BACKBONE Another term for spine or shelfback, the back of a bound book. The backbone connects the front and back covers. See SPINE

BACK FLAP The back inner flap of a dust jacket. This is one of two parts of the dust jacket that fold inward. The back flap usually contains text continued from the front flap. It may contain a brief biography and photograph of the author. See also DUST JACKET IBC IFC

BACKGROUND PRINTING The printing of a document on a computer printer while performing another task on the computer, such as continuing to edit it (or another document). Background printing is helpful to one who has a slow printer or must print a long document. It enables the user to make productive use of his time while the printer is engaged. Windows Print Manager enables one to do background printing while using most Windows applications.

BACKING UP A term in printing used in reference to the printing of the second side of a sheet, which has already been printed on its first side. To print the reverse side of a printed page or sheet. See also DUPLEX PRINTING PRINTING

BACKLIGHTING A term used in reference to a controlled technique of lighting used in photography or the theater. In backlighting, a light is placed behind, or at right angles to, the subject or scene to provide effects, such as depth, separation of background and subject, etc. Typically, backlighting is provided by sunlight from a window located in the background. - light that comes into a photo from the back. Typically, sunlight that fills a room from a window in the background of a photograph.

BACK LINING The paper or fabric material pasted to the backbone of a hardcover book before it is bound. The strip of material used to reinforce the spine of the book after rounding and backing. It helps to create a firm connection between book and case. If headbands, are used, they are attached to the back lining. The back lining is also called back strip. See also CASE BINDING HEADBAND MULL SPINE

BACK LIST A list of formerly published books that are still in print and available from the publisher. Although not new, continued demand for the older titles has caused their publisher to keep them in print. In contrast, a front list contains the names of recently released books. See also BASIC BOOK LIST FRONT LIST LIST

BACK MATTER All contents of a book or publication following the main text. Back matter may include appendices, credits, bibliography, glossary, index, and colophon. Back matter is also called end matter. See also AFTERWORD APPENDIX CREDIT-LINE BIBLIOGRAPHY COLOPHON EPILOGUE FRONT MATTER GLOSSARY INDEX

BACK ORDER (B.O.) A term that describes the unfilled portion of an order. It refers to product, which has been ordered by a customer, but is currently unavailable, but will be shipped when available. See also INVOICE SYMBOLS OUT-OF-STOCK

BACKSLANT A term to describe letters that slant to the left, the opposite of characters typeset in italics. See also BACKSLASH ITALIC OBLIQUE

BACKSLASH The backward-slanting dash character (\), which may be found on the standard ASCII keyboard. A backslash is also called a reverse slash. See also ASCII

BACKSPACE KEY A key that moves the cursor to the left, one character at a time, normally deleting each character it encounters. It is useful when correcting copy. See also DELETE EDIT KEYBOARD

BACKSTRAP Another term for spine. See SPINE

BACKSTRIP Another term for spine or backstrap. See SPINE

BACK-TO-BACK A reference to printing on both sides of a sheet of paper. See also DUPLEX PRINTING

BACKUP A duplicate copy of one's work, a program, or the contents of one's computer hard disk. Backups are created as protection in case the original material is subsequently lost, damaged, deleted, or misplaced. Also, the act of making a backup copy or copying the original material to another medium, such as a tape, a CD-ROM, or a floppy disk. See also MASTER

BAD BREAK A shortened form of bad page break. See BAD PAGE BREAK

BAD PAGE BREAK A soft page break that causes the cursor to begin a new page at an unattractive or illogical point in a document. A page may begin with a widow, data tables may be split or left dangling at the bottom of a page, or some other unsightly arrangement of type or words may be created. This is a common occurrence in computer-produced documents. See also BLOCK PROTECTION ORPHAN SOFT PAGE BREAK WIDOW

BALANCE The location of type and illustrations in an arrangement on the page that provides symmetry. The arrangement of text and graphic elements about an imaginary center line so as to achieve good balance. The term, formal balance, applies when one half of the copy or illustrations lies one side of an imaginary line running down the center of the page, and the other half lies on the other side. This arrangement gives an orderly appearance. The term, informal balance, applies when the page copy is not centered. More copy lies on one side of the imaginary centerline than on the other, but the page still appears balanced. See also GOLDEN RATIO MARGIN OPTICAL CENTER UNITY

BALE A large bundle or package prepared for shipping, storage, or sale and usually tightly compressed. In printing, it describes a bundle of compressed scrap paper or paper sheets. See also PAPER

BALLOON A circle or bubble used to enclose copy within a cartoon or an illustration. See also GRAPHIC ILLUSTRATION

BALL PRINTER An impact letter-quality computer-driven printer that employs a ball-shaped print head to create characters on paper. The surface of the print head bears a complete set of characters in raised relief. The ball rotates to line up each character before being struck against the ribbon. This printing mechanism was introduced to the public with the IBM Selectric typewriter. See also CARBON RIBBON ELITE LETTER-QUALITY

BALL TERMINAL In typography, a round form attached to the end of a stroke in letters such as a, c, f, j, r, and y. Ball terminals are found in many roman and italic versions of type used during the Romantic period, and in recent faces modeled on them. Examples of such type include Basilia, Bodoni, Clarendon, and Scoth. See also BEAK TERMINAL ITALIC ROMAN STROKE TERMINAL

BAND A strip of paper that is wrapped around loose sheets to hold them securely.. It may or may not be printed. Also, to wrap a band of paper around loose sheets to form a pack. In binding, band describes one of several cords of hemp or flax that are sewn by hand across the back of the collated signatures of a handbound book for additional strength. See also COLLATE SIGNATURE

BANDING The visible stepping of shades in a gradation. An undesirable effect due to obvious changes in density. Color stripes may appear if there are too few colors available to achieve a smooth color blend. See also DENSITY GRADATION

BANDWIDTH The rate at which data can be transmitted electronically from one computer connection to another. Bandwidth is usually expressed in bits per second (bps) or bytes per second. It is of importance to input/output devices. High bandwidth permits fast transmission of data. The bandwidth in transmission between computers is limited by the slowest link in the chain. See also OUTPUT

BANK In printing, a bench on which sheets are placed as printed. Also, in Great Britain, the sloping work surface of a compositor's workbench. In journalism, the term refers to a part of a headline that contains one or more lines of type, particularly a part that appears below the main part. Finally, bank is used to denote a lightweight writing paper. It is usually sized, erasure resistant, and. can be embossed. It can contain a watermark and, occasionally, is colored. See also COMPOSITOR PAPER SUBHEAD WATERMARK

BANKNOTE PAPER A sturdy, age-resistant paper that is suitable for four-color printing. It contains a watermark and other features to protect against falsification, such as an embedded metal strip. It may contain cotton fibers. See RAG PAPER PAPER SECURITY PAPER

BANNER A large headline extending across the width of a page. Also, the name of a publication similarly displayed on its cover. See also HEADLINE

BAR CODE A series of parallel vertical lines of varying width, which form a code that can be read and interpreted by an optical scanner. Bar codes are printed on most products sold to consumers. In the case of books, the bar code identifies the book, its publisher, and its retail price. The bar code used for books is called Bookland KAN. In retail outlets, a bar-code reader is used to scan the code in order to identify the title, price, and other details. The bar-code reader transmits the information to a cash register, computer, or other equipment for action, such as printing a receipt and adjusting the store's inventory records. Other uses of barcodes include tracking packages transported overnight by such shippers as Fedex or UPS, and maintaining accurate counts of manufacturers' inventories held in warehouses. See also SCANNER UNIVERSAL PRODUCT CODE

BAR-CODE READER A photoelectric scanning device that reads the bar codes on products, price tags, or other objects to gather the information they contain. It analyzes the dark and light bars for width and spacing, and translates this information into numbers for input as electrical signals to the computer. Each individual product has its own unique code, which identifies its size, its manufacturer, etc. Bar-code readers are available in the form of hand-held wand scanners, as well as countertop scanners. See also BAR CODE INPUT DEVICE ISBN

BASE ALIGNMENT A reference to the type characteristic of resting on an imaginary line known as the baseline, regardless of the designs or size of the type. See BASELINE

BASE ARTWORK Artwork that requires the addition of other elements, such as halftones or drawings before moving to more advanced stages in the reproduction process. See also ARTWORK HALFTONE ORIGINAL ART

BASE COLOR A color used as a background and on which other colors are printed. See also TRANSPARENT INK

BASE FONT The default font of a word processing program.(typeface, size, and attributes). Although one can change the type size and face for portions of a document, the text, for which a change has not been specified, will appear in the base (default) font. In most word processing programs, one can change the base font for all documents or simply the page(s) on which one is working. See also DEFAULT FONT TYPEFACE

BASELINE In typography, an imaginary horizontal line on which the bases of characters in a line of type appear to rest. However, the descenders of g, j. p, q, and y extend below the baseline. The x height of a font is measured from its baseline to its top, excluding ascenders. See also ASCENDER CAP LINE DESCENDER FONT UNDERLINE X-HEIGHT

BASIC BOOK LIST A list of proven sellers by category and by publisher that is published annually by the ABA each year. New booksellers use it to help decide their initial inventory. Established bookstores use it to strengthen their selection and sales in specific categories by increasing the number of titles stocked and, also, as a source of titles by publisher when planning to obtain higher quantity discounts from publishers. See also BACK LIST FRONT LIST MID LIST

BASIC STOCK The titles from the back lists of various publishers that a bookseller decides he/she will continuously maintain in inventory. Many booksellers find the ABA's Basic Book List to be of great help in determining their basic stock. See also BACK LIST BASIC BOOK LIST

BASIS SIZE The commonly sold size for a grade of paper. Although each grade of paper may be available in several sizes, there is one only standard or common size This usually differs for each grade. The basis size for Bond paper for letterheads is 17 ´ 22 inches (432 mm ´ 558 mm), but 25 ´ 38 inches (635 mm ´ 965 mm) for Offset paper for books and 20 ´ 26 inches (508 mm ´ 660 mm) for Cover paper for outside pages. Also termed basic size. See also BASIS WEIGHT BOND FOUR UP GRAMMAGE ODD SIZE OFFSET PAPER PAGE SIZE QUIRE UP

BASIS WEIGHT In the English system of units, basis weight is the weight in pounds of a ream of paper, which has been cut to the basis size for that grade of paper. (A ream is 500 sheets.) For example, In the case of bond paper for letterheads, the basis size is 17 ´ 22 inches (432 mm ´ 550 mm) and the basis weight is 9 pounds. When basis weight is written, the symbol # is used in place of pound. For example, a 9-pound bond paper would be recorded as 9# bond. In the metric system, basis weight is the weight in grams of a single sheet having an area of one square meter. Basis weight is also termed ream weight, substance weight, and sub weight. See also ACTUAL WEIGHT BASIS SIZE BOND GRAMMAGE PAPER REAM WEIGHT

BASTARD SIZE Any nonstandard size, whether of books or paper, etc..See also ODD SIZE

BASTARD TITLE Another term for half title. See HALF-TITLE

BDS. An abbreviation for boards. See BOARD

BEAK TERMINAL In typography, a sharp spur on the end of a stroke, particularly on f, and also on a, c, j, r, and y in many twentieth-century roman fonts and in some italics. A serif on the arm of a character. Examples of typefaces using spurs include Perpetua, Berling, Pontifex, and Ignatius. See also ARM CHARACTER SERIF TERMINAL

BED The flat surface of a printing press on which a forme of type is laid when printing by letterpress. It may be vertical or horizontal. See also LETTERPRESS TYPE

BELLES LETTRES Literature that is regarded as a fine art having purely an aesthetic appeal rather than an educational or informational value, whether fiction or nonfiction, drama or poetry. Light and elegant literature, especially that which is characterized by aestheticism. See also PROSE

BENDAY PROCESS In photoengraving, a technique for producing shading, texture, or tone in line drawings and photographs. It requires overlaying a fine screen, or a pattern of dots, on the original artwork, negative, or plate before etching. It is named after Benjamin Benday, an American printer, 1838-1916. See also LINE DRAWING PHOTOENGRAVING SCREEN

BEST SELLER A best-selling book. A product or article of merchandise, typically a book or record, that enjoys a high rate of sales. Many magazines and newspapers publish lists of bestsellers that draw their sales figures from different markets. One of the best known is that appearing in the New York Times. However, it is the rate of sale that is being ranked, rather than the actual volume. There are many books that sell millions of copies, but never appear on lists of bestsellers because they sell more slowly than others, albeit for a very long time. Alternatively, they may be sold by mail or other outlets, which are not polled. Nevertheless, it may be stated that books, which appear on bestsellers lists, bring enjoyment to great numbers of people. There are some authors who previously have had sales and a ranking so high that a new book from one of them will automatically generated sufficient advance orders to guarantee bestseller status, even before it is published. These are the brand name authors. The term, bestseller, was introduced by the American Bookman in 1895 when it began to publish a list each month of the six best-selling books in bookstores throughout the country. See also AMERICAN BOOKMAN BOOKWIRE MID lIST

BEVELED EDGE A term to describe the result of a binding technique in which the outer edges of the boards of books are cut on a slanted angle. The edges of the book are beveled. A beveled edge is also called a beveled board. See also EDGES

BIBLE PAPER A wood-free, specialty printing paper that usually has a high filler content, sometimes contains rag, and has a low grammage. It does not have all of the qualities offered by the best India paper, nor is it as thin as India paper. Nevertheless, Bible paper has good opacity, a good appearance, and is a quality paper. See also FILLER GRAMMAGE OPACITY PAPER

BIBLIO- A prefix from the Greek language meaning book and used in the creation of words, such as bibliography (a listing of books, works, or readings), bibliophile (a lover or collector of books), bibliophobe, (one who hates or distrusts books), bibliophole (a bookseller), etc. The Bible, derived from the same root, means the book or collection of sacred writings).

BIBLIOGRAPHY That part of the back matter of a book that lists other books and articles that were consulted by the author during his research for the current book. A list of the source materials consulted in the preparation of the work. Also, a selective list of readings on a particular subject that the book's author wishes to bring to the reader's attention. Finally, a list of the works of the particular author. The bibliography should include the information that the reader requires in order to locate the works. See also BACK MATTER

BIDIRECTIONAL PRINTING The act or operation of an impact or ink-jet printer as it prints from left to right and from right to left. A printer's speed is greater if it can print in this fashion as no time is lost while it moves the print head to the beginning of a new line. However, the printing quality may be lower See also IMPACT PRINTER INKJET PRINTER

BILEVEL IMAGE Any image that contains only black and white. It contains no shades of gray or colors. See also LINE ART LINE DRAWING

BILL OF LADING (B/L) A document comprising a contract between a shipper and a carrier. It contains all information necessary for the carrier, such as description of contents, delivery contact, address, and receiving hours, as well as any as special instructions for handling. The bill of lading is used by the carrier to generate an invoice and serves as a packing slip. Finally, It provides documentary evidence of title. See also CARRIER INVOICE PACKING SLIP

BIMONTHLY A term used to denote a periodical, which is published and distributed every two months. See also BIWEEKLY PERIODICAL SEMIMONTHLY

BIND To fasten or secure sheets or signatures with a cover, as a book, whether by glue, thread, wire, or other means. To join together and enclose pages of a book. See also BINDING SIGNATURE

BINDER One who binds books. Also, a shortened version of perfect binding equipment. Binder is also used to denote a detachable cover to which rings or posts are attached and into which loose pages or pamphlets can be easily inserted. and removed. Further, the term is used in reference to an adhesive for sticking a coating to a paper or board surface. Starch is the most frequently used binder, but synthetic binders are used for better performance. Finally, binder describes any substance used to cause the elements of a mixture to stick together. See also PEFECT BINDING RING BINDING

BINDER BOARD A heavy, stiff, composition paperboard used to produce covers for hardback books. The covers are covered with cloth before use in bookbinding. See also BOOKBINDING CASE PAPERBOARD

BINDER'S CREEP The cumulative effect in a saddle-stitched publication of the slight extensions of the edges of each signature. Each protrudes beyond the edges of the one enclosing it. The middle pages extend slightly beyond outside pages. See also SADDLE-STITCHED SIGNATURE

BINDERY A department or area within a printing plant where trimming, folding, binding, and other finishing tasks are performed. A spot where books are bound. Also, a business specializing in these finishing operations. See also FINISHING OPERATIONS

BINDERY MARKS Marks on a press sheet that indicate where to crop, fold, collate, or bind. See CROP MARKS PRESS SHEET

BINDING Any of the various methods used to hold loose printed sheets or signatures together and to secure them to the cover of the book or other publication. These methods include saddlestitching and perfect binding. The term is also used in reference to the entire binding process, all of those operations that follow the printing stage. These include folding, collating, gathering, stitching, gluing, trimming, and/or casing. Finally, the term, binding, is sometimes used in reference to the covers and spine of a book. See also CASE BINDING COLLATING EDITION BINDING FINISHING OPERATIONS FULL BINDING GATHERING LIBRARY BINDING OBLONG PERFECT BINDING RING BINDING SADDLE-STITCHED SIDE-WIRE STITCHING SIGNATURE SPINE SPIRAL BINDING UNBOUND VARIANTS WIRE STITCHING

BINDING COPY A book that has a text in good condition, but lacks book covers, or has covers that are in serious disrepair. A book that needs a new binding. A binding copy is also referred to as a reading copy. See also REBOUND RECASE REJOINTED

BINDING OFFSET In word processing and desktop publishing (DTP), the additional width of margin left unprinted on one side of a printed page to provide room for binding. It appears at the other side of the page (e.g., right) on the reverse side of sheets that have been duplex printed or reproduced. That is, the binding offset appears on the left of the text on verso (even-numbered) pages and on the right on recto (odd-numbered) pages. See also BINDING DESKTOP PUBLISHING (DTP) DUPLEX PRINTING MARGIN OFFSET LITHOGRAPHY RECTO VERSO

BIND MARGIN Another term for gutter margin. See GUTTER MARGIN

BIO Short for biography. A prefix from the Greek language meaning life and used in the formation of compound words (e.g., biography). The brief written description of the author's life that appears in the back matter of a book. The author's biography is often used to establish his or her credentials in the subject matter of the book or article. It provides status and credibility. See also BACK MATTER

BIONOTE A brief biographical note about a writer. The paragraph of text written about a writer for use at the beginning or end of an article, or on the page introducing the publication's contributors. See also DUST JACKET

BIOPREDATION A term that describes an attack on books by insects, mildew, or other living material. See also BOOKWORM

BIT A contraction of bInary digit, the basic unit of digital information. A bit is the smallest unit of information that a computer can understand. It has a value of either 1 or 0 (representing one of two conditions, on or off). Digital transmissions are comprised of streams of bits. The usual measure of bandwidth is in bits-per-second. A collection of 8 bits forms a byte. See also BANDWIDTH BIT DEPTH BYTE KILOBYTE MEGABYTE.

BIT DEPTH The number of bits represented by one pixel. The number of bits in each pixel of an image. This is also the amount of data per pixel for display on a computer monitor. Bit depth establishes the maximum number of colors, or shades, in each pixel. The greater the bit depth, the more realistic will be the colors (and grayscale images). The standard bit depth of a scanner is 8 bits. This provides for 256 different colors or shades (two to the 8th power). See also BIT GRAYSCALE PIXEL TRUE COLOR

BITE A term used in reference to the property of paper that causes it to accept ink or other impressions. See also INK PAPER

BITMAP A rectangular grid of visible or invisible dots or pixels (picture elements) that have been scanned into the computer, or created through a painting package, and collectively form an image. The computer assigns a value to each pixel, from one bit of information (black or white), to as much as 24 bits per pixel for full color images. Technically, a bitmap is always a monochrome (e.g., black and white) with each pixel represented by one bit of data. Bitmap is a shortened form of bitmapped image. The terms, raster and pixmap, refer to shaded or colored images. See also BIT DEPTH BITMAPPED FONT BITMAPPED GRAPHIC PIXEL RASTER

BITMAPPED FONT A typeface designed for viewing on a medium-resolution computer monitor. It is a set of characters of a particular size and style in which each character is comprised of a unique bit map - a pattern of dots in the shape of a character. A bitmapped font mimics the look of printer fonts when displayed on a computer monitor, but often does not appear as good on screen as the printer's actual output. Bitmapped fonts are generally being replaced by True Type fonts. See also CHARACTER DOWNLOADABLE FONT OBJECT-ORIENTED OUTLINE FONT POSTSCTRIPT FONT TRUE TYPE

BITMAPPED GRAHIC A class of graphics crated by a rectangular array of pixels of the same density arranged in rows and columns that form an image. The image is created by varying the colors of the pixels on the screen. The simplest bitmap images are in black and white. At the other extreme, bitmap images in color may contain up to 256 colors. See also BITMAP GRAPHIC IMAGE EDITING OBJECT-ORIENTED PIXEL RASTER IMAGE PROCESSOR

BIWEEKLY A term used to denote a periodical, which is published and distributed every two weeks. See also PERIODICAL SEMIWEEKLY

BLACK-AND-WHITE (B&W) A term descriptive of original material or reproductions produced in black (and white), rather than in one-color (which can be any single color, except black() or multi-color ( two-color,. four-color, etc.). See also BROMIDE

BLACK BOOK An outdated term applicable to any of the various books of a devotional nature because of the color of their bindings, the nature of their contents, the type style, and/or the color of their edges. See also BIBLE PAPER

BLACK LETTER In typography, a general name for a wide variety of typefaces derived from German handwriting of the medieval era. Black letter typefaces are often called Fraktur from the Latin word fractus, meaning broken. Other names for it are Old English or Old English Script in the United States and Gothic or Gothic Script in Great Britain. It is also known as text because of its use in manuscripts.

The black-letter faces reproduce the hand-lettering styles popular in much of Europe at Gutenberg's time. Their characteristics include heavy vertical strokes, angles, and delicate hairlines. These letters are used for formal occasions, such as diplomas and invitations, and sometimes for ads and books when the subject is history or antiquity. Several styles of medieval black letters are recognized by their French or Latin names. The German Fraktur is the most formal of the black-letter styles. See also GOTHIC HAIRLINE ITALIC MANUSCRIPT ROMAN TEXT TYPE

BLACK PLATE One of the printing plates used in the four-color (CMYK) process, in addition to cyan, magenta, and yellow plates. Black is used to enhance the contrast of neutral tones and detail in the final printed material. The black plate is also called the key plate or black printer. See also CMYK KEYPLATE PROCESS COLOR

BLACK PRINTER Black plate. See BLACK PLATE

BLANK A blank page that has been left intentionally in a book. The blank may be used at either the beginning or end of the book, or at the end of a clearly marked division. Blanks are also known as blank leaves or printer's blanks. See also INTERLEAVED LEAF

BLANKET In printing, the thick rubber sheet used to transfer the ink from printing plate to paper on an offset press. The thick natural or synthetic rubber-covered mat that is clamped around a cylinder on a printing press. The image is transferred from the printing plate to the blanket and, then, from the blanket to the paper. See also IMPRESSION CYLINDER OFFSET LITHOGRAPHY

BLEED In printing or a printed document, to print any element, whether illustration or copy, to the edge of a page and into the gutter, either by design or because the page was trimmed too closely. Also, any illustration or element of the layout that extends beyond the trim marks on a page so that no margin appears. An illustration that is printed to the edges of the paper leaving no margins is termed a full bleed illustration. It has been bled off. The covers of most magazines can be described as full bleed. Most printers are unable to print right to the edge of the paper. As a result, they produce a bleed by printing on paper, which is larger than the final page size, and then trimming so that no white border is visible. The untrimmed edge of the illustration is the bleed. See also DESKTOP PUBLISHING GUTTER LAYOUT MARGIN

BLEED ALLOWANCE The amount by which a bleed must extend beyond the trim line of a document in order to accommodate variations in cutting and folding. See also BLEED TRIM MARKS

BLEED CAPABILITY A term descriptive of a printer who is able to print bleeds. See also BLEED

BLEED LAYOUT A layout where type or images extend beyond the trim marks of the page. When illustrations extend out to the edge of the paper, they are described as "bled off" or "having :bled off." The illustration covers the area that would otherwise appear as a margin. See also ILLUSTRATION LAYOUT MARGIN TRIM MARKS

BLEED THROUGH A term that describes a phenomenon that may occur if the paper is too thin, namely that the printed image on the back of the page may be visible from the front. See also STRIKE-THROUGH

BLEND To mix together effortlessly and without difficulty in order to obtain a particular type or quality. In addition, a portion of an image that changes smoothly from one color (or gray level) into another. Also termed a graduated tint, graduation, fountain, degrade, or vignette. See also CONTINUOUS TONE GRADATION

BLIND A term used in reference to a title, design, etc., which has been impressed into paper or the spine or cover of a book by a die without color or foil and leaving an impression only. See BLIND EMBOSSING BLOCKING DIE

BLIND EMBOSSING The act or process of making an embossed impression by the use of an engraved die and counter-die, but without ink or foil. The act or technique of creating a bas-relief effect by pressing or stamping an image onto a sheet of paper without ink or foil. See also EMBOSSING

BLIND FOLIO A folio that has been coated, but not printed. See also FOLIO

BLIND IMAGE In printing, an image that will not hold ink and therefore will not print. Also termed blind plate.

BLISTERING A term that describes the bubble or blistering effect produced on paper containing excessive moisture that is passed through a heated drying chamber. In such circumstances, the moisture inside the paper actually boils and produces a bubble or blistering effect. Paper, which appears to be dry, has a moisture content of approximately 5%.

BLOCK In word processing, a contiguous group of words, sentences, or paragraphs in a document that can be handled as a unit in an application. The segment of text can be selected and copied, moved, deleted, or otherwise acted on as a whole. A discrete section of a document. Also, to select a segment of text, using a mouse, cursor key, or menu. See also BLOCK OPERATION

BLOCKING The act or process of impressing a design into the cover or spine of a cloth-bound book for visual effect using an engraved stamp or block, with or without foil or leaf, etc. Because only a small area can be blocked by hand, a blocking press may be used. The permanency of the blocking depends largely on the pressure during the blocking process. See also EMBOSSING ENGRAVING FULL BLOCKING

BLOCK MOVE In word processing, the transfer of a marked block of text from one location in a manuscript or document to another location in the same document. A block move is synonymous with cut and paste. See also CUT AND PASTE PASTE

BLOCK OPERATION A term in word processing that denotes the act of selecting an area of text or block of information and performing an operation on it. The operation may be moving the block from one location to another in the document or copying, deleting, underlining, bolding, italicizing, or formatting it, etc. See also BLOCK BLOCK MOVE

BLOCK OUT To mask or cover a portion or section of a layout before reproduction. See also MASK MASKING MATERIAL

BLOCK PROTECTION In word processing, a command that is inserted into a block of text to prevent a bad page break. It prevents the addition of a soft page break. See also BAD PAGE BREAK NON-BREAKING HYPHEN SOFT PAGE BREAK

BLOW UP To enlarge a graphic or photographic image, either photographically or digitally. Also, the enlargement itself. See also ENLARGEMENT IMAGE IMAGE EDITING SCALE

BLUELINE A prepress, photographic proof on white paper in which all colors show as blue. It is produced by exposing stripped negatives to photosensitive paper. A contact print made from the negatives that will be used to make the printing plate. It serves as a final proof to check the position of page elements prior to printing.

A blueline is often called a blueprint. Because blueline is a generic term for proofs made from a variety of materials of similar appearances, it may also be called a blackprint, blue, diazo, dyeline, ozalid. position proof. silverprint, or Van Dyke See also BLUEPRINT BROWNLINE PROOF DYELUX NEGATIVE

BLUE PENCIL A term given to a light blue pencil used to markup layouts, when the designer does not want his planning lines and other marks to appear on the final printed job. The marks made by a blue pencil, also known as a non-repro pencil, are not reproduced by platemaking cameras.

BLUEPRINT A reference to the form of copy traditionally produced from original architectural or engineering drawings. In this method, the original is drawn on translucent tracing paper and then placed in contact with paper sensitized by a chemical mixture and exposed to light. The exposed paper is washed in water to produce a negative in which the lines of the drawing appear in white on a blue background. Blueprints have long been used on construction jobs by tradesmen. In printing, a blueprint and a blueline are the same. See also BLUELINE

BLURB A common term in book publishing to denote the brief commentary or description of a book or its author, which is carried on the back of a pocketbook or the inside (or back) of the dust jacket of a hardcover book, or in the advertising for it. Blurb specifically refers to copy designed to stimulate sales of the book. It may include a summary of the plot, a quote from one or more favorable reviews or other endorsement, or other form of selling copy. If the favorable comments are anonymous, it is likely that they were written by the publisher or author. In desktop publishing, blurb denotes a brief subheading below or beside a headline to provide some explanation of the latter. See also DUST JACKET HYPERBOLE PAPERBOOK COVERS

B.O. The abbreviation of back order. See BACK ORDER INVOICE SYMBOLS

BOARD The papermaker's name for cardboard. Board thicker and heavier than paper. It may consist of several layers laminated together. A generic term for thick and stiff paper, often consisting of several plies, and widely used in packaging (e.g. folding cartons). Its grammage normally ranges from 160 to 500 grams per square meter. However, some grades are even higher. The term, boards, is also used in reference to the material to which camera-ready artwork is pasted when preparing for photomechanical reproduction.

Finally, board is the stiff recycled paperboard used to form the front and back covers of a book and which is usually covered with paper, cloth, plastic-coated cloth, etc. It can be Davey Board, which is comprised of a single layer of calendered pulp; chipboard made from several layers of pulp pasted together; or any other type of board. The use of the word, board, is believed to have its origin in the early (medieval) use of oak boards to cover manuscripts. See also BRISTOL CAMERA-READY CHIPBOARD DAVEY BOARD GRAMMAGE HINGE OPTICAL CHARACTERISTICS PAPER PAPERBOARD PHOTOMECHANICAL

BODY A commonly used term for body copy. Also, the main shank of a letter character. That is, a letter excluding ascenders and descenders. In addition, the viscosity of ink or its consistency. See also ASCENDER BODY COPY DESCENDER INK LETTER VISCOSITY

BODY COPY The main text of a book, magazine article, or other work, excluding headlines, subheadings, and captions for illustrations. The paragraphs of the document that comprise most of its content. The bulk of the copy in the work. Body copy is also known as text or body text. Four important pieces of information when specifying body copy are the typeface, type size, line length, and the amount of leading. Body copy is normally set in a face that is easy-to-read and in a 10- or 12- point size. Type size and leading were expressed in points before use of metric measurements became common. Line length is expressed in picas. See also BODY BODY SIZE BODY TYPE PICA POINT RUNNING COPY TEXT

BODY SIZE Another term for type size. See TYPESIZE

BODY TEXT Another term for body copy.

BODY TYPE The font used for the main text of printed matter. This contrasts with display type or the type used for the heading or headline, or captions. The type size is generally less than 14 points and usually in the range of 8-points to 12-points. Serif typefaces, such as Century, Garamond, and Times Roman, are considered to be more legible than sans serif fonts and are therefore preferred. See also CAPTION DISPLAY TYPE FONT HEADLINE SERIF TYPEFACE

BOILERPLATE A term used in reference to blocks of standard text that are created once and then used without change repeatedly in legal documents, reports, letters, or memos. For example, a form letter, excluding the name and address of the recipient and salutation, constitutes boilerplate. The term can also apply to stored text, the elements of which can be arranged and combined with new information to create new documents. In journalism, boilerplate is used to describe syndicated columns and other features (horoscope, etc.), syndicated copy used by weekly newspapers, and also, today, the features sections, such as Travel, Real Estate, etc., included in the large weekend editions. The term sometimes is used to denote the masthead available in plate or mat form. See also COLUMN FEATURE MASTHEAD SYNDICATE VARIABLE TEXT

BOLD See BOLDFACE

BOLDFACE (BF) A typeface that has darker, heavier strokes than the normally used typeface. Boldface is often used for emphasis. A dark heavy version of a type font. Most typefaces have a bold face. Although boldface can lend emphasis to headlines, the use of italics is preferable for emphasis in body text. The term, without bold face, is abbreviated as Bf, B.f., bf, or bld. The term, bold face, can also be used as a verb for to print or to set in boldface. See also EMPHASIS LIGHTFACE STROKE TYPEFACE ULTRABOLD TYPE

BOLTS In bookbinding, the three edges of folded sheets of paper that must be cut in order to open the leaves. These edges are trimmed off during the final stages of production. See also BOOKBINDING EDGES LEAF

BOND A superior hard finish uncoated rag or sulfite white paper commonly used for writing, printing, and photocopying. Bond has greater strength and durability than many papers. It is used for writing, typing, letterheads, business forms, etc. Bond is a grade of sized paper that has a grammage typically in the range of 70-90 gsm. It may be wood free or mechanical, depending on its intended purpose. The standard size of bond is 17" ´ 22". Bond paper is also called business paper, communication paper, correspondence paper and writing paper. See also GRAMMAGE LETTERHEAD ONION SKIN SIZE PAPER

BOOK A written or printed work of some length, such as a novel, treatise, or other literary composition, particularly on consecutive sheets of paper bound or fastened together in a volume. A publication that is not a periodical and contains at least 49 pages. In order to qualify for book rate, the U.S. Postal Service requires that a book be at least twenty-four pages, permanently bound.

Book usually have three sections. These are the front matter, the text (body of the work), and the back matter. Only multipaged publications, such as books and technical documents, contain enough material to require organization into such parts. Accordingly, the following information refers only to them.

The front matter pages of books are usually numbered with Roman numerals in lowercase (i, ii, iii, iv) in order to provide flexibility during production. However, some books begin page numbering with an Arabic "1" on the first right page. In some cases, front-matter page numbers are not printed. Such pages are termed blind folios. The pages in the remaining sections of a book, the text and back matter, are numbered with Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4), starting with 1. Pages devoted to illustrations, chapter titles, and other special uses are often blind folios. Some of these pages, (e.g., chapter title pages), usually always appear on right-hand pages. See also BACK MATTER BOOKMAN BOOKS IN PRINT CHAPBOOK COVER CROSSOVER CUMULATIVE BOOK INDEX FRONT MATTER HURT BOOK INSCRIBED INTERLEAVED MANUSCRIPT MINT/MINT CONDITION PARTS SECTION TEXT

BOOKBINDING The joining together of a number of leaves or folios, usually of paper, parchment, or vellum, within covers to form a codex or book. Casing-in, or affixing the book into its cover (case). In machine bookbinding, the process is performed entirely by semiautomatic or fully automatic machines. The press sheets are first folded into sections, or signatures. End sheets may be attached to the first and last sections of the book, and sections are sewn together or fastened together by gluing (perfect binding). Larger books are usually sewn. The stitching is done through holes drilled by the side-sewing machines. Other steps include smashing and nipping to reduce swell and ensure that the books have a uniform size, trimming, edge coloring, rounding the backs of books, and jacketing. See also BINDING CODEX FOLIO LEAF NIPPING PRESS PERFECT BINDING QUARTER BINDING SIDE-WIRE STITCHING SIGNATURE

BOOK BLOCK The sewn, trimmed signatures (perfect bound pages) of a hardcover book before they have been cased. See also CASE PERFECT BINDING RIBBON MARKER SIGNATURE

BOOK CLOTH The cotton cloth, sized, glazed, or impregnated with synthetic resins that is used for book covers. Book cloth is available in different weights and weaves. The number of threads per inch and their tensile strength determines the cloth quality. See also CLOTH COVER MATERIALS CLOTH GRADE GRAY GOODS

BOOK CLUB A mail order marketing operation by which selected books are sold directly to the public at prices below the suggested retail price in return for a commitment to buy a specified minimum number of books during a designated period. The books are sold using a negative option. This is an arrangement under which the member has the responsibility to decline the monthly selection by a designated date or it will be automatically sent and invoiced. The Book-of-the-Month Club (1926) and the Literary Guild (1927) were the first such organizations in the United States. The former distributed more than 200,000,000 copies of fiction and nonfiction books during its first forty years.

The larger general book clubs choose books carefully and encourage business by offering premiums to subscribers and low prices by marketing large volume editions and printing their own editions from publishers' plates. New members are attracted by offers of a certain number of free or heavily discounted books. Today, there are many specialty book clubs that cater to interests in particular fields, such as psychology, mystery novels, history, gardening, and books for younger readers, etc..See also CONTINUITY PROGRAM MAIL ORDER

BOOK CLUB EDITION (BC, BCE) A term that describes books printed for distribution by a book club to its subscribers. A book club edition is usually printed on cheaper and lower quality paper than that used for the original edition of the book and covered with an inexpensive binding. Book club editions are usually of little interest to book collectors. The publisher's list price does not normally appear on the jacket of the book. The edition differs sufficiently from the original edition so that the publisher can differentiate between the two. See also EDITION LIBRARY EDITION TRADE EDITION

BOOK FAIR An exhibition or trade show where publishers display, promote, and sell their books and upcoming books. The book fair developed in Europe as book printing became widely read. Although book fairs are sponsored today in several countries, by far the largest is the International Book Fair, held in Frankfurt, Germany, each fall. The book fairs are used by the trade as locations for conventions, and by publishers for meetings and transacting business. The closest American equivalent is the Book Exhibit at the annual ABA Convention. Local book fairs sponsored by schools, or other groups, are held in various parts of the United States. See FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR

BOOK FORMAT The traditional terms for describing book formats originate in early periods of printing and the size of early handmade sheets of paper. When two leaves (four pages printed on both sides) were printed on a sheet, folded once, collated with other folded sheets and bound, the format of the volume was a "folio." When four leaves (eight pages) were printed on the same size sheet, folded twice, collated, and bound, the format of the resultant volume was a "quarto" (four leaves). When eight leaves (sixteen pages) were printed on the same size sheet, folded, collated, and bound, the format of the resultant volume was an "octavo" (eight leaves). Today instead of using these early terms, which no longer relate directly to the sheet size or process used for printing, some booksellers give the height of a book in inches or centimeters The following provides some book sizes in both formats:

• FOLIO13 inches tall.(and more)
• QUARTO - 10 to 13 inches tall (average of 12 inches).
• OCTAVO - 8 to 10 inches tall approx. (average of 9 inches).
• DUODECIM - O7 to 8 inches tall approx. (average of 7.5 inches)
• EXTODECIM - O6 to 7 inches tall approx. (average of 6.5 inches)