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M

M Weight
M weight is the actual weight in pounds of 1,000 sheets of paper, regardless of the basic size or paper grade. M weight is listed primarily to guide the printer/paper buyer in his or her estimating, as paper still is sold by the pound.

Machine Glazed
Paper with a high gloss finish on one side only.

Machine Varnish
Varnishes are used to enhance the finish of a print job. Machine varnishes (otherwise referred to as process varnishes) are applied during printing at the end of the press. A ‘spot varnish’ covers a selected area, while a ‘solid varnish’ covers the entire sheet. See also UV Varnish.

Magnetic Ink
A magnetized ink that can be read both by humans and by electronic machines. Used in check printing.

Make-Ready
Process of adjusting final plate on the press to fine-tune or modify plate surface. Also used generally to describe the time and associated cost spent in preparing a machine or crew for production.

Make-Up
The assembling of all elements, to form the printed image.

Manila
A tough brown or yellow paper used to produce stationery and wrapping paper.

Margin
Unprinted space around edge of page: head, fore-edge, back margin, foot.

Mark-Up
Copy prepared for a compositor setting out in detail all the typesetting instructions.

Mask
Opaque material or masking tape used to block off an area of the artwork.

Masthead
Details of publisher and editorial staff usually printed on the contents page.

Matchprint or Cromalin
These proofing methods are quicker and cheaper than wet proofs but are not as color accurate. Cromalins and Matchprints do not use plates but they do use the final film. The image is created by applying color toner to a tacky surface and the proof is then protected by a sheet of laminate. The result is a very glossy proof, which heightens the red and yellow. Cromalins and Matchprints are approximately 90% color accurate. When producing a job on matte paper these proofs do not give a true representation of the final project because of their glossy finish.

Materials
This is the specification of the weight of paper and the type of coating (matte, gloss, satin/silk or uncoated) desired.

Matte
A matte coating is not shiny like a gloss, but still keeps much of the ink from being absorbed by the paper and provides an excellent print image. Matte stocks can be written on with most pens and pencils, while gloss stocks will often smudge or smear.

Mechanical Tint
A pre-printed sheet of dots, lines or patterns that can be laid down on artwork for reproduction.

Mechanical Wood Paper
Paper made from mechanically treated wood pulp. Mechanical wood paper is of comparatively poor quality and is commonly used for very long run jobs or jobs of many pages where quality is less important and paper costs are high.

Metallic Ink
Printing inks which produce a metallic effect like gold, silver or bronze.

MG
(See Machine Glazed)

Micron
A measure of the thickness of the substrate. 1,000 microns = 1 millimeter.

Midtone
The area between highlight and shadow in a halftone image.

Mock-Up
The rough visual of a publication or design. Also the manual arrangement of proofs to form a visual sample of certain aspects of the finished product.

Modern
Refers to typefaces introduced towards the end of the 19th century. Times roman is a good example of modern type.

Moire
An undesirable pattern in the screen of a printed image caused by mis-registration of colors or conflicting screen angles.

Monospace
A font in which all characters occupy the same amount of horizontal width regardless of the character. Allows easy alignment in tables and mathematical columns, etc.

Montage
A single image formed from the assembling of several images.

Mottle
The spotty or uneven appearance of printing, mostly in solid areas.

Mull
Coarse muslin glued to spine of book for strengthening.

Mutt
A typesetting term for the em space.

Mylar
(See Acetate.)