EVV Print Graphics Glossary

A low tack adhesive vinyl that is adhered to a surface, painted, and can be easily removed. Depending on the surface texture, very accurate edge detail can be achieved. Similarly, stencils can also be produced out of paper, thin card stock or poly styrene for reusable paint applications, but offer much less detail in the final product.

The most common colour matching system used by commercial printers. The Pantone matching system is comprised of ink formulas for mixing colours by weight using a standard set of basic colours. A variety of swatch books exist for different substrates, media, applications and finishes. Numbered colours allow for colour communication between designers and customers to specify the desired colour based on a standardized reference, and allows for consistency and reproduction in the printing process. Spot colours can be represented directly by some printers or the Pantone system offers best colour conversions to CMYK.

Used on standard sign vinyls and designed to hold up in commercial applications. Usually rated with a durability of 3 to 12 years.

A substance, usually a powder, added to a liquid binder to give colour to paints or inks. Some properties of pigments include lightfastness (non-permanent pigments are know as fugitive) transparency and hue.

Every raster image is made up of pixels; single dots of colour that, together, form the image. A pixel is the smallest unit of a digital image or graphic that can be displayed and represented on a digital display device. Pixels are combined to form a complete image, video, text or any visible thing on a computer display. A pixel is also known as a picture element.

A computer printer for reproducing vector graphics onto a substrate. A vinyl cutter is a type of plotter that is fitted with a cutting knife.

(Pantone Matching System) A commonly used system for identifying specific ink colours. The North American printing industry standard for defining non-process colours. Refer to Pantone Matching System.

Sign or display setup close to the actual retail product being sold.

Refers to the adhesive layer on vinyl films. Many films have an initial tack (some are re-positional) until pressure is applied to the material which activates its bond to the substrate.

The part of a printer that mechanically controls the imprinting of characters on paper. The print head can consist of pins that strike a ribbon, ink jets, or pins that pass an electrostatic charge to the paper.

The marks printed on a press sheet or film to aid in positioning the print area on the press sheet, checking the quality of the printed image, and trimming the final pages. Printer’s marks may include calibration bars, crop marks, and registration marks.

Four colour process printing using transparent inks (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) to create a full colour range.

A digital measurement that describes the difference between the color that a device scans, displays, or prints and the actual colour of an image.

A reasonably accurate representation of how a finished page is intended to look. Proofs can be in black and white or colour.