Fadeometer An instrument used to measure the fading properties of inks and other pigmented coatings.

Fake color Producing a color illustration by using one image as a key and making the other separations from it manually.

Fanout Distortion of paper on the press due to waviness in the paper caused by absorption of moisture at the edges of the paper, particularly across the grain.

Fatties Word to describe a spread (i.e., spreads and chokes)

Feeder In printing presses, the section that separates the sheets and feeds them in position for printing.

Felt side The smoother side of the paper for printing. The top side of the sheet in paper manufacturing.

File Information in electronic form. A group of related information, such as text, graphics, page instructions, and picture information stored on magnetic disks or other media.

Filling in (or filling up) A condition where ink fills the area between the halftone dots or plugs up (fills in) the type.

Flat The assembly of negatives on goldenrod paper or positives on film, ready for platemaking. A photograph lacking in contrast.

Flatbed scanner A device that scans images in a manner similar to a photocopy machine; the original art is positioned face down on a glass plate.

Flush cover A cover that has been trimmed to the same size as the inside text pages as in this book.

Flush left (or right) In composition, type set justified, to line up at the left (or right). This page is set flush left and right.

Flush paragraph A paragraph with no indention.

Flying paster or splicer In web printing, an automatic pasting device that splices a new roll of paper onto an expiring roll, without stopping the press.

FM (Frequency Modulation) screening A computerized method for digital screening. See stochastic screening.

Focal length In photography, the distance from the center of the lens to the image of an object at infinity. At same size, it is the distance from copy to image and measures four times the focal length of the lens.

Foil stamping In this process a piece of colored foil is placed between a piece of paper and a die. The die is the heated and it is pressed against the foil and paper. Through the uses of heat and pressure the color layer from the foil is transferred onto the paper.

Folio A page number.

Font In composition, a complete assortment of letters, numbers, punctuations, etc., of a given size and design.

Form The assembly of pages and other images for printing. Sometimes refers to one side of a signature.

Format The type size, style, typeface, margins, bleed, gutters, printing re­quirements, etc., of a printed piece.

Form rollers The rollers, either inking or dampening, that directly contact the plate on a printing press.

Fountain solution In lithography, a solution of water, a natural or synthetic gum, and other chemicals used to dampen the plate and keep non-printing areas from accepting ink.

FPO (For Position Only) In digital imaging, this is typically a low-resolution image positioned in a document to be replaced later with a higher resolution version of the same image.

Free sheet Paper free of mechanical wood pulp.

Front end system In electronic publishing, the workstation or group of workstations containing the applications software for preparing pages of type and graphics.

Full-color or process color or 4-C (four-color) - refers to using four specific colors: cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow plus black to reproduce color photos or illustrations. Abbreviated as CMYK. Although a 4-C job usually means using these four process colors, it could mean using 4 spot colors, too. Tricky business.

"f" stops In photography, fixed stops for setting lens apertures.