Industry JargonThe promotional products
industry has its own unique glossary of terms, which every
distributor must learn. Since the nature of our business is to
primarily sell “decorated” products, we must understand the
imprinting and decorating terms used by our suppliers. Greater
knowledge helps improve production time on every order! Here are
some of the most frequently used terms that apply to promotional
products. |
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Decorating Terms |
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Color Fill: screen printing an image and
then Debossing it onto the vinyl’s surface.
Debossing: depressing an image into a
material’s surface so that the image sits below
the product surface.
Die-casting: injecting molten metal into
the cavity of a carved die (a mold), to produce
a custom product.
Die-striking: producing emblems and other
flat promotional products (usually medallions or
coins) by striking a blank metal sheet with a
hammer that holds the die.
Embossing: impressing an image in relief
to achieve a raised surface.
Embroidery: stitching a design into
fabric through the use of high-speed,
computer-controlled sewing machines. Artwork
must first be "digitized," which is the
specialized process of converting
two-dimensional artwork into stitches or thread.
A particular format of art such as a jpeg, tif,
eps, or bmp, cannot be converted into an
embroidery tape. The digitizer must actually
recreate the artwork using stitches. Then it
programs the sewing machine to sew a specific
design, in a specific color, with a specific
type of stitch. This is the process known as
digitizing. |
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Engraving: cutting an image into metal, wood
or glass by one of three methods--computerized
engraving, hand tracing, or hand engraving.
Etching: using a process in which an image
is first covered with a protective coating that
resists acid, then exposed, leaving bare metal
and protected metal. The acid attacks only the
exposed metal, leaving the image etched onto the
surface.
Hot Stamp: setting a design on a relief
die, which is then heated and pressed onto the
printing surface.
Laser or Foil Stamp: applying metallic or
colored foil imprints to vinyl, leather or paper
surfaces.
Pantone Matching System (PMS): a book of
standardized color in a fan format used to
identify, match and communicate colors in order
to produce accurate color matches in printing.
Each color has a coded number indicating
instructions for mixing inks to achieve that
color.
Personalization: imprinting an item with
a person's name using one of several methods
such as mechanical engraving, laser engraving,
hot stamping, Debossing, sublimation, or screen
printing, to name a few. |
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Printing Terms |
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4-color Process: a system where a color
image is separated into 4 different color values
by the use of filters and screens (usually done
digitally). The result is a color separation of
4 images, that when transferred to printing
plates and printed on a printing press with the
colored inks cyan (blue), magenta (red, yellow
and black, reproduces the original color image.
These four colors can be combined to create
thousands of colors.
Camera-ready: artwork that is black and
white and has very clean, crisp lines that make
it easy to scan and suitable for photographic
reproduction.
Bleeds: printers cannot print right to
the edge of a paper sheet. To create that
effect, the printer must use a sheet, which is
larger than the document size. Then the printer
prints beyond the edge of the document size
(usually 1/8”), then cuts the paper down to the
document size. |
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Imprint Area: the area on a product, with
specific dimensions, in which the imprint is
placed.
Pad Printing: a recessed surface is covered
with ink. The plate is wiped clean, leaving ink
in the recessed areas. A silicone pad is then
pressed against the plate, pulling the ink out
of the recesses, and pressing it directly onto
the product.
Screen Printing: an image is transferred
to the printed surface by ink, which is pressed
through a stenciled screen and treated with a
light-sensitive emulsion. Film positives are put
in contact with the screens and exposed to
light, hardening the emulsion not covered by
film and leaving a soft area on the screen for
the squeegee to press ink through. (Also called
silk screening) |
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Artwork Terms |
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EPS (encapsulated postscript) file: an
alternative picture file format that allows
PostScript data to be stored and edited and is
easy to transfer between Macintosh, MSDOS and
other systems.
Mechanical artwork: the traditional
standard for acceptable mechanical artwork that
is “camera-ready black and white” material.
PostScript: a computer description
language that allows a programmer to create
complex pages using a series of commands.
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) file: a
file format for exchanging bitmapped images
(usually scans) between applications.
Electronic/Digital artwork:
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Adobe® Portable Document Format (PDF)
files: preserve the visually rich
content of original files, and are easier to
read than HTML content that appears in a Web
browser. Adobe PDF files print cleanly and
quickly, and anyone can share Adobe PDF
files, regardless of their platform or
software application.
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Electronic/Digital artwork (continued):
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Bitmap files: images are exactly what
their name says they are: a collection of
bits that form an image. The image consists
of a matrix of individual dots (or pixels)
that all have their own color (described
using bits, the smallest possible units of
information for a computer).
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Metafile: a collection of structures
that store a picture in a device-
independent format. Device independence is
the one feature that sets metafiles apart
from bitmaps. Unlike a bitmap, a metafile
guarantees device independence. There is a
drawback to metafiles, because they are
generally drawn more slowly than bitmaps.
Therefore, if an application requires fast
drawing and device independence is not an
issue, it should use bitmaps instead of
metafiles.
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Page Layout Documents: the font files
and document preferences that need to be
supplied for use on the supplier’s operating
system.
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Vector files: sometimes called a
geometric file, most images created with
tools such as Adobe Illustrator and
CorelDraw are in the form of vector image
files. Vector image files are easier to
modify than raster image files (which can,
however, sometimes be reconverted to vector
files for further refinement)
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Industry Terms |
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Copy Change: a fee charged for changing the
imprint copy on a product either at time of the
original proof approval or upon a re-order.
Drop Shipment: an order shipped to more than
one location will be charged a fee for each
additional destination. Less than Minimum: the
fee charged by a supplier for ordering 50% fewer
items than the quantity listed in the minimum or
first column. This option is not always
available on all products.
EQP (End Quantity Pricing): the price
listed in the far right column of a product’s
catalog listing. This best price, based on large
quantities, is often granted to a distributor
who is a large customer of a particular
supplier.
Overruns / Underruns: the number of
pieces that were printed in excess of the
quantity specified/ the production run of fewer
pieces than the amount specified. The industry
standard on most products is +5%, with the
exception being on paper and plastic bags. They
can range from +10 to +25%. Suppliers bill on
the actual quantity shipped. |
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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.
Pre-production Proof: an actual physical
sample of the product itself produced and sent
for approval before an order goes into
production.
Production Time: the amount of time
needed to produce and ship an order, once an
order has been received and approved. Stock
products with a one-color imprint usually ship
within 10-12 working days. Custom products and
those with multi-color imprints require longer
production time.
Repeat Order: usually there is no set-up
charge on exact reruns of an order.
Set-up Charge: a fee charged on all
products. Prices vary per product and per
supplier. |
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