Printing Terms to Remember for Becoming a Print Expert – Part II
In the last post, we discussed a few terms of printing that are very important to know. In this post, we will discuss a few more printing terms that you just cannot miss out on.
Printing Terms to Remember
In order to be able to do a perfect printing job, you need to have a good understanding of all the important terms that are used in printing. Here are some more printing terms to know:
- Paper Types: This is one of the most important terms of printing. The type of paper used determines the overall color and quality of the print project. You can choose from coated and uncoated paper. The style of the paper – matte or glossy, is also important while finalizing the paper type. The choice depends on what is to be printed on paper. The glossy style is suitable for photos, while matte is perfect for the text. On the other hand, coated papers are used for printing books and brochures, whereas uncoated paper is a perfect choice for printing posters and letterheads.
- Monotone & Duotone Colors: In spite of the fact that they both look similar, the monotone and duotone colors have a quite different composition. These are mainly used to give an old or artistic feel to the photos or images. In monotone colors, a grayscale image is printed with only one color ink, which is not black. On a contrary, in the case of duotone colors, the grayscale image is printed with multiple inks. Unlike monotone, duotone uses black ink.
- Pantone Coverage: Pantone is a standard system for matching colors. Pantone coverage is the measure to calculate the perfection of a printer to reproduce colors from standard Pantone swatch. The Pantone coverage changes with the type of paper being used. Most contemporary printers are capable of producing 98% of the Pantone range, which can be considered as decent output.
- Bleed: With the help of bleed, a printer prepares a file for printing. This ensures that only the correct area of the paper gets printed. Bleed provides a sufficient wiggle room and extends the edge of a photo so that even in case of a slight variation, there is not much a problem caused. There are different bleed specifications for different printers, but it is always good to have a minimum bleed of 1/2 inch.
- Large Format: Large format is the term used when you want to have prints of large sizes such as billboards, posters, or banners. Specialty printers are required for this purpose. Large format printing is done to make the slightest of the detail on the print visible from a long distance.
Today, in the ever-increasing competition in the printing and designing field, you need to be updated with the terms used. When you get a hold of all the necessary terms in printing, it helps in communicating your ideas well with the commercial printer. This helps realize the ideas in the way you want them to be. The terms explained in this, as well as the previous post, would help you in becoming a print expert. This is not done yet. There are still a few terms to discuss. We will discuss the final set of printing terms in the upcoming post.
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