Accelerated Ageing
Artificially subjecting material to far more servere conditions than normally in order to predict behaviour during natural ageing

Acrylic
A general chemical term relating to a particular family of thermoplastic resins

Acrylic adhesive
Pressure Sensitive Adhesive based on high strength acrylic polymers; Can be coated as a solvent or emulsion system.

Adhesion
General characteristics of an adhesive when analysed in given conditions.

Adhesive Bleed
Adhesive surplus appearing on the edge of a roll, or label. Can have different causes.

Adhesive ooze
see "Adhesive Bleed"

AFERA
Association des Fabricants Europeens de Rubans Auto-adhesifs. European Association of self adhesive manufacturers

Alignment
Refers to the relative position of the printing and die-cutting units of a label press

Anti graffiti
Product that allows to remove quickly graffitis

Application tape
Tape designed to assist in the protection,application and transfer of unprinted die-cut pressure sensitive decals.

Application temperature
Starting from that recommended temperature to apply the product.

ASTM
American Society for Testing Materials

Autoclave
Pressurized steam heated vessel used for sterilization procedures

Backing
Protective material on the back of the PSA. It protects the adhesive side of a PSA while it is not applied

Backlit
Light box where light is diffused from the inside in order to enhance the color of the image.

Bleeding
see "Adhesive Bleed"

BOPP
Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene

Carrier
Material on which the adhesive is coated generally on both sides

Cast coated
Coated paper dried under pressure against a polished cylinder in order to produce a high gloss enamel like finish

Cast film
Plastic material manufactured by the casting process, as opposed to the extruding process

Chemical Resistance
Resistance of a pressure sensitive label to the deteriorating effect that could result from exposure to specified chemicals

Clear
Characteristic of an adhesive to be colourless and transparent

CMYK
Cyan Magenta Yellow Black : the process colours used when producing colour illustrations

Coating weight
Quantity of adhesive coated on the material

Cohesion
Ability of an adhesive to withstand forces applied in the same plane as the PSA

Colour Management System
Controlled conversion between the colour representations of various devices ( scanners, digital cameras, TV screens, printers), and corresponding media. See also ICC profiles

Colour matching
To duplicate the hue value and intensity of given colour sample by means of blending in specified colours.

Computer cutting
A plotter device is conneced to a computer in order to cut shapes in a face material

Computer Imprintable
Ability of a face material to be printed by computer driven printers

Co-polymer
Two or more mixed monomers which, when polymerized, yield a complex product having properties different from either single polymer alone

Corona Treatment
An electrical discharge is used to raise the critical surface tension of filmic materials in order to enhance printability

Creep
The lateral movement of a self-adhesive label after application due to low cohesive strength of the adhesive

Curl
The tendency of a material to curl in a specific direction. A condition generally aggravated by conditions of humidity

Deep freeze adhesive
Adhesive that will induce a bond to cold surfaces in cold environment

Delamination
The partial or complete separation of the layers making the laminate

Die cutting
Action of cutting through a required number of layers a required shape

Differential release
A backing material having a release coating on both sides with one being stronger than the other

Dimensional stability
Characteristic of a material indicating its ability to remain at given dimensions in spite of varying prevailling conditions such as heat or humidity

Direct thermal
Surface coated with a substance which turns black in the immediate areas where heat is applied

Dispenser
Device that feeds self adhesive labels ready for application.

Dots per inch (DPI)
Measurement which refers to resolution, sharpness or clarity of a printer, monitor or other output device

Double sided adhesive
Self adhesive coated on both sides in order to bind two elements

EAN
European Article Numbering system. The internation barcode system for retail food packages

EDP
Electronic Data Processing

Emulsion adhesive
Adhesive that is to be dispersed into water.

Fading
A gradual decrease in colour brilliance caused by exposure to UV rays

Flammability
Facility to disseminate a flame

Flexibility
Property of face material measured in specified conditions to determine how readily they will conform to curved surfaces

Glassine backing paper
Protective liner made of glassine paper

HDPE
High Density Polyethylene

High speed release
Force needed to separate the face material from its liner in high speed conditions

Hot melt adhesive
Adhesive coated thanks to its faculty to obtain the required viscosity by heating it up

Humidity
Degree of moisture. Compares the quantity of water in the air to the quantity of water it should take to saturate (relative)

ICC profile
International Color Consortium is an industry consortium which has defined an open standard for a Color Matching Module (CMM) at the OS level

Initial tack
see 'quick tack'

Kraft backing paper
Protective liner made of kraft paper

Lamination
A clear plastic film is bonded with adhesive to a printed web to both enhance the appearance and add protection.

Liner
Element in a PSA that protects the adhesive before it is applied

Linearization
Ensures print tones evenly throughout the scale to obtain consistent colour result and good tone.

Low speed release
Force needed to separate the face material from its liner in low speed conditions

Material memory
The phenomena whereby a material retains a memory of its original dimension and returns to it after tension has disappeared.

Matrix stripping
Taking of the skeleton of face material around the die cut labels

Monomer
Constituent of oligomers and polymers

Oozing
see "Adhesive Bleed"

Pantone
Standard colour guides enbling the designer to describe colours for reproduction

Pattern coated
When specified areas are required to be coated or areas are to be left clear of adhesive.

PE
Polyethylene

Peel
Force needed to separate a PSA after it has been applied on a substrate

Peel 24 H on glass
Force needed to separate a PSA after it has been applied on glass during 24H

Peelable adhesive
see "removable adhesive"

PET
Polyester

Permanent adhesive
Adhesive intended to stay permanently applied

Polymer
Molecule chain made up of smaller units (monomers and oligomers)

Printability
Collective term used to describe the properties required of all components needed in the printing process

PSA
Pressure Sensitive Adhesive. Generally composed of a Face material - an adhesive and a siliconed protective liner

Quick tack
Gives a measurement of the initial grab of a PSA. Also called "loop tack" as a strip of the material is placed in a loop and enters in contact with a specified substrate

RAL
Colour coding system mainly used in paints.

Raster
Set of horizontal lines composed of individual pixels

Rasterization
Conversion of image data into pattern of dots usually performed by an imagesetter.

Registration
Maintaining in position of the various elements of a printed design

Release force
Force required to separate the face material of a PSA from its protective liner

Release liner
see "backing"

Removable adhesive
Adhesive intended to be removed after a certain time

RIP
Raster Image Processor. Part of an output device that rasterizes information so that it can be reproduced on paper or film

Rubber adhesive
Adhesive made of synthetic rubber resin

Service temperature
Temperature range within it is recommended to use the PSA.

Shear
See 'cohesion'

Shrinkage
Reduction in size of a self adhesive face material

Silicone coating
Unique polymer system which can be a very effective release coating

Slitter
Equipment to cut a reel and rewind this divided reel in separate reels

Smudge resistance
The resistance of a printed ink to smearing

Solvent based adhesive
Adhesive that is dispersed into organic solvent

Squeegee
Flat plastic tool used to apply large format self adhesive film

Stringing
Under close examination strings of adhesive can be observed

Substrate
Generic name used to describe the material on which the Self Adhesive is applied on, and sometimes by confusion the Self Adhesive itself

Tack
The feeling of stickiness obtained when the surface of an adhesive is touched or when a label is applied to surface and quickly pulled away

Tamper evident labels
Labels that after application will fragment or split when removal is attempted

Tear strength
Property of a material that is measured by the force required to tear it under specific conditions

Tensile strength
Force required to break a piece of material by pulling it under controlled conditions

Tension
Mechanical control of material in roll form between unwind and rewind stations. The condition caused by a force to extend, stretch or pull apart

Thermal transfer
Printing process consisting to drive printheads that melt spots of dry thermoplastic ink from a donor ribbon and transfer them to a receiver to produce an image.

Top coat
A surface coating to a material designed to improve ink key or opacity or prevent migration or other properties

Varnish
A thin clear coating made up from a mixture of natural and synthetic resins and drying oils. It may be applied on the printed material in order to increase protection or appearance

Vinyl
A synthetic material also known as PVC (PolyVinyl Chloride)

Viscosity
Resistance to flow. It is measured by recording the time it takes to pass through a regulating hole.