Don't know the difference between a “trap” and a “bleed?” Here are several commonly used printing terms and what they mean. They will be useful if you are writing and designing internal or external newsletters, brochures, or other promotional materials.

ACCORDIAN FOLD
In binding, a term used for two or more parallel folds that open like an accordion.

ALIGN
Term used when describing either paste-up elements or typesetting elements that are not “square.” In typesetting, frequently used to call for a letter to be raised or lowered in order to match others.

BASIS WEIGHT
The weight in pounds of a ream (500 sheets) of paper cut to a given standard size for that grade; e.g., 500 sheets of 25 x 38, 80-pound coated book paper weight 80 pounds.

BINDERY
What happens to your printed document after it's printed — trim, fold (type of fold), die cut, score/perforation, collate, number, drill (number of holes and hole diameters), stitch, and shrink-wrap.

BLEED
An extra amount of printed image (usually a photograph) that extends beyond the trim edge of the sheet or page.

BLOCKOUT
In halftones (photographs), the effect achieved when the background is not allowed to print. Very effective for highlighting a given area or object in an otherwise cluttered photo.

BULLET
Large bold dot used in front of listed items or to add emphasis to particular parts of a text. A bullet is often used in place of a number.

CAMERA READY
A document that is ready for printing.

CLEAN COPY
Original copy with no typographic errors or flaws.

COATED PAPER
Paper having a surface coating that produces a smooth finish. Surfaces vary from eggshell to matte to glossy.

COLOR SEPARATION
In photography, the process of separating color originals into the primary printing color components in negative or positive form.

DEMIBOLD
Term used to describe typefaces. Demibold is bolder than “regular” (also called Roman), but not as hefty as a true boldface type.

DINGBATS
Font made up of small graphic characters instead of letters.

DOTS PER INCH
A measure of the resolution of a screen image or printed page.

DUOTONE
A two-color halftone reproduction from a one-color photograph.

EMBOSS
Impressing an image in relief to get a raised surface.

HALFTONE
The reproduction of continuous-tone images, through a screening process, which converts the image into dots of various sizes and equal spacing between centers.

INK COLORS
Four-color process uses CMYK colors — Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK, the four primary colors. Spot colors refers to Pantone Matching System (PMS) colors, which are several ink colors mixed by hand or machine to produce a single color used as a second or third color in a document. Varnishes are also considered colors. Colors reproduced on computer screens are Red, Green and Blue (RGB).

PROOF
What the printer gives you to do a final check before the document is printed. The most common are color keys (four colors) and a blueline (looks like a blueprint).

REGISTER
Fitting of two or more printing images in exact alignment with each other.

SCORE
To impress or indent a mark in the paper with a string or rule to make folding easier.

TINTS
Various even tone areas (strengths) of a solid color. Also known as screen tints or screens.

TRAPPING
In pre-press, it refers to how much overprinting colors overlap to eliminate white lines between colors in printing. In printing, it's the ability to print a wet ink film over previously printed ink. Dry trapping is printing wet ink over dry ink. Wet trapping is printing wet ink over previously printed wet ink.