Print Terminology

Bleed

Extra print area beyond the trim edge (usually 3mm). Ensures no white borders appear after cutting.

CMYK

Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Key (Black). The four-colour printing process used for full-colour print production.

Crop Marks

Lines at the corners of a print document indicating where the paper should be trimmed.

DPI

Dots Per Inch. The resolution of a printed image. 300 DPI is the standard for high-quality print.

GSM

Grams per Square Metre. The measure of paper weight/thickness. Higher GSM = heavier, thicker paper.

Overprint

When one ink colour prints on top of another rather than knocking out the background colour.

Pantone

A standardised colour matching system used to ensure colour consistency across different print runs.

Perfect Binding

A binding technique where pages are glued to a flat spine — used for thicker brochures and books.

Proof

A pre-production sample showing how the final print will look — used to check colour, layout, and content.

RGB

Red, Green, Blue. A colour mode used for screens. Must be converted to CMYK before printing.

Raster

A pixel-based image (e.g. JPG, PNG). Resolution depends on DPI — must be 300 DPI+ for print.

Safe Zone

The inner area (usually 3–5mm from trim edge) where important content should remain to avoid being cut.

Saddle Stitch

A binding method where staples are placed along the spine fold of a booklet or brochure.

Trim Size

The final dimensions of a printed piece after cutting.

Vector

A scalable, resolution-independent file format (e.g. PDF, AI, EPS) — preferred for logos and artwork.