Artwork that is already separated by color into one hundred percent black images on transparent background. Camera ready art can be used directly to create the screens used in printing.
Choke
The practice of making one layer slightly smaller than a layer applied later in the printing process. For instance, a white base would be made slightly smaller than the overlying red color to ensure that the base was not visible.
Color separation
The process of separating colors in an image into different film layers. Each layer is printed separately, one on top of the other, to yield a multicolor image.
DPI (dots per inch)
A measurement of how many dots fit into a square inch. The greater the amount of dots, the higher the image resolution.
Halftone
Color and white dots that vary in pattern to simulate shades of the color. For example, a halftone of red would appear pink.
Line art
Black and white artwork that does not contain any halftone elements.
Outlining fonts
Preparing fonts in an image file so that the characters will display correctly on another computer even if that computer does not have the relevant font installed. Font information is generated by data contained in a font file (ttf or otf, for example). When the fonts are outlined, the font information is stored in the art file so that reference to a font file is unnecessary.
Pantone color
An industry standard method for designating and matching colors.
Reverse
Type appearing in white or other light color on a black or dark background. This is sometimes called a “knockout” if the type is the color of the underlying material.
Trap
A very slight overlap between abutting colors in order to eliminate a gap between the colors.