Glossary
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1-Sheet
A term used for single-sheet portrait posters of various nationalities. The most commonly found examples are US posters, but the term is also used for Argentine, Australian, Danish, International, Spanish and Swedish posters of a similar size. The size is usually around 70 x 100cm (27 x 40").
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Quad Crown
A term used for standard British landscape posters, 40 x 30" in size. The size is 4 times that of a standard Crown sheet (20 x 15"), hence the name Quad. This size has been the mainstay of British theatres since the 1940s.
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Double Crown
A medium sized 20 x 30" portrait poster of British origin. Half the size of the Quad, and as the name suggests, twice the size of the Crown sheet size.
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French Sizes
There are several types of French poster, or ‘affiche’, with three common sizes. Much larger sizes are found for billboards, which are very rarely seen.
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Grande Affiche (1 Panel)
The largest single sheet poster used in France, 120 x 160cm (47 x 63"). Always issued folded, this is the most common size for French posters.
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Moyenne Affiche
This medium sized French poster is often just known as an ‘affiche’ but is also called ‘moyenne’, which simply means ‘average.’ The sheet size is 60 x 80cm (23 x 32"). Usually printed on thin, non-glossy paper stock. These popular sizes have not been in production in France since the 1980s.
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Petite Affiche
The smallest French poster size, which is 40 x 60cm (16 x 23"). This has become more common since production of the medium size ceased in the 1980s.
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Japanese B Sizes
Japanese posters generally follow standard B sheet sizes, although Japapnese B sizes differ slightly from ISO B sizes.
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B0
Very large Japanese poster, not produced often. Usually landscape format.
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B1
An uncommon Japanese poster size, and not produced for many films. Twice the size of the B2, this is very similar in size to a 1-sheet, hence its popularity with collectors. Often features different artwork to the B2 version.
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B2
The most common Japanese post-war poster size. This was commonly issued rolled, so finding unfolded examples of posters is usually possible.
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B3 ‘Nakazuri”
Older Japanses posters, particularly pre-war titles were most often B3 size. General production ceased in the 1980s.
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B5 ‘Chirashi’
A flyer-type poster, issued as handbills in Japan. Printed on lightweight stock, often using the same artwork as featured on the B2 poster. Features credits, synopses and other information on the verso to further promote the film.
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STB ‘Tatekan’
An uncommon Japanese poster with the same width but twice the height of a B2, making a tall narrow sheet similar to a door poster. As such, requires different artwork to the B2 format.
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‘Speed’
A rare Japanese poster size, produced infrequenty and in small quantities. Incorrectly known as a B4 poster, but is actually twice the height of a B4 sheet. Simialar to B5 Chirashi, these often have information printed on the verso.
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Insert
A tall narrow poster of US origin. Other nations produce similar sized posters with their own names, such as Australian Daybills and Swedish Stolpes, which are incorrectly known as Australian or Swedish Inserts as a simple way of denoting their tall, thin proportions.
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Offset Lithography
Modern printing process used for high volume commercial presses, and the most commonly used printing method in the world today. Usually uses four inks - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and black (Key) to reproduce finely detailed images in full colour. A series or rotating drum rollers transfer the ink from a metal plate to a rubber blanket and then to the paper at high speed, one ink at a time, on an automated machine. The predominant printing method used for film posters internationally since the mid 20th century.
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Stone Lithography
A technique developed at the end of the 18th century, whereby an image is drawn and etched onto a perfectly flat, polished limestone slab, which is then inked and printed by laying a sheet of paper on the stone and ‘pressing’ it down with mechanical force. Different inks are printed in succession to build up full colour images. Printed images exactly reproduce the appearance of hand-drawn artwork, often used for film posters in the early to mid 20th century. Not suitable for high volume commercial printing due to high cost and low speed. Only ocassionally used now by specialist artisan studios.
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Halftone
The method of creating an image using an array of microscopic dots of varying size and frequency, as used in modern offset printing. When small dots are positioned correctly the human eye interprets the pattern as a continuous tone, creating an optical illusion of a complete image. Photographic images can be produced in monochrome using black ink, or in full colour using a combination of ink colours, usually CMYK. On coarser halftone images the human eye can discern the distinctinve dot pattern, such as in newspapers.
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Sceenprinting / Silkscreen
The method of printing whereby ink is pushed through a mesh screen of fine silk and onto paper, one ink at a time. Usually used for small production runs by artists to create strong, vibrant images consisting of large areas of flat colour. Not suited for high volume or finely detailed printing.
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Typography
The art and technique of displaying text, words and letterforms in a visual medium. The term usually applies to the practice of typesetting, the arranging and positioning of alphanumeric characters with fonts and typefaces, as opposed to handwriting. Typography since the advent of the printing press has existed in many forms, such as moveable type - solid wooden or metal letters used in a letterpress - hand-drawn lettering, phototypesetting, and digital typesetting with modern desktop publishing software.
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Typeface & Font
Styles and sizes of lettering used in printing, signwriting and layout design. A Typeface is a patricular design and style of lettering, often distinct and recognisable, such as Helvetica, Gill Sans, Bodoni, Futura, Baskerville, etc. Font is a term that comes from the age of moeveable type; it traditionally referred to a full set of individual alphanumeric characters of one particular size, and printers would have several different font sizes for each typeface style. Today text can be instantly resized with software, and one file can produce type of any size, so the need for different fonts to produce different sizes is redundant, but the word is still used. The words ‘typeface’ and ‘font’ are now largely synonymous and used interchangeably.
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Headline Font
A style of lettering that is suitable for an eyecatching title, but not suitable for large passages of small text such as a paragraph.
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Strapline / Tagline
A short catchy sentence used underneath a main film title, found most commonly on American posters. A persuasive device aimed at enticing viewers, often used to elicidate the audience by giving a hint of what the film is about. Descended from the shameless senationalist marketing teasers used during the Golden Age, it gained popularity in the New Hollywood Age, becoming virtually ubiquotous since the Blockbuster Age.
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Illustration
An image that has been rendered by an artist’s hand, such as a drawing or a painting, rather than a photograph. Most film posters used illustrations prior to the 1980s, when photography became the prevalant style. Since the software age, digitally enhanced photography and computer generated imagery have made hard-rendered illustrations almost obsolete. Some illustrations include hand-drawn typgraphy as well as imagery. In the case of stone litho posters, the illustration was drawn directly onto the printing stones.
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Monochrome
Term meaning ‘single colour’ which usually refers to an image or a design produced in one colour only, such as a black and white photograph or a pencil drawing.
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Separation
Refers to splitting and tearing of the poster surface along a fold or crease. Usually the ink flakes away from the paper along the line, resulting in a ‘white’ paper coloured line. Exacerbated by repeated folding/unfolding as the stressed paper fibres become weaker. Usually more severe in places where perpendicular folds intersect, and can lead to paper loss and holes. Not to be confused with ‘color separation’, which is a printing term for dividing full-colour artwork into the single component ink colours needed for process printing.
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Foxing
Small brown blemishes which appear on the paper surface over time. An unwelcome form of degradation, this can be caused by several possible reasons; minute particles of iron in the paper can react with atmospheric moisture to form rust, or fungal growth can cause discolouration. May be reduced or removed with chemical treatment.
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Backing / Lining
A conservation treatment whereby a poster is pasted onto a sheet of paper, or paper covered cotton/linen. Most beneficial during repair and restoration, and usually used in conjunction with other treatments. If performed correctly by a skilled practitioner it will give the poster more support and strength and may improve the overall appearance of folded/creased items. Since this is a conservation method it should be entirely reversible.
Frequently and unnecessarily used on unfolded posters in fine condition where no backing is required, principally for the sake of presentation, but often used to increase the perceived value. Such unnecessary backings should be discouraged.
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Conservation
A range of treatments and techniques intended to protect a poster from future damage, to safeguard its survival for as long as possible. Generally divided into two categories - preventive and interventive.
Preventive conservation is a museum discipline that attempts to slow or stop deterioration caused by storage and handling alone, without altering or treating an object in any way. Policies, procedures and best practice are used to protect objects, along with specialised storage equipment, to create the safest living conditions possible. Typical practices include handling restrictions and removal of enviromental risk factors such as heat, light, dirt, moisture and even air.
Interventive conservation aims to rescue and protect objects which are damaged, degraded or vulnerable by treating them in some way. This can be a time consuming procedure, and requires specialist knowledge of papers and paper chemistry to ensure that the methods used do not pose further risk. Interventive techniques include cleaning and washing to remove unfriendly contaminants that may eventually degrade the ink or paper, or mending, infilling and support lining to make a weak or damaged item less vulnerable. Conservation does not attempt to improve appearance or value in any way, and a poster treated by a musuem conservator may afterwards look no different.
Not to be confused with Restoration.
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Restoration
A range of treatments and techniques practiced by skilled technicians, with the aim of restoring a damaged poster to a state which closer represents its previous, undamaged condition. Techniques include cleaning, bleaching, flattening, backing, filling and retouching. High quality restoration can be a time consuming procedure and is also a contentious subject, dividing collectors, historians and conservators between historical integrity and cosmetic enhancement.
Not to be confused with Conservation. Conservation and restoration do share a number of techniques, hence the indistinct boundary between them. It is customary for a restorer to protect the poster with conservation treatments before continuing to perform cosmetic alterations.
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Retouching
A cosmetic restoration process, whereby areas of paper with missing ink are hand-coloured to make them appear less distracting. In museum applications, retouching should be sympathetic but historical damage should always still be evident. Its purpose is to reduce visual disharmony, not to disguise damage entirely. Some poster collectors and restorers aim to make repairs ‘invisible’ for the sake of cosmetic perfection or to increase an item’s value, but making such invisible repairs often requires materials which are not archivally sound or reversible, which may compromise the long-term safety of the paper.
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Coated Stock
Type of paper whereby a surface coating is added to the raw paper to give a very smooth surface, usually with a glossy appearance. Produces very sharp vibrant prints, well suited to more exacting printing techniques such as offset lithography, laser and inkjet. Used almost exclusively for the vast majority of contemporary posters. Once a sign of pedigree, coated paper has fallen out of favour of late, having being given a bad name from the tide of mass-produced direct mail marketing.
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Uncoated Stock
Type of paper with a rough texture, where no surface coating is added to soften the texture of the paper's natural fibre. Tends to produce flatter, less vibrant prints than coated paper, and often used for less refined printing techniques such as gravure and screenprinting. Traditionally a cheaper paper produced from wood pulp, with high lignin and cellulose content which cause the paper to degrade more rapidly. Often found on posters from less affluent countires. High quality uncoated paper is often preferred by contemporary designers over coated paper for its organic tactile properties, which create an upmarket perception of quality and taste.
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NSS - National Screen Service
The National Screen Service of America was responsible for producing and distributing the majority of film promotional material, from 1939 to the mid 80s. Each film released in the US is assigned an NSS catalogue number, which often appears on the footer of the poster.
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Studio
The production company responsible for the funding and making of a film, or the actual soundstage where a film is shot.
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Distributor
A national company responsible for distributing films to theatres in their country. Traditionally, non-US distributors were responsible for marketing and promotional materials such as posters. Since the Blockbuster Age and particularly the franchise model, marketing has been centralised, produced and provided to all international territories by the film studio.
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Theatre
Auditorium where films are shown to the paying public.
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NSS Versions - Studio Versions
Some posters, particularly during the late 70s and 80s, were produced in multiple factories. Some were printed by the National Screen Service and feature NSS information on the footer, some were printed by the film studios themselves and do not feature NSS info. Both types were used in film theatres so both are considered to be authentic originals.
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Re-strike
A secondary or subsequent batch of posters produced by the film studio from the original printing plates. These posters can be very hard to distinguish from original release posters, sometimes only identifiable by subtle paper variations. In most cases these were produced as commercial posters and sold directly to the public, and not used in film theatres. Not to be confused with reproduction or bootleg posters, which are not produced by film studios or printed from original plates.
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Credits
The block of small print, usually found at the bottom of a poster, containing the names of prinicipal actors, writers, producers, directors and studios involved. Almost all theatrical film posters feature credits of one form or another, with the exception of early teasers or wilding posters.