Glossary
| AI (or) .ai | Adobe Illustrator |
| Applique | 1. An embroidered motif, aetzed or cut, which can be used as a separate embroidered figure (Schiffli embroidery). 2. Fabric, which may or may not be previously embroidered, sewn to another piece of fabric or to a garment. |
| Art | All illustration copy used in preparing a job for printing. |
| Art proof | Artwork submitted for client approval, usually a black and white stat of the camera-ready art. |
| Bitmap | Any picture you see on a Web page is a bitmap. Bitmaps come in many file formats, such as GIF, JPG, TIF, BMP, PCT, PCX, and DIB (Device Independent Bitmap). They can be read and edited by paint programs and image editors such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro. As its name suggests, a bitmap is a map of dots or pixels. If you zoom in or try to scale up a bitmap, it will look blocky. Bitmap files are generally not acceptable as art for imprinting. |
| Bleed | Printed colors that extend past the edge of a page. To cut the job to its actual size the processor has to make sure the job gets printed with 1/8 of an inch bleed some jobs may require more than that. For example if the job is a business card (3.5" x 2") the file size with bleed would be (3.625" x 2.125"). |
| Camera-ready art | Any drawing, photos, illustration or lettering suitable for photographic reproduction. |
| CMYK | Cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Subtractive colors for four process color reproduction. |
| Debossing | Depression of an image into a material such as paper, leather or suede, so the image sits below the product surface. |
| Die | Mold into which molten metal, plastic or other material is forced to make a specific shape. Also, a tool of very hard material used to press a particular shape into or onto a softer material. |
| Die charge | Charge by the supplier for creating a die from artwork supplied by the supplier. |
| Die Cutting | A specific shape like circle, star, etc (any designs that cannot be done by a straight cut) which is cut by a metal blade. Door hangers are a popular product which requires die cutting. We can accomodate shape sizes 13" x 10" and smaller, larger sizes must be sent out to other binderies. |
| Digital artwork | Artwork created using computer-assisted design software. |
| Distributor | Person or company that represents many advertising specialty suppliers and sells ad specialties and premiums to various buyer companies, often developing promotional programs and employing them. Also know as counselor or jobber. |
| DPI (Dots Per Inch) | A measurement of resolution of input, output and display devices. 300 dpi means that when printed, each square inch of your image will contain 90,000 pixels (dots), the higher the dpi (the more pixels per inch) the more crisp the printed image will be. |
| Drop-shipping | Individual packaging, address and delivery of a product to a specific address, usually the recipient's or client's. |
| Embossing | Raising of an image on a product, accomplished by pressing the material between concave and convex dies. |
| Embroidery | Art of creating and producing ornamental needlework consisting of designs worked on fabric with high-luster threads either by hand or machine. |
| Engraving | Cutting an image into metal, wood or glass by one of three methods; computerized engraving, hand tracing or hand engraving. |
| EPS or .eps (Encapsulated Postscript) | A type of graphics file written in the PostScript language. Vector-based .eps files are the preferred format for artwork used in the promotional products industry. |
| Etched | Imprinting method in which the product to be imaged is coated with a protective coating that resists acid. The image is then exposed, leaving bare metal and protected metal. The acid attacks only the exposed metal, leaving the image etched onto the surface. |
| Four-color process | Printing process that creates color productions by overprinting screens that individually print reds, yellows, blues and blacks of variable specified intensities. |
| FTP (File Transfer Protocol) | A protocol agreed upon to transfer files over the Internet from one location to another. Used in the industry to transfer artwork files that are too big to e-mail. |
| Fulfillment house | Service firm that processes premium and specialty orders, often packaging and mailing the items. Other services offered include warehousing, accounting, and coupon-redemption management. |
| Giveaway | A low-cost item handed out fairly freely-akin to an advertising specialty or a traffic builder. Now also sometimes used as a term for any direct premium. |
| Grommet-sewn slot | Caps that have a back strap made of cotton or leather and buckle, and have a slot where the end of the strap tucks into the hat. This slot can either be trimmed with stitching creating a sewn slot, or with a metal creating a grommet. |
| Halftone | Engraving made by photographing through a glass screen that breaks the subject into small dots of varying intensities of gray, ranging from white to black. |
| Heat-transfer printing (direct transfer process) | Imprinting method in which an image is screened onto a transfer substrate, which is then laid directly on the material to be imprinted. The image is transferred from the substrate to the material through heat and pressure. |
| Heat-transfer printing (sublimation) | Process in which a design is transferred to a synthetic fabric by heat and pressure. The heat causes the inks to turn into a gas so that they penetrate the fabric and combine with it to form a permanent imprint. Also called a plastocal transfer. |
| Imprinted product | Merchandise featuring a company's logo, slogan, or other corporate identification. |
| JPG/JPEG (or) .jpg/.jpeg | Joint Photographic Experts Group is a standard compression format for high-resolution color images. JPG files are a type of bitmap and are generally not suitable for submitting artwork for imprint or embroidery. |
| Laminated | Coated with clear plastic, or two separate sheets of paper joined together as a single sheet to provide a special thickness or varying colors from side to side. |
| Laser engraving | Imprinting method by which art or lettering is cut into a material by a laser beam that vaporizes the portion exposed through openings in a template. |
| Matte finish | Dull finish without gloss or luster. |
| Mercerization | Improves the quality of cotton fibers and fabrics. Provides added strength, luster, and ability to accept and hold dyes. Mercerization is a chemical process that swells the yarn, resulting in a smoother and more dye receptive yarn/fabric. |
| Merchandise proof | Product imprinted with the specified design/copy of an issued purchase order, used to clarify the appearance of the product and the imprint prior to manufacturing. |
| Microfiber | Super fine polyester filament yarn recently developed. Microfiber has superior hand feel and draping characteristics to ordinary polyester yarn. Because the fabric is high-count polyester or nylon yarns, it is durable, water-repellent, and windproof, and retains its color, resilience, and soft touch. |
| Nylon | Woven fabric featuring high strength, high abrasion resistance, low absorbency and good elasticity. Texture varies from smooth and crisp to soft and bulky. |
| Offset lithography | Printing process in which the image is transferred to a rubber blanket, which in turn applies it to the surface to be printed. |
| Offset printing | Printing process in which a positive image is transferred to a rubber blanket in reverse, which in turn applies it to the surface to be printed, right reading. |
| Opacity | Heaviness of ink coverage. |
| Overrun | Ad specialties produced in excess of the number originally ordered. |
| Pad printing | Method of imprinting in which a recessed surface is covered with ink. When the plate is wiped clean, ink remains in the recessed area. A silicone pad then presses against the plate, pulls the ink out of the recesses and is pressed directly against the product. |
| Panels (Caps) | Five and six-panel caps. Six panels sewn together from the crown of the cap creating a seam down the front of the cap. Good for embroidery, but not a good choice for printing. A five-panel cap has five panels sewn together to form the crown of the cap. Since there is not seam down the front of the cap, five panels are an ideal choice for printing and embroidery. |
| Pantone Matching System (PMS) | Color scale used to precisely match colors for printing. Each hue has a coded number indicating instructions for mixing inks to achieve that hue. |
| Paper proof | Impression of type or artwork on paper so the correctness and quality of the material to be printed can be checked. The least expensive is a regular black and white faxed paper proof. The most expensive is an actual physical preproduction sample of the product itself. |
| Pique | Single knit construction also known as honeycomb or mesh. An open knit surface with a coarser hand than jersey or interlock. |
| Pixel | The smallest unit of a digitized image created by a digital device, such as a computer, camera, or scanner. Pixel is short for "picture element." The more pixels per inch the better the resolution. On computer monitors, the display is divided into rows and columns containing thousands or millions of pixels. Each pixel is composed of three dots representing the three color channels of red, green, and blue light that are necessary for creating a color image on computer monitors and television screens. |
| Plate | Rubber or metal image carrier that transfers ink to the printing surface. |
| Polyester | Versatile in weights and textures for weaves and knits. Resists wrinkling. Excellent shape retention. |
| Poplin | Medium to heavyweight unbalanced plain weave. It is a spun yarn fabric that is usually piece dyed. Usually poplin is constructed with fine yarn, densely woven, resulting in a crisp, dressy appearance. |
| Profile (Caps) | Height of a cap's crown. Low-profile is approximately 3.5". Regular profile is approximately 3.75". Pro-style is somewhere in-between the two. |
| Promotional product | Useful or interesting article of merchandise usually carrying an imprinted advertising or promotional message. |
| Proof | Impression of type or artwork on paper to allow the correctness and quality of the material to be checked. |
| Proportion | Design concept expressing an element's relationship of length to width. |
| Raglan | Raglan sleeve is stitched under the arm and in two parallel lines leading from the armpit to the neck. It makes for ease of movement. |
| Random sample | Single copy of a product with a random imprint. |
| Rayon | High absorbency, bright or dull luster, pleasant hand. Does well in brilliant colors. |
| Resolution | The measurement of output quality expressed in pixels (dots) per inch on a computer monitor or dots per inch on printed media. For example, a monitor displaying a resolution of 800 by 600 refers to a screen capable of displaying 800 pixels in each of 600 lines, which translates into a total of 480,000 pixels displayed on the screen. When referring to printed media, a 300 dpi (dots per inch) printer for example, is capable of outputting 300 dots in a one-inch line, which means that it has the ability of printing 90,000 distinct dots per square inch (300 x 300). |
| Score | To impress a mark in a sheet of paper to facilitate folding and help it lie flat. |
| Screen | Series of dots used to reproduce halftones or blended colors. As the percentage of screen increases, the color prints darken. |
| Screen charge | Charge by suppliers for creating a silkscreen of the artwork used for imprinting products. |
| Screen Printing | Imprinting method in which the image is transferred to the printed surface by ink squeegeed through a stenciled screen stretched over a frame. Screens are treated with a light-sensitive emulsion, then film positives are put in contact with the screens and exposed to light. The light hardens the emulsion not covered by the film, leaving a soft area on the screen for the squeegee to force ink through. Also called silk screening. |
| Set-up charge | Special charges added to certain products in a catalog. It covers the cost of preparing the type for the press and the actual printing. |
| Shipping date | Date an order should be shipped from the factory to the purchasing client. |
| Spec sample | A product sample carrying a prospective buyers' imprint, produced with the expectation that the prospect will order it. |
| Specialty advertising | Medium of advertising, sales promotion and motivational communication employing imprinted, useful or decorative products called advertising specialties; a subset of promotional products. |
| Spot color | Color used usually for accent. |
| Stock designs | Digitized generic embroidery designs that are readily available at a cost below that of custom-digitized designs. |
| Sublimation | Dye transfer process where the image consists of a colored dye permanently embedded into the material surface of pores. Used to imprint messages, graphics and photographs on a variety of items, primarily mousepads, mugs, T-shirts, caps and trophy medals. |
| Supplier | Promotional products company which manufactures, imports, converts, imprints, or otherwise produces or processes promotional products offered for sale through promotional products distributors. |
| Tackle twill | Letters or numbers cut from polyester or rayon twill fabric that are commonly used for athletic teams and organizations. Tackle twill appliqués attached to a garment have an adhesive backing that tacks them in place; the edges of the appliqués are then zipzap stitched. |
| Tonal | Using a matching color thread to embroider a garment. For example, a navy shirt tonal embroidery would use a matching navy thread to create an embossed look. |
| Tone-on-tone | Different shades of the same color as the garment are used for embroidery thread. For example, a navy blue shirt with a light blue and royal blue embroidery. |
| Transparency | Full-color, translucent, photographic film positive. |
| Trim size | Finished size of a printed piece after waste is trimmed away. |
| Typeface | General term used to describe the styles of lettering available in typesetting. |
| Typeset | To create type of a quality usable for reproduction, whether electronically or mechanically. |
| Underrun | Number of products less than what was originally ordered. |
| Vector graphics | Vector graphics use computer algorithms to describe shapes, lines, animation, etc. The technology of vector graphics is growing in popularity because the images are scalable and smaller in file size, a plus for online viewing and downloading. Vector graphics were developed in response to the limitations of raster-based graphics (popularly known as GIF and JPEG) because raster graphics use pixel-by-pixel definitions. Vector-based files are the preferred way to submit artwork for imprinting and embroidery. |
| Vinyl | Stain resistant plastic material used for coverings and trims in luggage. Available in a wide range of colors. |
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