neunmalklug from vh-crossmedia

In the "neunmalklug" section, I publish tips, tricks and technical information about graphic and web design at irregular intervals. Today:

9 terms that have made it from typography & printing technology into everyday language

  1. CopyIn classical letterpress printing, an impression was a first proof or a simple test print (the material to be printed was placed on the inked printing plate and usually tapped with a brush, whereby the printing ink clapped off onto the sheet). Today, the word is used to describe an inferior copy or imitation.
  2. ClichéCliché: Originally, it was a printing term for a printing plate that was used to create identical copies of an original. This is why "cliché" is also used today in a figurative sense to describe stereotypical ideas or entrenched opinions.
  3. LapidaryOriginally a simple font, also known as "lapidary script" (from the Latin "lapis" for "stone"). In everyday language, "lapidary" is used to express something succinctly and with little embellishment.
  4. Waste paperIn the printing industry, "waste" refers to unusable or faulty printed copies (from the Latin word maculatura: "the stained"). In the vernacular, it is used to refer to something superfluous or scrap material.
  5. MarginaliaIn typography, a marginalia refers to a note in the margin or a marginal note (marginalis: "concerning the margin"). In everyday language, the term is used for a triviality or an unimportant note.
  6. Matrix: A stamp used for casting fonts. Today it is often used as a synonym for "foundation" or "base".
  7. CategoryThe term rubric comes from the red (Latin: rubrum) colour that was used in religious books to mark instructions for the liturgy and was also used for headings and other structural elements, i.e. it denotes a heading or keyword that identifies a specific area of content. In everyday language, the term "rubric" is used for a category or section.
  8. StereotypeStereotyping refers to the process of moulding and reproducing typesetting or printing blocks. In common parlance, the term, like cliché, has come to epitomise entrenched ideas, which in the case of stereotype primarily stand for simplifications and prejudices.
  9. Type caseIn typography, a type case refers to a tool used to set type - the many lead letters lay sorted in the small compartments of wooden boxes. Today, the term is used for a decorative collection of objects in small wooden compartments.