GLOSSARY OF PRINTING TERMS

DESCRIPTION: What type of printing item do you need the printing quote for? (book printing, brochure printing, catalog printing)

QUANTITY: How many of the items printing do you need. It is a good idea to bracket your printing quote up, as the unit pricing is more favorable once you are on a printing press and running.

NUMBER OF PAGES: How many pages does your book printing or printed brochures have? This is different from how many sheets of paper you are printing with (a sheet of paper has two sides and is therefore two pages).

TRIM SIZE FOLDED: What is the size of your final piece that is printing, once folded. (Example: if you fold a letter to fit an envelope, the folded size is the "trim size folded=3 2/3 x 8 1/2"

FLAT/SPREAD SIZE: This is the size of your piece that you are printing, before folding. (Example: and 8 1/2 x 11" 4 page brochure spread out as a 2 page "spread" would be 17 x 11 ") NOTE: THE WIDTH IS ALWAYS THE FIRST DIMENSION GIVEN.

TEXT STOCK: The paper you require for the inside of your periodical that you are printing. or entire piece if there is not a different cover paper when printing.

COVER STOCK: This is the paper you require for the outside 4 pages of your periodical you are printing and differs in either weight or style from the inside text.

TEXT INK: The ink you require for the inside of your piece you are printing. This is described by the number of inks you require and the two numbers used are separated by a slash sign /. If the front of your piece that you are printing has 4 colors and the back has 1, then your piece would be described as 4/1 or "four over one". There are 2 main kinds of inks, CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) for process, such as color photos and Pantone inks also known as spot color.

COVER INK: If different from the printing of the text.

BLEEDS: A bleed occurs when your design allows the ink to the very edge of the paper you are printing on.

CAMERA READY ART: This is art on board or paper output that can be photographed. Photographs should not be included within the camera-ready art, but photographed as "half tones" in a separate process.

COMPOSED FILM: Print ready film that requires no other work than "stripping" for plating.

OUTPUT READY DISK: A disk that is complete and does not require any further production

SCANS: Scanning is the process that records your images as a digital file from a photograph.

HALF TONES: A black and white photo shot with a camera with a honeycombed lens or scanned for single color.

DESIGN: Combining your type, images, colors logo and other items into a finished eye pleasing piece.

OUTPUT FILM: To rip your digital files and recreate your art as final film.

BLUE LINES: A contact proof from the film used to verify that the film is correct.

COLOR KEY: A contact proof from the film made from acetate. There is one sheet per process color, which is overlaid with each other to verify that your color film, is correct. P

MATCH PRINT: A multiple piece of contact proofing that is pieced together and laminated as a single piece. This is the most accurate proofing method.

DIE SCORE OR CUT: To die score a piece is to make a "steel rule" die, composed of thin pieces of steel that will stamp a line or rule where your piece needs to fold. This action compresses the paper and allows for ease of folding and prevents cracking. To die cut is to create a steel rule die and to cut the printed piece like a cookie. The most common example of this is a "presentation folder or press kit with pocket".

FOLD TYPE: The type of fold you require in order to finish your piece. A letter fold is a paper folded in thirds with each end folding towards the center.

SADDLE STITCH: Two staples added to the center of the piece on the fold line,

PERFECT BIND: A squared off edge, with scored hinges for ease of opening and glued in pages define this type of bindery. An example would be your standard "pocket" or "soft cover" from a book printer.

PERFORATE: To perforate or die score in holes that allow one to cleanly remove a coupon or page from the piece with ease.

HOLES: Punching or drilling to allow for insertion to a binder or other use.

FOIL: A stamping tool, known as a die, stamps a material onto the paper. The material usually is seen as metallic gold or silver.

EMBOSS: To stamp the paper from the rear with a die in order to create a raised effect. De-bossing would stamp the paper from the front in order to create a sunken effect.

GLOSSARY OF DIRECT MAIL TERMS

BANGTAIL - that little piece of paper on the back of an envelope that gets removed via perforation and is another opportunity to get your advertising message seen. Commonly seen on credit card envelopes that are included with your monthly invoice.

BCS (barcode sorter) - a mail-processing machine that reads barcodes on mail and automatically sorts the pieces.

BRC - Business Reply Card.

BRE - Business Reply Envelope.

BRM (Business Reply Mail) - a service that enables mailers to receive First-Class Mail® back from customers by paying postage only on the mail actually returned to them by their customers.

BREAK EVEN POINT - the minimum number of sales a Direct Mail campaign must generate in order for the direct marketer to recover associated costs of the campaign.

BUCK SLIP - a single sheet of paper inserted in a Direct Mail piece that's usually used to deliver another offer within the package.

CONTROL - the mail package format/creative that's done the best for you; the one that's yielded the greatest response.

CLEANED LIST - one that is free of duplication and unwanted names/addresses.

DATABASE - can be as simple as a card file; a collection of information stored in a computer medium that can be easily accessed and manipulated.

DEMOGRAPHICS - those characteristics that define a particular group of people, including HHI, age, education level, family size, etc.

FULFILLMENT HOUSE - a company specializing in responding to and tracking orders sold through Direct Mail.

HHI - household income.

INDICIA - a preprinted marking on each piece of a Standard Mail (A) (formerly known as "Bulk" or "Third Class") that shows payment of postage by the sender.

INSERT - any item, such as a brochure or pamphlet, that is placed in a Direct Mail package.

JOHNSON BOX - the top part of the letter, set above the body of the letter, that states the main message of the offer in a compelling way; the letter's "headline."

LAYOUT - the arrangement of text blocks, headlines and graphics on a page.

LETTER SHOP - a firm that personalizes, labels, sorts & stuffs envelopes in preparation for Standard Mail (A).

LIFT NOTE - a folded sheet that is a "last chance" to deliver an advertising message. Usually written by a person other than the main writer of the letter. Good place for a testimonial.

LIST BROKER - an individual or company that brings together owners of lists and the Direct Mailers who use them.

LIST COMPILER - an individual or company that specializes in gathering names, addresses and information from a variety of sources to produce a customized list of prospective customers.

LIVE STAMP-LIVE POSTAGE - a "normal" stamp which a consumer would use, as opposed to metered mailings.

MECHANICAL - a term for a camera-ready paste-up of artwork. It includes type, photos, line art, etc., all on one piece of art-board.

MERGE - the process of combining two or more lists into a single one using the same sequential order, then sorting them together, usually by ZIP Code®.

MERGE PURGE - the technique used to combine names, addresses and related data from various mailing lists to identify and eliminate duplicate names for a single mailing or to create a marketing database.

OCR (optical character reader) - a computerized mail processing machine that scans addresses on mail and applies the proper barcode.

OVERS (or overruns) - the portion of a run that exceeds the quantity specified in the purchase order.

PRECANCELLED STAMPS - stamps cancelled by printing across the face before they are sold to mailers.

PREMIUM - a free gift sent to a potential customer either with the mail piece (front-end) or after the prospect has responded (back-end).

PSYCHOGRAPHICS - these are characteristics, habits, attitudes, lifestyle and behavior patterns that can help you identify your audience, or eliminate the names of those who aren't.

PURGE - the process of eliminating duplicates and/or unwanted names from one or more lists.
return-on-investment (ROI) - anticipated profits above costs incurred.

SHELF LIFE - the length of time before an item (such as a catalog) becomes obsolete.

SORTING - in Direct Mail, the arrangement of pieces in a bulk mailing by ZIP Code® to facilitate processing and more reliable delivery.

STANDARD MAIL (A) - formerly known as "Third Class" or "Bulk" mail.

OE - outer envelope. The envelope that your package will be delivered in. Usually, a "teaser" line is on the front to entice the recipient to open your letter.

RFM (recency/frequency/monetary) - a key formula used with most databases. It lets direct marketers know the recency and frequency of purchasing, and the amount of money spent by the people in their database.

SUPPRESS - using information on one or more lists to remove duplication of specific names before a mailing, or to eliminate those undesirable names.

TRACKING - the maintenance of records concerning various aspects of mailings, e.g., response rate, date mailed, location of respondents, etc.

UNDERS - the number of pieces by which a run is short of the quantity specified in the purchase order.
web press - a press that prints on rolls (or webs) of paper instead of single sheets.

WINDOW ENVELOPES - envelopes having an opening through which an address on an insert is visible.

ITEMS GENERALLY REQUESTED -

avery labels
books
brochures
bumper stickers
calendars
catalogs
cd inserts
coupon books
custom calendars
direct mail
direct mail advertising
direct mail campaign
Direct Mail Data Processing
Direct Mail letter carrier pre-sort
direct mail marketing
direct mail post card
direct mail promotion
direct mail services
document printing price list
flyers
presentation folders
full color stationary
labels
magazines
pads
post cards
postcards
posters
press kits
books
stickers

When you seek quality commercial printing, offset printing, color printing as well as digital color printing consider us please.