Glossary of Printing Terms:O

Object

An element that consists of both data and procedures that can be treated as a unit.

Object-Oriented Files

Files that use a combination of data structure and functions to create a reusable file.

Various software packages can be used to manipulate these objects to create special effects

Object-Oriented Software

Software built using libraries of reusable, extendible and configurable code objects rather than using procedural or algorithmic coding.

Oblique

Term used for typefaces that slope forwards.

Such fonts usually serve as a substitute for a non-existent italic version of the typeface in question.

Oblique Type

Type that slants to the right. Used to bring attention to the message.

OCR

Optical Character Recognition

The system that permits an optical scanner to translate printed text into a form that can be read by the computer.

The file can then be edited using a word processor.

There are two specially designed typefaces used for OCR applications; OCR-A and OCR-B.

OCR Paper

Paper that has been manufactured to meet the requirements of the optical character requisition equipment utilized to read and record the characters printed on the paper.

Properties of this stock generally include a higher level of brightness for contrast with printed characters, dimensional stability and resistance to curl.

It requires stronger fiber bonding to resist picking or surface deterioration from ink.

It contains low levels of surface particles and has a high level of resistance to moisture penetration.

OCR Read Area

The area or section of an envelope or card where the delivery address must be located for automated processing.

Nondelivery address printing in this area must be kept above the delivery address line.

Octal

Refers to the base-8 number system.

It uses only 8 unique symbols, which are: 0,1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Octavo

Refers to the size of a Book; the most common book size since the early 17th century, an octavo book averages about 6” x 9”.

The term originally referred to the number of folds (8) in a standard book-printing sheet, but it now commonly refers to size.

Also see 8vo

OD

Outside diameter.

ODA

Open Document Architecture

An interchange standard for multi-media documents so that they can be exchanged between conforming computer systems and preserve the original layout of the document.

The documents can also be edited and reformatted.

ODBC

Open Database Connectivity

A standard method of accessing a database that makes it possible to access data from any application, regardless of what type of database system is handling the data.

Odd Sizes

Paper sizes, rolls and sheets, that are not a standard size offered by paper manufacturers and distributed by paper merchants.

As an example, a 17” x 22” sheet is a standard base stock size stocked by paper merchants. It would produce 4 sheets of a standard 8 1/2” x 11” cut sheet size.

If a non-standard cut sheet size of 8 1/4” x 10 was required, a non-standard base stock size of 16 1/2” x 20” would be needed to produce 4 sheets. Both the 8 1/4” x 10 cut sheet and the 16 1/2” x 20” base stock size are odd size sheets.

If an odd size sheet or roll is required, it may be more economical to use a larger standard size and dispose of the waste than to special order the odd size.

ODL

Open Document Language

Clear text encoding, that is SGML based, used to represent and process documents developed in accordance with ODA

ODMA

Open Document Management API

An association formed to provide a common API that would help document management applications integrate with common desktop applications.

ODT

Optical Deterrent Technology

A technology using a patented security screen that discourages attempts to duplicate secure documents on copiers or scanners.

Like a void pantograph when photocopied, the word “VOID” appears.

Differing from the void pantograph in that ODT works effectively when copied by most any black and white copier, color copier or scanner.

It does not have to be used with a pantograph background, which allows for a cleaner looking document and better legibility on documents that are text intensive.

OE

Outer Envelope

The mailing envelope that will hold all the mail pieces of a package.

OEB

Open E-Book

A group that aims to promote electronic books (e-books) by defining a standard for their format.

Under the name Open E-Book Publication Structure, the group of manufacturers known as the Open E-Book Authoring Group published the first standard of this kind in September 1999.

It is designed to allow publishers to release their publications in a format that can be displayed by all e-book readers.

The HTML and XML formatting languages are the technical basis for this specification.

Off Mode

A setting on a digital camera that allows the flash to be deactivated while the shutter is opened for a longer exposure allowing more natural light to enter.

Off-Machine Coating

Coating paper on a coater that is not part of the paper machine.

The coating may be done in the same facility or sent to a separate location to be coated.

Off-Press Proof

A color proof that represents the finished product but has not been printed on the press.

Off-The-Film Metering

A meter which determines exposure by reading light reflected from the film during picture-taking.

Offline
  1. When accessing data on a computer, the data being accessed is not directly connected to the computer.

  2. When printing on a press, there are some special features that cannot be done on the press. Features of this type will have to be accomplished by a separate operation, offline from the press.

Some offline features could include perfing, punching, folding, affixing, or adding computerized data.

Offprint

An excerpt of a larger publication that has been printed and bound separately for promotional purposes.

For example, publishers will print and bound a chapter of a book to send to booksellers or for the author to give away before the entire book is published.

Scholarly excerpts are another example; a portion of a large journal piece printed for a professor to distribute.

Offprints are highly sought after by collectors because, technically, they can be considered a first separate edition of the work and will often have a presentation inscription.

Offset

The light image of transferred ink or an imprint that comes from an adjoining text page or illustration, or an inserted paper.

This transference is not done on purpose and can be caused by humidity, acid from the inserted paper, or wet ink when a book was bound.

Offset Duplicator

A small offset lithographic sheet fed press.

Offset Gravure Conversion

A process using screened offset films as originals for the production of gravure printing forms.

The particular advantage of this method is that proofs can be made using offset films rather than employing a high-outlay preparation process on a gravure printing press.

This is possible because the tonal value reproduction of the offset originals corresponds with that of the gravure product.

Offset Lithography

A lithographic printing process based on the different wetting characteristics of the printing and non-printing areas of the printing form.

When printing, the lipophile or “oil-friendly” image areas absorb the oil-like printing ink and the blank hydrophile areas repel it.

Offset printing works is an indirect printing procedure in that the printing form transfers the printing image onto a blanket cylinder, which in turn prints the paper or other material.

There is a distinction between sheetfed offset and web (or rotary) offset printing. The former prints on paper sheets and the latter on a paper web.

Also referred to as Offset Printing

Offset Paper

Paper that has been manufactured with properties that make the paper suitable for offset printing.

Some of the properties include dimensional stability, resistance to curling, high surface strength a surface free from foreign particles and a high level of resistance to moisture penetration.

Offset Printing

A lithographic printing process based on the different wetting characteristics of the printing and non-printing areas of the printing form.

When printing, the lipophile or “oil-friendly” image areas absorb the oil-like printing ink and the blank hydrophile areas repel it.

Offset printing works is an indirect printing procedure in that the printing form transfers the printing image onto a blanket cylinder, which in turn prints the paper or other material.

There is a distinction between sheetfed offset and web (or rotary) offset printing. The former prints on paper sheets and the latter on a paper web.

Also referred to as offset lithography.

Offsetting

The transfer of ink from one side of the printed sheet to the back side of the sheet on top of it due to the ink not properly drying before the sheets come in contact with each other.

Technically referred to as set off.

Ogilvy, David (1911-1999)

British entrepreneur who was known in his later years as the “Great Old Man” of advertising, and was often referred to as one of the geniuses of the industry.

His book “Confessions of an Advertising Man” (1963) is an industry classic and was called the “Advertiser’s Bible.” In 1938, Ogilvy came to the U.S., founding ten years later the Hewitt, Ogilvy, Benson & Mather (HOB&M) advertising agency in New York.

The company, now called Ogilvy & Mather, is presently represented in over 70 countries.

OLE

Object Linking and Embedding

A protocol and Application Programming Interface (API) that allows you to create an object in one program and then link or embed it in another program.

It allows programs talk to each other.

OMR

Optical Mark Recognition

A method of recognizing handwritten marks, which are read by specialized scanning equipment, and then converting them into a value that can be interpreted and translated into readable instructions.

This allows for automating the processing of the information. Generally the forms have a timing mark or sensing mark printed on them that indicates to the scanner that a handwritten entry has been made in that location.

Scoring results from student tests, pomotional check-offs and election ballots are a few of the standard types of documents using OMR. OMR is also used by some inserting equipment to insure that the correct pieces of a mailiing are inserted into each mailing package.

Each individual piece has a printed mark which is read by the inserting equipment, telling it which pieces mail together.

On Demand

The process of providing digital or printed data such as documents and materials in smaller quantities, instead of being ordered and then processed in batches that involve longer processing and the storage of larger amounts of materials.

On Demand printing most often involves the use of digital presses as output devices to run higher quality reproductions in shorter runs or limited quantities.

On-Machine Coating

Coating of the paper while it is on the paper machine.

One Time Carbon

A lightweight paper that has a carbon coating that is suitable for transfering an image only one time in a given area, opposed to a pencil carbon that will repeatedly transfer an image.

One-Bit Color

The number of colors per pixel that a particular graphics file can store. Each pixel is represented by one bit, which is either black or white.

One-Directional Fold

A fold in which the untrimmed sheet is only creased once.

One-to-One Marketing

A term for market research, advertising and sales which are directed at individual customers and take account of their individual wishes and preferences./r/n/r/nInternet technology, which allows direct interaction with consumers, has made one-to-one marketing possible in markets with large numbers of customers who in the past could only be contacted through mass communication./r/n/r/nOnline dealers can use software which automatically evaluates the behavior of visitors to their web site, and then respond with targeted individual offers.

One-Up

Only having one image of a complete item on a layout, negative or plate.

Onionskin

A lightweight paper sometimes used for carbon copies. Weights range from 7 lb. to 11 lb. Onionskin generally contains 25% to 100% cotton fibers.

Onionskin Paper

A glazed, wood-free, show-through paper with a grammage of 30 to 39 gsm./r/n/r/nWhite or colored stocks with grammages of 25.30 or 40 gsm are erroneously termed onionskin.

Online
  1. When accessing data on a computer, the data being accessed is directly connected to your computer whether it be on the hard drive, a network server or the internet.

  2. When printing on a press, there are times when special features need to be added to the product, which can be accomplished on the press. Since the feature does not have to be done by a separate operation, the feature is being accomplished online.

Online features could include perfing, punching, folding, affixing, or adding computerized data.

Online Processing

When a computer request from the user is processed immediately.

Online Viewing

When a report is stored so that it can be viewed by the user on the terminal they are logged into.

Ooze

When the adhesive on a pressure sensitive labels comes out the edges around the label, the sides of a roll of labels or the sides of a stack of sheet labels.

OP

Out of Print

A publication that is no longer available through the publisher.

Opacimeter

A device used to determine the opacity of the paper or the level of “show through”.

Opacity

The degree of a paper’s resistance to light.

Paper printed on both sides must have optimum opacity, a property enhanced by a higher wood content as well as fillers such as kaolin, talcum and titanium dioxide.

Opaque
  1. The property of paper that prevents “show through” of printing from the opposite side.

  2. A water soluble paint used to block out areas on the negative film that you do not want light to pass through and expose the plate.

Opaque Adhesive

Adhesive used for blockout purposes. It is used to prevent show through when a label is used to cover up errors.

The adhesive is generally permanent.

Opaque Ink

Ink that does not allow the paper or other ink lying below it to show through.

Open E-Book

OEB

A group that aims to promote electronic books (e-books) by defining a standard for their format.

Under the name Open E-Book Publication Structure, the group of manufacturers known as the Open E-Book Authoring Group published the first standard of this kind in September 1999.

It is designed to allow publishers to release their publications in a format that can be displayed by all e-book readers.

The HTML and XML formatting languages are the technical basis for this specification.

Open End Envelope

An envelope with an opening along its short dimension.

Open Side Envelope

An envelope with an opening along its longest dimension.

Open Source

Describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product’s source materials – typically, their source code allowing users to create user-generated software content.

Some consider it as a philosophy, and others consider it as a pragmatic methodology.

Before open source became widely adopted, developers and producers used a variety of phrases to describe the concept; the term open source gained popularity with the rise of the Internet and its enabling of diverse production models, communication paths, and interactive communities.

Subsequently, open source software became the most prominent face of open source practices.

The open source model can allow for the concurrent use of different agendas and approaches in production, in contrast with more centralized models of development such as those typically used in commercial software companies.

“Open source” as applied to culture defines a culture in which fixations are made generally available.

Participants in such a culture are able to modify those products and redistribute them back into the community.

Open-Source Software

Open-source software is an antonym for closed source source and refers to any computer software whose source code is available under a copyright license that permits users to study, change, and improve the software, and to redistribute it in modified or unmodified form.

Software available free of charge as an alternative to conventional commercial models.

Open source software can be used and disseminated at will, and the source code is open and can be changed as required.

The only condition is that the user make such changes known and pass this information on to others.

Open source software is the shared intellectual property of all developers and users and, thanks to the collaboration, achieves a higher level of quality than software produced using conventional means.

The best known example of open source software is the Linux operating system.

Opera

A cross-platform web browser and Internet suite which handles common internet-related tasks, including visiting web sites, sending and receiving e-mail messages, managing contacts, online chat and Widgets .

It runs on a variety of operating systems, including many versions of Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, FreeBSD and Solaris systems.

It is also used in mobile phones, smartphones, Personal Digital Assistants, game consoles and interactive televisions.

Opera’s lightweight mobile web browser Opera Mini and most current versions of its desktop application are offered free of charge.

It is proprietary software and closed source.

http://www.opera.com/

Operating Software

Software for the organization of data input and output, the administration and use of storage space, and the operation of application software./r/n/r/nIt forms the basis of additional programs and creates an interface between software and the computer.

Operating System

Software that is normally supplied by the computer vendor that consists of a set of very complex programs that control the monitor and executes programs

OPI

Open Prepress Interface

An extension of the PostScript page-description language that lets you design pages with low-resolution placeholder images and replace the images with high-resolution images when creating separations.

OPP

Oriented Polypropylene

A high strength label which works well in roll-fed labeling equipment.

It is environmentally friendly.

OPP runs well over a wide range of temperatures and has good clarity, good printability and is moisture resistant.

Its shrink capabilities are substantially lower than PVC and PETG.

Optical Centering

The positioning of an object slightly above center so that it will appear centered in relation to top and bottom.

Optical Character Reader

An optical scanner that reads printed letters on a page and translates them into a form that the computer can understand.

Optical Gain

When halftone dots appear larger than their actual size due to printing on paper that has a rough surface. This will affect the quality of the printed image.

Optical Margin Alignment

Type set so that the first line aligns with the left margin, then succeeding lines are indented a fixed distance from the left margin, also referred to as a hanging indent.

Optical Resolution

The resolution that is determined by the true or actual number of pixels a digital camera can capture both horizontally and vertically, without being interpolated, such as 1280 × 960

Optical Scanner

A device that can “read” an image and translate it to digital form so that it can be understood by a computer.

Optical Viewfinder

A “through the lens” traditional means of viewing the subject matter to be photographed.

Optically Variable Ink

The color of optically variable ink changes when viewed from different angles.

Orientation

The direction in which text is on a page with respect to the long and short sides of the page.

Choices are printing portrait, where text is running parallel to the short side of the page, or landscape, where text is running parallel to the long side of the page.

Origin

A starting position from which placement and orientation of text, images, and page segments are specified.

The origin across a page would be relative to the zero position on the horizontal ruler, and the origin down a page would be relative to the zero position on the vertical ruler.

Original

The material that is reproduce to be used in the printing process. Generally a photograph, artwork, product sample or artist’’s drawing.

Orphan

The first line of a paragraph that ends up as the last line of a column or the last line of a paragraph that ends up as the first line of a column.

Ortho

Orthochromatic

Denotes film sensitive to blue and green light.

Orthochromatic

Ortho

Denotes film sensitive to blue and green light.

Orthocromatic Film

Film that is not sensitive to red light but is sensitive to ultraviolet, blue, green and yellow light.

OS

Operating system

  1. Software that is normally supplied by the computer vendor that consists of a set of very complex programs that control the monitor and executes programs.

It can handle tasks such as scheduling and loading programs, and producing the computer log.

It can also control multi-programming and handle routing and scheduling of terminal communications.

  1. The computer program that controls the electronic functions within a digital camera.
OS/2

IBM’’s operating system.

OSI

Open Systems Interconnection

International standards used for data communications networks.

OSI Reference Model

The architecture, consisting of seven layers, designed by ISO for open data communications networks.

OSS

Operating System Software.

Out of Register

When an image is not printing in the exact location that it is suppose to. When printing more than one color, if the colors do not line up properly, they are out of register

Out-of-Series

Unnumbered editions from a numbered limited edition series.

They are considered “extra copies” of the edition, are usually not signed, and are not considered part of the limited edition series.

Outline Font
  1. A typeface that has characters that are defined by an outline of the edges rather than a solid character.

  2. A font used by the printer in which each character is geometrically described, differing from bitmapped fonts that are viewed on a monitor and stored as patterns of dots.

Outline fonts are scalable and can be output at any size.

Outline Halftone

A halftone where the background has been removed from around the main subject.

Output

Sending information from a computer to a printing device to produce a printed page, to a monitor to be display an image or a speaker to produce sound.

Output Device

Any device that can output information from a computer, generally a printer of some type but could also be a device such as a display screen, and speakers.

Output Frequency

Measurement that indicates how many pixels were digitized per unit of length and corresponds to the resolution of the image data./r/n/r/nFor multi-color offset printing with a resolution of 60 dots per centimeter (equivalent to 150 dots per inch), the output frequency should be in the range of 300 dots per inch so that four pixels (two in each direction) are provided for the rendition of the dot./r/n/r/nIn black and white images, the output frequencies are up to 2400 dots per inch, as all details must be produced./r/n/r/nDepending on the necessary scale-ups and scale-downs of the original to be reproduced, the necessary resolutions in the scanner are substantially higher or lower.

Output Resolution

The resolution of the output device in terms of dpi on a printer and ppi on a computer monitor.

Depending on the type of device, the resolution can vary from 300 dpi to 3300’’s dpi on a printer and are 72 or 96 ppi on a computer monitor.

Over-Laminating

A process, generally done in-line, where a clear film is applied to the printed product for protection purposes or to enhance the quality of the graphics

Overexposure
  1. An image sensor which receives too much light and provides an image that is very light in appearance.

  2. A condition in which too much light reaches the film, producing a dense negative or a very light print or slide.

Overlap

When a label is wrapped around a container and the tail end of the label overlaps and adheres to the lead edge.

Overlay

A transparent sheet used on multi-color artwork to show the separations of the different colors.

Overlay Proof

A proof that uses overlays to show the different colors of the artwork being proofed.

Overprint Coating

A coating that is added to provide protection to the printing and surface of the product. It protects against sunlight, chemicals, moisture and abrasion.

A coating that is added to provide protection to the printing and surface of the product. It protects against sunlight, chemicals, moisture and abrasion.

Overprint Coating

A coating that is added to provide protection to the printing and surface of the product. It protects against sunlight, chemicals, moisture and abrasion.

Overprinting

Printing an image over an area that has already been printed.

Printing over a previously printed impression, such as printing type over a halftone screen image.

In printing color process colors, one process color is printed over another creating a secondary color, which is a combination of two primary colors.

Overruns

The quantity of items produced over the quantity that was originally ordered.

Also referred to as any paper spoiled in the process of printing.

Overs

Overruns

The quantity of items produced over the quantity that was originally ordered.

Also referred to as any paper spoiled in the process of printing.

Overset

Copy or text that cannot be set to fit within a specific sized area.

Oversize

Paper that is manufactured a little larger than desire to allow for trimming.

Ozalid Copy

Paper used as proofs for checking the completeness, position and content of printing copy./r/n/r/nThe basis for this was the diazotype process patented in 1917 by the Benedictine father Gustav Kögel.

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