Glossary

Accelerated Ageing

Artificially subjecting material to far more servere conditions than normally in order to predict behaviour during natural ageing


Acrylic

A general chemical term relating to a particular family of thermoplastic resins


Acrylic adhesive

Pressure Sensitive Adhesive based on high strength acrylic polymers; Can be coated as a solvent or emulsion system.


Adhesion

General characteristics of an adhesive when analysed in given conditions.


Adhesive Bleed

Adhesive surplus appearing on the edge of a roll, or label. Can have different causes.


Adhesive ooze

see "Adhesive Bleed"


AFERA

Association des Fabricants Europeens de Rubans Auto-adhesifs. European Association of self adhesive manufacturers


Alignment

Refers to the relative position of the printing and die-cutting units of a label press


Anti graffiti

Product that allows to remove quickly graffitis


Application tape

Tape designed to assist in the protection,application and transfer of unprinted die-cut pressure sensitive decals.


Application temperature

Starting from that recommended temperature to apply the product.


ASTM

American Society for Testing Materials


Autoclave

Pressurized steam heated vessel used for sterilization procedures


Backing

Protective material on the back of the PSA. It protects the adhesive side of a PSA while it is not applied


Backlit

Light box where light is diffused from the inside in order to enhance the color of the image.


Bleeding

see "Adhesive Bleed"


BOPP

Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene


Carrier

Material on which the adhesive is coated generally on both sides


Cast coated

Coated paper dried under pressure against a polished cylinder in order to produce a high gloss enamel like finish



Cast film

Plastic material manufactured by the casting process, as opposed to the extruding process


Chemical Resistance

Resistance of a pressure sensitive label to the deteriorating effect that could result from exposure to specified chemicals


Clear

Characteristic of an adhesive to be colourless and transparent


CMYK

Cyan Magenta Yellow Black : the process colours used when producing colour illustrations


Coating weight

Quantity of adhesive coated on the material


Cohesion

Ability of an adhesive to withstand forces applied in the same plane as the PSA


Colour Management System

Controlled conversion between the colour representations of various devices ( scanners, digital cameras, TV screens, printers), and corresponding media. See also ICC profiles


Colour matching

To duplicate the hue value and intensity of given colour sample by means of blending in specified colours.


Computer cutting

A plotter device is conneced to a computer in order to cut shapes in a face material



Computer Imprintable

Ability of a face material to be printed by computer driven printers


Co-polymer

Two or more mixed monomers which, when polymerized, yield a complex product having properties different from either single polymer alone


Corona Treatment

An electrical discharge is used to raise the critical surface tension of filmic materials in order to enhance printability



Creep

The lateral movement of a self-adhesive label after application due to low cohesive strength of the adhesive


Curl

The tendency of a material to curl in a specific direction. A condition generally aggravated by conditions of humidity


Deep freeze adhesive

Adhesive that will induce a bond to cold surfaces in cold environment



Delamination

The partial or complete separation of the layers making the laminate



Die cutting

Action of cutting through a required number of layers a required shape



Differential release

A backing material having a release coating on both sides with one being stronger than the other



Dimensional stability

Characteristic of a material indicating its ability to remain at given dimensions in spite of varying prevailling conditions such as heat or humidity



Direct thermal

Surface coated with a substance which turns black in the immediate areas where heat is applied



Dispenser

Device that feeds self adhesive labels ready for application.



Dots per inch (DPI)

Measurement which refers to resolution, sharpness or clarity of a printer, monitor or other output device



Double sided adhesive

Self adhesive coated on both sides in order to bind two elements



EAN

European Article Numbering system. The internation barcode system for retail food packages



EDP

Electronic Data Processing



Emulsion adhesive

Adhesive that is to be dispersed into water.



Fading

A gradual decrease in colour brilliance caused by exposure to UV rays



Flammability

Facility to disseminate a flame



Flexibility

Property of face material measured in specified conditions to determine how readily they will conform to curved surfaces



Glassine backing paper

Protective liner made of glassine paper



HDPE

High Density Polyethylene



High speed release

Force needed to separate the face material from its liner in high speed conditions



Hot melt adhesive

Adhesive coated thanks to its faculty to obtain the required viscosity by heating it up



Humidity

Degree of moisture. Compares the quantity of water in the air to the quantity of water it should take to saturate (relative)



ICC profile

International Color Consortium is an industry consortium which has defined an open standard for a Color Matching Module (CMM) at the OS level



Initial tack

see 'quick tack'



Kraft backing paper

Protective liner made of kraft paper



Lamination

A clear plastic film is bonded with adhesive to a printed web to both enhance the appearance and add protection.



Liner

Element in a PSA that protects the adhesive before it is applied



Linearization

Ensures print tones evenly throughout the scale to obtain consistent colour result and good tone.



Low speed release

Force needed to separate the face material from its liner in low speed conditions



Material memory

The phenomena whereby a material retains a memory of its original dimension and returns to it after tension has disappeared.



Matrix stripping

Taking of the skeleton of face material around the die cut labels



Monomer

Constituent of oligomers and polymers



Oozing

see "Adhesive Bleed"



Pantone

Standard colour guides enbling the designer to describe colours for reproduction



Pattern coated

When specified areas are required to be coated or areas are to be left clear of adhesive.



PE

Polyethylene



Peel

Force needed to separate a PSA after it has been applied on a substrate



Peel 24 H on glass

Force needed to separate a PSA after it has been applied on glass during 24H



Peelable adhesive

see "removable adhesive"



PET

Polyester



Permanent adhesive

Adhesive intended to stay permanently applied



Polymer

Molecule chain made up of smaller units (monomers and oligomers)



Printability

Collective term used to describe the properties required of all components needed in the printing process



PSA

Pressure Sensitive Adhesive. Generally composed of a Face material - an adhesive and a siliconed protective liner



Quick tack

Gives a measurement of the initial grab of a PSA. Also called "loop tack" as a strip of the material is placed in a loop and enters in contact with a specified substrate



RAL

Colour coding system mainly used in paints.



Raster

Set of horizontal lines composed of individual pixels



Rasterization

Conversion of image data into pattern of dots usually performed by an imagesetter.



Registration

Maintaining in position of the various elements of a printed design



Release force

Force required to separate the face material of a PSA from its protective liner



Release liner

see "backing"


Removable adhesive

Adhesive intended to be removed after a certain time


RIP

Raster Image Processor. Part of an output device that rasterizes information so that it can be reproduced on paper or film


Rubber adhesive

Adhesive made of synthetic rubber resin


Service temperature

Temperature range within it is recommended to use the PSA.


Shear

See 'cohesion'


Shrinkage

Reduction in size of a self adhesive face material


Silicone coating

Unique polymer system which can be a very effective release coating


Slitter

Equipment to cut a reel and rewind this divided reel in separate reels


Smudge resistance

The resistance of a printed ink to smearing


Solvent based adhesive

Adhesive that is dispersed into organic solvent


Squeegee

Flat plastic tool used to apply large format self adhesive film


Stringing

Under close examination strings of adhesive can be observed


Substrate

Generic name used to describe the material on which the Self Adhesive is applied on, and sometimes by confusion the Self Adhesive itself


Tack

The feeling of stickiness obtained when the surface of an adhesive is touched or when a label is applied to surface and quickly pulled away


Tamper evident labels

Labels that after application will fragment or split when removal is attempted


Tear strength

Property of a material that is measured by the force required to tear it under specific conditions


Tensile strength

Force required to break a piece of material by pulling it under controlled conditions


Tension

Mechanical control of material in roll form between unwind and rewind stations. The condition caused by a force to extend, stretch or pull apart


Thermal transfer

Printing process consisting to drive printheads that melt spots of dry thermoplastic ink from a donor ribbon and transfer them to a receiver to produce an image.


Top coat

A surface coating to a material designed to improve ink key or opacity or prevent migration or other properties


Varnish

A thin clear coating made up from a mixture of natural and synthetic resins and drying oils. It may be applied on the printed material in order to increase protection or appearance


Vinyl

A synthetic material also known as PVC (PolyVinyl Chloride)


Viscosity

Resistance to flow. It is measured by recording the time it takes to pass through a regulating hole.