We take great pride in making our clients feel confident about their jobs during the production process. To help you gain a better understanding of what

A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P R S T W

• Adobe Acrobat®

  Popular software package used for viewing and printing Portable Document Format (PDF) files. The advantage of a PDF file is that it allows anyone to view and print a document as it was originally intended without having to install the program or fonts used to create the file. Adobe Acrobat is a product of Adobe Systems®, Inc.

• Artwork

  Any and all logos, graphics and images used in creating designs for Screen Printing, Embroidery, or Promotional Products.

• Banner

  A sign made of non rigid material such as canvas or vinyl, and typically having no enclosing or supporting framework. Often intended for temporary use, a banner sign can be screen printed or painted, and is commonly hung from a pole or mounted to the facade of a building. (See also flag and pennant.)

• CMYK

  Abbreviation for the ink colors cyan (blue), magenta (red), yellow and black. Combinations of these four colors of inks are used in printing to create all other colors.

• Color Separation

  The process of decomposing and separating a color graphic or image into its four constituent CMYK ink colors such that each color ends up with its own printing plate. The plates are then used in a printing press to reproduce the image on paper.

• Decal

  Screen printed lettering and graphics that can be transferred and affixed to another surface through the application of water or heat.

• Design

  The clear and complete specifications for the appearance, structure and implementation of a sign. A design may include technical drawings, illustrations and written descriptions of the sign.

• Drop Shadow

  The visual effect of creating a false shadow behind a letter or object by placing a darker colored but identically shaped copy of it behind it but slightly offset up or down and to one side.

• Embroidery

  Embroidery designs are stitched with an automated embroidery machine. These designs are "digitized" with embroidery software. They can have different types of "fills" which add texture and design to the embroidery. Almost all basic types of embroidery can be created with machine embroidery. These include: applique, free-standing lace, cutwork, cross-stitch, photo stitch, and basic embroidery. Most often this type of embroidery is associated with business shirts, gifts, team apparel and commercial use.

• Font

  A set of letters and numerals sharing the same design characteristics. Examples of font sets include Times New Roman and Arial. (Also called typeface.)

• Four-Color Process

  A halftone printing process that uses the four essential ink colors of cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK) to create a full range of colors on a printed surface. (Also called process color.)

• Gradation

  The smooth transition from one color to another color, from black to white, or from color to the absence of color. (Also called gradient.)

• Gradient

  The smooth transition from one color to another color, from black to white, or from color to the absence of color. (Also called gradation.)

• Halftone

  The process by which a continuous tone image such as a photograph is reproduced and simulated using a pattern of printed or silk screened dots of varying size and equal spacing. At a normal viewing distance the reproduced image appears as continuous tone.

• Image Area

  The area on a product that contains the design.

• Ink

  Pigmented liquid used for screen printing, press printing, writing and drawing. Inks are either water-based or solvent-based depending on the application.

• Italic

  A font style characterized by a distinct slant in the letters and numbers. (Example: ABC123.)

• JPEG (Joint Photographic Exports Group)

  A common file format for color digital images. The JPEG standard utilizes a 'lossy' data compression method, meaning that in order to reduce the overall size of the file a small amount of sharpness from the original image is sacrificed.

• Layout

  The overall arrangement of the graphics and lettering on the face of a sign.

• Logo

  A visually distinctive name and/or symbol that identifies a business, product or service. (See also trademark.)

• Mesh

  1. Any fabric or woven material having a loose or open weave. 2. In screen printing, the material through which ink is applied to a surface.

• Mock-Up

  A full scale model of a structure. A sign mock-up is created to test and review in detail the appearance, legibility and other aspects of a final design. It is typically made of cheaper, less durable material than the final sign but given the same colors and finishes. (See also model.)

• Nylon

  A strong and durable synthetic material used in a wide range of fibers/fabrics, objects and coatings.

• Opaque

  Describes any material or substance through which light does not pass, i.e. it is neither transparent nor translucent.

• Pantone Matching System (PMS)

  A standardized color scheme used in the printing industry to ensure the consistency of color from design to final print.

• Polyester

  A synthetic fiber used for its strength and resistance to ultraviolet deterioration. It does not have the stretch and elasticity of nylon and, as a result, will often last longer.

• Promotional Products

  Merchandise that is used in marketing and communication programs. These items are usually imprinted with a company's name, logo or slogan, and given away at trade shows, conferences, and as part of marketing campaigns.
  Business gifts used to foster customer goodwill and retention are the most common use for promotional products. Other objectives that marketers use promotional items to facilitate include tradeshow traffic-building, brand awareness, public relations, employee relations and events, dealer and distributor programs, new customer generation, not-for-profit programs, employee service awards, new product introductions, internal incentive programs, safety education, customer referrals and marketing research

• Registered Trademark

  A trademark that has been officially registered with the government by its owner. Indicated by the symbol ®. (See also trademark.)

• Registration

  1. In screen printing, the correct placement of the image to be printed on the substrate. 2. In multicolor printing, registration also refers to the correct alignment of the colors with one another.

• Resolution

  1. In digital images, the number of pixels shown on a screen; the higher the number of pixels in a given space (i.e., the greater the density of pixels), the more precise the pictured image. 2. In plotting, the degree of accuracy with which a plotter will place a knife-head in relation to a theoretical, perfect location of a coordinate.

• Sans Serif

  Any typeface that lacks serifs. In most sans serif fonts, there is little differentiation between the width of strokes within the letter. Helvetica and Futura are familiar sans serif fonts.

• Screen

  A frame over which fabric is stretched for use in screen printing. The screen supports the stencil or emulsion through which the ink is forced by the squeegee, created the print.

• Screen Printing

  Graphic application method capable of printing great detail and color on a variety of substrates such as paper, plastics, aluminum, vinyl and banner materials.

• Serif

  A small line or embellishment finishing off the strokes of letters in some fonts (like this one). Well-known serif fonts include Souvenir, Times Roman and Garamond.

• Silkscreening

  One of the oldest and simplest forms of printing. A print is made using a squeegee to force ink through stencil or emulsion that is supported by fabric that has been stretched over a frame to create a screen. Several synthetic fabrics have replaced silk as the fabric of choice for screen printers. (See also screen printing.)

• Squeegee

  1. In screen printing, a flexible blade mounted in a wood or metal handle and used to force ink through a stencil mounted on the screen. 2. In sign making, a hard plastic or nylon blade used to apply pressure to increase surface adhesion between cutting vinyl and the transfer tape or between the vinyl and sign face.

• Template

  A full-sized pattern, layout or computerized output showing the exact size and placement of letters. Typically used for installing dimensional letters, signs or architectural elements.

• Thumbnail

  A type of rough sketch of a design made prior to developing more finalized presentations. Some sign artists prepare several thumbnail sketches of a job, varying their layouts and fonts, before preparing one or two more complete ideas to take to a client.

• TIFF (tagged image file format)

  standard graphics file format used for scanned bit-mapped images.

• Tone

  The effect on a color brought about by blending it with another color.

• Trademark

  Used by a business to distinguish itself and its products from competition. A trademark may include a name, symbol, word or combination of those. Protected by the federal government and considered to have financial value, a sign maker should only reproduce a trademark with the company's permission and should discourage customers who seek to imitate well-known trademarks too closely. (See also logo and registered trademark.)

• Trapping

  In screen printing, to overlap one color on another. Trapping may result in the creation of a third color in the overlap area, or, if opaque links are used, the edge of the first color may be hidden for purposes of registration. (See also bleed.)

• Typeface

  A set of letters and numerals sharing the same design characteristics. Examples of font sets include Times New Roman and Arial. (Also called font.)

• Water Resistant

  Describing a face that has been treated to make it resistant to damage or deterioration caused by water.

• Waterproof

  The use of the term in relation to treated cotton ducks is prohibited by the "Fair Trade Practices Act" unless the product shall be impervious to the passage of any water so long as the fabric may endure. "Water Resistant" is the proper designation for cloths treated to resist water penetration and leakage.

• White Space

  Empty or unused space (having no lettering or graphics) within the sign face. (Also called negative space. See also positive space.)

• Wickability

  The property of a fiber that allows moisture to move rapidly along the fiber surface and pass quickly through the fabric.