surprint

English

Etymology

From sur- +‎ print.

Noun

surprint (countable and uncountable, plural surprints)

1. The printing of text or graphics elements on top of a background that is a different tint of the same color.
   • 1980, Tom Cardamone, Mechanical color separation skills for the commercial artist, page 41:

     "Dropout" is obviously the opposite of surprint in that during the process of preparing the plate the "line" shape (type or drawing) is deleted from the halftone or screen film negative of any one color or combination of colors.

   • 1985, Judy E. Pickens, The copy-to-press handbook: preparing words and art for print:

     To use this chart to decide if type should be surprinted or reversed over a portion of a photograph or in a screened area, find the shade of gray that most closely matches the area and see if the surprint or reverse is more readable.

   • 2006, Gavin Ambrose, Paul Harris, The Visual Dictionary of Graphic Design, →ISBN, page 240:

     Pictured is a letterhead created by The Vast Agency on a very lightweight stock in which one half of the company's name is printed as a surprint while the other half is reversed out of the flood-coloured back.

Verb

surprint (third-person singular simple present surprints, present participle surprinting, simple past and past participle surprinted)

1. To print text or graphics elements on top of a background that is a different tint of the same color.
   • 1924, Harry Appleton Groesbeck, The Process and Practice of Photo-engraving, page 96:

     Only lines and areas which are to print as blacks or solids can be surprinted.

   • 1930, Harry Appleton Groesbeck, Practical photo-engraving, page 101:

     Don't decide to "strip this" or "surprint that" unless you are sure of your ground, and even then you may well leave the decision to the engraver.

   • 1985, Judy E. Pickens, The copy-to-press handbook: preparing words and art for print:

     To use this chart to decide if type should be surprinted or reversed over a portion of a photograph or in a screened area, find the shade of gray that most closely matches the area and see if the surprint or reverse is more readable.