Adobe Indesign Terms

Intellectual Property

A work or invention that is the result of creativity, such as a manuscript or a design, to which one has rights.

Fair Use

The legal doctrine that allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission for things like criticism, news, or education.

Work for Hire

Work created by an employee as part of their job; the employer holds the copyright, not the creator.

Public Domain

Works whose intellectual property rights have expired, been forfeited, or are inapplicable.

Kerning

Adjusting the space between two specific, individual characters.

Tracking

Adjusting the spacing across a range of characters, a line, or a whole paragraph.

Leading

The vertical distance between the baselines of lines of type.

Slug

An area outside the page and bleed that contains printer instructions or job sign-off information.

Bleed

The part of a printed document that extends past the trim edge to ensure no white gaps after cutting.

Master Pages (Parent Pages)

Templates you create to apply consistent elements (like page numbers) to multiple pages in a document.

Object Style

A saved set of formatting attributes (like drop shadows or strokes) that can be applied to objects quickly.

Preflight

The process of checking a document for errors (like missing fonts or broken links) before printing or exporting.

Spot Color

A special premixed ink (like Pantone) that is used instead of or in addition to process inks (CMYK).

Process Color

Colors created by mixing Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK) inks.

Concordant Typography

A design that uses only one typeface and keeps the other elements of the page consistent.

Conflicting Typography

A design mistake where two typefaces are used that are similar but not the same, causing visual tension.

Exporting EPS to RGB

The process of saving a file via File > Export, choosing EPS, and changing the Color Space to RGB in the Output settings.