g/m2 - Abbreviation of grams per metre. A method of indicating the substance of paper or board (whatever the size of the paper/board or number of sheets in the package) on the basis of weight in grams per square metre.

Galley proof - proofs taken from the galleys before being made up into pages.

Galleys - the printing term for long metal trays used to hold type after it had been set and before the press run.

Ganging-up - Imposing different images on a sheet to save make-readies. Different ratios of images can be used to create different quantities; for instance a sheet of 8 images can be printed 4:3:1, so each 1,000 printed sheets would contain 4,000 of image one, 3,000 of image two and 1,000 of image three.

Gatefold - an oversize page where both sides fold into the gutter in overlapping layers. Used to accommodate maps into books. (For more information on folds, please refer to Folding Techniques Menu under Print Workshop)

Gathering - the operation of inserting the printed pages, sections or signatures of a book in the correct order for binding.

GEM - Digital Research's Graphics Environment Manager. A graphical interface designed both to make the operation of software simpler for the non-expert and to allow programs to communicate with one another. Two key desktop publishing packages, Ventura and DR's own GEM Desktop Publisher operate under this environment.

Ghosting - a faint printed image that appears on a printed sheet where it was not intended. More often than not this problem is a function of graphical design. It is hard to tell when or where ghosting will occur. Sometimes the problem can be seen developing immediately after printing the sheet, other times the problem occurs while drying. However the problem occurs it is sometimes costly to fix, if it can be fixed. Occasionally it can be eliminated by changing the colour sequence, the inks, the paper, changing to a press with a drier, printing the problem area in a separate pass through the press or changing the racking (reducing the number of sheets on the drying racks).

Gloss ink - for use in litho and letterpress printing on coated papers where the ink will dry without penetration.

Golden ratio - the rule devised to give proportions of height to width when laying out text and illustrations to produce the most optically pleasing result.

Grain - the direction in which the paper fibre lie.

Gravure - a rotary printing process where the image is etched into the metal plate attached to a cylinder. The cylinder is then rotated through a trough of printing ink after which the etched surface is wiped clean by a blade leaving the non-image area clean. The paper is then passed between two rollers and pressed against the etched cylinder drawing the ink out by absorption.

Greeking - a software device where areas of grey are used to simulate lines of text. One of desktop publishing's less clever methods of getting round the slowness of high resolution displays on the PC.

Grey scale - a range of luminance values for evaluating shading through white to black. Frequently used in discussions about scanners as a measure of their ability to capture halftone images. Basically the more levels the better but with correspondingly larger memory requirements.

Grid - A systematic division of a page into areas to enable designers to ensure consistency. The grid acts as a measuring guide and shows text, illustrations and trim sizes.

Grind-Off - The area which runs along the spine of each section (signature) of a perfect bound book which is removed after being gathered to allow the glue to penetrate every leaf.  The UK standard grind-off dimension is 3mm.


Gripper - device on a printing machine for holding the sheet during the printing or finishing process.

GSM - Grams per square metre. The unit of measurement for paper weight.

Guard - a narrow strip of paper or linen pasted to a single leaf to allow sewing into a section for binding.

Gutter - the central blank area between left and right pages