Printing, Display & Output — 60 Terms Defined

Alpha-cellulose Paper Printing, Display & Output g/m² Paper made from highly purified wood pulp with lignin removed, offering archival stability at lower cost than cotton.

Baryta Paper Printing, Display & Output g/m² An inkjet paper coated with barium sulphate, imitating the surface and depth of traditional darkroom fibre-based paper.

Black Point Compensation Printing, Display & Output A conversion option that maps the source's darkest tone to the destination's darkest tone rather than clipping it.

Border Printing, Display & Output mm An area of unprinted paper deliberately left around an image.

Bronzing Printing, Display & Output A metallic sheen visible in dark areas of a pigment print when viewed at an oblique angle.

Chromogenic Print Printing, Display & Output A print made on light-sensitive photographic paper and developed in chemistry, whether exposed from a negative or by a digital light source.

CMYK Printing, Display & Output % The subtractive four-ink model — cyan, magenta, yellow and black — used in commercial printing.

Cotton Rag Paper Printing, Display & Output g/m² Paper made entirely from cotton fibre, with no wood pulp, giving high permanence and a soft matte surface.

Delta E Printing, Display & Output ΔE A numerical measure of the perceived difference between two colours, used to quantify display and print accuracy. ΔE = distance in CIELAB space

Display Pixel Density Printing, Display & Output ppi The number of pixels per inch on a screen, which determines how much image detail it can actually show.

Dmax Printing, Display & Output density units The maximum density a print can achieve, measuring how dark its blacks are. Dmax = log₁₀(1 / reflectance)

Dot Gain Printing, Display & Output % The tendency of printed halftone dots to spread as ink is absorbed, making the result darker than intended.

DPI Printing, Display & Output dpi Dots per inch: the number of individual ink droplets a printer places along an inch of paper.

Dry Mounting Printing, Display & Output °C Bonding a print to a board using a heat-activated adhesive tissue in a press.

Duotone Printing, Display & Output count A print made from two inks, typically black plus one colour, giving a monochrome image more tonal depth than black alone.

Dye Ink Printing, Display & Output Ink whose colourant is dissolved in liquid and absorbed into the paper's coating.

Dye-sublimation Printing, Display & Output A printing process in which solid dye is heated into a gas that diffuses into a receiving surface and solidifies there.

Exhibition Print Printing, Display & Output A print made to the highest standard for gallery display, with materials and finishing chosen for both appearance and longevity.

Framing Glass Printing, Display & Output % UV blocked The transparent glazing that protects a framed print, available in grades differing in reflection and ultraviolet filtering.

Gamut Warning Printing, Display & Output A soft-proofing overlay that flags pixels whose colours the destination profile cannot reproduce.

Giclée Printing, Display & Output A marketing term for a fine-art inkjet print, generally implying pigment inks on archival paper.

Gloss Differential Printing, Display & Output A visible difference in surface sheen between inked and uninked areas of a glossy print.

Glossy Paper Printing, Display & Output Paper with a smooth, highly reflective surface that maximises apparent contrast and colour saturation.

Halftone Printing, Display & Output lpi The reproduction of continuous tone by a grid of dots that vary in size, creating the impression of shades from a single ink.