Glossary
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- Backbone
- The back of a bound book connecting the two covers; also called spine.
- Backing Up
- Printing the reverse side of a sheet already printed on one side.
- Bad Break
- In composition, starting a page or ending a paragraph with a single word, or widow.
- Bearers
- In presses, the flat surfaces or rings at the ends of cylinders that comes in contact with each other during printing and serves as a basis for determining packing thickness.
- Bezier Curve
- The description of a character or symbol or graphic by its outline used by drawing programs to define shapes.
- Biodegradable
- Any substance which can be easily broken down by biological means. Most substances will only biodegrade quickly in the right circumstances, usually in the presence of air, not available in landfill. Products that biodegrade may also break down into toxic substances.
- Biofuel
- Renewable fuel such as bark and wood waste.
- Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)
- A measure of the amount of oxygen consumed by micro-organisms in breaking down organic matter in effluent during a certain period.
- Bit
- In computers, the basic unit of digital information: contraction of Binary digit.
- Bitmap
- In computer imaging, the electronic representation of a page, indicating the position of every possible spot (zero or one).
- Black And White
- Originals or reproductions in single colour, as distinguished from multicolour.
- Blanket
- In offset printing, a rubber-surfaced fabric that is clamped around a cylinder, to which the image is transferred from the plate and from which it is transferred to the paper.
- Bleaching
- The process used to whiten brown (unbleached) pulp by chlorine or oxygen compounds. Bleaching is esential in producing pulp suitable for Fine Papers.
- Bleed
- An extra amount of printed image, which extends beyond the trim edge of the sheet or page.
- Blind Embossing
- A design, which is stamped without metallic leaf or ink, giving a base-relief effect.
- Blind Image
- In lithography, an image that has lost its ink receptivity and fails to print.
- Blow up
- In lithography, an image that has lost its ink receptivity and fails to print.
- Blueprint
- In offset lithography and photoengraving, a photo-print made from stripped-up negatives or positives, used as a proof to check position of image elements.
- Board
- Heavy or thick paper based products. Usually (but not necessarily) above 170 gsm.
- Body Type
- A type used for the main part or text of a printed piece, as distinguished from the heading.
- Bold face Type
- A name given to type that is heavier than the text type of which it is used.
- Bond Paper
- A grade of writing or printing paper where strength, durability, writability, and permanence are essential requirements; used for letterheads and business forms.
- Brightness
- In photography, light reflected by the copy. In paper the reflectance or brilliance of the paper. A brightness test measures the ammount of light reflected in a particular wave length. Different testing systems give different brightness results, so if comparing brightness test results check the test methods are the same.
- Brochure
- A pamphlet bound in booklet form.
- Bronzing
- Printing with sizing ink, then applying bronze powder while still wet to produce a metallic lustre.
- Bulk
- The thickness of paper compared to its weight. A high bulk paper is thicker but less compact than a low bulk paper of the same weight. A 150 gsm paper with bulk 100 will be 150 microns thick.
- Burn
- In plate making, a common term used for a plate exposure.
- Byte
- In computers, a unit of digital information, equivalent to one character or 8 to 32 bits.