough to sever the sheet. The blade streak, scratch or cut is caused by a piece of fiber, dried coating or coating ingredient, or other foreign material being caught under the blade for a period of time, during the blade coating operation.
• Blanket-to-blanket press:An offset lithographic perfecting press that has no impression cylinders; during printing, the blanket for one side acts as the impression cylinder for the other side, and vice versa. Also called perfecting press unit.
• Blanket:A fabric coated with rubber or other synthetic material which is clamped around the blanket cylinder and which transfers the ink from the press plate to the paper.
• Bleaching: The material or the process used to whiten paper pulp; while cellulose fibers are naturally transparent and appear white in Color, wood impurities and staining colorants are encountered in the pulping process giving the fibers a brownish color, as in grocery bags, which are unbleached Kraft pulp. Chemical pulps are bleached in multiple stage processes.
• Blinding:In offset lithography, a condition of the plate where the image has lost its ability to accept and/or transfer ink.
• Blister: An undesirable result that occurs in paper arising from the rapid expansion of moisture in the interior of a well-sealed sheet, when subjected to high drying temperatures; occurs most frequently on a heat-set, web offset printing press. Caused by too rapid or too high temperature drying, or a weak internal bond strength of the paper. Small eruptions in a paper’s coating, usually from paper being dried too quickly on high-speed web offset presses.
• Block-out inks:Inks applied to selected areas of some plies of multiple part business forms, such that any transferred image is unreadable in or on that printed area. The block-out ink is usually the same color as the transferred image or darker, so that any image transferred in or on that printed area is unreadable. These inks might be used to block out a price that does not need to be known by an individual ply recipient.
• Blocking: The sticking together of a stack of sheets or paper in a roll, because of wet ink or coating.
• Blotting paper: Very absorbent and bulky, wood free paper, sometimes made from a pulp of cotton or wool fibers.
• Bleed: In printing, printed image that runs off the edges of a page. In carbon, undesirable transfer of pigment.
• Blind emboss: a process in which no inks or metal foils are use,the impression is created with pressure raising it from the paper.
• Blind debossing : An image pressed into a sheet without ink or foil, creating a lowered area. Unlike blind emboss it creates an indent in the paper instead of raising it from the sheet.
• Binder’s board:A stiff high grade pulp board often used for book covers. It is manufactured to no less that .9 density. The most popular thicknesses for loose leaf binders are .098 to .120″.
• Bindery:also known as finishing plants. A bindery plant performs adhesive binding,saddle stitching,mechanical binding,smyth sewing ,And other finishing operations used to finalize or “finish the job.
• Binders die: a piece of brass used for cover stamping.
• Bible Paper: a thin, lightweight, opaque printing paper for use when low bulk is important, as in bibles, prayer and hymn books, dictionaries etc. Basis weights range from 25″ x 38″ – 18 lbs/ream to 30 lbs/r etc.eam. Some grades are made from strong, new cotton and linen rags; others flax.
  bimetal plate:a lithographic printing plate,used for very long runs.
  bind: the joining of pages of a book with thread,adhesive or other materials.
• Body: In typography, the main shank or portion of a letter character other than the ascenders and descenders.
• Body copy: Refers to the small type containing the bulk of the message in an ad or a publication.
• Body size: The point size of a particular type character.
• Body type: Roman — normal, plain, or book — type used for long passages of text, such a stories in a newsletter, magazine, or chapters in a book. Generally sized from 9 point to 14 point
  Boldface: Any type that has a heavier black stroke that makes it more conspicuous.
• Bond paper: Paper used for letterheads and forms. Basic size: 17″ x 22″. weight: 13 to 24 lbs. Bonds are characterized by strength, rigidity, good absorptiveness and erasability. Bond used for fan fold purposes, called register bond, is lightweight, 17″ x 22″ – 11 lbs/ream to 20.Usually made from chemical wood pulp and/or cotton fiber pulp.
• Bonding strength:Cohesiveness of fibers within paper. Paper with good bonding strength will not pick during the printing process.
• Book paper: description given to any type of paper suitable for printing, Made as wove or laid and can have finishes of antique, eggshell, machine, supercalendered, coated, dull, matte or glossy. Exclusive of newsprint and boards.
• Bond strength:An intra layer binding force in a paperboard or laminate. This term also refers to the degree of adherence of coating and film on a sheet and to the binding force in a sheet. See ply bond.
• Bone dry(b.d.): This term refers to the moisture-free conditions of pulp paper. It also refers to air containing no vapor.
• Book block: A partially bound book without its cover.
• Book jacket: Paper which is printed and folded over the cover of bound books for protective and advertising purposes. These papers are usually 80-110 lb. coated one-side, and are often UV coated or film laminated by the book manufacture.
• Book manufacturer: A company whose business is to manufacture books for the publishing industry. These companies offer a wide range of services ranging from pre press to final product.
• Book papers:Also called text or offset. A general term for a group of coated, uncoated or film coated papers suitable for graphic arts. Book Papers are made from all types of virgin, reclaimed and recycled pulps and mixtures thereof in basis weights usually ranging from 30 to 100 lbs. (25 X 38). They are characterized by a wide variety of finishes such as Antique, Eggshell, Machine Finish, Dull Coated, Matte Coated, Gloss Coated and Film Coated. Most book papers are made to a precise thickness, which becomes critical in the binding process. Book papers are generally more opaque than an equivalent weight bond paper.
• Book paper, premium:As the name implies, these are high cost papers. Their most important qualities are high opacity with low caliper or thickness. These papers also have very high longevity properties.
• Book paper, uncoated:Term descriptive of those papers (exclusive of newsprint) that are most suitable for use in the graphic arts, particularly in the commercial, book and publication sectors. They can be wove or laid with a wide range of finishes. Basic size: 25 X 38. Basic weight: 22 to 150 lbs.
• Brochure: A pamphlet that is bound in booklet form.
• Braille paper: Smooth, high strength papers suitable for the production of raised dots needed to manufacture reading material for the blind.
• Breaking length::A mathematical calculation based on paper’s tensile strength and grammage. This represents the theoretical length of a uniform width of paper that, when suspended by one end, would break by its own weight. See tensile.
• Breast roll: The first or number one roll over which a Fourdrinier wire passes, as the furnish exits the slice.
• Break for color: Also known as a color break. To separate mechanically or by software the parts to be printed in different colors.
• Brightness: The brilliance or reflectance of paper. Bristol: A board paper of various thicknesses having a smooth finish and used for printing or drawing.
• Broke:in the manufacturing of finishing paper,the paper trimmings or paper damaged from breaks on the paper machine and in finishing operations. Technically, the wastage that occurs on the paper machine, prior to subsequent finishing operations. Most broke or wastage in the paper mill is returned to the paper machine furnish for reprocessing into saleable paper.
• Broken carton:A carton of paper that has been opened and some of its contents removed.
• Brush finish:A paper that is run under stiff brushes, after coating, to give a high finish.
• Buffer: In offset lithography, a material to maintain an acid condition and stable pH in the press fountain solution.
• Buffering:The neutralizing of acids in paper by adding an alkaline substance (usually calcium carbonate or magnesium carbonate) into the paper pulp. The buffer acts as a protection from the acid in the paper or from pollution in the environment.
• Bulk:in paper,the thickness of paper stock in thousandths of an inch or number of pages per inch.
• Bulk pack: Boxing printed product without wrapping or banding.
• Bullet: A boldface square or dot used before a sentence to emphasize its importance.
• Burn: Exposing a printing plate to high intensity light or placing an image on a printing plate by light.
• Burst: A rupture in a web of paper resulting from stresses caused by adjacent areas of high and low caliper, too tight winding of adjacent areas of high and low caliper, or just too tight winding where the wound in tension exceeds the ultimate strength of the paper.
• Burster: A business forms handling device for detaching continuous forms at cross perforations.
• Bursting strength:The resistance of paper to rupture when pressure is applied to a side by a specified instrument. This is also referred to as burst and pop strength. See Mullen test.
• Butt splice:Formed by trimming the ends of two webs of paper, placing them end-to-end, and pasting a strip over and under to make a continuous web without overlapping. See splice.
• Butt: Joining images without overlapping.
• Butt fit: Printed colors that overlap one row of dots so they appear to butt.
• Backlit - Advertising structures that have illumination which sends light through the advertisement for higher visibility. Ads must be printed on special translucent surfaces.
• Blanking - A white paper border surrounding the poster copy area.
• Blanking Out - A white paper used to cover all or a portion of a poster design. Typically used to cover an ad that has expired until a new advertiser can be posted.
• Bleed-through - A production difficulty where the previous design used on a structure can be seen through the current message. Can occur because of the kind of paper used, a chemical reaction of certain pigments, or because of excessive wetting from heavy rain. SEE COAT OUT.
• Blister - Air pockets on a board resulting from the separation of the paint or paper from the board.
• Boards - Common name for Poster panels or Billboard bulletins.
• Bulletins - Common name for traditional billboards which measure 14 x 48 feet. Copy is produced primarily by two methods: painting directly on the surface or posting vinyl with the advertising message pre-printed digitally.
• Back-to-Back Tenancy - Two tenancies for different exhibitions - where one ends and the other starts at the same time.
• Black Box Environment - A room or hall where the walls and ceiling have been painted black and where there is no natural light source.
• Breakdown - Organiser term used to describe the period between the end of the open exhibition and the end of the tenancy. The period when all stands are dismantled.
• Build Up - The period prior to an exhibition during which the booths/stands are constructed.

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