Pick
Pick turns up in 2 fields: printing, shop slang. Here is what it means to the people in each one.
Pick in printing
A printing defect caused by ink pulling small fibers or coating particles off the surface of the paper.
A pick is a flaw on a printed sheet that occurs when the tack of the ink is stronger than the surface strength of the paper. As the paper separates from the inked blanket or type, small fragments of paper coating or loose fibers are torn away. These particles stick to the plate or blanket, leaving white, unprinted voids on subsequent sheets and forcing the pressman to stop and wash up the rollers.
"We're getting a bad pick on this coated stock, so we need to reduce the ink tack with a little varnish."
Pick in shop slang
An item retrieved from a warehouse or storage area to fulfill an order.
A specific quantity of a product pulled from warehouse inventory to pack and ship for a customer order. In logistics and supply chain operations, tracking these actions measures worker efficiency and inventory accuracy. The term applies both to the physical item grabbed from the shelf and the digital line item on the packing slip.
"I have seventy more picks to get through before the outbound truck arrives at three."