Industry Terms

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E.C.H. Will Sheeter A machine that automatically cuts, wraps, labels, and packages paper.
Edge Lift When the edge of a label lifts off the surface that it is applied to. This condition is affected by the adhesive's bond strength, the flexibility of the facestock. It is most commonly seen on surfaces that have a small diameter curve to them.
Edge Tearing Resistance The amount of resistance of paper to tearing at its edge.
Edge-Gilding The gilding of edges of the pages in a book with gold leaf.
Edge-Staining Coloring the trimmed edges of a book.
Editor A computer program used to modify data files by adding, deleting or changing text.
Editorial System An electronic publishing system dedicated to copy creation and manuscript preparation.
Edutainment Content that is both educational and entertaining for the user.
Eggshell Antique A rough, uncoated paper with the color of an eggshell.
Eggshell Finish Generally refers to a book grade of paper that has a fairly rough finish that resembles the surface of an egg.
Electron Charge Deposition An image is created with the use of an electron cartridge which creates a negative charge on a nonconductive surface. The nonconductive surface consists of a drum which attracts a magnetic toner. The toner is then fixed to the substrate with a cold fusion process. A static electric charge is used to draw the toner particles from the drum onto the substrate. A high pressure roller fuses the toner to the substrate. Also know as ionography or ion deposition printing.
Electronic Document Management (EDM) The creation, storage, control, and maintenance of documents is managed by EDM software. Some of the requirements include the following functions: check-in/check-out, version control, full text retrieval, multi-level security, and management functions like archiving.
Electronic Dot Generation (EDG) A method of creating halftones electronically on scanners and prepress systems in digital imaging.
Electronic Mechanicals Digital page layout files created on a desktop publishing system. Electronic mechanicals commonly contain text and graphics in conventional paste-up boards.
Electronic Printing Any output technology that prints pages without the use of traditional ink, water, chemistry, or plates (also know as plateless printing).
Electronic Publishing A configuration of hardware and software used for the production of documents. Printing with a device that is computer driven and has the ability to change images from one copy to the next. The term includes desktop publishing and high-end systems.
Electronic Publishing System Any computer program that can perform typography and/or page layout for electronic documents. A desktop publishing system is an example of an EPS.
Electrophotography The image copy system used in certain copiers.
Electrostatic Assist In gravure process, the use of electrostatic forces to help draw ink from gravure cells to diminish skips in highlights.
Electrostatic Plates Plates for high-speed laser printing using zinc oxide or organic photoconductors.
Electrostatic Printing A printing process that uses electrostatic charges to transfer images onto a surface which then attracts toner in only the charged areas. The toner is bonded to the sheet by heat.
Electrotype Duplicate relief plate used in the letterpress printing process.
Elite A typewriter face that has twelve characters to an inch.
Elliptical Dot Oval dots in halftones.
Elmendorf Test A testing method regarding the resistance to tear on a sheet of paper.
Elongation The length a material will stretch to before breaking. Generally stated as a percentage of the oringinal size.
Em The space that a capital M takes in a typeset line.
Em Dash A dash the width of one em, equal to two zero's or three dashes. They are used to separate parenthetical phrases within a sentence.
Em Space A space an "em" wide, equal to the width of two zero's.
Embossed Finish Pattern on the surface of a paper by pressing it against an engraved metal roll.
Embossing The method of making a raised image on a sheet of paper or a depressed image on a sheet of paper.
EME (Electromechanical Engraver) Piece of equipment used to make gravure printing cylinders.
Emulsion A suspension of a sensitive silver salt in a viscous medium forming a coating on photographic plates.
Emulsion Side The side of a photographic film on which the emulsion is coated.
En A unit of measurement equal to half an em in the same point size and typeface, which is the same width as a zero.
En Dash A dash the width of one en, or equal to the size of a zero. They are used to represent "to" or "through" in numerical ranges such as 1-9.
Enamel Refers to a coated paper or to a coating material on paper. It gives the paper a shiny, glossy surface.
Enamel Paper Also known as coated paper, with a high gloss.
Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) A file format that can contain vector graphics or bitmap images.
End Leaf Paper Used for hardcover publications, to attach the book to its case.
End Sheet The sheet that attaches the inside pages of a case bound book to its cover, also referred to as end leaf.
Endpapers, Endlinings The protective leaves of paper that are posted to the covers of casebound books.
English Finish Most commonly used for magazines, it is a smooth calendered finish.
Engrave To cut into a plate or other printing unit a design or words.
Engraving The image on the plate that will print as a result of the other areas being cut or etched away.
Enlargement An increase in the size of an original.
En-space One half of an EM space.
Envelope An enclosure made of paper or similar material used to hold other pieces for mailing.
Envelope Paper Paper used for high-speed envelop machines.
EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) A file format used in transfering graphic images within compatible software applications. The file contains structured PostScript code, comments, and screen display image.
Equilibrium Moisture Content The inability of a paper to absorb moisture when it moisture content equals the relative humidity of the environment.
Equilibrium Relative Humidity Refers to the moisture content in paper which should be the same as the printing environment.
Equivalent weight The term used to denote the respective weights of the same paper of two different sheet sizes.
Erasable Ink Ink that will rub off when an attempt is made to erase information in the area that it has been printed. It is generally used to print the background of a check or other documents that required some form of security. The ink will also react in the same manner as solvent/chemical reactive inks do, giving you two security features in one.
Errata When errors are discovered after a book has been printed, an errata is printed showing the corrections and inserted in the book.
E-scale A clear plastic scale containing capital E's in different point sizes. It is used to determine the point size of type.
Estimate A price that gives the customer the cost to produce a product according to the specifications that have been supplied.
Etch An acidated gum solution used to desensitize the non-printing areas of the plate in offset lithography. Also, an acid solution added to the fountain water to facilitate keeping non-printing areas of the plate free from ink.
Etching Operation A method of placing a chemical solution on a lithographic plate that divides printing and non-printing areas.
Even Folio The even numbered page, the left hand or versso page.
Expanded Type Thick characters of type.
Expansivity The amount of paper change due to humidity.
Exposure The exposing of light to a plate through the negative to give the printing image.
Exposure Correction To override automatic exposure controls, some digital cameras have an exposure correction feature (+/- EV compensation) which can be used to manually compensate for extreme brightness or low levels of light.
Extended Content Labels The ECL label is used to add content to a label. The limited space on a standard label makes it difficult to display all of the content that is required on some labels. Because reducing the type size affects the readability, some companies have started to use an extended content label (ECL) to satisfy their content needs. Some ECL labels are printed on the back side of the label and some have extra folded pieces attached that are unfolded to reveal the additional content.
Extended Type Type that has been expanded so that its width is wider than it normally is for that type.
Extender A substance added to a product in the capacity of a dilutent. Used in inks to tone them down.
Extensible Paper Paper that is very tear-resistant.