Back Lining: The fixing of a material, either paper or cloth, to the back of a book before it is bound. Reference: case binding.

Back Margin: A term referring to the margin which lies closest to the back of the book.

Back Step Collation: The collation of book signatures according to reference marks which are printed on the back fold of each section.

Back To Back: Print applied to both sides of a sheet of paper.

Backbone: That portion of the binding, which connects the front of the book with the back of the book; also called "back".

Background: That portion of a photograph or line art drawing that appears furthest from the eye; the surface upon which the main image is superimposed.

Backslant: Any type that tilts to the left or backward direction; opposite of italic type.

Backstep Marks: Marks printed on signatures that indicate where the final fold will occur. When gathering and initial folding is completed, these marks appear as a stepped sequence.

Baking: A term given to the procedure of drying coatings onto papers.

Balance: A term used to describe the aesthetic or harmony of elements, whether they are photos, art or copy, within a layout or design.

Balloon: In an illustration, any line which encircles copy, or dialogue.

Bank Paper: A thin uncoated stock used for making carbon copies.

Banker's Flap Envelope: Also called wallet flap; the wallet flap has more rounded flap edges.

Banner: The primary headline usually spanning the entire width of a page.

Barn Doors: A device with two sets of thin metal doors (horizontal and vertical) placed before a light source to control the direction of light.

Barrier Coat: A coating that is applied onto the non-printing side of paper to add to the opacity of that paper. Reference, opacity.

Baryta Paper: A coated stock (barium sulfate compound) used for text impressions on typesetting machines.

Bas Relief: A three dimensional impression is which the image stands just slightly out from the flat background. References, blind emboss.

Base: The support onto which printing plates is fixed.

Base Film: The foundation material onto which the film positives are stripped for making printing plates. Reference, photomechanical.

Base Line: This is a term used to describe the imaginary horizontal line upon which stand capitals, lower case letters, punctuation points etc.

Basic Size: This term refers to a standard size of paper stock; even though the required size may be smaller or larger.

Basis Weight: Basis or basic weight refers to the weight, in pounds, of a ream (500 sheets) of paper cut to a given standard size for that particular paper grade.

Bauhaus: A design school in Germany where the Sans Serif font was originated.

Bearoff: The adjusting of spacing of type in order to correct the justification.

Bed: The steel flat table of a cylinder printing press upon which the type sits during the printing process.

Bending Chip: A recycled paperboard product used for making folding cartons.

BF: An abbreviation for boldface, used to determine where boldface copy is to be used. Reference, boldface.

Bible Paper: A thin but strong paper (opaque), used for Bibles and books.

Bimetal Plate: A plate which is used in long print runs; the printing image is copper or brass, and the non-printing area is aluminum or stainless steel.

Binder's Board: A heavy paperboard with a cloth covering that is used for hardback binding of books.

Binding: Various methods of securing folded sections together and or fastening them to a cover, to form single copies of a book.

Bite: The etching process in photoengraving requires the application of an acid; the length of time this acid is left to etch out an image is referred to as its bite. The more bites, the deeper the etched area.

Black Letter: An old style of typeface used in Germany in the 15th century, also referred to as Old English (US) and Gothic (UK).

Black Out: Also referred to as black patch; a piece of masking material which is used in layout to mask an area leaving a window into which another element can be stripped.

Black Photo Paper: A black paper used to protect photosensitive materials.

Black Printer: Refers to the film portion of the color separation process that prints black; increases the contrast of neutral tones.

Blackening: Darkening a portion of a sheet of paper due to the excessive pressure of the calendar roll. Reference, calendar.

Blanket: On offset presses a fabric-reinforced sheet of rubber to transfer the impression from the plate onto the paper.

Blanket To Blanket Press: A printing method in which there are two blanket cylinders through which a sheet of paper is passed and printed on both sides.

Bleed: Extra ink area that crosses trim line, used to allow for variations that occur when the reproduction is trimmed or die-cut.

Blind Emboss: A design or bas relief impression that is made without using inks or metal foils.

Blind Embossing: Embossed forms that are not inked, or gold leafed.

Blind Folio: Page number not printed on page.

Blind Image: A problem that arises in the lithography process when an image loses its ink receptivity and fails to print.

Blistering: Although seemingly dry, paper does contain approximately 5% moisture. In cases where there is excessive moisture, and the paper is passed through a high heat-drying chamber, the moisture within the paper actually boils and causes a bubble or blistering effect.

Block: Illustrations or line art etched onto zinc or copper plates and used in letterpress printing.

Block In: To sketch the primary areas and points of reference of an illustration in preparation for going to final design or production.

Block Resistance: The resistance of coated papers to blocking. Reference, blocking.

Blocking: The adhesion of one coated sheet to another, causing paper tears or particles of the coating to shed away from the paper surface.

Blocking Out: To mask a section of an art layout before reproduction.

Blow-up: Any enlargement of photos, copies or line art.

Blue-Line: Photographic proof made from flats for checking accuracy, layout and imposition before plates are made. Also known as a dylux.

Body: The main shank or portion of the letter character other than the ascenders and descenders. Also: A term used to define the thickness or viscosity of printer's ink.

Body Size: The point size of a particular type character.

Boiler Plate: Repetitive blocks of type that are picked up and included routinely without recreating them.

Boldface: Any type that has a heavier black stroke that makes it more conspicuous.

Bolts: The edges of folded sheets of paper, which are trimmed off in the final stages of production.

Bond: A grade of durable writing, printing and typing paper that has a standard size of 17x22 inches.

Book: A general classification to describe papers used to print books; its standard size is 25x38 inches. A printed work which contains more than 64 pages.

Book Block: A term given the unfinished stage of bookmaking when the pages are folded, gathered and stitched-in but not yet cover bound.

Bounce 1: A registration problem, usually on copiers, where the image appears to bounce back and forth. A bounce usually occurs in one direction depending on how the paper is passing through the machine. This is usually accented by card stock (especially if it's over the machine's spec). When a customer refuses a job for whatever reason.

Bourges: A pressure sensitive color film that is used to prepare color art.

Box Cover Paper: A lightweight paper used expressly for covering paper boxes.

Box Enamel Paper: A glossy coated paper used to cover paper boxes.

Box Liners: A coated paper used on the inside of boxes, which are used for food.

Brace: A character " }" used to group lines, or phrases.

Break For Color: In layout design, the term for dividing or separating the art and copy elements into single color paste-up sheets.

Bristol Board: A board paper of various thickness; having a smooth finish and used for printing and drawing.

Broad Fold: A term given to the fold whereby paper is folded with the short side running with the grain.

Brocade: A heavily embossed paper.

Brochure: A pamphlet that is bound in booklet form.

Bronzing: A printing method whereby special ink is applied to sheets and then a powder is applied producing a metallic effect.

Brownline Proof: A photographic proof made by exposing a flat to UV light creating a brown image on a white background. Also referred to as silverprint.

Buckle Folder: A portion of the binding machinery with rollers that fold the paper.

Buckram: A coarse sized cloth used in the bookbinding process.

Bulk: A term given to paper to describe its thickness relative to its weight.

Bulk: A term used to define the number of pages per inch of a book relative to its given basis weight.

Bullet: A boldface square or dot used before a sentence to emphasize its importance.

Bump Exposure: A process used in halftone photography that entails the temporary removal of the screen during exposure. This increases the highlight contrast and diminishes the dots in the whites.

Burn: A term used in plate making to describe the amount of plate exposure time.

Burnish: A term used for the process of "rubbing down" lines and dots on a printing plate, which darkens those rubbed areas.

Burnishing: Creating a polished finish on paper by rubbing with stone or hand smoothing a surface.