Glossary

The PRINTING United Alliance Glossary serves as an excellent industry terminology resource. It is the language by which we all communicate. Without it, universal understanding would be impossible.

To keep our constituents well informed about changes to the increasingly complex industry terminology, PRINTING United Alliance has developed this glossary of terms. Definitions are for general reference only. Usage may vary between companies, individuals, or national and country customs. The information presented is as accurate as the authors and editors can ascertain and PRINTING United Alliance assumes no responsibility for the use of information presented herein.
  • QS9000
    An automotive quality standards system used by supplier to the automobile industry.
  • Qty
    Acceptable abbreviation for quantity.
  • Quad
    The addition of space to fill a line of type using an en or em block.
  • Quadracolor
    A function of some color scanners where a set of four separations is produced on a single piece of film.
  • Quality
    A measure of the degree of perfection of all phases of a process.
  • Quality assurance (QA) (quality control) (QC)
    A system of inspections, and/or tests instituted at various stages in a manufacturing or printing process to ensure that the end product will meet predetermined standards.
  • Quality factor
    A measure of the ratio of pixels per halftone screen ruling.
  • Quantization
    Artificial forcing of like gray levels to the same gray levels as a result of limited tonal resolution in a scanner used in shadow portion of scanned image.
  • Quart (qt)
    A unit of liquid volume or capacity equal to 32 fluid ounces, US, 1/4 gallon US and 57.75 cubic inches.
  • Quartertone
    Tones that lie between shadow and midtone and between highlight and midtone; tonal values in range 25% dot.
  • Quartz
    Most common form of silica, an essential ingredient in glass and enamel batches.
  • Quartz glass
    A pure silica glass highly transparent to ultraviolet radiation.
  • Quartz-iodine lamp (quartz-halogen)
    An improved tungsten bulb that has a tungsten filament surrounded by iodine and inert gases, enclosed in a quartz envelope; also referred to as quartz halogen.
  • Quartz-tube
    A UV lamp typically filled with mercury vapor, and made from quartz.
  • Quench
    A method of cooling a substance suddenly, usually in water, oil, or air.
  • Queue
    The line of events scheduled to occur with a computer or peripheral.
  • Quilted
    Jacket with two or more layers and padding filling.
  • Quinacridone red/magenta
    An organic pigment with outstanding lightfastness and other resistance properties.
  • Quinizarine maroon
    An organic pigment with good lightfastness, excellent resistance to acids and alkali, good bleed resistance, and good transparency.
  • Quire
    One twentieth of a ream of paper (24 or 25 sheets).
  • Quoin
    A steel wedge-shaped or expandable device used to lock up type or die elements in a chase.
  • Qwerty
    A standard keyboard layout based on American standard typewritter.