Publishing Terms

10 pt. C1S stock
The typical heavy stock used for covers of paperback books. This paper is coated on one side.

ASCII
One computer language that can be used when sending text on diskettes. It is usually referred to as "saving texts as an ASCII file."

bleed
Illustration or ink colors which extend beyond the edges of the final trimmed page or cover.

bulk cartons
The bindery packs the books in the appropriate size cartons, with a specified number of books in each depending on the size of the book.

camera-ready copy
This is the art or text or a combination of the two that is to be used for printing reproduction. (It must be clean and error-free.)

coated stock
This is a stock that has a glossy appearance. There is also a matte paper that has an attractive dull finish. This stock is more costly than uncoated stock.

collating
A process of gathering one of each signature in proper sequence to create a complete book or a book section.

color separations
Color picture must be changed into separate halftone negatives for each of the following colors: black, yellow, magenta, and cyan.

comb/spiral binding
A plastic comb or spiral binding used for books produced in workbook, poetry, or cookbook formats. It provides a "lay flat" binding.

copyright
The legal right to exclusive publication of an art or literary work.

crop marks
Used to specify an area to be reproduced. Unwanted areas of a photo or illustration will be outside the crop marks.

desktop publishing
Using this publishing process, the author provides the printer with a computer disk including camera-ready pages.

duotone
A two-color halftone made from a one-color photo. This process may be used to give an aged look to a photo.

dust jackets
A protective cover for a hardbound edition of a book, usually similar to the softcover version.

editing
The preparation of a manuscript for publication including the checking of grammar, punctuation, correct usage of words, etc.

endsheets
The heavyweight paper at the front and back of a hardbound book. One side is attached to the inside of the cover boards.

finish size
The actual size of the printed job. Common sizes are 5.5 x 8.5, 6 x 9, 7 x 10, or 8.5 x 11.

font
A set of letters, numbers, punctuation, etc., used in composition. Each font has its own size, style, and design.

formatting
A process in which your manuscript is put into "book" form. This is taking your manuscript and placing it in its proper size, type, and layout to make it a finished product.

four-color process
To create any color in the spectrum this process is needed. This printing process is achieved by printing the following four colors: black, cyan, magenta, and yellow.

gutter
The blank space in the margin from the binding to the edge of the text.

halftones
A process in which a photograph is converted to a pattern of large and/or small dots for the printing process.

hard binding or case binding
A book bound in binder's board, cloth, or leather rather than paper binding.

headbands
A decorative strip of multicolored or solid cloth that is glued to the top and bottom spine of a hardbound book.

ISBN number
International Standard Book Number -- This a mandatory number for all titles and bindings. The ISBN number includes a prefix which has been assigned to the publisher.

justification
During the typesetting or formatting process when all the lines of copy are made flush on both the right and left margin with variable spaces between the words filling in the spacing.

lamination
A special film is adhered to a printed sheet to be used as a printed cover. This gives the product a gloss or satin finish (depending on the type of lamination you choose). This enhances the appearance and durability of the book.

laser copy
The paper or proof of the job that comes from a computer laser printer.
This type of copy is sometimes used for camera-ready copy.

leading
The amount of space between the lines of type on a page.

Library of Congress
The "Cataloging In Publication" (CIP) division of the Library of Congress is responsible for assigning LC Catalog Card Numbers and is operationally separate from the copyright offices. A book may be registered in or deposited with the copyright office but not necessarily cataloged and added to the Library's collection.

margins
The space between the text or photos and the edges of the printed page.

matchprint
A color proof made from the negatives to be used to produce the finished job.

mechanical/paste up
Camera-ready art created by a graphic artist on a heavy board for a special use such as the book covers or art in the text.

oversewing
A way of sewing single sheet pages together. This process is used when the book is not printed in signatures. (hardbound books only)

page
One side of a sheet of paper. Each side of the sheet is considered one page.

perfect binding
A method of binding softcover books in which the folded spines of the book signature are ground off and the cover is applied with glue to hold the book together.

point size
A unit of measure used by printers for designating type size.

pounds, lb., or #
A term used for designating the "basis weight" of the paper. This is the amount of weight a ream (500 sheets) of paper weighs in its basic size.

PostScript files
A document which can be printed on any PostScript device without any need for the application that originally created the document.


Prepress
These are the steps which take place in preparing a job to be printed, such as stripping, proofing, plate making, and creating the actual film.

Prints
Black and white or color photos on paper.

Proof copy
A copy of the job to be proofread before printing.

Proofreading
Reading a proof copy for corrections, changes, etc.

ragged right
Type which is set flush on the left margin but has irregular line lengths on the right margin.

saddle-stitching
A process used on books usually of less than 72 pages in which staples are used on the spine of the book to hold the product together.

screens
A technique used to adjust the percentage of a specific color to make the hue lighter or darker than the original.

shrink wrap
A wrapping similar to cellophane which protects and encases one or more books inside a carton.

side sewing
An extremely strong method of sewing either single sheets or signatures before hardbinding a book.

signatures
The folded sections of a book which will usually consist of anywhere from 8 to 32 pages each.

smythe sewing
The most common method of book binding in which the signatures are sewn together with strong book thread. (hardbound only)

spine
The section of the book binding which connects the front and back covers.

transparencies
A color slide (or larger) image. This is the best type of image for color separation.

trim size
The final size of the product.

typeset copy
Copy that has been mechanically set, giving a clean, flawless resolution.

typestyle
A family of type including capitals, small capitals, upper and lower case, italic, bold, and accent marks.

uncoated stock
A typical grade of paper which includes no clay content. This paper is more absorbent and is usually 50# or 60# white or natural offset in book printing.