{"id":1183,"date":"2026-07-06T14:52:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T12:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/kennisbank\/graphic-glossary\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T13:49:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T11:49:38","slug":"graphic-glossary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/knowledge-base\/graphic-glossary\/","title":{"rendered":"Graphic glossary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Come across a term you do not know? In this graphic glossary<\/strong> we explain every concept around printing books, magazines and catalogues in plain language. From bleed to spot colour: look up your term and read what it means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you use this graphic glossary?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Use the letters below to jump straight to a term, or scroll through the list. Every word in this graphic glossary is explained briefly and practically, aimed at what it means for your printed matter. If you want to go deeper into a subject, we link on to a full article wherever possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You will find more explanation in our knowledge base<\/a>, for instance about CMYK vs RGB<\/a> or designing for bleed<\/a>. For official graphic standards you can turn to the International Color Consortium<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A<\/a>   B<\/a>   C<\/a>   D<\/a>   E<\/a>   F<\/a>   G<\/a>   H<\/a>   I<\/a>   L<\/a>   O<\/a>   P<\/a>   Q<\/a>   R<\/a>   S<\/a><\/p>\n

A<\/h2>

Adhesive binding.<\/strong> Binding method in which the signatures are milled off and attached to the spine with glue. Also called perfect binding.<\/p>

B<\/h2>

Binding.<\/strong> The way the pages are joined into a book, such as glued or sewn.<\/p>

Black and white.<\/strong> Printing in one colour (1\/1), usually black. Economical for novels and text books without colour photos.<\/p>

Bleed.<\/strong> The extra 3 mm of image you let run around your page, so that no white edges appear after trimming.<\/p>

Book block.<\/strong> All the inside pages of your book, separate from the cover. Usually supplied as one PDF in the right order.<\/p>

C<\/h2>

CMYK.<\/strong> The colour system for print: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (black). Always supply your files in CMYK, not in RGB.<\/p>

Colour profile.<\/strong> A setting (ICC profile) that determines how colours are reproduced. For print you use a CMYK profile.<\/p>

Cover.<\/strong> The outside of your book: front, spine and back. Usually supplied as a separate PDF.<\/p>

Crop marks.<\/strong> Marks outside the page format indicating where the paper is trimmed.<\/p>

D<\/h2>

Digital printing.<\/strong> Printing technique without plates, ideal for small runs and print on demand. Fast and affordable from 1 copy.<\/p>

DPI.<\/strong> Dots per inch: the resolution of your images. For sharp printing, supply images at actual size with at least 300 DPI.<\/p>

Dust jacket.<\/strong> A loose, printed cover around a hardcover, often with flaps. It protects and embellishes the book.<\/p>

E<\/h2>

Embossing.<\/strong> Relief printing in which text or an image is pressed into the paper (raised or recessed) for a tangible effect.<\/p>

Endpaper.<\/strong> The (often coloured) sheet that connects the cover to the book block in a hardcover.<\/p>

F<\/h2>

FSC paper.<\/strong> Paper with a label guaranteeing that the wood comes from responsibly managed forests. A sustainable choice for your book.<\/p>

Full colour.<\/strong> Printing in full colour (CMYK, 4\/4). Needed for photos and colourful illustrations.<\/p>

G<\/h2>

Grammage.<\/strong> The weight of paper in grams per square metre (g\/m²). The higher the number, the thicker and firmer the paper.<\/p>

H<\/h2>

Hardcover.<\/strong> Book with a firm board cover. A premium look, ideal for photo, art and anniversary books.<\/p>

Headband.<\/strong> The coloured band at the top and bottom of the spine of a hardcover, for a neat finish.<\/p>

I<\/h2>

ISBN.<\/strong> Internationally unique book number that makes your book recognisable and saleable worldwide through the book trade.<\/p>

L<\/h2>

Lamination.<\/strong> A thin film layer on the cover, matt or gloss, that protects and strengthens the appearance.<\/p>

O<\/h2>

Offset printing.<\/strong> Printing technique with plates, very suitable for large runs with consistent, high quality.<\/p>

P<\/h2>

Pages.<\/strong> The inside pages of your book. The total is usually an even number, because every sheet has two sides.<\/p>

Pantone.<\/strong> A system of fixed spot colours (PMS) for exact colour reproduction, for example for a logo.<\/p>

PDF\/X.<\/strong> The recommended file standard for print: a PDF with embedded fonts, CMYK colours and bleed.<\/p>

Perfect binding.<\/strong> English term for adhesive binding: signatures milled off and attached to the spine with glue.<\/p>

Print on demand.<\/strong> Printing books at the moment there is demand, often one at a time. No stock and no risk of surplus.<\/p>

Print run.<\/strong> The number of copies you have printed. With us from 1 copy; the unit price drops as the run grows.<\/p>

Printing specification.<\/strong> Indicates whether a page is printed in colour (4\/4, CMYK) or black and white (1\/1). The first figure is the front, the second the back.<\/p>

Proof.<\/strong> A physical sample copy you receive before the full run, to check colour and quality.<\/p>

Q<\/h2>

Quantity scale.<\/strong> The price ladder: the larger the run, the lower the price per copy.<\/p>

R<\/h2>

Resolution.<\/strong> The sharpness of an image, expressed in DPI. Too low a resolution gives grainy or blurred printing.<\/p>

RGB.<\/strong> Colour system for screens (Red, Green, Blue). For print you convert your files to CMYK.<\/p>

Ribbon marker.<\/strong> A ribbon in the spine of the book that serves as a bookmark. A luxurious detail on hardcovers.<\/p>

S<\/h2>

Section.<\/strong> A folded sheet with several pages that, together with other sections, forms the book block.<\/p>

Section sewn.<\/strong> Luxurious, strong binding in which the sections are sewn together with thread. It lasts for generations.<\/p>

Softcover.<\/strong> Book with a flexible board cover. Light, sharply priced and versatile. Also called paperback.<\/p>

Spine width.<\/strong> The thickness of the spine of your book. It depends on the page count and the paper thickness and determines the layout of your cover.<\/p>

Spot colour.<\/strong> A pre-mixed colour (for example Pantone) printed alongside or instead of CMYK.<\/p>

Spot UV.<\/strong> A glossy UV varnish on specific parts of the cover, for a high-contrast, luxurious accent.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Come across a term you do not know? In this graphic glossary we explain every concept around printing books, magazines and catalogues in plain language. From bleed to spot colour: look up your term and read what it means. How do you use this graphic glossary? Use the letters below to jump straight to a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":698,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1183","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1183","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1183"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1183\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6371,"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1183\/revisions\/6371"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/printiteasy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1183"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}