Glossary

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M

Roman numeral for 1,000. Printers’ measure; 1 em = 12 points; 6 ems = 1 inch.

MACHINE DIRECTION

The direction of any material parallel to its forward movement on (through) the press.

MACHINE GLAZED

The finish produced in glaze on the wire side of a sheet as it is passed in contact over a single, large diameter, steam-heated cylinder on the Yankee Machine. The finish is commonly referred to as M.G.

MAGENTA

A subtractive primary colour which reflects blue and red light and absorbs green light.

MAGNETIC CYLINDER

A cylinder used in die cutting that is magnetised to accept and hold in place, flexible steel dies. Also used for metal backed printing plates.

MAGNETIC DIES

A thin, flexible, steel ‘foil’ bearing the actual die cutting blades that is held on to a base cylinder magnetically. Quite common in EDP label production where identical repeats are frequently used.

MAKE AND HOLD

Material that has been manufactured and is being held for customer release.

MAKEREADY

The ‘making ready to print or cut’ of any printing press. On printing presses, all operations prior to running; such as mounting plates, adjusting in-feed, edge guide, putting ink in the fountain, changing cylinders in flexo, adjusting the impression, setting up the die cutting, colour matching, etc. All preparatory operations preceding production on the press.

MAKING ORDER

Any order which cannot be filled from stock and is to be made according to purchaser’s specifications; custom order.

MANDREL

A shaft upon which cylinders or other devices (numbering boxes, perforation blades, etc.), are mounted or affixed. Also unwind and rewind shaft on to which rolls of materials (or labels) are mounted.

MANILA

Describes the colour of paper/board manufactured from rope stocks. Usually refers to Manilla board.

MARGINAL PUNCHING - See FEED SLOTS; PIN FEED

MASKING

Covering part of a surface to protect it from exposing, etching, etc.

MASTER ROLL

A full width roll that has finished the primary manufacturing process and is usually untrimmed and unslit.

MATERIAL

Usually refers to un-converted stock, pressure sensitive or not.

MATERIAL SPLICE

An area where tape has been used to attach two rolls of material together to form one continuous web.

MATRIX - Also known as WASTE SKELETON

The face material and adhesive surrounding a pressure sensitive label, usually after die cutting.

MATT FINISH - MATTE FINISH

A low gloss or no gloss finish. A UV curable clear coat may be used to produce a matte or textured finish.

MECHANICAL

Term for a camera ready past-up of artwork including type, photos, line art, etc.; all on one piece of artboard.

MEMBRANE SWITCH

Self contained sealed film lamination printed with conductive inks that form trace paths for electrical currents. Primarily composed of pressure sensitive polycarbonate and/or polyester films designed to replace traditional glass-type switches.

MEMORY

The property of a material that attempts to return to its original configuration after being distorted. Can cause great difficulty if correct adhesives are not used for glass or plastic small diameter phials.

METAL FOIL

Thin flexible layer of metal, such as aluminium, used as face materials. Thinner gauges are often laminated to paper for strength.

METALLISED FOIL

A plastic or resinous film that has been coated one side with a very thin layer of metal.

METALLISED PAPER

A label substrate consisting of a lacquered C1S paper on which a very thin film of aluminium has been deposited.

METALLISING

Applying a thin coating of metal to a non-metallic surface. May be done by chemical deposition or be exposing the surface to vaporised metal in a vacuum chamber.

MEYER ROD

A method of coating utilising a wire wrapped stainless steel rod which meters specific amounts of coating as it is applied to a substrate.

MEZZOTINT - See STOCHASTIC.

An irregular, random dot halftone.

MICR

Magnetic Ink Character Recognition. The process of machine reading characters by means of magnetic sensing.

MICROMETER

A mechanical device for measuring thickness (usually in thousands of an inch).

MICRON

A unit of measure, One-millionth of a meter, or about .00004" (25 microns = 0.001").

MIGRATION - See ADHESIVE STRIKE-THROUGH

The movement of one or more of the components of a pressure sensitive adhesive to either the labelled surface or the label stock (face material). Also the movement of one or more of the components of either the labelstock and the labelled surface into the adhesive and/or ink. Refer NS & LM specification sheets.

MIGRATION OF PLASTICISER

Loss of plasticiser from an elastomeric plastic compound with the subsequent absorption by an adjacent medium of lower plasticiser concentration, often causes a loss of adhesion.

MIL

Unit of thickness measurement used for thin materials. 1 mil = 0.001"

MILEAGE

The surface area covered by a given quantity of ink or coating. Coverage.

MILL ROLL

Roll of paper, film or foil as received by the converter from the mill.

MILLIPOISE

1/100th of a poise. The unit of viscosity measurement (for inks, etc.).

MINIMUM APPLICATION TEMPERATURE

The lowest temperature at which a pressure sensitive label can be applied to a product and still retain initial tack. Refer Labelstock Manufacturers specification sheets.

MISCIBLE

Capable of being mixed; mutually soluble.

MISREAD

A condition which occurs when the data output of a reader does not agree with the encoded data presented.

MMSI

A million square inches of material.

MMSQ

Millions of square millimetres.

MODULE

The narrowest unit of measure in a bar code. A module may be ‘black’ or ‘white’. Contiguous modules are used to form bars or spaces which are wider than one unit.

MOIRE

In colour process printing, an undesirable screen pattern formed by improper screen angles of overprinting half tones. Often called a Moire Star or Pattern.

MOISTURE CONTENT

The moisture present in a material as determined by specified methods.

MOISTURE RESISTANCE

That property of a material which resists uptake or passage of moisture.

MOISTUREPROOF

That property of a material which makes it substantially impervious to water vapour.

MOULD RELEASE AGENTS

Materials used in the manufacture of moulded objects to facilitate their removal from the mould. ie. Oil. silicone etc. Mould release agents can cause serious adhesion problems in some instances.

MONO WEB

A brand name for a printed pressure sensitive label web that is self wound. A release coating is applied over the print so that the adhesive on the back will not stick to the printed surface. The actual die cutting becomes a function of the label application equipment. The process is covered by patent.

MONOMER

A primary chemical structure which reacts with itself, under the influence of catalytic action to create polymeric forms of much greater molecular weight. A component of Ultra Violet inks.

MOTTLE

A spotty or uneven appearance of printing mainly in solid areas.

MOUNTING

The process of affixing plates to/on a cylinder or base in proper position to allow register, colour to colour to die.

MOUNTING AND PROOFING

Device for accurately positioning plates on the plate cylinder and for obtaining proofs of those plates.

MOUNTING PLATE

Grid used to mount plates accurately.

MSDS

Material Safety Data Sheet. A written or printed text concerning a hazardous chemical with all the pertinent information about the product as well as precaution and protection information.

MSI

A thousand square inches of material.

MULTI-PROCESS - See COMBINATION PRESSES

A combination of any printing processes and other decorating methods. An application of lacquer utilising another printing station other than the main printing process shall not qualify as multi-process.

MVTR

A measure of the rate of water vapour transmission through any material.

MYLAR

DuPont’s trademark for clear, tough polymeric polyester film.