A

Adhesive
A substance capable of holding materials together by close contact.

B

Bar Code Reader
A device used to read bar code symbols

Blocking
Condition where the printed material sticks to the backing of the wound impression. Usually due to improper drying of inks.

Back Web
A term used to describe the second surface in a laminated structure. The back web is usually located next to the product packages.

C

Cast Film
Plastic sheeting manufactured by the casting process.

Coating Weight
The weight of coating per unit area. This is usually expressed in pounds per ream.

Converter
One who converts film into printed or processed packaging material (roll stock, bags, etc.).

Core
The inside structure that a roll of film is wound onto usually made of corrugated material.

Core Tags
A label that is applied to the core that specifies information for tracability.
 
Corona Treatment
Changing the surface of film by high voltage discharge (corona) resulting in the increase of the Dyne level.

Crop Marks
Markings to designate the placement of graphics.

Curl
 A bending or warping of material by itself.  Roll tension and humidity are often causes.

Cut Off
The length of a printed image in relationship to the printing cylinder axis.

D

Delamination
The horizontal separation of (2) materials due to a failure between the mating surfaces.

Dyne Level
The surface energy that exists on film stock.

E

Eye Mark
A small dark rectangle that often represents the Cut-Off,  Usually 1/8” away from the film edge, the eye-mark is read by processing equipment (via photo eyes) to signify sealing actions.

EVOH (Ethylene Vinyl Alcohol)
Copolymer resin used in high barrier packaging.

F
 
Film
Also know as substrate, the base material used for printing.
 
Fish Eyes
Round or oval deformations in an adhesive, coating or ink.

Flexographic Printing
Method of rotary printing which employs flexible plates and quick drying inks.

Four Color Process
Printing with yellow, cyan, magenta and black inks.  Used to reproduce photo-realistic images.
 

G

Gloss
A surface shininess or luster usually measured at an angle.
 

H

HDPE (High Density Poly Ethylene)
A poly ethylene film created with a dense molecule structure.  Packaging film.

I

Idler Rolls
Driven rollers used to direct material through processing equipment with accuracy.

Impression
An image produced on a surface by printing plates.

IWS
Individual Wrapped Slice.  Term used for cheese processing.

J

K

L

Lamination
The combination of two or more surfaces to create one finished structure.

M

Machine Direction
The direction parallel to that of the processing equipment.

Make Ready
All process operations prior to the actual printing of the substrate

Master Roll
A roll of material that will be slit into smaller rolls.

Material
Un-converted material also referred to as substrate or film.

Material Splice
The joining of two ends of material to make one continuous web.

Matte Finish
A non-gloss surface appearance.

Metal Foil
Thin layer of metal used in laminating.

Metalized Film
A layer of plastic film that has a layer of metal vacuum deposited on one side.

Metallocene
A term used for metallocene polymerization.  Process in which polymers are made strong by a high molecular weight.

Micrometer
A device used to measure very small distances.

Micron
A unit of measure. On millionth of a meter (25 microns = 0.001 Inch).

MIL
Unit of measure. 1 mil=0.001 inch=100 gauge.

Moisture Content
The amount of moisture an object possesses.

Moisture Vapor Transmition Rate (WVTR)
The rate at which film will allow moisture to pass through its construction.

N
 
Negative
A photographic image of artwork that is represented in reverse. Negatives are used to make printing plates.

Nip Rollers
Two processing rollers that come together in close tolerances.

O
 
OPP
Oriented polypropylene.

Opacity
Impenetrable by light; neither transparent nor translucent. Ink plays an important role in obtaining opacity.

P
 
PET
Polyester Film

PSI
Pounds per Square Inch.

Photopolymer
A light sensitive high molecular weight compound consisting of up to millions of repeated linked units. Photopolymer material is used to make printing plates via negatives and computer generated images.

Pigment
Solid partials used in the ink making process for color and opacity.
 
Polyester
Synthetic polymers used in film making processes.  Polyesters are either printed on or used in laminations.

Polyethelyene
A polymerized ethylene resin, used in the form of films and sheets for packaging.

Process Printing
Printing from multiple half-tone images, each with a different color so the impression reproduces the colors of the original artwork.

Q

R
 
Repeat
Also know as cut-off.  The length of a printed image in relationship to the printing cylinder axis.

S

Slitter
Converting machine that slits finished rolls from a master roll.

Solvent Free Adhesives
Adhesives' components are dissolved in a variety of organic solvents for coating. Solvent-less systems use 100% solid material and contain no solvents. The adhesive is cured using a cross-linking system and no heat is introduced into the process.

Static
 Electrical discharges experienced when processing plastic films.

Stick Back
Adhesive coated material used to mount printing plates on cylinders.

Substrate
The material being processed.  Also know as film and plastic.

T

U

UV Adhesive
An adhesive solution that cures by Ultra Violet light.

UV Ink
Printing ink that cures by Ultra Violet Light.

V

Varnish
An aqueous solution that forms a barrier and coating over printed material.  Also know as a clear coat.

VFFS
Vertical Form Fill and Seal

W
 
Web Direction
The direction parallel to the processing equipment. See machine direction.

X

Y

Z