This Latin phrase translates to let it be printed, serving as an official license from a religious or secular authority clearing a text for publication. It typically appears on the copyright page or within the front matter, indicating that the text has passed institutional review and contains no doctrinal errors. While formal censorship boards are largely historic, institutional and academic presses still use the concept to denote final executive approval before releasing files to the printer.
We can't send this manuscript to prepress until we get the imprimatur from the legal department.
In historic texts, this was often accompanied by 'nihil obstat' (nothing stands in the way), which was the reviewer's declaration that preceded the bishop's actual imprimatur.
Related terms
Colophon
A publisher or printer's emblem or production note placed inside a book.
With privilege
A historical phrase printed in a book to show the publisher held an exclusive legal right to print it.
Editio princeps
The first printed edition of a book that previously existed only in handwritten manuscript form.