Glossary Of Terms

Artwork:

A design which is used for printing, this can be supplied in a digital format (created in graphic’s program eg. Quark Express, Coral Draw, InDesign, or Illustrator )

Backing:

Refers to the carrier sheet of a material which is peeled from the label and disposed of.

Butt Cut Labels:

Labels which are separated by a single knife cut. 

Bleed:

Printing that extends beyond the trim edge.  To print a bleed, you extend the image which is trimmed after printing.

Corner Radius:

The amount of curve which is made through the die blades to make a rounded corner on a label.

CYMK:

An abbreviation for the four primary colours used in a four colour process printing.  Cyan, Yellow, Magenta, and Black.

Die:

A tool used for cutting the desired shape of your label.  This tool only cuts the face material and not the backing sheet, this to make the label peel off easily.

Dots per inch (dpi):

The measurement used to indicate how many dots appear within a vertical and horizontal inch of a graphic.  The measurement is used to define the quality of an image’s resolution.  The higher the resolution the better the quality.

Embossed:

An impression of an image to achieve a raised surface on face stock.

EPS (Encapsulated PostScript):

A vector graphic file format

Face Material:

This is the part of the stock which is printed on.  This can consist of paper, fabric, mylar, etc.

Film:

The material which is used to create negatives.  When the emulsion side is exposed to light the image is transferred to the plate material, exposing the printing image.

Foil Stamping:

A process where heat and pressure is used to transfer a film to the face material.  Generally either gold or silver. 

Font:

Characters in a specific type face, point size, and style.

Four colour process:

A printing process that uses the laying down of the four primary colours (cyan, yellow, magenta, and black) to produce an image.

Lamination:

A protective plastic film adhered to the label to give either a gloss or matt look.

Pantone:

A standard colour matching system used by graphic designers and printers for ink colour.

Permanent Adhesive:

An adhesion which has a high adhesion to a variety of surfaces.

PMS:

A PMS is a standard colour defined by percentages of different primary inks.

Removable Adhesive:

An adhesive which has a low adhesive to allow for easy removal of the label after it has been stuck to the desired surface.

Resolution:

The quality of a graphic in relation to the number of dots per inch the graphic has. 

RBG:

The colours used for computers monitors that divides the colour into three primary colours: Red, Blue and Green.

Roll Direction:

The direction which the label is facing when it comes off the roll.  There are eight alternative roll directions for a desired application.

Screen:

A dotted fill pattern, which is described as a percentage, eg. 75% screen

TIFF (Tagged Image File Format):

A bitmap image graphic file format.

Trapping:

A thin line created when two colours that are printed side by side are overlapped to reduce a white gap between the colours.

Trim Size:

The size of a printed sheet once it has been trimmed.

Varnish:

A thin protective coating applied like an ink on printed material.  It is in aid to protect the printing from dirt and damage.