ALIGNMENT
Alignment refers to type being set flush left, flush right, centered,
or justified. Justified type lines up on both the left and right sides
of the column’s full measure.

ASCII
The acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange; it is the general specification of bits in a computer to input, store, process and output text characters. ASCII file formats are frequently requested for text transfer because it allows different software programs and platforms to accept characters and punctuation. When you go to save a document as an ASCII file, you may find the designation to be a "text only" file, an "export file" or a file "to go to another computer" depending on the application program you are working in.

AUTOMATIC TEXT FLOW
This desktop publishing program feature allows text matter to flow from one column to the next on each page and from one page to the next in a document automatically. It eases the pain of making significant copy changes to a long document.

AUTOMATIC PICTURE REPLACEMENT
The linking process where a low resolution image is automatically replaced by a high resolution image just before a document is sent to the imagesetter. This allows page layout handlers to work with smaller files.

BLEED
When a printed image runs off the edge of a page or sheet it is said to bleed.

BODY COPY
Text matter which comprises the major content of an article or publication other than mastheads, headlines, sub-heads, call-outs, charts and graphs.

BOXES
This technique is to highlight or isolate important words or graphs from secondary copy surrounding it. Boxes also create interest and give the reader’s eye a break from long passages and monotonous amounts of text.

BULLET
Bullets can be solid dots or squares, open dots, or another tiny iconic symbol which is used to enhance a list. Bullets are normally set in a slightly larger point size than the text they accompany and should always be used in a list of no less than five items. Bullets are visually most effective when used with hanging indents.

BLEED
When a typographic or background element runs off the edge of a page it “bleeds”.

CALL-OUT
A call-out is a short phrase or line of type which helps identify important elements of a graphic or illustration. A connecting line or arrow is often used with a call-out.

CAMERA-READY COPY
Black and white artwork which is meant to be processed by shooting it on a process camera, converted to negatives and used to make printing plates. On a direct-to-plate system, the black and white artwork would be converted directly from the art to the printing plate.

CAPTION
A caption is one or more sentences or more used to summarize the importance of charts, graphs, illustrations, photographs, or tables. Captions identify the people in photographs and relate the photo or graphic item to the surrounding body copy. A photograph should always have a caption.

CLIP ART/CLICK ART
Black and white art which must be scanned, saved, then placed into a document is clip art. Electronic art files which are already on a disk are called click art. Both are economical ways to purchase copyright-free graphic images for use in electronic file preparation for publishing.

COMPOSITION
Composition is the process of keyboarding and combining typographic elements into pleasing page layouts for print production.

COMPUTER READY ELECTRONIC FILES (CREF)
A written outline of parameters for the preparation and output of film and plates that was developed by the Scitex Company to assist in the handling and processing of electronic art files for printing. Scitex is a manufacturer of electronic prepress and proofing systems for the graphic arts industry.

CONDENSED
When the set width of a font has been shortened, the font will be more narrow—allowing more characters to fit on any given line length. Fonts should be condensed by using a true “condensed” version of a typeface. Condensing type by using the “attributes” selection screen of a page layout program increases the risk that the outputting or dtp equipment will not recognize the font or ignore it completely.

CONTINUOUS TONE
Any graphic element which has a grey scale or is not “line art” originated from a continuous tone image. Examples of continuous tone originals are black and white photographs or pencil sketches. Continuous tone originals should be scanned and saved as TIFF files for use in page layout programs.

COPYFITTING
Copyfitting is the process of writing or editing articles to fit into a predetermined space allowance. Good copyfitting results in evenly filled columns and pages with the proper amount of white space.

CROPPING
Cropping is the process of eliminating irrelevent or excessive background content of photographs. Cropping enhances the focus of photographs and allows the designer to change the shape of the original photo.

DIGITAL
A format which is recognizable and readable by a computer system.

DPI
The acronym for Dots Per Inch and relates to resolution. The higher the dpi, the higher the resolution and amount of detail which will be seen.

ELLIPSIS
The ellipsis is a set of three dots which look like a series of periods. They are used to indicate missing copy when place between two sentences or phrases. They are commonly used when bits or quips of information are being taken from a long quotation. They can also be used in pairs as a "continuation technique" when you want to lead the reader into other copy. (Don't forget to place the second set of ellipsis before the final connecting copy so the reader knows where to go.)

EM DASH
An em dash is used to abruptly change a thought within a sentence or to connect two different thoughts within a sentence. The actual length of an em dash is approximately four times the length of a hyphen and is relative to the set width of the font which you are using. Em dashes received their name due to the fact that they are equivalent to the width of the capital letter em (M).

EM SPACE
An Em space is a fixed amount of blank space equivalent to the width of a capital letter em (M). Em spaces are frequently used for paragraph indents and bullet item indents because they are fixed units. Em spaces are relative to the set width of the font being used.

EN DASH
An en dash is used to denote continuation; as in "pages 4-5" and "1966-1995." The actual length of an en dash is approximately two times the length of a hyphen and is relative to the set width of the font which you are using. En dashes received their name due to the fact that they are equivalent to the width of the capital letter en (N). An en dash is one-half the width of an em dash.

EN SPACE
An En space is a fixed amount of blank space equivalent to the width of a capital letter en (N). En spaces are frequently used when a fixed amount of space is needed, but less space than the more commonly used em space. En spaces are relative to the set width of the font being used. An en space is one-half the width of an em space.

EPS (Encapsulated PostScript)
When an image is scanned, it must be saved in a manner which will allow it to be placed, sized and colored within a page layout program. EPS files are used for object oriented, line art graphic scans.

EXPANDED
When the set width of a font has been lengthened, the font will be wider allowing fewer characters to fit on any given line length. Fonts should be expanded by using a true “expanded” version of a typeface. Expanding type by using the “attributes” selection screen of a page layout program increases the risk that the outputting or dtp equipment will not recognize the font or ignore it completely.

EXPORT FILE
(see ASCII file)

FAMILY
A family of type is the complete font set with all its related attributes. One family can include: roman, italic, bold, bold italic, black, black italic, light, light italic, thin, thin italic, plus all the condensed and expanded versions of the previously listed.

FONT
A font is the specific name applied to a particular typeface style. Examples of font names are Helvetica, Times, Americana, and Zapf Chancery.

FOOTER
The information about a publication, such as its title, date, issue or page number is a footer when it consistently appears at the bottom of each page of the document.

FOOTNOTE
A footnote is a numbered passage which amplifies specific information on the page and provides direction about how to find sources or related reading.

GHOST
When an image is screened back or shaded down in intensity, it is called a ghosted image. Both full-color and black and white images can be ghosted.

GRAPHIC ACCENTS
Graphic Accents emphasize and organize words, illustrations and photographs. Boxes, drop shadows, indents, lines, rules, screens and icons are considered graphic accents.

GRAY SCALE
When an image has “shading” or “screening” it is refered to as a gray scale image.

GRID
A grid is the defining of headline positions, column length and width, placement of headers and footers and any other predetermined placement of photographs or graphic elements on a page. A series of nonprinting horizontal and vertical rules assist in creating and maintaining a grid for page layout.

GUTTER
Gutters are the white spaces which appear between columns of type. Gutter widths should be wide enough to clearly define columns and narrow enough to not lose the reader.

HANGING INDENT
A hanging indent is when copy is indented to the left of the rest of the paragraph. Bulleted items are visually most effective when they use hanging indents.

HEAD
A head or headline is an enlarged phrase which gives the reader a preview of the content to follow. Heads are very important elements because they motivate the reader to continue reading the associated material.

HEADER
The information about a publication; such as its title, date, issue, or page number is a header when it consistently appears at the top of each page of the document.

HEAVY INK COVERAGE
When over 30% of a sheet has ink coverage on it, the order is considered to have heavy ink coverage.

HYPHENATION
When words are too long to fit on a single line, hyphenation splits the word and places the latter half on the next line of type. Hyphenation is automatic in page layout programs but should be done manually to repair bad word breaks and enhance copyfitting. Hyphenation can also be turned off if no hyphens are preferred.

HYPHENATION ZONE
The hyphenation zone is the space near the column’s right edge which will allow hyphenation. Long hyphenation zones result in fewer word splits than short hyphenation zones.

ICON
A simplified graphic element created to suggest an idea or topic is called an icon. Icons are used to categorize and index ideas and content.

INDENT
The most common indent is at the beginning of a paragraph when the first line is “set-in” from the left edge of the column. An indent can be placed on the left side only (as in paragraph beginnings) or on the left and right sides of copy (when a block of text needs to be set apart from the rest of the paragraph).

ITC
This is the abbreviation for International Typographic Corporation, which licenses many of the typefaces used in computerized graphic design. ITC fonts are identical to the typefaces used on phototypesetting equipment and based on the original “hot type” font designs. They are considered higher quality typographic forms because they have retained their letterform integrity through the years and are more reliable when transferred from computer to outputting devices.

ITALIC
Italic is the slanting of a serif type.

JUMPLINE
When an article is continued from one page to another, the jumpline is placed at the end of the first page to identify where the article is continued. A jumpline should also appear at the beginning of the continuation page to tell the reader where the article started.

JUSTIFIED
Justified type is when the left and right sides align with each other and fill a column’s width. Wordspacing and letterspacing will vary more with justified type than with nonjustified type layouts.

KERNING
Kerning refers to improving the appearance of type by adjusting the spacing between selected pairs of letters. The most problematic pairs of letters are AV, AY, FA, AW, PA, and AT. Kerning becomes of greater importance as type size increases such as in headlines and poster copy which uses all caps.

KEYBOARDING
Keyboarding is the process of typing in the raw text (headlines, subheads and body copy) for a publication in preparation for turning it over to a graphic designer. A word processing program should be used for keyboarding and the files should be saved in ASCII formats or as “text only” or “export files” for proper file transfer.

KEYLINES
Black and white artwork which has been output and pasted into position on a sheet with "key" identity "lines" indicating the position of trims, drill holes, folds, scores, and die-cuts. Keylines are also referred to as camera-ready artwork.

KICKER
A kicker is a short phrase of key word which introduces a headline. Kickers can also be used to relate a headline to a particular portion of a publication.

LEADER
A leader is a repeating symbol used to draw a reader from one area of an article to another area. Dots are the most common leader elements.

LEADING
Leading is the vertical space relationship between one line of type and the next. Computer graphics normally default to +2 points of leading for any given point size selected. (i.e. 10 point type uses 12 points of leading and 14 point type uses 16 points of leading). In general, the larger a point size gets, the better it will look with reduced leading. Increased and decreased leading can also be used for copyfitting purposes.

LINE ART
Line art consists of non-shaded or non-screened black and white images. Line art cannot be continuous tone imagery such as photographs or pencil sketches. Some examples of line art are type matter, solid black and white logos, icons or pen-and-ink drawings.

LINOTRONIC
Linotronic is the copyrighted brand name of the most popular imagesetting system using PostScript Page Description Language.

LIVE AREA
A page’s live area is the part between borders and margins where most text and graphics will appear.

LIVE ART FILES
The original electronic file used to create and identify an EPS or TIFF image. This can be an original drawing that has been created in FreeHand, Illustrator or CorelDraw or a scanned image. Live art files are necessary inclusions in processing electronic documents because they are the links needed to produce high resolution output.

LOGO
A logo is a stylized name of a company or organization set in a unique way and often accompanied by an illustration or icon. A successful logo should be reproducible in its original color designa dn a black and white version.

LOWER CASE
When no capital letters are used, type has been set in lower case.

MARGINS
Margins are the white space areas which appear at the top, sides, and bottom of a publication.

MASKING
(see outline)

NAMEPLATE
(also called a masthead) A nameplate is the distinctive portion of the front of any publication which usually contains the “name” of the publication, a logo, date and volume information and remains consistent in style from one issue to the next.

OBLIQUE
Oblique is the slanting of a san serif type.

ORPHAN
When a single word or line of type is left at the bottom of a column which is continued on another page it is an orphan.

OUTLINE
An outline is created when the background or a specific area of a photograph or illustration is dropped away. Outlining is also referred to as “masking” or “silhouetting.”

PICA
Picas are used to define column widths when setting type. Picas are based on the point system of typography. 12 points equal one pica and one pica is approximately 1/6 of one inch.

PHANTOM
(see ghost)

PMT
Acronym for photomechanical transfer. PMTs are created using film negatives or positives and result in a high resolution, positive black and white image on permanent photographic paper. Logos and logotype are commonly converted into PMT for artwork and scanning purposes.

POINT
Points are used to define vertical measurements of letterforms and spacing. Typesizes are defined in points. There are approximately 72 points in an inch.

POSTSCRIPT
PostScript is the copyrighted term for Page Description Language owned by the Adobe Corporation. PostScript defines the outlines of letters and numbers, permitting limitless flexibility is type sizes, styles, shading, and placement on a page.

PULL-QUOTE
Pull-quotes (also called out-quotes) are short phrases or sentences taken from body copy and emphasized by enlargement, boxing, or color background to highlight surrounding content.

RAGGED
Type which is set with an uneven alignment of characters on the left or right side has been set ragged. A common alignment choice is “flush left/ragged right” type. Because of its poor legibility, “flush right/ragged left” type alignment is rarely used.

RETOUCHING
The process of electronically changing an image's color , background or texture.

REVERSE
Reversed type is when white lettering appears against a solid or heavily shaded black or colored background area. Reverses are hard to read and should be used sparingly.

RULE
A rule is a line of varied length or thickness. Rules can be solid, screened, or vignetted in black or colored ink.

SAN SERIF TYPE
San serif typefaces have straight stems and cross-bars with no tiny extensions or decorations at the end of any letter part. Examples of common san serif types are Helvetica, Franklin Gothic, and Univers.

SCANNER
A scanner converts a photograph or piece of artwork into an electronic grahics file. Scans used in printing production are usually saved as EPS or TIFF files.

SCREEN
Screens are the “tinting” or “shading” of a solid image area. Screens are defined in percentages from 99% to 1% of solid (which is 100%). Screening can be applied to type, the background that type overprints, or a piece of artwork.

SERIF TYPE
Serifs are the tiny decorative extensions applied to the ends of a type font’s character. Serifs enhance reading flow and reduce eye strain in long, text-heavy documents and books. Examples of common serif types are Palatino, Times, Garamond, and Bodoni.

SHADING
(see screen)

SIDEBAR
A sidebar is a short article that accompanies a longer, feature article. Sidebars can amplify content or tied related information to the feature.

SILHOUETTING
A silhouette is created when a photograph or illustration’s background is dropped away. Silhouetting is also referred to as “outlining.”

SLAB SERIF TYPE
When a type font’s serifs are squared off, rather than tapered to a point, they are referred to a slab serif types. Examples of common slab serif types are Courier, Lubalin and Egyptiennes.

SPELL-CHECK
Spell-checking is an automatic function that page layout programs offer to assist designers in reducing typos. A spell check is only as reliable as the dictionary that its program employs and spell-check will not identify mistyped words which exist but are out of context. Spell-checks also cannot identify nonsensical sentences which can occur with “cut” and “paste” operations or double space bar occurances. (Note: No professional graphic designer relies solely on computer spell-checks for their final document’s approval.)

SPREAD
A spread is the relative viewing position of a pair of left and right-hand pages in a book or publication. A “reader’s” spread is the consecutive placement of pages by page numbers. A “printer’s” spread is the imposed position of a page based on how many pages are in the publication.

SUBHEAD
A subhead is smaller than a headline and larger than body copy. Subheads are useful for breaking up long articles, identifying specific content for the reader, and giving the reader a break from long passages of copy.

TAB
A tab adds white space to set off or highlight blocks of copy.

TEASERS
Teasers are short phrases placed on the outside front cover which are meant to increase the reader’s interest in the publication’s inside contents.

TEMPLATES
Templates are predetermined and saved formats for page layouts. They are designed to be used as a starting point for each successive page or issue. The use of templates saves time and reduces errors in layout formats.

TEXT ONLY FILE
(see ASCII file)

THIN SPACE
A thin space is rarely used today. It was originally developed when hot metal was the popular form of typesetting and situations often arose where a minimal amount of space was needed to center or justify a line of type. The only common use for thin spaces is placing them before and after an em or an en dash. A thin space is approximately one-third the width of an en space.

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)
When an image is scanned, it must be saved in a manner which will allow it to be placed, resized and colored within a page layout program. TIFFs are used for photographic and continuous tone image scans.

TILING
Tiling is the process of positioning lasers or negatives together to create oversized sheets when an output unit does not have the size capabilities available at 100%. Running out portions of a document at 100%, aligning them with each other and taping them together is a common form of tiling.

TINT
(see Screen)

TRACKING
Manually adjusting the overall amount of space between letters and words is tracking. Tracking increases and decreases word density and can be used for copyfitting purposes. Adjustment of tracking is often needed with “justified” type to even out the rivers of white space within body copy. Creative tracking can also remove widows, orphans, bad word-breaks, and undesirable hyphenation.

TYPEFACE
Typeface refers to the specific shape and outline of an individual font’s letters and numerals.

TYPE SIZE
Type size refers to the height of the letters and numerals and is based on the point system.

TYPE STYLE
Type style refers to the specific attribute within a typeface’s family. Styles can include italic, bold, bold italic, condensed, expanded, black or outline.

UPPER CASE
Words are in upper case when all capital letters are used.

WIDOW
A widow is a word or single line of type which appears at the top of a column or page that has been continued from the previous column or page.

WRAP-AROUNDS
When type is shortened or follows around an illustration, graphic, or photograph, it is called a wrap-around type.

WYSIWYG
The acronym for “what you see is what you get” and is the process of viewing your document on a monitor before it is printed out in laser form or imageset. WYSIWYG software programs have replaced “code-driven” programs of the phototypesetting generation of composition.