Glossary

abrupt serif
Serif shape suddenly changing direction from the stem

accent
1. variation in typeface to provide emphasis for a word, paragraph or article
2. a mark above, below or through a letter to change its value in the language: same as diacritic
3. the degree to which some strokes of a face are heavier than others: Bodoni has a strong accent

accented character
character with a mark to indicate a changed value - see Diacritic

acute accent
diacritic above letter, usu vowel, often indicating a sharp sound: a mark rising to the right

Adana
manuf of tabletop and other small presses, guillotines, thermographs [UK]

additive colours
colour system which adds colour rays to make other colours: projected light: RGB as in video

Addressograph
an addressing system for office use until about 1980 [US]: Addressograph-Multigraph (later AM)

adnate serif
serif shape with flowing connection to stem

air
white space: an airy layout

Albion press
style of hand operated horizontal platen press: sliding bed: hand inked [UK]

alley
strip of space between columns etc

alphabet length
the length of complete lower case alphabet, measured in absolute or relative units (ems of size).

AM Corporation
1. Prev Addressograph-Multigraph Corp, became AM to concentrate on litho and photo-composing.
2. After Addressographs and Multigraphs, made MultiLith litho press and Compugraphic typesetter

ampersand
symbol representing Latin word et, meaning and: often elaborately designed

angle matrix
unlike Linotype, the Ludlow can accommodate matrices cut at an angle for italics and scripts

angle quad
spacing unit of triangular section, to facilitate setting lines at an angle

anodized plate
offset printing plate, aluminium, with anodised (oxidised) surface for wear resistance

antiqua
European term for Roman typefaces

Arab press
brand of treadle platen press by J. Wade [UK]

art paper
smooth paper, coated with china clay

artwork
copy (text, images) prepared for photographic reproduction, eg for blockmaking or photolitho

ascender
the rising stem of lowercase letters like b,d,h

ascender height
height from baseline to the top of ascending strokes

assembler
parts which bring the descending mats and spacebands together to form a line

assembling elevator
the "cage" where the line of mats assembles: the cage lifts the assembled line into the mechanism

asterisk
reference mark in form of a star, usu raised: the most common reference mark

author's correction
change made by an author after typesetting etc: typesetters usu charge extra for "authors"

automatic press
a printing press with a mechanical feeder. Feeders were originally an attachment.

automatic stop
device to detect first elevator fully descended to mould before casting otherwise machine will halt

back knife
knife, behind the mould wheel: as the mould passes, the foot of slug is trimmed to correct height

back matter
material, such as an appendix, that comes after the main text

back up
print the second side of a sheet

backslanting
slanting the opposite way from italic

ball terminal
terminal ending in a ball shape eg the tail of j in some typefaces

balloon
circle or bubble with words as in a cartoon

bank paper
lightweight writing paper

banner
large headline or title usually full width of page

baseline
line on which most characters sit

basis weight
[US] weight in pounds of a ream of standard size

beak terminal
terminal ending in a spur shape: eg the tops of b, d, h, l in some typefaces

bed
base of press, within which the forme is held: may be horizontal or vertical

bind
secure leaves or sections into a book

bindery
that part of a workplace where printed sheets are cut, folded, collated, or bound

blackletter
typefaces pre-roman like Old English and Fraktur

blanket cylinder
the cylinder which carries the rubber blanket in an offset press

bleed [off]
make an image extend beyond the trim line

blind emboss
make an embossed impression without ink or foil, usu with engraved die and moulded counter-die

full glossary to come