Barcode
Barcodes are machine-readable codes. We are familiar with these codes on goods and books that are read by scanners in POS systems.
Lexicon
Base colour
The term base colour is usually used in connection with the Pantone Matching System. The Pantone colours – 1755 in total since 2014 – are mixed from 18 PANTONE base colours in various mixing ratios.
Baseline grid
The baseline grid guarantees that the font lines in a document are at the same height in a layout.
Bleed
Bleed or the bleed allowance is used in printing and prepress to describe the area that is still being printed but which is outside the actual print and is cut off at the end.
Bleedbox
The bleed box comprises the part of the PDF that includes the content with the bleed. For DIN A4 with 3mm bleed all round, the bleed box is therefore 210×297 plus 6mm, i.e. 216x303mm.
Brightener
Brighteners (also called optical brighteners or OBAs – Optical Brightning Agents) are chemical compounds used in the printing industry to improve the brightness and whiteness of paper. They absorb UV light and emit it as visible blue light, giving the paper a ‘brighter’ and ‘fresher’ white tone. This effect increases the brilliance of printed products, making the paper look whiter and more valuable. Optical brighteners are used in paper production, but brighteners are also used in printing inks to increase contrast and colour intensity, particularly in photo and colour printing. …
bvdm
The German Printing and Media Industries Federation (bvdm) is the central association of the German printing industry.