M A symbol for mega, a preface meaning a quantity of 1000. See MEGABYTE

MACHINE COATED Paper that has been coated on one or both of its sides during the papermaking process. See also COATED PAPER COATING PAPER

MACHINE DIRECTION The direction in which the fibers of paper are aligned within a sheet. This is the direction in which the wire mesh (and paper) traveled on a paper machine. Machine direction is an alternate term for grain direction. See also FOURDRINIER MACHINE GRAIN WITH THE GRAIN

MACHINE FINISHED (MF) Paper that has a smooth finish as a result of having been subjected to a calendering operation at the end of the paper machine. Also, a grade of paper that has a finish not as smooth as a book paper grade having an English finish. See also CALENDERING ENGLISH FINISH PAPER

MACHINE GLAZED (MG) Paper that has a high gloss finish on one side imparted to it on the paper machine by a Yankee Cylinder. See also GLOSS PAPER

MACHINE-SET TYPE Type that has been set by machine. The machines on which this is possible include: Linotype, Monotype, and Ludlow. See also LINOTYPE MONOTYPE TYPESETTING

MACRO A series of instructions, which normally are issued one after the other on a computer keyboard in order to execute a program, but which can be stored on the computer and executed automatically with one keystroke. A macro is created to execute with one (or a few) keystrokes what would take much more.

MAGENTA A reddish-purple color (fuchsin). Magenta is the one of the four standard printing colors used in the four-color printing process. It is a subtractive primary color. The others three colors used in the four-color process are cyan, yellow, and black. Magenta is also called process red. See also CMYK FOUR-COLOR PROCESS SUBTRACTIVE PRIMARY COLORS

MAGNETIC INK A magnetized ink that is used in check printing. Magnetic ink can be read both by electronic machines, as well as humans. See also INK

MAGNETIC MEDIA A term applicable to any of the various magnetically coated materials used to store digital data, whether text, graphics, or programs. Magnetic media include compact disks, optical disks, floppy disks, computer tapes, etc. See also CD-ROM CD-RW FLOPPY DISK OPTICAL DISK

MAILER A corrugated cardboard package, typically designed to hold one volume of a book or one set, etc. A mailer is used as an outer protective wrapper for mailing purposes and sometimes is termed mailing carton. Mailer also refers to one who uses the mails as an advertising medium to promote a product or service to persons or organizations appearing on a house list or the mailing lists of others. See also ALL-FLAPS-MEET MAILER INDICIA JIFFY BAG ONE PIECE FOLDER (OPF)

MAILING SERVICE Another term for lettershop. See LETTERSHOP

MAIL ORDER A term that encompasses all aspects of the business of soliciting and fulfilling orders through the mail. Advertising materials are mailed directly to the potential customer to solicit orders. The recipients respond directly to the sender by mail or telephone. Payment is made by mail or telephone and the merchandise is shipped by the U.S. Postal Service or other direct delivery service. Book clubs conduct business in this manner, often supplemented by advertising in other media, such as magazines. Mail order is also called direct mail marketing.

Although small specialty firms have accounted for most of the mail order businesses, department stores do a significant volume of business. However, a few firms selling general merchandise lines have accounted for most mail-order volume during recent years. The most important during the late 20th century were Sears, Roebuck and Company and Montgomery Ward & Company. Book and record clubs also use direct mail very effectively to market their books, tapes, and CDs. See also ACCOUNT LIST BOOK CLUB CARRIER FULFILLMENT HOUSE SHIPPING AND HANDLING UNDELIVERABLE

MAJUSCULE A capital or uppercase letter. Capital, majuscule, and uppercase all refer to the same thing. All forms of letters were majuscules ("big letters") when writing first appeared. However, medieval scribes created-faster-to-write variations. These modifications to the majuscules became standardized and subsequently were known as miniscules ("small letters"). See also CAPITALS MINISCULE UPPERCASE

MAKE-GOOD An advertisement run without charge by a publication as compensation for a previously paid and run advertisement in the same publication that had been located in the wrong position or otherwise subjected to an error by the publisher. Alternatively, a commercial spot that is run without charge on television or radio as compensation for a previously paid and scheduled commercial which failed to be aired, was aired only in part, or otherwise reduced in effectiveness due to broadcaster error.

MAKEOVER Remaking a printing plate in order to incorporate corrections before printing a job. Also, replacing an old design with a new design. Finally, the term is used in reference to printing a particular job again that was previously printed. because of unacceptable flaws found in the first printing..See also EDITION ISSUE PRINTING PLATE REPRINT

MAKE-READY A term, which encompasses all preparatory work, performed on a printing press before a printing run. This includes installation of plates or printing blankets, adding the desired colors of ink to the fountains, adjusting the grippers and feeder, making any necessary machine adjustments for size, etc. See also CLEAN-UP WASH UP

MAKE-UP The process of assembling all lines of type and graphical elements and arranging them on a sheet to form a mechanical. When the makeup involves the creation of a mechanical for a page, it is also called page makeup. See also GRAPHIC KEYLINES MECHANICAL PAGE MAKE-UP

MALAPROPISM The ridiculous misuse of words.

MANAGING EDITOR The person who bears responsibility for the successful completion of all editorial activities of a publication or publishing project. He is usually the editor-in-chief's key assistant. Typically, the managing editor is responsible for the progress of all material related to the publishing assignment, from original manuscript to finished paste-up, and all intermediate stages. He is the one who occasionally engages the services of freelancers for the editing staff. A successful managing editor combines technical and logistical skills with a cool head and empathy for those engaged in creative aspects. See also EDITOR IN CHIEF FREELANCER PUBLISHER

MANUSCRIPT (MS) The initial, typed copy of a book, article, or other document in the form in which as it was submitted for publication by its author before final editing, pasteup, and typesetting. Originally, manuscripts were handwritten. Today, authors use word processors or typewriters to write, largely the former. Although their works would be more accurately termed typescripts, custom ensures that the word manuscript is still used. See also BOOK EDIT ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION LITERARY AGENT LITERARY AGENT MARKING UP READER RELEASE REJECTION SLIP SOFT COPY THIRTY TYPESCRIPT TYPESETTING UNICIALS UNSOLICITED MANUSCRIPT VELLUM WORD COUNT WORKING TITLE

MARBLED PAPER Paper containing a swirled pattern or design of several colors. Often used for end papers or for paper-covered boards. See also BOARD END PAPERS PAPER

MARGIN The areas of white space surrounding the main body of text or image area on a page. These are the non-printing areas of the paper and are located at the top, bottom, and sides of the page, between the printed area and the edge of the paper..Margins typically must be created on page edges because most printers are unable to print right to the edge. Further, some white space improves the appearance of a document and makes it easier to read. It is generally accepted that margins may comprise up to 50% of the page area of a well-designed book.

Word processing programs usually permit one to specify the widths of the margins. The wider the top and bottom margins are, the shorter is the page. Similarly, the wider the left and right margins are, the narrower is the page. See also BALANCE BOTTOM MARGIN FLUSH GUTTER MARGIN HANGING PUNCTUATION HEAD MARGIN INDENT INSIDE MARGIN WORD PROCESSING WORD WRAP

MARGINALIA A term for marginal notes. These include notes, titles, or other information printed in the margin area of a page, outside of the page's text area. The term applies equally to handwritten notes in the margin areas. See also MARGIN PROOFREADER

MARKET The extent of demand (or potential readership) for a particular book, publication, or other product or service. Also, the geographic area, class of trade, or market segment that provides the demand, or represents potential sales for the product or service. See also AMERICAN BOOK TRADE DIRECTORY BOOK TRADE EL-HI LITERARY MARKET PLACE PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY

MARKETING A term that encompasses all activities involved in moving a finished product through the distribution channesl into the hands of the final consumers. This includes the five P's of Product, Package, Price, Promotion, and Publicity. In other words, planning and implementation of activities concerned with packaging design, pricing, advertising, promotion, publicity, and sales. Alternatively, the department in a publishing house that bears the responsibility for promotion of its published titles. See also ADVANCE INFORMATION SHEET BOOK PACKAGER CONTINUITY PROGRAM CO-OP ADVERTISING DESIGN DIRECT MAIL DIRECT MARKETING DIRECT-RESPONSE ADVERTISING DISTRIBUTION DUST JACKET MERCHANDISING OFFPRINT PREMIUM PROSPECTUS PUBLICITY RACK ALLOWANCE SALESMAN'S SAMPLE SALES REP

MARKDOWNS A bookselling term to denote those unsold or shopworn books, whose prices have been reduced in order to facilitate their clearance. The term also describes the amount by which a selling price has been reduced. This is usually expressed as a percentage of the original selling price. Therefore, if a book, originally priced to sell at $40.00 is reduced in price to $16.00, the markdown will be 60% ($24.00 ÷ $40.00). See also HURT BOOK JOB LOT REMAINDERS

MARKUP The difference between a bookseller's selling price for a book and his purchase price. The amount of money by which a retailer marks up his purchase price of a product to fix the price at which he will resell it. This difference is usually expressed as a percentage of his purchase price. For example, if he pays $18.00 for a book and retails it at $ 30.00, his markup is 66.6% ($12.00 ÷ $18.00). Markup is also used in place of write on to describe the act of noting on a manuscript the corrections that are required, or setting out on a proof detailed instructions for a typesetter or printer regarding typesetting, color correcting or printing. See also MARKDOWNS NET, NET

MARKING UP Preparing a manuscript for typesetting by writing the typographical instructions on the manuscript itself, or similarly providing instructions about colors and special effects on the artwork. See also LAYOUT MANUSCRIPT

MASK A term that denotes an intermediate photographic negative or positive used in color correction. Masking prevents light from reaching certain areas during exposure of an image on printing plates. It enables one to apply an effect to one part of an image and not to the other, or to vary the strength of an effect on an image. It is sometimes termed a knock out. Mask similarly means to block out certain parts of a negative (or any image) with paper, tape, paint, or another material, to cause that area to print white. Masking can also be performed digitally with the use of image editing programs. See also GOLDENROD PAPER IMAGE EDITING MASKING MATERIAL NEGATIVE OPAQUE POSITIVE

MASKING MATERIAL An opaque material, such as opaque paper or plastic, or masking tape that is used to cover an area of artwork or a negative in order to prevent light from reaching certain areas of the image. The use of the masking material enables one to apply an effect to one part of an image without applying it to the other. Masking material is often called knockout film or by brand name, such as Amberlith, Goldenrod, and Rubylith. See also AMBERLITH CUTOUT KNOCKOUT MASK OPAQUE

MASS MARKET PAPERBACK A smaller (4"×7"), paperbound edition of a previously published hardcover or trade paperback book that is printed on less expensive paper and bound in flexible paper covers. A mass market paperback is produced for sale through a wide variety of mass-market outlets, including supermarkets, drug stores, variety stores, and newsstands. The cheaper editions appeal to a large segment of the reading population and are often sold next to magazines. See also JOBBER PAPERBACK QUALITY PAPERBACK RACK JOBBER TRADE PAPERBACK

MASTER A term used to denote an original digital file, hard copy, or printing plate, which serves as the primary element from which all copies are made. See also DIGITAL FILE

MASTER PAGE An electronic page that contains all text, graphics, and formatting, which one wants to appear on each page of a multi-page document or each slide of a presentation. A master page is a feature provided by a desktop publishing program that enables the user to quickly create page layouts that are consistent. It functions as a design template that helps to define the basic layout and format of document pages. It may contain headers, footers, page numbers, ruling lines, margin features, graphic elements, layout guides, and any repeating text. The user specifies what will appear on the pages of the document. It is generally considered preferable to position any repeating elements once on a master page, instead of repeatedly on each individual page of the document. See also DESKTOP PUBLISHING FOOTER FORMAT HEADER PAGE LAYOUT MASTER RULE

MASTHEAD That page, or part of a page, of a newspaper or magazine that lists the publication's key staff members, including its publisher, editorial staff, owner, address, advertising rates, subscription price, etc. This information often appears in the publication within a rectangle on the Contents page. See also BOILERPLATE

MATCHPRINT A brand name for a color proofing system by 3M. It consists of four sheets of colored film (magenta, cyan, yellow and black), affixed to a white sheet of paper. This forms a very close representation of the final printed job, if the colors are processed in correct order, for checking accuracy, layout, and composition before plates are made. See also FILM PROOF

MATRIX A former typesetting term to denote a mold used to cast a letter of type in hot metal composition. Also, a mold that holds the type in linecasting machine. The plural of matrix is matrices. See also HOT METAL TYPESETTING

MATRIX PRINTER See DOT-MATRIX PRINTER

MATTE A dull surface. The opposite of a glossy surface. See also GLOSSY FINISH UNCOATED

MATTE ART PAPER A coated printing paper that has a dull surface. See COATED PAPER MATTE

MATTE FINISH A dull finish given to paper or board that is characterized by an absence of gloss or luster. This quality of paper does not reflect light as completely as a glossy finish. However, a matte finish paper is often preferred to a glossy finish paper because it matches the light-absorbing characteristics of laser printer text. Coated paper, which receives a minimum of calendering, has a matte finish. See CALENDERING GLOSSY FINISH

MATTE PRINT A photographic print that has a matte finish. See also MATTE FINISH POSITIVE

MB, M-BYTE An abbreviated form of megabyte. See MEGABYTE

MEASURE The length of a line of type measured from the left margin to the right margin on a piece of paper, or on a computer screen. The overall distance of a line between the left and right margins of the body of text, often stated in points and picas. Alternatively, the width of a column or text. On a typewriter, line width is usually specified in terms of the number of monospace alphanumeric characters that can fit on the line. On a computer monitor or printer, line width is normally measured in inches, centimeters, points, or picas. Also known as line length. See also LINE NARROW MEASURE PICA POINT

MECHANICAL Camera-ready artwork that includes text, photos, and illustrations, and is ready for reproduction. It shows the exact position of every element. A mechanical can be in the form of a pasted-up artboard with type set and pasted up and copies of drawings or photographs shown in place, sometimes with acetate or tissue overlays for color separations and notes; a digital printout; or a digital file ready for high-resolution output. The mechanical is made following the layout as a guide. It is the final copy to be photographed and represents the last stage at which to make changes in copy before printing. The mechanical is also called artboard or camera-ready art. See also ARTBOARD CAMERA-READY CAMERA-READY COPY FOR POSITION ONLY HARD MECHANICAL KEY LINES OVERLAY PASTE-UP X-ACTO KNIFE

MECHANICAL BINDING A term that applies to any method of binding in which plastic or wire is inserted into holes drilled in the binding edge of the covers and individual leaves of a publication as a means of fastening them together. Spiral binding, Wire-O, and Plastic Comb represent examples of mechanical binding. See also PLASTIC COMB BINDING WIRE-O BINDING WIRE SPIRAL.

MECHANICAL PAPER Paper made from mechanical pulp, thermomechanical pulp, or chemithermomechanical pulp, and also chemical pulp. The proportions of mechanical pulp and chemical pulp vary, depending on the application. Papers, which contain a high proportion of mechanical pulp like newsprint, yellow more quickly, if exposed to light, than do wood-free papers. Therefore, they are used primarily for short-lived products. Mechanical paper was originally used only for paperbacks and other titles of passing value. Mechanical pulp improves opacity of printing papers. See also BROWNING CHEMICAL PULP LIGNIN PAPER WOOD-FREE PAPER

MECHANICAL PULP Wood pulp made entirely by mechanical means (i.e., by shredding logs on a grinder to separate the fibers). Mechanical pulp retains the sap, sulfur compounds, and sugar from the tree, in addition to the lignin, which binds the fibers together. Lignin reacts with violet light. Consequently, papers made from mechanical pulp tend to turn yellow with long exposed to light. Newsprint and some packaging boards are manufactured from mechanical pulp. Pulp produced in this manner is termed groundwood pulp. Mechanical pulping is cost effective, but highly energy-intensive.

Mechanical pulp can also be made by feeding chips to refiners where they are defibrated between two circular blades. This gives either refiner mechanical pulp or thermomechanical pulp. The difference is that in producing the latter, the refiner is heated to temperatures up to 250 degrees F under pressure. The pulp is then screened, thickened, and blended with a chemical pulp, either sulfite or sulfate. See also CHEMICAL PULP LIGNIN NEWSPRINT PAPER PULP

MECHANICAL SEPARATION A set of mechanical art overlays, consisting of one for each of the colors to be used in printing (e.g., CMYK). Copy and/or graphic elements appear on each overlay to indicate the position and register of each color that will be used. See also CMYK COLOR SEPARATION FOUR COLOR PROCESS OVERLAY

MECHANICAL TINT A pre-printed sheet containing a pattern, dots, or lines, to be laid over artwork for reproduction. See also ARTWORK MECHANICAL OVERLAY

MEDIA The various ways by which information may be distributed to consumers. This includes broadcast media (radio, television), print media (newspapers, magazines, direct mail), the World Wide Web, outdoor advertising, CD-ROM, etc. See also CD-ROM DIRECT MAIL MAGNETIC MEDIA PUBLICATION

MEGA A prefix derived from the Greek word for big and generally meaning 1,000,000, but somewhat greater in computer memories and disks. See MEGABYTE

MEGABYTE (MB) A unit of measurement of computer memory equal to a data block of approximately one million bytes (or characters). More precisely, the number of bytes is an amount equal to 2 to the 20th power. This is 1,048,576 bytes or 1,024 kilobytes. The term is commonly used when describing the RAM (random access memory) of a personal computer and its hard drive.. See also BIT BYTE GIGABYTE KILOBYTE

MERCHANDISING A term used primarily in reference to those marketing activities that are conducted at the point of sale. In book publishing and selling, this embraces such aids as display racks, tables, bins, and posters; activities such as replacing stocks, straightening titles, etc.; and the overall management of inventory in supermarkets and other non-bookstore outlets to ensure display of the fastest selling titles. See also DUMP BIN COUNTER DISPLAY MARKETING POINT-OF-PURCHASE DISPLAY RACK JOBBER

METALLIC INK A printing ink that creates the appearance of gold, silver, or another metal because of its color and reflective qualities. See also BRONZING GILT TOP INK

METAPHOR The application of a word or phrase to an object or concept, to which it does not literally apply, in order to suggest comparison with another object or concept. A figure of speech in which one idea or action is referred to by a word or phrase that normally indicates a different idea or action. An unstated comparison of one thing with another. Unlike a simile or analogy, a metaphor asserts that one thing, rather than that it is like another. See also ANALOGY FIGURE OF SPEECH IMAGERY MIXED METAPHOR SIMILE

METONYMY A figure of speech in which the name of one thing or concept is used in place of the name of something associated with it or which it symbolizes. Examples are crown for king and bottle for strong drink. See also FIGURE OF SPEECH

METRIC SYSTEM A decimal system of weights and measures, adopted first in France, but now in widespread use throughout the world, and universally in science. Its official name in English is International System of Units. The basic units of measurement are the meter for distance (39.37") and the gram for mass (15.432 grains). Derived units include the liter (1.0908 U.S. dry quarts or 1.0567 U.S. liquid quarts), the are (114.9 square yards), and the stere (35.315 cubic feet)..The metric system is slowly moving into the printing world. Although printers and type founders have used point for 300 years and are slow to change, photo typesetting and transfer-type companies have been converting their type sizes to metric measure. Even some newspapers now measure columns in centimeters instead of in inches or agate lines. The equivalents appear below. See also PICA POINT

• 1 point equals .35 mm
• 1 mm equals 2.85 points.
• 72 points (6 picas) is approximately 25.24 mm (or 2.52 cms).