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.
  • Permanence
    The quality of a substance or bond to resist deterioration.
  • Permanent adhesive
    An adhesive with relatively high ultimate adhesion properties.
  • Permanent ink
    Ink that resists fading or change of color when exposed to light and air.
  • Permanent paper
    A paper that resists the effects of aging, usually acid-free, used for archival or artistic (serigraph) prints.
  • Permanent violet
    A light resistant, tungstated or molybdated methyl violet pigment used in screen printing inks; carbazole violet.
  • Phloxine (magenta)
    A fugitive organic dyestuff used to produce brilliant red color; a bluish red pigment used in process color screen printing inks; also refer to eosin.
  • Photo mask
    (1) A manually produced opaque design on masking film for preventing exposure of predetermined areas of photographic film or stencil material; (2) A photographically produced duplicate of a halftone negative or positive with very thin density, designed to add slight density to the halftone film from which it was made to reduce future exposure effects in controlling color density in the final printing.
  • Photochromatic ink
    Ink that changes color or loses color when exposed to a UV light source and returns to its original color when removed from the presence of UV light.
  • Plasma display
    A display screen that has a gas contained between two panels where the x and y axis dots are electrically charged causing them to glow.
  • Plasma treatment
    An electrically neutral highly ionized gas made of ions, electrons, and neutral particles used to treat polyolefin plastic prior to printing.
  • Plastic deformation
    A forced change in the dimensions of an object that does not return to the original, when the applied force is removed.
  • Plate maker (plate printer)
    An illuminated vacuum table for exposing photosensitive material.
  • Pneumatic screen printing machine
    A screen printing machine, semi-automatic or automatic that is powered by compressed air rather than by an electric motor or other mechanical power source.
  • Pneumatic tensioning system
    A compressed air-actuated stretching device used for tensioning mesh before it is attached to the frame.
  • Portable Document Format (PDF)
    An electronic document format from Adobe that allows the distribution of digital files across any platform that can display a document as originally designed and formatted without having the software application or fonts on the viewing computer.
  • Potassium bichromate
    Orange red crystals sometimes used in the preparation of solutions for sensitizing carbon tissue, screen printing films, and coatings for screen printing stencils. (Bichromates are considered an environmental and health hazard and are no longer used in the industry).
  • Premasking
    The application of protective paper or tape to the surface of a substrate prior to printing.
  • Primary colors
    The three primary light (spectral) colors are red, green, and blue; the three primary ink colors are cyan, magenta, and yellow. The three basic colors, properly selected and mixed, produce any hue.
  • Primary standard
    A standard of reference units and physical constants maintained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) upon which all measurement units are based (US).
  • Prisma die-cut transfer
    A reflectable illuminized plastic heat transfer that shimmers like a rainbow and may be applied to both cotton and cotton blends.
  • Proofreader marks
    A series of symbols and abbreviations used by a proofreader to mark errors on copy and to indicate corrections to be made.
  • Proxy image
    A low resolution image used in any software program to show the effects of change without performing transformations on high resolution files.
  • Quinacridone red/magenta
    An organic pigment with outstanding lightfastness and other resistance properties.
  • Quinizarine maroon
    An organic pigment with good lightfastness, excellent resistance to acids and alkali, good bleed resistance, and good transparency.
  • Raster image
    An image that is defined as a collection of pixels arranged in a rectangular array.