Basic Yearbook Terms
1. All Caps - Copy set entirely in capital letters (difficult to read in large amounts).
2. Bleed: a picture that extends beyond the margin of the page, extending off the page
3. Bridge - An element used to connect areas separated by a grid of white space. Headlines and quote boxes are
commonly used as bridges.
4. Byline: line at beginning or end of copy giving name of person who wrote it.
5. Caption: Explanatory material that not only identifies the who, what, when, where, why and how of a picture,
but also tells something extra to amplify the message. May tell the reader what happened before or after the
picture. Should tell the reader something s/he does not know from looking at the picture. Always written in
present tense.
6. Clip Art - Professionally designed art used as part of the design.
7. Colophon: A statement giving publishing credit and technical information: type faces and sizes used, paper
stock, layout styles, graphic devices, number of copies, cost to students, printer, professional photography and
honors earned, membership in professional organizations.
8. Copy: To a journalist, the words written to tell a story or describe an event; to a printer, all written materials and
photos to be printed.
9. Copy block: The layout space allocated for the written text, as distinguished from the space allocated for
captions, titles or headlines or photos.
10. Copy editing: The processing of proofreading copy and making necessary corrections and changes.
11. Copyright: The exclusive right for the creator or owner of original literary, artistic or photographic material to
make, distribute and control copies of that work for a specified number of years, as guaranteed by law. Copyright
registration materials are available by writing the Register of Copyright, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
12. Cropping: Editing and marking a photograph to indicate to the printer the area to be included in the yearbook.
Also the editing out of a background, foreground and sides of a photograph that remove parts that distract from
the center of interest.
13. Divider page: A page or double-page spread that separates different sections of the book
14. Dominance (or Dominant Photo): When an element or elements attract immediate reader attention. Usually
achieved by making a photo or visual package two-and-one-half to three-times larger than any other element on
the spread; also occurs with use of color, isolation and extreme shape or cropping.
15. Dots per inch (DPI): a measure of screen or printer resolution; the number of dots in a line one inch long.
Abbreviated dpi.
16. Double-page spread: facing pages with continued subject matter.
17. Drop cap: a large initial letter used to introduce copy, caption or headline
18. Edit: To change, manage or supervise for a publication.
19. Element: Copy, headline, art – anything to be put into a layout.
20. Endsheet: Heavy sheet of paper that attaches the book to its cover. There is an endsheet in the front and back of
the book.
21. Eyeline: To unite a spread, a horizontal line is established across the spread above or below the center mark to
give movement to the reader’s eye. Should be broken by a photo element.
22. Flat: one side of a signature; 8 pages
23. Folio: A page number, best located at the bottom of each page to the outside and parallel to the bottom of the
page.
24. Folio tab: Line of type near the page number which identifies the section, chapter or text appearing on that page.
25. Font: the complete set of all letters, numerals, ligatures and punctuation marks of a type face.
26. Gutter: The inner space between the two pages of a spread where the paper runs into the spine.
27. Headline: A line or large type used to tell the reader what is to follow, introducing the main point of interest of
the copy.
28. Infographic - An artistic rendering of facts gathered from a poll or survey.
29. Internal Spacing - The amount of space between elements (photos, copy, and graphics) on a spread.
30. Job number: A five-digit number assigned by Jostens. The number is the same from year to year. Ours job
number is 06622.
31. Ladder: A chart representing the pages in a signature or a book, used for planning book sections, page content
and color placement.
32. Layout: A plan or drawing which shows size and position of all elements.
33. Lead: The opening paragraph of a story which sets the tone for the article giving it purpose and direction.
34. Lead-in: The first words of a caption or story which draw attention to the copy and which are often set apart
typographically for emphasis.
35. Leading - The space between lines of type (measured in points).
36. Primary headline: The main headline of a spread which first captures the attention of the readers.
37. Pull-quote: Words “pulled” from text and displayed as quotation.
38. Rails - Single vertical empty grids left on both sides of a featured story to draw the readers' eyes to the story.
39. Resolution: The sharpness or clarity of an image.
40. Secondary Headline - A smaller headline that supplements the primary headline by adding information or
identification (usually designed in conjunction with the primary headline). A Secondary Headline can used
within the body copy to break up copy-heavy areas and is usually set in a larger point size and/or heavier weight
than body copy. Also called Subhead.
41. Signature: all the (16) pages printed on a single sheet of paper.
42. Spread: Two facing pages in a publication.
43. Template: A master page that maintains consistency within a design or section.
44. Text Wrap - A column of text that flows around a photo, quote, graphic, or art.
45. Theme: a central idea or concept.
46. Title page: a page (usually page one) containing the title, year of publication, school name, location (address,
city, state and zip code), phone and fax, student and staff population of the school and volume number in Arabic
numbers.
47. Trapped white space: (sometimes called “unplanned white space”) an area of white space separating two or
more photographs or copy blocks and giving the appearance of disunity to the layout page.