Lay

verbStandard termPrinting

To arrange and position pages or plates correctly before printing.

The act of positioning type pages, negatives, or printing plates into their proper arrangement on an imposing stone or press cylinder. This process ensures that when the sheet is printed and folded, all pages appear in the correct numerical sequence with the proper margins. Precision during this step is critical for accurate registration across multiple colors or signature folds.

Heard on the job

Lay those pages for an octavo fold so we can lock up the chase before lunch.