Fine Print Knowledge Center
The online guide to print and design.
- Despenser
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A device used to manually or automatically dispense pressure sensitive labels. It presents the label to be applied to a label. Application can be preformed by hand or mechanically.
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- Destructible Label
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Destructible labels are impossible to remove and replace in one piece. Attempts to remove result in the label flaking off in pieces. Tampering is easily detected.
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- Developer
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A solution used to turn the latent image into a visible image on exposed films or photographic papers.
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- Developing Tank
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- Device
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Refers to a printer’s mark or imprint that was used primarily in the 16th and 17th centuries, typically found on the title page or at the end of a book.
Today the term can also be used to describe a publisher’s trademark or logo. Also known as printer’s mark.
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- Device Pixel
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The smallest dot that a printer can produce. Most desktop laser printers are capable of a 1/300” square dot for 300 dpi and 1/600” for 600 dpi. Imagesetters may be capable of much higher resolutions, using a square dot as small as 1/3300”. These compare to most video monitors that can display only a 1/72” square dot.
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- Device-independent color space
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A reference color standard. Most color management systems use the LAB color histogram of the CIE (Commission Internationale d’Eclairage) as the international color standard, independent of all devices.
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- Dextrine gum
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Most used in the envelope flap gum. Dextrines are made from starch re-wettable gum.
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- DFE
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Digital Front End
The digital devices used to drive the data being sent to the output devices.
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- DFTA
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Deutschsprachige Flexodruck Fachgruppe e.V.
Created in the fall of 1979 and modeled after the FTA (Flexographic Technical Association), this association is based in Stuttgart and has over 400 members from the flexographic industry and scientific establishments. The association’s goals include the technical advancement of flexographic printing, basic and advanced training, and the exchange of expertise and experience. The DFTA has a technology center at the Media College of Stuttgart Technical University.
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- DHTML
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Dynamic HTML
An extension of the HTML language that enables Web content to be changed each time it is viewed. For example, a different page could be displayed depending on the geographic location of the reader, time of day, or the previous pages viewed by the reader. There are many technologies for producing dynamic HTML, including CGI scripts, Server-Side Includes (SSI), cookies, Java, JavaScript, and ActiveX.
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- Diacritic
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A mark normally used in conjunction with another glyph.
In Latin fonts these are sometimes called ‘accents’. In Hebrew and Arabic these are marks that denote vowels.
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- Dial-up
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A temporary connection to a network which is done over a telephone line using modems or dumb terminals.
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- Dialog marketing
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Refers to all company activities intended to directly address potential customers and elicit a response. Examples of dialog marketing include mailshots (personalized communications) containing various response options. The Internet is an ideal medium for dialog marketing.
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- Diameter
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- Diaphragm
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Lens opening. A perforated plate or adjustable opening mounted behind or between the elements of a lens used to control the amount of light that reaches the film. Openings are usually calibrated in f-numbers.
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- Diazo
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A chemical which is sensitive to ultraviolet light.
It is used to coat paper or film for making prints.
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- Didot
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A standard point measurement system on which type sizes are based. A Didot point equals 0.376 mm (0.0148 inch), and 12 Didot points equal a cicero ( 4,511 MM or 0.178 inches).
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- Die
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A metal device for cutting, scoring, stamping, embossing or debossing. Most dies have a male and female part. The male creates the image and the female provides the reinforcement of the image.
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- Die cut
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Die cutting is the process whereby shapes are cut out of paper, or other substrates. Designers will generally have to specify a cutting grid, in their page layout or vector drawing program, that the printer will use as a guide for making the Die.
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- Die Cut Label
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A pressure sensitive label that has the facestock die cut in a specific shape. The die cut is accomplished by using a die which is basically made up of cutting blades that are formed into the desired shape. The die will cut through the facestock only and not through the liner. Once the label is die cut the matrix is removed, leaving only the label on the liner.
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- Die Cutting
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The main method or standard means of die cutting involves the use of metal dies to give paper or substrate products specific shapes or designs that cannot be accomplished by a straight cut on a web press or a guillotine cutter.
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- Die Stamping
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Producing an image by stamping the printing material with a die.
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- Die-cut Window
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A window on the front of a Photobook Hardcover that is cut out but not wrapped.
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- Diffuse Lighting
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Lighting that is low or moderate in contrast, such as on an overcast day.
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- Diffusing
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Softening detail in a print with a diffusion disk or other material that scatters light.
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- Diffusion Dithering
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A method of dithering that randomly distributes pixels instead of using a set pattern. See also Dithering.
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- Diffusion Enlarger
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An enlarger that scatters light before it strikes the negative, distributing light evenly on the negative. Detail is not as sharp as with a condenser enlarger; negative blemishes are minimized.
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- Diffusion-Condenser Enlarger
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An enlarger that combines diffuse light with a condenser system, producing more contrast and sharper detail than a diffusion enlarger but less contrast and blemish emphasis than a condenser enlarger.
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- Digester
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The reaction vessel in which wood chips or other plant materials are cooked with chemical to separate fiber by dissolving lignin.
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