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Printing Terms & Expressions

A [ index ]

Abrasion Resistance Label surface resistance to something that rubs against it, including the label material itself, ink, or a protective coating.

Abrasiveness The tendency of a paper, paper coating, or ink to abrade or dull die edges, slitting blades, and printing plates due to friction.

Accordion fold Bindery term, two or more parallel folds which open like an accordion.

Accelerated Aging Procedures for subjecting pressure sensitive label material to special environmental conditions in order to predict the course of natural aging.

Adhesive: Pattern Coated Refers to the spacing arrangement of areas of adhesive on the face material that are coated parallel to the machine direction. Also referred to as dry lap, strip coated, or zone coated adhesive.

Adhesive Pattern Gummed An adhesive coating that alternates strips of adhesive with non-adhesive areas that is applied parallel to the machine direction. The non-adhesive areas of the label are frequently used as lift tabs for order picking labels.

Adhesive Permanent A pressure sensitive adhesive characterized as having relatively high ultimate adhesion to a wide variety of substrates. The label either cannot be removed intact or requires a great deal of force to be removed.

Adhesive Removable A pressure sensitive adhesive characterized by low ultimate adhesion. The label can be removed from most substrates without damaging the surface or leaving adhesive residue or stain.

Adhesive Water Based A pressure sensitive adhesive derived from water based materials.

Adhesive Water Soluble A pressure sensitive adhesive in which all components are water soluble.

Adhesive Bleed The adhesive migration from pressure sensitive material and labels. Note: Especially critical in laser printing.

Anilox Roller Picks up ink from the ink fountain and transfers it onto the printing plate. The anilox roller is engraved with small pockets or cells which carry a specific volume of ink.

B [ index ]

Back Splits Linear cuts put in the liner during the coating process, or while on-press, to meet specialized end use requirements.

Bar Code/Bar Code Symbol A specific pattern made of lines (or bars) and spaces, of varying width, which represent alpha or numeric data in machine-readable form. The most general format for a bar code consists of: a lead margin, a start character, data or message characters, a stop character, and a trailing margin. There are over 30 bar code symbologies.

Barrier Coat A coating applied to a face material on the side opposite the printing surface that lies between the material and the adhesive coat. It provides increased opacity to the face material, and/or prevents migration of adhesive to the face material, and/or improves anchorage of adhesive to the face material.

Bindery The finishing department of a print shop or firm specializing in finishing printed products.

Blanket The thick rubber mat on a printing press that transfers ink from the plate to paper.

Bleed Printing that goes to the edge of the sheet after trimming.

Blind embossing An image pressed into a sheet without ink or foil. 

Blocking Adhesion between sheets or rolls of pressure sensitive labels usually due to cold flow, improper drying of inks, or improper curing of coatings and adhesives.

Blown-On Labels A method of label application that uses air pressure to remove the label from the carrier and position it on the substrate.

Blueline A blue photographic proof used to check position of all image elements.

Bond paper Strong durable paper grade used for letterheads and business forms.

Booklet Fold Method of folding a Printed Fabric Label where it is effectively folded in half at the centre. It is sewn in to the garment at the center allowing for four 'faces' of information to be printed.

Break A tear in a roll of face material or release liner. Such defects are generally spliced and marked by a flag during printing.

Brightness The (blue light) reflectivity of a sheet of paper measured under standardized conditions on an instrument designed and calibrated specifically for that purpose.

Brittleness That property of a material which causes it to break or fail when deformed by bending. It is usually of practical interest only when the deformation producing failure is small.

Burster A mechanical device used to separate cross-web perforations at intermediate locations between labels.

Bursting Strength The pressure required to rupture a paper specimen when it is tested with a Mullen instrument under specific conditions. It is largely determined by the tensile strength and extensibility of the paper. Also referred to as Mullen.

Butt Joining images without overlapping.

Butt-Cut Labels Rectangular, square-cornered labels in continuous form that are separated by a single knife cut to the liner. Typically, the matrix is not removed.

C [ index ]

Calender Finish A term applied to a paper with a glazed surface finish created by means of calenders (cast iron rollers with chilled, hardened surfaces). Other terms include machine finish, English finish, super-calendered and calender friction glazed. Semi gloss litho and high gloss paper are examples of calendered paper.

Caliper The thickness of a sheet of paper or plastic measured in units of one thousandth of an inch; the measuring units are called mils or points.

Camera-Ready Art Black and white or colour-separated artwork supplied in its final form for printing preparation. Typically, it requires no modification other than photo enlargement or reduction.

Case bind A type of binding used in making hard cover books using glue.

Cast-Coated Paper A paper coating which is allowed to harden or set while in contact with a finishing surface. In general, cast-coated papers usually have a high gloss finish.

Checking The presence of hairline cracks in a varnish coating, lacquer coating, or plastic coating.

Coated paper A clay coated printing paper with a smooth finish.

Coat Weight The amount or weight of coating per unit area. This is expressed in various units including grams per square meter or pounds per ream. Applies to adhesives, primers, varnishes, and lacquers.

Cohesion The internal strength of a pressure sensitive adhesive, its resistance to cold flow, and its resistance to failure (or splitting) when labels are removed or placed under stress.

Colour bar A quality control term regarding the spots of ink colour on the tail of a sheet.

Colour correction Methods of improving colour separations.

Colour filter Filters uses in making colour separations, red, blue, green.

Colour key Colour proofs in layers of acetate:

Colour matching system A system of formulated ink colours used for communicating colour.

Colour separations The process of preparing artwork, photographs, transparencies, or computer generated art for printing by separating into the four primary printing colours.

Colourfastness The ability of a pressure sensitive label to retain its true colour under normal conditions and/or to resist change in colour when exposed to light, heat, or other influences.

Colour Separation The process of separating a colour image into its component primary printing colours.

Composite film Combining two or more images on one or more pieces of film.

Continuous-tone copy Illustrations, photographs or computer files that contain gradient tones from black to white or light to dark.

Contrast The tonal change in colour from light to dark.

Copy All furnished material or disc used in the production of a printed product.

Core/Core Size Refers to the diameter of the core in a roll of labels.

Crazing The network of small cracks that can appear in a varnish coat or plastic face material. They are usually caused by expansion and contraction during weathering or by excessive solvents in an ink system.

Creep The lateral movement of a pressure sensitive label on a surface due to low cohesive strength.

Cromalin Trade name for DuPont colour proofs.

Crop To cut off parts of a picture or image.

Crop marks Printed lines showing where to trim a printed sheet.

Crossover Printing across the gutter or from one page to the facing page of a publication.

Curl The tendency of paper to bend or warp.

D [ index ]

Deboss Condition in which an image is depressed below the normal surface of a material. Embossing has the opposite effect, creating a raised image.

Declamation Following application to a substrate, the separation of a pressure sensitive material into layers in a direction approximately parallel to the surface.

Densitometer A quality control devise to measure the density of printing ink.

Die The tool or device used for cutting a desired shape, form, or finish from a given material.

Die Cut The actual shape of a printed product made by the cutting edge of a die.

Dimensional Stability The property of a material which relates to the degree of its ability to retain (or recall) its original shape or state.

Direct Thermal printing Printing that uses rapidly-heated pins that selectively activate a heat-sensitive coating inherent in the face material, thus forming the desired copy or images.

Dispro or Distortion Factor: When a flexographic photopolymer plate is mounted on the print cylinder the plate is stretched or elongated and the resulting printed image appears stretched out. Dispro factor is the percentage artwork is reduced in length to offset this effect

Dot Gain The enlargement printed screen resulting in a darkened image. This can occur on the press in the case of flexographic printing where too much pressure is applied to the plate or at the prepress imaging stage due to a miscalibrated imagesetter.

Double burn Exposing a printing plate to multiple images.

Double-Coated A pressure sensitive product consisting of a face material with similar or dissimilar adhesives applied to both sides of the material.

d.p.i. Dots per inch; a measure referring to dot resolution in images created by dot matrix, laser, and thermal printers and imprinters.

Drop-out Portions of artwork that do not print.

Dry Peel A label construction in which two materials are bonded together with a dry adhesive. The top ply of the construction can be removed with no adhesive residue. the bottom ply is typically made of a clear material, so the substrate can be seen through it. A common use of this label construction is for instantly redeemable coupons or for promotions.

Dry Tag An uncoated tag face material designed to separate from a liner with no functional adhesive on the tag. Typical uses are clothing tags, temporary I.D. cards, and hang tags.

Dummy A rough layout of a printed piece showing position and finished size.

Duotone A halftone picture made up of two printed colours.

Dwell/Dwell Time (1) The time during which a pressure sensitive material remains on a surface before testing for adhesive permanence or removability. (2) The time during which a hot-stamp, embossing head, or thermal die remains in contact with the surface of a material during printing.

E [ index ]

Edge Lift The tendency of the edge of a label to rise off the substrate. This condition occurs most frequently on small diameter, curved substrates. Resistance to edge lift is dependent on the bond strength of the adhesive and the flexibility of the face material.

Elmendorf Test A standard test for determining the tearing strength of paper.

Emboss A condition in which an image is pressed into a material to create an image that is raised above the normal level of the material. Debossing creates the opposite effect.

Emulsion Light sensitive coating found on printing plates and film.

Encapsulated Ink Ink encapsulated in a material surface coating which can be activated by heat or pressure.

Eurobind A patented method of binding perfect bound books so they will open and lay flatter.

F [ index ]

Face Cut Label A die cut or square cut label from which the matrix, or waste between labels, has not been removed.

Face Material/Face Stock Any paper, film, fabric, foil, or plastic material suitable for converting into pressure sensitive labels. In a finished construction, the face material is bonded to an adhesive layer and carried on a liner. It is the functional part of the construction.

Face Split A linear cut in face material during coating or converting to meet specialized end use requirements.

Fan-Fold/Fan-Folded Labels Labels on a continuous backing that is perforated, then folded back and forth along the perforations, so as to create a flat pack.

Feed Slots Round or rectangular holes punched into the edge of a liner to maintain the register of computer imprintable pressure sensitive labels during imprinting. Holes can be cleanly cut or in a starburst.

Flat An assembly of negatives taped to masking materials for platemaking.

Flexography A rotary web letterpress method of printing characterized by raised-image, flexible rubber plates and fast-drying inks.

Flood To cover a printed page with ink, varnish, or plastic coating.

Flop The reverse side of an image.

Fluorescent Paper A paper coated with a pigment which reflects light in such a way that it has a glowing appearance or effect.

Foil A metallic or pigmented coating on plastic sheets or rolls used in foil stamping and foil embossing.

Foil emboss Foil stamping and embossing a image on paper with a die.

Foil Paper Laminate A face material consisting of metal foil laminated to paper. The foil usually carries a clear coat to improve ink receptivity.

Foil stamping Using a die to place a metallic or pigmented image on paper.

Four Colour Process Printing Printing and reproduction of full colour images using the four process printing colours -- yellow, cyan, magenta, and black -- to create an image with an infinite number of resultant colours.

Frozen Edge The inability to separate a pressure sensitive label from its liner along one edge. This is generally caused by an absence of silicone on that edge.

G [ index ]

Galley proof Text copy before it is put into a mechanical layout or desktop layout.

Gloss That property of a surface which causes it to have a mirror-like finish or the ability to  reflect light.

Grain The direction in which the paper fiber lie.

Gravure Printing An intaglio printing process employing minute engraved wells. In general principle, the deeply-etched wells carry more ink than a raised surface, and, therefore, print dark values. Shallow wells print light values. A scraping device, called a doctor blade, wipes excess ink from the cylindrical printing surface before the ink is pressed into the face material. Rotogravure employs etched cylinders and web-fed stock. Sheet-fed gravure, as its name implies, involves individual sheet feeding.

Grippers The metal fingers on a printing press that hold the paper as it passes through the press.

H [ index ]

Hairline A very thin line or gap about the width of a hair or 1/100 inch.

Halftone A method of screening a continuous tone image (like a photograph) for printing or reproduction. The dots in the screen vary in size and density, so as to recreate the complete range of highlights, lowlights, and mid-tones of the original image.

Heavy Coat Weight A higher -than-standard weight of coating per unit area.

Hickey Reoccurring unplanned spots that appear in the printed image from dust, lint, dried ink.

High-bulk paper A paper made thicker than its standard basis weight.

High Gloss Paper A cast-coated gloss paper that features high strength material and excellent ink receptivity.

Hot Stamping An image producing method that involves a film carrying a thin leaf of colour which is transferred to a material using heat and pressure. It is commonly used with gold or metallic leaf, but many colours, patterns, and finishes of leaf are available. It is especially popular for labels used in the textile and apparel markets.

I [ index ]

Impact Printing A printing method that uses a hammer striking a ribbon to transfer ink onto a material.

Imposition Positioning printed pages so they will fold in the proper order.

Impression arm Device to hold printing cylinder and gears which is used to adjust the amount of plate pressure controlling print quality.

Imprinting Technique in which copy is applied to blank or previously printed labels with a secondary printing device such as an imprinter, computer printer, or typewriter.

Ink fountain The reservoir on a printing press that hold the ink.

Intaglio Printing A method of printing in which an engraved or acid-etched printing plate (or cylinder) carries ink to the material surface. The material when pressed against the printing plate, actually squeezes into the inked grooves and, thereby, receives the image.

Inverted Face Material A face stock that has the adhesive applied to the surface normally printed upon.

J [ index ]

K [ index ]

Keylines Lines on mechanical art that show position of photographs or illustrations.

Kiss die cut To cut the top layer of a pressure sensitive sheet and not the backing.

Knock out To mask out an image.
 

L [ index ]

Lacquer A coating applied to a face material for protection or decoration. Lacquer usually requires ultraviolet curing or drying. 

Laid finish Simulating the surface of handmade paper.

Laminate To cover with film, to bond or glue one surface to another

Latex Paper/Latex-Impregnated Paper Paper saturated with latex during its formation making it stronger, more resistant to moisture and abrasion, more flexible, and more durable.

Letterpress Printing A printing process in which ink is applied to a material from the raised portions of printing plates or from foundry type.

Lift Tab A label edge that is not coated with adhesive and , thereby, allows for easy removal of the label from the release liner. It is frequently used for order picking labels.

Line copy High contrast copy not requiring a halftone.

Lines per inch The number of rows of dots per inch in a halftone.

Loupe A magnifying glass used to review a printed image, plate and position film.
 

M [ index ]

Machine Readable Refers to the scanning of bar code symbology by a laser scanner or similar device.

Makeready All the activities required to prepare a press for printing.

Mask Blocking light from reaching parts of a printing plate.

Matchprint Trade name for 3M integral colour proof.

Matrix The face material and adhesive layers of a pressure sensitive construction surrounding a die cut label which is typically removed after die cutting.

Matte finish Dull paper or ink finish.

Matte Litho A litho paper with a satin finish -- between high gloss and dull finish -- that is ideal for bar code printing.

Metallized Film A plastic or resinous film that has been coated on one side with a very thin layer of metal.

Metallized Paper Paper that has a thick deposit of metallized particles that resemble a layer of foil. Metallized paper offers reduced stiffness and better flexibility than metallized film and has an appearance similar to laminated foil papers.

Micrometer Instrument used to measure the thickness of different papers.

Moire Occurs when screen angles are wrong causing odd patterns in photographs.

Moisture Equilibrium The condition reached by a material when it shows no change in weight, in relation to the amount of moisture absorbed or desorbed by the material.

Mottled Surface/Mottling: Non-uniform appearance or colouring of a face material -- blotching.

Mounting Tape Double sided adhesive tape used to attach a flexographic printing plate to the print cylinder.

N [ index ]

Natural Aging: The change, if any, in a material occurring from exposure to normal environmental conditions.

Negative The image on film that makes the white areas of originals black and black areas white.
 

O [ index ]

OCR/Optical Character Recognition An information processing technology that involves conversion of imprinted or written data to another language and medium.

Offset/Offsetting The partial transference of ink from a freshly printed surface to an adjacent surface -- as that of another sheet of paper.

Offset Printing A printing process in which a right-reading image is printed from a plate onto a blanketed cylinder. this mirror image is then pressed against a printing surface, thus creating the desired, final image. The term offset applies because the printing plate never comes in contact with the printing material as it does in letterpress printing.

Over lamination The application of a clear film to label material for the purpose of protection or to enhance visual quality.

P [ index ]

Peel Adhesion: Peel adhesion is the force required to remove a pressure sensitive label from a standard test surface at a specified angle and speed after the label has been applied according to specified conditions.

Perforation: Refers to a series of small incisions made in a material to facilitate tearing or folding along a pre-determined line. They are measured in TPI's - ties per inch.

Permanency: The measure of an adhesive's ultimate holding power or bonding strength. A bond that makes label removal difficult or impossible without distorting or destroying the face material.

Phosphorescent Face Material A face material coated with a phosphorescent ink.

Phosphorescent Ink An ink that absorbs and reflects light and remains luminescent after exposure to a light source has stopped. It is commercially called Glow-in-the-Dark.

Pica Unit of measure in typesetting. One pica = 1/6 inch.

Pin register A standard used to fit film to film and film to plates and plates to press to assure the proper registration of printer colours.

Piggyback This type of label consists of a pressure sensitive label on a pressure sensitive liner. This double-ply label is carried on a standard release liner. Once the double-ply is applied to a substrate, the top ply can be removed and applied to yet another substrate. Typically this kind of label is used for response labels in direct mail promotions.

Plate gap Gripper space. The area where the grippers hold the sheet as it passes through the press.

Platen The roller which carries paper through a typewriter or dot matrix printer and acts as an anvil for impact printing.

PMS The abbreviated name of the Pantone Colour Matching System.

Point For paper, a unit of thickness equaling 1/1000 inch. for typesetting, a unit of height equaling 1/72 inch.

Pressure Sensitive Label A self-adhesive label that is the die cut, usable part of pressure sensitive material that has been converted through roll-fed production equipment. The end product can be produced in rolls, sheets, or fan-folded stacks.

Pressure Sensitive Material/Pressure Sensitive Stock The combination of face material, pressure sensitive adhesive and release liner from which pressure sensitive labels are manufactured. Colloquially referred to as a "sandwich".

Primer A coating applied to face material, on the side opposite the printing surface, to improve anchorage of the adhesive and to prevent migration of adhesive components into face material.

Print Elongation When a flexographic photopolymer plate is mounted on the print cylinder the plate is stretched or elongated and the resulting printed image appears stretched out. Dispro factor is the percentage artwork is reduced in length to offset this effect

Print Resolution The quality of print; the level of detail achieved by a printer. Measured in dpi (dots per inch), typical capabilities are 200 dpi for a thermal transfer printer and 300 dpi for a laser printer. It is particularly critical in bar code printing.

Process colours Cyan (blue), magenta (process red), yellow (process yellow), black (process black).

Q [ index ]

R [ index ]

Ream A number of sheets of paper, either 480 or 500, according to grade. For purposes of physical testing, a ream is considered as 500 sheets.

Registration The exact, corresponding placement of successively printed images and/or successively die cut labels.

Release Coat The (silicone) coating on a liner that allows pressure sensitive labels to be easily removed or dispensed.

Resin Ribbons The principal component of the binder in the ribbons is resin. With superior heat resistance, abrasion resistance and chemical resistance, materials printed with resin type ribbons can be stored for long periods of time. These ribbons, which are principally used with film labels, are well suited for use with factory automation labels, name plates, and caution labels.

Roll Labels Pressure sensitive labels that are packaged in continuous roll form.

S [ index ]

Saddle stitch Binding a booklet or magazine with staples in the seam where it folds.

Scanability The quality of a material that allows for precise printing of bar codes, so as to ensure accurate reading or scanning of the bar code data. Readings (called percent decode ratings) are usually measured as a percentage indicating the number of successful scans out of a total of 300.

Score A crease put on paper to help it fold better.

Screen angle The angles at which halftone, duo tones, tri tones, and colour separation printing films are placed to achieve the correct colour effect.

Self-Imaging Liner A specially-coated, pressure-activated liner that reproduces an exact image of information printed or imprinted on its corresponding face label. Requires an impact printing method.

Self-Imaging Piggyback A piggy back label material that can be imprinted, creating a duplicate label from the second ply of this double-ply construction. Requires an impact printing method.

Sheeted Labels Finished labels furnished in cut, singular sheets. This format is most popular for laser printing.

Side guide The mechanical register unit on a printing press that positions a sheet from the side.

Side stitch Binding by stapling along one side of a sheet.

Silhouette halftone A term used for an outline halftone.

Splice A method of joining paper or plastic webs within a pressure sensitive roll to produce an operational continuous web.

Split Face Slits in face material of a pressure sensitive product usually for the purpose of facilitating removal.

Split Fountain Putting more than one ink in a printing fountain to achieve special colour affects.

Spot Varnish Varnish used to hilight a specific part of the printed sheet.

Starburst Holes Pin-feed holes which are characterized by jagged edges. S

Static Cling Label A label that adheres to a substrate by static electricity -- no adhesive is necessary.

Step and Repeat Refers to the duplication of artwork where a printing plate is made up of multiple images.

Step-and-repeat A procedure for placing the same image on plates in multiple places.

Stet A proof mark meaning let the original copy stand.

Stripping The positioning of film on a flat prior to platemaking.

Stub Roll A roll of pressure sensitive label stock that is very short in length.

Sunlight Resistance The ability of a material to resist the deteriorating effects of sunlight, especially ultraviolet and infrared wavelengths. Also referred to as being "fast to light."

T [ index ]

Tamper-Resistant Label A pressure sensitive construction made with a weak face material so that (attempted) removal of the label usually results in its destruction.

Tear Strength/Tearing Strength The force required to tear a label specimen under standardized conditions using an instrument designed to simulate the tearing encountered under general use conditions.

Tints A shade of a single colour or combined colours.

Tissue Overlay Usually a thin transparent paper placed over artwork for protection uses for marking colour breaks and other printer instructions.

Tear Tab An additional area of face material, next to the release liner of a pressure sensitive label produced in single form to facilitate removal of the release liner.

Thermal Transfer Printing An imprinting method that uses heat and pressure to melt a wax-based ink onto a label.

TPI/Ties Per Inch In perforations, the number of material ties that exist between each hole.

Transfer Tape A coating of pressure sensitive adhesive applied to a liner that is release-coated on both sides. This allows a user to apply the tape to a surface and remove the liner, leaving only the adhesive on the surface.

Transparent Label A pressure sensitive label of which the face material, adhesive, and protective coatings transmit light so that objects can be seen through it.

Trim Marks Similar to crop or register marks. These marks show where to trim the printed sheet.

U [ index ]

UV Coating Liquid laminate bonded and cured with ultraviolet light. Environmentally friendly.

Varnish A clear liquid applied to printed surfaces for looks and protection.

V [ index ]

Varnish A heat-cured transparent coating of one or more materials applied to a face material for protection and/or decoration.

W [ index ]

Wax resin ribbons The binder used with these ribbons includes both wax (30-70%) and thermoplastic resin. Through the formation of multiple layers in the ink layer, these ribbons provide both the excellent printing transferability of the wax and the superior durability of the resin. In comparison with wax type ribbons, wax resin type ribbons offer superior abrasion resistance. AS a result, reliability is improved, and these ribbons are widely used with both paper label are synthetic paper labels. Wax resin ribbons are ideal for such applications such as distribution control labels.

Wax ribbons The binder is about 50-90% wax. The melting characteristics of the wax are used to provide excellent ink transferability, and these ribbons are primarily used for printing on paper labels. However, wax type labels offer poor heat and abrasion resistance, so they are unsuitable for printing images that will be stored for long period of time.

Washout Process of washing away the unexposed portion of a photopolymer plate.

Web A roll of printing paper.

Web press The name of a type of presses that print from rolls of paper.

X [ index ]

Y [ index ]

Yellowing: A defect characterized by a gradual colour change in the original appearance of white paper; the development of yellowish or brownish hues.

Z [ index ]