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l image

lacquer:
A clear coating, usually glossy, applied to a printed piece for protection or special effect.

laid paper:
Paper in which the fibers form a visible pattern of parallel lines.

laminate:
The process of applying a plastic film to a printed piece for protection or appearance.

lamination:
A plastic film applied to a printed piece for protection or appearance.

LAN:
Local Area Network.

landscape:
An image or page that is horizontally oriented, as opposed to portrait, which is vertically oriented.

laser:
Light Amplification by Simulated Emission of Radiation. An intense light beam that produces images with electronic impulses.

laser platemaking:
The use of lasers for exposing printing plates.

laser printer:
A non-impact output device that burns images on paper using toner and a small laser.

lay-flat binding:
A form of binding perfect-bound publications inw hich the cover spine is not actually glued to the edges of the bound pages so the book lays flatter when opened. Also called stay-flat binding.

layout:
The compilation of text and graphics on a page.

leader:
See dot leader.

leading:
The space between lines of type, often measured from the baseline of one line to the baseline of the next, and less frequently measured from ascender to ascender. Dates back to hot metal days when strips of lead were inserted between lines of type to provide line spacing.

leaflet:
A printed sheet folded vertically in the center to produce four pages.

letter-size:
An envelope that fits an 8 1/2 x 11-inch sheet of paper that has been folded twice.

letterform:
The individual characters in a particular typeface.

letterhead:
The stationery system used by a business or professional organization.

letterpress:
The oldest printing method, in which the image to be printed is raised from the plate, inked, and applied directly to paper.

letterset:
A printing process that uses a relief plate for transferring the image to paper.

libel:
Written defamation that causes injury to another person.

library edition:
A book with reinforced binding to withstand extended use.

Library of Congress:
The national library serving the United States Congress.

Library of Congress Catalog Card number:
A unique number assigned by the Library of Congress to a given work for cataloging and identification purposes.

Library rate:
A discount postal rate for shipping books to or from libraries and educational institutions.

ligature:
Two letters joined together to form a new character, such as "fi" and "fl."

lightfastness:
The ability of paper to resist fading or yellowing when exposed to light.

light table:
A table made especially for working with negatives, viewing transparencies and slides, and pasting up artwork, that has a translucent top with a light shining up through it.

limited edition:
A special printing of a book, sometimes in a special case and/or signed by the author, available in a limited quantity.

line art:
Illustrations composed of black and white with no shades of gray.

line break:
The place at the end of a line of text where one word or part of a word ends and before the next word or continuation of the previous word begins on a new line.

line copy:
Text that is suitable for reproduction without using a halftone screen.

line drawing:
A black-and-white drawing with no shades of gray. Also called line art.

linen finish:
Paper in which the fibers form a linen, or woven, pattern. (Not to be confused with wove paper, which has a smoother appearance.)

list:
All of the titles a book publisher has in print and available for sale.

list broker:
A person who sells and rents lists of names and addresses for direct mail campaigns.

list price:
The suggested retail selling price of a book, as opposed to the net price or discount price, which is the price at which bookstores or distributors purchase the book from the publisher. Also called the cover price.

literary agent:
See agent.

LMP:
Literary Marketplace. A directory of the book publishing industry that lists publishers and agents.

lockup:
To position a form (a page or several pages) in a chase for letterpress printing.

logo:
Short for logotype.

logotype:
A graphic treatment of text, or a combination of text and graphics, that identifies a company or a product.

long ink:
An ink that flows well on press.

lossless:
A method of compression in which no data is discarded.

lossy:
A slightly degenerative compression method, in which relatively unimportant data is selectively discarded, after which the rest of the image is compressed.

lowercase:
The small letters of a typeface, as opposed to the capital letters, or uppercase letters. Derived from the location of the type cases in which typographers used to store metal or wood letterforms.

LPI:
Lines Per Inch. The number of rows of halftone cells per inch, also referred to as screen frequency. The finer the frequency, the less noticeable the halftone dots.

lurk:
To view and read public digital conversations posted on the Internet and other online services without participating in the discussion.

 
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