One business partner that desktop publishers work with closely is the printer. Any print job that is too big for a home printer or technically too complex requires printing on a traditional printing press. Printing professionals will also advise which paper is most suitable for a print project and will take care of cutting and folding.
The Contract Between Desktop Publisher and Printer
Because printed results will vary (and often greatly) in color from what the print job looks like on screen, printer and desktop publisher agree on the desired results through one or more prepress proofs. The final one works as a contract that is binding for both: If context errors occur that the desktop publisher did not notice before going to press, then he or she has to bear the costs of a reprint.
Similarly, if any or all colors of the printed result vary greatly from the contract proof, then the printer has to bear the costs of a reprint. Understanding each other and communicating with the same terminology is crucial in this final step of desktop publishing. Below are selected yet essential terms concerning types of proofs and handling color and accuracy when printing.
Printing Terms and Definitions for Desktop Publishers
- Bleed: Any text or graphic element touching the edge of a page is called a bleed. Often done intentionally for non-text objects, text running out to the edge of a page appears untidy and shows that the page layout did not allow for enough trim space.
- CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow and black – the colors used in a traditional four-color printing press. When giving a print job to a printer, the desktop publisher has to submit electronic files in CMYK mode. The printer then separates the material according to the four ink colors. Those are then layered, creating the illusion of many more colors.
- Colophon is the list or paragraph called that describes (usually at the end) how the publication was produced, mentioning font, paper type, software, etc.
- A contact proof is a type of prepress proof, often called paper or position only proof. Bluelines are examples of inexpensive contact proofs.
- Contract proof: Unlike the contact proof, the contract proof is a color proof that is supposed to reflect the final product exactly, therefore acting as a contract between printer and client before going to press.
- Crop marks or corner marks are found at the edge of a page, indicating where to trim it. If the cutting has been inaccurate, the crop marks might still be visible in the finished product.
- Creative printing is a subcategory of desktop publishing referring to the use of consumer-level DTP software programs to create individualized products such as greeting cards, t-shirt designs, banners, signs and photo albums. It is often also called home publishing.
- A digital proof is the final printout of a publication before going to press, often on the actual paper but on a common printer, not a printing press, which is less expensive.
- Dye-sublimation is a printing process that produces high-quality images using high temperatures and solid CMYK dyes. Dye-sublimation printers work with solid, layered colors that seep into the paper rather than with images made up of dots.
- Finishing is the overall term for post-production processes like trimming, folding and binding.
- Laser printers are popular in homes and small offices because they are fast and relatively inexpensive, especially when printing black and white. Laser printers contributed to the desktop publishing boom, enabling layout, design and printing from the comfort of one’s home.
- Prepress proofs can be analog or digital approximations (proofs) of what the final publication will look like. Unlike for press proofs, the actual printing inks are not used, so colors can still vary. Prepress proofs are useful when more than color, positioning and text have to be checked a final time.
- Proofs or page proofs are the general terms for any printed material that is checked against the desired result before going to press. During the production process, various proofs differing in accuracy and cost are generated.
- Separation or color separation refers to the printing of each CMYK color separately in traditional printing. Digital files can be manipulated so that they also show only one color per file or page.
- Trapping is a technique that avoids potential blank spaces between two adjoining colors by overlapping them slightly, therefore reducing misregistration, that is the misalignment of colors or objects. Desktop publishers will in most cases not have to worry about trapping as commercial printers will take care of it.
Desktop publishers should also be familiar with desktop publishing terminology including the definitions of acronyms such as WYSIWIG, FPO and RFP. Knowing paper terms and folding styles and image editing terminology will also be helpful.
Simone Preuss - Simone is a freelance writer, editor and translator who decided to go solo after a successful career in publishing. That was more than ...
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