registration marks
Printing alignment symbols
Registration marks are small symbols—typically crosshairs, circles, or targets—printed on materials to ensure precise alignment during multi-color printing or cutting.
Each color layer must line up exactly with the others; registration marks give the printer or machine a reference point.
When colors don't align properly, the result is said to be out of register.
The marks appear in margins and are trimmed from the final product.
- crosshairsIntersecting sighting lines
- bull's eyeTarget's central circle
- alignmentCorrect relative positioning
- prepressPrint preparation stage
- tolerancesAllowable limits of variation
imposition · calibration · offset printing · screen printing · flexography · keyline · trapping · proofing · guides · web press · color separation · die cutting · overlays · CMYK · production standards · halftone · artboards · bleed
- die cuttingblanking, perforating, scoring, creasing, stripping
- moldmakingmold making, silicone mold, silicone molds, rubber mold, rubber molds
- museum recordscatalog, museum archives, loan agreements, film archives, provenance records
- prepresspreflighting, preflight check, CMYK, cyan, yellow
- print equipmentprinter, press, printhead, platen, plate
- printing markscolor bars, crosshairs, bull's eye