Common Printing Terms....

DESCRIPTION: The name of the printing item you need the quote for (e.g., printing books, brochure printing, catalog printing…).

QUANTITY: How many do you need. It is a good idea to list 3 quantities, as the unit pricing is better once the printing press and running.

NUMBER OF PAGES: This is different from how many sheets of paper. A single piece of paper has two sides and therefore is two pages.

TRIM SIZE FOLDED: The size of the printed item once folded. (Example: if you fold a letter to fit an envelope, the folded size is the "trim size" folded, or 3 2/3 x 8 1/2" from the 8.5 x 11" original size.)

FLAT/SPREAD SIZE: This is the flat and final trimmed size of the printed item before folding. (Example: an 8 1/2 x 11" 4-page brochure spread out as a 2-page "spread" would be 17 x 11".) Printers require the width as the first dimension given.

TEXT STOCK: A lighter weight stock. If there were not a separate cover, then would be the only paper used (i.e. a "self cover") or if there is a separate heavier cover printed then this would refer to the inside paper.

COVER STOCK: Heavier card type stock and also used for the outside 4 pages of your printed item, should it be different from the text. If it is not, then your printed item is a "self cover".

TEXT INK: Ink that is used for the inner pages of your printed item. This is described by the number of inks you require and the two numbers used are separated by a slash sign /. If the front of your piece has 4 colors and the back has 1, then your piece would be described as 4/1 or "four over one". CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) is for process printing, such as color photos and Pantone inks also known as spot color, or PMS stands for Pantone Matching System.

COVER INK: Same as the above, but for the cover portion, if it differs from the text.

COVERAGE %: The amount of ink covering the printed page. Always let the printing service know if large solid areas of 100% ink exists on the page.