Acrobat (Adobe) – The software used to create and / or open PDF files. Available for free from http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/
Bleed – The additional area of artwork included around the edges of a design to allow for small errors in trimming at the processing stage. Typically 2mm or 3mm on each edge, this area should contain a continuation of the background colour / pattern / image, but should not contain important images or text etc. If you are designing your own files for us to print, please refer to the Templates & Downloads section of the site to find the relevant file with ready measured guidelines and set-up information. Remember – the basic rule is that for a 2mm bleed, your finished design will be 4mm wider and 4mm taller than the finished printed item.
Brochure – A multi-page booklet, created by folding and / or stapling pages. It can simply be a single, double sided A4 sheet folded to create a 4page A5 book, or with multiple folds to create a zig-zag folded DL shaped design… or by stacking several folded sheets and having them staple bound etc.
CMS (Web) – Content Management System –
CMYK – The 4 colour system used by commercial digital printers.The letters in the abbreviation stand for – C- Cyan, M- Magenta, Y- Yellow and K- Black. All artwork should, unless specified otherwise, be provided in CMYK Colour Mode. We cannot accept responsibility for errors caused by printing from RGB file data. (See RGB below)
DPI – Dots Per Inch – In it’s most basic terms, the quality of an image. All printed images are made of single minute dots (or pixels on a computer monitor or TV set). The Higher the DPI, the higher the quality of the print or artwork. Standard PC Monitors (and therefore artwork & photos optimized for the internet) work on 72dpi to minimise bandwidth usage, whereas artwork for digital printing should be created in a file format of at least 300dpi. It is important to provide us with any artwork, logos, photographs etc of a suitable quality. Pictures downloaded from the internet will rarely look any good when enlarged to fit a leaflet or poster. See also “Resolution”
Flyer –
Format –
GIF –
GIMP – A free software program which will achieve many of the actions of Adobe Photoshop.
GSM – Paper Weight – The equivilent weight of 1 sq metre of paper / card in grams. The higher the GSM, the better quality (thicker) the paper. Standard office photocopying paper is 80gsm, whilst business cards are usually printed on 350gsm or higher. Leaflets and flyers may be printed on 170gsm, although we reccommend a 250gsm gloss for added luxury.
Hot Foil Embossing (Flat / Relief) –
Illustrator (Adobe) –
JPG – (also JPEG) – Common image file type (image.jpg). Note that JPG file are “lossy” and will result in a varying degree of compression and lost quality of image data. This may not be noticeable at first, but continued re-saving may lead to poor quality images. Our advice is that for print output, design work should be saved as a .PSD (Photoshop) file for as long as possible, with only the final output file being saved as a JPG (if at all necessary) at the highest possible quality. If you are unsure about this, and require advice, feel free to contact us.
Landscape – Description of artwork orientation when the longer edges form the top and bottom of the frame (as opposed to “Portrait”).
Leaflet –
PDF – Portable Document File –
Photoshop (Adobe) – The Industry standard software for computer photomanipulation, retouching, airbrushing, design etc. Designs in Photoshop are usually constructed from “layers” which remain independant of each other and can have a range of effects, attributes, filters & blending modes assigned upon them. Layer masks can also be applied to hide areas of an image without permanent damage to the original artwork. because of this many alterations to a design are non-destructive even after a file has been saved, closed and re-opened at a later date. If you are serious about art and design, Photoshop is highly recommended, but it does carry a high price tag to reflect the versatility of the software. (See also “GIMP”)
Pixel –
Portrait – Description of the artwork orientation when the longer edges form the sides of the frame, and the top & bottom edges are shorter (as opposed to “Landscape”)
Poster –
Proof – The final artwork file sent to a client for checking before the print process begins. Usually in JPG / PDF format (for ease of opening by those who may not have image editing software such as Photoshop or GIMP) your proof may be reduced in size and resolution to reduce the file size, and may also have a watermark across it to identify the work as that of the creator. Any loss of quality or the watermark will not appear on your final printed material. Note – due to proof artwork being provided at screen resolution of 72dpi, it may only be suitable for viewing on a screen / monitor, and not for printing on inkjet / laser printers at home or in the office.
PSD – The standard file type of Adobe Photoshop – e.g. “yourfile.psd”. As a lossless & layered file type with vector & text support, it is ideal to save ongoing work in this format until the final output file needs to be created. Note that PSD files can quickly amass large file sizes. (See “Photoshop”)
Resolution – The DPI of an image (See DPI)
RGB – Abbreviation of Red Green Blue – the 3 primary colours of light. This system is what TV’s, Computer Monitors etc work from, and is not the same as the data used in commercial printing. Artwork must be provided in CMYK format & not RGB. (See CMYK above)
TIFF –
UV Spot Varnish –
UV Varnish –
Watermark –
ZIP File – A single compressed file (file.zip, file.rar etc) which contains a number of other files. Usually created from a folder on a computer, ZIP files allow multiple files to be sent by email, or downloaded from the internet with a single click, keeping them all within the same final location. Ideal for websites etc where there may be sevral hundred files which need to be kept together. There are various programs available for creating and “unzipping” ZIP files, many of which are free.
