Labeling Terms & Definitions: T-Z

Posted by Kirstin Kelly on 06-27-2018

T

TACK
The property of a pressure sensitive label which causes it to adhere to a surface instantly with a minimum of pressure and contact time. It is the feeling of stickiness obtained when the surface of an adhesive is touched or when a label is applied to a surface and quickly pulled away.

TACKIFIER
An additive used to improve the stickiness or tack of an adhesive.

TACKINESS
The stickiness of the adhesive.

TAG LABEL
Labels on heavy paper or tag stock with die cut holes so labels can be folded over a packaging material as in a header or hanger label.

TAGS
Any identification that is only partially affixed to the product or item. System tags are converted through roll-fed production equipment. Merchandise tags are converted through narrow web roll-fed production equipment.

TAMPER-EVIDENT LABEL
A pressure sensitive construction made of materials which will partially destruct, indicating that a package, label or container has been tampered with.

TAMPERPROOF
A pressure sensitive material which cannot be removed intact from a substrate thus making reuse of the label impossible.

TAPE
A single faced, self-wound, adhesive coated substrate wound on spools for consumer use.

TAPPI
Technical Association of the Paper and Pulp Industry.

TARNISHPROOF LABEL
Refers to a pressure sensitive label being free of substances that will discolor or blemish copper or silver.

TEAR STRENGTH
Force required to tear a specimen under standardized conditions. This is measured with an instrument that simulates use conditions under which tearing might be accomplished.

TEAR TAB
An additional area of face stock attached by the release liner to a pressure sensitive label produced in single form to facilitate removal of the release liner.

TEDLAR®
Du Pont’s trademark for bi-axially oriented polyvinyl fluoride. One of the most durable, chemical-resistant and protective films.

TEETH PER INCH (TPI)
Denotes the number of cuts per inch in a perforation blade.

TELESCOPING
Transverse slipping of successive winds of a roll of material so that the edge is conical rather than flat.

TENSILE STRENGTH
The force parallel to the plane of the specimen required to break a given width and length of stock under specified conditions.

TENSION
The mechanical control of unwinding or rewinding paper, film, foil and other roll materials. The stress caused by a force operating to extend, stretch or pull apart.

THERMAL
A printing system where pixels on a print head are selectively heated and cooled in order to print images on material with a heat-sensitive coating that is passed under the print head at a controlled rate. The direct thermal surface coating turns dark in the heated areas.

THERMAL TRANSFER MATERIALS
A face stock specifically designed to accept heat-activated ink from the ribbon of a thermal-transfer printer.

THERMAL TRANSFER
Similar to a thermal print system, except a one-time ribbon and smooth surfaced materials are used to eliminate the problems of fading or changing color inherent in the direct thermal print process.

THERMOGRAPHIC PAPER
A label paper having a heat activated coating that will accept an image from a thermal graphic printer.

THICKNESS
Distance from one surface of tape, label or adhesive to the other, usually expressed in mils, or thousandths of an inch. This is normally measured under slight pressure with a special gauge.

THROUGH CUT
The action of die-cutting through all the layers in a pressure-sensitive label construction.

TIE
The uncut portion of a perforation.

TIGHT RELEASE
The level of adhesion between the release liner and the adhesive on a pressure sensitive material, when the liner is difficult to remove.

TINTS
Even tone areas (strengths) of a solid color.

TLMI
The Tag and Label Manufacturers Institute (TLMI) is the premier member-driven association for the label and packaging industry. The TLMI provides education for its membership through conferences and meetings and also takes a leadership role. TLMI also promulgates many standards that are used in the testing of pressure sensitive labels, tags and their component materials. The association has approximately 300 member companies that produce 70% of the tags and labels sold in North America. Coast Label Company is proud to be a member of the TLMI.

TOLERANCE
A specified range that products must fall within.

TOOLING
Tools used to cut labels such as dies, perforations, sheeters, scoring and slitting wheels, and butt cutters.

TOP LAMINATION
Applications of a clear film to a label stock for the purpose of protection or to enhance graphic quality, usually done in-line on the press. These clear films can be glossy, matte or textured depending on the desired finished look.

TOP LAMINATION
See overlaminating.

TOPCOAT
A surface treatment or coating on a material which enhances ink receptivity. Sometimes refers to a protective coating.

TRACTOR FEED
See pin feed.

TRANSFER ADHESIVE SANDWICH
Pressure sensitive adhesive coated between two release liners with a release differential. This is so the release liners can be peeled away successively, so only the adhesive can be applied to a substrate.

TRANSFER TAPE
A pressure sensitive adhesive, unsupported, applied to a two-side differentially release coated liner.

TRANSLUCENCY
Ability to transmit light without being transparent.

TRANSLUCENT LABEL
Material capable of transmitting light, yet not totally transparent.

TRANSLUCENT
Transmitting light in a diffuse manner so that objects beyond cannot be clearly distinguished; partly transparent.

TRANSPARENCY
Color or monochrome photographic positive on a transparent base. Also, the property of a material which transmits light rays so that objects can be distinctly seen through it.

TRANSPARENT LABEL
A pressure sensitive label whose face material, adhesive and protective coatings transmit light so that objects can be seen through it.

TRANSPARENT
Transmitting light without appreciable scattering so the objects beyond are clearly distinguishable.

TRANSVERSE DIRECTION
The direction of a base stock from left to right and side to side, as opposed to the web direction; cross direction.

TRAPPING
The overlapping of various colors in a design to prevent their separating and not touching as a result of registration variables during printing. The condition of printing ink on ink, making sure the first-down ink is dry when the next one is printed over it to properly hide the first down color.

TRIM MARKS
Marks placed on the copy to indicate the edge of the label where it will be cut. See crop marks.

TRIM
The normal edge waste from a master roll.

2D BAR CODES
Unlike conventional bar codes, these two-dimensional bar codes are able to carry information in both horizontal and vertical planes, enabling more information to be printed in a smaller amount of space.

TUNNEL
The compartment through which the web passes for drying after printing.

TURNING BARS
An arrangement of stationary bars on a press, which guide the web in such a manner that it is turned front to back, and will be printed on the reverse side by the printing units located subsequently to the turning bars.

TYVEK®
Du Ponts registered trademark for its non-woven, spun-bonded polyolefin material that brings together several of the best properties of paper, textile fibers and film into one synthetic material. It is extremely strong and resistant to continuous folding, tearing, and weather conditions.

U

UL
Underwriters Laboratories Inc. (UL) is an independent, non-profit, product-safety testing and certification organization. It has been testing products for public safety for more than a century and is one of the most recognized and reputable conformity assessment providers in the world. Coast Label Company has been certified for the production of labels that conform to UL standards and has been certified to print the UL mark.

ULTIMATE ADHESION
The resistance to the removal of a label after adhesion has been allowed to build for a period of time. The time required to reach ultimate adhesion varies with the adhesive, substrate and labeling conditions, but is approximately 24 hours.

ULTIMATE STRENGTH
The maximum stress a material is capable of withstanding under specified load or tension.

ULTRA-VIOLET (UV) RESISTANCE
The ability of a material to withstand extended exposure to sunlight (ultra-violet) without degradation, hardening or excessive discoloration.

ULTRAVIOLET
Zone of invisible radiations beyond the violet end of the spectrum of visible radiations. Since UV wave lengths are shorter than the visible, their photons have more energy, enough to initiate some chemical reactions. Radiation is from a source such as a high-intensity, mercury vapor tube emitting light in the 315 to 400 mill micron range.

UNBLEACHED
A term applied to paper or pulp which has not been treated with bleaching agents.

UPC
The Universal Product Code (UPC) is a 12-digit code used by manufacturers to identify themselves and their products. The allocation of the manufacturers identification number and the administration of the code system is done on the payment of an annual fee by manufacturer to the Uniform Code Council. The allocated code enables manufacturer members of the Council to identify trade items, logistics units, assets, locations, and service relations to bring efficiency into their supply chains.

UV (CURED) VARNISH
A coating applied over a printed web and to label surfaces to enhance the appearance and provide a protective layer or finish. UV cured coatings change from liquid form to solid form almost instantaneously when exposed to energy emitted by intense UV curing lamps. A common misnomer is that UV cured coatings provide protection from the UV rays in sunlight, which they do not.

UV CURING
A system which uses ultraviolet rays to affect a curing process.

UV INHIBITOR
An additive that increases resistance to degradation caused by UV light.

UV INK
Solventless, 100% solids ink that is cured by ultraviolet radiation.

UV RESISTANCE
The ability of any material to withstand extended exposure to sunlight without degradation, hardening or excessive discoloration.

UV STABILIZER
Any chemical compound which, when mixed with a thermoplastic resin, selectively absorbs UV rays.

UV
The part of the spectrum wherein the wavelength of light is shorter than that of visible light.

UV VARNISH
Lacquer or varnish usually applied over the printed web used as a protective layer that is cured by exposure to a high intensity ultraviolet light source (100% solids).

V

VARIABLE DATA PRINTING
Warehousing, distribution, shipping, storage and tracking of all use labels that are printed with variable data. This variable information printing may be in the form of variable text, bar codes, sequential numbers, batch or date codes. They are usually printed with thermal transfer printers which ensure absolute legibility or with impact printing systems, such as dot matrix printers.

VARNISH
A clear protective coating either glossy or matte in finish that contains no coloring pigments or dyes. When printed or coated over the top of a substrate, the varnish provides a protective finish that enhances appearance and increases durability.

VECTOR
Graphics and fonts which are created in outlines and then filled into dots before the printers can utilize them. Vector graphics are defined by points and curves rather than pixels or bitmapped graphics and are stored by a computer as a series of instructions by which the lines may be created. They are scalable and therefore not resolution dependent.

VEHICLE
In printing inks, the fluid component which serves as the dispersant for the pigment and gives the ink flow (carrier).

VIGNETTE
An illustration in which the background fades gradually until it blends into the unprinted area.

VINYL
Synthetic plastic products which can be made in film, sheet or other forms. Vinyl can be manufactured in rigid or flexible constructions and is generally more flexible and conformable than polyester or other films. A tough durable plastic film having excellent resistance to oils, chemicals, and many solvents. It has excellent abrasion-resistance and can be colored. Its high degree of stretch is due to the addition of plasticizer. Also known as PVC or polyvinyl chloride.

VISCOSITY
Resistance to flow. It is related to the properties of tack and yield value; the flow rate.

VOID
An area of a coated film which does not have the coating. An adhesive skip or adhesive void.

VOID MATERIALS
Anti-tamper label products, usually polyester based, that are applied to a labeling surface and when attempts are made to remove the material from the labeling surface, the pigmented or metalized layer on the back of the label fractures to leave a message on the labeling surface and the same message in relief on the back of the polyester.

W

WAND SCANNER

See light pen.

WARM COLOR
A color that appears to be on the reddish side.

WARRANTY LABELS
Tamper-evident labels which indicate any type of undesired activity. They break, separate or deform upon a removal attempt. They also make reapplying impossible.

WASHUP
The step in press make-ready of cleaning the rollers, plates and sometimes the ink fountains of a printing press.

WASTE
See matrix.

WATER SOLUBLE ADHESIVE
A pressure sensitive adhesive in which all components are water soluble.

WATERBORNE ADHESIVE
A dispersion of fine particles in another liquid. Many pressure sensitive adhesives are waterborne or emulsion systems.

WEATHERABILITY
Capability of a label to withstand the effects of outdoor conditions such as sunlight, heat, cold, humidity, rain, snow and time.

WEATHEROMETER
A testing machine designed for evaluating the ability of a pressure sensitive label to withstand various simulated weather conditions.

WEB DIRECTION
See machine direction.

WEB GUIDE
Device which keeps the web traveling straight and true through the press.

WEB PRESS
A press which prints from rolls (or webs) of material.

WEB TENSION
The amount of pull or tension applied in the direction of travel of a web of paper through a web press.

WEB
The paper, foil, film or other flexible material, from a roll, as it moves through the machine in the process of being formed or in the process of being converted or printed.

WET STRENGTH
The tensile strength of paper when it is wetted after manufacture.

WETTING AGENT
A preparation usually added to aqueous solutions to facilitate their spreading or increase their ability to evenly wet or penetrate a surface.

WETTING
The relative ability of a liquid adhesive to display interfacial affinity for an adherent and to flow uniformly over the adherent surface.

WICKING
Tendency of a liquid to ‘travel’ through paper. Refers to absorption of moisture into paper through the raw edge.

WRAP-AROUND LABEL
Label that extends completely around bottle or can and overlaps itself.

WRINKLES

Small creases or folds in a smooth surface.

X

XEROGRAPHY
A method of printing in which negatively charged ink powder is attracted to a positively charged metal plate, from which it is transferred to the printing surface by electrostatic attraction.

Y

YELLOWING
Gradual and generally undesirable color change in the original appearance of a label, characterized by the development of yellow and brown hues.

YIELD
Number of square inches of film (or paper) per pound of product per mil.