Glossary of Printing Terms

D

Densitometer - A device sensitive to the density of light transmitted or reflected by paper or film. Used to check the accuracy, quality, and consistency of output.

Die - a hardened steel engraving stamp used to print an inked image. Used in the production of good quality letter headings.

Die Cutting - The process of using sharp steel rules to cut special shapes into printed sheets.

DPI - Dots per inch. A measure of output resolution produced by printers, imagesetters, or monitors.

Dummy - a sketch of a page showing the position of text and illustrations and giving general instructions.