:: Glossary . Not familiar with common and not-so-common graphic design and/or printing terms? The GrooveMaster Graphics glossary will help you to understand and become comfortable with those most frequently used. We will add regularly to this section to keep it current and valuable. If you don’t see what you are looking for, please Contact Us.

Bit-Mapped Graphics Format: See Raster Graphics Format

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Bleed: Text or graphics that extends all the way to the edge of the paper it is printed on. Bleeds are used in publishing for graphical effect. Most printers cannot print all the way to the edge of the paper, so the only way to produce a bleed is to print on paper larger than the final page size and then trim the paper.

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CMYK Color Space: One of the color spaces used in graphics software. This color space is based on the ink colors used in traditional full-color commercial printing: [C]yan, [M]agenta, [Y]ellow, and blac[K]. Also know as process colors. It is used only when the final output method is traditional full-color commercial printing.

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Digital Printing: Digital printing is printing using digital techniques developed for computer printers such as inkjet or laser printers. The process differs from lithography, flexography, gravure, and letterpress printing in several ways:

  • Every print can be different, because printing plates are not required, as in traditional methods.
  • There is less waste chemical and paper, because there is no need to bring the image “up to color” and check for registration and position.
  • The ink or toner does not permeate the substrate, as does conventional ink, but forms a thin layer on the surface and may in some systems be additionally adhered to the substrate by using a fuser fluid with heat process (toner) or UV curing process (ink).
    • Because there is less initial setup, it is useful for rapid prototyping, and cost effective for small print runs. Digital Printing is used for personalized printing, or variable data printing (VDP or VI). Print on Demand (POD) systems also use digital printing, for short run books of varying page quantities, and binding techniques.

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    EPS File Format: Encapsulated PostScript, or EPS, is a PostScript document intended to be usable as a graphics file format. In other words, EPS files are more or less self-contained, reasonably predictable PostScript documents that describe an image or drawing and can be placed within another PostScript document. At minimum, an EPS file contains a Bounding Box DSC (Document Structuring Conventions) comment, describing the rectangle containing the image described by the EPS file. Applications can use this information to lay out the page, even if they are unable to directly render the PostScript inside. EPS, together with DSC’s Open Structuring Conventions, form the basis of early versions of the Adobe Illustrator Artwork file format.

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    Font/Typeface: A font is a collection of characters that are produced by typing on a keyboard. This includes letters numbers, symbols, punctuation marks, etc. in a given [type]face design. It also includes the design in various sizes and includes formatting options such as bold, italic and underline. Fonts are an important factor in determining what the mood, look & feel of a design is. Graphic designers know how to work with typefaces from selection to printing. They must be handled correctly from a technical standpoint so that they will print correctly. Use of fonts on the web is limited to a group of so called ‘web safe’ fonts.

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    Ghosting: Also know as screening back, ghosting is a design technique where an image/graphic is made transparent to some degree. This will cause what is behind it to show through or cause it to appear faintly in the background.

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    GIF File Format: 

GIF (G I F) is a compressed format generally used for images with large areas of solid color such as in line art, logos and illustrations. GIF compression always lowers overall quality just a bit so GIF compression is known as ‘lossy’. Many of the images and graphics you see on the internet are GIF..

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    Gradient: A gradient in its simplest form is a transition or fade from one color to another. It could also be a fade from a color to transparent. A variety of effects are accomplished by using multiple colors. Gradients also include a direction in which the fade travels. Some examples are linear, radial and diamond.

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JPEG File Format: JPEG (J P E G) is a compressed format generally used for continuous tone images such as photographs. JPEG’s reduce file size by using compression algorithms. JPEG compression always lowers overall quality just a bit so JPEG compression is known as ‘lossy’. JPEG’s can be created using different quality settings. The higher the quality setting the larger the file and vice versa. Many of the images and graphics you see on the internet are JPEG.

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Offset Printing: Offset printing is a commonly used printing technique where the inked image is transferred (or “offset”) from a plate to a rubber blanket, then to the printing surface. When used in combination with the lithographic process, which is based on the repulsion of oil and water, the offset technique employs a flat (planographic) image carrier on which the image to be printed obtains ink from ink rollers, while the non-printing area attracts a water-based film (called “fountain solution”), keeping the non-printing areas ink-free.

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PDF File Format: Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format created by Adobe Systems in 1993 for document exchange. Adobe PDF is used for representing two-dimensional documents in a manner independent of the application software, hardware, and operating system. Each Adobe PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout 2D document that includes the text, fonts, images, and 2D vector graphics which compose the documents.

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    Pixel: The name pixel was derived from two words, picture and element. It is the basic element that makes up a bit mapped/raster image on a screen. Pixels are square. Depending on size and resolution an image may contain thousands or millions of pixels. Pixels are very small and should not be noticed. In cases where you have seen ’stair stepped’ images, you are actually seeing, This is due to incorrect dimensions and resolution for the specific output medium.

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PNG File Format: The Portable Network Graphics format is expected to become a mainstream format for Web images and could replace GIF entirely. It is platform independent and should be used for single images only (not animation). Compared with GIF, PNG offers greater color support and better compression, gamma correction for brightness control across platforms, better support for transparency, and a better method for displaying progressive images.

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    PPI: Pixels Per Inch is the measurement of resolution of an electronic image. Along with the physical dimensions of the image, PPI determines the quality of, and usefulness for any particular output medium. Typically the internet displays images at 72 PPI while printing requires 300 PPI or higher.

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Raster Graphics Format: : Also know as bit-mapped graphics format. This format is a representation consisting of rows and columns of pixels in computer memory. The value of each dot, whether it is filled or not, is stored in one or more bits of data. The density of the dots, known as the resolution, determines how sharply the image is represented. This is often expressed in pixels per inch [ppi]. To display a bit-mapped image on a monitor or to print on a printer, the computer translates the bit map into pixels for monitor screens, or ink dots for printer. Bitmap images have a fixed resolution and cannot be resized without losing image quality. Common bitmap-based formats are JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PNG, PICT, and BMP.

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Resolution: Resolution is a measurement of the output quality of an image, usually in terms of samples, pixels, dots, or lines per inch. The terminology varies according to the intended output device. PPI (pixels per inch) refers to screen resolution, DPI (dots per inch) refers to print resolution, SPI (samples per inch) refers to scanning resolution, and LPI (lines per inch) refers to halftone resolution. Often images are referred to as high resolution (hi-res) or low resolution (low-res). High resolution would be an image intended for print, generally having 300 samples per inch or more. Low resolution refers to images only intended for screen display, generally having 100 pixels per inch or less. Scanner and digital camera manufacturers often refer to two different types of resolution when listing product specs: optical resolution and interpolated, or digital, resolution. The optical resolution is the true measurement of resolution that the output device can capture. Interpolated, or digital, resolution is acquired artificially.

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RGB Color Space: One of the color spaces used in graphics software. This color space is based on the primary additive colors of [R]ed, [G]reen, and [B]lue. This is the most common color mode used in graphics software.

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Royalty Free Image License: 

A Royalty Free image license allows the licensee to use the image in any way he sees fit, for as long as he desires. The types of use allowed are limited only by terms of the licensing agreement. Royalty Free Licenses are generally less expensive than Rights Managed Licenses.

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Spot Color: A spot color is a specially mixed ink using in printing. Spot color inks come in many colors, including some specialty inks such as metallic and florescent. Spot colors are pre-mixed so theoretically they should print the same in every case. There are different brands of spot color inks. In the United States, the dominant spot color printing system is PANTONE (The Pantone Matching System or PMS).

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    Spread: A spread is the arrangement of pages as the reader sees them. One page is not a spread but two or more are. The two facing pages in a book or magazine are a spread. And, the three facing pages on the inside of a six panel brochure, are a spread.

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TIFF File Format: Tagged Image File Format (abbreviated TIFF) is a file format for storing images, popular among Apple Macintosh owners, graphic artists, the publishing industry, and both amateur and professional photographers in general. As of 2009, it is under the control of Adobe Systems. The TIFF format is widely supported by image-manipulation applications, by publishing and page layout applications, by scanning, faxing, word processing, optical character recognition and other applications.

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Vector Graphics Format: Vector graphics are made up of many individual objects. Each of these objects can be defined by mathematical statements and has individual properties assigned to it such as color, fill, and outline. Vector graphics are resolution independent because they can be output to the highest quality at any scale. Common vector formats include AI (Adobe Illustrator), CDR (CorelDRAW).

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