S
saddle stitching
Magazine binding where sections are stacked one inside another and spreads are stapled together at the centre, then folded to form a magazine; cheaper than perfect binding but limited to about 220pp.
screamer
(1) Exclamation mark - !
(2) A high-impact headline.
section
(1) Editorial pages with a single theme, eg 'news section'.
(2) A number of pages printed on the same sheet or web - also known as a signature.
sell
(1) See standfirst.
(2) A description of a story on the cover of a magazine.
set solid
Where leading = text size, eg 10pt text with 10pt leading or '10 on 10'.
signature
See section.
solus
An advert position where only one advertiser is visible.
special position
Advertising pages in high-profile locations, eg the inside and outside covers and the centre spread.
spiked
Said of stories which have been scrapped, so are no longer being considered for publication. When newspaper offices were paper-based the editor(s) had a large metal spike onto which scrapped stories were impaled to ensure they were not accidentally re-used. The system is obsolete, but the term is still used.
spread
Two facing pages – a DPS.
standfirst
Introductory text at the start of a feature between the headline and body copy; sometimes called a sell.
stock
Paper; most commonly cover stock, the heavier paper used for covers.
story
(1) Any editorial article.
(2) The main thrust of a news item or feature.
strapline
A magazine's slogan or sub-title.
sub
(1) a sub-editor
(2) to sub-edit copy
T
thwack factor
Reader appeal generated by a large number of pages. Refers to the amount of noise the mag generates when dropped on a table or through a letterbox.
tracking
Adjusting the spaces between all the characters in a piece of text.
typo
Typographical error; used loosely for any spelling or typing error.
W
web
The large roll of paper which feeds a printing press. Small runs and covers are sometimes printed on 'sheet fed' presses.
white space
Empty space on a page – which may not be white if the page has a background colour.
widow
A very short line, maybe just one word, at the end of a paragraph. Usually subs will remove them by rewording the paragraph.
WOB
White out of black. Indicates light-coloured type on a page 'reversed out' of a dark background colour. Used for any light-on-dark combination, not just white on black.
wp
X
x-height
The height of a lower-case x. The x-height varies depending on the font – in the example above all the characters have the same font size. Typefaces with bigger x-heights tend to look bigger on the page, so should often be used at smaller font sizes to compensate.