Every industry has jargon. Jargon is specific words used among members of a certain industry that are hard for others outside that industry to understand. Today I’ll share three terms that will help you communicate better with printers.
Substrate: The material you are printing on. There are actually multiple types of substances that can be printed on besides paper. These materials include special types of plastics, wood, parchments, and more.
Four over Four: This is how many colors you are using on each side of the printed piece. All printed materials have two sides. This term is often abbreviated using numbers as 4/4. Four refers to the four colors printing presses use which are Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black. If you tell the printer, you want it printed 4/4 you’re telling them you want it printed in four colors aka full color on both sides.
Coated Vs Uncoated: The type of paper you are using. Coated paper uses ink differently than uncoated paper. Coated paper isn’t necessarily glossy, but it has at least one side that is slicker than the other because it is sealed. This lets the ink sit on top of the surface of the paper. Uncoated paper is typical paper with no special coatings and is porous, meaning the ink will soak into it more.
Bonus Term:
For the Trade: A print shop that only works with others in the design and printing industries. These shops are not open to the general public and to work with them you’ll need to go through a graphic designer or print broker.
Using these terms will help you have a better chat with your favorite print shop and make you sound like a pro in no time.
Alright, that’s all I got for today! Talk to you soon!
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