Compendium Printing Technique

  • A

    • Allowance overs

      A certain amount of paper additional to the neccessary number of print sheets. This additional amount is neccessary for the setup of the machines and for further processing. The amount of allowance overs depends on the edition, the printing process, the printer, the printing technique, the colour scheme and the type of processing.

    Environmentally Compliant Book Productions

    Sustainability is a main focus of our company philosophie. That´s why we print exclusively on acid- and chlorine-free bleached FSC-certified paper qualities and mostly use printing colours on vergitable oil basis and water-based varnishes.

    See Sustainability

  • B

    • Blanking

      In the first printing step you don't always print everything. You can, for example, seperately print illustrations and text.

    • Bleed

      Usually printed matters are printed upon larger sheets of paper. They are then cut to the right size. This work step is called blled. You have to mind the right format very closely, yet you have to spare a few milimeters so as to not produce so-called streaks.

  • C

    • Colour gradient

      Technique to spread colours stepless on a sheet of paper. You can, for example, spread two or more different colours (colour gradient) or two or more grey tones (brightness curve).

    Print Is Not Dead!

    Print is our passion. That´s why we´re experts regarding the technical angle of book production and are happy to consult you personally in all questions relating to colour, paper and printing techniques.

    FAQs of Printing Techniques

  • D

    • Data compression

      Data compression is used to compress and thus reduce the size of data, either to save memory or transmission time. There are either lossless compression methods (such as ZIP) or lossy compression methods (such as JPEG or GIF).

    • Digital print

      Printing method that doesn't need a master. Instead, it uses a digital file that is directly transfered to the print product, thus making it possible to print different images on every sheet of paper. You can, for example, personalize each print and insert the name of each recipient of a promotion campaign. You can also offer "print on demand", compiled of variable data. The huge advantage of this method is that you can produce small editions cost efficiently.

    • dpi

      Abbreviation for dots per inch. dpi is the measurement unit for both prints and screens. It indicates the point density or the amount of dots per inch. Colloquially one can also use the word "resolution".

  • E

    • Edition

      Total number of copies produced in one printing process for one publication. In your cost calculation, you have to include extra costs for the further processing and finishing according to the number and difficulty of the work steps.

    • EPS

      Encapsulated PostScript is a image data format developed by Adobe systems. It's used to transfer image data. An EPS file is based on pixel or vector data.

    Personalised Books

    We provide all options to configurate and customise your books to match your company – for example with a logo debossing. You can even brand the book with the name of it´s future owner: Individuality at it´s best.

    See Book Configurator

  • G

    • Golden ratio

      The golden ratio is the ratio of two digits or line segments. In the arts, architecture or typography it's deemed as the ideal proportion or law of the sublime. It was discovered by the ancient Greeks as an ideal that is to be found in the human body. Type areas, too, can be aranged according to the golden ratio, thus making them even more harmonic.

    • Grain direction

      The grain direction of paper is the direction of the fibres within the print product. Both magazines and books have to have a grain direction parallel to the book spine. Otherwise the buyers couldn't turn the pages properly.

    Magical Printing Effects

    In addition to UV-varnishes special UV-sensitive varnishes only let the motifs appear under light irradiation. Other magical effects can be created by thermo-, scent- or glow-in-the-dark varnishes. On request we´re happy to engage the trick crate.

    More Magic

  • I

    • Imposition

      The positioning of pages in the order of printing before they are cut. The order of the imposition is calculated according to the further processing.

    • Imprimatur

      An imprimatur (from Latin: let it be printed) is the authorization to start printing. It can be declared either after the proofreading of the galley proofs has been finished or during the proof run after the setup of the printing machines. Historically, the imprimatur was the authorization of a printing process of theological works by a catholic bishop.

  • M

    • Matt lacquer

      Reduces the dazzling effect of surfaces and provides a smooth, nonshiny surface that is perfect for reading text.

    Mirror, Glam and Holos

    For glossy surfaces either varnishes or special lamination foils can be used, some even surprising with interesting metallic-, holographic- and mirror effects. That may let your book appear like a fashion statement.

    See Special Effects

  • P

    • Pagination

      The application of page numbers to the pages.

    • Paper waste

      Faulty prints, thrown away paper, damaged paper.

    • Perforation

      The perforation of paper or cardboard along a line. Small holes or slits are punched out with steel combs or punch down tools. Perforations usually are used to provide a simple separation of single pages or segments of a page.

    • Prepress

      All work steps that are neccessary to produce a master, such as layout, image editing, page and sheet assembly or the exposure of films for the production of printing plates.

    • Printing methods

      There are different printing methods, such as offset printing, silkscreen printing, gravure printing or letterpress. They can be used to influence different variables, such as different color palettes, printing substrates or even the expenses.

    • Proof

      A test print to control the tonal and colour values and to compare the quality of the proof with the quality of the template. The print result is directly monitored at the machine. Today though there are many different proof methods that are cheaper and quicker.

  • R

    • Raster

      Many printers and imagesetters for offset printing can only print black, they can't print grey scales. An image that contains grey scales thus has to be rastered in order to simulate an image in full colour. When you, for example, have a black-and-white image, the brighter image values are produced with small picture elements and the darker image values are produced with bigger picture elements. When every element is small enough you get a grey colour impression. When you use four-colour printing all four colours are used to raster.

    • Register marks

      Register marks are small cross hairs that are arranged on colour selections and printing plates. They are extremely important for an exact fitting, the arrangement of the printing plates and the exact printing of the colours. After the printing process the register marks are cut away.

    • Resolution

      The resolution is the measure of image sharpness. It indicates the number of picture elements (pixels, lines or dots) to be reproduced on a screen, a film or on paper per inch.

    Allround-Design

    Not only the book cover can carry your branding. Also the book spine and edges offer potential design areas, on which colour, individual designs or metallic effects can be applied.

    See Edge Colouring

  • S

    • Screen ruling

      The screen ruling indicates the number of dots on a certain line segment, either in lines per cm (L/cm) or in lines per inch (lpi). An 80 raster for example consists of 80 raster lines per cm (80 L/cm). The bigger the screen ruling, the better the detail rendition of an image, since more elements are available.

    Exciting Surfaces

    Books are not only visual, but also hapitcal obejcts. This potential can be highlighted by specific finishings auch as varnishes, die-cuts and debossings. Follow your inspiration.

    See Material World

  • T

    • Typography

      Typography generally means the aesthetic, artistic and functional creative process of printed matter and digital media by means of font, lines and planes.

  • W

    • Weight of paper

      The weight of paper is measured in grams/sq meter. If the paper weighs 150 g/m² you have paper, if it weighs between 150 and 600 g/m² you have carton and if it weighs more than 600 g/m² you have cardboard.

    • Wrap

      Term in the pre-press stage. Describes the arrangement of text and images on a page and the fitting to a certain page layout.

    • Writability

      Indicates the performance of the paper when you write on it. When too much ink is absorbed, the writing appears blurred and becomes illegible. The application of glue can influence the absorbing character of the paper. When too much glue is applied, though, the paper won't absorb any ink at all.

    Our Paper Selection

    Paper qualities vary – opacity, colour, haptics play a crucial role. For lovers of special and exclusive papers we work with the products of the specialists Takeo, Gmund, Fedrigoni or GF Smith. Please share your wishes with us.

    See Paper Qualities

  • Z

    • ZIP

      The data format ZIP is a format for compressing data. It reduces the size of data and accelerates. data transmission. A ZIP data with the file extension .zip can contain multiple data.

    Team brandbook Assists!

    Do you have any questions regarding printing techniques or your artwork? Do you need help in material reserach? Or are you insecure if your mockup is technically producible? On request we´ll support you from the first book idea to the finished product.

    See our Service