Bindery:
The finishing department, which performs operations on the printed product after it has been printed. The bindery operations are as follows: Folding, Binding, Stitching, Scoring, Perforation, Die Cutting, & Envelope Converting (currently done in house).\

Bleed:
Bleed must extend past the cut-line and will be trimmed from the product during the final cutting phase. When the image is required to extend all the way to the edge, bleed is needed to preserve the finished look and the quality of the final product. 

Carrier Route:
The address to which a carrier delivers mail. In common usage, carrier route includes city routes, rural routes, highway contact routes, post office box sections, and general delivery units.

CMYK:
The primary colors used in 4-color printing. CMYK are used to reproduce full color on the printed sheet. CMYK also called PROCESS COLOR
C: Cyan (Blue)
M: Magenta (Red)
Y: Yellow
K: Key (Black)

Coating:
The mixture of clay materials that are applied to paper to improve the smoothness of the paper's surface and improve ink holdout during the printing process. Examples are Aqueous coating (AQ) and UV coating. UV coating adds a gloss finish to the product and also improves the vibrancy of the printed colors. Spot-UV can be applied to selected portions of the piece, while keeping the rest a matte finish.

Consecutive Numbering:
Numbering a form, or a series of printed material where the number changes sequentially from one to another. Example, if the first one has number 201, the second will get 202, the third would be 203 and so on.

Die Cutting:
A specific shape like circle, star, etc (any designs that cannot be done by a straight cut) which is cut by a metal blade. Door hangers are a popular product which requires die cutting.

Embossing:
A process of imprinting an image by applying pressure to the back side of a material to change the surface, giving it a three dimensional or raised effect. Embossing can be referred to as raised lettering.

Finished Size / Trim Size:
The size of a printed product after all production operations have been completed.

Finishing:
Operations to a document after it has been printed. The finishing operations could include bindery work such as, folding, trimming, binding, die cutting, inserting or any post press process that must be completed.

Flat Size:
The size of a printed product after printing and trimming but before any finishing operations that affect its size, such as folding.

Foil:
The application of metallic gold or silver foil on paper using a heated die. The foil is adhered to the surface leaving the design of the die on the paper. Our Foil Stamp Printing adds a custom touch to your printed product by applying a thin film of metal to paper that creates a high grade, eye-catching result.

Folding:
The process of bending printed sheets in a specific area. Folding is one of our popular bindery jobs.

4-Panel Roll Fold:
A type of fold where the piece is folded inward at one end and then folded inward again one or more times. It is as if you are rolling the piece up.

Accordion Fold:
A sheet which has been printed on only one side then folded twice in right angles to form

a W-shaped four page uncut section. Standard Accordion folds are offered as 4-panels.

For 5-panel Accordion fold jobs submit a custom estimate. Accordion folds are usually available

on 100lb gloss book papers. Such as, brochures and catalogs.

Double Gate Fold:
Single gate fold, with an additional fold on the center.

Double Parallel Fold :
A type of fold where the piece is folded in half and

then folded in half again. The folds are parallel to each other.

French Fold (quarter fold):
A sheet which has been printed on one side only and then

folded twice at right angles to form a four page uncut section.

Gate Fold:
When both sides of an oversize page fold into the gutter in overlapping layers.

Half Fold:
Is fold in half.

Half-Tri Fold:
A sheet is folded in half and then tri-folded.

Tri Fold:
A fold where a three panel piece has both side sections folded inward, one on top of the

other each section is approximately 1/3 the length of the piece. Also known as a C-fold or letter-fold.

Z Fold:
A paper fold represented by back and forth folds into three panels.

Full Bleed:
Printing that goes to the edge of all four sides of the page.

Gloss Finish:
A coating on paper that provides a higher reflection of light, which results in a shiny appearance. Gloss coatings reduce ink absorption, which allows excellent contrast and color definition.

Gloss Paper:
Paper with a gloss finish, usually used for higher quality printing. Examples are 100lb gloss book, and 100lb gloss cover.

Grippers:
Metal finger like clamps that grab the paper to pull it through the press as the sheet is being printed.

Hairline:
The thinnest possible line or space that is visible.

Head to Head:
Printing on the front and back of a sheet is setup so that the top of both sides is printed at the same end of the sheet. You would turn the sheet like the page of a book to read the reverse side.

Head-to-Toe:
Printing on the front and back of a sheet so that the tops of each side are printed at opposite ends from each other. The top of one side is opposite the bottom of the other. You would turn the sheet over from top to bottom to read the reverse side. Also referred to as head-to-tail or tumble.

Hickey:
A spot on a printed sheet that appears as a small white circle with ink in the center, caused by particles such as dirt, dust, or bits of paper.

In House:
When a production process for a printed product is done within a facility and is not sent to an outsider, also referred to as in plant.

Ink Jet:
A printing technology in which liquid ink is sprayed through tiny nozzles onto the paper in a pattern of dots, forming the image on the paper. Jobs with AQ or UV coating cannot be ink jet printed.

Insert:
A letter, card, or similar item placed inside another mail piece (host piece).

Lamination:
The process of applying a film, often plastic or copolymer, to either one or both sides of a printed sheet. Lamination adds a gloss or silk finish to a printed product and provides durability, water resistance and tear resistance.

Gloss Lamination: A high gloss film applied to one or both sides of a print product. Gloss lamination is optically clear, durable and is scuff, tear and water resistant.

Silk Lamination: A dull matte film applied to one or both sides of a print product. Silk lamination give cards a luxurious smooth feel and may dull color and contrast slightly. Durable Silk lamination is tear and water resistant.

Landscape:
Printing a page so that when positioned for reading the width is greater than the height.

Line Screen:
A transparent screen which has been etched with fine lines. It is used to convert a picture or photograph into a halftone dot pattern so that can be printed.

CMYK:
The primary colors used in 4-color printing. CMYK are used to reproduce full color on the printed sheet. CMYK also called PROCESS COLOR

C: Cyan (Blue)
M: Magenta (Red)
Y: Yellow
K: Key (Black)

Offset Printing:
The transfer of an inked image from a plate to a blanket cylinder, which in turn transfers the image to the printing material as it passes between the blanket and the impression cylinder and pressure is applied. Also referred to as offset lithography. Here at 4over use offset printing.

Open End Envelope:
An envelope with an opening along its short dimension.

Open Side Envelope:
An envelope with an opening along its longest dimension.

Pantone Matching System (PMS):
A registered name for an ink color matching system used to compare, match and identify specific colors. To do so we use a pantone book. It contains pantone colors with their closest CMYK values.

Paper Grain:
The direction in which the fibers line up during the manufacturing process. It is easier to fold, bend, or tear the paper along the same direction of the fibers. Cut sheet laser printers generally use long grain paper in which the grain runs parallel to the long side of the paper, resulting in better performance through the laser printer.

Perforation:
Creating a series of holes so that the paper can be torn more easily along the line that is formed. Postage stamps and tear-off cards are common products that require perforation.

Pixel:
The smallest unit of a digitized image created by a digital device, such as a computer, camera, or scanner. Pixel is short for "picture element." The more pixels per inch the better the resolution. On computer monitors, the display is divided into rows and columns containing thousands or millions of pixels. Each pixel is composed of three dots representing the three color channels of red, green, and blue light that are necessary for creating a color image on computer monitors and television screens. Because of their small size, the pixels appear to merge, simulating a continuous tone image, but when magnified they appear to be tiny square blocks of light, as shown in the illustration.

Plate:
A metal or paper light-sensitive sheet that holds an image that has been photographically produced. During the printing process, the image area picks up ink, which is then transferred to a blanket and then to paper.

Resolution:
The measurement of output quality expressed in pixels (dots) per inch on a computer monitor or dots per inch on printed media. For example, a monitor displaying a resolution of 800 by 600 refers to a screen capable of displaying 800 pixels in each of 600 lines, which translates into a total of 480,000 pixels displayed on the screen. When referring to printed media, a 300 dpi (dots per inch) printer for example, is capable of outputting 300 dots in a one-inch line, which means that it has the ability of printing 90,000 distinct dots per square inch (300 x 300).

RGB:
The additive primary colors, red, green and blue, used to display color in video monitors. Printing with a file in RGB color mode will produce a washed out appearance. 4over does not check files for RGB. That responsibility falls to the customer before submission of the files.

Roll Labels:
Roll Labels are great for packaging and promotions. Use them on bottles, as warning labels, or for branding. With different stock options, you will never run out of uses.

Round Cornering:
Using a machine to die cut the corners of forms, cards and books to create a rounded corner.

Saddle Stitching:
The method of binding the pages of a section where the folded pages are stitched through the fold from the outside, using a wire staple (stapling).

Satin AQ
Our Satin AQ is a water-based aqueous coating that helps seal and protect the printed product and provides a luxurious, satin finish.

Scoring:
A crease applied, in a straight line, to a sheet of paper to allow it to fold easier and more accurately.

Shrink Wrapping:
A method of wrapping packages or products with a plastic film and then applying heat so that the wrap fits tight to the product. Shrink-wrapping is used to package a product in specific quantities and is also used for protection purposes. It also adds some stability to the product when storing. Also referred to as plastic wrapping.

Slitting:
Cutting paper by the use of a cutting wheel. Paper may be slit into smaller sheets or a web of paper may be slit into narrower rolls.

A slit can also refer to cuts made that do not divide a sheet. For example, on a presentation folder smaller diagonal slits can be made on the pockets where business cards can then be displayed.

Spiral Binding:
Book binding that consists of a spiral wire or plastic that is wound through holes. Also referred to as coil binding. 

Spot Coating / Spot UV:
Coating paper only in specific areas as opposed to all over coating. In a Spot UV job the job gets a UV coating in only specific areas and does not get any AQ coating in any other places. Spot UV can be referred to as spot varnish.

Stripping:
1.To assemble and combine film or negatives to produce the final film for plate making. This process is now done electronically by many companies, bypassing the manual process altogether.
2. In reference to labels it is the removal of the matrix or waste material from around a pressure sensitive label after it has been die cut.

Swatch Book:
A booklet containing samples of paper or ink colors.

UV Coating:
A liquid coating applied to the printed piece, which is then bonded and cured with ultraviolet light. This coating is used to provide a protective coating to the printed image. Please note that you CAN NOT write or imprint on a uv coated jobs.

Window Envelopes:
An envelope with a die cut opening that is intended to have information show through from the piece inside the envelope.

Work and Tumble:
A printing method where different pages are assembled so that they are on one plate. One side is printed and the sheet is turned from front to rear so that you are using the opposite edge as the gripper edge and then the second side is printed. The product is then cut apart to make two finished items.

Work and Turn:
A printing method where different pages are assembled so that they are on one plate.

One side is printed and then the sheet is turned over so that you are using the same

gripper edge and then the second side is printed. The product is then cut apart to make two finished items.

Zip:
Zipping is a way to compress electronic files A compressed file is considered "zipped."

GLOSSARY