Glossary
Printing Press Operator Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential printing press operator terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key printing press operator vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in printing press operator training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- Anilox roll
- Meters ink in flexo.
- Blanket
- Rubber transfer roller.
- Delta E
- Color difference.
- Densitometer
- Measures ink density.
- Dot gain
- Dots printing larger.
- Flexography
- Printing with flexible plates.
- Makeready
- Setup before a run.
- Offset
- Ink transferred via blanket.
- Proof
- Test print for approval.
- Registration
- Alignment of colors.
- Sheetfed press
- Prints on sheets.
- Spoilage
- Wasted sheets.
- Substrate
- Material printed on.
- Wash-up
- Cleaning ink.
- Web press
- Prints on rolls.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Printing Press Operator practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Printing Press Operator training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.