The Wells & Drew Printing Dictionary – R

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R

ragged:
not justified. Text that is set flush left can be described as ragged right, or just ragged, and text that is set flush right can be described as ragged left.
rag paper:
orginally paper made with rag pulp. Today it is usually referred to as cotton fiber paper. It may be made from cotton cuttings (rags), linters or other waste cotton.
railroad board:
a thick, coated paper used for signs; usually waterproof.
random proof:
a color proof consisting of many images ganged on the substrate, randomly positioned no relation to the final page imposition. It is a cost-effective way to verify the correctness of completed scan prior to further stripping or color correction work.
RAS:
abbreviation for Remote Access Server
rasterize:
the act of converting a document from a page definition language (e.g. PostScript) to an arrangement of pixels on the page or screen.
RC paper:
abbreviation for Resin-Coated paper, the photosensitive paper generally used to record the output of typesetters and imagesetters. RC paper is more permanent than stabilization paper, another type of typesetting paper.
readers pair or readers spread:
two consecutive pages as they appear in a printed piece.
reel:
a roll on which paper is wound at the end of the paper machine.
reel sample:
samples taken from a reel of paper for testing.
ream:
refers to 500 sheets of paper.
ream marked:
pile of paper is ream marked by the insertion of small slips of paper or “ream makers” at intervals of every 500 sheets.
ream marker:
piece of rectangular shaped paper used to mark off the reams in a stack of paper.
ream weight:
weight of paper,refering to the thicknesss of the paper
recto:
the right-hand page of a bound publication such as a book or magazine. Page 1 is always a recto page, and recto pages always bear the odd numbered folios. Recto can also be referred to as the front or obverse. The page on the left-hand side is called the reverse or verso.
red, green & blue:
in printing, red, green, and blue are colors made from a combination of cyan, magenta and yellow dots. Magenta and yellow dots make red; cyan and yellow dots make green; cyan and magenta dots make blue.
reducer:
any substance that softens and reduces the tack of ink.
reel:
the master roll of paper as it comes off the papermaking machine. It is in its original width and is then cut into smaller rolls.
reflectance:
the ratio of reflected light to incident light. It is measured with a reflection densitometer and expressed as a percentage.
REGEDIT:
abbreviation for Registry Editor, an application for Windows computers to manipulate the registry, a database that stores settings of the operation system and applications.
register:
the arrangement of two or more images in exact alignment with each other.
registration:
the exact positioning of images with reference to each other or to margins, folds, etc., by the use of precision visual reference lines (register marks) on the copy but outside the trimmed area or by a mechanical system using pins and dies.
registration mark:
a cross-hair target outside the page or image area that is used to help align film separations or to align the printed images on the press sheet. The mark should appear on all separations.
regular:
a commercial/official envelope without a window.
REL:
abbreviation for Recorder ELement, the minimum distance between two recorded points (spots) in an imagesetter.
remoistening adhesives:
a gum that requires moisture to activate the adhesive.
reproduction paper:
good quality, single-sided coated paper, suitable for fine screen and color printing. Also used for reproduction proofs.
rendering:
the process of creating three-dimensional images on a computer system.
repeatability:
degree to which repetitive measurements on one system agree with those on another when used to describe imagesetters and film plotters, a measure of the variance of the film to the next.
reverse side printing:
back printing.
reragging, to rerag:
type appearing to take on a different set of tracking & kerning attributes
res:
a term used to define image resolution. Res 12 indicates 12 pixels per millimeter.
rescreening:
the process of converting a printed halftone image to another halftone screen for reproduction.
RESEDIT:
abbreviation for RESource EDITor, a small program that runs on older Macs and lets you edit the header information as well as the resource fork of files.
resolution:
minimum controllable motion interval a device can produce; smallest achievable change of detectable motion. – In imagesetting, resolution refers to the number of discrete dots an imagesetter can record within a fixed area. Typically, imagesetters can record between 1200 and 2540 dots per inch.
resolving power:
the ability of a photographic material to record fine detail. Larger numbers mean better image resolution.
reset:
to return a computer or other device to its default state and settings.
RET:
abbreviation for Resolution Enhancement Technology, a technology used by Hewlett-Packard printers which increases the apparent resolution of a document by using microfine toner to add partial pixels around the edges of images and text.
retouching:
adjusting an image digitally to make changes or to correct faults in the original photograph or scan.
reverse:
the negative of an image, or the process or creating a negative of an image.
reversed type:
a lighter typeface on a darker background, also referred to as knockout type.
revise:
indication of the stages at which corrections have been incorporated, e.g. first revise, second revise.
RFC:
abbreviation for Request For Comment.
RFQ:
abbreviation for Request For Quote.
RGB:
abbreviation for Red Green Blue. These are the three primary colors used for additive color mixing. A lot of applications also use RGB values to define the colors of images and objects. Unfortunately we cannot print using red, green and blue. That is done using cyan, magenta, yellow and black instead.
rhodamine magenta:
the magenta pigment that is used to make magenta ink for color process printing. This magenta ink is nearly ideal as it appears as a bluish magenta. It is higher quality and more expensive than rubine magenta.
rich black:

black with a percentage of cyan, magenta and/or yellow added to it. This is often done to avoid that black text or rectangles which partially overprint other objects appear ‘more black’ where they do. Rich black can also be used to print a denser, less grayish black.

rich black consists of 40 C, 40 M, 40 Y and 100 K (sometimes yellow is left out). Experienced operators adapt the mixture of colors to the content of the page. On pages that have a lot of cool colors like blue in them, they use a cool rich black which mainly adds cyan to the black. On pages containing a lot of warm brown colors, a warm rich black is used which contains more magenta and yellow than cyan.

rich text:
the result of adding additional information to plain text. Examples of information that can be added include font data, color, formatting information, phonetic annotations, interlinear text, and so on. The Microsoft RTF file format is probably the prevalent standard for exchanging rich text.
RIFF:
acronym for Raster Image File Format, an expanded version of TIFF that was developed by Letraset and is used primarily in its software, such as ImageStudio and ColorStudio. RIFF was designed to handle CYMK and RGB make data at a time when TIFF could not.
right reading:
reading from left to right, as opposed to wrong reading, reading from right to left.
right-reading image:
an image that is viewed as ‘normal,’ i.e., reading naturally from left to right. Films are made with the image right-reading on the emulsion side (wrong reading on the base side) for letterpress and flexographic platemaking.
right angle fold:
a term that denotes folds that are 90 degrees to each other.
rigidity:
ability to follow changes in motion without lag.
RIP:
abbreviation for Raster Image Processor – a device or computer program that receives a description of the content of a page and converts it into information that can be output on paper, film, plates, slides or any other medium. Or can also be the abbreviation for Rest In Proportion – an instruction when giving sizes to artwork or photographs that other parts of the artwork are to be enlarged or reduced in proportion.
RISC:
abbreviation for Reduced Instruction Set Computer, a design strategy for processors (CPUs) that uses a limited set of instructions to simplify the processor’s design so it can run at a higher speed.
RIT:
abbreviation for Rochester Institute of Technology, a technical university in the USA that is well-known for its School of Print Media.
river:
an irregular ‘river’ of white space that runs through a column of text.
RLE:
abbreviation for Run Length Encoding, a compression algorithm that replaces a number of identical bytes with 2 bytes.
RLL:
abbreviation for Run Length Limited, a compression algorithm that is used in some image file formats.
roll:
rotation about the x axis, known as 0.
roll to roll:
a printing process where the roll of paper is printed and stored on a roll to be shipped.
roman:
the basic style of upright type within a particular font family. Roman type is usually contrasted to italic and bold italic type.
room:
abbreviation for Rip Once, Output Many, an architecture used in prepress workflow which allows operators to RIP a page one single time and output both proofs and plates or films from those ripped data. This is done to assure that there are no differences between proofs and the printed result.
rosette:
the pattern created by the color halftone screens used in four color printing.
rotary press:
a printing press which passes the substrate between two rotating cylinders when making an impression.
rotation:
turning an image by a specified number of degrees, to fit a preset frame or design.
rough:
a hasty preliminary drawing that is used to visualize a graphic design idea or layout.
royal:
a paper size measuring 508 x 635 millimeters or 20 x 25 inches.
rpcs:
page description language used by Ricoh for their printers
RS-232:
a standard computer connection for communicating with computer peripherals. RS-232 is a serial port.
rtf:
abbreviation for Rich Text Format: a file format defined by Microsoft that is used for transferring formatted text documents between applications or platforms.
rt screening:
abbreviation for Rational Tangential screening, a Linotype-Hell patented screening algorithm, which has been licensed to Adobe for use in Postscript. RT screening uses rational, tangential values for screening angling, such as 18.4 degrees in place of the traditional 15 degree screen angle.
rubberbanding:
in color software, the ability to grab hold of a tone line or gradation curve, display on the video monitor, at any point and pull it to a new position while keeping the two end points fixed.
rub proof:
the stage of printed ink where the maximum dryness is achieved and the ink will not smudge.
rubylith:
a translucent, red colored, self adhesive masking film that is used mainly in screen printing and plate making. Originally invented by the Ulano Corporation, the name is now used for all types of colored masking films from any vendor. To use rubylith, cut the film with a sharp knife into the shape needed, strip it from the carrier and apply it where needed.
ruleup:
a map or drawing given by a printer to a stripper showing how a printing job must be imposed using a specific press and sheet size. Also called press layout, printer’s layout and ruleout.
runability:
a term used to describe how well a paper runs on a printing press.
run-around:
type in text copy set to fit around a photo or illustration. Usually a different measure than the rest of the text.
run-in heading:
a heading that is set on the same line as the text, usually in bold or italic.
run-in sheets:
the paper wasted in order to obtain proper registration, inking balance,… on the press. Sometimes referred to as ‘run ups’ or ‘run ins’.
running heads or running feet:
a title at the top or bottom of a page that appears on all pages of a book or chapter of a book. It often includes the page number.
rupture:
to break

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