Glossary

The PRINTING United Alliance Glossary serves as an excellent industry terminology resource. It is the language by which we all communicate. Without it, universal understanding would be impossible.

To keep our constituents well informed about changes to the increasingly complex industry terminology, PRINTING United Alliance has developed this glossary of terms. Definitions are for general reference only. Usage may vary between companies, individuals, or national and country customs. The information presented is as accurate as the authors and editors can ascertain and PRINTING United Alliance assumes no responsibility for the use of information presented herein.
  • Stiffness
    (1) The measure or degree of resistance to bending stress of a sheet material; (2) High viscosity in ink formulation.
  • Stilt (jax)
    A small tripod stand for holding ware during firing; also called a jax.
  • Stippled finish
    A pebbly textured enamel applied by a stippler brush or sponge.
  • Stochastic
    A random placement dot strategy to render images.
  • Stochastic screening
    A technique to produce dot patterns that are randomly distributed; to separate an image into very fine, randomly placed microdots, rather than a grid of geometrically aligned halftone cells.
  • Stock
    Paper or other material to be printed; also refer to media, substrate.
  • Stock saver
    A combination easel back and display designed from one piece.
  • Stoddard solvent
    A high flash point hydrocarbon with a good odor, and comparatively widely used for screen cleaning where inks are soluble in mineral spirit type solvents.
  • Stone
    An official British unit of weight equal to 14 pounds.
  • Stoneware
    A vitreous or semi-vitreous ceramic ware of fine texture made from non-refractory fireclay.
  • Stop bath
    An acid rinse, usually a weak solution of acetic acid, used as a second step when developing black-and-white film or paper; stops development.
  • Stop gap (squeegee pickup)
    An open space in the design layout for screen printing around the circumference of a cylindrical object, prevents smearing of the previously printed area.
  • Stop mark
    Mark showing a change in the density of a woven mesh caused by irregular tension on the warp threads.
  • Stove-enamel
    Process of metal sign printing where each printed coat, including the clear lacquer finish, is individually oven cured for maximum durability.
  • Stoving
    The process of drying and hardening an ink coating by heating at a temperature of above 80°C (175°F).
  • Straight line decorating
    Screen printing where the screen moves in a straight line instead of an arc when printing.
  • Strain
    The application of tension beyond normally specified limits, as in the stretching of screen printing mesh, measured by the ratio of the unit change to the original dimension.
  • Strain gage
    A measuring element for converting force, pressure, or tension into an electrical signal.
  • Strand
    (1) Fibers or filaments that are twisted together; (2) A single filament, fiber, or thread.
  • Strand size
    Diameter of a single filament, fiber or thread or a twisted multi-fiber measured in microns.
  • Streak
    A relatively long narrow line, mark, smear, or stripe.
  • Stream feeder
    The action of an automatic feeding system where sheets are fed to a machine or press without appreciable or predetermined interruptions.
  • Streamer
    A long narrow paper or plastic banner.
  • Stress
    The force per unit area resulting from the application of a load.
  • Stress crack
    The susceptibility of a thermoplastic to crack or craze under the influence of certain chemicals, aging, weather, or other stress; small fine line, cobweb-like microscopic, and larger defects found in plastic caused from tension stress or chemical attack.