The printing world has a pretty long and interesting history, which means it’s full of all sorts of technical terms and jargon that can be confusing if you’re not familiar with them.
If you’re looking to get something professionally printed, it’s really helpful to know some of this special vocabulary so you can communicate clearly and get the results you want. To make things easier, we’ve put together a simple guide covering some of the most important and commonly used terms, parts, and concepts in printing. Getting to know these basics will help you better understand what you need, ask smarter questions, and make better choices when ordering your printed stuff.
Stock
GSM
GSM, or Grams per Square Metre, is the way we measure how heavy and thick paper or cardboard is. So, the higher the GSM, the thicker and heavier the paper. For example, the paper you usually use in a home printer is about 100 GSM. Here at TBD we have a wide variety of weights available (80-1000gsm). Different printers have set paper weights they can handle. A digital production printer will be able to handle a smaller range of weights than a flatbed printer. Check out our services for our large format printer here, which details some of the paper weights we have available.
Finishes
Paperstock comes in a wide variety of options, including different finishes like matte, satin, and gloss. It can be coated or uncoated, and also comes in hot-press or cold-press varieties.
- A matte finish is non-reflective and ideal for text-heavy prints.
- Satin gives a soft sheen that balances readability and colour vibrancy.
- Gloss provides high-shine and is perfect for vibrant images.
- Coated paper is treated for sharper images and less ink absorption.
- Uncoated is more absorbent and gives a natural, textured feel that's great for writing or artistic prints.
- Hot-press paper is a method that gives a smooth surface and is preferred for fine detail and photo reproduction.
- Cold-press is more textured, often used for artistic prints and reproductions of paintings.
Colour
Ink vs Toner
Ink and toner are both used to produce prints, but they’re pretty different in what they’re made of and the kind of printer they work with. Ink is a liquid that’s mainly used in inkjet printers, while toner is a dry powder used in laser printers. Laser printers with toner tend to be faster and better for printing high volumes, especially text, while inkjet printers with ink usually do a better job with high-quality photos and colourful prints. Here at TBD we use both kinds!
Pantone
Just a heads-up: colours can look a bit different depending on the printer, so having a reference is important to matching colours accurately. That’s where the Pantone Matching System (PMS) comes in. It’s a way to identify, match, and communicate colours consistently, so everyone knows exactly what shade to use and can keep things looking uniform across different materials and methods. If you have a pre-existing brand that you need to match colours for, you should have Pantone colours provided to you by the designer. If not, it’s super easy to find.
Prepping your Files for Print
CMYK & RGB
CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) and RGB (red, green, blue) are the two most common colour spaces. CMYK is what’s used in print, as that’s what colour inks/toners are used in the printer (some printers have others, like grey or neons). RGB is used in digital colour spaces, and has a wider gamut than CMYK. So, if you’ve picked some extremely bright colours in the RGB colour space, know that you won’t be able to get that same vibrancy in a CMYK colour space.
Bleed & Trim
When printers talk about ‘bleed’ or ‘bleeding,’ they mean extending your design or image beyond the final cut line. This way, when the paper is trimmed to its finished size, there won’t be any white edges or unprinted spots, even if the cut isn’t perfectly exact. So, your file will have a bleed area (the extra part that gets cut off) and a trim size, which is the final size of your design after the bleed is removed.
Resolution
In printing, resolution basically means how many dots per inch (DPI) are in your file. Digital printers lay down tiny dots of colour (you can often spot this in newspapers). The DPI is important because it affects how sharp and detailed your print looks. The higher the DPI, the more dots there are in each inch, making the image look crisper and more detailed. For high quality prints, 300 DPI is usually what we aim for.
Print Finishing Methods
Your design is printed! Now what? A big portion of print production is what is done after the ink is down on the paper. A book needs to be bound, a brochure needs to be folded, and stickers need to be die cut.
- The types of bindings are: saddle stitch, perfect binding, spiral/coil binding, and case binding.
- Similarly to papertypes, you can laminate something in matt, satin or gloss.
- Folding; pretty self explanatory, but some kinds might need specialist equipment.
- Die-cutting is a process that uses a custom shaped tool to cut out different shapes.
- Embossing/debossing is warping the paper between shaped metal pieces to create a slightly raised or sunken area.
These are just a few of the most popular finishing options. There are plenty more out there, so it’s a good idea to talk to your printer if you have an idea but aren’t sure how to make it happen.
And that’s it for our quick guide! We hope this little overview of print terms has cleared up some of the confusing stuff you might’ve come across. Now that you’ve got the basics down, you can feel more confident when tackling your printing projects. Whether you’re making a flyer, brochure, or anything else, you’ll be better at explaining what you need and making smart choices. Feel free to check out all our printing services here. We’re excited to help bring your ideas to life and make sure your printing experience is easy and successful!