Fine Print Knowledge Center
The online guide to print and design.
- Dry Finish
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A paper stock with a rough unglazed finish produced by calendaring it through a waterless process.
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- Dry Offset
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- Dry Transfer
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Characters, ornaments, etc. that can be transferred to the artwork by rubbing them off the back of the transfer sheet. The most popular is Letraset.
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- Dry-End
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On the paper machine, it is the section where the dryers, cutters, slitters and reels are located.
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- Dry-Gum Label Stock
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Stock coated with a remoistenable adhesive, which must have moisture applied to activate the adhesive. Dry-gum label stock does not require a liner over the adhesive.
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- Dryer
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A heat tunnel on a web press in which the final printed product passes through. The heat tunnel dries the ink. Web presses with the heat tunnel are called heat-set webs.
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- Drying Time
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The time it takes for an ink to become rub- or tack-free.
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- DSL
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Digital Subscriber Line or Loop
A family of technologies that provide digital data transmission over the wires of a local telephone network.
DSL originally stood for digital subscriber loop, although in recent years, many have adopted digital subscriber line as a more marketing-friendly term for the most popular version of DSL, ADSL.
Typically, the download speed of consumer DSL services ranges from 256 kilobits per second (kbit/s) to 24,000kbit/s, depending on DSL technology, line conditions and service level implemented.
Typically, upload speed is lower than download speed for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber
Line ADSL and equal to download speed for Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line SDSL.
Also known as xDSL
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- DTP
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Desktop Publishing
The use of personal computers, or workstations, to design and produce digital documents that are output to paper, film or plates.
Can be used to design products of any type
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- Dual Web Label/Form
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Dual web construction consists of joining a form and a label together side by side with a seamed glue line to form one single web.
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- Ductus
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A typographic term used to describe the various elements of a character, such as the line, weight and direction in which each line is drawn. The term is derived from the Latin verb “ducere” (to lead), and was burrowed from calligraphy, where it is used to describe how the pen is held.
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- Dull Finish
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A flat finish that has been supercalendered when manufactured. It is slightly smoother that a matte finish.
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- Dummy
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1. A mock layout created to simulate the final product.
The complexity of the dummy can range from a simple mockup showing size and with a hand drawn sketch of the layout to one showing all the details exactly as the finished product will appear.
2. A mockup of a book that is created to represent the physical appearance, including actual arrangement of the printed matter and illustrations, of a forthcoming book-to-book buyers.
Modern trade publishing has replaced the use of dummies with materials such as advance reading copies and uncorrected proofs.
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- Dummy text
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Term used for sample text, the purpose of which is to communicate the intended typographic impression of layouted pages or to reserve a space. Dummy text should be instantly recognizable as such – otherwise, as occasionally happens, it may erroneously be printed.
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- DuoDecimo
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- Duogravure
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An image made by double printing on a gravure press, duogravure is used to deepen tones or add color.
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- Duotone
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1. An electronic image in which the picture elements have only two intensity values; black and white. 2. In printing, a duotone is printed in two colors from plates that were made from films that had the screen angles different from each other.
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- Dupe Elimination
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The part of the merge/purge process that identifies and separates duplicate addresses so that the mailing does not go the the same person more than once.
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- Duplex board
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A multi-layer carton with a gray intermediate ply, gray back and wood-free or almost wood-free coat on one side.
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- Duplex Coating
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When both sides of the paper are coated at the same time.
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- Duplex images
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Images used to enlarge the tonal value range of a grayscale image in print. A black/white reproduction, for example, can contain up to 256 grayscales
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- Duplex Paper
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A paper made by pasting two different thinner sheets together, resulting in paper with a different color or finish on both sides.
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- Duplexing
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The ability to print both sides of a sheet without having to turn the sheet over.
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- Duplicator
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1. An offset press used for low volume quick printing. Not recommended for close register or high quality printing due to the lack of devices necessary to achieve this type of printing. 2. An office machine that will print copies, such as a high speed copier, photocopier or mimeograph.
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- Durability
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Natural resistance of wood to attack by decay fungi, insects and marine borers
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- Dust Jacket
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DJ
A removable paper wrapper that encloses a book to protect it from dirt.
Dust jackets date from the early 19th century, but they came into more common use in the early 20th century as a means to advertise the book to potential buyers.
Also known as dust wrapper or book jacket.
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- Dust Wrapper
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DW
A removable paper wrapper that encloses a book to protect it from dirt.
Dust jackets date from the early 19th century, but they came into more common use in the early 20th century as a means to advertise the book to potential buyers.
Also known as dust Jacket or book jacket.
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- Dusting
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The accumulation of loose particles from the paper on the nonimage areas of the blanket. Particles are of very small size.
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- DW
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Dust Wrapper
A removable paper wrapper that encloses a book to protect it from dirt.
Dust jackets date from the early 19th century, but they came into more common use in the early 20th century as a means to advertise the book to potential buyers.
Also known as dust Jacket or book jacket.
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- DX Data Exchange
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Electrical coding system employed in 35 mm format film that communicates film speed, type and exposure length to the camera.
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