Definition

Noun: 1. A preliminary layout or composition for printing: A paste-up is a physical assembly of text, illustrations, or other graphic elements, which are literally pasted (with adhesive) onto a board or backing sheet to create a complete page design or artwork. This was the standard method for preparing material for printing before the widespread use of desktop publishing software.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The graphic designer created a paste-up of the magazine spread to show the client before final typesetting.
  • In the old print shop, we used wax to attach the columns of text to the board for the paste-up.
  • The paste-up of the advertisement included glued-down photographs and hand-drawn headlines.

Advanced Usage

• Historical/Professional Context: The term is primarily used in historical discussions of graphic design, printing, and publishing. It refers to a specific, tangible artifact from the pre-digital era of production.
  • The museum's exhibit on 20th-century journalism featured original paste-ups of newspaper pages.

Variants and Related Words

• Mechanical (n): A synonym for "paste-up," especially in professional printing contexts, referring to the camera-ready artwork.
• Layout (n): A more general term for the arrangement of elements on a page, which can be digital or physical. A paste-up is a type of physical layout.
• Collage (n): An artistic composition made from various materials (paper, photographs, fabric) glued to a surface. While a paste-up is a technical layout for reproduction, a collage is typically a final artwork.

Synonyms

• Mechanical
• Dummy layout
• Camera-ready artwork

Related Phrases

• To paste up (verb phrase): The act of creating a paste-up.
  • She spent the afternoon pasting up the brochure copy and images.

Noun

1. a composition of flat objects pasted on a board or other backing
   • they showed him a paste-up of the book jacket