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The Heidelberg website glossary explains, in alphabetical order, a multitude of terms relevant to printing, as well as some terms used in Heidelberg's product catalogue.
Simply click on the letter of your choice to access the information you need.
- Cache
- A particularly fast memory architecture (RAM) and administration for rapid access to data on mass storage units (hard disks); data is temporarily stored in case of accidental loss and thus a cache is something like a “hidden memory” or a folder for temporary files.
- CAD
- Acronym for 1) "computer aided design"; 2) "computer aided drafting".
- Calendering
- Process of smoothing the surface of the paper between the rollers (or calendars).
- Calibration
- The task of coordinating devices to ensure correct operation. At the prepress stage, input and output devices. Monitors, scanners, imagesetters, etc. are generally calibrated to test how colors are depicted.
- Calligraphy
- From the Greek kalos (beautiful) and grafein (writing): the art of handwriting.
- Cameron Book Production System
- A system designed by Prosystem Inc. (Somerset, New Jersey) for complete book production in a single run from the paper reel to the bound book. The system (now no longer in production) uses letterpress printing.
- Capstan imagesetter
- Imagesetters that operate using a capstan roller, which moves the film material for imaging. The film material is stored on a roll. A laser beam is used for imaging, and its movement is set in line with the film transport so that the imaging process takes place line by line. The use of roll material means that the length of the output film format is theoretically unlimited. This is an important feature of this type of imagesetter.
- Carbon paper
- Paper with a coat of carbonic ink one side, allowing print or ink applied to the original to be transferred to the paper underneath.
- Cartography
- The science of producing maps. The special problems of cartography include the correct determination of ground elevations (topography) and the most realistic possible rendering of the curved surface of the earth on plane map material.
- Cartridge
- Storage unit for materials (ink ribbon cartridges) or for software (font cartridges for laser printers); a storage module that can be removed and transported.
- Cast-coated
- Paper or board with a particularly high gloss. This is obtained not by calendering, but by rolling the moist or specially moistened printing material with a chrome-plated drying cylinder polished to high gloss. Cast-coated papers have a shiny mirrored surface.
- CCD elements
- The three rows that typically comprise the CCD line of a scanner with different color filters (red, green and blue). There are three CCD elements for every pixel, each with a red, green and blue color filter in front. The optical resolution of the scanner is determined by the number of juxtaposed CCD elements in the sensor row, though the width of the original also plays an important role.
- CeBIT (Centrum für Büro und Informations-Technik)
- The Center for Office and Information Technology, which hosts the largest trade fair for the information and telecommunications industry in the world every spring in Hannover.
- Cellophane
- Hygroscopic film once commonly used and since replaced by plastic films.
- Cellophane coating
- Refers to film lamination of all kinds, not just those performed with cellophane-based films.
- Cellulose
- In chemical terms, a chain molecule consisting of glucose elements (polysaccharides). As the most important constituent of paper, cellulose provides strength, either in the form of wood or plant fibers, or in the form of chemical pulp, which consists of pure cellulose fibers. Cellulose is used not only in paper production, but also as a base material for plastics and fibers.
- Cellulose wrapping paper
- A stock consisting of at least 65 percent primary pulp (sulfite and groundwood pulp) and a maximum of 30 percent wastepaper.
- Character set
- Refers to the range of letters, numbers and other characters that a font contains or that an input or output device can process.
- Characteristic curve
- See "printing characteristics".
- China grass
- A fibrous material obtained from the subtropic nettle plant called ramie. Its high purity and strength make it ideal in the production of banknote paper.
- Choking
- See "trapping".
- Chromo board
- Board coated on one side with approximately 18 grams per square meter, basic product is chromo imitation board.
- Chromo duplex board
- Board coated on one side with approximately 12 grams per square meter; basic product is duplex board.
- Chromo imitation board
- Folding box carton with a smooth coating on one side and with a light intermediate ply of wood pulp and a wood-free ply on one or both sides.
- Chromo paper
- Includes woodpulp or woodfree stocks coated on one side. The coating is always waterproof and is designed for maximum embossing, varnishing, and bronzing performance in offset environments. Chromo paper is used mainly to make labels, wrappings, and cover paper.
- Chromolux board
- A brand name for a high-gloss, cast-coated board that is white on one side.
- CIE (Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage)
- An international organization that has developed and defined a number of generally used color definitions. The best known of these is the CIE Lab color space, which was defined in 1976.
- CIELab color space
- The CEILab color space was defined by the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) in 1976 and represents a three-dimensional, rectangular coordinate system. The vertical coordinate L specifies the lightness of a color, the 2 horizontal coordinates a and b represent the hue and the saturation on red/green and blue/yellow axes respectively. The CIELab color space is also ideal for representing color differences, since geometric distances in the color space more or less approximate the intuitive color differences.
- CIP3
- International Cooperation for Integration in Prepress, Press and Postpress is a manufacturers' association established in 1995 to promote the non-proprietary digital integration of the printing process, from prepress to postpress. Its most important achievement has been the definition of the Print Production Format, a data format for recording all information relevant for the print process. In 1999, CIP3 was incorporated into CIP4, which deals with a broader range of subjects.
- CIP4
- Created in 2000 from the manufacturers' association CIP3 and with headquarters in Zurich, the International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress seeks to provide the basis for the computer-based integration of the entire process involved in the production of print products, from preliminary costing and quotations to delivery and billing. One of the first results has been the establishment of the Job Definition Format (JDF) as a common standard. This was achieved in conjunction with Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG, Adobe Systems, MAN Roland, Agfa and the Fraunhofer Institut für grafische Datenverarbeitung (IGD).
- Clean proof
- A proof page without any misprints.
- Cleartype
- A further development of the principles used to create font software TrueType and Adobe Type 1 with the goal of generating the clearest possible typeface on computer screens. This is primarily achieved by "anti-aliasing" to smoothed lines and edges that have a staircase-like appearance due to pixels. Developed by Microsoft, Cleartype is specifically intended to improve the legibility of smaller fonts on color LCDs, such as those used or envisaged for laptop computers and electronic books.
- Client/server
- A network relationship in which one computer program (the client) requests information from another computer program (the server), and the server fulfills the request. Client/server architecture is the design model for applications that run on a network, and can be used for data banks as well as the sending and receiving of e-mails. Requirements include the proper hardware and a common protocol.
- Clipping path
- Silhouette in the image file which serves as a mask. In layout programs it allows cut-outs to be placed over a background.
- CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black)
- The color model usually employed in printing technology which uses the basic colors cyan, magenta and yellow. Black is used to ensure a visually satisfying black tone.
Glossary in PDF-Format (Acrobat Reader)
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