Printing Resources

Sizes & Weights

Standard Invitation & Announcement Sizes

Standard Envelope Sizes

Standard Paper Sheet Sizes

Standard Paper Weights

Paper weight refers to the weight of 500 sheets of each type of paper at its basis size and is not necessarily indicative of its caliper (thickness)
Bold Type indicates most commonly used

Frequently Asked Questions

General Business Practices

Q: Do you charge rush Charges?
A: No. We consider every job a rush job.

Q: Do you charge for overs?
A: No. We take pride in our ability and experience and commit to produce the quantity you require at the price quoted.

Q: What is standard turnaround for your company?
A: Our goal is to begin working on a job the same day we receive all its components and to move it through production without stopping until it is finished. Most projects that are received as digital information are completed within four days. Our best turnaround so far is 2.75 hours from pickup to delivery on a small 4c run. Next day turnaround is common when needed.

Q: What if a job is running behind?
A: Your Account Manager would be in touch the moment any problems arose to work with you on the best solution for your particular situation.

Q: Do you guaranty your work?
A: Yes. Unconditionally

Q: How quickly can I get a quote?
A: Generally while you wait, if you can give us a couple of minutes. You should always receive a quote on the same day you request it.

Q: Whom would I work with at your company?
A: An Account Manager that would personally supervise all aspects of your account from quotes to quality control. The person you work with on the phone is the same person who watches your job in production, takes care of scheduling and makes sure your deliver and billing are correct.

Q: Do you work on weekends?
A: We work Monday through Saturday as a general practice and close on Sunday unless there is a deadline emergency. We do what it takes to get it done.

Q: Do you have a computerized telephone system?
A: Yes, but a live person answers our phones during normal business hours.

Q: Do you accept credit cards?
A: Yes, we accept most major credit cards

Q: Can you bill me for the job?
A: We offer net 30 day billing with approved credit

Q: Whom do I talk to if I have a problem or complaint about your company?
A: Call and ask for Micheal or Dan. They own the company and are eager to make sure everything about the company is going right.

Q: How can I check you guys out before sending you business?
A: Give us a call. We will be happy to provide references and send you a sample portfolio of our work that you can keep.

Q: Can you help me with design and layout?
A: No, but we can refer you to professionals who can.

Q: Why don’t you do design and layout?
A: Most of our customers are experts in that area and we have neither the desire nor ability to compete with them.

Prepress

Q: What programs do you prefer to work with?
A: We prefer Quark but can work with most professional layout program.

Q: Do you prefer PC or Mac?
A: Mac. But we commonly work with PC files.

Q: What type of proofs do you provide?
A: We provide physical digitally produced proofs and PDF screen proofs

Q: Do you check my files for trapping issues and potential problems?
A: Yes. All files are preflighted and adjusted before going to proof.

Q: How should I set up pages if I am setting up a book?
A: We prefer that pages are setup in single page spreads, but can work with whatever setup you provide

Q: How quickly can I see a proof when I send you a file?
A: Usually within 24 hours.

Q: Do you do digital printing?
A: Our Heidelberg DI images the plates directly on the press making short run color work more affordable but is not “digital” in the sense that it can produce variable data.

Common Printing Terms & Methods

Offset: The image is transferred or offset from a printing plate to a printing blanket and then transferred to the paper.

Lithography: Printing method based on the fact that oil and water don’t mix whereby the “oil” based ink adheres to the exposed and developed area of a printing plate and the “water” based fountain solution adheres to the unexposed area of the plate.

Letterpress: The ink is “pressed” from the plate, which has had the non-image area etched away from the surface, directly to the paper via pressure.

Gravure: Similar to letterpress except that the image has been etched away from the plate and the ink pools in the recessed image areas while it is scraped from the raised non image areas with a blade before making contact with the paper.

Sheet-fed: Individual sheets of paper are fed directly into the press.

Web: Paper feeds through the press from one continuous roll and is cut to sheets or sheeted after printing has taken place.

Overs & Unders: The trade practice of printers charging for up to 10% overage is understandable in its historical context. The methods used at the time of its inception required multiple passes through a wide variety of unpredictable equipment and quite a number of human hands. This involved process made it next to impossible for a printer to guaranty a deliverable quantity without an unreasonable financial risk. The practice of being able to consider the order complete within a 20% range (10% over or under) was an evil necessity at the time to satisfy the needs of the market.
With today’s technology, that range of tolerance is completely indefensible. Printers too often use the practice illegitimately as a way of quoting a job below market value with the anticipation of recouping their profit by billing for overages.
At Fidelity Offset, we realize that the quantity you order is the quantity you want. We consider it part of our service to understand the job fully when we are quoting you a price and to plan our production so as to produce the quantity and quality you expect at the price we quoted…every time.

Common paper finishes and terms

Coated: The paper is coated with a resin, which reduces the paper’s porosity and allows ink to dry more sharply on the paper’s surface.
Gloss: Shiny
Dull: Flat
Matt: Flat thin coating that can easily be written on
Satin: Extremely smooth, neutral reflectivity
Vellum: Semi smooth, uncoated
Smooth: Very smooth uncoated
Laid: Embossed finish with an irregular wavy horizontal pattern and a regular straight-line vertical pattern, uncoated
Linen: Crosshatch pattern similar to linen cloth, uncoated
Antique: Rough irregular surface, uncoated
Felt: Soft, irregular surface, uncoated
Wove: Semi smooth surface, uncoated
Cast Coated: Extremely shiny hard surface
C1S: Coated on one side
C2S: Coated on two sides
Board: Paper that is graded by thickness instead of weight, bulked up to provide more body and rigidity, and generally used for packaging and displays
Writing: paper manufactured to accept various forms of media, generally used for stationary
Offset: Paper manufactured for use in offset presses with consistent grain, caliper and other characteristics. Can be coated or uncoated.
Book: General term for paper weighing less than 110 pounds per 500 sheets of 25x38
Text: Same as book but of a finer quality
Cover: General term for paper weighing more than 60 pounds per 500 sheets of 20x26
Grain: The internal structural pattern of paper, the characteristics of which closely resemble those of wood. For best results, paper should be printed against the grain and folded with the grain.
Caliper: The thickness of a sheet measured in .001 of an inch.
M Weight: The weight of 1000 sheets of a particular paper
$C/WT: The price per 100 pounds of a particular paper

Terms of Trouble

Ghost: Differential in a solid color caused by uneven ink distribution in the press ink train which happens when regular shapes are “cut out” of an area of solid color (such as windows for photographs)

Chemical Ghost: An image from one side of a press sheet appears as a silhouette in the reflectivity of the image on the opposite side of the sheet. This is caused when the surface of the sheet is corrupted by ink vapors being trapped within a sealed sheet of paper or between two sheets of non-porous paper.

Hickey: A blemish in the ink, usually a small ring of non-color, caused by paper lint that has built up on the printing blanket that will not allow a smooth lay down of the ink.

Slur: A double image resembling a tiny drop shadow caused by a slight movement from sheet to sheet of the image in between cylinders on the press.

Picking: Pull off of ink on the top of one sheet to the bottom of another caused by over stacking loads in the delivery or uneven distribution of spray powder.

Offset: Wet ink on one sheet printing onto the back of another sheet.

Scumming: The feathering or trailing of ink at the edge of an image general caused by improper ink/water balance.

Cracking: Irregular edge and splintering of paper on the fold. General caused by cross grain folding and improper scoring.