Reference
Glossary of print proofing & artwork approval terms
This glossary defines the vocabulary of print proofing and artwork approval — the terms that appear on proof sheets, job tickets and approval records, written for print buyers and shop staff alike. Definitions are grouped alphabetically; use the letter links to jump.
0–9
- 3D proof
- An interactive digital model of a finished printed product, used so a customer can rotate it, inspect materials and finishing, and approve the artwork in context before production. A 3D proof is a form of digital proof, not a contract proof.
A
- Anti-scuff lamination
- A matte or satin laminate formulated to resist marking and scuffing during handling and transit. Common on dark packaging, where scuffs on plain matte film show badly.
- Art proof
- An early proof issued to confirm the design direction, layout and content before technical prepress work begins. It settles what the piece says and how it looks, not how it will be produced.
- Artwork approval
- The formal step in which a customer reviews a proof and authorizes production. A complete approval records who approved, which proof version, when, and what the approval covers.
B
- Bleed
- Artwork extended beyond the trim line so that no unprinted edge appears after cutting. Typically 3mm, though converters and processes vary.
- Blind emboss
- An embossed area with no ink or foil applied over it, so the design reads purely as raised relief in the substrate.
C
- CMYK
- The four process inks — cyan, magenta, yellow and key (black) — combined to reproduce a wide range of colors. A subtractive system, unlike a screen's additive RGB.
- Color management
- The practice of using device profiles, calibration and defined viewing conditions to make color behave predictably between capture, display, proof and press. It does not make screens match print; it makes the difference bounded and known.
- Contract proof
- A measured, calibrated proof that both parties accept as the color standard for the job. Produced on a profiled device simulating the press condition, usually with a control strip that can be verified against tolerance.
- Crop marks
- Thin marks outside the artwork area indicating where the sheet will be trimmed. Also called trim marks.
D
- Debossing
- A finishing process that presses a design into the substrate so it sits below the surface. The inverse of embossing.
- Delta E
- A numerical measure of the difference between two colors. Used to express color tolerance in a way both a printer and a customer can verify rather than argue about.
- Die cutting
- Cutting a substrate to a shape using a steel rule die, rotary die or laser. Defined on the proof by the dieline.
- Dieline
- A vector template showing cut, crease, perforation and glue lines for a die-cut or folded product. Shown on a proof for position only — it must never print.
- Digital proof
- Any proof delivered as a file rather than as a physical printed sheet — a PDF, an image or an interactive 3D model. Fast and cheap, and reliable for content, layout and specification rather than for calibrated color.
- Dot gain
- The tendency of halftone dots to print larger than intended as ink spreads into the substrate, darkening midtones. Compensated for in prepress and by the output profile.
E
- Embossing
- A finishing process that raises a design above the surface of the substrate using a male and female die pair. May be single-level, multi-level or sculpted.
F
- Foil stamping
- Applying metallic or pigmented foil to a substrate with a heated die under pressure. Its defining quality is directional reflectivity, which is why foil is difficult to judge from a flat proof.
G
- Gang run
- Printing multiple jobs together on one sheet to share setup and material costs. Economical, but it constrains substrate and color adjustment for each individual job.
- Grain direction
- The predominant alignment of fibers in paper or board. Folding against the grain cracks more easily, so grain direction is specified for folded and bound work.
- GSM
- Grams per square meter — the standard metric measure of substrate weight. A useful shorthand for feel and rigidity, though caliper matters as much for board.
I
- Imposition
- Arranging pages or items on the press sheet so that, after printing, folding and trimming, everything appears in the correct position and order. An internal prepress concern, not a customer-facing one.
K
- Keyline
- A thin outline used on a proof to indicate the position or boundary of an element, such as a fold, a window or a finish area. Non-printing unless explicitly specified otherwise.
- Knockout
- Removing the background artwork beneath an element so the element prints directly on the substrate rather than over other inks. The opposite of overprint.
L
- Lamination
- Bonding a plastic film to a printed sheet for protection and appearance. Gloss deepens color and sharpens highlights, matte diffuses them, and soft-touch produces a deep, velvety surface.
M
- Makeready
- The setup work and material consumed bringing a press to the point of producing saleable sheets. A significant part of why a reprint costs far more than the sheets it produces.
- Mockup
- A visual representation of a product used for presentation, pitching or marketing. Built to look appealing rather than to be approved — which is why a mockup should not be the artifact a customer signs.
O
- Overprint
- Printing one ink on top of another rather than knocking out the area beneath. Correct for black text over color; a common source of error when applied unintentionally to white or light elements.
P
- Packshot
- A clean product photograph or render, usually on a plain background, used for listings, catalogs and retail media. A marketing asset, not an approval artifact.
- Pantone / PMS
- The Pantone Matching System, a standardized spot-color reference used to specify color across suppliers. References differ between coated and uncoated stock, so the suffix matters.
- PDF proof
- A proof supplied as a PDF. The industry default: precise, portable and familiar, but flat, which is why construction and finishing are commonly misjudged from one.
- Preflight
- An automated technical check of a file before production — resolution, fonts, color spaces, bleed, ink coverage, spot channels. It catches production faults, not content errors.
- Prepress
- Everything between receiving artwork and putting an image on plate or press: preflight, correction, color separation, trapping, imposition and proofing.
- Press check
- Attending the press as a job comes up to color, to approve live sheets. The most accurate approval available, and the most expensive in time and press capacity.
- Press-ready
- A file that has passed preflight and requires no further correction — correct color space, embedded fonts, adequate bleed, appropriate resolution and a correct dieline layer.
- Proof sheet
- The document sent to a customer for approval, showing artwork on every printed surface plus specification, color build, finishing, version and a sign-off block.
Q
- Quiet zone
- The clear margin required either side of a barcode so scanners can read it. Encroaching artwork is a frequent and expensive packaging error.
R
- Registration
- The alignment of one printed or finished element to another — ink to ink, foil to print, emboss to artwork. Misregistration is a classic dispute on embellished work.
- Reprint
- Producing a job again after the first run is rejected or found faulty. Costly beyond materials because it consumes press capacity already sold to another job.
- RGB
- The additive red, green and blue color model used by screens. Files intended for print are normally converted to CMYK plus any spot colors; stray RGB elements are a common preflight flag.
S
- Safe area
- The margin inside the trim within which critical text and elements must sit so they are not lost to cutting tolerance. Also called the type-safe or live area.
- Sign-off
- The recorded act of approving a proof. A strong sign-off ties a named approver to a specific proof version at a specific time, with the scope of approval stated.
- Soft proof
- A proof reviewed on a display rather than on paper. Reliable for color only within a color-managed setup: calibrated display, correct output profile and controlled viewing conditions.
- Soft-touch lamination
- A laminate with a fine matte texture that feels velvety and reads as a deep, slightly desaturated surface. Its tactile quality is a large part of its appeal, and cannot be conveyed by any screen.
- Spot color
- An ink mixed to a specified color and printed from its own plate, rather than built from process inks. Used for brand colors, metallics, fluorescents and opaque whites.
- Spot UV
- A UV-cured gloss coating applied to selected areas rather than the whole sheet. Most effective over matte or soft-touch lamination, and the finish customers most often over-imagine from a flat proof.
- Substrate
- The material being printed on — paper, board, plastic, film, textile, metal or composite. Its color, texture and absorbency affect every printed and finished result.
T
- Total ink coverage
- The sum of all ink percentages in the heaviest area of an image, limited by substrate and process to avoid set-off and drying problems.
- Trapping
- Slightly overlapping adjacent colors so that small registration variation on press does not reveal a white gap between them.
- Trim
- The finished cut size of the product, and the line on which the sheet is cut. Distinct from bleed, which extends past it, and safe area, which sits inside it.
V
- Varnish
- A clear coating applied on press for protection or effect. Available as gloss, matte or satin, and as a flood coating or a spot application.
- Version control
- Tracking proof revisions so it is always unambiguous which version is current and which version a customer approved. Without it, an approval record cannot prove what was agreed.
- Virtual proof
- A digital representation of the finished product used for approval. Judged on accuracy — dimensions, material, placement and finishing — rather than on how appealing it looks.
Related reading
For the distinctions these terms turn on, read digital vs soft vs contract proof, virtual proof vs product mockup and can a digital proof represent print color?. For practical use, see what a proof sheet should contain and the approval checklist.
Common questions
What is the difference between a proof and a mockup?
A proof is an approval artifact judged on accuracy; a mockup is a marketing visual judged on appeal. They can be built from the same 3D model, but only one of them should be signed.
What is the difference between a dieline and a keyline?
A dieline defines how the substrate will be cut, creased and glued. A keyline is any indicative outline shown on a proof for position. Neither should print.
Is a soft proof a contract proof?
Only inside a fully color-managed setup with a calibrated display, correct output profile, controlled viewing conditions and an agreed tolerance. On an arbitrary customer screen it is not.
What does press-ready actually mean?
That a file has passed preflight and needs no further correction: correct color space, embedded fonts, adequate bleed, adequate resolution, appropriate ink coverage and a correct non-printing dieline layer.
Why does spot UV disappoint customers?
Because it is subtle by nature — it appears as the surface tilts to the light, rather than face-on. Customers who have only seen it noted on a flat proof usually imagine something far more dramatic.