stampato

Stampato is an Italian term used as both a past participle of the verb stampare and an adjective. It indicates that something has been produced by printing or impressed with a stamp. As an adjective it agrees with gender and number: libro stampato, pagina stampata, documenti stampati.

In publishing and printing, stampato distinguishes printed editions from digital or handwritten text. The phrase edizione stampata is common for printed editions, while edizione digitale denotes a digital version. The term also appears in everyday language to describe printed materials such as brochures, forms, and labels, as in “documenti stampati” or “materiale stampato.”

Besides its use for text and surfaces, stampato can describe fabrics or other items produced by printing processes, for example “un tessuto stampato con motivo floreale.” The root verb stampare comes from the idea of pressing a stamp or plate to transfer ink to a surface.

Note: stampato is primarily used as an adjective or past participle and is not used as a noun in standard Italian. Its feminine and plural forms are stampata, stampate; masculine plural stampati.

See also: stampare, stampa, edizione stampata, tessuto stampato, materiale stampato.