Glossary

32 articles

Our Papers and Finishes Explained

We get it, our extensive line of papers and finishes can get kind of complicated. That's why we've laid out this breakdown of each option we offer. However, the best way to get a sense of these is to…

Updated 6 months ago by Marisa Sharma

What is registration?

For full-color printing, this term means the alignment of all four colors. When the item is printed, the press operators review registration marks placed on press sheets to ensure the proper alignmen…

Updated 7 months ago by Emma Davis

What are vector images?

Graphic images that are great for frequent resizing. Typically this includes logos, typography, and computer illustrations. They are created as vector images in programs such as Adobe Illustrator. Th…

Updated 7 months ago by Emma Davis

What is a "bleed"?

"Bleed" is a printing term used to indicate the area that will be trimmed off after the job is printed and cut down to the finished size. The bleed extends 1/8" all around the card. Because of this,…

Updated 7 months ago by Emma Davis

What is a color seam?

Thicker substrates can be created by mounting 2, 3 or more sheets together. In such an application with 3 sheets, a color seam is a center layer of paper or a layer that's wedged between two sheets t…

Updated 7 months ago by Emma Davis

What is a Closed Gate Fold?

A three or four panel fold where the two outside panels fold inward to meet in the center. In a closed gatefold, there are four panels of roughly equal size where the outer panels are folded inward t…

Updated 7 months ago by Emma Davis

What is "Spot UV"?

Spot UV printing is a technique in which UV coating is applied to a designated part of your business card so that it pops off the paper with a glossy finish in direct contrast with the rest of the ca…

Updated 7 months ago by Emma Davis

What is trim size?

The size of a printed product after it is cut from the sheet of paper it was printed on. For more explanation on how to set up your file with appropriate trim lines see this link.

Updated 7 months ago by Emma Davis

What is a Tri-Fold?

Please see the illustration below for a visual representation

Updated 7 months ago by Emma Davis

What is a Gate Fold?

A three or four panel fold where the two outside panels fold inward to meet in the center. In a gate fold, aka as an open gate fold, there are three panels, the bottom of which is twice the size of t…

Updated 7 months ago by Emma Davis

What is "trapping"?

A graphic design technique aimed at minimizing the effect of misregistration. Misregistration, or the misalignment of colors, can happen in full-color process printing. To avoid it, trapping can be d…

Updated 7 months ago by Emma Davis

What is an overprint?

Any additional printing done on an area that has already been printed.

Updated 7 months ago by Emma Davis

What is CMYK?

CMYK is a color mode used in printing which uses the colors Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. Each of these colors is abbreviated in the acronym CMYK, with "K" representing black.

Updated 7 months ago by Emma Davis

What is saddle stitch binding?

The binding of a booklet (or other printed materials) in which the machine collates, folds in half, and staples the sheets in the middle.

Updated 7 months ago by Emma Davis

What's the difference between raster and vector images?

Raster based artwork such as photos, or flattened artwork (from Adobe Photoshop) are made up of tiny squares (pixels) and depending on your resolution and/or final output size desired, the file could…

Updated 7 months ago by Jessica Lowry

What is edge painting?

Special-mixed paints applied to cover the entire "edge" or side of a card. Usually applied to thicker stocks (32pt or higher) in order to make the colors and edges more pronounced. NOTE: Please read…

Updated 7 months ago by Emma Davis

What is variable data?

Also known as variable information printing, this type of printing involves lines of text or graphics that change from piece to piece. It can be used for applying unique codes, such as barcodes or QR…

Updated 8 months ago by Alexis Underwood

What is scoring?

Scoring is the process of putting a crease in the paper to make folding easier. This is done on cardstock as it is too thick to fold without cracking