Accordian Fold

A term used for two or more parallel folds which open like an accordion.

Bleed

An extra amount of printed image which extends beyond the trim edge of the page. All of your print art work should have at least an 1/8 of an inch bleed on all sides.

Blind Embossing

A design which is stamped without metallic leaf or ink, giving a bas-relief effect.

CMYK

CMYK stands for Cyan, Yellow, Magenta and Black. 'K' represents black rather than 'B' so that it isn't confused with blue. CMYK is the standard for full colour printing.

Coated Paper

Paper having a surface coating which produces a smooth finish. Surfaces vary from eggshell to glossy.

Colour Keys

Off-press overlay colour proofs using 3M colour key materials.

Die-Cutting

the process of using sharp steel rules to cut special shapes for labels, boxes and containers, from printed sheets.

Dots per inch (dpi)

DPI stands for dots per inch. The more dots per inch, the higher quality your image will be. Don't go higher than 300-400 dpi though because more dpi also means bigger files and longer transfer time. Also stay away from under 300 dpi. Images found online are commonly viewd at 72 dpi, and they aren't meant to be printed. For optimum results, make sure your image is at 300 dpi resolution.

Embossing

Impressing an image in relief to achieve a raised surface.

Four over Four (or 4/4)

Four over four (or 4/4) represents colour printing on both sides of the card. Four represents the four colour format (CMYK) and "over" indicates the four colour format is on the front and back. 4/4 is the standard for printing at Ultra X-Press, but you can also request 4/1, which would be four colour over black and white.

FTP

File Transfer Protocol, or FTP, allows computers to speak to eachother. FTP is used to make files available for transfer over the Internet. Anyone with access to the internet can use FTP. In some cases you may need network access and/or username and password information. The primary benefit of FTP, as opposed to E-Mail, is the size/speed at which files can be sent and received.

Matte Finish

Dull paper finish without gloss or lustre.

Process Colours

The subtractive primaries: yellow, magenta and cyan, plus black in four-colour process printing.

Process Printing

The printing from a series of two or more halftone plates to produce intermediate colours and shades.

Resolution

The quantification of printout quality using the number of dots per inch.

RGB

Red, Green, Blue – additive primary colours.

Right-angle fold

A term used for two or more folds that are at 90 degree angles to each other.

Saddle Stich

To fasten a booklet by wiring it through the middle fold of the sheets.

Stock

Paper or other material to be printed.

Tagged Image File Format

A file format for exchanging bitmapped images between applications.

Trim Marks

Marks placed on the copy to indicate the edge of the page.

Varnish

A thin, protective coating applied to a printed sheet for protection or appearance.

12pt Cornwall

The standard stock used on all cards printed at Ultra X-Press is 12 point Cornwall. "12pt" signifies the thickness of the stock. The higher the number, the thicker the stock. "Cornwall" is the type of paper used. Some of our competitors print on standard 8pt. stock but we feel this stock is too flimsy for card printing and doesn't produce the high quality, professional results we demand.