Glossary
Vector and print production glossary
Short definitions of the terms printers, sign shops, laser shops and digitizers use when they talk about artwork files.
This glossary explains, in a sentence or two, the terms that come up when artwork goes to production: vector and raster, closed and open paths, kerf, knockout, overprint, spot color, underbase, DPI and more. Each term links to the guide that covers it in depth where there is one.
- AI file
- Adobe Illustrator's native format. It keeps layers, editable type and effects, and usually carries a PDF copy so other apps can show it. Read more.
- Anchor point
- A point on a vector path where a segment starts, ends or changes direction. Also called a node.
- Auto-trace
- Software that follows the edges in a pixel image and turns them into paths. Fast, but it tends to leave extra nodes, open paths and merged colors. Read more.
- Bézier curve
- The curve math every vector editor uses: a segment between two anchor points, shaped by handles.
- Bleed
- Artwork that extends past the trim line so no white edge shows after the print is cut to size.
- Centerline
- A single stroke that runs down the middle of a shape instead of around its outline. Used for engraving, pen plotters and single-line lettering.
- Closed path
- A path whose start and end points join. Cutters, lasers and routers need closed paths to cut a shape out cleanly.
- CMYK
- Cyan, magenta, yellow and black: the four process inks most full-color printing mixes from. Read more.
- Color separation
- Splitting artwork into one layer per ink, so each color gets its own screen, plate or pass.
- Compound path
- Several paths combined into one object, where overlaps become holes, like the inside of the letter O.
- Cut contour
- A separate path, usually on its own layer or named spot color, that tells a print-and-cut machine where to cut around printed artwork.
- Digitizing
- Turning artwork into an embroidery stitch file (such as DST or PES), with stitch types, directions and densities. A digitizer does this; VectorWiz delivers the clean vector it starts from. Read more.
- DPI and PPI
- Dots or pixels per inch: how densely a raster image is printed. Vector files have no DPI; they render sharp at any size. Read more.
- DXF
- A CAD exchange format read by CNC routers, lasers, plasma tables and engravers. Read more.
- Embedded image
- A raster picture placed inside a vector file. It stays pixels, even though the file has a vector extension. Read more.
- EPS
- Encapsulated PostScript, an older vector exchange format that most print and sign software still opens. Read more.
- Expand stroke
- Converting a stroke (a line with a width) into a filled shape, so its outline is fixed and cutters see a real edge. Also called outline stroke.
- Halftone
- A pattern of dots of varying size that fakes shades of a color with a single ink. Read more.
- Kerf
- The width of material a laser, blade or router removes as it cuts. Cut paths are offset by half the kerf so parts come out at the right size. Read more.
- Knockout
- Where a top color removes the color beneath it, so the inks don't print on top of each other.
- Node count
- How many anchor points a file has. Clean art needs few; auto-traced art often has far more than the shape needs. Read more.
- Open path
- A path whose ends don't meet. A cutter can follow it as a line but can't cut it out as a shape.
- Outlines (text to outlines)
- Converting type into vector shapes, so the file no longer needs the font installed to look right.
- Overprint
- Printing one ink on top of another without knocking out the one below.
- Pantone (PMS)
- A commercial color-matching system for spot inks, used to name an exact color across printers. Read more.
- PDF/X
- An ISO standard subset of PDF for handing artwork to a printer, such as PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-4. Read more.
- Raster
- An image made of a grid of pixels, such as a PNG, JPG or photo. It blurs when enlarged and can't be cut as shapes. Read more.
- Registration marks
- Marks printed outside the artwork so screens, plates or a print-and-cut sensor can line everything up.
- Resolution
- The number of pixels in a raster image. It fixes how large the image can print before it looks soft.
- RGB
- Red, green and blue: the color model of screens. Files meant for print are usually converted to CMYK or spot colors.
- Spot color
- A single premixed ink printed as itself rather than built from CMYK, often named by a Pantone number. Read more.
- Stroke
- The line drawn along a path, with a width and color. A cutter ignores the width unless the stroke is expanded.
- SVG
- Scalable Vector Graphics, the web's vector format, also read by Cricut, Silhouette and many laser programs. Read more.
- Trapping (choke and spread)
- A slight overlap between neighboring colors so small misalignment on press doesn't leave a gap.
- Underbase
- A white or light layer printed first on dark garments so the colors on top stay bright.
- Vector
- Artwork described as points, curves and fills rather than pixels, so it scales to any size and can be cut, printed or stitched. Read more.
- Vector conversion
- Rebuilding a raster image as vector paths, either by auto-trace or by a designer redrawing it by hand. Read more.
- Weeding
- Peeling away the excess vinyl around a cut design before it is applied.
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