Pad - To bind by applying glue along one edge of a stack of sheets.

Page - One side of a leaf in a publication.

Page Proof - Proof of type and graphics as they will look on the finished page complete with elements such as headings, rules and folios.

Pages per Inch - Number of pages per inch of thickness of a bound publication. Each sheet has two pages

Pagination - The numbering of pages in a book.

Painted Sheet - Sheet printed with ink edge to edge, as compared to spot color. The painted sheet refers to the final product, not the press sheet, and means that 100 percent coverage results from bleeds off all four sides.

Panel - One page of a brochure, such as one panel of a rack brochure. One panel is on one side of the paper. A letter-folded sheet has six panels, not three.

Paper Grade - Papers manufactured to fit within a group or type of papers. Each grade of paper uses basically the same fiber, color, additive and chemical composition.

Paper Merchant - A business that operates as the intermediary between paper manufacturers and users of the paper. The merchants usually warehouse the products and then distribute to end users.

Paper Plate - A short run offset printing plate (cost effective with short runs).

Paper Stock - A mix of pulp fibers, water, additives, chemicals and dyes that will be pumped onto the paper machine to form paper.

Paragraph Mark ( ) - A type symbol used to denote the start of a paragraph. Also used as a footnote sign.

Parallel Fold - Method of folding. Two parallel folds to a sheet will produce 6 panels.

Parchment - Paper that simulates writing surfaces made from animal skins.

Parent Sheet - Any sheet larger than 11' x 17' or A3.

Pasteboard - Chipboard with another paper pasted to it.

PE - Proofreader mark meaning printer error and showing a mistake by a typesetter, prepress service or printer as compared to an error by the customer.

Perf Marks - On a "dummy" marking where the perforation is to occur.

Perforating - Taking place on a press or a binder machine, creating a line of small dotted wholes for the purpose of tearing-off a part of a printed matter (usually straight lines, vertical or horizontal).

Permanence - Refers to paper's ability to maintain certain physical properties over time, such as brightness and strength. Especially common is the discoloration of some papers, which turn from white to yellow with age.

Photoengraving - Engraving done using photochemistry.

Photomechanical Transfer - Brand name for a diffusion transfer process used to make positive paper prints of line copy and halftones. Often used as alternate term for photostat. Abbreviated PMT.

Pi fonts - Characters not usually included in a font, but which are added specially. Examples of these are timetable symbols and mathematical signs.

Pica - A unit of measure in the printing industry. A pica is approximately 0.166 in. There are 12 points to a pica.

Picking - The effect of ink being too tacky and lifting fibers out of the paper. Shows up as small white dots on areas of solid color.

Pickup Art - Artwork, used in a previous job, to be incorporated in a current job.

Pigment - Finely-ground particles giving color and opacity to ink.

Piling - In reference to printing, transfer of mineral pigment from paper to offset blankets – building up of ink on rollers or on the printing surfaces of plates and blankets.

Pin Register - Technique of registering separations, flats and printing plates by using small holes, all of equal diameter, at the edges of both flats and plates.

Pinholing - Small holes (unwanted) in printed areas because of a variety of reasons.

Pipelining - The ability of a program to flow automatically text from the end of one column or page to the beginning of the next. An extra level of sophistication can be created by allowing the flow to be re-directed to any page and not just the next available. This is ideal for US-style magazines where everything is 'Continued on...'!

Pixel - Short for picture element, a dot made by a computer, scanner or other digital device.

Planographic Printing - Printing method whose image carriers are level surfaces with inked areas separated from noninked areas by chemical means. Planographic printing includes lithography, offset lithography and spirit duplicating.

Plate - Piece of paper, metal, plastic or rubber carrying an image to be reproduced using a printing press.

Platemaker - (1) In quick printing, a process camera that makes plates automatically from mechanicals. (2) In commercial lithography, a machine with a vacuum frame used to expose plates through film.

Pleasing Color - Color that the customer considers satisfactory even though it may not precisely match original samples, scenes or objects.

Porosity - The degree of compactness of the fibers of the paper. It is an indication of the openness of paper, as measured by resistance to the passage of air through the sheet.

Portrait - A design in which the height is greater than the width. (Opposite of Landscape.)

Position Stat - Photocopy or PMT of a photo or illustration made to size and pasted to a mechanical.

Positive Film - Film that prevents light from passing through images, as compared to negative film that allows light to pass through. Also called knockout film.

PostScript - A page description language developed by Adobe Systems. Widely supported by both hardware and software vendors it represents the current 'standard' in the market. John Warnock and Chuck Geschke of Adobe both worked for Xerox at the Palo Alto Research Centre where PDLs were invented and set up their company to commercially exploit the concepts they had helped develop.

Post-Consumer Fiber - Papers that have reached the designated end use for the product and have then been collected for recycling.

Post Bind - To bind using a screw and post inserted through a hole in a pile of loose sheets.

Pre-consumer Waste - That fraction of the waste stream that is disposed of during conversion to the end-use product. Example: envelope clippings, corrugated box plant die clippings, printing press waste.

Prepress - Camera work, color separations, stripping, platemaking and other prepress functions performed by the printer, separator or a service bureau prior to printing. Also called preparation.

Prepress Proof - Any color proof made using ink jet, toner, dyes or overlays, as compared to a press proof printed using ink. Also called dry proof and off-press proof.

Press Check - Event at which makeready sheets from the press are examined before authorizing full production to begin.

Press rRun - The number of pieces printed.

Press Time - (1) Amount of time that one printing job spends on press, including time required for makeready. (2) Time of day at which a printing job goes on press.

Printer Pairs - Usually in the book arena, consecutive pages as they appear on a flat or signature.

Printer Spreads - Mechanicals made so they are imposed for printing, as compared to reader spreads.

Printing - Any process that transfers to paper or another substrate an image from an original such as a film negative or positive, electronic memory, stencil, die or plate.

Printing Plate - Surface carrying an image to be printed. Quick printing uses paper or plastic plates; letterpress, engraving and commercial lithography use metal plates; flexography uses rubber or soft plastic plates. Gravure printing uses a cylinder. The screen printing is also called a plate.

Printing Unit - Assembly of fountain, rollers and cylinders that will print one ink color. Also called color station, deck, ink station, printer, station and tower.

Process Camera - Camera used to photograph mechanicals and other camera-ready copy. Also called copy, camera and graphic arts camera. A small, simple process camera may be called a stat camera.

Process Color - The colors used for four-color process printing: yellow, magenta, cyan and black.

Production Run - Press run intended to manufacture products as specified, as compared to makeready.

Proof - Test sheet made to reveal errors or flaws, predict results on press and record how a printing job is intended to appear when finished.

Proof OK - Customer signature approving a proof and authorizing the job to advance to the next stage.

Proofread - To examine copy or a proof for errors in writing or composition.

Publishing Paper - Paper made in weights, colors and surfaces suited to books, magazines, catalogs and free-standing inserts.

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