Bb

b
abbreviation for bits.

B stage
an intermediate stage in the reaction of a thermosetting resin where the material softens when heated and swells in contact with certain liquids, but does not fuse or dissolve; also refer to A and C stage.

back card
a card unit attached to the back of a dump bin, floor bin, or counter merchandiser that projects above the merchandise and presents the selling message at eye level.

back-etching
a color correction technique for reducing the density of a continuous tone negative.

backlap
an extremely heavy, uneven application of color at one edge of a print.

back gray cloth
cotton fabric material placed over the waterproof layer on top of the felt padding on the screen printing table to prevent through printed dyes from being absorbed into the felt padding.

base artwork
artwork that requires additional components to be added before reproduction.

backbone
the back of a bound book connecting the two covers; also referred to a spline.

background
area appearing behind the legend or principle subject of a print.

backing
typically a non-woven material applied beneath material being sewn to increase fabric stability and support stitches.

backing adhesive
an adhesive applied to the back surface of a membrane switch, 0.002 to 0.005 thick, to attach it to the application surface.

backing sheet
support aid such as the plastic or paper support sheet of knife-cut stencil film, indirect photoscreen stencil film, camera film, and the support sheet of pressure sensitive laminations.

backing up
printing the reverse side of a sheet that has already been printed on one side.

backlap
a very heavy, rough application of color at one side of a print. backlash
movement beyond actual adjustment in a device, usually when a screw type adjustment cannot be locked into the adjusted position.

back lighted display
a printed display prepared on transparent material that can be illuminated from the rear to enhance attention value.

back lighting
the process of illuminating transparent artwork or screen printed transparency film from behind.

back printing
printing on the underside or second surface of a transparent sheet or film; also referred to as reverse printing.

back score
a cut score made from the back of a display.

back slanted letter
type that is slanted toward the left.

back slit
a cut or slit through the backing sheet of pressure sensitive film.

baffle
a device used to separate one light source from another.

baffle mark
a seam on a bottle resulting from an imperfect mold joint between the blank mold and the baffle.

bake
to convert an organic coating film from a liquid to a continuous, hard, dry film by the application of heat.

baked enamel
a type of finish, usually screen printed or sprayed on a metal surface with enamels containing resins, dried, and then baked at a high temperature to prolong the life of the coating.

baking
to dry or harden by subjecting to heat, usually a temperature above 65.6° C (150° F).

baking cycle
the time and temperature combination used to develop maximum properties of an organic film.

balance
(1) a device for weighing material in the preparation of processing compounds and solutions; (2) harmony and equilibrium of graphic elements due to placement.

ball mill
a rotating cylinder containing smooth pebbles, porcelain balls, or steel balls in which organic pigment or inorganic ceramic material is ground in either a wet or dry state.

ballast
a step up transformer with a range of capacitors for regulating line voltage to a lamp housing.

Balopticon
a projector used to project an image onto a drawing surface to enlarge or reduce photos, sketches, or drawings.

balsam or copaiba
a natural resinous liquid used as a color vehicle.

banding
(1) application of banded decoration to glass or ceramic items with a banding wheel; (2) undesirable harsh, well defined transitions on a print.

bandwidth
the range of wavelengths between two identified limits, expressed in the same units as wavelength (nm).

banned heavy salts
metal substances that are controlled by government restrictions (US) such as chrome, lead, arsenic, selenium, and antimony.

banner
a sign made of fabric, plastic, or other non-rigid material that has no enclosed framework.

bar
a standard unit of pressure equal to 10⁵ newtons per square meter or 0.98697 standard atmosphere.

bar code
refer to universal product code.

Barcol hardness
a hardness value obtained by measuring the resistance to penetration of a sharp steel point under a spring load, gives direct readings on a 0 to 100 scale; also refer to Shore hardness.

barium crown glass
an optical glass containing soda (Na2O), lime (CaO), and silica (silicon dioxide) composites.

barium flint glass
an optical glass containing 45 to 65% lead oxide.

barium oxide
derived from BaCO3 (witherite) used principally in optical and crystal glass instead of lime or red lead.

barre
a stripe-like pattern in woven fabric, parallel to the weft threads, and usually caused by dye differences in the fibers or physical differences in thread geometry.

barrel distortion
image effect that spreads the center dimensions of the picture.

barrier coat (primer)(sealer coat): a coating applied to face material to provide increased opacity to the face material and/or to prevent migration between adhesive and face material and to improve anchorage of adhesives to face material.

barrier tape
reflective pressure sensitive strips printed with diagonal strips of red transparent ink for applicantion to rear/side of a vehicle or to a street barrier, warning, or safety signal.

barytes
a colorless crystalline mineral of barium sulfate used as an ink pigment, extender, or filler.

base
(1) a firm, true surface on which the substrate is placed for printing; (2) a modifying additive for screen printing inks; an unpigmented ink or adhesive; refer to extender base and transparent base; (3) a specific type of resin that determines the character of the ink such as acrylic base, oil base, synthetic base, and vinyl base.

base/4
an image resolution with 1/4 the number of pixels of a base resolution.

base/16
an image resolution with 1/16 the number of pixels of a base resolution.

base alignment
the positioning of type with relation to the same base line, also refer to baseline.

base chuck
an indexing device for screen printing of cylindrical and tapered objects.

base color
the background color in multiple color printing.

base line
(1) any line or specified quanity used as a point of reference; (2) the positioning of the bottom of letters so that they appear to rest on a common but imaginary line.

base material
refer to face material.

base resolution
photo CD image resolution (512 x 768 pixels) formatted for display on current consumer televisions.

basic dyes
dyes that have not been incorporated into carriers or vehicles of any type.

basic flash exposure
in halftone work, the secondary exposure required to produce a shadow dot of the desired size in the film. (The basic flash exposure is of relatively short duration compared to the main exposure which precedes it).

basic size
a specific size recognized by the trade as being the one from which its basic weight is determined, generally 500 sheets (wrapping tissue uses a ream count of 480 sheets).

basis weight
the weight of a ream (500 sheets) in pounds cut to the basic size for its grade; refer to paper sizes international. (In the US the basic sizes are 635 x 965 mm - 25 by 38 for book papers, 508 x 660 mm - 20 by 26 for cover papers, 610 x 914 mm - 24 x 36 for newsprint, 432 x 559 - 11 x 22 for bond, and 648 x725 mm - 25 _ by 30 _ for index).

bastard size
a non-standard size of any material.

BAT.
acroynm for Best Available Technology, refers to goals set for controlling water affluents by the U.S. Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972.

batch
a quantity produced as the result of one operation.

batch consistency
a preservation of uniformity in the formulation or manufacturing of screen printing inks, plastic compositions, etc., to ensure subsequent batches match preceding batches of like formulation in all respects.

batch sample
the collection of substances or products of the same category, configuration, or subgroup that are drawn from a batch and from which test samples are drawn.

batch scan
the process of scanning numerous pages that contain similar data.

bath
any chemical solution used in photography; a common expression designating a solution of developing agents, fixing agents, and/or solutions that inhibit or stop chemical reaction, or other solutions used in photographic processes.

baume scale
hydrometer scale that separately covers liquids with specific gravities greater and less than 1.

bead
an enlarged rounded edge of a tumbler or other glass article.

beads, reflective
minute round particles of glass for embedding in an ink or adhesive film to act as a lens to reflect light rays.

beam easel
an easel whereby a shelf on a display can be locked into position.

beater
a larger mixer used where pulp is combined with other ingredients in paper manufacturing.

bed knife
a stationary knife located in a sheeting machine.

bellows
a collapsible light-tight portion of some cameras that connect the lens to the camera back.

belt conveyor
a moving belt system for transporting prints from one processing stage to the next as from press to dryer, through dryer, from dryer to packing area, in almost any conceivable order. (Belt may be made of metal or synthetic mesh, heavy cloth, web straps, wires, etc.).

belt mark (chain mark)
a depression on the bottom of a glass article from metal link belt in lehr caused by slight overheating of either the conveyor belt or the glass article or by over-firing of the ware.

belt printing
a textile printing process that utilizes a continuous belt as a platen. (The substrate is adhered to the belt with an adhesive and is indexed from screen to screen by the rotation of the belt, generally uses waterbased inks that can be washed off of the belt by a washer.)

belt speed
the rate of travel, usually measured in inches or feet per minute, of the belt of any conveyor dryer system.

bench can
a wide mouth safety receptacle for wetting rags with solvent, generally by means of a spring-loaded, perforated pedestal and tray. (By depressing the tray, the liquid is pumped onto the rag in controlled amounts.)

bench oven
a small unit for bench mounting, for the heat treating of printed or other products in prototype quantities, usually found in laboratory or research departments. (There is no conveyor, so individual items must be placed within the convection heat chamber manually).

benchmark
a set of tests or standards to determine performance of an item or system.

Benday
a method of adding a tone to an image by imposing a transparent sheet of patterns to obtain the various tones and shadings on the printed image, also refer to screen tint.

bender
a paperboard that can be creased, scored, or folded without breaking.

bent glass
glass or glass article that has been formed by heating into a curved or other shape from a flat sheet.

benzidine yellow
a strong yellow toner used in many types of printing ink and dyes.

benzol
another name for benzene; a clear, colorless, aromatic liquid, the simplest aromatic hydrocarbon extracted from coal tar C₆H₆.

beveled glass
cold glass whose edges have been ground and polished to an angle other than 90 degrees.

bevel-edged die
a cutting die that has been tooled to produce a precise bevel to the image edge.

beveling
the process of edge finishing flat glass to produce an angle.

bézier curve
curved line segments created by establishing endpoints or anchor points, and at least one transient point or node.

bias
a line at an angle to the threads of a mesh; applying the mesh at an angle to the frame in some fashion.

bichromate
a photosensitive salt of ammonium or potassium bichromate used as a sensitizer in some screen printing stencil emulsions.

bichromate direct emulsion
a sensitized liquid emulsion used for making screen printing stencils by the direct method.

bi-cubic interpolation
matrix for comparison of central pixels to surrounding pixels. Used to increase the apparent resolution of a digital image. Also refer to interpolation.

bi-cutter
a stencil knife with two blades usually with width adjustment for cutting parallel lines simultaneously.

binder
(1) that portion of the vehicle of an ink composition that, in combination with the pigments, forms the film; (2) the adhesive components of an ink that hold the pigment to the printed surface; (3) in paper, an adhesive component used to cement inert filler such as clay to the sheet; (4) carrier or vehicle that fix the pigments in screen printing dyes onto the fibers of the fabric being decorated.

binding
the process of attaching loose sheets into multiple page document.

binding varnish
a viscous varnish used in the composition of inks to toughen the ink film.

biocide
a chemical agent or substance that kills or inhibits the growth micro-organisms.

biodegradable
of a substance, capable of being decomposed by natural biological processes.

birdnesting
top thread not following thread path or up and down substrate movement under needle caused by inadequate top thread tension or improperly stabilized fabric.

biscuit
an unglazed piece of clay that has been fired.

bisection plane construction
a display construction whereby two planes are connected by interlocking.

bisque ware
ceramic ware that has been hardened by an initial firing but without color other than that produced by the clay in firing; unglazed ceramic ware that has been fired once.

bit
a binary digit, 0 to 1, represented as a single on-off circuit.

bit depth
maximum number of bits that are used to define a pixel that is a measure of the defined brightness range.

bitmap
a rasterized graphic image formed by a rectangular grid of pixels or dots.

bite
the penetration of a substrate surface by ink, solvents, or an adhesive.

black
(1) the absence of all reflected light; the color that is produced when an object absorbs all wavelengths from the light source; (2) in four-color printing process black is required in the printing process because equal amounts of cyan, magenta, and yellow ink will not produce a true black, designated by the letter "K."

black and white (B/W)
originals and printed material comprised only of black and white or tones of gray.

black and white art
line art in black and white usually produced on smooth or textured board with pen or brush and black ink or generated by computer in black and white.

blackbody
a surface that completely absorbs all radiant energy striking it without reflection.

black iron oxide
an inorganic pigment with excellent fade and bleeding resistance, poor gloss, and good resistance to acids and alkali.

black light
invisible infrared or ultaviolet radiation, a common name for ultraviolet rays which have a wavelength between 3200 and 4000 angstrom units.

black light fluorescent tube
electrically activated tubular shape light source, high in actinic value that emits rays in or very near the ultraviolet band of the spectrum, used for exposing photosensitive stencil films.

black generation
the reduction of the intensity of the process colors and replacing with a more intense black when separating an RGB color image into CMYK colors, typically referred to as GCR or UCR.

black printer
in process color reproduction, the prepress materials used to produce the black image. (The letter "K" is used to designate this color.)

black point
scanned color that produces values of 0, 0, 0 in a acanner. (Ideally, black point is 0% neutral reflectance or transmittance), also refer to white point.

blackboard coating (chalkboard coating): a smooth, hard, matte surface coating applied by spraying or screen printing onto a substrate to provide a writing surface for chalk.

blackening
a darkened defect in paper caused by crushing at the calenders which is usually associated with a decrease in capacity, but may also be caused by excessive moisture.

blade
the flexible printing edge of the squeegee which may be made from various elastomers of polyurethane, neoprene, or rubber.

blade coating
a method of coating paper utilizing a flexible blade set at an adjustable angle against the web, supported by a soft surfaced backing roll.

blade marks
broad indentations in the surface coating of paper, which can be caused by an untrue blade or faulty mix of the coating material.

blade scratch
a very fine hair-like indentation in paper which may vary from a few feet to several hundred feet in the machine direction of the web.

blank dummy (mock-up)
a full size, serviceable model of a display without printing or art work.

blanks
(1) cardboard, plastic, metal, or other unprinted substrate used for making displays and signs; (2) unprinted garments or piece goods.

blank ware
undecorated glass or ceramic ware.

bleach
(1) method of measuring the tinctorial strength of an ink or toner; (2) generic for household bleaching agent such as Clorox®, sometimes used for reclaiming printing screens.

bleach board
a paper boards that is totally composed of bleached fiber.

bleaching
the removal of color or other material by chemical action.

bleed
(1) the spreading or migration of an ink component or dye into an area where it is not wanted; (2) the spreading or running of a pigment color by action of a solvent; (3) color printed to or beyond the finished outer edges of a substrate; (4) the part of the page that is trimmed off, referred to as selvage.

bleeding
(1) the diffusion or migration of color from an ink film to the surrounding surface, with which it comes in contact; (2) migration of dye from a fabric to the ink or coating previously applied, usually initiated by heat.

blend
(1) the content of the fabric sometimes used in the manufacture of a garment such as 50% cotton and 50% polyester; (2) printing two colors so smoothly that there is no perceptible line at their intersection; (3) a mixture of solvents, resins, and/or pigments; (4) inter-mixture of two or more colors; (5) in computer graphic software, the intermediate steps between two objects created when the objects are merged together via a specified number of intermidiate steps.

blending
(1) intermix of two or more solvents and/or pigments; (2) arrangement of colors, and act of printing by intermixing various colors on the screen to provide an even gradation from one intensity to the next without using photomechanical techniques.

blind embossing
impressing a relief image into a substrate without first printing the image.

blister (blistering)
(1) a defect consisting of a bubble that forms during drying or fusion and remains in the print after drying or firing is complete; (2) a bubble entrapped in a glass or ceramic article.

block color
color printed solid with near identical opacity and density over the entire surface and without gradations, tints or shading.

blocking
an undesired adhesion between layers of material placed in contact under moderate pressure and/or temperature in storage or use, usually occurs in a stack of printed material that is stacked prior to thorough drying.

block out
sealing the mesh of the printing screen against pinholes and leakage in the areas between the image and the extreme edges of the frame.

blockout solution (blockout compound)(blockout filler)
liquid masking material used to cover pinholes and non-image areas of the screen mesh around the perimeter of the stencil.

bloom
(1) the bluish-gray milky veil that appears on the surface of a print under adverse conditions of heat and humidity; (2) a film that forms on glass enamel or precious metal as a result of atmospheric action during firing.

blotch
an area of discoloration, usually irregular in shape.

blotting
(1) to spot or stain; a spreading blemished effect; (2) to soak up or absorb moisture from a stencil that has been previously exposed, washed out, and adhered to the mesh with an aborbent material.

blow back
reversal of the vacuum action of a vacuum printing table that aids in the fast removal of printed substrate.

blowing agent
a chemical that is added to plastic and generates inert gases upon heating causing expansion.

blow molding
a method of fabricating where a parison (hollow tube) is forced into the shape of the mold cavity by internal air pressure.

blow up
(1) an enlargement of an original copy; (2) an oversize picture of a product or advertising message.

blue
one of the three additive colors of light.

blueline
a blue graphic image proof.

blue printer
in process color reproduction, the film positive or printing screen for reproducing the color cyan. The letter C is used to designate this color.

blue sensitive film
photographic film or emulsion which is sensitive to only the blue or ultraviolet portions of the spectrum.

blunging
a mechanical mixing of clay or slip with water.

blur (motion blur): softening of image detail, usually accomplished through software averaging of pixel values to soften edges.

blurring
a condition where the graphics are indistinct or appear out of focus; also refer to slur.

blushing
a milky or foggy appearance that sometimes develops as a transparent ink or coating dries due to the disposition of moisture from the air and percepitation of one or more of the solid components in the ink, usually found in inks that dry by solvent evaporation; also referred to as Bloom.

BM
acronym for blow molding.

BMP file
a Windows bitmap file, with an extension ".bmp" that defines an image (such as the image of a scanned page) as a pattern of dots (pixels).

board
a heavyweight, thick sheet of paper or other fibrous material, usually in a thickness greater than 6 ml (0.006 inches).

bodied oil
a drying or semi-drying oil whose viscosity has been increased by heating or chemical reaction.

body
the viscosity, consistency, and flow of a vehicle or ink, as assessed subjectively; a long-bodied ink is thick, while a short-bodied ink is thinner and creamy.

body label
a decoration applied to the body of a bottle.

body stock
refer to face material.

boiled oil
a linseed oil that has been subjected to a high temperature for a short period of time to increase viscosity and drying rate.

boiling point
(1) the temperature where a liquid boils under standard atmospheric conditions and the temperature at which a substance can be distilled; (2) the temperature where the vapor pressure of a liquid is equal to the pressure of the atmosphere; (3) the temperature at which a liquid changes into a vapor. (The lower the biling point, the greater the potential for flammability).

bolt
a roll of screen mesh as it comes from the loom.

bolting cloth
mesh woven of multifilament strands with two strands in one direction being twisted alternatively around each single strand of the opposite direction.

bon a tirer (French)
meaning "good to print," this is the first press proof approved by the artist in a print edition.

bond
the degree of adherence to glass or ceramics of an unfired color.

bond paper
a light weight paper stock with strength, rigidity, and good absorptive and erasing qualities.

bonding agent
an ink additive that improves ink adhesion characteristics, sometimes used when printing nylon jacket material.

bonding jumper
a metal wire or mesh connection two containers and providing metal-to-metal contact, thus preventing electrical sparks from static electricity.

bonding strength
(1) amount of adhesion between bonded surfaces; (2) a measure of the stress required to separate a layer of material from the base to which it is bonded; (3) in paper, the force with which the fibers adhere to each other; (4) in surface coatings, the strength with which the applied coating, when dry, adheres to the surface of the substrate.

bone china
vitreous extremely white, translucent dinnerware that contains bone ash; a porcelain made without feldspar.

BON maroon
an organic pigment with good fade resistance, poor resistance to alkali.

bonus-color concept
the provisions of an extra color or shade obtained by overprinting two or more transparent or translucent inks without the additional stencil or press run that a third color would normally require.

book paper
coated and uncoated papers.

borate glass
glass made from boron oxide instead of silica.

borax glass
vitreous anhydrous sodium tetraborate (Na₂B₄O₇).

border
a printed design or a line surrounding an illustration or text area of printed matter.

borosilicate crown glass
an optical crown glass containing substantial quantities of silica and boric oxide.

borosilicate glass
any silicate glass having at least 5% boron oxide (B₂O₃).

boss
projection designed into a plastic part to add strength, facilitate alignment during assembly, or to provide for fastening.

bottle cap printer
a printing device that prints an image onto bottle closures of different sizes.

bottle press
refer to container printing machine.

bottle topper
a small cardboard display tag designed to circle the neck of a bottle and carry an advertising image.

bowing
to bend or bring to a curved form such as the sides of a frame bending toward the center when under tension.

box connector
a display part used for connecting unattached planes in parallel.

box easel
a display part used for connecting unattached planes in a predetermined angle.

box rest
a support for displays placed on top of rods or bars.

bp
abbreviation for boiling point.

bpi
abbreviation for bits per inch.

Bps
abbreviation for bytes per second.

bps
abbrivation for bits per second.

brayer
a small hand roller used to distribute ink on a test slab or proof press.

break
(1) release of screen mesh from substrate surface at completion of printing stroke; (2) tear in screen mesh and/or stencil caused by excessive stress or impact; (3) nonproductive rest period; (4) the gap allowed in an incomplete circumferential print of the screen on a cylindrical object; (5) a tear or other defect in web face material or release liner, such defects are usually spliced and the location indicated by a protruding signal or flag; (6) resin separation.

break for color
in artwork, to separate and mark the parts to be printed in different colors, also refer to color break.

breakdown voltage
electromotive force where the insulation between two conductors is destroyed.

breaking length
the length of a strip of paper which would break of its own weight when suspended on end. A value calculated from the tensile strength and the basis weight of the sheet, also refer to tensile strength.

breaking load
the degree to which a material resists rupture by tension, measured in pounds, under specified conditions.

bridging
the ability of a direct emulsion stencil material to fill the area (bridge the gap) between screen threads and to retain solidity after exposure and washout.

bright copper
bright gold fluxed to fire out with a reddish copper color on glass or ceramic ware.

bright enamel
paper that has a glossy hard surface on one side or both sides.

bright glaze
a colorless or colored ceramicx glaze with a high gloss.

bright gold
a metallo-organic compound of gold dissolved in a suitable solvent system for producing a bright gold surface when fired.

bright green gold (bright lemon)(bright paddaldium)(bright platinum): gold composition for decorating glass with a yellow green hue when fired.

bright lemon gold
a bright gold with a bright yelloe hue when fired; formulated with gold and siver alloys.

bright red gold
bright gold with red hue when fired.

brightmeter
an instrument used to measure TAPPI (Technical Association of Pulp and Paper Industry) brightness, and the fluorescent component of brightness in paper, adding optical brighteners increases the brightness of a paper.

brightness
(1) degree of reflectivity of a sheet of paper or similar substrate for blue light measured under standardized conditions by reflectometer calibrated for the wavelength of 457nm. (2) the overall intensity of the image. The lower the brightness value, the darker the image; the higher the value, the lighter the image will be. (3) dimension of color that is referred to in an achromatic scale, ranging from black to white; also called lightness or luminous reflectance or transmittance (q.v.).

brightness range
the difference in lighting brilliance between the brightest bright abd the darkest dark of an original scene or transparency.

brilliance
apparent color strength; the combined effect of brightness, strength, and/or purity of color tone.

bristol board
a fine kind of pasteboard smooth, and sometimes glazed on the surface, solid or laminated heavyweight paper having a thickness of 6 ml or greater (0.006 inch). (The name is derived from the original rag board made in Bristol, England).

bristol glaze
a raw glaze containing zinc oxide often used in terra cotta.

British Thermal Unit (Btu)
a measure of generated heat; the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit at or near its point of maximum density.

brittleness
an undesirable characteristic of a material or ink film that causes it to break or otherwise fail when bent or creased.

broadcloth
a plain weave fabric of cotton or poly-cotton blends with a slight ridge effect in one direction.

broken end
a defect in woven mesh due to a break in a warp thread.

bronze
an appearance characteristic of some printed films where the apparent color of the print depends upon the angle of view and illumination, giving the appearance of metal.

bronze paper
a paper board coated with a composition consisting of a finely divided metallic powder and a binder such as pyroxylin.

bronze powder
a metallic pigment added to printing inks consisting mainly of copper alloys in very fine flakes.

bronze screen
a printing screen made of fine, phosphor bronze wire mesh, used mainly for printing wallpaper.

bronzing (bronze dusting)
printing with a tacky size or adhesive and then dusting with finely powdered metal particles to give the appearance of metallic printing, usually applied using a special bronzing machine.

bronzing adhesive
a varnish-like clear material or coating on which dry metallic bronze powder is applied.

bronzing liquid
a wet liquid application of bronze powders to a substrate.

brush
a special effect filter that performs a specific function such as smoothing selective edges.

brush, rubbing
a stiff bristled brush used in rubbing down decal and steel plate transfers for glass decorating.

BS
abbreviation for British Standard.

BSI
acronym for the British Standards Institute, a standardization organization in Great Britain.

Btu
abbreviation for British thermal unit.

Btu/sec
a unit of power which denotes the number of British Thermal Units per second consumed; one BTU/second is equivalent to 1.06 kilowatts.

bubbles
trapped air, gas, or water vapor in an ink or coating or under a solidified film.

buckle lock
a display part used for locking two elements of light weight stock.

buffer
any substance or combination of substances, when dissolved in water, produce a solution that resists a change in its hydrogen ion concentration from the addition of an acid or alkali.

buffer capacity
the ability of a solution to resist pH changes when a strong acid or base is added.

build
the thickness, either real or apparent, of a dry ink or varnish film.

build-up layer
(1) a layer or sheet of material such as glass, sheet of card stock, or thin wood panel smaller than the inside dimensions of the printing frame, but larger than the stencil area on which the finished stencil film is placed for adhering, used to ensure pressurized contact with the mesh; (2) ink that sticks to the bottom of the screen while printing wet-on-wet (textiles).

bulk
(1) denotes the degree of paper thickness; (2) a measure of the thickness of a pile of a specified number of sheets of paper stock under a specified pressure expressed in thousandths of an inch or pages per inch (ppi).

bulking value
the solid volume of a unit weight of material expressed in gallons per pound; of a pigment, it is expressed in gallons per 100 lbs.

bump exposure
refer to flash exposure.

buried printing
(1) pigment pattern, and or copy applied to the underside (second side) of transparent stock prior to application of adhesive coat; (2) a laminate construction where a clear or transparent sheet is affixed over a printed marking to improve appearance and/or durability, also refer to embedment.

burn
the exposing of a photosensitized material with any light source high in ultraviolet radiation.

burn-off
removal of organic media from applied colors in a kiln.

burn off temperature
the temperature at which organic media is removed from applied colors, or the temperature at which the unwanted portion of a glass article is melted for removal.

burn rate
speed that a plastic will burn.

burning-in
additional light exposure given to part of the image projected on an enlarger easel to make that area of the print darker, after the basic exposure, while holding back the light from the rest of the image.

burnish gold
precious metal containing 18 to 24% pold metal combined with flux based on organic metal compounds.

burnish silver
precious metal preparation containing only silver.

burnisher
a blunt, smooth-surfaced instrument used to apply rub-down and dry-transfer images.

burr
sharp protrusion caused by rough edges.

bursting strength
the pressure required to rupture paper or fabric in an instrument such as a Mullen tester or Scott ball burst machine under specified conditions, expressed in pounds per square inch.

bursting strength tester
instrument used to measure the point that a paper, foil, film, textile, plastic or other material submits to bursting; also called Mullen tester.

butt
the joining together of two pieces of film or two different printed colors, without overlapping.

butt cut label
labels separated by a single knife-cut to the release liner.

butt register
artwork, which registers or butts one color next to another without a gap or trap between them.

button test
a test designed to determine relative fusibility of frit or powder.

butyl acetate
solvent used as a constituent of lacquers because of its low rate of evaporation.

butyl alcohol
a solvent high in strength for most natural gums, widely used in the formulation of nitrocellulose lacquers and synthetic resin inks and coatings.

butyl cellosolve
trade name for ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, a high boiling point, high flash point, slow evaporating glycol ether solvent, sometimes used in lacquer inks or coatings based on vinyl, nitrocellulose and the like.

butyrate
common name for a tough cellulose acetate thermoplastic widely used for signs, and displays.

B/W
acroynm for black and white.

by-product
a chemical substance produced during the manufacture, processing, use, or disposal of another substance or mixture.

byte
a unit used to measure the capacity of a computer (eight bits equal one byte); the representation of a character.

Back to Top