Glossary

Print + W2P glossary.

Definitions of the terms we use across the docs and tutorials. 84 terms.

A

Aqueous coating Finishing: A water-based clear coating applied over printed material to add a matte or gloss finish, improve durability, and resist smudging. Cheaper than UV coating; faster drying than lamination.

B

Banding Print production: Visible stripes or lines in a print, usually caused by mismatched inkjet print head passes or paper feed inconsistencies. A quality defect, not a design effect.
Banner stand Finishing: A portable retractable or roll-up display unit holding a printed banner — common in retail and trade-show contexts. Standard banner-stand sizes are 800×2000 mm and 850×2000 mm.
Binding Finishing: Method of holding the pages of a multi-page document together — saddle stitch (staple through fold), perfect bind (glued spine), spiral, Wire-O, hardcover, or PUR.
Bleed Print production: Extra image area extending beyond the cut line so trimming variance never reveals white paper at the edge. Typical bleed is 3mm or 0.125 inch.
Boards Print production: Paperboard sheets used for cards, packaging, and rigid products. Measured in grammage (gsm) or caliper (points).
Brand kit Web-to-print: A stored set of approved brand assets (logos, fonts, colors, templates) that constrains customer customization to brand-compliant choices. Used in corporate-portal W2P scenarios to prevent off-brand outputs.

C

CMYK Color & ink: Four-color subtractive process — Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key (black) — used for printing on white substrates. Standard for commercial print.
CTP (Computer-to-plate) Print production: Imaging a printing plate directly from a digital file, skipping the film step. Standard in offset since the early 2000s.
Calibration Color & ink: Aligning a monitor, scanner, or printer to a known color reference so colors render consistently across the workflow. Critical for color-managed proofing.
Choke and trap Print production: Slight overlap (trap) or contraction (choke) of adjacent colors at the boundary to prevent visible gaps when printing-press registration shifts. Mostly handled automatically in modern RIPs; sometimes hand-tuned for high-contrast designs.
Coated paper Print production: Paper with a clay or polymer coating that produces a smoother finish and sharper ink reproduction than uncoated. Common in gloss / silk / matte coated finishes.
Color management Color & ink: End-to-end discipline of producing consistent colors from screen to press across multiple devices and substrates. Uses ICC profiles, calibrated devices, and proofing standards.
Color profile (ICC) Color & ink: A standardized file describing how a device or color space reproduces color. Embedded in print-ready files to tell the press how to interpret the colors in the document.
Color separation Print production: Breaking a multi-color design into individual single-color channels (one per ink). Required for screen printing where each color needs its own screen.
Contour cut Finishing: A custom-shape cut through a printed sheet following the outline of the printed design, rather than a straight rectangular cut. Used for stickers, labels, and custom shapes.
Crop marks File formats: Short lines printed at the corners of a document showing the printer where to trim. Required on most professional press files; auto-generated by PrintIntegrator output.
Cropmarks File formats: Short lines printed outside the final trim size to show the trimming guillotine where to cut. Always sit in the bleed area.

D

DPI (Dots per inch) Print production: Print resolution measure — how many ink dots the press lays down per inch. 300 DPI is the standard for full-color images; 600 DPI for fine type or line art.
DPI / PPI File formats: Dots-per-inch (print resolution) or pixels-per-inch (digital image resolution). Standard for commercial print is 300; large-format viewed from distance is 100–150; below 150 visible quality drops.
DTF (Direct-to-Film) Print production: Apparel decoration method where the design prints onto a special film, gets dusted with adhesive powder, and then heat-transfers onto the garment. Newer alternative to DTG; faster setup, vivid colors.
DTG (Direct-to-Garment) Print production: Apparel decoration method where ink prints directly onto the fabric via an inkjet-style printer. Best for full-color designs and short runs. Requires white-ink underbase on dark garments.
Die line File formats: A vector outline showing how flat-printed material gets cut, folded, scored, or perforated to make a 3D product (box, folder, mailer). Critical for packaging design.
Die-cutting Finishing: Cutting irregular shapes from paper or board using a steel rule die. The dieline is the path the die follows.
Dieline File formats: A drawn cut and crease path for a packaging or label job. Lives on a separate layer in the print file and is not printed.
Digital press Print production: A press that prints directly from a digital file without plates — toner-based (HP Indigo, Xerox) or inkjet (HP PageWide). Best for short runs, variable data, and rapid turnaround.
Duplex (printing) Print production: Printing on both sides of the sheet in one press pass. Same idea as duplex copying.

E

EPS File formats: Encapsulated PostScript — a vector file format common in pre-press. Largely superseded by PDF but still used for legacy workflows.
EPS file File formats: Encapsulated PostScript — vector file format with embedded preview. Older but widely supported. Largely superseded by PDF and AI for modern workflows.
Embed (font / image) File formats: Including the font or image data inside the print file rather than linking to it. Required for print-ready PDFs so the press does not need the original asset.
Embossing / debossing Finishing: Three-dimensional finishing technique using a metal die to raise (emboss) or recess (deboss) a portion of the substrate. Common on business cards and premium packaging.

F

FOGRA39 Color & ink: A widely-used ICC profile representing typical European offset printing on coated paper. The default proof condition for many European commercial printers.
Finishing Finishing: Operations applied after printing: trimming, folding, binding, laminating, foiling, embossing, die-cutting. Often the slowest stage in a print job.
Flat size vs. finished size Print production: Flat size is the dimensions before folding; finished size is after folding. Always specify both for folded products.
Flexography Print production: Print process using flexible plates wrapped on a cylinder, with quick-drying inks. Dominant for packaging, labels, and corrugated boxes — especially long runs.
Foil stamping Finishing: Metallic or holographic foil pressed onto a substrate using a heated die. Standard premium finish for business cards, packaging, and stationery.
Foiling Finishing: Applying metallic or pigmented foil to printed surfaces via heat and pressure. Hot foil and cold foil are distinct processes.
Four-color process Color & ink: Reproducing full-color images using only CMYK inks. Compare to spot color, which uses pre-mixed inks for specific shades.

G

GS1 barcode File formats: Standardized barcode formats (UPC, EAN, GTIN) managed by GS1 for product identification. Required for retail packaging and most commercial supply chains.
GSM (Grams per square meter) Print production: Paper weight measure used everywhere except the US. 80gsm is office copier paper; 350gsm is business-card stock.
Gutter Print production: The blank space between two facing pages in a multi-page document, or the inner margin near the binding edge. Content placed in the gutter risks being clipped or hidden in the binding.

I

Imposition Print production: Arranging multiple pages on a single press sheet so they end up in the correct order after folding and cutting. Done automatically by RIP software.

J

JDF (Job Definition Format) File formats: XML-based standard for describing print jobs and their production parameters. Used to pass jobs between MIS, prepress, and press systems automatically.

L

Lamination Finishing: Bonding a thin plastic film to a printed sheet for protection, durability, or finish effect. Gloss, matte, soft-touch, anti-scratch — each with different cost and look.
Lay-flat binding Finishing: A book binding that opens flat — typically PUR or section-sewn. Used for photo books and high-end catalogs.
Letterpress Print production: Relief printing where raised type or plates press into the paper. Mostly used today for high-end stationery and packaging.
Litho (offset lithography) Print production: The dominant industrial print process for runs over a few hundred copies. Ink is transferred from a plate to a rubber blanket to the paper.
Lithography (Litho) Print production: Standard offset-printing process for high-volume commercial work — design transfers from a plate to a rubber blanket and onto the substrate. Best per-unit economics at runs of 1,000+ units.

M

MIS (Management Information System) Industry / business: Software for the print shop's back office — estimating, scheduling, inventory, billing, job costing. Examples: EFI Pace, Tharstern, Avanti, Aleyant tier-Z. Different from W2P, which is customer-facing.
Mockup Web-to-print: A visual simulation of the printed product — often a 3D render. Used to show customers what their design will look like before they pay.

O

Offset Print production: Short for offset lithography; see Litho.
Overprint Color & ink: Printing one color directly on top of another (rather than knocking out the underlying color). Used intentionally for trapping and special effects, accidentally to disastrous results.

P

PDF/X File formats: A constrained subset of PDF designed for reliable print production. PDF/X-1a flattens transparency; PDF/X-4 preserves it. The standard for print-ready files.
PMS (Product Information Management) Industry / business: Software for managing product catalog data across channels — descriptions, images, pricing, attributes. Less relevant to W2P than to general ecommerce.
PUR binding Finishing: A perfect binding using polyurethane reactive adhesive. Stronger and more flexible than standard hot-melt PMUR — the lay-flat property comes from PUR.
Pantone (PMS) Color & ink: Standardized spot-color system used for brand-color matching across press and substrate. Each color has a Pantone code (e.g. PMS 286 C for blue) ensuring consistent reproduction.
Perfect binding Finishing: Multi-page binding method where pages glue to a flexible spine, like a paperback book. Used for catalogs, manuals, and magazines over ~50 pages.
Pre-press Print production: Everything that happens between receiving a customer file and starting the print run: preflight, imposition, plate-making, proofing.
Preflight Print production: Automated check that a print file meets specs: resolution, color mode, embedded fonts, bleed, page count. Catches problems before they hit the press.
Print broker Industry / business: Sales-and-customer-relationship business that does not own a press; routes customer orders to partner shops. PrintIntegrator's broker solution targets this workflow specifically.
Print-on-demand (POD) Industry / business: Producing one or a small number of items per order, often customized. Contrast with traditional print runs of hundreds or thousands.
PromoStandards Industry / business: Industry standard for promotional-products supplier integration. Provides API access to supplier catalog, inventory, and order workflows. Standard for promo-products W2P platforms.
Proof Print production: A representation of how the printed piece will look — soft proof (PDF on screen) or hard proof (printed sample). Always sign off on the proof before press.

R

RIP (Raster Image Processor) Print production: Software that converts vector and raster artwork into the dot pattern the press needs to print. Sits between the design file and the press hardware.
Raster File formats: An image composed of pixels (e.g., JPG, PNG, TIFF). Has a finite resolution; scaling up loses quality.
Resolution File formats: The pixel density of a raster image, measured in DPI for print or PPI for screen. Print requires ~300 DPI; screen 72-150 PPI is enough.

S

SKU Industry / business: Stock Keeping Unit — a unique identifier for a product variant. In personalized print, each combination of substrate, size, and finishing is typically its own SKU.
SKU (Stock Keeping Unit) Industry / business: Unique identifier for a product variant — combines product, size, color, and any other distinguishing attributes. Each personalized order in W2P typically generates a unique line item even when SKU is shared.
Saddle stitch Finishing: Multi-page binding method using staples through the centerfold of folded sheets. Used for booklets up to ~64 pages. Cheap and fast.
Scoring Finishing: Pressing a crease line into paper or board so it folds cleanly. Required for stocks over ~170gsm.
Screen printing Print production: Apparel and promotional decoration method using mesh screens, one per ink color, to push ink onto the substrate. Best for high volumes and vivid spot colors; setup-heavy.
Soft proof Print production: Color-managed on-screen preview of how the printed piece will look. Replaces some, but not all, physical-proof workflows; final approval often still needs an ink-on-paper proof for press-critical work.
Spot UV Finishing: Selective application of UV-cured glossy coating to specific areas of a printed piece. Adds tactile contrast and visual interest, especially with matte lamination underneath.
Spot color Color & ink: A pre-mixed ink (often a Pantone color) printed as its own separation, rather than built from CMYK. Used for brand colors that CMYK cannot reproduce accurately.
Sublimation Print production: Decoration method using heat to transfer dye from a printed sheet into polyester fabric (apparel) or coated rigid material (mugs, plates). Vibrant colors; only works on polyester substrates.
Substrate Print production: The material being printed on — paper, card, fabric, vinyl, plastic, metal. The substrate dictates which press and inks you can use.

T

Tinting Color & ink: Adding white to a base color to lighten it, or printing a percentage screen of a color to create a lighter shade.
Trapping Print production: Slightly overlapping adjacent colors to avoid white gaps from press registration variance.
Trim size Print production: The final dimensions of a printed piece after cutting. Different from the document size, which includes bleed area that gets cut away.

U

UV coating Finishing: Ultraviolet-cured clear coating applied to printed material for a high-gloss finish and increased scratch resistance. Premium finish vs aqueous coating.

V

Variable data printing (VDP) Print production: Print process where each printed piece can carry unique data (name, address, barcode, image) within a run. Powered by digital presses; foundational to personalized direct mail and team-kit production.
Vector File formats: An image defined by mathematical paths (SVG, AI, EPS, PDF). Scales to any size without quality loss. Required for logos and line art.

W

Web-to-print (W2P) Web-to-print: Software that lets customers configure and order printed products through a storefront, generating print-ready files automatically. PrintIntegrator is a W2P platform.
White ink / white-ink underbase Print production: On dark garments and substrates, a white ink layer printed first creates a base for subsequent colored inks. DTG and screen printing both require this for color accuracy on dark fabrics.