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| Artboard |
Artboard is a solid board made from 100% primary fibre with the same finish on both sides and is predominantly used in the printing industry for book covers or business cards. |
| Bromide |
A bromide is a high quality black and white representation of the finished artwork. |
| Buckram-Embossed Papers |
This is a very popular covering paper with a textured finish, available in a wide range of colours. |
| Caliper |
This is the term used to describe the thickness of material and is measured in microns (mic) which are equal to one thousandth of a millimetre. For rigid boxes with flat faces, 1000-2000mic board would normally be used depending on the size of the box. Boxes with curved faces, such as rounds and ovals, are usually limited to 1000mic sides as anything thicker than this can not be curled. Cartons would be made from a maximum of 900mic board. Transparent items would normally be made from 180 - 250 mic PVC. |
| Carton |
This term applies to a pack which is cut from one piece of material, generally has one glue seam and can be supplied flat-packed. |
| Castcoated Board |
Castcoated board is a high quality folding boxboard coated to produce a high mirror gloss finish and is available in a variety of colours. |
| Chamois |
Chamois is a form of leatherette with a sandgrain embossing pattern. It is available in a wide variety of colours and is an attractive and economical covering material. |
| Cut Card Platform/ Plinth |
As the name suggests, this insert is a piece of card or PVC usually with a hole of a particular shape cut out of it to support the object to be put in the box. Card platforms can be lined or unlined and can also serve as a shoulder. Alternatively, to make it more decorative, the platform could be covered in satin. |
| Cutting Tools |
Die-cutting tools are required for the cutting and creasing of box components. The design is normally produced on a CAD machine but the tool is normally made by hand. |
| Films |
The production of films is a necessary intermediate step between artwork and plate-making during print origination. In the case of four colour process, an image is scanned and separated into four films which carry the ink strength for each of the four colours. These are then combined during the printing process to reproduce the original image. |
| Finishes |
Printed paper or board can be coated using machine varnish (matt or gloss), UV varnish (high gloss) or film laminate (high gloss or matt). |
| Finishing |
In commercial print, finishing refers to the way a document is collated, bound, folded or glued. The principle options are perfect binding (as this catalogue) and saddle stitching (as most thin magazines). |
| Flange |
This is a flat piece of covered card which would normally be 10-15mm bigger than the base or lid size and is fixed on to the base or lid of the box. It creates a more classical feel to the box and is usually intended as a decorative feature. |
| Flock |
A velvet-like finish which can be produced on paper for box covering or on PVC for use in vacuum-forming |
| Foilboard |
Foil board is a term referring to any base board laminated with a metallic foil. |
| Folded Card Divider |
This is a simple, attractive and cost effective way of presenting products in a carton or rigid box without going to the expense of a vacuum-formed insert. |
| Folding Carton |
This is a generic term for any style of pack which can be supplied flat. |
| Folding Boxboard |
This is a high quality board made from 100% primary fibres and is consequently stiffer and smoother than WLC. FBB is normally used where direct contact with food is involved. |
| Grain |
The grain direction of board refers to the direction of the majority of the fibres in the board. The significance of the grain direction is that board can only be curved in one direction and not the other. |
| GSM |
This stands for Grams per Square Metre and gives the density of the board or paper. |
| Hand-Made |
This term is used to describe any box where the majority of the assembly and covering work has been done by hand due to the shape or complexity of the box. Most rigid boxes would fall into this category. Note however that the die-cutting of all components of the box would still be done by machine prior to assembly. |
| Leatherette |
An embossed paper which is made to look similar to leather. |
| Lining |
Lining is the term applied when the inside of a box or platform is laminated with paper or other material. |
| Machine-Made |
This term describes a box where all the manufacturing processes are performed by machines such as cutting and creasing presses. Cartons and flat-packed ballotins would fall into this category. |
| Metal Clasp |
A metal clasp is a decorative method of securing a lid. |
| Metal Hinge |
As the name suggests, this is a small brass hinge mechanism designed for use with rigid boxes and lids. Hinges generally allow lids to open either through 180 or 90 degrees. |
| Pantone Reference |
The Pantone system is a universally accepted colour matching guide offering a very extensive range of colour shades, each of which has a specific ink recipe and can be reproduced accurately. |
| Paper/Fabric Hinge |
A paper hinge is made up of two pieces of card joined on both faces by covering paper. A small gap of a few millimetres is left between the card pieces, which then acts like a hinge along the line of the join. A fabric hinge works in the same way and provides added strength. Paper or fabric hinges would normally be found in boxes with flat hinged lids or in the spine assembly of a book box. |
| Piping |
This is an effect which highlights the edges of a box. It is created by first covering a box in a base paper, say a gold chamois, and then applying the main covering paper in the form of patches and bands rather than full covers. This allows the base paper to show through at the edges of the box giving the appearance of piping. Any colour can be used as piping. |
| Plates |
Plates are used in the printing process to transfer an ink image onto the board or paper. Printing plates are sheets of treated aluminium alloy on which the print image is chemically etched and one plate is required for each colour required to be printed. |
| PVC Window |
PVC windows are normally found in cartons where it is important that the product is visible. They can be positioned on a single face or can be wrapped around two or three faces of the box. They can also be designed such that they simply slot into place rather than having to be glued in. PVC windows can also be very effective in the lids of rigid boxes. |
| Ribbon Stays |
These are customarily used with hinged boxes and lids to limit the extent to which the lid can open. Their purpose is to ensure that the hinge mechanism is not subjected to any unnecessary strain, as this might otherwise result in the hinge being gradually worked loose and thereby affecting the way the lid closes. |
| Ribbon Tabs |
Ribbon tabs are most commonly used in boxes with hinged lids to help lift the lid. |
| Rigid Box |
This term is used to describe any box which cannot be supplied flat-packed. As a result, a rigid box would normally be stronger and often more elaborate than a carton of a similar size. |
| Satin Box with Poly-Beads |
This is very similar to the satin ring but utilises a box to contain the poly-beads instead of just a card band. Its main advantage over a satin ring is that the insert may be removed from the box without the poly beads falling out. |
| Satin Covered Insert |
Expanded polystyrene, die-cut foam, or a vacuum-formed insert can be covered with satin to provide an attractive yet robust and protective bed for any fragile product. |
| Satin Covered Platform |
A cut card platform can be covered with satin to act as an attractive locating device for a specific product. |
| Satin Ring |
This is intended as a flexible insert for a rigid box where one standard box may be used for a number of different items such as crystal decanters or porcelain figures. The insert is made by constructing a band of card and stapling a generous piece of satin around the outside. Usually, a quantity of expanded polystyrene beads would be put into the base of the box and the satin ring would then be placed over them. When an object is placed on the satin, the beads will then mould themselves to the shape of the object. It is particularly useful if the same box is required to hold a range of different products. |
| Shoulder |
A shoulder sits proud of the base of the box and is designed to allow the lid to locate flush with the base, such as with a hinged box and lid. |
| Sleeve |
A sleeve is a very versatile and useful accessory with applications ranging from the protection of a delicate item to an alternative for a lid. A sleeve can be made from card or PVC. |
| Tassels |
Tassels are used as a decorative feature and can be very effective with elaborate boxes such as caskets. |
| Thumbholes |
Thumbholes are most commonly used on boxes with full depth lids to make it easier to lift the lid. |
| Turn-In |
When a rigid box is covered with any covering paper or material, the turn-in is the strip of covering paper visible on the inside of the box where it has been folded in over the top edge of the box. The turn-in would normally only extend about 10mm below the top edge of the box but, where boxes are fitted with lined platforms, often the turn-in comes down below the level of the platform so that there is no white card visible at all. This is referred to as a deep turn-in. |
| Vacuum-Formed Insert |
These inserts are most commonly used in chocolate boxes but are just as effective for a variety of other products, such as cosmetics. Vac-form materials are available in different thicknesses and in many colours such as gold, white, brown or clear as well as smooth or flocked finishes. |
| White Lined Chipboard |
This is the standard grade of board used in the manufacture of rigid boxes and many cartons. It is made from 75% or more recycled fibre. |
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