Glossary of Printing Terms
A
“A” paper sizes
A standard international paper size format, widely used in Australia. Commencing with the largest size, A0 (1189 x 841mm), each subsequent sheet size represents exactly half the preceding size of the next largest size - therefore, A1 (594 x 841), A2 (420 x 594), A3 (297 x 420mm), A4 (210 x 297mm) and A5 (148 x 210mm) and so on.
Accordian fold
A 'zig zag' fold, often used in brochures.
Acrobat
A software program created by Adobe Systems. Acrobat saves documents as a PDF (portable document format) file which is independent of the application software, hardware and operating system. This means an exact replica of the original document - including layout, colours, fonts, images and graphics - can be viewed on any computer using a 'reader' which can be downloaded from Adobe free of charge.
Additive colour
Also known as 'RGB', this is a system of mixing colours based on the theory that any colour can be created by combining the primary colours of the visible light spectrum - red, green and blue. RGB is widely used in televisions and computer screens. Combining two of the additive primary colours equally forms the secondary colours cyan, magenta and yellow, which are the primary colours of the subtractive colour system and, together with black, are also the basic primary colours used in the most popular forms of colour printing.
Adhesive Binding
Also known as 'perfect binding', this is binding method which uses glue (or adhesive) to hold loose pages into a book block. It is often used for magazines and paperback books. Anilox roller
A simple inking roller used in letterpress printing. After the anilox roller is inked a 'doctor blade' removes the excess ink, leaving a very even and uniform coating, eliminating the need for any other rollers in the inking process.
Ascender
A typographic term used to describe the part of a lower case letter which extends above the 'x' height (the height of the lower-case x in that particular style), such as the stem of a 'b' or 'd'.
