Involving your printer from the start of a design job is vital part of the design for print process. A good printer has lots of knowledge and an extensive and strange vocabulary, and is always willing to help you out with some creative solutions.
But check out this site:
It has everything you ever wanted to know about printing but was always afraid to ask! Well, almost… There’s a comprehensive glossary, examples of folding and binding styles, papers sizes and formats. It never replaces talking to a good printer, but it certainly allows you to brush up on some arcane references, so you can at least kid your printer into thinking you know what you are talking about!