Glossary of Printing & Technical Terms

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

M

Machine Varnish:

A general varnish applied to printed literature to protect or seal against smudging or finger marking.

Magenta:

One of the four process colours, also known as red.

Make up:

Bringing together everything that will be on a page.

Make-ready:

The work associated with the set-up of printing equipment before running a job.

Matt:

A non glossy finish.

Mechanical paper:

Paper that contains mechanical wood pulp.

Metal plate:

A metal sheet with a specially coated 'emulsion' on its surface which when exposed through a film mask or by CTP process will produce an image. When the plate is loaded onto printing press it then reproduces this image using inks onto the paper.

Micrometer:

Instrument used for measuring the thickness of paper or plates.

Moiré pattern:

An unwanted grid-like pattern caused by the misalignment of dots on a printed document. This can occur when printing or sometimes when scanning from pre-printed material.

Mottling:

Uneven ink coverage in solid areas of a press sheet. Usually caused by improper ink and water balance.