Fine Print Knowledge Center
The online guide to print and design.
- Radio Button
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Similar to a checkbox on a form except that normally, if there are several radio buttons to an item, you can only select one radio button.
If you change your selection, it will normally cancel out the previous selected radio button.
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- Radio Frequency Identification
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RFID
Labels used to identify objects that work with radio signals for data transmission in the production, transportation and storage sectors.
Instead of barcodes and optical scanning devices, RFID systems use transponders as markers on the objects to be monitored.
These units receive radio signals from the relevant interrogation devices and transmit their information back.
Some of the key advantages of this technology include the fact that larger volumes of data can be stored in the transponders, the link between the transponder and the interrogation device is reliable without a direct line of sight, the data is interrogated more quickly and the data can be changed.
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- RAE
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Reply Address Envelope
A reply envelope that has address preprinted but postage is not prepaid.
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- Rag
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- Rag Book
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A children’s book printed on and bound with cloth fabric.
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- Rag Paper
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Paper that contains cotton rag fibers.
Paper with a rag content of at least 10 percent primarily used for banknotes and documents.
Generally used for high quality stationery.
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- Ragged
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Unjustified type; lines of type that have an uneven edge either at the right or left edge.
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- Railroad Board
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A thick heavy board, manufactured in colors. Generally 4 ply or 6 ply and available coated or uncoated.
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- Rainbow Fountain
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A printing technique where different ink colors are put next to each other in the same ink fountain.
The oscillating ink rollers cause the colors to combined where they touch and this produces a rainbow effect.
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- Raised Band
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The visibly raised areas on a book spine where the cords, which attach the cover boards, are passed through.
May also refer to fake raised bands on decorative bindings.
Also known as Raised Cord.
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- Raised Cord
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The visibly raised areas on a book spine where the cords, which attach the cover boards, are passed through.
May also refer to fake raised bands on decorative bindings.
Also known as Raised Band.
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- RAL Colors
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Standard colors based on a series of color collections for industry published by the Deutsches Institut für Götesicherung und Kennzeichnung, Sankt Augustin.
There are over 2,000 RAL colors, and the RAL Design System, a color system which takes in the entire color space, contains 1688 color tones.
All RAL colors in the RAL Design System and the RAL 840-HR classical color collection are also defined digitally.
They can be used with all standard graphic arts programs and can be used with more than 20 output variants, that is with different screens and printers.
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- RAM
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Random-Access Memory
The computer’’s memory where files currently being used are stored, managed and have functions performed on them.
This memory is used to execute programs and store data.
This memory loses its data when the power is turned off on the computer.
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- RAMDAC
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Random Access Memory Digital-to-Analog Converter
A direct access storage or memory used to convert digitally encoded data into analog signals performed by specific chips.
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- Random Watermark
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A watermark that appears in no particular order, repetitively throughout the paper.
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- Random-Access Memory
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RAM
The computer’’s memory where files currently being used are stored, managed and have functions performed on them.
This memory is used to execute programs and store data. This memory loses its data when the power is turned off on the computer.
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- Rangefinder
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A device included on many cameras as an aid in focusing.
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- Rapidograph
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- RARP
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Reverse Address Resolution Protocol
Used by a host to find its IP address.
The host sends out its physical address and a RARP server will translate its IP address back to the host.
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- Raster
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Converting mathematical and digital information into a series of dots.
It is converted to digital data that can be used for output on a device such as a laser printer or imagesetter.
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- Raster Image
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Also called bitmap image, is a reproduced graphic (text or image) which is displayed on a video monitor as pixels or on paper as an array of dots.
It is identified in terms of resolution, such as dots per inch or pixels per inch. Raster images are produced from scanners, digital cameras or software editing programs.
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- Raster Image File Format
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RIFF
An expanded version of the TIFF file format used for graphics, which is used by many scanners.
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- Raster Image Processor
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RIP
A processor that prepares data from the prepress stage for the production of printing plates.
A hardware device or program that calculates the printing instructions for the bitmapped image of text and graphics and then converts the instructions into dot patterns that can be understood by the output device.
Its most important function is to create screens for printing images and other graphic elements.
As a rule, an RIP is a separate computer, but it can also come in the form of software.
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- Rasterization
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The process of converting a vector image or other non-bitmap image into a bitmap image.
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- Rasterizer
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A software program that converts font data for output as raster graphics, that is, into bitmaps.
This step must be performed before characters can be displayed on the monitor or printed as a hardcopy.
Unlike vector graphics, a raster graphic consists of pixels arranged in a fixed grid.
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- Raw Text
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Straight text, before any encoding or formatting has been done to it.
Raw text is a type of text design in which the lines are not made to be of uniform length by correspondingly enlarging the spaces between words.
Deliberately varying line lengths as a creative technique is referred to as ragged setting.
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- RBCS
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Remote Bar Coding System
The system assists in reading addresses that can’‘t be read by the OCR, such as ones that are handwritten. An image of the address is sent to a computer where an operator adds missing information and corrects errors.
The image is then sent back to the OCR to be processed and bar coded.
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- RC Paper
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Resin-coated photosensitive paper used for output on a imagesetter or typesetter.
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- RDS
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Report Distribution System
A software that is flexible in handling a variety of formats to create and distribute customized reports.
RDS identifies, packages, bundles, and distributes partial or complete reports to multiple end users so that the reports can be printed or viewed.
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- Re-Issue
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A term encompassing all types of a reprinting of a work; it can be a later printing of a book, which is substantially unchanged, or an entirely new edition, such as a cloth edition re-issued as a paperback edition.
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