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Print Glossary

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Page

One side of a leaf in a publication.

Page Count

Total number of pages that a publication has. Also called extent.

Page Proof

Proof of type and graphics as they will look on the finished page complete with elements such as headings, rules and folios.

Pagination

1. In the bookwork field, the numbering of pages.

2. Generic term for the process of turning Miles tagged text into style pages.

Painted Sheet

Sheet printed with ink edge to edge, as compared to spot colour. The painted sheet refers to the final product, not the press sheet, and means that 100 percent coverage results from bleeds off all four sides.

Panel

One page of a brochure, such as one panel of a rack brochure. One panel is on one side of the paper. A letter-folded sheet has six panels, not three.

Paper Plate

A printing plate made of strong and durable paper in the short run offset arena (cost effective with short runs).

Paper Requisition Form

Form used to calculate and subsequently order the stock for a printed job.

Parallel Fold

Method of folding. Two parallel folds to a sheet will produce 6 panels.

Parent Sheet

Any sheet larger than 11' x 17' or A3.

Parliamentary Liaison Office (PLO)

The TSO office sited at Derby Gate, Whitehall who are the initial point of contact with Westminster clients on day-to-day management of the Westminster contract.

Parly Stock

Paper kept in stock by Parliamentary Press and suitable for a variety of printing jobs. Also called house sheet or floor sheet.

Pass for Press

Principally, the key element of the QA process within the printing industry, it is the final, approved for press, hard copy version of a print job. This will have been seen and signed by the client (or his proxy) and returned to the printer for production to commence. It is then used for the Quality Assurance checks of content when sheets are delivered from the press.

PDF

Portable Document Format. Developed by Adobe PDF is the open de facto standard for electronic document distribution worldwide. PDF is a universal file format that preserves all of the fonts, formatting, colours, and graphics of any source document, regardless of the application and platform used to create it. PDF files are compact and can be shared, viewed, navigated, and printed exactly as intended by anyone with a free Adobe Acrobat Reader. The Agfa Apogee system used to drive the Galileo Platesetters at the press utilise PDF as the file format within the workflow.

PECAS

Printer's Estimating Costing And Scheduling system used for the generation of Works Instruction Tickets.

Perfect Bind

To bind sheets that have been ground at the spine and are held to the cover by glue. Also called adhesive bind, cut-back bind, glue bind, paper bind, patent bind, perfecting bind, soft bind and soft cover.

See also Burst Perfect Bind.

Perfecting Press

Press capable of printing both sides of the paper during a single pass. Also called duplex press and perfector.

Perf Marks

On a "dummy" marking where the perforation is to occur.

Perforating

Taking place on a press or a binder machine, creating a line of small dotted wholes for the purpose of tearing-off a part of a printed matter (usually straight lines, vertical or horizontal). Also called Perfing.

Personalisation

The process whereby printed documents/publications are adapted to include personalised details specific to individual clients. A key area of digital production within the Oce Department.

Petams

A company specialising in case binding who we outsource to when products require binding of this nature. Bound Volumes are an example of products finished this way.

Pica

A unit of measure in the printing industry. A pica is approximately 0.166 in. There are 12 points to a pica.

Picking

Phenomenon of ink pulling bits of coating or fibre away from the surface of paper as it travels through the press, thus leaving unprinted spots in the image area.

Piling

A printing problem caused by the accumulation of paper fibres (called lint), pieces of detached coating particles or other paper debris on the printing plate or blanket.

Pilot

Agfa's PDF workflow suite.

Pinholing

Small holes (unwanted) in printed areas because of a variety of reasons.

Pin Register

Technique of registering separations, flats and printing plates by using small holes, all of equal diameter, at the edges of both flats and plates.

Pixel

Short for picture element, a dot made by a computer, scanner or other digital device. Also called pel.

Planographic Printing

Printing method whose image carriers are level surfaces with inked areas separated from non-inked areas by chemical means. Planographic printing includes lithography, offset lithography and spirit duplicating.

Plate

Piece of paper, metal, plastic or rubber carrying an image to be reproduced using a printing press.

Plate-ready Film

Stripped negatives or positives fully prepared for platemaking.

Platesetter

Part of a Computer-to-Plate system. The Galileos are Platesetters.

Pleasing Colour

Colour that the customer considers satisfactory even though it may not precisely match original samples, scenes or objects.

PMS

Obsolete reference to Pantone Matching System. The correct trade name of the colours in the Pantone Matching System is Pantone colours, not PMS Colours.

Point

1. Regarding paper, a unit of thickness equating 1/1000 inch.

2. Regarding type, a unit of measure equalling 1/12 pica and .013875 inch (.351mm).

Pony

Generic term used to describe the perfect-binding line in the finishing department.

Portrait

An art design in which the height is greater than the width. (Opposite of Landscape.)

Positive Film

Film that prevents light from passing through images, as compared to negative film that allows light to pass through. *Also called knockout film. *

Post Bind

To bind using a screw and post inserted through a hole in a pile of loose sheets.

Postscript

A now out-moded page definition language, used to electronically store a text page and all its elements.

Prepress

1. Generic term used to describe any process which is carried out on a product prior to it going onto press (litho or digital).

2. Generic term used to describe the origination department based around the Miles typesetting system.

Prepress Proof

Any colour proof made using ink jet, toner, dyes or overlays, as compared to a press proof printed using ink. Also called dry proof and off-press proof.

Preprint

To print portions of sheets that will be used for later over printing.

Prepping

Generic term used to describe the process of electronically imposing pages for plate production using ScenicSoft Preps software.

Preps

Widely used imposition software used extensively by Parliamentary Press as part of its digital workflow.

Preps Sheet

An internal document used to list the electronic files, in job order, for incorporation into a Preps imposition plan.

Press Check

Event at which make-ready sheets from the press are examined before authorizing full production to begin.

Press Time

1. Amount of time that one printing job spends on press, including time required for make-ready.

2. Time of day at which a printing job goes on press.

Price Break

Quantity at which unit cost of paper or printing drops.

Print On Demand (PoD)

The process whereby clients can order any TSO publication and have it printed and posted out to them within 24 hours. This whole operation is carried out in the Oce Digital Printing Department. A typical day's requirement could range between 200 and 500 totally individual publications for the same amount of individual clients. Generically referred to as simply On Demand.

Printed Paper Office (PPO)

Office within the House of Commons handling the distribution of published material within the House.

Printer Pairs

Usually in the bookwork field, consecutive pages as they appear on a flat or signature.

Printer Spreads

Mechanicals made so they are imposed for printing, as compared to reader spreads.

Printing

Any process that transfers to paper or another substrate an image from an original such as a film negative or positive, electronic memory, stencil, die or plate.

Printing Plate

Surface carrying an image to be printed. In the litho process at Parliamentary Press an aluminium-based plate with a light-sensitive emulsion coating.

Printing Unit

Assembly of fountain, rollers and cylinders that will print one ink colour. Also called colour station, deck, ink station, printer, station and tower.

Private Business

Part of the Vote Bundle consisting of an agenda for non-government or opposition matters. Any MP can apply to table private business. Printed on Sovereign Wove (within the Order Paper) when appearing for that day's business and on blue when it is for business on future dates.

Process Colour (Inks)

The colours used for four-colour process printing: yellow, magenta, cyan and black.

Production Run

Press run intended to manufacture products as specified, as compared to make-ready.

Proof

Test sheet made to reveal errors or flaws, predict results on press and record how a printing job is intended to appear when finished.

Proof Of Delivery (POD)

The recipient-signed despatch note kept with the job bag to enable proof of delivery to be established in event of query.

Proofreading

The process by which a galley proof is compared to the customer's copy and the style copy for accuracy before being presented to the client.

Proofreaders Marks

BSI standard symbols and abbreviations used to mark up manuscripts and proofs.

Proportion Scale

Round device used to calculate percent that an original image must be reduced or enlarged by to yield a specific reproduction size. Also called percentage wheel, proportion dial, proportion wheel and scaling wheel.

Public and General Acts (P & Acts)

An HMSO publication containing all the Acts for a parliamentary year published sequentially in order of Royal Assent within one publication.

Public Bill List

Part of the Vote Bundle consisting of a list of all Bills currently in progress and what stage they have reached. Appearing once a week, on a Friday and printing of Sovereign Wove.

Public Bill Office (PBO)

The office within both Houses of Parliament dealing with the production of Bills for their relevant House.

Putting the Tops On

Generic term used to define the process of placing the delivery label on top of a publication prior to it being shrink-wrapped.

Print Glossary

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