Glossary of Printing & Technical Terms

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D 

DCS:

Desktop colour separation. An extension to the EPS file system which enables CMYK separations to be saved and read by pograms.

Density:

The degree of darkness of light absorption or opacity of printed images.

Density control bar:

On the side of proofs and printed matter, calibration bars that are strips of tones used to ensure printing quality and consistency.

Densitometer:

Machine used to monitor the density of colour on printed matter.

Die-cut:

Process of cutting out bespoke shapes such as pocket folders or unusual shaped flyers using a shaped die.

Digital printing:

Generic term for non litho-based printing. At the bottom end means a laser printer, in production terms at Manor Creative we use a Xerox iGen4 in our digital centre. There is very little make-ready required, therefore the time from receipt of file to first print is very short. Run speeds are increasing all the time and quality is now at litho standards. These factors combine to make Digital Printing an increasingly viable option for many print jobs.

Digital proof:

A proof created from the electronic document to check colour and layout.

Distribution rollers:

Rollers on a press that move ink from the ducts to the plates.

Dithering:

A technique of simulating colours from adjacent pixels to compensate for a limited colour range.

Dot gain:

A printing defect in which dots print larger than intended, causing darker colours or tones; due to the spreading of ink on the substrate. The more absorbent the stock, the more the dot gain. This has to be planned for in the reproduction process.

Downsample:

To reduce the resolution of an image by removing some of the pixels and adjusting the colour of adjacent pixels to compensate.

DPI:

Dots per inch. A measure of the quality of an image from a scanner or output resolution of a printer. The more dots per inch, the higher the quality will be.

Dummy:

An mock up of a proposed publication usually made on plain specified papers.

Duotone:

A method of enhancing a mono (halftone) image using only two colours.

Drilling:

Drilling of holes in product which will allow insertion over rings or posts in a binder of some sort.