| Melbourne Museum of Printing | Our Glossary of Printing and Typography |
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| SUGGESTION: HOW TO EXPLORE THIS GLOSSARY | ||||||||||
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IF YOU KNOW THE NAME OF A TERM, GO TO THE ALPHABETIC PAGE eg to find PICA choose the Alphabetic Page N-Q. You will find several meanings of this word, and that it is mostly used in TYPE MEASUREMENTS. | ||||||||||
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IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO EXPLORE OTHER TERMS ABOUT TYPE MEASUREMENTS look in the Thematic Glossary about Typecasting and Type Measurements | ||||||||||
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| ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THESE DEFINITIONS INCLUDE: | |||
| usu = usually | cf = compare with | eg = for example | typic = typically |
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | calender roller | PAPER MAKING |
| highly polished heated roller to achieve a smooth finish without clay coating | ||
| ADJECTIVE | calendered | PAPER SPECIFICATIONS |
| (of paper) passed through metal rollers to give a very smooth surface | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | caliper | PAPER SPECIFICATIONS |
| thickness of paper or board (in microns or thousandths of an inch) | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | callout | IMAGES, HALFTONES |
| name of item in illustration, often linked by a line or arrow | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | cam (keyboard) | LINOTYPE/INTERTYPE LINECASTER |
| part of keyboard. one cam per key. cam rotates once to release one matrix | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | cam (main) | LINOTYPE/INTERTYPE LINECASTER |
| main camshaft at rear drives each machine function at the required moment | ||
| ADJECTIVE | camera ready | PRE PRESS, COMPUTER LAYOUT |
| (of artwork etc) ready for photographic reproduction: finished artwork | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | cap height | TYPE MEASUREMENTS |
| height from the baseline in any fount to the top of most capitals | ||
| ABBREVIATION | cap(s) | CHARACTERS |
| capital, or majuscule character, or type to be set "all caps" | ||
| NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE | caps | LAYOUT AND DESIGN |
| an instruction to set type in all capitals | ||
| NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE | caps and lower case | LAYOUT AND DESIGN |
| an instruction to set type in capitals and lower case | ||
| NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE | caps and small caps | LAYOUT AND DESIGN |
| an instruction to set type in capitals and small caps | ||
| NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE | carbon paper | PAPER SPECIFICATIONS |
| paper impregnated with pigment to make a copy by pressure | ||
| ADJECTIVE | carbonless | PAPER SPECIFICATIONS |
| papers with dies to produce copies by pressure without carbon | ||
| VERB | card | LETTERPRESS COMPOSING |
| use pieces of card (thinner than finest leads) for fine justification | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | caret mark | PROOF READING & CORRECTING |
| proofreader's mark to insert copy at marked point | ||
| NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE | cartridge paper | PAPER SPECIFICATIONS |
| thick general purpose paper for drawing and printing | ||
| ADJECTIVE | case bound | FINISHING & BOOKBINDING |
| (book) bound in a cover (case) made with stiff boards covered with material | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | cassette | COLD TYPE COMPOSITION |
| lightproof box to carry exposed film/paper from typesetter to processor | ||
| VERB | cast . . . . . . . 1 | TYPE CASTING |
| fill the type mould, one end closed by a matrix, with molten typemetal, so making a type | ||
| VERB | cast . . . . . . . 2 | LINOTYPE/INTERTYPE LINECASTER |
| fill the mould, one side closed by the line of mats, with molten typemetal, so making a slug | ||
| VERB | cast . . . . . . . 3 | STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS |
| pour stereo metal into the casting box, one internal surface carrying the matrix, making stereotype | ||
| NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE | cast coated paper | PAPER SPECIFICATIONS |
| art paper with very glossy finish, often on one side only | ||
| VERB | cast off | WORKFLOW |
| calculate how much space a manuscript will take up when typeset | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | casting board | STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS |
| hard pulpboard with ribs, placed over the matrix and gauges, forming the ribbed back of stereotype | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | casting box | STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS |
| cast-iron moulding box: the stereo matrix is placed inside surrounded by casting gauges | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | casting gauges | STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS |
| steel strips placed around the matrix for casting. Form edges of cast, control stereo thickness | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | catchline | WORKFLOW |
| temporary identifying line on the top of a galley of type or proof | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | cedilla | CHARACTERS |
| diacritic below letter, usu C or G, to indicate softer sound: shaped like a hook or comma | ||
| VERB | centre | LAYOUT AND DESIGN |
| place text an equal distance from the left and right margins | ||
| NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE | chalking | PRINTING, ANY PROCESS |
| powder effect on the paper after the ink has failed to dry satisfactorily | ||
| BRAND NAME | Chandler & Price | LETTERPRESS PRINTING |
| US manuf of platen press and guillotine | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | channel | LINOTYPE/INTERTYPE LINECASTER |
| storage track in magazine for up to 21 mats of any one letter | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | character | CHARACTERS |
| each letter, numeral, punctuation mark or other symbol in a fount | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | character count | LAYOUT AND DESIGN |
| tally of characters inc spaces in a piece of copy | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | chase | LETTERPRESS PRINTING |
| metal frame into which type and blocks are locked to make up a page or forme | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | cicero | TYPE MEASUREMENTS |
| European unit of measurement 7% larger than a pica: divided into 12 Didot pts | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | circumflex accent | CHARACTERS |
| diacritic above letter, usu vowel, to indicate longer sound or an absorbed letter: shaped like roof | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | cliche [klishay] | STEREOTYPING, RUBBER STAMPS |
| French word for stereotype: a moulded copy | ||
| NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE | clip art | IMAGES, HALFTONES |
| drawings (on paper or disk) available for purchase for unlimited reproduction | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | close quote mark | CHARACTERS |
| (in English) the raised comma, usu identical to apostrophe, likened to a small figure 9 | ||
| VERB | close up | PROOF READING & CORRECTING |
| proofreader's mark to delete space between elements where marked | ||
| NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE | coated paper | PAPER SPECIFICATIONS |
| paper which after making has had a surface coating with clay etc | ||
| NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE | cold type | COLD TYPE COMPOSITION |
| type produced direct on film or paper (opp: metal type or hot type) | ||
| VERB | collate | FINISHING & BOOKBINDING |
| gather sections or leaves together in the correct order for binding | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | collating table | FINISHING & BOOKBINDING |
| table, still or moving, with stacks of pages for gathering by hand | ||
| NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE | collotype process | PRINTING, ANY PROCESS |
| printing from image laid into a kind of jelly: provides continuous tones | ||
| EQUIVALENT TERM | colour | LAYOUT AND DESIGN |
| (of text) see typographic colour | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | colour separations | COLOUR WORK, PRINTING INKS |
| images for reproduction in discrete colours of a full-coloured original | ||
| PROPER NOUN | Columbian press | LETTERPRESS PRINTING |
| style of horizontal platen press (similar principle to Albion) [US] | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | column centimetre | LAYOUT AND DESIGN |
| one column by one cm: measure of space, usually for newspaper advertising | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | column inch | LAYOUT AND DESIGN |
| one column by one inch: measure of space, usually for newspaper advertising | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | column rule . . . 1 | LETTERPRESS COMPOSING |
| light faced vertical rule between columns of type | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | column rule . . . 2 | PRE PRESS, COMPUTER LAYOUT |
| thin vertical line to separate columns: maybe on-screen or added from a self-adhesive roll | ||
| PROPER NOUN | Common press | LETTERPRESS PRINTING |
| style of wooden frame horizontal press | ||
| ABBREVIATION | comp . . . . . . . 1 | LETTERPRESS COMPOSING |
| compositor | ||
| ABBREVIATION | comp . . . . . . . 2 | LAYOUT AND DESIGN |
| comprehensive dummy | ||
| VERB | compose | LETTERPRESS COMPOSING |
| set types into words, lines, paragraphs and documents | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | composing stick .. 1 | LETTERPRESS COMPOSING |
| hand tool used in composing lines of type | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | composing stick .. 2 | LUDLOW TYPOGRAPH SYSTEM |
| hand tool used in composing lines of Ludlow mats | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | composing trough | EMBELLISHING |
| small angled bench-mounted tray for assembling type, simpler than comp-stick | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | composition caster | MONOTYPE COMPOSITION CASTER |
| under tape control, casts individual type justified ready to print | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | compositor | LETTERPRESS COMPOSING |
| person whose job is to compose type or put together pages of type | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | compositor's saw | LETTERPRESS COMPOSING |
| circular saw bench with sliding table, clamp, gauges to cut leads and slugs | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | comprehensive dummy | LAYOUT AND DESIGN |
| complete mock-up of finished work, complete with type, graphics and colors | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | concertina fold | FINISHING & BOOKBINDING |
| folding in which alternate leaves opens in opposite directions: there is no spine | ||
| ADJECTIVE | condensed | TYPE FACE DESIGNS |
| narrower version of a typeface: puts more characters into a given length | ||
| ADJECTIVE | continuous tone | IMAGES, HALFTONES |
| image in which shades of grey, or shades and hues of colour exist | ||
| NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE | cooling circuit | LUDLOW TYPOGRAPH SYSTEM |
| pump and cooler to circulate water through the Ludlow mould | ||
| NOUN, UNCOUNTABLE | copy | WORKFLOW |
| written material and images supplied by client to a printer: "follow the copy" | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | copy editor | WORKFLOW |
| [line editor] person who checks a manuscript for grammar, style, consistency | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | copy holder | PROOF READING & CORRECTING |
| person who holds the original while the proofreader holds the typeset proof | ||
| VERB | copyfit | LAYOUT AND DESIGN |
| make a balance between wordage, type size and available space | ||
| ADJECTIVE | cored | TYPE CASTING |
| (type body) cast in a cored mould. This makes hollows in the body to save weight. | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | corner marks | LAYOUT AND DESIGN |
| marks on art, neg or printed sheet to indicate the trim position -same as trim marks | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | counter . . . . . 1 | MATRICES FOR TYPECASTING |
| a space within the shape of a letter of a punch, unreachable by the engraver's file or buren | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | counter . . . . . 2 | MATRICES FOR TYPECASTING |
| the unreachable space is impressed by a counter-punch. This gave rise to the term "counter". | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | counter . . . . . 2 | CHARACTER PARTS AND STROKES |
| part of character enclosed by strokes: a punch cutter's term | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | counter-punch | MATRICES FOR TYPECASTING |
| small punch to impress parts of a letter-punch where carving would be difficult | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | creasing matrix | CUTTING & CREASING |
| strips glued to cylinder or platen as counter-die to creasing rule | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | creasing rule | CUTTING & CREASING |
| rule with rounded top to crease or score paper or board: usu in Cutting Forme | ||
| VERB | crop | IMAGES, HALFTONES |
| eliminate outer portions of an image so the remainder is more useful | ||
| BRAND NAME | Cropper | LETTERPRESS PRINTING |
| UK manuf handfed treadle platen press | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | cropping L's | IMAGES, HALFTONES |
| aid to visualising effect of cropping: L-shapes of paper or board | ||
| EQUIVALENT TERM | crossover | LAYOUT AND DESIGN |
| same as gutter jump | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | crosspoint former | LETTERPRESS COMPOSING |
| device to thread brass downrules through lead crossrules (for business forms) | ||
| ABBREVIATION | CRT | COLD TYPE COMPOSITION |
| cathode ray tube, the old name for TV screen technology | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | crt output | COLD TYPE COMPOSITION |
| character generated on screen is focussed onto film/paper, one at a time | ||
| ADJECTIVE | cursive | TYPE FACE DESIGNS |
| typeface that resembles handwriting: running style | ||
| VERB | cut flush | FINISHING & BOOKBINDING |
| (of a book) to trim so that cover is same size as text pages (eg paperback) | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | cut [US] | IMAGES, HALFTONES |
| same as block: an engraving for letterpress use: orig a wood or lino cut | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | cutting die | CUTTING & CREASING |
| cutting (and creasing) elements shaped, fixed together in block, ready for locking into forme | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | cutting forme [form] | CUTTING & CREASING |
| forme for cutting, creasing, perforating: oft used in l/press without ink rollers | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | cutting jacket | CUTTING & CREASING |
| metal sheet fixed over cylinder or platen to absorb the force of steel rules in cutting forme | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | cutting rule | CUTTING & CREASING |
| rule (usu steel) with sharp top to cut board or paper: usu in Cutting Forme | ||
| NOUN, COUNTABLE | cylinder press | LETTERPRESS PRINTING |
| a fundamental press type. The cylinder rolls with the paperover the type forme | ||
Persons wishing to use these are asked to contact the author at Melbourne Museum of Printing.
Comments and suggestions about terms and definitions will be very welcome.
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