H

hairline register

The precision of alignment between colors meant to touch on a printed piece. The comparison standard is a gap of no more than 0.003 inches or 0.08 mm.

halftone

1. Using small dots or thin lines to produce the impression of a continuous-tone image. The effect is achieved by varying the dot size (or line width) and the number of dots (or lines) per square inch or centimeter (e.g., newspaper photographs). 2. The method and plate material used to create the image. The greater the number of dots or lines per inch the higher the resulting image resolution.

halftone mottle

A blotchy appearance in halftone tints instead of an even, consistent appearance.

Halftone screen

A transparent material containing an opaque pattern of dots or lines. The screen is placed between a photosensitive material and a continuous-tone image to create a halftone image. The greater the number of dots or lines per inch the higher the resulting image resolution. See also: halftone contact screen; crossline screen.

Halftone step scale

An image used to test the accuracy of printing process. The image is composed of a sequence of uniform tints, each with progressively larger dots. In practice, the test is printed within the trim margin of the sheet or on a film flat. Other Term: step wedge; gray scale; step tablet.

Halftone tint

A halftone composed of a single dot size (or line width) and frequency. The result creates the appearance of a single color or tone. See also: screen tint; tint.

hinge

See joint.

holdout

The degree to which a substrate does not absorb an ink.

hue

A particular shade of color determined by the primary light waves reflected from a surface.

hyphenation

The process of dividing a word between syllables when the word must be split between to lines of text.