DTP Print & Digital Publishing Standards 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does 'total ink coverage' (TIC) or 'total area coverage' (TAC) refer to in offset printing?
- The percentage of the page area covered by any ink
- The combined percentage of CMYK ink values at a single point, usually capped at 240–320% (Correct answer)
- The total number of ink passes required for a job
- The ratio of spot color to process color usage
Correct answer: The combined percentage of CMYK ink values at a single point, usually capped at 240–320%
TAC is the sum of all four CMYK channel values at one point; exceeding the press limit (often 300%) causes drying problems and offsetting.
Question 2: In CSS for digital publishing, which property controls whether text in an e-reader can be resized by the user?
- -epub-text-size-adjust (Correct answer)
- font-size: fixed
- overflow: scroll
- user-scalable: no
Correct answer: -epub-text-size-adjust
The `-epub-text-size-adjust` CSS property (and its standard counterpart `text-size-adjust`) controls whether user agents can resize text.
Question 3: What is the function of an ICC profile in a color-managed workflow?
- It compresses images to reduce file size
- It describes the color characteristics of a device so colors can be accurately converted between devices (Correct answer)
- It embeds copyright metadata into the file
- It converts RGB images to grayscale for press
Correct answer: It describes the color characteristics of a device so colors can be accurately converted between devices
An ICC profile mathematically describes how a device captures or reproduces color, enabling accurate color conversion across different devices.
Question 4: Which imposition layout places pages so that a folded and trimmed signature reads in correct order?
- Saddle-stitch imposition (Correct answer)
- Gang-up imposition
- Step-and-repeat imposition
- Reader spread imposition
Correct answer: Saddle-stitch imposition
Saddle-stitch imposition arranges pages on a printed sheet so that when folded and stapled along the spine, they appear in sequential reading order.
Question 5: What is 'optical kerning' in desktop publishing software?
- Kerning values stored in the font's built-in kerning pairs table
- Automatic kerning calculated by the application based on the visual shapes of adjacent letters (Correct answer)
- Manually entered kerning applied between specific character pairs
- Kerning applied only to optical character recognition (OCR) text
Correct answer: Automatic kerning calculated by the application based on the visual shapes of adjacent letters
Optical kerning is computed by the application by analyzing the actual shapes of adjacent glyphs, useful when the font lacks built-in kerning data.
Question 6: For a standard US letter-size booklet printed on a digital press, how many pages fit on one duplex-printed 11×17 parent sheet before folding?
- 2 pages
- 4 pages (Correct answer)
- 8 pages
- 16 pages
Correct answer: 4 pages
One 11×17 sheet printed duplex (front and back) yields 4 letter-size page panels when folded once down the center.
Question 7: What is the role of a 'color bar' printed in the press sheet's gripper margin?
- To indicate the job name and date for archiving
- To allow press operators to measure and control ink density, dot gain, and registration (Correct answer)
- To provide bleed extensions for the cutter
- To mark the fold line for bindery equipment
Correct answer: To allow press operators to measure and control ink density, dot gain, and registration
A color bar contains control patches that press operators and densitometers use to monitor ink density, trapping, dot gain, and plate registration during the press run.
DTP Print & Digital Publishing Standards 3
What does 'total ink coverage' (TIC) or 'total area coverage' (TAC) refer to in offset printing?