Skyline Printing Co.

The Business Office



The Difference Between Pixel and Vector-Based Graphics

Knowing what Vector Images are and what Pixel (raster) Images are are crucial to the world of advertising. We generally, ask for "converted text / camera-ready art", which basically means that the artwork has crisp, straight lines, and is not pixelated.  Your fonts must be flattened or converted to curves. 

In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a dot matrix data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium. Some examples of file formats that are Raster-Based images: jpg, tiff, png, gif and bmp. These are all pixelated file formats.

Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon(s), which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics. "Vector", in this context, implies more than a straight line. Some examples of file formats that are Vector-Based images: ai, eps, cdr and even some pdf. Vector images are usually the preferred file format. Imagine that you are a skilled artist, and you draw all the time. Vector images are just that, except they are done on a computer rather than by hand.  Artists typically use software such as Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw to create vector art.  Simply changing the file extension to .ai, .eps or .cdr does not make your work vector art.

To read more about the differences between Pixel (raster) images and Vector images, click here.

Why Vector Images Are The Preferred Method 

Vector drawings can be scalable to any size without any loss in quality. This makes them ideal for company logos or other objects that have to be resized frequently. Another advantage of vector images is that they're not restricted to a rectangular shape like bitmaps. Vector objects can be placed over other objects, and the object below will show through.  If you need help preparing vector art, please call us at 518.437.1199.


Sending Artwork Files

You can send your artwork files two us in one of two ways.  

The preferred method is to use Dropbox.  You can find out more about Dropbox and Dropbox.com.  If you already have Dropbox, simply create a new folder called "Skyline".  Place all your files in the "Skyline" folder.  Share the folder and send the link to: barryb@theskylinegroup.com.  Barry will acknowledge receipt within one business day and will contact you if there are any questions.

The alternate method to send your files is to attach them to an email and send the email to: barryb@theskylinegroup.com.   Barry will acknowledge receipt within one business day and will contact you if there are any questions.


Payment Information

Only the Chiropractic Travel Cards for sale on this site require payment when the order is placed.  Payment for this item will be collected via secure server directly from this web site.

All other products require payment arrangements before your order is placed on the production schedule.  Once we provide a final quote, we will post an invoice on our Squareup.com portal.   In addition, payment for all orders negotiated by phone will be invoiced on our Squareup.com portal.  

It rare cases we will provide payment terms to established business with a D&B rating.  For those customers billed on account there is a 2% per month fee ($5.00 min) on unpaid balances. 

You can access the SquareUp portal by clicking here


Glossary

Below is a listing of commonly used terms in the printing and promotional products industries.


Accordion Fold: In binding, a term used for one or more parallel folds which open like an accordion. 

Account Opener: Premiums given to customers of financial institutions as a reward or thank you for opening an account. 

Acetate : A transparent sheet made of flexible clear plastic, frequently used to make overlays on mechanicals. 

Ad Copy: Lettering imprinted on a product. Usually an advertiser's name, sales message, trademark or slogan. 

Advertising Specialty: A useful or interesting item of merchandise usually carrying an imprinted advertising or promotional message and given with no obligation. Another, though older, term for promotional products. 

Advocacy Advertising: Advertising that is specifically designed to induce, discourage or advocate some specific kind of action on the part of a corporate, social or government entity. 

Against the Grain: Folding or feeding paper at right angles to the grain direction of the paper. 

Airbrush: Graphic technique in which ink is applied with compressed air, similar to spray painting, to render a soft, airy effect. Frequently used in retouching. 

Alignment: The arrangement of type so that the bottom of the characters are in a straight line or the pages are precisely juxtaposed with each other. 

Art Proof: Artwork submitted for customer approval. It is usually a single black and white photostat of all the camera-ready art with a tissue overlay on which the colors of the components of the art are displayed. However, if the advertising copy or design is in a creative stage, the art proof could be a sketch, rough art or a comprehensive rough. With the advent of computer art, most designers now have inkjet or laser color printers on which to make art proofs. 

Artwork: Any drawing, photo, illustration or lettering in an ad that is not typeset. 

Ascender: The stroke of a letter that rises above the letter's x-height, as in the letter "d." 

Award: Recognition merchandise, often personalized, used to acclaim performance or milestones. May be useful objects (paperweights, clocks) or for display only (plaques. trophies). A subset of promotional products. 

Backing Up: Printing the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side. 

Bas Relief: Design that is impressed into its base material. Opposite of "intaglio" which is raised. 

Basis Weight: The weight of a ream (500 sheets) of paper at its standard size. For instance, one ream of 80# paper has a basis weight of 80 pounds. 

Bind: To fasten sheets or signatures and/or attach covers with glue, wire, thread, or other means. Binding creates the final product, such as a report, book, or magazine, and is one of the last steps in production.

Bit Map: Computer image made up of dots (pixels). Each dot represents one bit. For high-quality publishing, bit map refers primarily to a graphic image as it appears on screen. Bit map graphics, when printed, have a distinctly "computerized" look to them, as they suffer badly from aliasing.

Blank Dummy: A full-size, mock-up model of a point-of-purchase display that has no printing or art on it. 

Blanket: In offset lithography, the rubber-surfaced sheet clamped around the cylinder which transfers the image from plate to paper. 

Bleed Advertisement: A printed advertisement that fills the entire page to its edges without margin. 

Blind Embossing: A design which is stamped without metallic leaf or ink giving a bas-relief effect. 

Blowup: A photographic enlargement. 

Blue Line: The line drawn in blue ink on mechanical art, which indicates where diecutting will occur. It is blue so that the black-and-white camera won't record it. 

Blueline/Blueprint: Paper proofs in offset lithography in which the printing areas show in blue. 

Body Copy: The actual text that is distinguished from headlines, captions and subheads. 

Boldface: The characteristic of a typeface that indicates a wider darker representation. 

Bond Paper: A grade of writing or printing paper where strength, durability and permanence are essential requirements. Used for letterhead and business forms. 

Bonded Premium: Point-of-purchase premium attached to a product by a bond of plastic, paper or tape. 

Book Paper: A general term for coated and uncoated papers. 

Bounce Back: An advertisement sent along with an already ordered self-liquidating premium to sell other premiums on a self-liquidating basis.

Bristols : Heavy-grade papers offering better-than-average quality characteristics. They were originally made from rags in Bristol, England.

Bronzing: Printing with a sizing ink then applying bronze powder while still wet to produce a metallic luster. 

Bug: Manufacturer's (union's) identification mark printed on a form or product, usually in an inconspicuous area. 

Bulk: The degree of thickness of paper. 

Business Gift: Merchandise given by a business in goodwill, without obligation to its customers, employees, friends and the like. Unlike promotional products, the business gift often is not imprinted with the advertiser's identification. 

Camera-Ready Art: Any artwork or printed material with very high black and white contrast that needs no further touch-up, design or re-arranging before use as ad copy. It must be clean and ready to be photographed by the platemaker. Computer artwork with clean laser prints can often be used as camera-ready art. 

Caps: Capital or upper case letters. All capital settings of words are more difficult to read. Limit the use of caps to short, bold headings where emphasis is required. 

Casting: Method in which molten metal is forced into a mold, made either of rubber or plaster, and cooled in the desired shape. Because the process often uses precious metals for jewelry, business gifts, etc., and a master or model is required to make a mold, spec samples are very rarely given. 

Character: Any letter, number, punctuation mark or space in printed matter. 

Chrome: A color transparency, with a positive photographic image, produced on film. 

Clean-Up (or Wash Up) Charge: Factory charge added for labor costs involved in cleaning the printing press after using a nonstandard ink color. 

Cloisart: The desired logo or copy is foil hot stamped on a solid brass or metal base, then covered by an epoxy dome. There are fewer limitations with Cloisart because it is a hot stamp procedure. This is a cloisonne look-alike for a fraction of the cost, and is not generally considered as fine quality as cloisonne. Used in jewelry and pins. Cloisonne Metal emblems are stamped from a die. A colored paste made from ground glass is applied into the recessed areas of the emblem. The emblem is then fired at 1400º and polished by stone and pumice to achieve brilliant color. Gullies and ridges separate each individual color, so fine lines between colors are difficult to achieve. This is considered a very high-quality product, and is slightly more costly than other alternatives. Used in jewelry and pins. 

Coated Paper: Paper having a surface coating which produces a smooth finish. Surfaces vary from eggshell to glossy. 

Collate: Gathering (assembling) sections (signatures) in proper sequence for binding. 

Collateral Materials: Advertising materials that are not transmitted to consumers via advertising media. Collateral materials would include catalogs, shelf cards, posters, specification sheets and trade information materials. 

Collectibles: Premiums designed to have inherent value based upon their perceived "collectibility". 

Collotype: A screenless printing process of the planographic ink-water type in which the plates are coated with bichromated gelatin, exposed to continuous-tone negatives and are printed on lithographic presses with special dampening. 

Color Correction: Any method such as masking, dot-etching and scanning used to improve color rendition. 

Color Gamut: The entire range of hues possible to reproduce using a specific device, such as a computer screen or four-color press. Understanding the color gamut of different devices is imperative to achieve the color on press that you had hoped for. The computer screen can show a different range of colors than a press can print. Spot color inks have a much wider color gamut than process color. The human eye can perceive an extraordinary gamut.

Color Key Proof: An overlay proof composed of an individual acetate sheet for each color (see Progressive Proof). 

Color Proof: A first or early print of a finished color advertisement combining impressions from each of the separate progressive color plates. 

Color Separation: The separation of multi-colored original art by camera or laser scan techniques to produce individual negatives for each separated colors. The four common separations: yellow, magenta (red), cyan (blue) plus black are required for full-color (four-color) printing. 

Column Inch: A measure of printed media space one column wide by one inch high. 

Column Width: The horizontal measure of a column. 

Combination Sale: A tie-in of a premium with a purchase at a combination price; sometimes self-liquidating; often an on-pack. 

Commemorative: A merchandise keepsake used to mark a ceremony, anniversary, event or milestone. 

Composite: Several pictures placed together to form a single, combined picture. 

Comprehensive Layout: The final stage of a layout finished to look almost as the printed piece will look. 

Contact Print: A photographic print made from a negative or positive in contact with sesitized paper, film or printing plate. 

Container Premium: A product container which, when empty, may be used as a container for other items. Usually partially or completely self-liquidating since the consumer pays for the product. 

Contest: A competition based on skill, in which prizes are offered. Proof of purchase is usually required with entry. (See Sweepstakes.) 

Continuity Premiums: A series of related premiums offered over a period of six to eight weeks. Generally self-liquidating. 

Continuity Program: An offer of products over a period of time. 

Continuous Tone Art: Photograph, painting or other piece of art in which black and white tones gradually merge into one another. Requires halftone reproductions and screens. 

Cooperative Advertising: Advertising that is jointly sponsored and paid for under an articulated program by manufacturers and their retailers or dealers. 

Copy: The written content of advertising or editorial matter in the media. The editorial matter in broadcast media may also be referred to as continuity. 

Cost Per Inquiry (CPI): The cost to generate an inquiry in direct response advertising. Thus, the total cost of the direct response advertising divided by the number of inquiries generated by it. 

Cost Per Thousand (CPM): The cost of reaching one thousand units of a media vehicle's circulation or audience with a particular advertising unit. Thus, the cost of an advertising unit divided by the circulation or audience (however it is defined) of the media vehicle in which it appears. 

Coupon Plan: A program in which premiums are earned with proof-of-purchase coupons. The premium may be offered free or at a reduced price when the recipient collects a specified number of coupons. Premiums are sometimes free for a certain number of coupons or for purchase with fewer coupons. The recipient usually pays postage on the shipment. 

Cover Stock: A term for paper durable enough to be used as a cover on catalogs, pamphlets, etc. 

Coverage: The geographic area that is reached with specified intensity by an advertising medium. Also, that fraction of an audience that is reached one or more times by a particular advertising schedule. 

Cromalin Proof: A facsimile of a full-color reproduction, created chemically. 

Crop: To eliminate unwanted portions of a photograph or other art by placing lines in the margins to indicate the finished dimensions of the art. Marks should never be made directly on the art itself. 

Crop Marks: Indicator marks on artwork to show where an illustration is to be cut or sized. 

Cut: A broad term encompassing all plates associated with letterpress and hot stamp printing. 

Cut Charge: A factory charge for producing a cut. If the customer has a cut in the correct size, this charge often can be eliminated. 

Cut Score: A score that goes beyond depressing the material to actually cutting it partially through to facilitate ease of folding. 

Dealer Incentive: Premium or other reward given by manufacturer to retailers or distributors in return for a specified bulk purchase. 

Dealer Premiums/Dealer Programs: Premiums offered to retailers that meet certain sales or performance standards. 

Debossing: Stamping an image on a material, such as paper, leather or suede, so the image sits below the surface of the object. Ink may or may not accompany the stamp. 

Decal Transfer: A water-soluble decal, printed on an offset or letterset press, is submerged in water and slid onto the product to be imprinted. The decal is rubbed with a cloth or squeegee to remove any excess water and air from between the product and the decal. The product is then kiln-fired. Once fired, the decal becomes fused with the glaze. Hairline registration and superior reproduction of detail make it an excellent choice. This imprint withstands washing very well. This method is labor intensive, since each decal must be aligned and applied by hand. Used in porcelain, ceramic and glass products. 

Deckle Edge: The untrimmed feathery edge of paper formed where the pulp flows against the deckle which is the width of a wet sheet as it comes off the wire of a paper making machine. 

Demographics: Descriptive audience statistics that reflect consumer qualities such as age, sex, income, place of residence and educational attainment. 

Descender: The stroke of a letter that goes below the letter's x-height, as in "q" or "p." 

Designated Market Area (DMA): A description of a local television coverage area defined by the A.C. Nielsen Company and other research firms. 

Die: A mold into which molten metal, plastic or other material is forced to make a special shape, such as pen barrels or rings. Also a tool made of very hard material used to press a special shape into or onto a softer material such as coins and emblems. 

Die Cutting: The use of sharp steel blades to cut special shapes from printed sheets. 

Die-Casting (Injection Molding): Molten metal is injected into the cavity of a carved die. In the case where a double-sided impression is necessary, two dies are placed together, carved sides facing the inside, and the molten metal is injected between them. Fine detail is available, and thinner lines available than with die-struck products. Used in metals such as jewelry, pins and belt buckles. 

Die-Stamp: Steel plate engraved with desired image used to "stamp" (apply) gold or silver leaf. 

Die-Strike: A "first-off" proof struck from the die to determine cutting accuracy. 

Die-Struck (Die-Stamp): A die is used to press an image into a softer metal such as brass or gold. The die is put into a press, and the press is released and actually squeezes the metal into the recess of the die making the imprint on the metal. The height of detail is not as deep as casting; the letters and images are shorter. Fine detail and deep images cannot be achieved because the lines and gullies in the die may break during the striking process. Used in metals such as medals, coins and belt buckles. 

Direct Digital Printing:  Commercial-quality printing in which electronic source files are processed directly on the printing press or printing system, rather than through analog steps such as film imagesetting and platemaking. Direct digital printing systems may be based on lithographic offset technology or laser/toner technology. Front-end RIPs and servers are integrated components of these printing systems.

Direct Premium: An item given free with a purchase at the time of the purchase. Includes on-packs, in-packs and container premiums as well as those given separately. 

Direct Response Advertising: Advertising that seeks an immediate response from consumers by mail or telephone usually outside established channels of distribution. Direct response advertising may be carried by mail, by the broadcast media or by the printed media. 

Direct-to-Plate Printing: Imaging directly to the plate material used in offset lithographic printing. The traditional offset printing process includes generating film (typically from an imagesetter today), "burning plates" by exposing the aluminum or poly printing plates with the film, and mounting the resulting plates on offset presses. Direct-to-plate printing eliminates the film imaging step by imaging directly on the plate material.

Display Premium: A dealer premium initially used as part of a point-of-purchase display and later possibly reused in the dealer's store or home. 

Display Type: Large, contrasting blocks of copy that are set apart from ordinary text matter. 

Door-Opener: An item of value offered by a salesperson to persuade potential buyers to listen to a sales presentation or to initiate interest in a product or service for a sales-call follow-up. 

Dot: The individual element of a halftone. 

Dot Gain: Phenomenon of halftone dots printing larger on paper than they are on films or plates, reducing detail and lowering contrast on the final printed piece. This is primarily due to the fact that ink has a tendency to bleed when it hits paper. The type of ink and paper can affect the amount of dot gain dramatically. Newsprint suffers from heavy dot gain due to the coarseness of the paper fiber.

DPI - Dots per inch: Referring to the output resolution of a device like a laser printer, ink jet printer or imagesetter. Devices can range from low resolution (300 dpi laser printer) to very high resolution (2400-4000 dpi imagesetter). Generally, the higher the resolution, the higher the quality of the output.

Drop Shadow: Graphic device in which type or other element is reproduced with an offset second image on one edge, giving a "shadow" effect which visually "lifts" the primary type and makes the image appear three-dimensional. 

Dummy: A pattern of a page or pages provided for printers to show the location of all elements; it may be simply a drawing, or proofs pasted in position. 

Duotone: In photo-mechanics, a term for a two color halftone reproduction from a one color photograph. 

Embossed Finish: Paper with a raised or depressed surface resembling wood, cloth, leather or another pattern. 

Embossing: Stamping an image on a material, such as paper, leather or suede, so the image rises above the surface of the object. As in de-bossing, ink may or may not accompany the stamp. 

Embroidery: A design stitched onto a material through the use of high speed, computer controlled sewing machines. The design is reproduced with tightly-stitched thread. Embroidery is most commonly used on logo patches and directly on some wearables. Fine detail is difficult to achieve. 

Encapsulated PostScript (EPS): A standard file format for importing and exporting PostScript language files among applications in a variety of heterogeneous environments.

Engraving: The cutting or etching of designs or letters on metal, wood, glass or other materials. There are three engraving techniques. hand-engraving, hand-tracing, and computerized engraving. Engraving is performed with a diamond point or rotary blade that cuts into the surface of the product. Engraving offers a permanent imprint that will not wear off because it is cut into the metal base. Used in metals such as trophies, pens and nameplates. 

Envelope Stuffer: A direct mail advertising circular or message included with some other mailed message such as a monthly department store statement. 

Etched: The product to be imaged is coated with a resist (a protective coating that resists the acid). An image is exposed on the resist, usually photographically, leaving bare metal and protected metal. The acid attacks the exposed metal thus leaving the image etched into the surface of the metal. Very fine lines can be reproduced by this process and the only tooling is a piece of film, so spec samples are easily-made. 

Factory Pack: A premium offered inside a package, on the package or as a container premium. 

Film: The material produced by prepress houses to allow a printing plate to be made for press. It takes the form of thin sheets of plastic, at first glance looking like acetate sheets, with a negative image of the artwork on it. Film can hold a higher resolution than paper and produces a completely opaque black that is necessary for the photographic process for producing printing plates.

Flexography: A flexible rubber plate is wrapped around a cylinder for speed and control. As the paper moves under the printing plate, it is pressed against the printing plate by another roller, and the ink is transferred onto the paper. A separate plate is needed for each individual color. Typically done on less expensive materials than screen printing. The inks are very thin and not as durable as those used in screen printing. 

Flocking: Electrostatic spraying process on a point-of-sale piece that simulates a "velvety" finish. 

Flush Left, Ragged Right: All text aligns on the left side of the column, but the right side of each line ends in a random location, depending on the number of characters in a line. 

Flush Right, Ragged Left: All text aligns on the right side of the column, but the left side of each line begins in a random location, depending on the number of characters in a line. This is often hard to read because it can be difficult to find the beginning of each line. 

Folio: The name given in printing to a page number. 

Font: The collection of a typeface including the lower case, caps, numbers and special characters having unified design. This can be an important consideration when copy includes foreign terms or names with special characters. The different kinds and quantity of characters in a font will vary according to the manufacturer of the typesetting system. 

Format: The size, style, type page, margins and printing requirements of a printed piece. 

Four-Color Process: The reproduction of full-color artwork through the combination of four process ink colors - magenta (red), cyan (blue), yellow and black - in specified intensities. 

Four-Color Separation: The breakdown of full-color copy into individual color plates so that when printed in register, they produce a full-color illustration. Four-color separations refer specifically to the process colors: magenta, cyan, yellow and black. 

Free Standing Insert (FSI): Coupon or other newspaper inserts offering consumer premiums. 

French Fold: A sheet printed on one side, folded first vertically and then horizontally to produce a four-page folder. 

Frequency of Exposure: The number of times a household or individual is exposed to a particular advertising message in a specified period of time. 

Full Justification: All text aligns on the left side of the column and the right side of the column forming a straight line down both sides of the column. 

Gatefold: An oversize page that folds into the "gutter," often used to extend the size of an advertisement in a magazine or a map in a book. Example: the Playboy "centerfold." A smaller brochure can also be gatefolded. 

General Advertising: Advertising that is placed by a national advertiser; that is, non-local advertising. 

Generation: Each succeeding stage in reproduction from the original copy. 

Ghost Halftone: A light halftone that may be overprinted with solid copy. 

Glass Etching: A process in which a piece of glass is covered with a template that has a design cut out of it. The glass is then sandblasted while the portion of the item not covered by the template is protected. The template image is thus etched into the glass. 

Gothic: Style of typeface. Block letters without decoration as opposed to serif faces which have finishing strokes. Gothic is a san serif font. 

Graphic: A line, oval, rectangle, square, circle, logo, chart, illustration, drawing, cartoon or photograph used in a layout. 

Gripper Edge: The leading edge of paper as it passes through a printing press. 

Grommet: A metal-protected hole punched into board or banner. Used to take threaded rope or wire for hanging purposes. 

Gutter: The space where two pages of a brochure or periodical come together. In a two-page layout, the gutter often has to be adjusted to allow space for binding. 

Halftone: The reproduction of a continuous tone artwork (such as a photograph) done by filtering light through a screen that converts the image into a pattern of dots of varying size. 

Header: A message board that projects above a p-o-p display showing a headline or an advertising message. Usually more elaborate than a riser. 

Headline: The primary "stopping" words on an advertising layout. 

Heat Transfer Printing (Direct Transfer Process): Image is screened on a transfer substrate which is then laid directly on the material to be imprinted. The image is then "transferred" from the substrate to the material through the use of heat and pressure. Works best on cotton and cotton blends. 

Heat Transfer Printing (Sublimation): A process in which a design is transferred to a synthetic fabric by heat and pressure. The heat causes the inks to turn into a gas so that they penetrate the fabric and combine with it to form a permanent imprint. 

Holograms: A combination of several layers of refracted material. A part of the image is applied to each individual layer in a "sandwiching" process. Once the sandwich is complete, the whole image comes through and moves with the light. New techniques are available that make holograms more durable and create a longer lasting imprint. 

Host Gifts/Host Incentives: A gift or premium given by a party plan operator to a consumer who agrees to be the host for a demonstration party. The value of the gift is usually proportional to the amount of sales at the party. 

Hot Stamping: Method is which type or designs in the form of a relief die are impressed with heat and pressure through metallic or pigmented foil onto the printed surface. It is used to decorate fabric, leather, paper, wood, hard rubber, coated metal and all types of plastic. Hot stamping is a "dry" imprinting process meaning the object can be handled immediately after the stamping without fear of smearing the imprint. 

Hot Type: Type composed by machine, made from molten metal. 

Hue: Color, such as red or blue. 

Image Advertising: Advertising designed to make its recipients feel more favorable toward the advertiser by portraying the advertiser in a favorable light. 

Imagesetter: Laser output device using photosensitive paper or film. Imagesetters have higher resolutions than laser printers because they create dots from chemical crystals in emulsions instead of from toner.

Imposition: The arranging of pages in a press form to insure the correct order after the printed sheet is folded and trimmed. 

Imprint: To mark by pressure. 

In-Pack: A premium offered inside a product package. 

Incentive: Reward for a purchase or performance; as it applies to promotional products, it could be, depending on the response required, an ad specialty, premium or prize. 

Industrial Advertising: Advertising directed at businesses or enterprises that produce goods or services that are ultimately sold either to other businesses or to commercial consumers. 

Insert: A printed piece prepared for insertion into a publication or another printed piece.

Institutional Advertising: Advertising on behalf of a corporation or institution rather than a product. The purpose of such advertising is to build favorable attitudes toward the corporation or institution rather than to increase the purchase probability for a specific product. 

Intaglio: Design that is raised from its background material. Opposite of "bas relief." 

Intensity: The strength of a color. 

Jogger: Vibrating slopping platform that evens up the edges of stacks of paper.

Justify: To set type so that both left and right margins of all text lines are vertically aligned, giving a "squared-up" appearance because all lines are the same length. Type set in this manner is said to be justified. 

Keeper: A premium offered in direct-mail marketing for accepting a free trial of the sale merchandise and to be kept by the consumer even if the trial item is returned. 

Kern: To add or delete space between pairs of adjacent characters. 

Keyline Drawing: An outline drawing on finished art to indicate the exact shape, position and size for such elements as halftones and line sketches. 

Laminated: Coated with a clear plastic or two separate sheets of paper joined together as a single sheet to provide a special thickness or varying colors from side to side. 

Laser Engraving: A process in which an optically-read or stenciled art/copy is engraved (burned) into a material by a laser beam. Wood is the most common lasered material, but acrylic, some plastics, marble, leather and paper are also used. Metal requires specialized lasers. 

Layout: A design, drawing or arrangement containing ad copy showing how final ad reproduction will look. 

Leading: Spacing between lines of type. To "add lead" is to increase those spaces. 

Letterpress Printing: The original method of mechanical printing, still used though to a lesser extent, based on relief printing. In other words, the ink is transferred from raised metal or rubber to the receiving surface. Also called rubber-plate printing. 

Letterspacing: Addition of space between individual letters to improve appearance. 

Line Art: Black-and-white illustration of reproduction quality. Not converted into dots as is a halftone. 

Line Conversion: A photographic technique of changing continuous tone art to line art for special effects. 

Line Copy: Any copy that can be printed without using a halftone screen. 

Line Drawing: A drawing using only lines and solids with no halftones. 

Line Illustration: Any high contrast illustration including type lines if they are to be produced as an illustration. 

Lines per Inch: Measure of screen ruling expressing how many lines of halftone dots are contained in one inch. The higher the lines per inch (line screen) of a publication, the greater the sharpness of the images. Compare the photographs in a newspaper (generally around 85 lines per inch) with the photographs of a magazine (about 150 lines per inch). It is possible to run out an image with a high resolution (dpi) and a low line screen (lpi).

Litho (Lithography): A generic term for printed material. Most typically used to refer to offset printed paper that is intended to be mounted to a display. 

Litho Laminating: The process of mounting a printed lithography sheet to single-face corrugated to produce a display-quality piece of structural corrugated. 

Logos/Trademarks: A firm's registered symbol, outline, drawing, picture, brand, abbreviation or unusual type style of letter, word or brand name. Used in identifying and advertising and becomes recognized as synonymous with that particular company, brand or service. 

Logotype: A firm's name, address, trademark, brand name or the like presented in a particular lettering style or format. 

Loupe: A magnifier that allows close-up inspection of film, art and printing. 

Mail-In: A premium consumers can order through the mail with proof-of-purchase on a free or self-liquidation basis. 

Mail-Order Advertising: Advertising transmitted by mail and/or advertising to solicit merchandise orders made and fulfilled by mail. 

Make-Ready: All preparatory work done prior to running a press. 

Market Profile: A description in demographic, psychographic, etc. Terms of those people who use a particular product and thus constitute its market. 

Market Segmentation: A breakdown of a market into subsections each with relatively distinct and homogeneous demographic, psychographic and/or consumption characteristics. 

Market Share: The proportion of sales in a product market that is held by an individual brand of that product. 

Marketing Mix: The blending of a variety of marketing elements (price, product, packaging, distribution, information, promotion, public relations and advertising) into a marketing program. 

Mass Medium: A medium that reaches large numbers of people simultaneously or within a relatively short period of time, such as radio, television or newspapers. 

Mechanical: The final make-up of a printed advertisement before being transformed into a printing plate. The mechanical thus is the original of the finished advertisement and includes finished photography, art and/or type as they will appear in the advertisement when it is reproduced. 

Negative: Reproduction of an image with opposite density values of the original. For example, white areas appear black and black areas appear white. Most generally used on film for printing processes. 

Nonrepro Blue: A color that does not reproduce in final production. Used in blue pencils and pens to mark instructions and correction on camera-ready art. 

Offset Lithography (Offset Printing): A printing method in which an inked image on a flat plate is transferred to a rubber surface before being pressed on the printing surface. The plate surface is treated to accept greasy ink in image areas that resist water and to accept water in non-image areas while resisting ink. In this method of printing, the ink is less likely to rub off after an object is handled as often happens with letterpress printing. 

On-Pack: A direct premium attached to the exterior of a product package or sometimes riding with it in a special sleeve, carton or film wrap. 

Overlay: Clear acetate with design elements positioned on it in register to the base art. This is used for separating the different imprint colors. 

Overprint: Printing on a piece that already has been printed. 

Overrun: An additional number of products in excess of what was originally ordered. Five to ten percent is generally considered customary and acceptable. 

PMS/Pantone Matching System: A universal numbered color scale used to match colors for printing. The number of each color indicates instructions for mixing inks to achieve that particular shade. 

Package Enclosure: An in-pack premium. 

Pad Printing: A recessed surface is covered with ink. The plate is wiped clean, yet the ink remains in the recessed area of the plate. A silicone pad presses against the plate and pulls the ink out of the recesses. The pad then moves and presses directly against the product. Pad printing is excellent for imprinting small, unusually-shaped objects for which screen printing is not practical. Small watch dials and cylinder shapes are some examples. This is not the most highly-recommended process for imprinting large areas; screen printing is better for large areas of ink coverage. Used in plastics, paper, ceramics, glassware, wearables, leather and vinyl. 

Paper Proof: Printed copy of the design as it will appear on the product. A paper proof includes type and artwork correctly positioned and sized for the image area of the product. 

Part-Cash Redemption: An option often included in coupon plans permitting the consumer to get premiums faster by redeeming fewer coupons with a cash amount. 

Paste-Up: The act of producing mechanical art. 

Per Inquiry (PI): A means of media payment that is occasionally used in direct response advertising programs. The advertising medium is reimbursed at an agreed rate for each inquiry generated by a direct response advertisement appearing in the medium rather than at published time or space rates. 

Perceived Value: What someone believes merchandise to be worth. To successfully sell premiums, the consumer must be convinced the proposed premium is worth putting forth the extra effort required to earn the item. 

Personalize: To imprint, silkscreen or engrave the recipient's name (company or individual) on a promotional product, premium or award. 

Phantom: A transparent image (ghost) superimposed over a subject. 

Photo Etching (Metal): Process in which an illustration and/or copy is imprinted into metal, usually aluminum, by acid and then sealed by an anodizing process. This is popular for awards and plaques. 

Photomechanical Transfer (PMT): A Kodak diffusion transfer process used to resize or copy images (same as a Photostat). 

Photostat: A black and white photographic reproduction of original art. A halftone Photostat (PMT) is made when the photo is re-photographed through a halftone screen. 

Picas: A typesetting measurement (principally used in typesetting) that is equal to one-sixth of an inch or 12 points. 

Plain: Typeface family that is usually medium weight. 

Plain Sample: Sample with no imprint. 

Plate: Piece of paper, metal, plastic, or rubber carrying an image to be reproduced using a printing press. Produced photographically using film negatives to control the photographic exposure of the plate. Exposed areas of the plate hold ink on press, thereby reverting the negative image back into a positive. 

Point: A typesetting measurement used to designate type size. A point is equal to 1/72 of an inch and 1/12 of a pica. 

Point-Based System: A program in which recipients earn premiums based on an acquired number of points. Airline mileage and hotel frequent guest programs are examples. 

Point-of-Purchase Advertising (POP): Advertising materials - displays, cards, etc. - which are placed within retail stores at the place where purchases are actually made. 

Pop-Up Bin: A corrugated display bin designed to set up easily. 

Positive: Reproduction of an image with the same density values as the original. For example, black areas appear black and white areas appear white. 

Pre-Production Proof: A test print. An actual print of the copy and design printed on the item to measure the quality and reproduction ability. This is done after an order is placed but before it is produced. 

Premium: A product or service offered free or at a reduced price if the recipient performs some task, such as purchasing an item, meeting a sales quota, etc. Usually consumer-related. 

Prepress: Camera work, color separating, stripping, plate-making and other services provided prior to printing. Typically used these days to refer to the process of having film run out to an imagesetter.

Press Proofs: In color reproduction, a proof of a color subject on a printing press in advance of the production run. 

Printer Font: A set of character representations that are downloaded to a postscript printer; the quality of output depends on the printer itself. 

Progressive Proofs (Color Keys): Process color proofs that show the reproduction of each color plate separately and in combination with each other. 

Promotional Products: Useful items that can be imprinted with the name of a company or individual and given free to the end user without obligation. 

Proof: Test sheets run at all stages of the printing process to check for and reveal potential flaws or errors before they are committed to a final press run. Keep a copy of each stage of the proofing process to track down when and where an error on press has occurred. Errors that were caught by you on a printer's proof, but not changed by the printer, will not be your financial responsibility.

Puff Prints: A screening process, using "puff inks." After screening, the product is exposed to heat. A chemical additive in the ink will cause the ink to rise as it is heated to dry. This process must be used on a cotton weave material where the ink has something to latch on to. Therefore, it can not be used on nylon. Used on wearables, such as caps and hats, T-shirts. 

Pylon: A tall point-of-purchase sign. 

Rag: In paper-making, the amount of cotton fiber mixed with wood pulp to add stability and smoothness to the finished stock. Used mostly in bond and stationery papers. The more the "rag" content, the better the paper takes writing. 

Random Sample: Single copy of a product with a random imprint, not prepared for a particular client. 

Ream: 500 sheets of paper. 

Recycled Paper: Paper made from old paper pulp. Used paper is de-inked and cooked in chemicals and reduced back to pulp, then made into paper. 

Reduce: To make smaller. When reducing artwork or copy for use on promotional products, one should be watchful of thin or small lines/lettering dropping out (e.g., disappearing because of reduction). 

Referral Premium: A premium offered to customers for helping sell a product or service to friends or associates. 

Register: Positioning of elements in printing so their images will be located precisely as desired on the printed sheet especially with reference to applying additional colors. 

Register Marks: Cross-hair marks applied to negatives, artwork, photographs or mechanicals to ensure precise register on the final product. 

Registration: The correct alignment of color and other components of an imprint with each other and to the item on which they are to be imprinted. 

Resolution: The density of dots for any given output device. The unit of measure is dots per inch (dpi). 

Retouching: The process that improves or highlights necessary details in a picture, photograph, print or drawing. 

Reverse Imprint: The copy, which normally prints in color, appears white (or the color of the product) against a colored background. 

Reverse Type: White type on a black (or other dark) background. 

Riser: The part of a POP display that projects above the merchandise. Also an identifying sign or display projecting from the top shelf of an aisle or affixed to a pole. 

Saddle Stitching: A method of binding publications in which the pages are stapled together through the centerfold. The advantage of saddle stitching is that it permits the magazine to lie flat when opened. Another is that it is an inexpensive method of binding. 

Sales Incentive: A premium or monetary reward offered to salespeople for attaining a specified performance level such as exceeding a sales quota during a given period. 

Sans Serif: Literally without serif; describes type that does not have the tiny cross-lines at the end of the main letter strokes. 

Score: To impress a mark in a sheet of paper, usually cover stock, to make folding easier and to make it lie flat. 

Screen: Series of dots used to reproduce halftones or blended colors. As the percentage of screen increases, the color is printed darker. 

Screen Process Printing: A method in which image is transferred to the surface to be printed by means of ink squeezed by a squeegee through a stenciled screen stretched over a frame. Screens are treated with a light-sensitive emulsion, and then the film positives are put in contact with the screens and exposed to a strong light. The light hardens the emulsion not covered by the film leaving a soft area on the screen for the squeegee to force ink through. Screen printing is capable of printing on irregular shaped objects. Glass, plastic, fabric and wood are popular materials on which to screen print. Also called "silk screening." 

Screen Tints: A process in which shading and tinting are added to a line reproduction. Tints are made in a wide variety of patterns that are applied to the line artwork. 

Selective Media: Advertising media such as promotional products and direct mail that can be targeted to specific, limited audiences as opposed to mass media that are more general. 

Self Cover: Common in booklet printing, a cover that is made of the same paper as the inside pages. 

Self-Liquidator: A consumer premium offered (usually by mail) for proof of purchase and a cash amount sufficient to cover the merchandise cost plus handling and postage. May refer to any promotion in which the recipient pays the premium cost. 

Semi-Liquidator (Semi-Self-Liquidator): A premium that has a cost only partially covered by the purchase price at which it is offered. 

Serif: Type that is characterized by tiny cross-lines at the ends of the main letter strokes. 

Sheet-Fed Press: A printing press that takes paper previously cut into sheets. 

Shelf Talker: A printed point-of-purchase card constructed to be placed on a shelf under a product and hang over the edge of the shelf showing an advertising message. It is often die-cut and held in place with pressure-sensitive tape. 

Shelf-Strip: An attention-getting POP device that slides into the price railing under a product. It is usually made of plastic, card stock or metal. 

Signature: A section of a book formed by folding or trimming a press sheet with four or more pages. 

Sniffer: A point-of-purchase display that uses odor to attract attention and Interest. 

Solid: A printed area that does not contain type or other illustrations. 

Specialty Advertising: Another, older name for promotional products. 

Spot Color: One ink color applied to portions of a sheet. Differs from four-color process color in that a spot color is a specifically colored ink that is mixed up to match a pre-chosen hue. Works similarly to the way paint is mixed at a hardware store to match a specific color. Spot colors tend to be brighter and more vibrant than their process color counterparts. Many spot colors cannot be produced in process color due to spot color's immense color gamut. Fluorescents and metallic inks can only be produced with spot color. If you have a spot color logo and move to process color printing, you should accept and expect some color shift in the final printed piece. Depending on the color, the shift can be dramatic. 

Spot Varnish: Press varnish applied to a portion of the sheet. 

Step and Repeat: The same image is printed continuously in a pattern on the same sheet of paper. 

Stripping: The assembly of film for plate-making. Stripping involves correcting flaws in film, assembling pieces of film into forms, and ensuring that the film and forms register correctly. 

Swatch Proof: A sample of the material of the product to be purchased, imprinted with the advertising artwork design and copy in the actual colors specified for the imprint of the product. 

Test: Any of a half dozen methods of measuring appeal of a premium in advance of a promotion. Frequently done by personal interviews, sometimes by a mail ballot or split-run newspaper advertising. 

Thermography: A process for imitating copperplate engraving, such as on calling cards, by dusting the freshly printed ink surface with resin powder which, when heated, fuses with the ink to form a slightly raised surface. The finished product is very similar to embossed printing in feel and appearance but is much less expensive. 

Tint Block: A photoengraving used to print tints of any percentage of a solid color. 

Tip-In: Preprinted piece bound or partially bound into a periodical. Used usually as a response device. 

Trade Advertising: Advertising directed at members of the wholesale or retail trade. 

Trade Character: A visual identification or personification of a particular brand of merchandise or of a particular advertiser. For example, Tony the Tiger is the trade character of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes. 

Traffic Builder: A promotional product or premium designed to get consumers to come to a store or to a trade show. 

Transparency: A full color translucent photographic film positive. 

Transpose: To exchange the position of a letter, word or line with another letter, word or line. 

Trap: In printing when one section of the art slightly overlaps another to avoid any possibility of holes. 

Trim Size: To cut blank paper, press sheets, folded products, or bound products to the required size. 

Typeface: General term used to describe the styles of lettering available in typesetting. The five general classes of typeface: Roman, italic, script, Gothic, and text. 

Typeface Family: Type fonts that have the same general appearance. One font may have light, medium, bold, italic, condensed or extended versions. 

Typeset: To create type of a quality usable for reproduction whether electronically or mechanically. 

Typo: Abbreviation for "typographical error" within a text block. 

Under-run: A number of products less than what was originally ordered. 

Varnish: A thin, protective coating applied to a printed sheet for protection, appearance or to prevent fingerprinting. 

Vellum: In papermaking, a toothy finish which is relatively absorbent for fast ink penetration. 

Vignette: An illustration in which the background fades gradually away until it blends into the unprinted paper. 

Waste Circulation: Media circulation that reaches non-advertiser prospects. This term is most frequently used in connection with geographic waste circulation but is equally apt whenever a non-prospect is reached by advertising. 

Web-Fed Press: A press that accepts a roll of paper and prints in a continuous web. 

Weight: Visual effect of the thickness or thinness of text, rules or logos. Bold text has more visual weight than non-bold text. 

White Space: Space on a page not occupied by type, pictures or other elements. 

Wove Paper: Paper having a uniform unlined surface and a smooth soft finish. 

X-Height: The height of lower case letters (typically the height of the letter "x") relative to the upper case letters in a font.