The Wells & Drew Printing Dictionary – F

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

F

fadeout halftone:
a general reduction in the overall contrast of a halftone, to allow type to be easily readable when printed over it.
Facing pages:

in a double-sided document, the two pages that appear as a spread when the publication is opened.

fake duotone:
a two-color reproduction, using single halftone negative, usually blank, and a halftone screen tint for the background, usually in color.

fanfold:
continuous multiple ply form manufactured from a single wide web which is folded longitudinally.

fast-drying ink:

an ink that dries soon after printing.

feathering:
tendency of an ink image to spread with a fuzzy, “feather like” edge.
feed rollers: o
n a printing press, the rubber wheels that move the sheets of paper from the feed pile to the grippers.
feeder:
the section of a printing press that separates the sheets and feeds them into position for printing.
feel:
refers to the feel of the papers surface. It expressing an individual’s impression of a paper’s finish and stiffness or suppleness.
feet-per-minute:
abbreviated FPM, this term refers usually to the speed of a papermaking machine in terms of how many feet per minute the forming web of paper traverses the length of the machine.
felt:
woven, endless belt made of wool, cottor or synthetic materials used to transoport the paper web on the paper machine, during manufacture. Felts act as conveyors while at the same time removing water from paper as it progresses through the paper machine.
felt side:
top side of the paper, opposite from the wire side or underneath. The “right side of the paper”.
felt finish:
surface which is achieved at the wet end of the Fourdrinier machine by using felts of a distinctive weave rather than standard or regular wove felts.Felt finishing can also be obtained after the manufacturing process by impressing the felt against the paper under pressure.
fiber: a
thread-like filament many times longer than its diameter. Smallest unit of vegetable growth which is used to maker paper pulps.
fiberboard:
a paperboard made from woodpulp and/or continaing a percentage of waste paper. End product uses include shoes and luggage.
fiber orientation:

refers to the alignment of the fibers in the sheet. The degree of alignment can be controlled in the paper making process.

fibrillae:
string-like elements that are loosened from the paper fibers during the beating process. They aid in the bonding processes when paper is being manufactured.
fibrillation:
act of loosening the fibrillae during the mechanical process of beating the fibers in preparation for papermaking.
fill:
maximum width of paper that can be made on any given paper machine.
film mechanical:
a mechanical on which type and design elements in the form of film positives are stripped into position on a sheet of base film.

filler:
minerals, such as clay and other white pigments, added to pulp to improve the printing capabilities of the paper.
filler clay:
a clay additive used to improve the printing properties of paper.
filler paper:

also referred to as notebook paper. Basic size: 17″ x 22″. Substance weight: 24 lb/ream. It is made of bleached chemical wood pulps and it is used for 3-ring notebooks, spiral bound books and other applications requiring holes punched near the edges.

film gauge:
thickness of film. The most common gauge for graphic arts film is 0.004 inch (0.1 mm).
film laminate:

thin sheet of plastic bonded to a printed product for protection or increased gloss.

final negatives:
negatives that are right reading, emulsion down.
fine merchant, fine paper distributor:
a company
which confines its sales and distribution activities to fine printing papers only.
fine papers:
at Wells & Drew,their own custom paper line is called “Fine Papers” which is laser safe, comes in a variety of shades and is 25% cotton.Within the printing industry fine papers is referred to as types of papers used for writing, printing, and cultural purposes.
finish:
the physical look and feel of the paper’s surface. These include smooth, felt, laid, linen and others.
finished art:
hand lettering, charts, color blocks, illustrations, photographs, etc., ready for camera.
finishing broke:
discarded paper resulting from any finishing operation.
finished size:
size of product after production is completed, as compared to flat size. Also called trimmed size
first color down:
the first color printed as the sheet passes through the press.
fit:
referring to the ability of film to be registered during stripping and assembly. Good fit means that all images register to other film for the same job.
fine screen:
a screen with ruling of 150 lines per inch (80 lines per centimeter) or more.
flag:
a strip of paper protruding from a roll or skid of paper. May be used to mark a splice in a roll of paper or used to mark off reams in a skid.
flash exposure:
in halftone photography, the supplementary exposure given to strengthen the dots in the shadow areas of negatives.
flat color:
printing two or more colors without overlaying color dots (i.e. without color trap); individual color matching. This differs from process color, which is a blending of four colors to produce a broad range of colors.
flat etching:
the chemical reduction of the silver deposit in a continuous-tone or halftone plate, brought about by placing it in a tray containing an etching solution.
flat:
In offset lithography, the assembled composite of negatives, usually on goldenrod paper, ready for platemaking. Also, a photograph or halftone that is lacking contrast.
flatbed press:
a press on which plates are positioned along a flat metal bed against which the paper is pressed by the impression cylinder, as compared to a rotary press which prints from curved plates.
flatbed scanner:
a device that scans images in a manner similar to a photocopy machine; the original art is positioned face down on a glass plate.
flap, wallet:
a rectangular seal flap.
flaps extended envelopes:
Envelopes with the seal flap extended (not folded down)
flexography:
letterpress printing using relief plates on direct presses. This process of printing uses rubber plates and special aniline inks.
flooding:
in reference to printing, when the ink flows onto a printing plate because the ink fountain has not been set properly.
flop:
to reverse a negative or positive, to bring the underside out on top. A negative that must be flopped has emulsion on the wrong side.
flow:
with printing ink, the extent to which it levels out when still a liquid.

fluorescent inks:
extremely brilliant inks containing fluorescent pigments.
flush Cut:
cutting the top flap off the envelope.
flush cover:
cover of a book that has been trimmed to the same dimensions as the text papers.
flyleaf:
unprinted page that is part of a printed signature. It also can be a synonym for
end-leaf.
fog:
an undesirable neutral density in the clear areas of a photographic film or paper, in which the image is either locally or entirely veiled by a deposit of silver. Fog may be due to flare, unsafe darkroom illumination, age, or processing conditions.
foil:
in foil stamping ,A tissue-like material in sheet or roll form covered on one side with a metallic coloring used for stamping.
folder:
a bindery machine dedicated to folding printed materials.
folding endurance:
a paper test which measures the number of double (back and forth) folds that can be made on a sheet of paper under tension, before it breaks.
foldout:
a page that exceeds the dimensions of a single page. It is folded to page size and included in the book, sometimes bound in and sometimes tipped in (pasted).
folio:
refers to sheet size 17×22 or larger. Also, page numbers.
foot
:the bottom of a page of printed information.
formation:
refers to the uniformity or lack of it in the distribution of the fibers when manufacturing paper; can be observed by looking through the sheet; a good formation is uniform or “Close”, while a poor formation is not.
fountain solution:
in lithography, a solution of water, a natural or synthetic gum and other chemicals used to dampen the plate and keep non-printing areas from accepting ink.
fountain:
the unit on a press that contains ink to be fed to the distributing system, and the part that feeds the fountain solution to the dampening system.
four-color process:
the four basic colors of ink (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black), which reproduce full-color photographs or art.
fourdrinier:
a paper machine developed by Louis Robert and financed by Henry and Sealy Fourdrinier that produces a continuous web of paper; also the term for the section of the paper machine which is a continuous “wire” or belt screen, through which the first removal of water occurs. The point of formation.
four-sided trim (trim 4):
after the job is printed and folded, a trim will be taken off all four sides to remove any reference or registration marks and give a clean edge to the pile of sheets.
for position only (FPO):
in digital imaging, typically a low-resolution image positioned in a document to be replaced later with a higher resolution version of the same image.
free-sheet
: paper made with pulp created in a kraft process that has removed the lignin. Freesheet paper has more longevity than groundwood which contains lignin.(Newspaper is made with groundwood)
fold marks:
short line printed on a business form indicating where it may be folded.
foldout:
gate-fold sheet bound into a publication, often used for a map or chart. Also called gate-fold and pullout.
folio:
a ream or sheet in its full size, e.g. 17″ x 22″, 25″ x 38″. When used in connection with books, means the sheet has been folded once, producing four pages.
font:
assortment of type characters of a particular size and style.
format:
size, style, shape, layout or organization of a layout or printed product.
form bond:

lightweight bond, easy to perforate, made for business forms. Also called register bond.

form roller:
roller(s) that come in contact with the printing plate, bringing it ink or water.

forwarding:
in the case book arena, the binding process which involves folding, rounding, backing, headbanding and reinforcing.
free-sheet:
the word “free” in this context means free from mechanical pulp.
full gum adhesive:
continuous layer of adhesive applied on the seal flap
full-scale black:

black separation made to have dots throughout the entire tonal range of the image, as compared to half-scale black and skeleton black. Also called full-range black.

full-range halftone:
halftone ranging from 0 percent coverage in its highlights to 100 percent coverage in its shadows.
furnish:

the mixture of fiber and other materials that is blended in the water suspension, or slurry, from which paper or board is made; usually about 1% solid material with 99% or the balance being water.

fuzz (fluff):
loose fibers projecting from a paper’s surface.
french fold:
a sheet printed on one side and folded first vertically and then horizontally to produce a four-page folder.
FSC – Forest Stewardship Council:
an independent, international, environmentally and socially oriented forest certification organization. It trains, accredits and monitors third-party certifiers around the world and works to establish international forest management standards. Printers can become FSC certified if they pass a standard of test to determine if they are environmentally friendly.

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