UPMSP Vocational Printing flashcards
UPMSP Vocational Printing · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Relief printing
- Printing method where the image area is raised above the non-image area; ink is applied to the raised surface and transferred to the substrate under pressure. Examples: letterpress and woodcut.
- Intaglio printing
- Printing process where the image is incised below the plate surface; ink fills the grooves, the surface is wiped, and high pressure transfers ink to the substrate. Examples: engraving and gravure.
- Lithography
- Planographic printing based on chemical repulsion between oil-based ink and water. The image and non-image areas lie on the same plane; dampening solution keeps non-image areas ink-free.
- Offset printing
- Lithographic process where ink is transferred from the plate to a rubber blanket cylinder and then to the substrate. The blanket protects the plate and allows printing on rough surfaces.
- Point and pica
- Typographic units: 1 point = 1/72 inch; 1 pica = 12 points = 1/6 inch. Type sizes are given in points, line lengths and margins often in picas.
- Leading
- The vertical distance from one baseline of text to the next. Usually expressed as type size/leading, e.g., 10/12 means 10-point type with 12-point leading.
- Kerning
- Adjustment of space between specific pairs of characters to achieve visually even spacing, such as between A and V. Unlike tracking, kerning is pair-specific.
- Tracking
- Uniform adjustment of spacing across a range of characters, affecting overall density of a word or line. Positive tracking loosens, negative tightens.
- X-height
- The height of lowercase letters such as x, a, c, and e, excluding ascenders and descenders. Larger x-height generally improves legibility at small sizes.
- Halftone screening
- Technique that converts continuous-tone images into dots of varying size (AM) or frequency (FM) to simulate shades during printing. Screen ruling is measured in lines per inch (lpi).
- Resolution relationship
- For quality printing, image resolution in ppi should be about twice the halftone screen ruling in lpi; e.g., 300 ppi for a 150-lpi screen.
- Trapping
- Slight overlap of adjacent ink areas to prevent unprinted gaps caused by misregistration on press. Trap width is typically 0.25–1 pt depending on process.
- Imposition
- Arrangement of pages on a press sheet so that after printing, folding, and trimming they appear in correct reading order. Also compensates for creep in saddle-stitched jobs.
- Preflight
- Automated check of a digital file before printing for missing fonts, low-resolution images, wrong color space, bleed, and trim marks to prevent production errors.
- Anilox roller
- In flexography, a engraved roller that meters a precise amount of ink onto the printing plate. Cell volume and count determine ink film thickness.
- Doctor blade
- A thin steel blade that removes excess ink from the surface of a gravure cylinder or anilox roller, leaving ink only in the engraved cells.
- Dot gain
- Increase in apparent halftone dot size during printing, making images darker. Monitored with densitometers and controlled via ink, paper, and pressure settings.
- Make-ready
- Preparatory work on a press before production: mounting plates, setting ink and dampening, achieving registration and color approval. Efficient make-ready reduces waste.
- Ink tack
- The stickiness or cohesion of ink, affecting its transfer from blanket to substrate. Too high tack can pick fibers from weak paper surfaces.
- Basis weight
- The weight of paper per unit area, usually expressed in grams per square meter (gsm). Common text paper is 80–100 gsm; cover board is heavier.
- Coated paper
- Paper with a clay or calcium carbonate coating that improves smoothness, gloss, and ink holdout. Preferred for halftone images and high-quality color printing.
- Spot color
- A pre-mixed ink printed in a separate unit, often from the Pantone Matching System. Used for brand colors, metallics, and fluorescents beyond CMYK gamut.
- Saddle-stitch binding
- Binding method where folded sheets are nested and stapled through the spine fold. Page count must be a multiple of four; suitable for booklets up to about 64 pages.
- Perfect binding
- Binding method where page edges are glued into a flexible spine, producing a square back. Used for paperbacks and thicker books; minimum page count typically 32–40.
- Die-cutting
- Cutting shapes from printed sheets using a steel-rule die under pressure. Often combined with creasing to enable folding without cracking.
- Bleed
- Extension of printed image beyond the trim line, usually 3 mm, to ensure no unprinted edges after cutting. Essential for full-bleed designs.
- Densitometer
- Instrument that measures ink density on a printed sheet, used to monitor and control ink film thickness and dot gain during production.
- Contract proof
- A hard-copy proof that simulates the final printed result and is often used as a legal standard for color approval between printer and customer.
- G7 method
- A calibration methodology for CMYK printing that focuses on gray balance and tonal reproduction across devices, based on ISO 12647 standards.
- Variable data printing
- Digital printing that personalizes each piece with different text or images from a database, used for direct mail and targeted marketing.
- Electrophotography
- Digital printing process using a charged photoconductor, toner development, transfer to substrate, and fusing by heat and pressure. Common in laser and LED printers.
- Break-even quantity
- Number of units that must be sold to cover total costs: fixed costs divided by (unit price minus variable cost per unit). A key entrepreneurship calculation.