To facilitate communication with suppliers, this page includes a number of industry terms which you may come across:
Artwork (A/W) Illustrations, diagrams, line art and photographs prepared for reproduction. Also called Finished Art or F/A.
Master Logo The company name as seen in a consistent format and colour.
CMYK Initials for the four process colours of cyan, magenta, yellow and black inks used in full colour printing. The combination of these colours creates a broad range of colours and hues.
Colour Proofs A preliminary colour output to show what the final item will look like.
Colour Separations (Colour Seps) In colour reproduction, the process of separating the colours of an image, by means of a scanner or process camera, into a form suitable for printing.
Pantone™ Matching System (PMS) The proprietary colour ink system from Pantone, Inc., that is commonly referred to as Special Colour or Spot Colour.
Resolution, DPI & LPI In reproduction, the resolution at which an image or transparency is scanned and the output resolution finally determines the fineness of the final printed image. The higher the resolution, the finer the printed image. The terms DPI and LPI are related to resolution.
Dots-per-inch (dpi) is the number of dots or pixels displayed per inch which determines the resolution of an image. A higher number of pixels per inch gives a higher resolution.
Line-per-inch (lpi) indicates the screen density (resolution) at which the item is to be printed. Example: Newspapers are printed at 85 lpi (coarse) while a four colour printed brochure is usually printed at 150 to 175 lpi (fine).
Vinyl Films The range of materials used on signage surface applications. These vary in permanence and are available for different purposes, including building windows (in order to let light in), reflective for impact at night.
Point size When you come across specifications for typeface setting, for example "55 Helvetica Roman 8/9.5pt", the numbers refer to the point size (size of lettering) and the leading (the space between lines of leading) - 8pt text set on 9.5pt leading. This it is the industry standard way of indicating type dimensions and setting.
