Phrase guide

offset printing

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Printing by the offset process, in which ink is carried from a metal plate to a rubber blanket (“offset cylinder”) and from there to the printing surface.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: offset, offset lithography

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: planography

2

noun

Meaning 2

a plate makes an inked impression on a rubber-blanketed cylinder, which in turn transfers it to the paper

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: offset

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: printing, printing process

Narrower terms: photo-offset printing, photo-offset, letterset printing

History

Etymology

The inked image is offset (“transferred”) from the metal printing plate to the printing surface via a rubber blanket.

Across languages

Translations

23 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 平版印刷 (píngbǎn yìnshuā) — offset printing
  • Czech: ofset — offset printing
  • Dutch: offsetdruk — offset printing
  • Finnish: offsetpaino — offset printing
  • French: impression en offset — offset printing
  • French: offset — offset printing
  • German: Offsetdruck — offset printing
  • Hebrew: אופסט (offset) — offset printing
  • Hebrew: הדפסת פסט — offset printing
  • Hungarian: ofszet — offset printing
  • Hungarian: ofszetnyomás — offset printing
  • Irish: seach-chur — offset printing
  • Italian: stampa in offset — offset printing
  • Norwegian: offsettrykk — offset printing
  • Pannonian Rusyn: офсет-друкованє (ofset-drukovanje) — offset printing
  • Portuguese: offset — offset printing
  • Portuguese: ofsete — offset printing
  • Russian: офсе́тная печа́ть (ofsétnaja pečátʹ) — offset printing
  • Scottish Gaelic: leac-sgrìobhadh — offset printing
  • Serbo-Croatian: ofset-štampa — offset printing
  • Spanish: ófset — offset printing
  • Swedish: offsettryck — offset printing
  • Turkish: ofset — offset printing