OperationKind

Type: Enum

Operation type classification

Values

Value	Description	Deprecated
BINDING	Holding the finished components together as one product. The generic kind, for when the specific binding method is not yet decided.
BOOK_BLOCK_MAKING	Assembling the folded signatures into the book block that will later be cased in.
CASE_MAKING	Making the hard case — boards plus covering material — that a book block is later cased into.
CASING_IN	Fixing the finished book block into its case to complete a hard-bound book.
COLLATING	Gathering printed sheets or signatures into the correct page order before binding.
COMB_BINDING	Binding with a plastic comb through punched rectangular holes, so the book opens flat and can be reopened to add pages.
CONTOUR_CUTTING	Cutting along an arbitrary outline that follows the artwork, rather than to a rectangular trim.
CREASING	Pressing a channel into the substrate so it folds along a controlled line without cracking the fibres or the printed surface.
CUSTOM	An operation the print catalog does not name. Its meaning comes from the operation's own parameters rather than from this kind.
CUTTING	Trimming the sheet to its finished size on a guillotine or three-knife trimmer.
DEBOSSING	Pressing a design below the surface of the substrate, the inverse of embossing.
DIE_CUTTING	Cutting shapes with a steel die, for outlines a straight guillotine cut cannot make.
DIGITAL_PRINTING	Printing directly from digital data with no plate, so each impression can differ and short runs carry no plate cost.
DRILLING	Making round holes through the stack, typically for ring or mechanical binding.
DRYING	Allowing or forcing ink or coating to cure before the next operation can run. Occupies time and space without changing the product.
EMBOSSING	Raising a design above the surface of the substrate under heat and pressure.
ENDPAPER_TIPPING	Gluing the endpapers to the first and last signatures of a book block.
EYELETS	Setting metal eyelets into punched holes, to reinforce them for hanging or lacing.
FLOOD_COATING	Applying a coating over the entire printed area, for protection or overall finish.
FOIL_STAMPING	Applying metallic or pigmented foil to the substrate with a heated die.
FOLDING	Folding the printed sheet into signatures or into the finished product's fold pattern.
GLUING	Applying adhesive to join parts of the product, as in a carton seam or a bound spine.
HEAD_BANDING	Attaching the decorative fabric band at the head and tail of a hard-bound book's spine.
HEMMING	Folding and securing the edge of a flexible substrate so it will not fray.
INKJET_PRINTING	Printing by jetting ink droplets onto the substrate, without contact between head and stock.
KISS_CUTTING	Cutting through the face stock of a self-adhesive material but not its liner, so the label lifts off intact.
LAMINATING	Bonding a film over the printed sheet to protect it and change its surface finish.
OFFSET_PRINTING	Lithographic printing in which ink passes from plate to blanket to substrate. The high-volume commercial process, with a per-job plate cost.
PACKING	Packing the finished product for storage or despatch.
PARTIAL_CUTTING	Cutting part-way through the substrate's thickness rather than all the way through.
PERFECT_BINDING	Binding by milling the spine flat and gluing the pages into a wrapped cover, as used for paperbacks.
PERFORATING	Cutting a line of small slits so a part can be torn away cleanly by hand.
PLATEMAKING	Imaging the printing plates from the prepared artwork, before the press can run.
PRECUTTING	Cutting the stock down before printing, to bring it to press size or to split it into working sections.
PRINTING	Marking the substrate with the artwork, when the specific press process is not yet decided.
PUNCHING	Making shaped holes with a punch tool, for binding elements or for the product's own features.
REVERSE_CUTTING	Cutting from the reverse of the sheet, for products viewed through the substrate.
RING_BINDING	Binding with wire loops through punched holes, so the book opens flat and lies open.
ROUNDING_BACKING	Shaping a book block's spine into a curve and flaring its shoulders so the case fits and the book opens properly.
SADDLE_STITCHING	Stapling folded signatures through the spine fold. Cheap and fast, but limited to low page counts.
SCORING	Impressing a line to weaken the substrate along a fold, without cutting it.
SEWING	Sewing the signatures together with thread, the most durable binding for a book block.
SLITTING	Cutting the web or sheet lengthwise into narrower strips.
SPINE_MILLING	Milling the folded spine off the book block to expose the individual leaves for adhesive binding.
SPIRAL_BINDING	Binding with a continuous coil threaded through punched holes.
SPOT_VARNISH	Applying varnish to selected areas only, to contrast finish against the uncoated areas around them.
STITCHING	Fastening with wire staples, when the stitching pattern is not specified further.
STRIP_BINDING	Binding with a plastic strip clamped through the punched edge of the stack.
WHITE_UNDERPRINT	Laying white ink beneath the artwork so colours stay opaque on a clear, metallic, or dark substrate.