A summary of key printing terms.

CMYK.
The four printing colors cyan, magenta, yellow and black. All required secondary colors can be obtained from the first three primary colors. Black enhances contrast and is applied separately.

Computer to Plate (CtP).
Procedure for producing printing plates directly from digital data. This technology is inexpensive, since no lithography stage is required.

Desktop Publishing (DTP).
Text and image processing on the computer using a scanner and a laser printer as the output medium. The rapid developments in computer technology mean that DTP is becoming increasingly popular.

Digital printing.
Unlike conventional printing processes, digital printing does not require extensive preparation time. Digital data can be used to produce direct, high-quality printing. Digital printing is ideal for small runs.

Finishing.
Also known as postpress. Covers all operations of a printing process required to turn the printed sheets into a finished product. These operations include cutting, folding, stitching, binding and packaging.

Lamination.
Lamination involves covering the printed sheet with a high-gloss OR matt plastic film.

Layout.
The position of the texts and images on a page is defined in the layout and so forms the template for the print product.

Offset / lithographic printing.
Offset printing is based on the principle that grease and water repel each other. The areas to be printed and those which are not to be printed lie on virtually the same level. The elements to be printed attract the ink and repel water; the situation is reversed for non-printing elements.

Print Production Workflow.
Generic term for the workflow for producing print products. This is conventionally broken down into prepress, press and postpress/finishing.

QuarkXpress and Adobe InDesign .
The standard desktop publishing programs for the Macintosh computer.