Artworker/mac operator

A person with skills in design programs who doesn’t necessarily make design decisions. Artworkers usually work in production, where the design has been made already and just needs to be updated or made across other templates or sizes (eg. different advertising sizes).

Body copy

The text in a document.

CMYK colour

CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key, or Black) refers to the subtractive colour model used for printing. The inks are layered on top of a background, usually white, and subtract brightness from it. White is the absence of any ink, whereas black is achieved through the layering of all 3 colours. The key colour is sometimes referred to as black. The key colour is used in offset printing to align the 3 separated plates of colour together during printing.

Hexadecimal (Hex) colour

Refers to the code for RGB colours used in web coding. It is made up of 6 values (eg #000000); the first two numbers refer to Red, second two to Blue, and last two to Green. The values range from 0-9 then A-F, with 0 representing no amount, and F representing the full amount. For example, pure screen Red would be written as #FF0000, containing the full amount of Red, but no Blue or Green.

Native file format

Files with the extension/format of the original program that created them, eg. PSD files (Photoshop), AI files (Illustrator), INDD files (Indesign). Native files can only be opened in the program that created them.

Non-native files, such as PDF, JPG or EPS can be opened in a variety of programs, therefore a person doesn’t necessarily need to have the program they were created in to be able to use them. However, editing may be restricted (for example Photoshop files have layers and editable text, whereas saving as a JPG will flatten everything into one image who’s elements cannot be edited). It is best practice to always save the original native files as backup.

Offset printing

Offset printing is a high-quality printing method where inks are separated into different metal plates, then eventually transferred (‘offset’) onto paper using large presses. It uses cyan, magenta and yellow inks, as well as black. Offset printing can also use spot colours, such as Pantone. Offset printing is used for high-volume print runs because, after the initial setup, is more cost effective per print than digital printing (which uses laser or inkjet printing straight from the digital files and is better for small print runs).

Print ready files

Files that have been prepared for offset printing.

Resolution

In digital photograph files, refers to the dots per inch (dpi) or pixels in an image. High resolution files are 300dpi whereas computer screens usually display at 72dpi (and are considered low resolution).

To get the resolution of an image in inches, divide its pixel width or height by 300 (high resolution), or by 72 (low resolution). Convert this value to cm if needed.

RGB colours

RGB (Red, Green and Blue) refers to the additive colour model for screens (and electronic devices). RGB stands for Red, Green and Blue, which are the three primary colours that are added together in various intensities to make a variety of colours seen on screen. When they are all added together they make white, and when all three have a zero value, they make black.

Spot colours

Inks that have been pre-mixed to a specific colour for extremely accurate colour reproduction in offset printing. Most commonly used spot colours are those of Pantone and can be coated (ink sits on top of the paper) or uncoated (the ink absorbs into the paper), as well as other varieties. Because different printers and paper can produce slight variances in colour intensity and hue, spot colours are used to accurately reproduce specific colours (eg. a company logo colour).

Vector

Artwork created in such programs as Illustrator, which consists of shapes rather than pixels. Vector files such as EPS can be scaled to any size without losing quality, whereas image files like JPG or TIF will become pixellated if scaled larger than their original size. That is why logo files should be made and saved as EPS, to allow greater flexibility with printing at various sizes.

Wireframes

In web design, the mocking up of a website’s layout using plain outlines or wireframes, in order to quickly assess and plan the placement of elements without having to spend the time designing. Wireframing is done at the beginning stages of web design, and usually following user experience (UX) or user interface (UI) principles and/or testing.