DESKTOP PUBLISHING

 

GLOSSARY

A

alignment    Linear arrangement of objects on a page

announcement   Promotional document used to inform an audience of an upcoming event

ascenders     The parts of a lowercase character that rise above the x-height

asymmetrical design    Balancing contrasting elements on a page

 

B 

balance     The equal distribution of design elements on a page                                               

baseline     An imaginary horizontal line upon which characters rest                                  

bitmapped graphics  Images     Composed of individual pixels of color that can be edited one by one or as a group

body text      The main concept of the newsletter

bond paper   Common paper type with good ink absorption

book paper    Durable, inexpensive, opaque paper well-suited for two-sided printing

booklet           A short informational or promotional publication; differs from a brochure in that it is bound rather than folded

brightness     The relative lightness of a picture

brochure       A short informational or promotional publication; differs froma brochure in that it is bound rather than folded

byline          A newsletter element that identifies the author of the article

 

C

cap height     The distance between the baseline and the top of capital letters

caption        An accompying description or explanation of a graphic image, illustration, or photograph

cell         The intersetion of a row and a column in a table

CMYK        Stands for cyan, yellow, magenta, and black-the colors combine to create all other colors

color tone    The overall color temperature of an image, where reds and yellows are warm and blues and greens are cool

columns     Vertically oriented blocks of text with short line lenghts; text flows from the bottom of one to the top of the next

consitency    Uniformity among design elements

contrast       Difference indegrees of lightness and darkness

copyfitting   Arranging text and design elements so that they fit in a fixed amount of space

cover paper    Heavey, durable paper that folds easily in directon of grain; also known as cardstock

crop     To trim the horizontal and vertical edges of an image

crop marks   Marks that show where a publication page will be trimmed

 

D

descenders        The part of a lowercase character that extends below the baseline

desktop publishing  Using professional software or high-end word processing software to produce professional-looking documents

directional flow   Positioning elements to draw the reader's eyes through the document

dpi      Dots per inch; unit of measuring resolution

drop cap     Created by setting the first letter of the first wordk in a paragraph in a larger font size; dropped down into the paragraph

dummy     A mockup doucment that is laid out, folded, trimmed, and/or labeled in the same way as the actual publication

duplex printing  Printing on both sides

 

E

em dash   A dash that indicates a pause in speech; as wide as the typeface’s uppercase M

em space  A space as wide as the point size of the type

embedded picture  A picture stored within a publication rather than in a file outside of the publication

en dash  A dash that indicates a continuation; as wide as the typeface’s lowercase n

end sign  A symbol or special character indicating the end of an article

 

F

fill   Color, shading, or other background added to the inside of a drawing object

flyer   Promotional document used to advertise a product or service that is available for a limited amount of time

focus   An element used to attract the reader’s attention

folio   Contains publishing information that changes from issue to issue, such as the volume number, issue number, and date

footer   Text repeated at the bottom of every page

 

G

gate fold  Paper is folded three times–all three folds face inward

gradient   An effect created by a gradual varying of color

graphic image  Pictures or clip art added to support points, stimulate ideas, and add interest

grayscale   A range of shade from black to white

grouping   Combining objects as a single unit

gutter   Additional space added to inside margins to accommodate the binding

 

H

hard page break  A page break inserted manually in an electronic document

harmony  Achieved when all elements on the page work together

header  Text repeated at the top of every page

headline  A newsletter element that organizes text and describes the content of an article

HSL   Stands for hue, saturation, and luminescence

HTML   Stands for Hypertext Markup Language, a formatting and organizational language ideal for displaying text, simple graphics, and hyperlinks on the Internet

hue   The color itself

hyperlink   Text or a graphic in a web page that will connect you to other pages or websites in different locations

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)   One of the languages used to transfer data within the World Wide Web

hyphenation zone    The amount of space that can be left between the end of the last word in a line and the right margin

 

I

Internet   Worldwide network of computers connected together to share information

Internet Service Provider (ISP)   A hosting service that places web pages on a server so they are viewable from the Internet

intranet    An “internal Internet” within an organization that uses Internet technology and tools

 

J

jump line   Text informing the reader that an article continues on another page or is being continued from another page

 

K

kerning    Decreasing or increasing the horizontal space between specific character pairs

kicker    A lead-in phrase or sentence that precedes the beginning of an article

 

L

leaders   Lines that leads the reader’s eyes across a space on the page

leading   The amount of white space between lines

legibility   The ease with which individual characters are recognized

letter fold   Fold that creates a three-panel brochure where the sides of the paper fold in toward the middle; paper is folded two times

ligatures   Letters that have been attached to create a single character

line spacing  The vertical spacing between lines; expressed in points or in a percentage of the line height

linked picture  A picture that links to a high-resolution image file stored outside of the publication

logo  An image or symbol designed to represent a company or brand

luminescence  The brightness of a color

 

M

map fold  Paper is folded three times–the first two folds face inward and the third faces outward

masthead  A newsletter element that contains the publication information

MHTML  A file format that creates a single file out of a web page that might ordinarily require support files;

also known as .mht or Single File Web Page

mirror margins  Created when the outside and inside margins of two facing pages are equal to each other,

creating a mirror image

monospaced  Same amount of character spacing for each character in a typeface

MPEG-4  An audio and video file format

 

N

nameplate  A newsletter element, also known as a banner, that first captures the reader’s eyes and immediately identifies the newsletter

newsprint paper  Inexpensive paper used for printing newspapers

nonprinting area  An area where text will not print

nudging  Using the arrow keys to move an object in small increments across the document screen

 

O

offset paper  Strong paper that resists tears when used in fast printers

orphan  A single line of text appearing by itself at the bottom of a page

outline  A list of content with headings and subheads; created in the chronological order of the presentation

overflow  Text that does not fit within a text box; it is hidden until it is flowed into a new text box or the text box is resized to accommodate it

 

P

panels  Pages in a brochure created by folds

Pantone color  A popular color matching system used by the printing industry

parallel folds  Folds that run in the same direction

PDF  A file format created by Adobe that preserves formatting to make file sharing easier

pitch  The number of characters that can be printed in 1 horizontal inch

pixel  A single unit of measurement that your monitor uses to paint images on your screen

placeholder  An area of a page that is reserved for an object, an image, or text

point size  A vertical character measurement; approximately equal to 1/72 of an inch

press release  A written or recorded communication directed to the news media for the purpose of announcing something newsworthy

proportion  Sizing elements according to their relative importance

proportional  Varying amount of space for each character in a typeface

pull quote  A short, direct phrase, statement, or important point formatted to stand out from the rest of the body copy

 

Q-R

readability  The ease with which a reader’s eyes move throughout your text

resolution  The fineness of detail in an image or text produced by a monitor or printer

reversed text  Light type on a dark background

RGB  Stands for the colors red, green, and blue

rivers  Channels of white space caused by numerous lines of text that are too widely spaced

round-trip  To convert an HTML file back to a Word document

rules of thirds  Design guideline that states that a page or image designed in thirds is more appealing to the eye

ruled lines  Horizontal or vertical lines

 

S

sans serif  Describes a typeface whose characters do not have a small stroke at the end

saturation  The intensity of a color

scanner  Device that converts a hard copy into a compatible digital file format

screening  Decreasing the intensity of a color to produce a lighter shade

self-mailer  A document that can be mailed without the use of an envelope

serif  A small stroke at the end of a character

sidebar  Information or a related story set off from the body text in a graphics box

soft page break  A page break inserted automatically in an electronic document

spot color  One color added as an accent in a black-and-white publication

spread  Set of pages facing each other

stacking  Drawing an object on top of another

story  Connected text boxes in a series

storyboard  A diagram or blueprint that defines the elements that appear on each web page and shows how pages are interrelated

subhead  A newsletter element that organizes text and expands on headlines

subtitle  Appears near the nameplate; emphasizes the purpose of the newsletter and/or identifies the intended audience

swash  An exaggerated serif

symmetrical design  Balancing similar elements equally on either side of a page

 

T

table of contents  A list of articles and features and their page numbers

tag paper  Dense, strong paper used for merchandise tags

template  A type of document that creates a copy of itself when you open it; all text and formatting is transferred to the new document

thumbnail sketch  A rough sketch used in planning a layout and design

tombstoning  Occurs when headings display side by side in adjacent columns

tracking  Equally reducing or increasing the horizontal space between all characters in a selected block of text

transparent  See-through or clear; containing no color

typeface or font  A set of characters with a common design and shape

typestyle  Variations within a typeface, including regular or normal, bold, italic, and bold italic

 

U

Uniform Resource Locator (URL)  The address used to identify locations on the Internet

 

V

vector graphics  Images made up of mathematically defined lines and curve

 

W

watermark  A lightened graphic or block of text displayed behind content on a page

web page  A computer file created in HTML and viewed with a web browser

website  A collection of web pages

white space  Background space with no text or graphics

widow  A single line of a paragraph or heading that is pushed to the top of the next page

World Wide Web  A set of standards and protocols used to access information on the Internet, often called the Web

 

X

x-height  Height of the lowercase x of a font

XML  A language format that marks and organizes content to allow it to be easily read on different computer platforms; short for Extensible Markup Language

XPS  A file format created by Microsoft that preserves formatting to make file sharing easier

 

Y-Z

Z pattern  When scanning a page, the eyes tend to move in a Z pattern—upper left corner to bottom right corner

 

 

 

 

Glossary by © Paradigm Publishing, Inc.