Glossary of printing terminology

There are many terms that you'll hear when buying print, here you will find a guide to some of the more common terms you may come across.

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Bleed

The area of artwork that extends beyond the finished size of a document - we here at Gpex recommend a bleed of 3mm to all edges. In InDesign, you can set the bleed area as a guide and preview it to make sure that any images or colour runs to the edge of the bleed area. After the document is printed and trimmed to the final finished size the print will reach right to the very edge of your document and you wont be left with any unexpected white edges.

Board

Material up to and including 170gsm is referred to as paper. Material over 170gsm is referred to as board.

Cracking

When board is folded you may notice that the board starts to break or crack at the fold. To reduce this boards are always creased before they are folded.

Crease

A score line put on heavy paper and board to help it to fold and to reduce the risk of cracking. Any board over and including 170gsm should be creased.

Crop Marks

Special marks added to artwork outside the area to be printed to show where the job should be trimmed to achieve the required finished size.

Debossing

Stamping a design onto the front of a printed area of paper or card to produce an impression. This is the reverse of embossing.

Die-cutting

Paper or board can be die cut to an irregular shape or have a shape cut out of the middle using a cutting forme. This is the process by which folders are made.

Duplex

We can print onto a maximum of 400gsm board. In order to achieve a thicker result a sheet of paper is glued to a piece of thicker card. This is often seen on the covers of case bound books.

Dust Jacket

An outer paper cover (usually printed and laminated) which is wrapped around the outside of a book. Most often seen with case bound books.

Embossing

Stamping a design onto the reverse of a printed area of paper or card to produce a raised effect. Used particularly on paperback books in addition to spot UV and lamination.