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Ethiopian Printing Terminology Guide
Every printing word you’ll hear at the shop — explained simply in English and Amharic (አማርኛ). Search a term or browse by category. Made for designers, students and customers who want to order print with confidence.
42 terms
Bleed
Prepressብሊድ (ትርፍ ህዳግ)
Artwork extended about 3 mm past the trim line so no white edge shows after cutting.
ከመቁረጫው መስመር በ3 ሚ.ሜ ያህል የተለጠጠ ዲዛይን፤ ከተቆረጠ በኋላ ነጭ ጠርዝ እንዳይታይ ያደርጋል።
Trim
Prepressትሪም (መቁረጫ መስመር)
The final cut size of the finished printed piece.
የተጠናቀቀው የታተመ ሥራ የመጨረሻ የመቁረጫ መጠን።
Safe area
Prepressደህንነቱ የተጠበቀ ቦታ
Inner margin where text and logos are kept so they are not cut off.
ጽሑፍና ሎጎ እንዳይቆረጡ የሚቀመጡበት የውስጥ ህዳግ።
Crop marks
Prepressየመቁረጫ ምልክቶች
Thin corner lines that show the cutter exactly where to trim.
ወረቀቱ የት መቆረጥ እንዳለበት የሚያሳዩ የጠርዝ መስመሮች።
Resolution (DPI)
Prepressጥራት (DPI)
Dots per inch. 300 dpi is the standard for sharp, professional print.
በኢንች ውስጥ ያሉ ነጥቦች ብዛት፤ ለጥሩ ህትመት 300 dpi ይመከራል።
Vector
Prepressቬክተር
Artwork built from paths that can scale to any size without losing quality.
ጥራቱን ሳያጣ ወደ ማንኛውም መጠን ማሳደግ የሚቻል በመስመሮች የተሠራ ዲዛይን።
Raster / Bitmap
Prepressራስተር (ፒክስል)
Image made of pixels; it becomes blurry when enlarged too much.
በፒክስሎች የተሠራ ምስል፤ ከመጠን በላይ ሲጎላ ይደበዝዛል።
Proof
Prepressናሙና (ማረጋገጫ)
A sample of the job shown for approval before the full print run.
ሙሉ ህትመት ከመጀመሩ በፊት ለማጽደቅ የሚቀርብ ናሙና።
Imposition
Prepressኢምፖዚሽን (የገጽ አደራደር)
Arranging several pages on one press sheet so it prints and folds correctly.
ብዙ ገጾችን በአንድ የህትመት ወረቀት ላይ በአግባቡ ማደራጀት፤ በትክክል ታትሞ እንዲታጠፍ።
Prepress
Prepressቅድመ-ህትመት
All the file preparation and checking done before printing begins.
ህትመት ከመጀመሩ በፊት የሚደረግ የፋይል ዝግጅትና ማረጋገጫ።
Offset printing
Printingኦፍሴት ህትመት
Ink transferred from plates through a rubber blanket. Best value for large runs.
ቀለም ከፕሌት በጎማ ብላንኬት ወደ ወረቀት የሚተላለፍበት፤ ለብዙ ቅጂ ኢኮኖሚያዊ ነው።
Digital printing
Printingዲጂታል ህትመት
Printing directly from a file — ideal for short runs and fast turnaround.
በቀጥታ ከፋይል የሚታተም፤ ለአነስተኛ ብዛትና ፈጣን ሥራ ተስማሚ።
Large-format printing
Printingሰፊ ፎርማት ህትመት
Printing large items such as banners, posters and signage.
እንደ ባነር፣ ፖስተርና ማስታወቂያ ያሉ ትላልቅ ሥራዎችን ማተም።
Screen printing
Printingስክሪን ህትመት
Ink pushed through a fine mesh stencil; common on shirts, bags and rigid items.
ቀለም በጥሩ መረብ ስቴንስል ተጭኖ የሚታተም፤ ለሸሚዝ፣ ቦርሳና ጠንካራ ቁሶች።
UV printing
Printingዩቪ ህትመት
Ink cured instantly with UV light, so it prints on many materials, even rigid ones.
ቀለም በUV ብርሃን ወዲያውኑ የሚደርቅ፤ በተለያዩ ቁሶች ላይ (ጠንካራ ጭምር) ያትማል።
Plate
Printingፕሌት (የህትመት ሳህን)
The thin metal sheet that carries the image in offset printing.
በኦፍሴት ህትመት ምስሉን የሚይዘው ቀጭን የብረት ሳህን።
GSM
Paperጂኤስኤም (የወረቀት ውፍረት)
Grams per square metre — paper weight/thickness. Higher GSM means heavier stock.
ግራም በካሬ ሜትር — የወረቀት ክብደት/ውፍረት። ቁጥሩ ከፍ ሲል ወፍራም ማለት ነው።
Coated paper
Paperኮትድ ወረቀት
Paper with a smooth gloss or matte surface coating for crisp colour.
ለስላሳ ሚያብረቀርቅ ወይም ማት ሽፋን ያለው ወረቀት፤ ቀለም በጥራት ያሳያል።
Art paper
Paperአርት ወረቀት
Smooth coated paper widely used for flyers, brochures and magazines.
ለፍላየር፣ ብሮሹርና መጽሔት በስፋት የሚውል ለስላሳ ኮትድ ወረቀት።
Cardstock / Board
Paperካርቶን / ቦርድ
Thick, stiff paper for business cards, covers and packaging.
ለቢዝነስ ካርድ፣ ሽፋንና ማሸጊያ የሚውል ወፍራምና ጠንካራ ወረቀት።
Matte / Gloss
Paperማት / ግሎስ
Surface finishes — matte is non-reflective and soft; gloss is shiny and vivid.
የገጽታ አይነት — ማት አያብረቀርቅም፤ ግሎስ ያብረቀርቃል።
CMYK
Colourሲኤምዋይኬ (CMYK)
The four process inks — Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black (Key) — used to print full colour.
ሙሉ ቀለም ለማተም የሚውሉ አራት መሠረታዊ ቀለማት — ሳያን፣ ማጀንታ፣ ቢጫና ጥቁር።
RGB
Colourአርጂቢ (RGB)
The Red-Green-Blue screen colour model. Convert to CMYK before printing.
ቀይ-አረንጓዴ-ሰማያዊ የስክሪን ቀለም ስልት፤ ከማተም በፊት ወደ CMYK ይቀየር።
Spot / Pantone colour
Colourስፖት / ፓንቶን ቀለም
A pre-mixed, named ink used when an exact, consistent colour is required.
ትክክለኛና ወጥ ቀለም ሲያስፈልግ የሚውል አስቀድሞ የተዘጋጀ የተሰየመ ቀለም።
Registration
Colourሪጅስትሬሽን (የቀለም አሰላለፍ)
Precise alignment of the CMYK layers so the colours line up perfectly.
የCMYK ቀለማት በትክክል እንዲሰለፉ ማድረግ።
Dot gain
Colourዶት ጌይን
Ink dots spreading slightly on paper, which can make print look darker than the file.
ቀለም በወረቀት ላይ ትንሽ ተስፋፍቶ ህትመቱ ከፋይሉ የበለጠ እንዲጠቁር ማድረግ።
Lamination
Finishingላሚኔሽን
A thin plastic film applied over print for protection and a gloss or matte finish.
ለጥበቃና ለገጽታ በህትመት ላይ የሚለጠፍ ቀጭን የፕላስቲክ ሽፋን።
Spot UV
Finishingስፖት ዩቪ
A shiny UV coating applied only to selected areas for contrast and a premium feel.
ለጎላ ገጽታ በተመረጡ ቦታዎች ላይ ብቻ የሚደረግ ሚያብረቀርቅ የUV ሽፋን።
Foiling
Finishingፎይል (ወርቅ / ብር)
Metallic foil (gold, silver, etc.) pressed onto print for a premium look.
ለተለየ ውበት በህትመት ላይ የሚጫን የብረት ፎይል (ወርቅ፣ ብር ወዘተ)።
Embossing
Finishingኢምቦሲንግ
Pressing an image or text so it is raised above the paper surface.
ምስል ወይም ጽሑፍ ከወረቀቱ ገጽ ከፍ ብሎ እንዲወጣ መጫን።
Die cutting
Finishingዳይ መቁረጥ
Cutting paper or board into custom shapes using a steel die.
በብረት ዳይ ወረቀትን ወይም ቦርድን በተፈለገ ቅርጽ መቁረጥ።
Creasing / Scoring
Finishingማጠፊያ መስመር (ክሪዝ)
A pressed line so thick stock folds cleanly without cracking.
ወፍራም ወረቀት ሳይሰነጠቅ በንጹህ እንዲታጠፍ የሚደረግ የተጫነ መስመር።
Perforation
Finishingፐርፎሬሽን (የመበጠሻ መስመር)
A line of tiny holes so a part (like a ticket stub) can be torn off cleanly.
አንድ ክፍል (እንደ ቲኬት) በቀላሉ እንዲነጠል የሚደረግ ጥቃቅን ቀዳዳዎች መስመር።
Saddle stitch
Finishingሳድል ስቲች (ስቴፕል ማሰሪያ)
Booklet binding stapled through the folded spine. Best for thin booklets.
በታጠፈው ጀርባ በኩል በስቴፕል የሚታሰር የቡክሌት ማሰሪያ፤ ለቀጭን ቡክሌት ተስማሚ።
Perfect binding
Finishingፐርፌክት ባይንዲንግ
Pages glued into a flat spine, like a paperback book or thick catalogue.
ገጾች በሙጫ ጠፍጣፋ ጀርባ ላይ የሚጣበቁበት፤ እንደ ወረቀት መጽሐፍ ወይም ወፍራም ካታሎግ።
Signature (book)
Finishingሲግኔቸር (የመጽሐፍ ክፍል)
A large sheet printed with several pages that folds down into a section of a book.
በርካታ ገጾች ታትመውበት ተጣጥፎ የመጽሐፍ ክፍል የሚሆን ትልቅ ወረቀት።
Vinyl
Signageቪኒል
Adhesive plastic sheet used for stickers, vehicle wraps and signage.
ለስቲከር፣ ለተሽከርካሪ መጠቅለያና ማስታወቂያ የሚውል ተለጣፊ ፕላስቲክ።
Flex banner
Signageፍሌክስ ባነር
A durable printed PVC banner used mostly for outdoor advertising.
ለውጪ ማስታወቂያ በብዛት የሚውል ጠንካራ የታተመ PVC ባነር።
Roll-up banner
Signageሮል አፕ ባነር
A portable, retractable banner stand for events, shops and reception areas.
ለዝግጅት፣ ለሱቅና ለአቀባበል የሚሆን ተንቀሳቃሽና የሚጠቀለል ባነር።
Acrylic
Signageአክሪሊክ
A clear, rigid plastic used for premium signs, plaques and 3D letters.
ለጥራት ማስታወቂያ፣ ለሰሌዳና ለባለ3ዲ ፊደላት የሚውል ግልጽና ጠንካራ ፕላስቲክ።
3D / Channel letters
Signageባለ3ዲ ፊደላት
Raised, often illuminated letters used for shopfront and building signage.
ለሱቅ ፊትና ለህንፃ ማስታወቂያ የሚውሉ ከፍ ያሉ (ብዙ ጊዜ የሚበሩ) ፊደላት።
Grommet / Eyelet
Signageግሮሜት (የገመድ ቀዳዳ)
A metal ring fitted at a banner’s edge so it can be tied or hung securely.
ባነር ለማሰር ወይም ለመስቀል በጠርዙ ላይ የሚደረግ የብረት ቀለበት።
Common questions
Printing questions, answered
What does GSM mean in printing?+
GSM stands for grams per square metre — it measures the weight and thickness of paper. A higher GSM means a heavier, stiffer stock. Business cards are often 300–350 gsm, while flyers are usually 130–170 gsm.
What is the difference between offset and digital printing?+
Offset printing transfers ink from plates through a rubber blanket and is the most economical choice for large quantities. Digital printing prints straight from a file, which is faster and cheaper for short runs and quick jobs.
What is bleed and why do I need it?+
Bleed is artwork extended about 3 mm past the trim line. Because cutting has a small tolerance, bleed guarantees the colour reaches the edge with no white slivers after the sheet is cut.
Why must I send files in CMYK, not RGB?+
Screens use RGB light, but presses use CMYK inks. Colours are converted to CMYK for printing, so sending CMYK files lets you see accurate colours and avoids surprises.
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