Printing Terminology
Pantone Matching System (PMS)
A book of standardized colors in a fan format used to identify, match and communicate colors to produce accurate color matches in printing. Each color has a coded number indicating instructions for mixing inks to achieve that color. Please feel free to use our Color Chart as a guide if you do not have access to a PMS Chart. Note: Computer video displays may not match industry identified color standards exactly. Always use current Industry Color Publications for most accurate 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, just to name a few.
Set-up Charge / Screen Fee / Plate Charge
A fee charged by the manufacturer for labor and materials needed to transfer your logo to the printing method. A silk-screen requires a screen fee for every color. Deboss and hot stamps require a metal plate the machine uses to make your imprint. This is known as a plate or a die. Digitizing for embroidery is the most expensive process. A digitized tape is made so the stitching machine can recreate your logo on fabric. Many of these setups are outsourced to companies who specialize in correctly making the items. The fees are the costs for this service. Often times we will keep your plate, screen or mold on hand for a few years for reorders so you will not have to pay another setup charge in the future.
Exact Reprint
Typically there is no setup charge on exact reruns of an order. An exact rerun means no change to artwork or color.
Color Match
Sometimes the factory will have to charge a small fee to custom blend a special color that you have requested. If you select from their normal colors, you will be able to avoid this fee.
Camera-Ready
Artwork that is black and white and has very clean, crisp lines, making it easy to scan and is suitable for photographic reproduction.
Paper Proof
Proofs are re-creations of the item you are ordering with your artwork shown. This re-creation come as an electronic image or print. The proof is designed to give you the opportunity to verify the accuracy of the artwork and its size and location on the product.
Pre-production Proof
An actual physical sample of the product itself produced with your artwork and sent for approval before an order goes into production. This process has high costs ($30.00- $200.00) due to the labor involved and having to slow production at the factory to make the sample.
Production Time
The amount of time needed to produce and ship an order after the Proof has been approved. Stock products with a one-color imprint usually ship within 10-12 working days. Custom products and those with multiple color imprints can require longer production time.
Overruns/Underruns
The quantity printed in excess of the quantity specified is the overrun. The quantity printed under the quantity specified is the underrun. The industry standard on most products is + 2-5%, with the exception of paper and plastic bags. They can range from +10 to +25%. A Supplier bills based on the actual quantity shipped. Most suppliers print more than ordered in case there is a problem with some of the items so you do not have to leave someone shorthanded during an event.
Copy Change
A fee charged for changing the imprint copy on a product either at the time of the original proof approval or upon a re-order.
Quantity Pricing
These are the prices for which we discount your items based on the quantity you would like to purchase.
Drop Shipment
We ship direct from the factory to your location. An order shipped to more than one location will be charged a fee for each additional destination. This option is not available on all products.
Halftone
An image produced by breaking the subject into small dots of varying intensities of gray ranging from white to black.
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”). The paper is then cut down to the correct document size.
Fabric Types and Terminology
Ring-spun Cotton Jersey
6.1 oz and 5.5 oz, special cotton process that requires two extra steps of refinement that leads to a much softer, more durable fabric.
Cotton/Spandex Jersey
6 oz, 96%Cotton/4% Spandex, provides a soft, comfortable stretch for fitted styling.
StayClean®
Patent-pending stain protection system that resists spills and releases stains, available on all adult and youth Hanes sportshirts.
Combed Ring-spun Cotton Jersey
4.5 oz, special cotton process that requires two extra steps of refinement that leads to a much softer, more durable fabric.
French Terry
8.3 oz, 74% Cotton/17% Nativa Rayon/9% Polyester; a seasonal fabric, made for luxurious comfort.
Beefy Fleece
9 oz, 80% Cotton/20% Polyester.
Combed Ring-spun Cotton 1x1 Rib
6.1 oz, super soft fabric with fantastic stretch and recovery.
Beefy No Shrink Fleece
9 oz, 80% Cotton/20% Polyester, an exclusive process removes shrinkage.
ComfortSoft® Cotton Jersey
7 oz and 5.5 oz, loosely bound cotton fibers with an extra step to make a softer fabric. Pique
7 oz, classic textured sportshirt fabric, available in both 100% Cotton and 60% Cotton/40% Polyester blend.
PrintPro® XP
Extra performance fleece with higher stitch density to create a tighter canvas, more durability and less pilling.
Blended Jersey
5.5 oz, a blend of 50% Cotton/50% Polyester or 60% Cotton/40% Polyester, easy-to-care for fabric, available in sportshirts and t-shirts.
Open-end Cotton Jersey
6.1 oz, loosely bound cotton fibers to make a soft fabric at value price points.
Ultimate Cotton®
10 oz, 90% Cotton/10% Polyester PrintProXP fleece with 100% cotton face for a softer hand.
Terry Cloth
8.75 oz, 75% Cotton/25% Polyester, soft, absorbent fabric that is perfect for babies' spills.
Nativa™ Rayon
Derived from farm-grown, Eucalyptus tree wood pulp, engineered specifically for blending with cotton, resulting in a breathable, soft hand.
ComfortBlend®
7.8 oz and 9 oz, 50% Cotton/50% Polyester PrintProXP fleece for 100% durability at value prices.
Soft L'ink®
6 oz, 100% Micro-polyester Shell/100% Super Soft Cotton Lining, the ideal platform for sublimation transfers and ultimate in comfort for wearing.
Art Terminology
Vector and Bitmap Images
Vectorized images are sometimes called geometric files. Most images created with tools such as Adobe Illustrator and CorelDraw are in vector format. Vector images are created using mathematically defined lines and curves. For example, a vector triangle is created using three points, a bitmap triangle is made of many tiny bits in a map the shape of a triangle. Bitmap (or raster) images may look identical to vector images in some cases, however they are not suitable for high quality printing.
Joint Photographic Experts Group (.JPG)
Commonly used on the web due to it's excellent ability to compress the graphic to save webpage load time. This format will not work to use in the printing process.
Graphics Interchange Format (.GIF)
Commonly used on the web due to it's ability to reduce the number of colors an image uses to be viewed to save webpage load time. This format will not work to use in the printing process.
Bitmap (.BMP)
A generally low resolution image format. This format will not work to use in the printing process.
Microsoft Word (.DOC)
Word doc files can only be used if you would like to display typeset text. Any images in a word doc will not be able to be printed correctly.
Web Pages (.HTML)
As a general rule, if it can be viewed on the web it will most likely be too low of quality for printing. Web graphics are made to load quickly, thereby cutting the quality of the image. The eye may not notice on the web, but it will show up in printing. What format are my images in?
If you work on a PC and are wondering what format your art files are in, there is an easy way to find out. All art files have an extension at the end of their name which tells the format, and it is hidden by default. To show them, perform the following:
Simply open My Computer (or any explorer window) and click the menu TOOLS > FOLDER OPTIONS...
Next, click on the VIEW tab at the top of the window that appears.
Last, clear the checkbox labeled "Hide extensions for known file types" and click OK.
Adobe Illustrator (.AI) - Preferred Format
Files that end in the extension .ai were created with Adobe Illustrator, the preferred format in which we would like to receive logo imagery from our clients.
Encapsulated Postscript (.EPS) - Preferred Format
An alternative picture file format that allows PostScript data to be stored and edited and is easy to transfer between Macintosh, Windows machines, and other systems.
Tagged Image File Format (.TIFF)
A file format for exchanging bitmapped images between different applications.
Adobe Portable Document File (.PDF)
PDF fireserve 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. This is good to show the end result you would like, but usually not good for sending artwork that needs to be printed.
Print Types
Screen Printing / Silk-Screening
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. You must create a different screen for every color you are going to print and screen each color separately allowing drying time in between.
Embroidery
A design is stitched into fabric through the use of high-speed, computer-controlled sewing machines. Artwork must first be "digitized;" the specialized process of converting two-dimensional artwork into stitches or thread. Certain formats 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. It then 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.
Deboss
A depression of an image into a material's surface so causing the image to sit below the product surface is a deboss.
Emboss
An impression of an image in relief to achieve a raised surface.
Hot Stamp
Setting a design on a metal relief die or plate, which is then heated and pressed onto the printing surface to achieve a deboss.
Etching
A process in which an item is covered with a protective coating that resists acid to create the artwork. This leaves a bare surface and a protected surface. It is then exposed to acid. The acid attacks only the exposed surface leaving the image etched onto the surface.
Laser or Foil Stamp
Applying metallic or colored foil imprints to vinyl, leather or paper surfaces. Usually used on a deboss. Sublimation
Dye transfer process where the image consists of a colored dye permanently embedded into the pores of the material surface. Used to imprint messages, graphics and photographs on a variety of items, primarily mouse pads, mugs, T-shirts, caps and trophy medals.
Decal
Artwork is produced on a transparent decal and applied to the product.
Offset Printing
The transfer of ink from a metal printing plate to a rubber-covered cylinder is used on more complex artwork and for higher quantity runs.
4-Color Process
A color image is separated into 4 different color values using filters and screens (usually digital). The result is a color separation of 4 images. 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 just as your computer printer does.
Laser (Engraving)
Art or lettering is cut into a material by a laser beam that vaporizes the portion exposed through openings in a template.
Colorfill
Screen printing an image and debossing it onto a surface.
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.
Die-casting
Injecting molten metal into the cavity of a carved die (or a mold).
Die-striking
Production of emblems and other flat promotional products by striking a blank metal sheet with a hammer that holds the die.