• DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting)

    technical standard for digital radio
  • dabbing

    the transfer, by putting through a printing press, of a printed image that has been soaked with solvent
  • daguerreotype

    a photographic image on a silver-plated metal plate with the character a unique specimen
  • daily (newspaper)

    a print medium which is aimed at the general public and published numerous times weekly
  • Dance of Death

    artistic genre that has existed since the 14th century which acts as an allegory to show the power that death has over humanity
  • dandy roll

    watermarking roll employed in Fourdrinier paper machines to alter the structure of the paper by inserting watermarks or ribbing
  • data storage

    technologies and processes that provide for the depositing, long-term saving and delivery of data
  • dating

    time indication on a document by naming the day month and year, or the attempt to arrange undated documents chronologically
  • De Stijl movement

    a forum of Dutch artists that was founded in 1917, whose functional art was based on geometric forms and colour clarity (red, blue, yellow)
  • decalcomania

    transfer of pre-prepared imagery onto porcelain, stoneware, glass and other industrial products using transfer lithography
  • dedication

    addressing or inscribing of a work to a person on a special dedication page, which is part of a publication’s front matter
  • deed

    the permanent legal record of a specific action such as a marriage or the acquisition of land
  • deluxe edition

    a better produced and more expensive special edition of a work specifically aimed at collectors
  • demagogue

    a person who is able to move people through their oratory power; originally a positive designation, now used exclusively pejoratively
  • depths

    in printing terminology, the darkest parts of an image template
  • devotionals

    devotional literature such as the lives of the saints, the book of hours, manuals of devotion, etc.
  • diazo film

    film material used in the production of micro forms such as microforms such as microfilm or microfiche
  • dictionary

    alphabetically ordered reference book containing words in one or more languages
  • dictionary entry

    basic form of a keyword found in a reference book
  • die

    metal form which is used in the casting of each type for printing
  • die cutting

    production of material work pieces by cutting a shape into a flat surface (e.g. paperboard, fabric or metal) using a die-cutting press
  • digital library

    collection of digital documents with unified indexing and user interface
  • digital photography

    creation of photographic images using electronic components (image sensor of a digital camera)
  • digital printing

    computer-aided printing procedure that does not use a static plate but instead reproduces dynamically from a data file
  • digital television

    broadcasting of television programmes in digital form
  • digital versatile disc (DVD)

    digital data storage medium which can be written on both sides, with greatly enhanced storage capacity in comparison to compact discs
  • DIN

    Deutsches Institut für Normung (German Institut for Standardisation), the national standardisation organisation, founded as the standards committee of German industry in 1917
  • diploma

    official document, certificate of the award of academic honours
  • diplomatics

    the study of documents which imparts knowledge of the rules, use and design of documents, certificates and diplomas
  • diplomatics

    auxiliary historical science concerning the knowledge of the rules governing the use and interpretation of certificates and diplomas
  • diptych

    tablet consisting of two wax tablets connected together with two hinges
  • direction of rotation

    direction of the paper path in the machine, determined by the paper fibres prior to processing
  • discount

    reduction in a sales price
  • display typefaces

    typefaces that are particularly suitable for emphasising text
  • divination book

    a book in the form of an oracle
  • DNB

    Deutsche Nationalbibliothek (German National Library), legal deposit library and bibliographical centre of the Federal Republic of Germany
  • document

    clearly defined and identifiable unit of date with text or pictorial content, in the case of digital documents may also contain audio or moving-image content
  • documentation

    compilation of documents (text, images, audio, film) or rendering information accessible through correspondent indexing
  • dots per inch (dpi)

    unit of measurement for the resolution of raster images in output equipment (monitors, printers, platesetters)
  • download

    the transfer of a data file from a server
  • draft

    first or preliminary version of a text
  • drum scanner

    expensive scanners used in the early years of digital image processing that produced high-quality scanning results
  • dry copying technique

    a process for the reproduction of templates using electrical charges
  • drypoint

    printmaking process which differs from engraving with its use of direct incision of an image into a metal plate by means of a hard-pointed needle
  • Dublin Core

    simple and standardised conventions for the production of metadata for document descriptions
  • dummy book

    a test book copy with unprinted (“blind”) pages, but complete with binding
  • dumping

    When typesetting manually using metal type, putting the characters back into their letter cases or, in hot-metal typesetting, melting them down
  • duodecimo format

    print format comprising 12 leaves or 24 pages per sheet
  • dust jacket

    loose cover intended to protect a book and its cover which may also display information or advertising content
  • DVB-T (digital terrestrial television)

    terrestrially broadcast digital TV to be received by antenna