Industry Terms

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Kaolin A filler or coating of fine, white clay used in paper manufacturing.
Keep Standing Meaning to hold the composition and negatives as is, for the possibility it will be re-printed.
Kelvin A thermometric scale used to measure light temperature. OK is absolute zero (a hypothetical temperature representing the complete absence of heat); water freezes at 273.15K which is 0°C or 32°F. The most common use of Kelvin temperature in the graphic art is to describe lighting sources for viewing and analyzing color. The color of light sources is measured in Kelvin. A standard balanced light source (neutral in hue and with the brightness of midday sunlight) measures 5000K.
Kern Pair Adjusting the space between two letters for better appearance. WA or VA look better when some of the space is removed.
Kerning A method in Composition of changing the spacing between type bring the type closer together.
Keyline An outline drawing of finished art to designate the exact shape, position, and size for such elements as halftones, line sketches, etc.
Kid Finish A finish resembling soft kid.
Kilobyte (K or kb or KB) The most common measure of computer file size (1024 bytes).
Kiss Cut To die cut the top layer but not the backing of self-adhesive paper.
Kiss Impression The standard procedure for quality printing in which only light pressure is used for impressioning.
Kiss Pressure The minimum pressure that proper ink transfer can occur.
Kiss Register In color printing, areas of color that touch without any overlap on the edges. Assumes perfect registration. Also referred to as kiss fit and butt register.
Knife In the trimming operation, the blade used to trim edges.
Knock-Off A copy of anothers artwork or style without their permission.
Knockout When type or line art is to be printed over a photograph or other variable color background, the best way to produce a consistent color is to first reverse the type or artwork out of the background and then drop in the desired color. This process is referred to as knocking out.
Kraft Paper Brown, strong paper made from sulfate pulp.