GRAPHIC DESIGN TERMINOLOGY
Speaking to a printer or a manufacture can be a daunting task. Often, technical terms and processes that are specific to the design industry are used and communication with the client can be difficult if they are not educated about the design process. This is where you need to be if you have questions on how to prepare your art or if you have heard a technical term that needs to be explained. Being educated on these design terms helps our clients experience a smooth design process. If you don't see what you are looking for, please EMAIL US today and a qualified rep will assist you!

4-COLOR PROCESS:
The printing process that reproduces colors by combining, cyan, magenta, yellow and black. If you look through a magnifying glass, you'll see that the printed image consists of dots in these four colors. These dots are printed on top of each other, next to each other or just close to each other, depending on the color and tonal values wanted

BLEED:
An image or printed color that runs off the trimmed edge of a page.

DESIGN PROGRAMS:
Here is a list of Industry standard programs used by most graphic designers. Adobe Illustrator (.AI/.EPS file), Freehand (.FH), Adobe ACrobat (.PDF), Quark, Photoshop (.psd), Corel Draw (.cdr), Adobe InDesign.

DPI (Dots per Inch):
The number of dots that fit horizontally and vertically into a one inch measure. Generally, the more dots per inch, the more detail is captured, and the sharper the resulting image.

FLASH:
Vector graphic animation software from Macromedia that creates browser-independent graphics (graphics that look the same across all browsers).

FONTS:
A font is a complete set of characters in a particular style and typically consists of a full letter set, number set and all other special characters you get by pressing the shift, control or option keys. Examples of fonts include "Arial", "Courier New" etc.

FONTS CONVERTED TO PATHS:
If you have a document that uses a font and you send it to a printer and that printer does not have that font, it will display differently when they open the art file. To avaid this, you can "create the font to paths/outlines". This turns the "font" from an editable textblock to a graphic image. It will no longer be editable as text but it will display as intended for the printer even if they don't have the original font used.

GRADIANT:
A function in graphic software that allows the user to fill an object/image with a smooth transition of colors, for example a dark blue, gradually becoming lighter or red, gradually becoming orange, then yellow.

GRAYSCALE:
Grayscale images contains black, white, no color and up to 256 shades of gray.

HALFTONE/HALFTONE SCREEN:
The reproduction of a continuous tone, such as a photograph, in which detail and tone value are represented by a series of evenly spaced dots of varying size and shape. Defined as LPI, lines per inch, or line screen frequency. You can think of LPI as the halftone resolution.

HI RESOLUTION DOCUMENT:
An image with a high level of sharpness/clarity. Usually over 300DPI.

HUE & SATURATION:
Hue is the actual color of an object. Hue is measured as a pure color (on the color wheel) in degrees, for example degrees/variations of blue which is from a green-blue or sea-blue up to a purple-blue. Saturation is the color intensity of an image. A color with high saturation will appear brighter and more vibrant than the same color with low saturation. Colors in grayscale images have no saturations (white, grays and black).

INVERT:
Reversal of the tonal values or colors of an image. On an inverted image, black becomes white, blue becomes orange etc.

JPEGS:
Joint Photographic Electronic Group. A common standard for compressing image data. File format often used by designers to present clients with a proof. Raster art, not editable.

KERNING:
Adjusting the lateral (horizontal) space between letters.

LAYERED DOCUMENT:
A function within graphic software that allows the user to assemble, organize and re-edit their artwork. In photoshop you can create layers or channels and this allows the designer to edit only pieces of the document without altering the rest.

LINE WEIGHT:
Line weight is a term referring to the thickness of a printed line. Most printers have a Min. line weight for print.

LOW RESOLUTION DOCUMENT:
A low-resolution image is a low-detail scan made from, for example a photograph.

OPACITY:
The density of a color or tonal value. The opacity of an image or object can range from transparent (0% opacity) to opaque (100% opacity). The ability to edit the opacity of individual objects allows the designer to create images that seem to flow into and through one another.

PMS COLOR SWATCHES:
The Pantone Color Matching System is largely a standardized color reproduction system. By standardizing the colors different manufactures in different locations can all refer to a the Pantone system to make sure colors match without direct contact with one another. These colors are known as spot colors. Using PMS colors ensures that no matter where you are or what printer you use, the color will always remain the same. Includes, metallic's, fluorescent and regular spot colors.

PREPRESS SERVICES:
The various printing related services, performed before ink is actually put on the printing press.

RASTER VS VECTOR ART:
Vector graphics are drawn in paths. This allows the designer to resize images freely without getting pixilated edges as is the case with bitmapped images. The vector format is generally used for in printing while the bitmap format is used for onscreen display. Vector art is totally editable and the preferred method for print ready art.

RGB VS. CYMK COLOR:
Many graphics programs give you the choice to work in either RGB or CMYK. Scanners, Monitors and digital cameras create images using combinations of just three colors: Red, Green and Blue (called "RGB"). These are the primary colors of light, which computers use to display images on your screen. Printing presses print full color pictures using a different set of colors, the primary colors of pigment: Cyan (blue), Magenta (red), Yellow and Black (called "CMYK"). This is "4-color process" or "full-color" printing that comprises the majority of magazines and marketing materials you see every day. In order to print on a press, your RGB file must be converted to CMYK.

Be aware that it is possible to see colors in RGB that you can't make with CMYK. They are said to be "out of the CMYK color gamut". Your artist will assign the closet possible CYMK match to your RGB color choices but not all colors can be matched exact. To ensure you get what you want, it's best to select any colors you use for fonts or other design elements in your layout using CMYK definitions instead of RGB.

SPOT COLORS:
Single colors applied to printing when process color is not necessary (i.e. one, two and three color printing, ex. a metallic tint)

TEXT WRAP:
A term used in page layout software, referring to the way text can be shaped around the edges of images.

TRAPPING:
To print one ink over another to avoid any paper showing through.