Glossary

The PRINTING United Alliance Glossary serves as an excellent industry terminology resource. It is the language by which we all communicate. Without it, universal understanding would be impossible.

To keep our constituents well informed about changes to the increasingly complex industry terminology, PRINTING United Alliance has developed this glossary of terms. Definitions are for general reference only. Usage may vary between companies, individuals, or national and country customs. The information presented is as accurate as the authors and editors can ascertain and PRINTING United Alliance assumes no responsibility for the use of information presented herein.
  • Batch scan
    The process of scanning numerous pages that contain similar data.
  • Drum scanner
    Scanning equipment where the image rotates in front of scanning sensors that sharpen the image and convert RGB to CMYK.
  • Flat-bed scanner
    Equipment that uses CCD linear arrays, where the image is placed on a flat glass platen, and the array moves past the artwork.
  • Flying spot scanner
    Equipment in which the original is held inside a dark chamber, while a beam of light flies across it in a raster pattern.
  • Laser scanner
    A device that uses color filters and beams of light to produce tone and color corrected separations for process printing.
  • Scan
    The process of translating a image from artwork or transparency into digital information; the sequential examination or exposure of a character or image with a moving light beam.
  • Scan linearity
    The degree to which a plot of scanned reflectance or transmittance vs. absolute reflectance or transmittance is a straight line. Deviations in this plot either above or below a straight line represent tones that are recorded by the scanner as too light or too dark.
  • Scanner
    A hardware peripheral that illuminates, reads, and converts original information into digital data.
  • Slow scan direction
    The raster direction along which successive lines of pixels are arrayed perpendicular to the fast scan direction.
  • Trilinear scanner
    A scanning device that uses three linear array change coupled devices utilizing red, green, and blue filters to capture color scans in a single pass.