In this guide 6 sections
Make-ready is setup before a saleable sheet. Spoilage is waste. Imposition is page layout per press sheet. Bleed is artwork past the trim line. Each term changes paper quantity, press time or proof approval, so each one belongs in its own field on the job record, filled in by the estimator.
Make-ready and spoilage
Make-ready is everything before good copies appear. On an offset press that means mounting plates, setting ink keys and registering colours, and every sheet printed while the operator adjusts goes straight into the waste bin.
Spoilage is the wider word for waste. It covers make-ready sheets and also paper lost later to folding, trimming and gluing, so an estimator adds a spoilage allowance to the paper order. Without it, the job runs short.
- Make-ready time, entered in minutes per colour
- Waste sheets for press and for bindery, entered separately
- Actual waste, recorded when the job closes
Imposition and the press sheet
Imposition is the layout of pages on a large sheet so that, once printed, folded and cut, they fall in reading order, whatever the sequence on the sheet itself. A sixteen page signature looks scrambled. Nothing looks sequential.
It matters to cost because it fixes how many pages fit per sheet, and better imposition means fewer sheets, fewer plates and shorter press time. The imposition scheme sits on the job ticket as sheet size, signature count and work style, such as sheetwise or work and turn.
Bleed, trim and safe area
Bleed is the extra artwork that runs past the trim line, so a cut that drifts a little does not leave a white edge. Many printers ask for a few millimetres of bleed on every trimmed side, and the exact figure depends on the machine and the guillotine.
Trim is the final cut size. The safe area is the inner margin where text stays clear of the cut, so small print near an edge never gets sliced by a drifting guillotine blade. Missing bleed is the most common reason a proof is rejected, and it adds a day while the customer sends a new file.
- Trim size and bleed on the order
- File check result, passed or failed
- Proof status and approval date
- Safe area warning for small text near edges
Terms that drive cost and scheduling
Run length is the quantity ordered. Grain direction is the way paper fibres lie, which affects how cleanly a sheet folds without cracking along the spine or the score line. GSM means grams per square metre. Gripper edge is the strip the press holds, which cannot carry ink, so it shrinks the printable area of every sheet that runs through the machine.
Each term shapes a decision. GSM sets the stock and the postage weight, while grain direction can force a larger sheet and gripper edge may change the imposition.
Where each term lives in the job record
A good job record has a field for each term above, with make-ready and imposition in the production block and bleed and proof status beside the artwork. Spoilage belongs in two places. One is the allowance on the estimate, the other is the waste actually counted at the bindery and the press when the job closes.
Print the list for the front desk and the new estimator, then ask each of them to find every field on a live job this week. Gaps show up fast. The first gap is usually spoilage.
Print terms job record cheat sheet
Ten rows, one for each print term: make-ready, spoilage, imposition, bleed, trim, safe area, grain direction, GSM, gripper edge and run length. Each row gives the plain meaning and the job record field, plus a blank line for an example from a real job in your own shop.
Open a blank worksheet to printQuestions owners ask
What is the difference between make-ready and spoilage?
Make-ready is setup before saleable sheets appear. Spoilage is the wider total, covering make-ready sheets plus later losses in folding, trimming, gluing and binding, so one sits inside the other.
How much bleed should artwork have?
Ask your printer. Requirements vary by machine and finisher, and many shops ask for a few millimetres of artwork past the trim on every side that gets cut.
Does imposition change the price?
Yes. It sets how many pages fit on a sheet, which changes the paper order, the plate count and the press time for the whole run.
Who sets the spoilage allowance?
The estimator sets it, working from past jobs of the same kind, and should compare the allowance with actual waste from closed job tickets each month. Adjust it per machine.