Bitmapping: See bitmap or raster images. Bitmapping is a term to define images or type that show visible pixels.
Bitmap or Raster Images: A bitmap or raster image is made up of many tiny dots called pixels. They cannot be enlarged without loss of clarity or resolution. When a bitmap or raster image is enlarged (for example when a bitmap image is taken from a website) the small pixels are scaled up and become visible as small squares within the image or around the edge of the image. High resolution bitmap or raster images are suitable for print when they contain 300 dpi at the finished size to be printed. (See Vector Images)
Bleed: A design bleeds when the artwork extends beyond the edge of the paper. Designers will extend the background beyond the size of the finished document and add crop or trim marks to tell the printer where to trim.
Camera Ready: In the commercial printing industry camera ready means a project that has been formatted for a printing press and ready to print. For more explanation see the Wikipedia definition.
Coating: The process of adding a clear protective coating to a printed piece that can be matte or glossy. Common coatings are either aqueous or UV. Both resist fingerprinting, and provide a protective layer so that ink will not come off when handling the printed piece. (See Varnish)
Copyright Protected Images: In the world of photographers, artists, illustrators and designers, the creator of the piece holds the copyright to it. These copyrights may be bought or sold. Copyright protected images should not be used unless a license has been obtained. Copyright laws can to use an image begins with the creator and can be bought or sold. Royalties are the funds paid for each specific use of the photo or image. Royalty free images are those for which royalties are paid one time and have fewer restrictions than Rights Managed images. For more see Wikipedia.
CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) are the ink colors used in the printing process. (see RGB)
Crop or Trim Marks: These small vertical and horizontal marks in the corners of your artwork show the printer where to trim off the excess paper to match the specified size of your document. Designers should allow at least 1/8 inch of space as a safe area, and avoid placing any text or critical graphics or photos there.
Digital Printing: Printing using an ink jet or laser printer that uses toner rather than ink. The quality of digital printing is improving continuously with the latest digital printing rivaling that of traditional offset printing.
Dye Cutting: Use of a dye to cut out a special shape or curve in paper, or other material.
Fold Marks: Fold marks are included on artwork (outside of the image area) and indicate where the fold should be.
Full Color Printing (also called 4-color printing) refers to using 4 colors of ink (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) to produce the full range of color images.
Offset Printing: Printing using a traditional offset printing press with CMYK ink. Offset printing presses have produced superior quality over digital printing, however digital printing is continually improving and may surpass the quality of offset. Offset printing presses may be formatted for 2 colors of ink, 4 colors of ink, 6 colors or more to allow for custom spot colors and/or varnish.
PDF: Portable Document Format is a format used by Adobe Acrobat. High resolution pdfs contain fonts and graphics suitable for printing.
Resolution: Resolution indicates the number of dots per inch in your image or graphic. You can find the resolution by opening Adobe Photoshop and selecting image size. Most printed graphics should be 300 dots per inch at full size. Images with high resolution contain more detail and can be scaled up or down to print well at different sizes.
High Resolution: Normally 300 dots per inch (dpi), measured at the final print size, is required for clear sharp images.
Screen Resolution: Normally screen resolution is 72 dots per inch (dpi). This is too low for printed material. When 72 dpi graphics are printed you will see evidence of bitmapping (or pixels or small squares) in the image and along the edge of the image. Screen resolution graphics are used for websites, and slide presentations (anything shown on a screen).
RGB: (Red, Green and Blue) are the colors used by screen displays such as your monitor. Please note that JPEG files are almost always in RGB. (See CMYK)
Royalty-Free Images: In the world of photographers, artists, illustrators and designers, the copyright to use an image begins with the creator and can be bought or sold. Royalties are the funds paid for each specific use of the photo or image. Royalty free images are those for which royalties are paid one time and have fewer restrictions than Rights Managed images. For more see Wikipedia
Safe Area or Safe Margin: The safe area is an imaginary border on all sides of your document of about 1/8 inch. Avoid placing any text or critical graphics in the safe area to make sure they are not cut off when your printed piece is trimmed.
Varnish: Varnish is printed like ink. Spot varnish is applied to specific areas and make the design stand out. Flood varnish is applied to the entire printed piece and has similar protective qualities to that of coatings. Varnish like coatings may be glossy or matte. (See Coatings)
Vector Images: Vector images are scaleable and can be enlarged or reduced in size without loss of resolution. Vector images are created by computers using paths or curves, which are recorded as mathematical equations. Vector images are preferred for line art and many logos because they always appear sharp and clear without bitmapping. (See Bitmap or Raster Images).