We take great pride in making our clients feel comfortable and confident about their printing jobs during the production process. To help you gain a better understanding of what's happening to your project, we've compiled a glossary of common printing terms.

Digital File Handling Terms • Print Terms • Mail Terms

Digital File Handling Terms

Digital File Handling

• Our graphics team specialize in preparing your files for high-quality print production. This includes possibly readjusting the file to ensure it meets our minimums for print.

Digital Proof

• Prior to printing, we require your approval on a digital proof. This ensures that you have reviewed and confirmed the accuracy of your design, including elements, colors, and dimensions. 

Margin

• The blank space surrounding content or images. It serves two purposes: aesthetic appeal and functional value. When designing for print, it is essential to ensure that important content or images do not extend beyond the margin line, as anything outside of this area could potentially be cut off during the trimming process. We require a minimum of .125 inch margin on all sides of your file for print.

Bleed Line

• Process of extending images or colors beyond the intended printing area. This extra margin ensures that there are no white borders or gaps when the final material is trimmed. We require a minimum of .125 inch bleed on all sides of your file for print.

Trim Line

• The final dimension of a printed material after it has been cut. To avoid any important information getting cut off during trimming, it is crucial that all content within the trim line fits comfortably within the margin. The margin acts as a safe area where non-bleeding information should be placed to ensure it remains fully visible in the final printed piece. 

Vector

• Vector graphics are created mathematically, are infinitely scalable and perfect for logos and icons. Vector graphics are ideal for print because they can be resized as desired without losing quality.

Raster

• Raster images are pixel-based and best for detailed photos, but may lose quality when scaled. Photographs will always be raster images, and should have a DPI (dots per square inch) of 300 for optimal quality when printing.

Pantone Color

• The Pantone Color Matching System (PMS) is a widely used standard in the printing and design industries. With a vast directory of colors, each Pantone shade is assigned a unique code for easy reference. This system allows for precise communication and accurate color reproduction across different devices and materials. 

Process Color

• Also known as CMYK, is a printing technique that uses four ink colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. By layering varying intensities of these inks, a wide spectrum of colors can be achieved for full-color printing. This method is commonly used in offset and digital printing to reproduce vibrant and realistic images.

File Types

• We accept .pdf .eps .idd. .ai files. These are files that have the ability to contain a lot of information ensuring your quality stays high and consistent.
• Caution: We can accept .png or .jpeg files however these are raster files meaning they cannot be scaled or edited and quality may be low.

Fonts

• Fonts are the style and design of characters used in text. When requesting a redesign or file manipulation, customers should provide the font-family used. This ensures consistency and accuracy, avoiding unintended alterations or font replacements that may affect the desired outcome of the design.

Print Terms

Digital Print

• Digital printers offer precise and high-speed printing capabilities, enabling efficient on-demand printing with customization options. Digital printing enables customization and personalization by easily incorporating variable data, such as individual names or addresses, into each printed piece. This is especially useful for direct marketing campaigns or personalized promotional materials and eliminates the need for time-consuming setup processes.

Press Print

• Also known as offset printing, press printing is a traditional printing method widely used for high-quality, large-scale print projects. The process involves transferring ink from metal plates to a rubber blanket, which is then pressed onto the printing surface. This technique allows for exceptional color accuracy, quality, and consistency.

Saddle Stitch

• A popular binding method used in printing. It involves securing folded pages by stitching them together through the fold line with wire or staples. This technique creates a sturdy and professional-looking booklet or magazine that lays flat when opened.

Perfect Bind

•  A widely used method for binding printed materials, such as books, magazines, or catalogs. It involves gluing the pages together along the spine, creating a clean and professional-looking square spine. The cover is typically made of a thicker, more durable material, providing added protection and a polished appearance.

4/0 or 4/4

• These terms refer to the number of colors on each side of a printed product. 4/0 signifies a one-sided print with full color, while 4/4 represents a two-sided print with full color on both sides. 

Mail Terms

Bulk Mail

• At Minuteman, we provide bulk mailing options that offer efficiency and cost savings. By sending a significant volume of mail at once, businesses and organizations can benefit from reduced postage costs, making it an economical choice for large-scale mailings.

First-Class Mail

• Designed for both personal and business correspondence, First Class Mail is a reliable and efficient postal service. It offers a swift delivery option for letters, postcards, and lightweight packages within the United States.

Marketing (Standard) Mail

• Marketing Mail, also known as Standard Mail, serves as a powerful tool for businesses to engage their target audience through promotional materials. It enables companies to distribute cost-effective advertising materials.

Nonprofit Mail

• Nonprofit Mail is a specialized postal service exclusively available to registered nonprofit organizations at an additional discounted rate. Nonprofit Mail provides nonprofit organizations with a cost-saving solution for reaching their intended recipients and fostering connections with their supporters.

Mail Panel

• Permit Indicia: A permit indicia is the printed box in the upper right corner of the mail piece that identifies the permit account that postage should be charged to.
• Return Address: A return address is the sender's contact information included on a mail piece. It ensures that undeliverable or misaddressed mail can be returned. It also facilitates communication between the sender and recipient and can include a logo or branding.

Types of Mail-pieces

EDDM (Every Door Direct Mail)

• A targeted direct mail service provided by the United States Postal Service (USPS). It allows businesses to reach specific geographic areas without the need for individual addresses. With EDDM, you can select specific neighborhoods, routes, or ZIP codes to distribute your marketing materials, surveys, newsletters, ect.

Dynamic Direct Mail

• A seamlessly integrated system that maximizes marketing impact through mult-channel marketing. Instead of just sending out a direct mailing, Dynamic Direct Mail® consists of Direct Mail, Mail Tracking, Online Follow-up Ads, Call Tracking and much more.

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