Glossary

The words you'll hear from our print team, in plain English.

lb (pounds): How MCRL quotes paper weight. Higher lb means thicker, heavier paper.
gsm: Grams per square metre, the metric measure of paper weight.
pt (points): Thickness of cover stock and board. Softcovers are about 10 to 12pt; hardcover board is 80 to 120pt.
Coated / uncoated: Coated paper has a gloss or matte surface for images; uncoated is writable and has less glare.
Signature: A large printed sheet holding several pages, folded and trimmed into one section of the book.
Spread: Two facing pages.
Endsheet: The heavier paper glued to the inside covers of a hardcover, connecting the pages to the covers.
Bleed: Artwork that runs past the trim line so there is no white edge after cutting.
dpi: Dots per inch. Images need 300 dpi at final size for print.
Vector / bitmap: Vector artwork scales without losing quality; bitmap artwork is pixels with a fixed resolution.
CMYK: Cyan, magenta, yellow, black: the four inks of full-colour printing.
PMS / Pantone: A standard colour-matching system, printed as a separately mixed ink.
4/4, 1/1, 2/2: Inks on the front / back of the sheet.
Lamination: A thin film over the cover (matte, gloss or soft touch) for protection and feel.
AQ coating: A water-based coating that seals and protects ink.
Spot UV: A gloss coating applied only to chosen areas.
Offset printing: Printing with plates on a press. Lowest unit cost at volume.
POD: Print-on-demand: digital printing one copy at a time.
DDP: Delivered duty paid: the quote includes shipping, duties and import taxes.
Trim size: The finished page size of your book, usually measured width by height.
Parent sheet: A large pre-cut sheet of paper fed through an offset press, typically fitting 8 to 16 pages on each side.
Dieline: A template showing the exact location of trim lines, fold lines and bleed areas.
Bound proof: A physical copy of your project, printed on a digital proofer before the offset run, for you to review and approve.