Trans Tech Digital Printing Solutions to Product Decorating

Glossary of Common Industry Terms

Addressable Resolution
The maximum resolution of any device. The finite number of pixels that any imaging device is capable of creating, manipulating or imaging.

Aliasing
The visual stair-stepping of edges (jagged edges) that occurs in an image when the resolution is too low. Can be caused by improper image sampling or processing.

Artifact
Unwanted visual anomalies or defects generated by an input or output device, or by a software operation, that degrade image quality.

Binary ink jet
A form of continuous ink jet where the drops are either printed or recirculated.

Bubble ink jet
A drop on demand technology where the ink is boiled very rapidly to grow a bubble and eject a drop. Hewlett-Packard refers to this technology as “thermal ink jet”.

CIJ Continuous Ink Jet
One of the two broad types of ink jet technology, the other being drop on demand, or impulse ink jet.

CMYK
Cyan, magenta, yellow, and black – the four process colors used to form full color images. If a separate black is not used, then the black formed using just the three colors is referred to as composite black.

Color Gamut
A range of colors that can be reproduced by a given system.

Color Management System (CMS)
A combination of software and hardware devices used to produce accurate color results throughout a digital imaging system.

Color Profile
Also called device profile. The term refers to the relationship between the color models of the system devices.

Continuous ink jet
One of the two broad types of ink jet technology, the other being drop on demand, or impulse ink jet.

cP Centipoise, the unit of measure for viscosity.

CPI Channels per inch.

Decap
The time that nozzles can be uncovered before it is impossible to revive those nozzles by purging, and therefore service would be required.

Digital
Simply stated, image and/or line data that has been translated into numerical values for manipulation and reproduction.

Digital Printer
Any device that is capable of translating digital data into hardcopy output.

DOD
Drop on Demand, one of the two broad classes of ink jet technology, the other being continuous ink jet.

Dot Gain
The phenomenon that occurs when ink expands its coverage during printing onto a substrate.

DPI (or PPI)
Dots per inch, or pixels per inch. A linear measure of an image, or how many pixels are defined in the boundary of an inch. Apparent dpi refers to the fact that the human eye perceives a print having a greater detail that it does in physical reality.

Edge Shooter
Drop on demand printer where the drops are fired from nozzles on the edge of the printhead, perpendicular to the action of the bubble or actuator.

Error Diffusion
In actuality, error diffusion is a random dot-placement strategy (or dithering method), spreading out the inherent failing until it is indistinguishable to the unaided eye.

Face Shooter
Printhead where the actuator diaphragm or heater is parallel to the nozzle plate.

Flatbed Printer
An inkjet printer that prints onto surfaces orientated on a flat. Horizontal plane.

Hz
Hertz, or cycles per second, a measure of frequency.

kHz
Kilohertz, or thousands of cycles per second.

Latency
The time that nozzles are not fired before there is a determined reduction in performance, for instance a reduction in drop velocity that will affect the noticeable image quality.

LCP
Large Character Printer, a reference to low resolution technology such as valve jet which produces large characters on packaging.

Micron
Millionth of a meter

Moving Wall
A type of piezo printhead design, originated by Xaar, where the walls surrounding the fluid channels are active and flex to create the necessary pressures for drop ejection.

NIP
Non Impact Printing

Nozzle Density
The spacing between nozzles or channels in a single row, normally stated as nozzles or channels per inch.

NPI
Nozzles per inch

Phase Change
Fluid which is solid at room temperature. The printhead is heated so that the fluid is liquid, and it “freezes” on contact with the substrate by reforming into a solid.

Piezo
A material exhibiting the piezoelectric effect, where mechanical distortion of the material results in the formation of a charge across the material, or vice versa. The most common piezo material in use is PZT, or Lead Zirconium Titanate.

pL
Pico liter, or 1 million millionth of a liter

Satellite
An unwanted drop produced behind the main drop, which either merges with the main drop (fast satellite) or drifts away from the main drop (slow satellite).

SCP
Small Character Printer, a term used for coding printers where characters and numerics of 2-20mm high are printed.

Shear Rate
Measure of the resistance of liquid to shear forces.

SOHO
Small Office, Home Office markets, which for the printer market implies directly connected, rather then networked printers.

Surface Tension
Surface force restraining a liquid, normally measured in dynes/cm².

Thermal Ink Jet
A drop on demand technology where fluid is boiled very rapidly to grow a bubble and eject a drop. Canon refers to this technology as “bubble” ink jet.

UV
Ultra violet, as in UV curing where the fluid is cured by UV radiation.

Valve Jet
A low resolution, low frequency ink jet technology where the fluid is under pressure and drops are generated by operating a mechanical valve.

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