Terminology & Capabilities
When manufacturers and clients get together, a clear understanding of packaging terms is vital when ordering new packaging products. A major problem in this area is a gap in understanding the industry terminology. The manufacturer may be accustom to manufacturing terminology while the client may know what they want but aren’t familar with the terminology needed to clearly describe the parts and pieces of the packaging product. The following terms and definitions are furnished to provide you with the data needed to make more informed decisions concerning your packaging needs.
Flush Interlock
The male and female trays lock together with outside walls meeting evenly, giving a flish sidewall for the album
Overlap Interlock
The female tray locks over the top of the mail tray, creating a visable outer overlapping wall.
Ribbed Spine
Extra sealing bars are used, combined with omitting board from the spine of the product. There are both functional and aesthetic reasons for this contruction – added flexability to the spine and contrast in the overall package surface.
Ribbed Sidewalls
PVC trays are vacuum-formed with ribbed-indentions on the outside walls. This affords both an attractive variation in apperance and extra stength to the package.
Squareback Spine
Flat spine with sealing bars on each side, used in conjuction with interlocking PVC trays, gives a sharply defined, bound book appearance.
Roundback Spine
Albums with our patented, roundback have a softly curved spine giving the classic appearance of earlier round books. It also offers some paractical advantages – products with roundback construction permit use of full interior PVC, one piece sealed-in or inserted artwork, and more flexibility in overall silk screening design.
Using color separated artwork: a screen is created for each separate color and/ or copy change. These screens are utilized in applying opaque color ink to the product surface. This method is used for artwork with close registration of multiple colors or large imprint areas. PMS colors can usually be matched adequately at no extra charge.
Utilizing dies, heat, pressure and a variety of colored foils, your logo or other graphics can depressed onto the product surface, producing a bright, shiny or matte metallic design depending on the type of foil selected. Foil Stamping is not recommended for multiple color artwork or art that has close registration.
Using heat and pressure to produce graphics with a raised appearance on the surface of the product.
Using heat and pressure, the debossing die depresses the graphic down into the surface of the product, smoothing out any graining or embossing in the materials.
A custom die made from your artwork is used to apply, cut and seal one ore more pieces of vinyl to the surface of another. When the sealing process is complete, these layers of material are removed, leaving only those within the perimeters of the seal, This technique has some size limitations, but with good artwork, results can be very effective.
The printed sheet of artwork that is placed under the clear overlay.
The process of enclosing printed sheets (70#, coated one-side, enamel stock) under clear vinyl during the manufacturing process. It is also possible to have the product constructed with an outside overlay, open at the top. The inserts can then be inserted into the pocket as you are ready to use them.
A layer of clear vinyl on the outside of a product into which a printed sheet can be inserted by the customer or sealed in permanetly during manufacturing. All stock products allow the customer to insert Printed material beneath the clear overlay.
Entrapment is the process of fully sealing your custom artwork beneath the clear overlay of a product.
A method of cutting materials into various shapes by use of a steel rule cutting die.
Heat Sealing/ High Frequency Welding is when electromagnetic energy in the high frequency range (microwave) creates intense friction that chanegs the vinyl to a liquid state. The pressure being applied to the sealing die holds the differnt layers of vinyl together. When the RF power is removed, the melted vinyl instantly cools and the resulting product is one which has been welded into a single unit.
The “finished edge” on a pocket that is produced by heat sealing, as opposed to die cutting is called the Formed Flap.
A Straight Strap is a clear vinyl strap sealed on the left and right hand walls of a PVC literature tray to hold printed material in place.
A T-Strap is a clear vinyl strap sealed on the left, right and bottom wall of a PVC tray to hold contents within the tray, sometimes referred to as a diaper strap.
Vacumm Forming is the process of heating ridgid PVC near melting point, drawing it over a mold, by applying vacuum from within the mold, producing a rigid finishinhg shape.