Glossary

against the grain
Folding or feeding paper at right angles to the grain direction of the paper.

anti-tarnish

Board that is made with a low sulfer content to help prevent silver from tarnishing

beater dye
Paper or board in which dye has been added into the beaker producing a sheet with consistent color throughout its thickness

chipboard
Made from recycled paper products and virgin Kraft. Material is ground and combined with other materials in a beater to form pulp. The pulp is then spread on a screen to remove excess water.

pasted board
Chip boards which have two or more lighter weight boards glued together to forma a thicker sheet.

stained board
A board in which stain is applied to only one side of a chip board side.

vat board
Chipboard to which a layer of bleached (white) pulp has been added also can be applied to both sides.

blind embossing
A design which is stamped (raised) without metallic leaf or ink, giving a bas-relief effect.

deboss
A process similar to hot stamping where your logo or design is slightly pressed into the paper without any hot stamping foil.

emboss
A process similar to hot stamping where your logo or design is slightly raised on the paper without any hot stamping foil.

foil
A thin layer of metal applied to paper or board to make metallic papers or to a mylar carrier for hot stamping.

hot stamp
A printing method in which metalized or pigmented foils are applied to a sheet with a heated metal die or plate.

thumbcuts or thumbholes
A semi-circular or other shape cut made in sides or ends to facilitate removal of lid from base or contents from base.

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cad/cam
Acronym for Computer Assisted Design/Computer Assisted Makeup or Manufacturing.

camera ready art
Original artwork which is ready for photography; or artwork prepared on computer with all necessary files copied onto a disk.

cmyk
Acronym for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black - subtractive primary colors. Printing colors for "4-color process" color reporduction.

keyline
In artwork, an outline drawing of finished art to indicate the exact shape, position and size for such elements as halftones, line sketches, cut and fold lines, etc.

mechanical
A term for a camera-ready paste-up of artwork. It includes type, photos, line art, etc., all on one piece of artboard.

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basis weight
The weight in pounds of a ream (500 sheets) of paper cut to a given standard size for that grade; e.g. 500 sheets 25 x 38 in. of 50 lb. text paper weighs fifty pounds.

bulk
The degree of thickness of paper. In book printing, the number of pages per inch for a given basis weight.

beater dye
Paper or Board in which dye has been added into the beaker producing a sheet with consistent color throughtout its thickness.

caliper
The thickness of paper, usually expressed in thousandths of an inch (mils) and written in decimals.

coated paper
Paper with a surface coating which produces a smooth finish. Surfaces vary from eggshell to glossy.

curl
In paper, the distortion of a sheet due to differences in structure or coatings from one side to the other, or to absorption of moisture on an offset press.

deckle
In papermaking, the width of the wet sheet as it comes off the wire of a paper machine. The Deckle Edge is the untrimmed feathery edges of paper formed where the pulp flows against the deckle.

embossed finish
A texture applied to paper or light weight board after the manufacturing of the sheet. Textures often resemble another material (i.e. Wood, cloth, leather, etc.).

embossing
A process in which paper is pressed between metal dies to create an image in relief. Used as overprinting, with foil, or on blank paper (called Blind Embossing).

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 bleed
On a printed sheet, an extra amount of printed image which extends beyond the trim edge of the sheet or page.

break for color
In artwork and composition, to separate the parts to be printed in different colors.

chokes and spreads
In printing, overlap of overprinting images to avoid color or white fringes or borders around image detail (also called "trapping").

coating
A protective layer added to a printed sheet including varnish, u.v. coating, peroxylin, nitro cellulose, acrylic, etc.

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  • film lamination
    This coating is the finest coating applied to printed board or fine paper. Although it is not recommended for textured stocks, film lamination adds durability to the printed sheet and allows for constructions that would not be possible with unlaminated paper. There are several different degrees and weights of matte and gloss film laminations available.

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  • aqueous coating
    A water-based coating that is applied to seal the entire sheet, creating a smooth finish that is available from matte & satin to gloss. 

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  • varnish
    A coating that is applied for protection to a printed sheet. Varnish is available in different finishes & tints and can be applied to specific areas to create subtle effects or to coat the entire sheet. Clients should note that varnish has a tendency to slightly yellow a printed sheet.

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  • UV coating
    A high gloss liquid coating that is applied off line as a screened process. Although UV coating appears quite glossy, it is not as durable as film lamination.

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  • acid etching
    This process is an application of an acid-based varnish to a gloss laminated product that introduces areas of matte to the glossy product.  

digital printing
Printing by plateless imaging systems that are imaged by digital data from pre-press systems.

 

draw-down
In inkmaking, a term used to describe ink chemist's method of roughly determining color shade. A small glob of ink is placed on paper and drawn down with the edge of a putty knife spatula to get a thin film of ink.

electronic printing
Any technology that reproduces pages without the use of traditional ink, water or chemistry.

 

hairline register
In printing, register within plus or minus 1/2 row of dots.

 

hickeys In offset lithography, spots or imperfections in the printing due to dirt on the press, dried ink skin, paper particles, etc.

iris proof Brand name for a type of color proof.

letterpress A printing method in which ink is transferred from a metal plate directly to a sheet of paper or board.

lifts Stacks of paper which are separated as they come off a printing press to prevent off-setting. Or stacks which are cut together.

match print A type of color proof for offset printing in which film positives for each of the printing plates are fused together.

offset printing (lithography) A printing method in which ink is transferred from a plate to a smooth rubber "blanket" roller that transfers the image to paper (or paperboard).

off-press proofs Proofs made by photomechanical or digital means in less time and at lower cost than press proofs.

press proofs In color reproduction, a proof of a color subject made on a printing press, in advance of the production run.

proofing Any of a number of ways of testing art work and/or structure before final plates or tooling is made.

varnish A coating applied give a smooth glossy or matte finish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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drop test A procedure used to test the safety of package contents during shipping; determines the resistance of a filled box to shocks caused by dropping it during rough shipping and/or handling.

mitre see corner cut (wraps only).

nesting Placing trays or covers of the same size, generally for shipping, or boxes of varying sizes, one within another.

poly bag Clear plastic bag

scoring Making an impression or crease in a box blank to facilitate bending, folding, or tearing; feeding boxboard sheets through a scoring unit.

skived blank A surface blank.

stay Material used for reinforcing corners of a base, lid or tray. This may be made of paper, cloth, a combination of paper and cloth, wire or metal.

steel rule die A die in which a steel rule for cutting, creasing, or scoring is held in place by grooves cut in plywood.

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telescope box A box in which the sides and ends of the lid are cut the same depth as the sides and ends of the base and the lid fits over the base ("full telescope"). When the depth of the lid is more or less than the height of the base, the lid depth should be stated separately. Thumbcuts are recommended unless it will be a loose fit.

tight wrapping This is the process of covering the base, lid or tray with paper on wrapping machine, or by hand, wraps usually being in one piece and with the entire surface covered with adhesive.

tip A rectangular wrap applied to finish wrapping a box or to cover the turn in of a folder.

tray A receptacle to which no lid is made. turn in The part of the wrap which ends up on the inside of the box.

turned edge A folder, tray, or case on which the edges of the board are covered by the wrap vs. raw edge.

turn-in The portion of the paper which wraps on the inside of the box.

universal product code (upc) A printed code on containers and other forms of packaging that provides information about the product for purposes of inventory control and retail pricing.

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