Page: One side of a leaf.
Page Makeup: The assemblage of all the necessary elements required to complete a page.
Page Proofs: Proofs made up from pages.
Panchromatic: Films or other photographic materials that are sensitive to all colors.
Paperboard: Any paper with a thickness (caliper) of 12 points (.3mm) or more.
Papeterie: A high-grade soft paper used for personal stationery because it accepts handwriting well.
Parchment: A hard finished paper that emulates animal skin; used for documents, such as awards, that require writing by hand.
Parent Sheet: A sheet that is larger than the cut stock of the same paper.
Paste Drier: Any of a variety of compounds used in enhancing the drying properties of printing inks.
Paste Ink: An ink having a high level of viscosity.
Paste-up: Preparation of positive materials into a layout for photographing to film negatives.
Peeling: Delamination.
Perf Marks: Markings usually dotted lines at edges showing where perforations should occur.
Perfect: A term used to describe the binding process where the signatures of a book are held together by a flexible adhesive.
Perfect Binding: Binding process where backs of sections are cut off, roughened and glued together, and rung in a cover.
Perfecting: Printing both sides of the paper (or other material) on the same pass through the printing machine.
Perfecting Press: A printing press that prints on both sides of the page in a single pass.
Perforating: Punching small holes or slits in a sheet of paper or cardboard to facilitate tearing along a desired line.
Phloxine: A blue red pigment used mostly in news inks; not a good ink for lithographers as it bleeds in alcohol and water.
Photoengraving: Making printing plates by exposure of line and halftone negatives on sensitized metal, converting the image into an acid resist, and etching the print to the relief required for letterpress printing.
Photomechanical: The platemaking process where plates are coated with photosensitive coatings and exposed to photo negatives or positives.
Photostat: A photographic print creating an image using photography and electrostatic processes; also called a stat.
Phthalocyanine: The main pigment in the manufacture of cyan ink.
Pica: Standard of measurement, 1/6 inch. 1 pica = 12 points 72 points = 1 inch
Picking (1): When the tack of ink is stronger than the surface strength of the paper, some lifting of the paper surface occurs; this is referred to as picking.
Picking (2): An occurrence in printing whereby the tack of ink pulls fibers or coating off the paper surface, leaving spots on the printed surface.
Piling: A build up of pigment or paper coatings onto the plate, blankets or rollers.
Pin Register: Using metal pins fitted into preset holes of copy sheets, films, plates and presses that will assure the proper registration.
Pinholing: Failure of printed ink to form a completely continuous film, visible in the form of small holes in the printed areas.
Plastic Comb: A method of binding books whereby holes are drilled on the side closest the spine, and a plastic grasping device is inserted to hold the pages together.
Plasticizer: An ink additive that adds flexibility, softness and adhesion.
Plate: Reproduction of type or cuts in metal, plastic, rubber, or other material, to form a plate bearing a relief, planographic or intaglio printing surface.
Plate Cylinder: The cylinder on a printing press on which the plate is mounted.
Plate Finish: Any bond, cover or bristol stock with an extremely smooth finish achieved by calendaring.
Platemaking: Making a printing plate from a film or flat including preparation of the plate surface, sensitizing, exposing through the flat, developing or processing, and finishing.
PMT: Photomechanical transfer.
Point: A measurement unit equal to 1/72 of an inch. 12 points to a pica, 72 points to an inch.
Positive: Film that contains an image with the same tonal values as the original; opposite of a negative.
Ppi: Pixels per inch.
Premium: Any paper that is considered better than #1 by its manufacturer.
Presensitized Plate: A plate that has been treated with light sensitive coatings by the manufacturer.
Press-Proof: Actual press sheet to show image, tone values and colors as well as imposition of frame or press-plate.
Primary Colors: In printing the four primary colors are cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black.
Printability: The quality of papers to show reproduced printed images.
Printers Pairs: Two consecutive pages as they appear on a flat or signature.
Process Inks: Printing inks, usually in sets of four colors. The most frequent combination is yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, which are printed, one over another in that order, to obtain a colored print with the desired hues, whites, blacks, and grays.
Process Lens: A high quality specialty lens made for line art, halftone and color photography.
Process Printing: Printing from two or more half tones to produce intermediate colors and shades.
Progressive Proofs: Any proofs made from the separate plates of a multi-plate-printing project.
Proof: Impression from composed type or blocks, taken for checking and correction, from a lithographic plate to check accuracy of layout, type matter, tone and color reproduction.
Pull For Position: Guide sheet for the positioning of type, blocks, etc.
