---
title: "Glossary | Book printing for publishers | IN TEMPO"
description: "The words of a print quote, and what they change for a book."
url: "https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/"
lang: "en"
---

# Glossary

The words of a print quote, and what they change for a book.

## A

- ### [AFNIL](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/afnil/)
  [The agency that assigns ISBNs to publishers based in France, including authors and associations who publish their own books.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/afnil/)

## B

- ### [Back cover](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/quatrieme-de-couverture/)
  [The back face of the cover.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/quatrieme-de-couverture/)
- ### [Bible paper](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-bible/)
  [A very thin, light paper, generally between 30 and 50 gsm, yet opaque and strong, made with no mechanical pulp.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-bible/)
- ### [Binding and finishing](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/faconnage/)
  [All the operations that, after printing, give the book its final form: folding the sheets into sections, gathering them, sewing or gluing, putting on the cover, trimming.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/faconnage/)
- ### [Bleed](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/fond-perdu/)
  [The part of an image or solid colour that extends beyond the trimmed size and is cut away.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/fond-perdu/)
- ### [Bulk](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/main-du-papier/)
  [A paper’s thickness set against its weight: its thickness in microns divided by its weight in gsm, expressed in cm³/g.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/main-du-papier/)

## C

- ### [Casing-in](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/emboitage/)
  [The operation that joins the book block, already sewn or glued, to the hardback case made separately: the block is fixed into its case by the endpapers pasted to the boards.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/emboitage/)
- ### [CMYK printing](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/quadrichromie/)
  [Printing colour by overlaying four inks: cyan, magenta, yellow and black.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/quadrichromie/)
- ### [Coated paper](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-couche/)
  [Paper with a thin mineral coating that seals its surface, so the ink sits on top instead of soaking in: sharp dots, dense colour.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-couche/)
- ### [Colophon](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/colophon/)
  [The statement, at the end of the book or on the back of the title page, that names the printer and the place and date of printing, often with a print number.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/colophon/)
- ### [Contract proof](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/chromalin/)
  [A colour proof printed on a calibrated proofer to the printer’s profile, showing the colours the press will achieve.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/chromalin/)
- ### [Cover](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/couverture/)
  [The outside of a book, which protects the text block: two panels joined by the spine.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/couverture/)
- ### [Cream paper](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-ivoire/)
  [A slightly tinted paper, cream or ivory rather than bright white.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-ivoire/)

## D

- ### [Digital printing](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/impression-numerique/)
  [Printing straight from the file, on a toner or inkjet press, without the plates of offset.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/impression-numerique/)
- ### [Dust jacket](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/jaquette/)
  [A removable printed paper wrapper that goes around a book’s cover and folds inside it with two flaps.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/jaquette/)

## E

- ### [EAN barcode](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/code-barres-ean/)
  [The thirteen-digit barcode printed on the back cover, built from the ISBN.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/code-barres-ean/)
- ### [Embossing](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/gaufrage/)
  [A raised design made by pressing the paper between a male and a female die, so the motif stands up from the surface.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/gaufrage/)

## F

- ### [Flaps](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/rabats/)
  [Extensions of a cover or a jacket folded inwards at the front and back.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/rabats/)
- ### [Flatplan](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/chemin-de-fer/)
  [A plan of every page of a book as a row of thumbnails: what goes on each page, where the images fall, where chapters start.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/chemin-de-fer/)
- ### [Foil blocking](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/dorure-a-chaud/)
  [A metallic film (gold, silver, copper or a colour) transferred onto paper or cloth by a heated die under pressure.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/dorure-a-chaud/)

## H

- ### [Hardback](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/couverture-cartonnee/)
  [A rigid cover: boards wrapped in printed paper or cloth, turned in at the edges and joined at the spine.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/couverture-cartonnee/)
- ### [Headband](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/tranchefile/)
  [A small roll of fabric glued at the head and tail of a hardback’s spine, between the text block and the case.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/tranchefile/)
- ### [High-bulk paper](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-bouffant/)
  [An uncoated paper with an open, airy fibre that is thick for its weight and slightly rough to the touch, often in ivory or cream.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-bouffant/)

## I

- ### [ICC profile](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/profil-icc/)
  [The file that describes how a printing process renders colour on a given kind of paper.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/profil-icc/)
- ### [Imprim’Vert](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/imprim-vert/)
  [A French label awarded to printing works that commit to environmental management: proper disposal of hazardous waste, secure storage of chemicals, phasing out toxic products, monitoring energy use.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/imprim-vert/)
- ### [ISBN](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/isbn/)
  [The thirteen-digit number that identifies one edition of a book, issued to the publisher by the national ISBN agency.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/isbn/)
- ### [ISSN](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/issn/)
  [The eight-digit number that identifies a serial publication: journal, newsletter, yearbook, numbered series.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/issn/)

## L

- ### [Lamination](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/pelliculage/)
  [A very thin plastic film bonded with heat onto a cover or jacket.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/pelliculage/)
- ### [Legal deposit](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/depot-legal/)
  [The publisher’s duty to deposit every book it distributes in France with the Bibliothèque nationale de France, no later than the day it goes on sale.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/depot-legal/)

## O

- ### [Offset paper](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-offset/)
  [An uncoated paper, smooth and bright, of ordinary density: thinner for its weight than a high-bulk stock, more absorbent than a coated one.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/papier-offset/)
- ### [Offset printing](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/impression-offset/)
  [The process in which the inked image on a metal plate is transferred to a rubber-covered cylinder, the blanket, and from the blanket onto the paper.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/impression-offset/)
- ### [Overprint](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/surimpression/)
  [The setting that prints one colour on top of another instead of knocking it out of the colour beneath.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/surimpression/)

## P

- ### [Paper weight](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/grammage/)
  [The weight of a paper per square metre, given in gsm (g/m²).](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/grammage/)
- ### [Paperback](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/format-broche/)
  [A book with a flexible card cover, attached to the text block by glue or sewing.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/format-broche/)
- ### [Perfect binding](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/dos-carre-colle/)
  [A binding in which the gathered pages are milled at the spine and glued into a wraparound cover, giving a square, flat spine.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/dos-carre-colle/)
- ### [Print embellishment](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/ennoblissement/)
  [The finishes added to printing to give a cover relief, shine or texture: foil blocking, embossing, spot UV, soft-touch lamination, die-cutting.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/ennoblissement/)
- ### [Print run](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/tirage/)
  [All the copies of a book printed at one time, from the same setting.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/tirage/)
- ### [Printer’s proof](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/bon-a-tirer/)
  [The proof the publisher signs to release a job to press.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/bon-a-tirer/)

## R

- ### [Ribbon marker](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/signet/)
  [A ribbon fixed at the head of the spine, inside the book, used as a bookmark.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/signet/)

## S

- ### [Section](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/cahier/)
  [A sheet printed on both sides and then folded, forming a group of pages: it is the unit a book is made of.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/cahier/)
- ### [Sewn binding](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/dos-carre-cousu/)
  [A binding in which the folded sections are sewn together with thread before being glued into the cover.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/dos-carre-cousu/)
- ### [Single-sided board](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/carte-une-face/)
  [A board coated on one side only, the front, which takes the cover printing.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/carte-une-face/)
- ### [Spot UV](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/vernis-selectif/)
  [A varnish applied to part of a cover only (a title, an image) to make it shine or stand out against the rest.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/vernis-selectif/)
- ### [Swiss binding](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/reliure-suisse/)
  [A binding in which the cover, often rigid, is glued only to the back of the last leaf: the spine stays bare, its sewn sections on show, and the book opens flat.](https://www.intempo.fr/en/glossaire/reliure-suisse/)