Industry Terms

A \| B \| C \| D \| E \| F \| G \| H \| I \| J \| K \| L \| M \| N \| O \| P \| Q \| R \| S \| T \| U \| V \| W \| X \| Y \| Z
I/O Bound A program that spends most of its execution time on input and output, rather than processing data.
I/O Input and Output A commonly used computer abbreviation.
Idiot Mode In photocomposition, where input personnel simply enter data without concern for where it hyphenates.
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. An international society that issues its own standards and is a member of ANSI and ISO.
Illustrator A graphic artist who draws or creates illustrations with various products that are used to produce pictorial concept.
Image The text, illustrations and other artwork that has been reproduced on film, plates, paper or a computer monitor.
Image Carrier The device on a printing press that holds the inked image that is then transferred to a blanket or directly onto the sheet being printed.
Image Cataloging The use of software to effectively index, categorize, and annotate for future retrieval and identification of images.
Image Sensor The square or rectangular shaped diodes used to collect the light striking the image during the exposure in a digital camera. The image sensor changes the light it senses into numbers or data that represent different levels of brightness. The sensor measures the level of red, green and blue and makes a color interpolation, assigning values to each image pixel.
Image Watermarking Placing a visible or invisible digital image layered into an image which serves as a means to identify photographed property (similar to branding) or as security for images that are to be kept as the property of one source and to be identified if used on the Web.
Imagemap An image with embedded hypertext links, enabling users to click on the image and be transported to another location.
Imagesetter A common term in graphic design that applies to film output devices for type and graphics from electronic devices.
Imaging 1. The process of computing information electronically from a paper source by scanning, then storing and retrieving it, usually in a raster or bitmap format. 2. The process of transforming the digital description of a page into output on paper.
Imaging Area The area of a page that a printer is capable of printing on. Many laser and ink jet printers are not capable of printing all the way to the edges of a page.
Imitation Parchment Paper made with irregular distribution of fibers.
Imposetter An imagesetter capable of outputting film for multiple pages in position.
Imposition A printer's layout' which positions pages of a book in a fashion, that they will be in correct order after the printed sheet is folded.
Impression The result obtained as the press prints on paper.
Impression Cylinder The cylinder on a printing press from which the paper picks up the impression from the inked plate in direct printing, or the blanket in offset printing.
Imprint To add information to a printed piece by running it through the press a second time.
In House When a production process for a printed product is done within a facility and is not sent to an outsider, also referred to as in-plant.
In Plant When a production process for a printed product is done within a facility and is not sent to an outsider, also referred to as in-house.
Index Bristol Lightweight cardboard used for file cards, ruled forms, etc.
Index Paper A heavyweight stock, with a smooth finished used for products such as cards, brochures or any forms needing extra durability.
India Paper A lightweight but strong paper used for reference books.
Indicia Post office mailing permits that are preprinted on various documents.
Indirect Screen A screen created by first separating a photo into the four process colors as continuous tones and then adding the dots for the screen as an additional process.
Industrial Papers Paper manufactured for industrial uses, such as tissues, cardboards, wrapping papers and packaging.
In-Feed A unit on a web press that controls tension of the paper.
Inferior Figures Typeset characters that appear below the baseline of type and which are generally smaller than the rest of the type in the text.
Information retrieval Extracting information from a computer data base.
Initial Letter A large or exotic letter that used in books to begin paragraphs or the first line of a new paragraph.
Ink A liquid material used to print an image on paper or other substrates. It is available in various colors and types suitable for many different printing processes.
Ink Absorption The degree with which paper will absorb ink.
Ink Drum The drum that transfers ink to the form rollers.
Ink Fountain The device that supplies ink to the press.
Ink Glob Drop When ink builds up to be a large glob that it can cause problems in the printing process.
Ink Holdout The ability of paper to keep ink on its surface.
Ink Jet Printing A plateless printing system in digital printing, that creates images directly on paper from digital files using streams of very fine drops of dyes (ink) which are controlled by digital signals.
Ink Receptivity The degree to which a paper resists or accepts ink absorption.
Ink Repellent A surface that will accept water and repel ink.
Inkometer An instrument that measures the stickiness or tack of an ink.
In-Line Describes a process of printing in which several phases are done in one operation.
In-Line Image A graphic image such as a logo or a still photograph that is displayed within Web page.
In-Mold Labels A non-pressure sensitive label that has a heat activated adhesive. In the labeling process the label is placed in the mold and held in place by vacuum or other means. The mold is then closed and the molten plastic resin is poured or injected into the mold. The heat from the hot resin activates the adhesive, causing the label to adhere to the container. The label becomes molded to the container wall.
Inplant A printing facility within a company that does printing for that company only.
Input Data going into a computer or photocomposition unit.
Insert A printed brochure or single page that is inserted and bound with the regular copy in a publication.
Inserter Mailing equipment which is used for the insertion of letters and other mail pieces into envelopes.
Inside Delivery Delivery of a shipment that is to go inside the building on ground level.
Intaglio A method of printing where an engraving is made in stone or other hard material and the impression from the design gives an image in relief.
Intaglio Printing The intaglio printing process uses a metal plate that has had the image cut into the surface. The sunken image is filled with ink and the surface is wiped clean so only ink is left in the sunken image areas. It is a very specialized process that gives a document a very high quality look. Intaglio is an old printing process but is still used today as one of the best security features on valuable documents.
Integral Proof A color proof of separations that is shown on a single sheet of proofing paper rather than the separations being shown on separate overlays. Integral proofs can be made from film separations or digitally from computer files. Also referred to as composite proof.
Integrated Labels Integrated labels are die cut out of the actual form. The form is first printed and then an adhesive coating is applied to the back of the form in the label area. A liner patch is attached to the back, over the adhesive, and then the labels are die cut on the face of the form.
Integrated Mill A paper mill that has its own pulp making facility.
Integrated Products The integrated products are products that are actually part of the carrier stock, it is not attached as on an affixed product. It is perforated or die cut into the carrier. The carrier can be continuous, or cut sheet.
Intensity The degree of inking.
Interactive Composition The electronic composition of documents which takes place directly on the screen. It allows the user to view the result of changes as they are made.
Interchangeable Lens A variety of varying focal length lenses, such as 50mm, telephoto, wide angle and fish-eye or macro which can be attached or removed from a digital camera body, allowing the photo setting to be photographed with different effects.
Interface Hardware or software in a computer system that will allow data that is not similar to be accepted and processed.
Interlaced GIF A graphic in GIF format that is gradually displayed in a Web browser, appearing blocky at first, then more and more detailed as it continues downloading.
Interleaves (Slip Sheets) Paper used during press runs that is inserted to prevent wet ink from transferring to other printed sheets.
Internal Bonding A measure of the strength of the coating applied to body stock. See also: Bonding Strength.
Internal Fonts The fonts that are permanently stored in a printer, as opposed to those that need to be downloaded.
International Standards Organization (ISO) An international organization composed of interested parties in many countries who work together to create standards for such areas as communications and computers.
Interpolated Resolution To determine a specific quantity by calculating the average of two existing or known values. In relating this definition to digital cameras and scanners, the perceived resolution of an image captured by these devices is calculated and then improved upon by the addition of pixels between those already existing. The result is that the interpolated resolution is higher than the optical resolution.
Interpolation A means to create an interpreted resolution for an image. Each set of two pixels within an image is analyzed through a digital camera's image sensor and the data pertaining to them is averaged An algorithm is then developed to create a third pixel, which is placed between the other two in order to create a resolution for the image. Thus, the interpolated resolution will always be higher than the optical resolution.
Interrupt Gluing When gluing continuous forms, the glue is applied in a dashed or interrupted line. It minimizes the tenting problems that occur when using a continuous line gluing. The glue is interrupted in the folding area, which allows for the parts to be able to move and stretch when folded and going through a continuous printer.
In-Text Equation Mathematical equation included with running text.
Inverted Page A page that is upside-down.
Invisible Fluorescent Fibers Invisible fluorescent fibers are added to the paper in manufacturing. The fibers are invisible under normal viewing conditions but a document containing them can be checked for authenticity by viewing the document under an ultraviolet (black) light.
Ion 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 electron charge deposition printing.
Ionography A process that creates an image with the use of an electron cartridge which creates a negative charge on a nonconductive surface. The nonconductive surface attracts a magnetic toner. 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 known as ion deposition or electron charge deposition printing.
IR Acronym for infrared radiation.
ISO International Organization for Standardization. A worldwide federation of national standard bodies from over 100 countries. Its mission is to promote the development of standardization and related activities in the world. The ISO Technical Committee responsible for the graphic arts is TC 130.
Italic The style (font-type) of letters that slant. Gernally used to emphasis text.