Glossary

10 pt. C1S
10 pt (point) refers to the thickness (or caliper) of a sheet of paper. C1S means that the sheet is "coated one side". 10 pt C1S is stock (paper) on a typical paperback. Note: 99% of what is on the bookshelf is 10 pt. Upgrading to a 12 pt or higher just adds to the unit cost without adding to the retail price.

12 pt. C1S
12 pt (point) refers to the thickness (or caliper) of a sheet of paper. C1S means that the sheet is "coated one side". 12 pt. C1S is a little thicker than your typical paperback which is 10 pt C1S.

Adhesive case
A style of hardcover binding where the signatures are glued together as opposed to sewn. Budget note: The adhesives have improved to the point where most books are fine bound like this. Unless you are printing a coffee table book, a bible, hymnal, or other heavy use book, you do not need to sew it.

B-grade cloth
Cloth used on hardcover binding is either A, B or C grade cloth. B-grade being not the most or the least expensive. It is often used on just a spine of a book, because cloth is always more expensive than paper.

Bleed
If you want color to go to the edge of your page, then it "bleeds". The "bleed" itself goes beyond the actual edge of the paper so that when the book is trimmed you are not left with a thin white strip. A bleed is typically 1/8-1/4".

Blind
Blind refers to a stamp on a hardcover book case that has no color. You can see it, but you can also "feel" it, the way a blind person reads Braille.

Board
The board is what makes up the case in a hardcover binding. (Some people may say cover instead of case.) The thickness of the board is given in pts (points). 88 pt being typical, 110 pt being thicker for an oversize art book for example. Budget note: There are many different types of board. Steer clear of specifying a particular board.

Bulk
See PPI