Glossary of Terms

Pertaining to Albums & Graphic Design

Acid-Free:

Acid causes paper and photos to disintegrate over time. The aging process of the paper and photos are slowed when acid is removed from the paper during the manufacturing process. Acid is used in paper manufacturing to break apart the wood fibers and the lignin that holds them together. If acid remains in the materials used for photo albums, the acid can react chemically with photographs and cause their deterioration. Not all album materials are photo-safe, so be sure paper, glue, pens and markers are labelled acid-free or archival-quality before purchasing. Acid Free items have a pH (a measure or acidity or alkalinity) of 7.0 or higher. It is imperative that all materials (glue, inks, paper, etc.) used in albums be acid-free.

Alchemy:

1) A medieval chemical philosophy having as its asserted aims the transmutation of base metals into gold, the discovery of the panacea, and the preparation of the elixir of longevity. 2) Miraculous power of transmuting something common into something precious.

Aliasing:

In digital design, aliasing occurs when a computer monitor, printer, or graphics file does not have a high enough resolution to represent a graphic image or text correctly. See Pixilation.

Archival: 

Paper that is not only acid-free but also lignin and sulfur-free. The paper must be long lasting without causing deterioration to itself or other materials it may come in contact with. 

Archival Quality: 

This is a term used to indicate that the acidic content of materials is within safe levels.

Bleed:

When the printed image extends beyond the trim edge of a sheet of paper. There MUST be enough image to more than cover a page to bleed, to ensure that there is no blank space viewable when trimmed. 

Blind Embossing:  See “Embossing.”

CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, blacK): 

Often referred to as “4-color process,” CMYK is a subtractive color model used in color printing and also used to describe the printing process itself. Though it varies by print house, press operator, press manufacturer and press run, ink is typically applied in the order of the abbreviation. The CMYK model works by partially or entirely masking certain colors on the typically white background (that is, absorbing particular wavelengths of light). Such a model is called subtractive because inks “subtract” brightness from white. In additive color models such as RGB, white is the “additive” combination of all primary colored lights, while black is the absence of light. In the CMYK model, it is just the opposite: white is the natural color of the background, while black results from a full combination of colored inks. 

Coffee Table Book:

A book bound with a hard cover, that may or may not come with a dust jacket. Just like a coffee table book you’d find in Borders or any other book shop!

Color Correction:

Adjusting an images’ color to eliminate or lessen color casts. i.e. photos taken in a room with fluorescent lighting may have a green tint or cast.

Color Enhancing:

Altering an images color(s) so they are brighter, lighter, darker, bolder, etc. A form of stylizing.

Creased Fold Gutter:

In some flush mount albums, this gutter is formed by folding or creasing the print in the middle. This technique is used to eliminate the need for a physical gap or split between the left and right page. This fold is essentially a hinge and the print may show slight wear in the gutter after many years.

Cropping:

To “crop” a photo means to cut the photo. Most of the time this is done to trim out excess background like sky and grass to better focus on the main subject of the picture or simply change the photograph’s shape.

Digital Print(ing):

These are NOT ink jet prints! Digital printing is the reproduction of digital images on a physical surface. It is generally used for short print runs, and for the customization of print media. The process differs from traditional offset printing in several ways:  Every print can be different because printing plates are not required as in traditional methods;  There is less wasted chemical and paper, because there is no need to bring the image “up to colour” and check for registration and position;  The ink or toner does not permeate the substrate, as does conventional ink, but forms a thin layer on the surface and may in some systems be additionally adhered to the substrate by using a fuser fluid with heat process (toner) or UV curing process (ink). Because there is less initial setup, it is useful for rapid prototyping, and cost effective for small print runs. More and more publishers are using this printing method for short run titles.

Distressed Edge(s):

An applied special effect that simulates a torn, ripped, or painted edge to an image.

DPI:

Stands for dots per inch. DPI specifies the resolution of an output device, such as a printer or printing press machine. Print resolution usually runs from 300-1200 dots per inch on a Laser Printer and 125-225 dots per inch for photographic images on a print brochure.

Embossing:

Is the process of creating a three-dimensional image or design in paper and other ductile materials such as leather. It is typically accomplished with a combination of heat and pressure. This is achieved by using a metal die usually made of brass and a counter die that fit together and actually squeeze the fibers of the material. This combination pressure and heat actually “irons” while raising the level of the image higher than the substrate to make it smooth. In printing it is used as an accent process and can be used in conjunction with ink called colour register embossing or with no ink called blind embossing. In blind embossing, the design is pressed into the material and not raised.

File Format: 

A method of encoding information into a file. Graphics or image files can be saved in many formats, including GIF, TIFF, JPEG and RAW. 

Flush-Mount Album:

A flush-mount album is a contemporary alternative to a traditional matted wedding album. Each page of the album is a borderless photographic print mounted to a rigid substrate that can include multiple images and backgrounds. Flush mounting refers to the way the photos are mounted onto a page.

Flyleaf: 

Loose page or leaf, forming that part of the folded endsheet not pasted down to the inside of the cover board. Its function is to protect the first or last leaves of the textblock.

Font:

A font is a complete set of characters in a particular style of type. This includes the letter set, the number set, and all of the special character and diacritical marks you get by pressing the shift, option, or command/control keys. For example, Times NewRoman Bold Italic is one font, and Times NewRoman Bold is another font. Times NewRoman is a single typeface.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol): 

FTP is the main protocol for sending files through the Internet.

Gigabyte: 

A data storage unit equal to 1,024 megabytes. Gigabyte will often be abbreviated as G or GB.

Gutter:

The space at which two pages come together in a spread.

Hinge: 

Flexible part of the cover on which the boards swing open. 

Hollow Back Book: 

Type of case binding whereby when opening the boards, a hollow space is created between the textblock spine and the inside of the cover spine. 

Horizontal:

An image or shape that is wider than it is tall. Also called a landscape format.

Image Enhancement:

Refers to an effect used to enrich the appearance of an image. Such enhancements used to be preformed in the dark room when processing images to prints. i.e. color enhancing, color correction, distressed edges, sepia toning, etc.

JPEG (Jay-peg): 

An acronym for Joint Photographic Experts Group, JPEG is a compression technique for color images. Known as a “lossy” compression technique, JPEG compression discards some data to make file sizes smaller. This can result in artifacts in the final digital image.

Laminate:

A thin protective material applied to the surface of the page to help prevent it from becoming sun damaged, stained, smudged,  or marked by grease, fingerprints and environmental concerns. 

Layout:

The part of graphic design that deals with the arrangement and style treatment of elements (contents) on a page.

Leaf:

A single thickness of paper, especially in a book with each side forming a page.

Magazine Style:

Magazine style is a look, not a type of album. The look is often fairly busy, containing multiple images per side. Special effects are frequently used, such as placing photos on top of a faded photo in the background. The magazine style creates a modern wedding album. It has a high impact. Alchemy Albums specializes in the magazine style look.

Megabyte (MB): 

A data storage measurement equal to 1024 kilobytes (KB)

Metadata: 

Is the information about an image, including an image ID number, assigned when you upload an image, size and aspect ratio of the image, shutter/film speed/aperture settings, etc.

Mini Albums:

Mini albums are a scaled-down duplicate of your wedding album. They offer an attractive and affordable way to share lasting memories of your special day with family and close friends. They are usually more affordable because the design cost is applied to the larger album.

Panoramic: 

Image format that is significantly wider than it is high.

Page:

One side of a sheet of paper in a collection of sheets bound together, especially as a book, magazine or newspaper.

Parent Books:

Parent books and gift albums are a scaled-down version of your wedding album. They can be clones of your primary book or they can be unique. Clones are much less expensive as the design costs are absorbed by the larger album. They offer an attractive and affordable way to share lasting memories of your special day with family and friends.

PDF:

Stands for Portable Document Format. Created by Adobe Systems in its software program Adobe Acrobat as a universal browser. Files can be downloaded via the web and viewed page by page, provided the user is computer has installed the necessary plug-in which can be downloaded from Adobe’s own web site.

Pixels:

A single dot or the smallest unit of a digital image. The more pixels in an image, the higher the resolution. A measurement of digital increments, usually expressed as a number per inch represented by dpi (dots per inch) or ppi (pixels per inch). Although technically not exactly the same, for the purposes of digital design, they are interchangeable. A high quality image will be created at 300 dpi to allow for flexibility in resizing as well as fantastic printed results. To view a photo or layout on the web only 72 dpi is necessary for a crisp display.

Pixilation: 

A term used to describe the stair-stepped appearance of curved or angled lines in digital images. Seen often when low resolution images are enlarged.

Photographic Print(ing):

Is the process of producing a final image on paper for viewing, using chemically sensitized paper. The paper is exposed to a photographic negative, a positive transparency (or slide), or a digital image file projected using an enlarger or digital exposure unit. 

Resolution: 

A measurement of the number of pixels that make up an image. The higher the number of pixels in an image, the higher the resolution, and the larger the file size. Sometimes resolution is expressed in a total number of pixels, such as a “megapixel camera”, and sometimes resolution is expressed as dimensions of an image, such as 3072x2048. A higher resolution image will create higher quality digital prints and enlargements.

Raster Graphics:

A digital photographic or illustrative image with smooth tonal transitions. 

Retouch:

Is the application of image editing techniques to photographs in order to create an illusion or deception (in contrast to mere enhancement or correction), through analog or digital means. 

RGB (Red, Green, Blue): 

Is an additive color model in which red, green, and blue light are added together in various ways to reproduce a broad array of colors. The name of the model comes from the initials of the three additive primary colors, red, green, and blue. The main purpose of the RGB color model is for the sensing, representation, and display of images in electronic systems, such as televisions and computers, it has also been used in photography. Before the electronic age, the RGB color model already had a solid theory behind it, based in human perception of colors.

Shoot & Burn:

Usually refers to photographers who price their services based on photographing (shooting) an event and providing digital images on a disc (burning).

Split Gutter:

In flush mount albums, this gutter appears as a physical gap between the left and right pages. The size of the gap varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and is usually very minimal. 

Spread:

In page layout and typography, a spread is the unit formed by two adjacent, facing pages in a magazine or other publication, featuring a single image (such as a photograph or piece of artwork) or a themed group of images. The line down the middle where the pages come together is called the gutter.

Stylizing:

Enhancing an image through special effects. Examples are “distressing” an image or adding grain to look old, adding  blurs to soften the look or fading the edges to black to highlight the focal point. Color enhancing is also a form of stylizing.

Trim:

Is the stage of the book production process in which the pages of a book are trimmed so that they have even edges. Due to the impreciseness of the process, important parts of an image, such as faces, should be kept a 1/2” away from where the page will be trimmed.

Vertical:

An image or shape that is taller than it is wide. Also called portrait format.

Vector Graphics: 

A graphic image drawn in shapes and lines, called paths. Images created in Illustrator and Freehand (graphic design software) are vector graphics. Most logos are vector graphics.

Vignette: 

An effect where the edges of an illustration or photograph fades into its background without a definite border.

Warping: 

Commonly affects flush mount albums and is usually the result of extreme change in heat and/or humidity during shipping. Generally this condition will disappear within a couple of weeks. Should your book arrive with warping, lay it flat while closed out of direct light. It should adjust to its new climate within a couple of weeks.