Glossary of terms

Broadsheet:: A standard newspaper page size. The usual measurements are 10 columns of classified or 6 columns of retail advertising, by 21 inches deep.

Camera Ready:: Any ad element, or complete ad, that is sent to the newspaper ready to use.

Classified:: A 10 column section with both agate and display ads that are billed by the line.

CMYK:: One of several color formatting options for ads – cyan, magenta, yellow and black. All the ads printed at the PPH/MST print in CMYK format. See also RGB and Spot Color.

Column Inch:: Area that is one column wide by 1 inch deep. See our Classified column sizes here, or our Retail column sizes here.

Double Truck:: Two facing pages used for a single, unbroken advertisement. It is also called a 2-page spread and usually incorporates the gutter.

Download:: (1) To transfer a file from another computer to your computer (2) To transfer information from a computer to a computer disk. Opposite of Upload.

Folio:: Usually the Section and Page number, as well as the issue date and newspaper identification that appears at the top of each page.

Four Color:: Also called full color or process color. Full range of colors obtained by printing cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

Frequency:: The average number of times an audience member is exposed to a medium. Usually referred to as average frequency.

Guaranteed Position:: An advertiser may request a specific section and specific page to place an ad and, with a reservation fee (that is refunded if the request cannot be honored) can "guarantee" that position.

Native Format:: Any format other than a PDF; for example – QuarkXPress document, InDesign document, EPS or JPG (Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator file). Any file that can be manipulated, as opposed to a PDF, which cannot be manipulated.

Pica:: A unit of measuring for printing. There are six picas to the inch. See also “Points”

Points:: A unit of measuring for printing. There are 12 points to the pica & 6 picas to the inch for a total of 72 points to the inch.

Portable Document Format (PDF):: PDF is a universal file format that preserves fonts, images, graphics and layout of any source document, regardless of the application and platform used to create it.

Preflight:: The operation of evaluating a supplied electronic file to determine if all of the elements necessary to print from it are included and useable.

Proof:: The first reproduction of the ad as it will appear in the newspaper, often used to check for accuracy.

RGB Color:: Acronym for red–green–blue. A model for describing colors that are produced by emitting light, as on a video monitor, rather than by absorbing it, as with ink on paper. Adding no color produces black; adding 100 percent of all three colors results in white.. Ads in RGB must be converted to CMYK for print. See also CMYK and Spot Color.

ROP:: Run of Press – Denotes advertising that appears within the newspaper itself (as opposed to inserts). Usually refers to retail (non-classified) advertising.

SAU:: Standard Advertising Unit. Standardizes size for space reservations enabling national advertisers to buy space more easily.

Scotch Double Truck:: A double truck ad that doesn’t span completely across two facing pages. The gutter is still incorporated, but at least one column of news borders both sides of the ad.

Spadea:: A single page folded vertically around the spine of a section (usually the Comics) covering part of the front and back pages.

Spec Ad:: A preliminary layout showing the position of illustrations and text of a proposed ad.

Spot Color:: Spot colors are printed with special premixed inks, used instead of, or in addition to, CMYK inks (process colors). Spot color printing requires a separate plate for every spot color, whereas process color printing only uses four plates, one for each of the four basic CMYK colors. Spot colors are especially well suited for offset printing, but should be used with caution when creating documents for four-color printing. See also CMYK.

Tabloid:: A newspaper section about half the size of a standard or broadsheet section. Retail sections measure 5 columns wide by 11.5 inch deep. Classified sections measure 8 columns wide by 11.5 inch deep.

Tear Sheet:: A full-size page from the newspaper that shows ads and the surrounding news.

Total Market Coverage (TMC):: An option for delivering preprinted inserts; see "Product Options" for more details.

Upload:: (1) To transfer a file from your computer to another computer (2) To transfer information from a computer disk to a computer. Opposite of Download.

White Space:: The area left open in an ad that is not printed over with type or art.

Zoned Editions:: Editions of the paper that are zoned to a specific region or area.