To help you shine a little light on some of the phrases you may come across we have put together this glossary of terms with plain English explanations of what they mean. It is not an exhaustive list but should help you find your way….

Artwork
The design of the stationery, which is usually prepared on Apple Mac computers prior to printing.

Bleed
The area where print is extended by a few millimetres in one or more directions so that when a piece is trimmed down to it's finished size, the print runs right to the edge of the piece without any blank areas.

BRE
Standard abbreviation for Business Reply Envelope - an envelope with a postage impression pre-printed on it so that recipients can return an application or donation form for example back to you without paying the postage themselves.

Bundle & Bag
This is a mailing house process - as finished packs come off the enclosing machines they are collated into the appropriate postcode bundles and bagged up ready for processing by Royal Mail.

Burst & Trim
The removal of sprockets from, and separation of letters from reels of continuous stationery.

Case conversion
The conversion of text from one case to another - i.e. from lower case to mixed or upper case.

CMYK
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key (Black) - the four process colours used in litho printing.

Continuous
The term used for paper supplied on large reels and cut down to size after printing and lasering.

Control Pack
The standard pack against which new designs and offers are tested.

Data Processing
The inputting, analysing, cleansing and updating of records on a database.

De-duplication
Identification and removal of duplicate entries in a database.

Demographics
A profile of customer's socio-economic characteristics such as age, sex, status etc.

Die-cut
A shaped cut-out leaflet or brochure.

Digitised signature
A computer-printed simulation of a personal signature.

DPI
Accepted abbreviation for Dots Per Inch. Each dot is known as a pixel and the greater number of DPI the clearer the image.

Dummy pack
A pack made up in exactly the same style as your final pack for testing and example purposes.

Duplex
Printed on both sides.

Encryption
A way of scrambling data so only the intended recipient can decipher it.

Enclosing Sequence
The order in which items sit, and the direction in which they face in the envelope.

Finished size
The size of item after all processes (printing, folding etc) have taken place.

Finishing
The process of folding, applying glue, varnish or perforations or cuts to your printed material.

Firewall
An electronic security system set up that prevents unauthorised users or unwanted material gaining entry to a private network,

Flat size
The size of the paper when it is lying flat before folding.

FTP programs
Accepted abbreviation for File Transfer Protocol which is a fast way of uploading and downloading files from the Internet.

Fulfilment
The processing of an order or request for information as a result of an advertising campaign.

Gone-away
The term used to indicate that a person no longer lives at the address they have been mailed at.

Grain
The term used to explain the direction of the majority of fibres, which in general tend to line up the same way, due to the nature of producing paper. Folding, bending and tearing for example are all easier to do if you follow the grain of the paper.

GSM
Accepted abbreviation for Grams per Square Metre - the standard measure of paper weight.

Gutter
The vertical space between pages or columns of type, or between images if there is more than one on a page.

Imposition
The laying down of a number of pages on a larger sheet of paper in a particular order so that when the larger printed sheet is folded up the pages will be in the correct order prior to trimming.

ISDN
Accepted abbreviation for Integrated Services Digital Network. The connection of computers using digital rather than analogue phone lines. There is no need for data to be converted into an analogue signal to be sent, hence you don't need a modem.

Kerning
Adjusting the amount of space between characters.

Leading
The space, measured from baseline to baseline, added between successive rows of text in a document.

Leading edge
The edge of the printed piece which is inserted into the envelope first.

List merging
Where two or more mailing lists are merged together to form one.

Live Proof
A proof showing the data driven information, laser printed in position, on the stationery.

Mailing File
The final list of people you wish to mail.

Mailsort
A Royal Mail coding system allowing mail to be pre-sorted at the mailing house. Clients can make considerable savings on their postage - often up to 25% for mailings of 4000 items or more, providing each pack weighs less than 60 grams.

Merge / purge
The combination of two or more lists of names and addresses to eliminate the duplicates.

Micro Perforations
A series of multiple, very small, perforations. The smaller than normal incisions allow the paper to remain stronger whilst various processes are carried out, eg. printing, folding and enclosing.

MPS
Accepted abbreviation for the Mailing Preference Service. A data file consisting of individuals who have opted out of receiving direct mail.

NCOA
Accepted abbreviation for National Change Of Address file. The file held by Royal Mail to track people who have moved.

Origination
All the elements required to put together and print a mailing package.

Outer
The envelope that contains the components you wish to mail out.

PAF
Accepted abbreviation for Postal Address File - A data file of UK addresses (often used as a quick address finder for matching postcodes with house numbers to provide full address details). Data with incorrect addresses can be PAF verified and corrected where appropriate.

Pocket envelopes
Envelopes with the flap on the short side.

Point
The unit of measure used to indicate the size of characters used.

PPI
Accepted abbreviation for Postage Paid Impression. A system enabling volume users of mail services to pre-print the envelope with a postage impression instead of applying stamps to individual pieces.

Proof
A sample of work to be checked for errors.

Roll-out
The further steps of a mailing campaign. Once a test mailing has been carried out on a sample list you may want to roll out the packs to more people.

Run on
The term given to the price of extra copies once a job has started to run but before it has finished.

Salutation
An expression of greeting i.e. Dear Mrs Jones

Sans serif
This applies to any typeface without spurs which stick out at right angles from the top and bottom of the stems of characters. The most popular sans serif typeface is Helvetica.

Seed names
Names and addresses placed in a list to monitor use of it, enabling any misuse of a list to be identified. Also used to describe names and addresses put into a list to enable the delivery of the mailing campaign to be monitored.

Segmentation
The selection and isolation of segments of a list.

SEPs
Accepted abbreviation for Sample Enclosing Packs - a pack provided by the mailing house prior to enclosing for you to check that you are happy with the sequence and direction of items within the pack.

Sequence Number
Sequence Numbers are usually applied to each record in a data file and are especially useful for files that need to be kept in a certain order, or for mailing with matching elements.

Serif
These are the small spurs that stick out at right angles from the top and bottom of the stems of characters. The most popular serif typeface is Times New Roman.

Sheet fed
The term used when paper which is pre-cut into individual sheets before printing i.e. A4, rather than continuous.

Simplex
Printed on one side only.

Suppression File
A list of people you wish to be dropped from your mailing file.

Testing
The evaluation of alternatives, media, lists, offers, timing and response mechanisms to establish which aspects of a campaign work best for a specific product or service prior to roll-out.

Tolerance
The term given to the amount of movement on various production equipment, usually something in the region of about 2mm depending on the machine and the process being carried out. When machine enclosing items however, it is essential that there is at least 12mm of extra space (tolerance) between the width of the largest insert and the width of the envelope.

URN
Accepted abbreviation for Unique Reference Number. A unique code can be attached to each record on your database for ease of tracking.

Walksort
An extension of Mailsort, Walksort enables mail to be pre-sorted into postmen's rounds before leaving the mailing house. This is particularly beneficial for campaigns with a particularly high coverage in one area and significant postage savings of up to 36% discount can be achieved.

Wallet envelopes
Envelopes with the flap on a long side.