Fine Print Knowledge Center
The online guide to print and design.
- MIME
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Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions
A protocol that allows a mail system to attach binary files such as spreadsheets, graphics, video and sound.
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- Mimeo Paper
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Paper used on stencil type duplicating machines. It has a toothy, absorbent surface, ideal for this type of printing process.
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- Mini-Book
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A term for books with covers no higher and wider than 7.6 centimeters (three inches).
One of the earliest known printed mini-books of the post-incunabula era is the book of hours produced by Lucantonio Giunta on May 4, 1506 in Venice.
The book was titled “Officium Beatae Mariae Virginis secundum consuetudine romane curie.”
It measures just 7.2×5.1 cm, was printed on parchment and contains illuminated, full-page woodcuts.
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- Mini-Lab
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Photofinishing operation that operates on a retail level, serving consumers directly and processing film on-site.
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- Minimum Application Temperature
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The lowest temperature at which a pressure sensitive label can be applied to a surface and maintain its initial adhesion strength.
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- Minuscule
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- Mirror
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1. An exact copy of something. A common use of the term is “mirror sites”, referring to web sites or FTP sites that are exact copies of a site originating at another location. “Mirror sites” provide easier access to the resource.
2. Simultaneously writting information to more than one hard disk at a time, preventing the lose of anything if one disk should fail.
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- Misbound
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An illustration, map, or a number of pages that have been incorrectly folded, bound in the wrong place, or bound in upside down.
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- Misread
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A condition that occurs when a reader’’s output data does not match with the encoded data.
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- Misregister
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A problem in multiple color printing when the different color images do not line up properly as the successive colors are printed on the page.
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- MLOCR
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Multiline Optical Character Reader
A machine that can read an entire address block and then translate it into a corresponding bar code. It then prints the bar code and sorts the mail to the appropriate stackers.
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- MMSI
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- MMSQ
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- Mock-up
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- MOD Numbering
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MOD (Modulus) or check digit numbering involves the selection of a numbering method (MICR, Gothic, OCR, or Bar Code) to be used on documents for which an additional digit will be printed to the right of the base sequential number. Formulas are then used to verify the document sequence and information processing.
This digit enables the document owner to verify and control some aspects of the document, its contents, or the intended end use of the document. The digit can be used to assure the reliability of the numeric data entered, to make sure it matches the receiver of the materials listed on the document such as situations in which medications are issued.
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- Modem
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MOdulator/DEModulator. A device that converts the digital data from a computer into an analog signal so that it can be transmitted over a telephone line. When it is received by the destination computer, the analog signal is converted back to digital data.
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- Modern Firsts
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First editions of a book published in the 20th century.
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- Module
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- Moiré Book Cloth
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A book cloth having an irregular, wavy finish produced by embossing in such a manner as to resemble watered silk. Prayer books and Bibles sometimes have endpapers consisting of a folded sheet of black moiré cloth mounted on a paper flyleaf. Moiré book cloth was at one time used fairly frequently for doublures. It was also one of the earliest decorative effects applied to the calico used for publishers’ bindings
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- Moire Pattern
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An undesirable pattern that may appear when two or more grid patterns overlap each other. The pattern may be due to improper screen alignment, incorrect screen angles being used or printing a screen over a halftone.
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- Moisture Content
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The amount of moisture present and measurable in paper. The amount of moisture in a sheet of paper will vary according to the surrounding conditions and to the amount of moisture that is added during manufacturing and during the printing process. The moisture content of the paper can affect its runnability, printability and its physical strength. Generally, a range of 3% to 7% is average for the moisture content present in paper stock.
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- Moisture Resistance
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The ability of a material to resist taking on moisture and breaking down when exposed to it.
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- Moistureproof
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A property of a material that allows it to be unaffected or impaired by the exposure to moisture.
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- MoMA
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Founded in 1929 as an educational institution, The Museum of Modern Art is dedicated to being the foremost museum of modern art in the world.
Through the leadership of its trustees and staff, The Museum of Modern Art manifests this commitment by establishing, preserving, and documenting a permanent collection of the highest order that reflects the vitality, complexity, and unfolding patterns of modern and contemporary art; by presenting exhibitions and educational programs of unparalleled significance; by sustaining a library, archives, and conservation laboratory that are recognized as international centers of research; and by supporting scholarship and publications of preeminent intellectual merit.
Central to The Museum of Modern Art’s mission is the encouragement of an ever deeper understanding and enjoyment of modern and contemporary art by the diverse local, national, and international audiences that it serves.
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- Monochrome
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Used to describe an image printed in a single ink color.
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- Montage
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- Morocco
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Leather made from goatskin with a characteristic grain pattern.
Straight-grained morocco was popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
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- Mosaic
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The first Web browser, available for the Macintosh, Windows, and UNIX, allowing the use the same interface. Mosaic contributed largely to the success of the Web.
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- Motion Picture Experts Group
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A digital file format using compression to store movie files.
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- Motor Drive
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A mechanism for advancing the film to the next frame and recocking the shutter, activated by an electric motor usually powered by batteries.
Popular for action-sequence photography and for recording images by remote control.
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