Glossary

Print shop words,
in plain English.

49 terms you will hear when you order print, signs, apparel, promo or a website, each with what it means and why it matters to your order. If a proof or a quote uses a word that is not here, ask and we will add it.

Files and proofs Printing Signs and banners Apparel Promotional products Websites and growth

Files and proofs

Bleed

Extra artwork that runs past the edge of the finished piece, usually 0.125 inch on each side for small print. It gets trimmed off after printing so color goes all the way to the edge.

Why it matters. Without bleed, a tiny shift in cutting can leave a thin white line on the edge of the finished piece.

Safe zone

The area inside the trim line where important text and logos should stay. On a business card it is usually 0.125 inch in from the edge.

Why it matters. Anything outside the safe zone can get clipped in cutting, so keep phone numbers and names well inside it.

Trim

The final size of a printed piece and the line where it gets cut. A business card trims to 3.5 by 2 inches.

Why it matters. Build your file to the trim size plus bleed, or the layout will be stretched or cropped to fit.

DPI

Dots per inch, a measure of how much detail a raster image holds at its printed size. Small print usually needs about 300 DPI at full size. Large banners can get away with less because they are read from farther away.

Why it matters. A 72 DPI image pulled from a website looks fine on screen and blurry on paper, so send originals.

Vector

Artwork built from paths and shapes instead of pixels, saved as AI, EPS, SVG or a vector PDF. It scales to any size with no loss in sharpness.

Why it matters. Vector logos print clean on a business card and a 4x8 ft banner alike, and screen printing and embroidery both work best from them.

See also Raster, Outlined fonts, Digitizing.

Raster

An image made of pixels, like a JPG, PNG or photo. It has a fixed amount of detail and gets blurry when enlarged too far.

Why it matters. Photos are always raster, which is fine, but a logo should be vector or our design cleanup rates may apply to redraw it.

CMYK

Cyan, magenta, yellow and black, the four ink colors most full color printing uses. Files set up in CMYK show roughly how colors will print.

Why it matters. Bright screen colors can shift when converted to CMYK, so check color on the proof before you approve.

RGB

Red, green and blue, the color mode screens use. Phones, cameras and most web graphics are RGB.

Why it matters. RGB files print fine after conversion, but neon greens and electric blues can come out duller on paper.

Pantone

A standard color matching system where each color has a number, like a paint chip. Printers mix ink to match that exact number.

Why it matters. If your brand has a Pantone color, put it on the ticket so screen printed shirts and printed pieces match across orders.

Outlined fonts

Text that has been converted into vector shapes so it no longer needs the font file installed. The words look the same but cannot be edited as text.

Why it matters. Outlined fonts keep your type from swapping to a default font on our end, so outline before you export.

Proof

A preview of the job, showing layout, colors, sizes and spelling, that you approve before anything prints. Most proofs today are PDFs.

Why it matters. Proofs on new jobs come back in 1 to 2 business days, and nothing prints until you approve one.

Print ready

A file that can go straight to press with no fixes: correct size, bleed, high resolution images, outlined fonts and the right color mode.

Why it matters. Print ready files skip design time, and our job ticket takes 20 files at 100MB each, originals only.

Printing

Die cut

Cutting a printed piece into a custom shape, not just a rectangle. For stickers it means cutting through both the sticker and its backing.

Why it matters. Die cut shapes stand out, but they need a cut line in your file, so ask for help on the ticket if you do not have one.

Kiss cut

A cut that goes through the sticker but not the backing paper. The sticker peels off and the backing stays as one sheet.

Why it matters. Kiss cut is the easy choice for sticker sheets and giveaways, since the stickers stay together until they are used.

Lamination

A thin plastic film applied over a printed piece. It comes in gloss, matte and soft touch finishes.

Why it matters. Lamination protects menus, signs and cards from spills and scuffs, so mention it for anything handled a lot.

UV coating

A clear liquid coating cured with ultraviolet light. It gives a hard, glossy finish over the whole piece.

Why it matters. UV coating makes colors pop and resists scuffs, but it can be hard to write on, so skip it on appointment cards.

Spot UV

UV coating applied only to selected areas, like a logo, over a matte background. The coated parts shine and feel raised.

Why it matters. Spot UV needs a separate layer in your file that shows where the coating goes, so plan it before layout.

Soft touch

A matte laminate with a velvet feel. It gives cards a premium finish people notice when they pick it up.

Why it matters. Soft touch pairs well with spot UV on business cards, and it is quoted on the ticket.

14pt and 16pt card stock

Point (pt) measures paper thickness in thousandths of an inch, so 14pt is 0.014 inch thick and 16pt is 0.016 inch. Both are common business card and postcard weights.

Why it matters. Heavier stock feels more solid in the hand, so pick 16pt for business cards that should feel like a step up.

Signs and banners

Coroplast

Corrugated plastic sheet, like cardboard made of plastic, used for most yard signs. It is light, waterproof and cheap enough to use for a season.

Why it matters. Coroplast is the standard for yard signs and sponsor signs, and it pairs with H stakes for quick setup.

See also H stake, A frame sign, Large format.

H stake

A wire stake shaped like the letter H. The top slides into the flutes of a coroplast sign and the bottom pushes into the ground.

Why it matters. Order one stake per sign so your yard signs go up in seconds, with no hardware or tools.

Grommet

A metal ring pressed into the edge of a banner so you can hang it with rope, zip ties or bungees. Grommets usually sit every 2 to 3 feet along the hem.

Why it matters. Our vinyl banners come hemmed and grommeted, so they are ready to hang out of the box.

Hem

A folded and welded or sewn edge around a banner. It reinforces the edge so grommets do not tear out.

Why it matters. A hemmed banner lasts longer in Texas wind, and every vinyl banner we print is hemmed.

See also Grommet, 15oz vinyl, Wind slits.

Pole pocket

A sleeve sewn along the top or bottom of a banner so a pole or rod can slide through. It is used for street pole banners and hanging displays.

Why it matters. Pole pockets are an option instead of grommets, so note them on the ticket if your banner hangs from a rod.

Wind slits

Small half moon cuts in a banner that let some wind pass through. They reduce strain on the grommets and the fence.

Why it matters. Wind slits help a little, but on an open fence line a mesh banner usually holds up better.

15oz vinyl

A common banner material that weighs about 15 ounces per square yard. It is thick enough for outdoor use and takes full color print well.

Why it matters. All our vinyl banners are 15oz, hemmed and grommeted, in stock sizes 2x4, 3x6 and 4x8 ft.

Feather flag

A tall, narrow flag shaped like a feather on a flexible pole with a ground spike or base. It is printed with dye sublimation on polyester.

Why it matters. Feather flags show a booth from the end of a row, and our 14 ft feather flag is $149.

A frame sign

A two sided sign that folds open like the letter A and stands on the ground. It is used at doors, gates and sidewalks.

Why it matters. A frame signs are read from both directions, and our golf cart A frame signs are 16x24 at $45 each.

See also Coroplast, H stake, Large format.

Large format

Printing on wide printers that handle banners, posters, wall graphics and signs. Anything bigger than about 2 feet wide usually counts.

Why it matters. We run large format in house, so banners, signs and event graphics can come from the same ticket.

Apparel

Screen printing

A print method that pushes ink through a mesh screen, one screen per color. It is fast and cheap per shirt on big runs with few colors.

Why it matters. Our screen printing minimums are 12 garments for one color and 24 for two colors.

DTG

Direct to garment printing, which works like an inkjet printer for shirts. It prints full color art and photos straight onto the fabric.

Why it matters. DTG suits small counts and detailed full color art, and it works best on cotton.

See also Screen printing, DTF, Heat transfer.

DTF

Direct to film printing. The design prints onto a film with adhesive powder, then gets heat pressed onto the garment.

Why it matters. DTF handles full color on almost any fabric, including polyester and blends, so it fits mixed garment orders.

See also DTG, Heat transfer, Screen printing.

Embroidery

Decorating a garment by stitching the design in thread with a computer controlled machine. It is common on polos, jackets and hats.

Why it matters. Embroidery holds up for years of wash and wear, which makes it the pick for uniforms and staff jackets.

Digitizing

Turning a logo into a stitch file that tells an embroidery machine where every stitch goes. It is done once per design.

Why it matters. Clean vector logos digitize better, and small text under about a quarter inch tall usually needs to be simplified.

See also Embroidery, Stitch count, Vector.

Stitch count

The total number of stitches in an embroidered design. Bigger and more solid designs have higher counts.

Why it matters. Stitch count drives embroidery time, so a simpler logo can make a uniform order run faster.

Heat transfer

Any method that applies a design to fabric with a heat press, including cut vinyl and printed transfers. It is common for names and numbers.

Why it matters. Heat transfer is how most jerseys get individual names and numbers on top of a screen printed design.

Hi vis class 2

A safety garment rating under the ANSI/ISEA 107 standard. Class 2 garments have more fluorescent background and reflective tape than Class 1 and are common for workers near traffic.

Why it matters. A large logo can cover the fluorescent area the rating depends on, so keep decoration small and placed with care.

Websites and growth

QR code

A square barcode a phone camera reads to open a link. It turns a printed piece into a way to book, buy or review.

Why it matters. Point every QR code at a page you control and tag it with UTM codes, so you can count which print piece worked.

See also UTM, Landing page, Call tracking.

Landing page

A single web page built for one goal, like a signup, a quote request or a sponsorship. It has one message and one clear next step.

Why it matters. A landing page gives a QR code or ad somewhere useful to go, and our tournament landing page for signups and sponsorships is $350.

CRM

Customer relationship management software that keeps every lead, customer, call and email in one place. It shows who to follow up with and when.

Why it matters. We build CRM and phone systems, so leads from print, web and calls land in one list instead of a pile of sticky notes.

See also Call tracking, Landing page, UTM.

Call tracking

Using a unique phone number for each ad, sign or mailer so you can see which one made the phone ring. Calls forward to your real line.

Why it matters. Put a tracking number on a yard sign or truck wrap and you will know if it paid for itself.

UTM

Short tags added to the end of a link that tell analytics where a visit came from, such as a postcard or a banner. They do not change the page.

Why it matters. Tag every QR code and printed link with UTM codes so your analytics can tell a mailer visit from a Google visit.

See also QR code, Landing page, Call tracking.

Google Business Profile

The free listing that shows a business on Google Maps and in local search, with hours, photos, reviews and a phone number.

Why it matters. It is often the first thing a local customer sees, so it is a core part of the FPI Growth work.

AI visibility

How often and how accurately AI assistants like ChatGPT and Google's AI answers name a business when people ask for a recommendation.

Why it matters. Our free AI Visibility Check gives a score out of 100 for how Google and AI assistants see your business.

Schema markup

Structured code on a web page that tells search engines and AI tools exactly what the page is about, like a business name, address, hours or FAQ.

Why it matters. Schema helps Google and AI assistants read your site correctly, and it is part of how we build sites to get found.

Still a question

Ask the shop.

Start a Project → Book a time Call or text 512-817-2200

201 Taylor St, Ste A, Hutto, TX 78634 · Tue to Thu 9am to 4pm, Mon + Fri by appointment

Print shop words,in plain English.