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Glite Dictionary
⚖️ To balance out ⚖️ A counterbalance ↔️ To shift position 🌱 A step or branch 🖨️ A printing method 🖨️ To print 🔄 A side effect
to offset

to offset

6.1
To transfer printed ink from one sheet to another, often when it is wet
  • verb
  • /ˈɔfˌsɛt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : imprimir en offset
  • The artist used the old offset technique to create a series of unique prints.

Examples

  • As a rough first pass, we assume that the two effects offset each other, leaving measured capital growth about right.

    Academic text (2016)

  • A common assumption made in the regulatory community to circumvent this problem is that one error offsets the other.

    Academic text (2004)

  • But at what point does the expected value of the case shift such that the risk of losing liability offsets the marginal dollar gains of the positive verdicts?

    Academic text (2016)

  • Consequently, DSH hospitals may be offsetting the decline in DSH payments by treating fewer Medi-Cal patients and more private-pay patients.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Assuming that its wages remain low, China will then be poised to make more inroads into rich-country apparel markets, offsetting Mexico's advantage of proximity to the U.S. market.

    Academic text (2002)

  • During the printing process, the operator accidentally offset the ink onto the adjacent paper.

  • The technician needs to offset the print alignment to ensure accurate color reproduction.

Synonyms

to run off
vsto offset
2 3.4

Make copies of a document using a photocopier

refers to producing prints by a specific press process or to accidental ink transfer

Compounds

offset printing
  • Specialized
1 4.9

A printing method that transfers ink from a metal plate to a rubber sheet and then to paper

right of offset
  • Formal
8.9

The bank's legal power to take money from a customer's account to pay an unpaid loan

offset lithography
  • Specialized
6.2

A way of printing where ink moves from a plate to a rubber sheet, then to paper for many copies

offset press
  • Specialized
6.0

A machine that makes many copies by moving ink from a plate to rubber then to paper

photo-offset
  • Specialized
7.8

A way of printing that uses plates made from photographs to copy pictures and text

photo-offset printing
  • Specialized
6.1

A printing method that uses a metal plate and a rubber sheet to print images on paper

Surface Forms

offset infinitive
offset past
offset past participle
offsetting present participle
offsets third person singular

Morphology

offset = set (semi-transparent) = off + set

The verb sense 'to print by offset' or 'to transfer ink accidentally' comes from the transfer sense 'set off', but the printing-specific usage is specialized and may not be transparent to learners.

Etymology

Offset comes from the idea of set + off, meaning 'to move' or 'to transfer'. So to offset in printing is to transfer ink from a plate onto a blanket and then onto paper, or to accidentally move wet ink onto another surface.