Page
'Side' of a printed or unprinted leaf. A single sheet is two pages (2pp). Confused?
Pantone
The Pantone Matching System (PMS) is the most widely used standard for matching 'special' printing colours.
Short for portable document format. PDF captures all the elements of a publication into a viewable file that can be read with Adobe Acrobat reader. PDF files can also include buttons, hyperlinks, movies and other features, and they can be a good way of sending visuals or proofing minor copy changes. In the publishing industry, PDF formats are often used to transmit final artwork. PDF isn't foolproof, though, so although it's useful as a visual check, at Calverts we prefer clients to supply artwork in the original file format.
Perfect binding
Style of threadless binding in which the leaves of a book are held together at the binding edge by glue or synthetic adhesive and a suitable lining.
Perfecting
Printing both sides of the sheet in one pass through the printing press.
Pestimates
Estimate requests with a million and one permutations which take days to do and come to nothing.
Portrait
An upright, oblong loose or folded sheet where the vertical dimension is greater than the horizontal.
PostScript
A Page Description Language (PDL) developed by Adobe, which describes the contents and layout of a page. PostScript also serves as a programming language whereby the PostScript code is executed by a PostScript RIP in the output device in order to produce a printout or film containing the page.
Proofing
A publication can be proofed in a number of ways before being printed. At Calverts, we usually make proofs in one of the following four ways:
COLOUR LASERS
Laser printer quality paper proofs are not accurate for colour, but are the best way of checking and marking up design visuals and large areas of text.
PDF PROOF
A proof can be sent electronically in PDF format. This is good for verifying minor changes, usually at a late and time-sensitive stage of the process. But it takes an artworker twice as long to take in changes from an annotated PDF as it does from a marked up hard copy, and most people still do not check copy on screen as carefully as they would a paper proof.
INKJET
Inkjet proofs are of a high quality and outstanding colour accuracy for publications within a process colour space. They are ideal for a variety of publications, and offer a chance to check all items within your publication including imposition prior to print. They also offer the advantage of using the same ripped data used in the final output process, offering almost total file integrity between digital proof and final publication.
WET PROOF
Wet proofing offers the highest level of proofing of all. It uses the plates and stock that will be used on the final print run, so it is a genuine 'one off' proof of the final job. Wet proofing is the only real way to proof items such as duotones or quadtones, and it is the best option for spot colour proofing. Because wet proofing uses plates and a production printing press, last minute corrections can become expensive.