Lacquer: A clear gloss coating applied to printed material for strength, appearance and protection.

Laid Finish: A parallel lined paper that has a handmade look.

Laser Engraving: A paper cutting technique whereby laser technology is utilized to cut away certain unmasked areas of the paper. The cutting is a result of the exposure of the paper to the laser ray, which actually evaporates the paper.

Lay Edge: Edge of a sheet of paper being fed into a printing press.

Layout: A rendition that shows the placement of all the elements, roughs, thumbnails etc., of the final printed piece before it goes to print.

Leaders: The dots or dashes used in type to guide the eye from one set of type to the next.

Leading: Space between lines of type; the distance in points between one baseline and the next.

Leaf: One of a number of folds (each containing two pages) which comprises a book or manuscript.

Leaf Stamping: A metal die, either (flat, or embossed), created from the image or copy, which is then heated to a specific temperature which allows the transfer of a film of pigmented polyester to the paper.

Ledger Paper: A stiff heavy business paper generally used for keeping records.

Length: The optimum length of a filament of ink.

Letterpress: Printing that utilizes inked raised surfaces to create the image.

Letterspacing: The addition of space between typeset letters.

Line Copy: Any copy that can be reproduced without the use of halftone screens.

Linen: A paper that emulates the look and texture of linen cloth.

Lithocoated Paper: A paper that is coated with a special water-resistant material which is able to withstand the lithographic process.

Lithography: The process of printing that utilizes flat inked surfaces to create the printed images.

Logotype: A personalized type or design symbol for a company or product.