| 4 color process |
a color scheme that uses Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (referred to as CMYK) similar to RGB (or Red, Blue, Green) is used to recreate an image on media by adjusting the amount of each color and blending each of them to create a broad range of colors. CMYK offers a narrower color range than RGB but work better for printing because they blend easily. |
| monochrome |
using a single color to print on media, a good example of this is thermal transfer printing which uses a wax/resin ribbon most often black, to print on white paper media. This same process can use other single colors as well like red, green, blue ribbon and other custom color variations. |
| flexo (flexography) |
print is achieved by creating a mirrored master of the required image as a 3D in a rubber or polymer material. A measured amount of ink is deposited upon the surface of the printing plate (or printing cylinder) using a ink transfer roller. The print surface then rotates, contacting the print material which transfers the ink. |
| synthetic label |
the alternative of a paper label this media is available in many different forms, shapes, and applications. Most commonly the chemical make up is a polypropylene, polyethylene, or polyester formulation which is very durable to abrasion and weather effects like sun and rain. |
| clear labels |
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| blanks |
labels that are die-cut to a specific size but have nothing printed on them. |
| pre-printed |
label material that has been processed to incorporate common images and or text but contains void areas that allow variable information to be printed making them specific to a product. |
| floodcoat |
a label manufactured using a single layer of color on across the complete surface. |
| lamination |
a film that is layed over top of the media to provide the best protection against weather, chemicals, and abrasion. |
| uv coating |
a chemical layer added to a labels surface after printing, creating a barrier of protection that prevents fading of the image on the label. |
| tag stock |
thicker than a paper label and most often without an adhesive or liner. |
| dumbbell label |
an oddly shaped label with wide sides connected by a narrow middle, intended to be wrapped around a product and the ends stuck to them self. |
| rattail label |
common in the jewelry industry where the label can not be adhered directly to the product a rattail label allows you to print on one portion of the label and wrap the "tail" around the product then adhere the tail to between the folded label. |
| liner (or backing, receiver) |
a semi-transparent paper that has a release agent chemical which allows die-cut labels with adhesive to be removed easily. Sometimes with a perforation between the labels to allow the end user to separate individual labels at a time without the need for a cutter option. |
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| thermal transfer |
a very common form of industrial printing that has changed little over the last 25 years. The technology using heat generated at the printhead to transfer a ribbon material onto your label creating the text or images. This method allows for synthetic materials and application specific ribbons like heavy resin to be used. Commonly a monochrome process but with some special applications for 4 color process using CMYK. |
| direct thermal |
most thermal transfer printers have the ability to use direct thermal media by simply changing a setting which increases the heat output of the printhead to compensate for the lack of a ribbon. Special media (paper) is required for this process and it is most commonly used for shipping labels and other with short life, low cost,or minimal durability applications. |
| coated side in (CSI) |
determined by which side a ribbon has its wax or resin material determines how it needs to be fed into a thermal transfer printer. Can be tested by using a piece of office tape to adhere to one side then briskly pull it off, if the wax/resin material is removed with the tape you have determined the correct side that goes face down against your label. Common for 90% of all thermal transfer printers. |
| coated side out (CSO) |
refer to the above, on the opposite side of the liner. Most commonly used by Zebra. There is no performance difference between either CSO or CSI. |
| wax ribbon - |
best suited for paper labels and offers crisp, clean, dark print that has some durability to moisture but is susceptible to scratching and smearing. |
| resin ribbon |
a very durable compound that requires excessive heat to create a permanent, chemical resistant, UV fade proof mark on synthetic labels only. |
| gap sensor (transmissive) |
used for detecting the leading edge of die-cut labels. |
| black mark |
printed on the back of the liner for continuous preprinted stock, tag stock, or clear labels to allow the printer to determine the leading edge of the print area. |
| continuous |
a function of printers that allow the printer to count a predefined length (the print area height) it repeats for each print area. |
| printhead |
the mechanism in a thermal transfer printer that is supplied with electrical current and signal information to heat small wires elements that transfer the ribbon material onto your label making an image. |
| printhead element |
an extremely tiny wire covered by a glass material that heats up very quick to transfer heat to the ribbon. When these become damaged or blocked by debre you will see white vertical lines on your printed labels. |
| lcd display |
and interface common to most printers that allows your to change settings or read the current status of the printer. |
| near edge technology |
a unique printhead design the places the printhead elements very close to the media requiring less energy to heat up, this also requires special ribbons. This technology is common to Toshiba Tec printers and costs more but is claimed to have more longevity. |
| flat head technology |
the most common form of printheads, which come in many different dpi selections including 203, 300, 400, 600, and rarely 800 dpi. The higher the dpi the less blocky or "pixelated" corners or edges of text and images will look. |
| dpi (dots per inch) |
also referred to as resolution, similar to the display on a computer monitor or a digital picture. |
| ribbon wrinkle |
an issue that plagues operations of thermal transfer printers by creating white slashes that start on the outer sides of your labels and work their way up and across through your print. A simple adjustment can be performed to correct the uneven tension being put on the ribbon that causes this. This may occur when you change the size of a label or is a ribbon is a lot wider then the label causing uneven tension on the ribbon. Refer to your owners manual on the correct procedure to fix this. |
| top of form (TOF) |
this error may occur if the incorrect sensor option is selected resulting in the printer not being able to determine where the leading edge of the label is in the printer. This can also occur when the sensor is not positioned properly in the middle of the label. Refer to your owners manual for correcting this. |
| over temp |
some printers have the ability to monitor the amount of heat built up at the printhead and if it starts to being an issue where damage may be cause the printer will pause and display this message. Do not operate the printer for at least 15 minutes to see if this message goes away. Most commonly seen when doing reverse out printing because so much heat is being used to completely cover the label in almost a floodcoat fashion. |
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| continuous inkjet |
technology used in industrial marking that creates a fine stream of ink that is broken up by a vibrating crystal. The drops are then charged with various amounts of electricity and deflected based on polar magnetism from plates running along the path of the stream having an opposite charge. |
| photocell |
a device that creates an invisible beam of light used to detect a box or bottle as it moves down the conveyor. |
| encoder |
measures the speed of a moving surface (most often a conveyor) using a wheel that generates an electrical pulse as it turns. The pulses are counted and based on the diameter of the wheel you are able to get accurate belt speed from conveyors. |
| conveyor |
used to transport items from one location to another at a consistent speed. |
| line speed |
the rate at which your conveyor is traveling, usually determined by an encoder. |
| porous ink |
typically a water based ink that has time to dry on a surface, like a cardboard box it can absorb into. |
| non-porous ink |
typically alcohol based inks that dry very quickly on difficult to bond with surfaces such as glass, plastic, paints, and metals. |
| time of flight (TOF) |
the distance from the gutter to the TOF sensor allowing the printer to maintain the correct viscosity for the ink. The printhead may become dirty after receiving on of these errors as the printer is not able to adjust the ink flow correctly. |
| deflector voltage |
the current applied to plates that run parallel to the ink steam which have an opposite charge cause the ink to change its path leaving the printhead. |
| beacon (light stack) |
indicates the current status of the machine with a red - offline or error condition, yellow - caution or warning, or green - ready or printing light. |
