absolute register
high degree of exact size conformity of all image elements with the original or with position on the substrate.
absolute white
in theory a material that perfectly reflects all light energy at every visible wavelength; in practice a solid white with known spectral data that is used as the "reference white" for all measurements of absolute reflectance. (When calibrating a spectrophotometer, often a white ceramic plaque is measured and used as the absolute white reference).
absorbance
an index of the light absorbed by a medium compared to the light transmitted through it; numerically, it is the logarithm of the ratio of incident spectral irradiance to the transmitted spectral irradiance, a unitless number. (Absorbance implies monochromatic radiation, although it is sometimes used as an average applied over a specified wavelength range).
accessory
supplementary part or equipment, something nonessential but useful.
accordion fold
a series of parallel folds where each fold opens in the opposite direction from the previous fold like the bellows of an accordion.
acetone
colorless, highly flammable chemical compound (CH3)2CO used as an organic solvent, an ingredient in many lacquer thinner compounds and adhering liquids; used to remove lacquer adhered knife-cut stencils and lacquer type blockout from screen fabrics.
achromatic color
a neutral color (white, gray, or black that has no hue).
achromatic color reproduction
color separation technique whereby the neutral compound is digitally replaced by a corresponding level of black; also refer to gray component replacement.
acid
any substance in an aqueous solution capable of turning litmus indicator red, disolving certain metals to form salts, reacting with base or alkali to form salt, below 7 pH.
acid free paper
a paper with no acidity or residual acid producing chemicals.
acrylic (PMMA)
(1) thermoplastic resin from polymerization of acrylic or methacrylic acid esters that exhibit fairly high impact strength, rigidity, and compatibility with other plastics; (2) used as base compound in formulating ink and adhesive systems; (3) synthetic fiber created as a substitute for wool, resistant to shrinking, moths, sunlight and chlorine degradation; wool-like hand, machine washable and dryable, excellent color retention.
acrylic based adhesive
a pressure sensitive adhesive based on acrylic polymers.
acrylic emulsion
a water based latex made with acrylic polymers used for coatings and/or impregnating.
acrylic ink
ink containing acrylic polymers used for screen printing on some plastics and other substrates, especially where outdoor exposure is involved.
addressable resolution
the highest resolution of a printer, scanner, etc. in working with an image, also refer to optical resolution and interpolation.
adhesive (glue)(cermet)(gum)
a substance capable of holding materials together by surface attachment.
adhesive bleed (ooze)
adhesive exudation from pressure sensitive stock before or after processing to finished product, as a result of cold flow or clamp pressure.
adjustable mesh holder
refer to adjustable frame.
age resistance
to resist deterioration from oxygen, ozone, heat, light, or internal chemical action.
alcohol
any of a class of chemical compounds derived from hydrocarbon by replacing one or more of the hydrogen atoms with an equal number of hydroxyl radicals; a class of solvents that in addition to the hydrogen and carbon elements, also have oxygen, general formula C2H5OH.
aliasing
a visual stair stepping of image edges caused by too low of a resolution for the size of the output.
alignment
the act of aligning or the condition of being aligned; in typesetting, denotes the exactly even relationship at the top or bottom of letters of a font; can also refer to the setting of lines of type, so that their ends appear even, refer to justify.
all-over printing
the technique of covering the entire front and/or front and back of a garment with a printed image.
alpha
(1) the average percent change in resistance per degree of a pure metal resistance device between 0 degrees and 100 degrees Centigrade, which is usually designated by the Greek letter A or a, with units of ohm/ohm/C; (2) the mask channel in a color system.
alpha blending
ability to specify a fourth color component in addition to RGB, used to specify opacity, from completely transparent to opaque.
alpha channel
an eight-bit grayscale channel found in some graphics applications or the last eight bits in a 32-bit color scan. (The first 24 bits describe the color of objects. Alpha channels permit layering of images. Some uses include masking objects, making them transparent, or adding specific color instructions).
ambient
surrounding environmental conditions such as pressure, temperature, or humidity; environment coming into contact with a system or component.
anti-aliasing
the removal or softening of image rough edges (jaggies) by averaging or blending of surrounding colors.
appearance
manifestation of the nature of objects and materials through visual attributes such as size, shape, color, texture, gloss, transparency, and opacity.
application
(1) an adhesive-coated film emblem, or decal affixed to a designated substrate; (2) an ink or color screen printed directly onto a substrate; (3) often used as a general term to designate a particular screen printed product; (4) the highest level of software that a user sees; also a generic term for software.
application printing (textile)
the placement of coloring agents directly onto the fabric substrate.
application tape (application paper)
a support material used to facilitate the application of pressure sensitive markings.
application temperature
the miniumum temperature at which a pressure sensitive material can be applied to a surface.
applicator
an instrument or equipment for applying something such as a device that automatically feeds and applies labels to the product.
artifact
unwanted visual anomalies or defects generated by an input or output device, or by a software operation, that degrade image quality. See also aliasing, moiré pattern.
artist’s proof
prints or serigraphs from an edition that are owned by the artist and generally are not offered for sale. (They are of the same quality as numbered prints in the edition).
art paper
a coated paper often having a high finish used in printing halftones.
art print
printing of original or reproductions of artwork with any number of methods. Iris/Giclee/Inkjet,lithography, offset lithography, serigraphy being the major sources for Art Print production.
art reproduction
to make a reasonable facsimile of an art object. Could be reproduced in any of a number of methods; painted, inkjet, serigraph, offset lithography, sculpted, cast etc.
art work
the original copy intended for reproduction, also refer to rough art and camera ready art.
aspect ratio
(1) ratio of length to diameter of a fiber; (2) relationship of an image horizontal length and vertical height, designated with horizontal number first such as 3:2.
autoscreen film
film that has a line halftone screen incorporated into the emulsion, and after exposure to an original, develops to a halftone image.

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back gray cloth
cotton fabric material placed over the waterproof layer on top of the felt padding on the screen printing table to prevent through printed dyes from being absorbed into the felt padding.
background
area appearing behind the legend or principle subject of a print.
back lighted display
a printed display prepared on transparent material that can be illuminated from the rear to enhance attention value.
back lighting
the process of illuminating transparent artwork or screen printed transparency film from behind.
back printing
printing on the underside or second surface of a transparent sheet or film; also referred to as reverse printing.
bandwidth
the range of wavelengths between two identified limits, expressed in the same units as wavelength (nm).
banner
a sign made of fabric, plastic, or other non-rigid material that has no enclosed framework.
bar code
refer to universal product code.
base color
the background color in multiple color printing.
base line
(1) any line or specified quanity used as a point of reference; (2) the positioning of the bottom of letters so that they appear to rest on a common but imaginary line.
bézier curve
curved line segments created by establishing endpoints or anchor points, and at least one transient point or node.
binder
(1) that portion of the vehicle of an ink composition that, in combination with the pigments, forms the film; (2) the adhesive components of an ink that hold the pigment to the printed surface; (3) in paper, an adhesive component used to cement inert filler such as clay to the sheet; (4) carrier or vehicle that fix the pigments in screen printing dyes onto the fibers of the fabric being decorated.
binding
the process of attaching loose sheets into multiple page document.
bit
a binary digit, 0 to 1, represented as a single on-off circuit.
bit depth
maximum number of bits that are used to define a pixel that is a measure of the defined brightness range.
bitmap
a rasterized graphic image formed by a rectangular grid of pixels or dots.
black
(1) the absence of all reflected light; the color that is produced when an object absorbs all wavelengths from the light source; (2) in four-color printing process black is required in the printing process because equal amounts of cyan, magenta, and yellow ink will not produce a true black, designated by the letter "K."
black and white (B/W)
originals and printed material comprised only of black and white or tones of gray.
black point
scanned color that produces values of 0, 0, 0 in a acanner. (Ideally, black point is 0% neutral reflectance or transmittance), also refer to white point.
blade
the flexible printing edge of the squeegee which may be made from various elastomers of polyurethane, neoprene, or rubber.
blade coating
a method of coating paper utilizing a flexible blade set at an adjustable angle against the web, supported by a soft surfaced backing roll.
blanks
(1) cardboard, plastic, metal, or other unprinted substrate used for making displays and signs; (2) unprinted garments or piece goods.
bleed
(1) the spreading or migration of an ink component or dye into an area where it is not wanted; (2) the spreading or running of a pigment color by action of a solvent; (3) color printed to or beyond the finished outer edges of a substrate; (4) the part of the page that is trimmed off, referred to as selvage.
bleeding
(1) the diffusion or migration of color from an ink film to the surrounding surface, with which it comes in contact; (2) migration of dye from a fabric to the ink or coating previously applied, usually initiated by heat.
blend
(1) the content of the fabric sometimes used in the manufacture of a garment such as 50% cotton and 50% polyester; (2) printing two colors so smoothly that there is no perceptible line at their intersection; (3) a mixture of solvents, resins, and/or pigments; (4) inter-mixture of two or more colors; (5) in computer graphic software, the intermediate steps between two objects created when the objects are merged together via a specified number of intermidiate steps.
blending
(1) intermix of two or more solvents and/or pigments; (2) arrangement of colors, and act of printing by intermixing various colors on the screen to provide an even gradation from one intensity to the next without using photomechanical techniques.
blue printer
in process color reproduction, the film positive or printing screen for reproducing the color cyan. The letter C is used to designate this color.
BMP file
a Windows bitmap file, with an extension ".bmp" that defines an image (such as the image of a scanned page) as a pattern of dots (pixels).
border
a printed design or a line surrounding an illustration or text area of printed matter.
bpi
abbreviation for bits per inch.
Bps
abbreviation for bytes per second.
bps
abbrivation for bits per second.
brightness
(1) degree of reflectivity of a sheet of paper or similar substrate for blue light measured under standardized conditions by reflectometer calibrated for the wavelength of 457nm. (2) the overall intensity of the image. The lower the brightness value, the darker the image; the higher the value, the lighter the image will be. (3) dimension of color that is referred to in an achromatic scale, ranging from black to white; also called lightness or luminous reflectance or transmittance (q.v.).
butt
the joining together of two pieces of film or two different printed colors, without overlapping.
byte
a unit used to measure the capacity of a computer (eight bits equal one byte); the representation of a character

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calibration
to determine, check, or rectify the graduations of any instrument giving quantitative measurements.
chroma
(1) intensity or strength of a color, the degree of brightness or brilliance; (2) the extent that a color is diluted by white light; (3) its saturation or degree of departure from black and white; (4) hue or color information.
clear vinyl
vinyl plastic formulated so that the resulting sheet or film is transparent.
clip art
previously developed designs and graphics used in composing artwork, copyright free and/or purchased for a fee.
cm
abbreviation for centimeter.
cm2
abbreviation for square centimeter.
cm3
abbreviation for cubic centimeter.
CMY (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow)
The three subtractive primary colors used in color negative printing, and some output devices, to produce a full gamut of color.
CMYK
acronym for cyan, magenta, yellow, black.
coated paper
paper with a very thin clay coating on one or both sides of the sheet (C1S/C2S) with a finish ranging from eggshell to glossy.
coated screen
a printing screen with direct emulsion applied to the mesh prior to exposing.
coating
(1) an unbroken clear film applied to a substrate in layers to protect and seal it or to make it glossy; (2) a screen printed material, pigmented or clear; applied to a substrate and forming a continuous film.
color balance
(1) correct combination of cyan, magenta, and yellow needed to reproduce an original without unwanted color variation; (2) the specific combination of cyan, magenta, and yellow needed to produce a neutral gray in the color separation process.
color bar
a measurement device printed in the trim area consisting of test targets to measure print attributes such as dot gain, density, slur, doubling, contrast, and trapping.
color calibration
a system of software and/or hardware that adjusts and coordinates colors between two or more digital devices. Color calibration systems commonly compare device color profiles and translate one color model into a device-independent language.
color correction
(1) a photographic, electronic, or manual procedure used to compensate for the deficiencies in process inks and color separations; (2) any change in color requested by the customer; (3) adjustment in color reproduction to compensate for color variations.
color gamut
any color medium representing its own range of colors including that which is applied to film, a monitor, printed images, and the human eye.
Color Management System (CMS)
a combination of software and hardware devices to produce accurate color results throughout a digital imaging system.
color match
condition resulting when no significant difference in hue, saturation, and lightness can be detected between two color samples when examined under specified illumination and viewing conditions.
color profile
also called device profile. This term refers to the relationship between the color models of the system devices.
color proofs
(1) first prints pulled before the production run to check selection, placement,and register of all colors in the composition to be printed, used to determine need for final correction or acceptance of print quality; (2) a representation of how the final printed composition will appear.
color separation
(1) separating the areas of a piece to be printed into its component spot and process ink colors; (2) a process using red, green, and blue filters to divide the colors of a multicolored original into the process colors of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black; (3) a photographic technique involving photographing original continuous tone colored art through a series of filters, each to provide negatives representing the colors used in rendering the original.
color transparency
(1) a full color photograph on transparent film; (2) full color manually drawn design rendered in transparent colors to permit light transmission through the film and color layers, can be used in displays by back lighting, or as a photographic subject by transmitted, rather than reflected light; (3) a transparent film screen printed with translucent inks.
color wheel
the visible spectrum’s continuum of colors arranged into a circle, where complementary colors such as red and green are located directly across from each other.
computer graphics
the interactive production and layout of graphic material, text and images, by means of computer keyboard, light pen, digitizer, mouse, and other hardware/software integration.
copyright ©
a person’s exclusive right to reproduce, publish, or sell his or her original work of authorship; a legal document that protects published or unpublished works that are fixed in a tangible medium of expression from reproduction, extends for the life of the creator of the work plus fifty years after his or her death.
crease
(1) a straight line fold; (2) a dent in wire cloth mesh.
crimp
(1) to fold and fasten a joint under pressure; (2) a wavy fiber or yarn structure in a fabric.
crop marks
sometimes referred to as tick marks, small marks placed in the margin, denoting the live area or areas of an image to be reproduced.
cropping
(1) indicates what portion of the image is to be included in the final reproduction; (2) trimming unwanted areas of a photographic film or print.
custom printing
in textile printing, the type of work where the garment is furnished by the screen printer and not the customer.
cutout
a halftone image where the background area has been removed to produce a silhouette.

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data processing
the manipulation, recording and handling of data by means of electronic equipment.
decal (deca)
an abbreviated form of decalcomania, the French designation of a design printed on specially prepared paper for transfer to a substrate.
decal adhesive
a clear, screen printable, water soluble compound printed over the face surface of decal for face-down adhesion on a transparent substrate for viewing through the substrate.
degrease
the act of removing oil or grease film from metal parts before printing or from screen mesh prior to stencil application.
degree of cure
in UV curable coatings, it is generally inversely related to the level of free monomer.
dehaze
the removal of ghost images from a reclaimed screen.
depth of field
the distance from a point between the camera lens and subject or copy to a point behind the subject, between which point the foreground, subject, and background are in focus when a lens is focused on subject copy.
depth of focus
the distance that a lens can be moved toward or away from subject or copy when focused, without throwing the subject or copy out of focus.
die
a tool for cutting out, forming, or stamping material.
die cutting
process of blanking or cutting a sheet or roll stock to a predetermined shape.
die, embossing
a brass, steel, or magnesium die used to impress a design in relief.
digital
image and line data that has been translated into numerical values for manipulation and reproduction.
digital color printing
one of serveral non-impact technologies where the image is formed by a computer controlled printer.. (Generally accepted to include: electrostatic, ink jet, laser photo, and thermal transfer.)
digital halftone
the process of obtaining various tones by breaking up the image into a graduated series of dots. The dots repeat in a regular pattern, creating the illusion of continuous tone. The digital printing process is controlled by the size and shape of dots.
digital printer
any printing device that is capable of translating digital data into hardcopy output.
dithering
a graphic display or printing process that uses a combination of dots or textures to simulate an original image or output device with the purpose of creating the impression of a continuous-tone gray scale or color image.
dot
the individual element of a halftone (square, elliptical, or round).
dot area
the percentage of the area that is occupied by the dots; the sum of halftone dots in relation to a given unit area such as twenty-five percent dot areas means 25% of the given area is covered by dots, with 75% representing the uncovered areas.
dot etching
a technique of altering dot size on halftone films to correct colors or adjust the hues of individual tonal areas.
dot gain
the optical increase in the size of a halftone dot during prepress operations or the mechanical increase in halftone dot size that occurs during printing.
dot matrix printer
a printer where each character is formed from a matrix of dots.
dot pattern
an arrangement that represents the original art subject, the light and dark tones produced by varying size dots making up the whole image.
dot pitch
distance between the dots on a computer monitor, typically 0.2 to 0.3 millimeters. (The closer the dots, the sharper the image on the monitor).
dot size
relative area occupied by each dot composing a halftone negative, positive or print in relation to respective highlight and shadow areas in the image.
dot resolution
the integrity of a reproduced printed dot to the original represented on the film.
double face
(1) a sign or display printed on both sides of the material; (2) paper or other sheet substrate that has been prepared for printing on both sides.
double image
the appearance of extra unwanted dots in the image area of the print.
down-sampling
the process of receiving data from another computer, server or system. The reduction in resolution of an image, necessitating a loss in detail.
dpi
acroynm for dots per inch.
dry offset (letterset)
a printing process that uses a blanket for transferring the image from plate to substrate, a relief plate, and no dampening system.
dry opacity
refer to hiding power.
duotone
a special effect technique that consists of making a two-color halftone reproduction from a single color original.
duotone printing
a process of printing two colors with halftone printing screens, placed at angles to diminish or elimate a moiré effect caused by overlaping of dots in a given pattern or patterns.
duplex paper
a fine paper, cover weight with a different color or texture on each side.
duplex decal paper
a paper that consists of a thin tissue type paper that is adhered semi-permanently on a heavier base paper with adhesive coated on the tissue paper side used for larger decal production.
dye
(1)a non-pigment coloring agent of mineral or vegetable origin with high penetration capability, used mainly in decorating of textiles. (2) coloring material that is soluble in a vehicle or solvent as opposed to pigments that are insoluble.
dye emulsion
screen printing ink of the emulsion type where dye rather than a pigment acts as the colorant.
dye ink (dye paste)
screen printing ink for textile decoration made by suspending dye in appropriate vehicle formulation with inert thickening agents.
dye pigment
dyestuff that are insoluble in water and can be used directly as pigments without chemical transformation.
dye sublimation
an imaging process that vaporizes colorant with heat and pressure and deposits it onto a substrate in order to simulate a continuous tone or line image.
dyed mesh
screen mesh that has been dyed a color usually yellow, orange, or amber to enhance the ability of the mesh to absorb UV light during stencil exposure.
dyeing
the act of applying a liquid coloring matter for imparting a particular hue to fabric.

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edge curl
the tendency of a pressure sensitive sheet to deform or bend away from the surface to which it has been adhered.
EGA resolution
computer monitor resolution, which is typically 660 x 440 data (pixels) for the entire screen.
embroidery
the process of working with needle and thread to form raised decorative designs on fabric.
emulsion
a liquid or semi-liquid light sensitive compound usually of silver halide grains in a thin gelatin layer.
encapsulated postscript (EPS)
Adobe® format that translates graphics and text into a code that a printer can read and print.
enlargement
a reproduction or copy larger than the original; also called blowup.
engraving
any recessed printing plate that is produced by an etching or cutting.
EPS
acronym for encapsulated postscript; a vector based computer graphics file format developed by Adobe™ and is preferred format for computer illustrations because of its efficient use of memory and fine color control.

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fabric (cloth; textile)
planar structure produced from weaving, knotting, felting, knitting, binding or otherwise combining natural or synthetic fibers or filaments.
fade resistance
the property of a color or ink film that inhibits deterioration from environmental influences.
fading
partial or complete loss of color due to excessive sun exposure, humidity, or other environmental influences; a gradual "bleaching out" of the appearance of a color on a print.
feather edge (feathering)
(1) the appearance of the edge of a printed area where the color or ink seeps out or is forced beyond the predetermined print edge, giving the edge a feathery ragged appearance or unsharp print edge; (2) image editing technique that allows the softening of the edge around a selection.
film
(1) transparent support sheet coated with light sensitive emulsion for use in a camera; (2) indirect photoscreen stencil film; (3) any of the various thin sheet materials – transparent, translucent, or opaque – used as the face material in manufacturing pressure sensitive stock, and having a thickness usually not greater than 0.25 mm (0.010 in).
film adhesion
the relative quality of the bonding of a screen printing stencil film to the screen printing fabric.
film adhesive
class of adhesives in dry film form with or without reinforcing material that is cured by heat and pressure.
film backing
(1) the transparent sheet which carries the sensitized emulsion layer of photographic films; (2) the plastic or paper sheet which carries the photosensitive emulsion layer of a photographic screen printing stencil film, or the transparent plastic or semi-transparent paper sheet on which knife-cut stencil film is temporarily mounted.
finish
(1) the surface characteristic of a substrate; (2) the part of a container that holds the cap or closure.
finishing
term generally applied to encompass post-press operations such as trimming, die cutting, and bindery.
fl
abbreviation for fluid.
fl oz
abbreviation for fluid ounce.
flag
a marker usually strips of colored paper or lightweight board, inserted in rolls of material or flat sheet stock extending from the edge to indicate a deviation from standard such as a splice or defect, or to mark a specific length or count.
flammable
capable of catching fire easily and burning rapidly; having flash point below 37.8ºC (100ºF); also referred to as inflammable.
flammability
the capability of a material to support combustion, ranging from extremely easy to ignite to self-extinguishing.
flexible
pliable; capable of being bent or flexed.
flock
very short and accurately cut fibers of rayon, nylon, polyester, acrylic, or similar material of vary in length and denier, intended for application to an adhesive coated substrate to produce a velvety appearance and texture.
flock adhesive
pigmented screen printing compound designed for the expressed purpose of adhering flock to the substrate.
fluid ounce Imperial
a unit of measure of capacity equal to 1/40th of an imperial quart or 1,0408 fluid ounces, U.S. Its abbreviation is fl. oz., Imp.
fluid ounce, US
a liquid measure equal to one-sixteenth of a pint or to 29.573 millimeters; abbreviation is fl. oz.
fluorescence
the emission of elctromagnetic radiation especially in the form of visible light by certain substances called phosphors, as a result of absorption of other radiations such as an electric discharge or an ultraviolet light.
fluorescent
a pigment which not only reflects a visible wavelength but is activated by most of the remaining absorbed light to re-emit it as color of a longer wavelength, which results in reinforcement of the reflected color.
fluorescent ink
ink formulated with pigments that are capable of absorbing energy in the blue or ultraviolet end of the spectrum and re-emitting it in the form of light in the visisble wavelengths.
fluorescent paper
paper that has light reflecting qualities, which is the direct result of optical bleaching additives in the form of fluorescent dyes making them whiter than white.
foam board
a family of rigid, foam centered sheet and boards, made of a variety of laminate materials.
focal distance
the optimum distance between UV lamp/reflector and substrate for radiation curing.
focal length
(1) the distance from the optical center of the lens or mirror to the ground glass or film plane on which an object at infinity is in sharp focus; (2) the distance from the lens to the sensitized surface (film) when the lens is focused on an object at infinity distance.
focus
(1) point at which rays of light meet after being reflected or refracted; (2) adjustment of the distance setting on a lens to sharply define the subject.
foil
(1) a very thin metal sheet which can be used as a screen printing substrate, or in chemical milling, as a raw material for the production of miniature and sub-miniature metal parts, usually less than .006 inch (0.15 mm) in thickness; (2) donor medium for thermal transfer printing.
foil decoration
molding paper, textile, or plastic foil printed with compatible inks directly onto a plastic part, so that the foil is visible below the surface of the part as integral decoration.
foil emboss
the embossing of a substrate with the addition of foil.
foil paper (foil laminate): very thin metal sheet laminated to a paper backing or support sheet, usually with permanent adhesives for use as a single element substrate.
font
a complete assortment of type of one particular size and type face style.
foot
(1) a linear measure equal to 12 inches, one-third of a yard or 30.48 centimeters; abbreviation is ft; (2) the bottom edge of a sheet.
foot candle (lux)
a unit for measuring the amount of light emitted by a source; one lumen per 9.290 square decimeters (square foot); a unit of illumination equivalent to that produced by a standard candle at the distance of 0.3048 meters (one foot).
foot, cubic
refer to cubic Ffoot.
foot lambert (FL): a measure of brightness; one FL is the brightness exhibited by a white piece of paper, one foot away from a candle.
footprint
the edge of the squeegee which comes into contact with the screen mesh, usually no more than a few mils in width, and the length of which will equal the overall width of the squeegee blade. Rounded-edge squeegee blades will have a larger footprint than sharper ones.
format
(1) the layout and physical appearance or arrangement of characters such as shape, size, type, and overall design of printed matter. (2) Characteristic identifying size of printer, media, or graphic, according to width of media roll, printer’s print area, or graphic. Mediam Format is generally taken to be between 11"—24" in width; Large Format (Wide Format) larger than 24" in width, and Grand Format larger than 72" in width.
fountain
the ink reservoir on a screen printing press.
fountain roller
the roller in the ink fountain which, by revolving, agitates the ink.
four color halftone
a halftone print composed of four colors (magenta, yellow, cyan and black) deposited in a very small dot pattern, which by proximity or overlapping have the capacity to form all intermediate tones.
four color hues
magenta, cyan, yellow and black.
four color process printing
a system of photographically reproducing an illustration or design to produce all colors in the original by using magenta, cyan, yellow and black ink printed through color-separated halftone printing screens.
four color separations
term applied to negatives, positives, or stencils each having the ultimate printing responsibility for one of the four colors used in four color process printing; namely, magenta, cyan, yellow and black. (Separations may be made with a process camera or by electronic scanner devices.)
four-post press
a flatbed screen printing press where the screen carriage is mounted on four vertical posts and the vacuum bed moves forward for loading and back for printing.
frame
refer to chase, printing frame, vacuum frame.
frost
a roughened glass surface produced by immersing the article in hydrofluoric acid and fluoride compounds.
frosted
the surface of glass that has been treated to scatter light reflections to simulating frost.
f-stop
fixed sizes at which the apperature of the lens can be set; a number established by dividing the focal length of a lens by the diameter of the lens opening.
ft
abbreciation for foot.
ft2
abbreviation for square feet.
ft3
abbreviation for cubic feet.
full bleed
printing term used when an image or background extends to the final trim edge of a printed page.
full color printing
term used to mean four color process printing, though a fifth or sixth color may also be added.

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g
(1) symbol in metric system for gram; (2) abbreviation for gravitation constant.
gal
abbreviation for gallon, US.
gamma
(1) a measure of contrast in photographic images; (2) mathmatical curve representing both contrast and brightness of an image.
gamma correction
a non-linear tonal correction, editing an image gamma curve.
gamma curve
the shape of a line connecting the input and output values responsible for generating an image.
gamut
greatest possible range.
gamut chart
a small text image for evaluating the reproducible colors in process color printing.
gamut color
the cleanest, most saturated color that can be reproduced by a set of process inks on a given substrate.
Gaussian blur
an image softening effect utilizing a bell shaped Gaussian distribution curve.
gauge
(1) any of various instruments or tools for precise measuring; (2) to measure exactly; (3) a standard of measure, dimension, or capacity.
GB
acroynm for gigabyte.
Gb
acroynm for gigabit.
geometric distortion
image deformation in a uniform manner.
GIF
acronym for Graphics Interchange Format; an eight bit (256 colors or shades of gray) or less computer file format used to post photographic images to bulletin boards.
giga
a prefix utilized in the metric system of measurement that denotes 10 to the ninth power (109 ) or 1,000,000,000; symbol is G.
gigabyte (GB)
an electronic unit of measure equal to one thousand megabytes or one billion bytes.
glaze
a vitrous mixture of complex borates and silicates, either colored or clear, that attaches itself firmly to the body of ceramic ware, imparting a gloss and smoothness to the surface.
glazed paper
paper with a high gloss or polish.
glitch
minor unexpected malfunction, mishap, or technical problem.
glitter
small bits of light reflecting decorative material added to a material or ink to achieve a sparkle appearance in the final product or print.
gloss
the relative degree of shine or luster of a substrate or material, the higher the light reflectance from the surface, the more shiny the substrate.
gloss ink
an ink that dries with minimum penetration into the substrate surface and that yields a high shine or luster.
glossy print
a photographic print that has a shining finish.
graphics interchange format (GIF)
a photograph or drawing stored in electronic form for viewing on a computer.
gray levels
the number of steps available to reproduce a color in an imaging system. Typically, in an 8 bit system there are 256 gray levels per color.
gray scale
(1) a range of luminance values for evaluating shading through white to black; (2) a reflection or transmission scale of gray tones in steps from clear or white at one end to black at the other, with steps in-between showing evenly intensified series of gray tones. (It is attached to the original design or copy to determine accuracy of exposure and uniformity of color separations. Patches of yellow, cyan and magenta are included with the scale when photographing for color separations); also referred to as gray or step wedge.
gray scale continuous
continuous tone black and white image on film where the density gradually increases from zero.
grayness
attribute calculated from density readings that relate to the degree of three-color contamination in cyan, magenta, and yellow process color ink.
grommet
(1) a metal reinforcement, usually in the form of a round ring, mounted in the edge or corners of a printed banner for hanging; (2) a small rubber ring used to insulate a printing screen used in hot ink screen printing.
grommet and washer with teeth
a metal ring that is permanently attached by means of teeth in the washer.
grommeting
the process of applying metal reinforcements (grommets) into holes punched in edges or corners of a banner, display, or sign unit for the purpose of hanging.
guides, register
stops on the printing base against which edges of substrate are placed for printing to ensure that all substrates are being printed in identical areas or positions.
guillotine
a manual or electronic paper cutter with a straight blade that raises and lowers with the downward action being the cutting portion of the cycle.
guillotine cutting
the cutting of stacked sheet stock by straight line cutting with a suspended blade.
gutter
(1) the taped interior edges of the screen parallel to the direction of the squeegee; (2) the white space along the inside margins of facing pages.

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H
abbreviation for hue.
halftone
a reproduction of continuous tone artwork such as a photograph through a crossline or contact screen or by digital generation that converts the image into dots of various sizes.
halftone dot count
refer to halftone line count.
halftone dot resolution
the ability of a printing screen to accurately reproduce a halftone dot of a specific shape and size.
halftone line count
the number of rows of dots per centimeter or per inch, used as a means of determining the fineness or coarseness of a halftone screen, negative, positive, or stencil. (The halftone dots, regardless of size, are equidistant from each other on their centers, thus, located in parallel lines.)
halftone printing
a technique where an image that has been broken up photographically into a structure of tiny dots, each equidistant from others on centers, but varying in size in relation to light and dark areas, can be printed to preserve the gradations of tone.
halftone reproductions
printed matter produced by using halftone photomechanical techniques.
halftone screen
(1) a sheet of glass or film that is used as an intermediate between continuous tone copy and photographic material; also refer to contact screen, crossline screen, and levy screen; (2) printing screen containing a halftone dot pattern.
hard copy
(1) a printed document on paper; (2) a printout that accurately represents an electronic file.
haze
(1) residue of ink and/or stencil material remaining in a screen following stencil removal; (2) undesired cloudiness found in transparent areas of film, or base substrate.
heat activation
the application of heat to convert an adhesive coating from a dry state to one where adhesion can be accomplished.
heat curing
(1) the subjection of a printed textile substrate to steam heat to set the dyes and drive off volatiles; (2) the application of dry heat for predetermined interval to dive off volatiles and speed drying and in some instances to harden the printed film on the substrate.
heat distortion point
(1) the temperature that a material softens enough to distort under a given load; (2) the temperature at which a standard test bar deflects 0-25 mm (0.010 in) under stated load of either 0.45 mPa (66 psi) or 1.82 mPa (264 psi).
heat resistance
the property of a material that inhibits physical or chemical changes caused by exposure to elevated temperature.
heat sink
any device that absorbs and draws off heat from a hot object.
heat transfer
the flow of heat by conduction, convection, or radiation.
heat transfer application
the transfer of a printed image from a carrier to a receiving substrate by the use of heat and pressure.
heat transfer paper
a special paper that releases the ink printed on it, when heat and pressure are applied over time.
high definition color printing (HDCP)
a specialized color printing process that uses balanced dot frequency and screen rulings as fine as 625 lpi to reproduce near-photographic quality images.
high gloss
a type of surface having extreme smoothness and excellent light reflecting qualities.
HLS
acroynm for hue luminance saturation; a color model based on these three coordinates of color.
horizontal resolution
the number of vertical lines that a system is capable of producing (counted on a horizontal axis).
HSB
acroynm for hue staturation brightness; a color model based on these three coordinates of color.
ht
abbreviation for height.
hue
(1) one of the the attributes of color; an object defined by its angular position in a cylindrical color space or on a color wheel; (2) the actual name for a color.

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jet
(1) the blackness or intensity of the masstone of black or near-black ink or colored surface; (2) a pressurized stream of air used as a drying mechanism.
joint
the junction of two structural members of a screen printing frame, such as butt, lap, and dovetail attachment styles.
JPEG
an acronym for Joint Photographic Electronic Group, a common standard for compressing image data.
justify
to space out lines of type uniformly to a desired length, refers to aligning both the right and left hand margins.

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KB
symbol for kilobyte.
Kbps
abbreviation for kilobytes per second.
kernel size
the number of pixels sampled as a unit during image manipulation and shaping.
kerning
manipulating type character width and white space to achieve tighter fit or aesthetically pleasing results; also referred to as character compensation.
kier
a large vat used in bleaching and dyeing of fabric.
kilobyte
an electronic unit of measure equal yo 1024 bytes; symbol KB.
kiosk
a small point of purchase display, fixture, structure, cart placed in the center of an aisle or merchandise area.
kiss cutting
the die cutting of a face material of a laminated substrate without cutting the support material.

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label
an applied printed identification denoting contents, ownership, directions, destination, rating, or use.
laminate
(1) the act of adhere a film to a surface by hand or mechanical means to form a single multi-layer sheet; (2) a web or sheet material formed by bonding materials together.
laminating film
usually a clear or transparent sheeting manufactured for use as a protective top strata of a cold seal or thermal lamination to processed material.
laminating press
a device for producing a multi-layered sheet or for applying a protective sheet of clear plastic to a printed sheet or liner with pressure and heat or just pressure.
lamination
a sheet of material composed of two or more layers of material adhered together to form the sheet such as a liner and face material together with an adhesive to form a sheet of pressure sensitive label stock.
landscape
a page that has a greater width than height; page layout in horizonal format.
lapping colors
over-printing of the edges or other portions of the area of a printed color by a succeeding color.
large-format
a printer, media, or print 24" or greater in width.
layout
(1) a guide showing the arrangement and location of all type, illustrations, line art drawings, or sketches of a proposed printed piece; (2) the floor plan view of a printing plant or manufacturing area.
legging
the stringing out of pressure sensitive adhesive when a material is drawn away from a substrate, its release liner, or its matrix.
length
the flow characteristics of a screen ink, often referred to as "long" or "short," but more often a screen ink will be short.
letterpress printing
a process where ink is applied to paper or other substrate by means of relief (raised above the non-image areas) printing plate or type.
letterscreen
in printed circuit board manufacturing, a printing screen produced specifically for printing nomenclature.
lightness
equals value of color; perception by which objects are distinguished from gray objects and light from dark objects.
lightweight
a class of fabric made of 26 or 28 single yarn.
line art
single color diagram or drawing usually black and white with no intermediate grayscale.
line conversion
a method of changing a continuous tone image into a line illustration with bold, dark areas on a light background with no intermediate tones.
line copy
any type, design, drawing that can be reproduced without using a halftone screen.
line count
the number of lines of halftone dots per centimeter or linear inch.
line drawing
artwork, originals or printed matter consisting of lines or solids or dark and light tones.
line dropping
subsampling to reduce the number of raster lines in an image by dropping every nth raster line from the scan. See also pixel dropping.
line gauge
a ruler scaled in picas and points, but may also include inches and agate measurements, used by printers.
line image
a photographic image that is composed of fine, solid lines or dots or other shapes, all solid black or color, with no graduations of tones as in a continuous tone image.
line replication
creating more raster lines than are actually scanned by replicating every nth raster line from the scan. See also pixel replication.
line tone
a form of halftone made up of parallel lines instead of dots.
line width
the actual width of a screen printed line measured very accurately and precisely in mils; also refer to conductor width.
linear
related to a line, measurement involving a single dimension not square or cubic.
lines
(1) thin markings denoting the contour of a design; (2) parallel rows of halftone dots.
lines per centimeter (LPC)
the number of dots per centimeter. (As a general rule the higher the dot count per centimeter, the higher the resolution).
lines per inch (LPI)
the number of dots per inch. (As a general rule the higher the dot count per inch, the higher the resolution).
lithographic paper (litho paper)
paper that has been coated at least on one side to make it suitable for lithographic printing.
lithography
a method of printing by the planographic process using a coated plate whose image areas attract ink and whose non-image areas repel ink.
loose register
in the screen printing of multiple colors, occurs when the registration of one to the other is not considered critical or exact.
lossless compression
a compression technique that will retain all of the file’s original image characteristics. The perfect lossless compression technique remains elusive.
lossy compression
a compression technique that will sacrifice some image quality at low levels and continue to degrade more image quality as compression levels increase.
lower case
uncapitalized letters of the alphabet.
luminous reflectivity
when specifying a color, it is the ratio of the luminosity of the specimen to that of a standard reflector under identical conditions.
luster
a solution of organic pigments modified with suitable oils, resins, and solvents that are fired to produce an iridescent surface appearance on the ware.
LZW
The Lempel-Ziv-Welch image compression technique.

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m
(1) prefix in the metric system for milli; (2) unit symbol in the metric system for meter.
m2
abbreviation for square meter.
m3
abbreviation for cubic meter.
magenta
process red; a purplish color; one of the four process color inks used in printing process; designated by letter M.
marking
another term for emblem or decal, also used as a generic term that including striping, accent, and trim pieces and die-cut lettering.
mask
a covering or coating used to protect, cover, or conceal.
masking
(1) technique of placing a mask in the path of light to stop passage, reduce the quantity of light, or modify a photographic result; (2) technique that allows manipulation of one area of an image while other areas remain unaffected.
masking film
(1) manual knife-cut film that does not permit passage of actinic light; (2) photographic-light sensitive film for making masks for color correction.
masstone
(1) a color, viewed by reflective light, of a pigment-vehicle mixture, that is of sufficient thickness to obscure completely the background; (2) an area of solid color compared to a halftone print.
master
the original from which subsequent copies and comparisons are made.
Match Print™ proof
(1) a four color print that estimates how the final print will appear; (2) a direct digital color proofing process that allows the printer to see the colors desired in the final print; (3) a 3M registered trademark.
matrix
the areas of substrate surrounding a die cut label or similar product that is discardable on use; also called waste; refer to weed.
matte finish
a dull, low-gloss, or no-gloss finish.
maximum opacity
the thickness of an applied ink film where additional amounts of ink will not affect reflectance measurements.
MB
acroynm for megabyte.
Mb
acroynm for megabit.
media
(1) another term for substrate, a material to be printed; (2) plural form of medium.
medium
(1) a resinous fluid substance, or vehicle with which pigments are mixed; (2) a singular form of media, the material to be printed; (3) general term applied to the screen printing process as one of several print communication media.
medium finish
a non-coated sheet with a smoothness approaching a vellum finish.
medium weight
a classification for fabric of 22 to 24 single yard where the number of yarn denotes the overall fabric weight.
mega
a prefix utilized in the metric system of measurement that denotes 10 to the power of six (10 6) or 1 000 000; prefix is M.
megabit (Mb)
a unit of memory measurement equal to approximately one million bits.
megabyte (MB)
a unit of memory measurement equal to approximately one million bytes; acroynm MB.
melamine
a very resistant thermoset plastic made from the resin of melamine and formaldehyde, has excellent hardness, clarity, and electrical prperties.
melt
(1) to change a solid into a liquid by the application of heat; (2) the liquid resulting from a melting action.
melting point
temperature at which a given solid begins to liquefy under standard conditions.
Merrow™
(1) edging around a patch or emblem; (2) trademark of Merrow Machine Company.
mesh
(1) a uniformly spaced arrangement of interlaced or interlocked strands of thread or wire; screen material; (2) the open space between the threads of a woven material; (3) a type of garment fabric characterized by its net like open appearance.
mezzograph
a halftone screen with a grain formation intead of ruled lines.
mezzotint
the dots that form a contact screen for making simulated halftone effects that are irregular in shape and size and non-uniform in position.
mold
(1) a form or cavity designed to determine the shape or form of an application; (2) to shape plastic or other materials into another form or design by application of heat and pressure; (3) a form or cavity used as a holding device for three-dimensional parts during printing.
monitor calibration
a process used to adjust monitor color specifications, saturation, and brightness into synchronization with the final output device.
monochromatic
a design or photograph represented by various shades and/or tints of one color; a single color.
multicolor press
a screen printing machine capable of applying more than one color on the substrate at one pass through the printing sequence.

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negative
a photographic image on film where the black values in the original subject are transparent and the whie values are opaque.
neutral
(1) any color that has no hue such as white, gray, and black; (2) the absence of acid or alkaline activity in a material having a pH of 7; (3) the presence of an equal concentration of hydrogen and hydroxyl ions.
nuance
a subtle graduation.

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absolute register
high degree of exact size conformity of all image elements with the original or with position on the substrate.

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absolute register
high degree of exact size conformity of all image elements with the original or with position on the substrate.

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absolute register
high degree of exact size conformity of all image elements with the original or with position on the substrate.

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absolute register
high degree of exact size conformity of all image elements with the original or with position on the substrate.

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absolute register
high degree of exact size conformity of all image elements with the original or with position on the substrate.

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absolute register
high degree of exact size conformity of all image elements with the original or with position on the substrate.

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absolute register
high degree of exact size conformity of all image elements with the original or with position on the substrate.

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absolute register
high degree of exact size conformity of all image elements with the original or with position on the substrate.

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absolute register
high degree of exact size conformity of all image elements with the original or with position on the substrate.

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absolute register
high degree of exact size conformity of all image elements with the original or with position on the substrate.

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absolute register
high degree of exact size conformity of all image elements with the original or with position on the substrate.

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