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alternate characters
Variations in designs of certain characters in a type font. Alternate version permit more variety of letter combinations, especially in headline typography.
ampersand
In Latin, this is the symbol for “et” which means “and.” The name is believed to be derived from the phrase “and per se and.”
analog scanner
A computer or other device that manipulates analog data as variable voltages. Some scanners utilize hard-wired electronic circuit to do analog color correction and tone reproduction, other scanners utilize digital data to do similar functions. Nowadays all scanners are digital.
angle quotes
Single angle quotes are similar, but not identical to the “less than” and “greater than” symbols. They look like this:
and
Double angle quotes are sometimes called “chevrons”. They look like this:
and
aniline dye
A synthetic, organic dye used in flexography printing inks.
ANSI
- Abbreviation for American National Standards Institute, (pronounced an-see): A non-governmental organization to propose, modify, approve and publish data processing standards in the USA.
- The Microsoft collective name for all Windows code pages. It is sometimes used specifically for code page 1252, which is a superset of ISO/IEC 8859-1.
annulus
The small aperture that passes the image signal data during scanning. The annulus is surrounded by a larger unsharp masking aperture or mirror.
anti-offset spray
A dry or liquid spray attachment on presses to prevent ink from transferring from the top of one printed sheet to the bottom of the next. It is sometimes called set-off spray.
antique finish
A natural, textured surface on book, text and cover papers.
API
Abbreviation for Application Program Interface: a routine that gives programmers access to the services provided by an operating system or application.
aplanat
A lens designed and corrected for spherical aberations.
Apple Computer
The Cupertino, California-based computer company that manufactures and markets the Macintosh brand of personnel computers.
My first Mac, an SE with a whopping 1 MB of RAM
aqueous coating
A water-based finish coating applied in-line like a varnish to protect the finished printed surface
ARA
Abbreviation for AppleTalk Remote Access: protocol used by Macintosh computers to allow a remote system to act as if it is part of the local network.
art director
The person who is responsible for overseeing the creative process. Art directors can also manage the production process.
APIS
Abbreviation for Agfa Printer Interface Standard: protocol defined by Agfa to exchange information between RIPs and imagesetters or printers.
AppleTalk
The part of the operating system of Macintosh computers that deals with networking. Initially the software ran on a proprietary network from Apple, called LocalTalk. LocalTalk used a serial port on the Mac and could transfer information at a raw speed of 230 kilobits per second (about 1 MByte per minute in real life). Later on Apple added support for EtherNet (EtherTalk) and Token Ring (TokenTalk) to the AppleTalk software. Nowadays Macs can also use the standard TCP/IP protocol and AppleTalk is gradually disappearing from the market.
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