4 Color Process
Uses these 4 ink colors to make any number of colors: Cyan-Yellow-Magenta-Key (Black)
Aqueous Coating (AQ)
A clear coating that is applied after the inks. It air dries and creates a shiny or matte (depending on what you request) protective finish. It is a very popular coating option and protects the packaging against smudges and dirt. AQ coatings will also dramatically slow down the yellowing effect of age on the paperboard
Bleed
Printing past the cut or score area in order to ensure full and total ink coverage
Digital Printer
Much like a home printer (except much larger), it is a press that has cartridges that can make a variety of colors. These colors are applied to a sheet all at one time as it passes through.
Direct Print
Direct print, in packaging, means to print directly onto the packaging material (or substrate), whether it be plastic or paper (paperboard, cardboard etc). The contrast to this would be to print a label, for instance, and have it laminated, mounted, or heat sealed onto the main substrate, corrugated board as an example. Using direct print would eliminate the need for lamination and instead print directly (hence the name “Direct Print”) onto the corrugated board. Another example is custom printing on shrink film that is then heat sealed onto a bottle. The direct print in this scenario is not having a film layer but instead direct printing onto the bottle material itself (and usually before its converts to a bottle shape).
Flexographic Printing
AKA Flexo – For printing on flexible packaging (but is also used for other types of packaging or applications) – uses rubber or plastic plates and fast drying inks.
Offset Printing
The digital image or graphics for your packaging is transferred to a metal plate called a die-plate. Large sheets of paperboard (the stuff your packaging is made of) is fed through a massive press. The die-plate is mounted on a roller where it is inked and rolled onto the paperboard. There is one die-plate per ink color, therefore, if you are using the 4 color process, there would be 4 die-plates.
Preflight or Pre-Flight
In all printing (not just of packaging) pre-flighting is a procedure whereby the digital files that are to be printed are checked prior to running the job to confirm that they are all accounted for, valid, correctly formatted, and of the desired type.
Rotogravure Printing
AKA Gravure – Mainly for printing on flexible packaging – a metal plate mounted on a cylinder is etched with a laser to reproduce the image or graphics that will be printed on the packaging
Sheet-Fed
A process by which the printing press takes sheets of paper whose paper size is maxed at a certain length and width to fit the press. Sheet-fed process has chambers that hold ink and applies that ink to the sheet as it passes through each chamber while the sheet stay flat across all chambers (it does not bend).
Blank or Box Blank
A flat piece of corrugated that has been cut and scored ready to be joined to make a box
Box Style
A distinctive box configuration that describes the box regardless of box size or material used.
Carton (Folding Carton)
Any box style that can fold and ship flat and is not corrugated material. Used mostly for retail consumer goods and not as a shipping container.
Color Mock-Up (Prototype)
This is a full-color physical prototype of a product’s packaging. It is used for promotional purposes and also offers the opportunity to inspect all facets of the packaging and make alterations, if necessary, prior to mass production.
Counter Display Box
A box that usually either sits on a counter or shelf at a cash register, holds multiple units, and the top of the box fold ups and inward to display information about the product.
Custom Packaging
Any packaging that is not considered stock packaging. When you require certain dimensions and/or materials and/or colors and/or printing, then you must have your packaging custom made to your specifications. Most packaging we encounter in our daily lives is custom packaging with the exception of bottles and cans (although they too have a custom label printed on them).
Master Packs
Usually made of corrugated fiberboard, these boxes are meant to be used to ship a company’s retail-ready products to stores all over the country/world. Each master pack (one box) contains many retail ready product boxes – 12 or 24 for example.
PDQ Display
Stands for “Pretty Darn Quick”. Allows for store employees to unpack a display and place it on the store floor or shelf, ready for immediate sale – quick and efficient I believe Walmart coined this phrase “PDQ”
POP (POS) Display
Point of Purchase (Point of Sale) Display – Often made of sturdy corrugated fiberboard, these promotional displays have very visible signage and shelve the products they are advertising. They are usually situated either on the counter or floor near a cash register (point of purchase/sale)
Rigid or Set-up Box
A box made out of chipboard that does not bend or fold flat.
Stock Packaging
Pre-made packaging where the buyer cannot specify custom measurements, materials, colors, or printing.
B Flute
Corrugated substrate thicker than E flute
C1S
Coated 1 Side (C1S) Refers to board that is coated on 1 side of the paperboard sheet and uncoated on the other. The coated side is a smooth texture and the other pulpy or rough looking.
C2S
Coated 2 Sides (C2S) Refers to board that is coated on both sides of the paperboard sheet, smooth on both sides.
CCNB
Clay coated news back board (CCNB) Recycled paperboard that is not bleached, has a white on 1 side that has been clay coated and the other side of the sheet is gray like a newspaper.
Corrugated Fiberboard
Commonly used to make cardboard boxes, this sturdy board is typically made up of three layers. A wavy or fluted layer (the medium) is sandwiched between two flat layers known as linerboard. Also referred to as combined board.
E Flute
Corrugated substrate thicker than paperboard and is generally use for shipping product or to house heavier products. Also used for point-of-purchase displays.
Flute or Corrugation
The wavy shape of the medium that makes up corrugated board. Common flutes types are A, B, C, E, F
Linerboard
The paperboard that is used as the outer facings of corrugated board.
Medium (when referring to corrugated or combined board)
A sheet of paperboard that is fluted which is the inner wavy portion (or corrugated portion) of corrugated fiberboard (also known as “combined board”)
Paperboard
The two major types of paperboard are boxboard used to make folding cartons and rigid boxes, and containerboard used to make the components of corrugated boxes.
Point "pt" (Used synonymously with caliper)
The measurement for thickness of paperboard. It is usually expressed a thousandths of an inch (mils) (in the U.S.) or in “points” i.e. 18pt board.
Roll-Stock
Laminated film that is in roll form (meaning not pre-cut bags) Roll-stock is used with filling machines that create the bags from the roll, fill them with product, then seal them.
SBS Board
Solid Bleached Sulfate board (SBS), a high quality substrate of paperboard packaging. It is made from bleached virgin wood pulp.
Substrate
A type of material such as paperboard or plastic such as APET. Often used to refer to the packaging material that will be used to make packaging. i.e. “The substrate that will be used for this project is a type of corrugated board”
SUS, CNK, CCKB
Different names for the same looking paperboard. Recycled paperboard that is not bleached, has a white side that has been clay coated and the other side of the sheet is brown or kraft, natural looking.
Virgin Board
Board that is brown and has not been bleached white.
Virgin Fiber or Harvested Fiber or First Use Fiber
Fiber that is directly derived from wood materials (logs, chips, sawdust) unlike recycled fiber
Web
A continuous sheet of paper or paperboard. (Also known as a “roll”)
Co-Packer or Contract Packer
A company hired to manufacture and package products for another company. This model is very popular in the food, pet food, and cosmetic industries. Consider any company that has private labeling such as Whole Food’s “365” product range.
Die
1) The shape of the entire box dimensions opened flat. 2) The master foil stamp or embossing image made of metal. 3) Tooling to make your custom shaped box.
Die Line or Dieline
The digital file of the die that is used to place the packaging graphics on. It shows all the outlines, glue areas, fold lines etc. depending on the style of packaging.
Die Making
The physical creation of the dieline out of metal or plastic.
Die Plate
A metal sheet containing the etched imagery of the graphic design for your packaging. This metal sheet is mounted on a roll which grabs ink from an ink chamber and is then transferred onto paperboard.
FOB
A shipping acronym that stands for “Free On Board”. Refers to a specified destination at which the buyer assumes full responsibility from the supplier/manufacturer/seller for the goods purchased (packaging). The destination in usually at some distribution facility or the manufacturing facility itself.
Fulfillment Center
Refers to a facility of hand labor where a product is put in its packaging, then into shipping boxes and onto pallets ready for distribution.
Lead Time
The time it takes for the completion of a stage of the packaging buying process. For example: lead time for the manufacturer to produce the packaging. Or the lead time for the transit of packaging to arrive from point A to point B.
Palletizing
Loading and securing boxes on pallets for shipping as a single load. After palletizing, mechanical equipment is generally is used in the handling of them.
Score or Scoreline
A crease or impression in paperboard used to enable folding
SKU
STOCK KEEPING UNIT – In custom packaging it generally refers to different packaging versions of a product. i.e. custom bags for potato chips with 5 flavors would be described as having 5 SKUs.
Small Runs (Short Runs)
When a small volume of packaging is produced by a packaging manufacturer. Every manufacturer has their own criteria of what constitutes a small run in terms of volume.
Thermoform
The process of molding plastic is called “Thermoforming”. A sheet of plastic is heated to soften it and then pressure is used to shape the plastic to pre-determined specifications using a “mold”. A classic example is the plastic tray in a candy box that holds assorted chocolates.
Tooling
A physical material used to make a buyer’s specific custom packaging, which could include a die and/or mold, and/or die plate.