ARES - Glossary
Glossary A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Abrasion Damage caused to the surfaces of a carton by friction or the rubbing of adjacent objects such as other cartons or the walls of shipping containers; also referred to as rubbing and scuffing.
Absorption The penetration of one substance into another; for example certain printing inks into boxboard.
Adhesive Any viscous substance such as animal or vegetable glues, resins, dextrins or paste used in the manufacture and closure of folding cartons; or used to bond one material to another as in laminating.
Anti-oxidant Board Boxboard chemically treated to increase the shelf life of foods containing fats and oils by retarding rancidity of such products when packaged in cartons made of it. The treatment does not change the appearance of the board and is non-toxic and odorless.
Anti-tarnish Board Boxboard chemically treated to retard development of tarnish which may result from packaging non-ferrous items, such as brass and silver.
Aqueous (inks/coatings) Water based inks and coatings widely used in the industry, replacing solvent based materials to reduce or eliminate the use of volatile organic chemicals (VOC’s) from the converting process.
Back Liner See “Bottom Liner.”
Band A strip of paper or board wrapped around the top, bottom, and sides or ends of a package or other object to cover them without being turned in.
Basis Weight The specification of boxboard as density of weight per unit area. In the U.S., it is measured as “pounds per thousand square feet” and in Europe, as “grams per square meter” (gsm). It ranges from a light weight of 60 pounds per thousand square feet to as heavy as 200 pounds per thousand square feet in a single ply; however, any one machine is ordinarily not capable of making this complete range.
Beater A large mixer in which stock is prepared. The fibers are mechanically treated in the beater while additional ingredients are mixed in.
Ben Day A shadowing effect in printing derived from engravings made by a mechanical shading machine.
Bending Board A descriptive term applied to any boxboard which, when properly scored, will sustain a single fold through 180 degrees without breaking the outer fibers or separating the plies.
Bending Chipboard The least expensive grade of boxboard used in the manufacture of folding cartons, composed principally of recycled fiber.
B-Flute A structure made from containerboard grades of paperboard. Corrugated consists of a medium, that has been fluted on a corrugator, to which one (single-face) or two sheets (double-face) of linerboard are attached to create the structure. A double-face corrugated container is referred to as a single-wall container. The height of the B-fluted material is 1/8"
Billboard (1) Term used to describe the front or face panel of a carton as it sits in the display rack. (2) The pop-up display panel of the typical counter display.
Bimetal Plate A lithographic plate used for long runs. The printing image basis is copper or brass while the non-printing area is aluminum, stainless steel, or chromium.
Blank A folding carton after cutting and creasing but before folding and gluing.
Blanket A rubber surfaced fabric used in offset lithography which is clamped around the cylinder and transfers the image from plate to paper.
Blister A plastic dome or bubble, usually transparent, attached to a piece of boxboard to form a package.
Bogus Papers and paperboards which are manufactured from inferior materials in imitation of higher quality grades.
Bottom Liner The surface of the boxboard which forms the interior of the carton, also called the “back-liner”.
Box (1) A term describing unit container made from (a) non-bending grades of paperboard, i.e., set-up box; or (b) shipping container containerboard grades of corrugated or solid fiber, i.e., corrugated or solid fiber boxes. (2) The term used to distinguish set-up, corrugated or solid fiber unit containers from cartons made from bending grades of paperboard.
Boxboard A term used to describe bending and non-bending grades of the fibrous material used in the manufacture of folding cartons, set-up boxes, fiber cans and the like. In the folding carton industry this term is used interchangeably with the terms “board,” “paperboard,” or “folding boxboard.” (See Paperboard)
Brightness The quality of white intensity as measured by the percent of reflectance of a boxboard surface compared to a standard block of magnesium oxide by means of an optical instrument and expressed in “points of brightness.” The recognized test procedure is TAPPI’s Standard T 452m.
Brush Finish A finish produced by running dried clay coated boxboard against rapidly revolving cylindrical brushes.
Bundle (1) The unit of boxboard containing sheets weighing 50 pounds. The quantity of sheets varies with their size, weight and caliper; but the weight of 50 pounds per bundle is fixed. (2) Bundle also refers to a quantity of finished cartons.
Calender A group or stack of rollers between which paperboard is passed under controlled conditions of speed, heat and pressure, in order to give the material thickness, coating or surface finish.
Caliper A dimensional term used interchangeably with the word “thickness” in connection with paperboard. It is expressed in units of thousandths of an inch and is usually written decimally but may be referred to as “points.”
Carded Packaging Packaging that consists of a stiff paperboard card onto which a product is held by a preformed plastic blister (blister card) or by a film vacuumed onto the product and card (skin or contour packaging). Blister cards are usually covered with a special coating that allows the blister to be heat sealed to the card.
Carton A unit container made from bending grades of boxboard. It is a shortened term for “folding carton,” the preferred designation for folding boxes, folding paper boxes and folding paperboard boxes. The word carton does not refer to set-up boxes, corrugated or solid fiber shipping containers.
Carrier Board A term referring to board, usually Kraft, used for beverage carriers. It is often specially treated to impart water resistance since beverage carriers encounter significant moisture. (See “wet strength”)
Cellulose Fiber Paperboard’s primary component. A carbohydrate constituent of the walls and skeletons of vegetable cells having the chemical composition of (C6H10O5)n.
Chase A metal frame in which plates are locked for diecutting and letterpress printing.
Chipboard A low quality, non-test paperboard made of waste paper for use where specified strength or quality are not necessary. May be bending or non-bending grades.
Clay-Coated Board A high grade bending boxboard, the top surface of which has been coated with a fine clay that provides an excellent printing surface.
Coating A substance applied in liquid form to the surface of boxboard to enhance and protect printing or impart special functional properties. Coatings include varnishes, water based, and energy curable coatings such as ultraviolet (UV) or infrared.
Color Transparency A full-color positive image on a transparent support and rendered in natural colors, used in the preparation of multicolor printing plates.
Color Control Measurements taken during the printing operation to insure that the inks match the approved progressive color proofs or other color standards for a carton; and to maintain uniformity of ink film thickness and color value during the production run.
Colored Boxboards Any grade of boxboard colored during manufacture by the addition of pigments or dyes to the liner pulp in the beaters.
Computer Aided Design (CAD) The use of a computer drafting software to design folding cartons. The CAD program also provides information for layout and manufacture of the dies that will be used to cut and crease the cartons (Computer Aided Manufacturing or CAM).
Computer-To-Plate (CTP) The use of an entirely digital workflow to design and transfer copy to the printing plate output device (plate setter) without the use of films.
Containerboard A general term applied to both solid fiberboard and corrugated fiberboard which are used in the manufacture of shipping containers. Containerboard grades include medium and linerboard.
Contour Packaging (a.k.a. skin packaging) The overwrapping or covering of an irregular-shaped object with a flexible film applied in connection with a paperboard base. The air surrounding the product is exhausted, thus causing the film to fit or cling closely to all parts of the packaged item.
Converter A manufacturer who fabricates folding cartons from boxboard and other packaging materials. In general can refer to any manufacturer who fabricates packaging materials from various unfinished, raw materials.
Corrugated Board A structure made from containerboard grades of paperboard. Corrugated consists of a medium, that has been fluted on a corrugator, to which one (single-face) or two sheets (double-face) of linerboard are attached to create the structure. A double-face corrugated container is referred to as a single-wall container. Corrugated is primarily used for shipping containers. The height of the fluted medium varies and is referred to by a letter. Common flute sizes are A, B, C, E, F, G and N.
Count The actual quantity of sheets of a given size, weight and caliper required to make a bundle of 50 pounds.
Creasing The production of the score or folding line in a sheet of boxboard made by pressing the board with a steel rule into a counter or female pattern on the metal surface of a platen or cylinder jacket of a cutting and creasing press.
Cut (1) The term properly applies to wood engravings and other surfaces manually engraved. It is frequently used inappropriately to mean photoengraving. (2) To pierce or shear completely through a sheet of paperboard; i.e., to cut carton blanks from a sheet of paperboard.
Cut Score Piercing partially through a sheet of paperboard.
Cut and Crease An alternative to a crease score wherein the fold line is made up of a series of alternating cuts and creases.
Cutting and Creasing Die Steel rule forms used on cutting and creasing presses to cut and score sheets of boxboard into folding carton blanks.
Cylinder Board Boxboard made on a papermaking machine characterized by the use of a series of cylinders or molds, each laying down a single layer (or ply) of fiber, which permits wide variation in the thickness or weight of the finished board as well as a variation in the furnish used in the different layers, or plies, of the sheet. There is a grain in the direction in which the web travels.
Cylinder Machine A paperboard making machine consisting of wire cylinders revolving in vats containing furnish of different types. Each cylinder deposits a layer of furnish on the moving web or blanket to form separate layers, the fibers of which are combined under pressure into a single sheet as the water is squeezed out.
Dampeners Cloth-covered or rubber rollers that distribute the dampening solution to the lithographic press plate.
Debossing Trade jargon for what can more precisely be described as negative embossing. Debossing is accomplished by using a male die (slug) to depress an image into the surface of paperboard usually as part of the diecutting process. In debossing a matching female die is not used.
Die A form used for shaping, cutting or stamping out parts and blanks. Usually made from hard metal but may be made of wood or other suitable material.
Diecutting The cutting of paperboard or paper by a die.
Die Stamping The process of reproducing a design, figures or lettering from engraved plates of copper, steel or other metal, usually on a die-stamping press.
Die Sheet An accurate imprint or transfer made on vinyl or oiled sheet from the die form so that the print image can be brought into exact register with the cutting and creasing rules. Also called a “strike” sheet.
Display A folding carton style designed to provide a point-of-purchase unit for holding a number of individual packages or products.
Doctor Blade (1) The part of an inking system on a gravure or flexographic press which scrapes off or removes the surplus ink from the printing cylinder before the image is transferred to the sheet or web of board or paper. (2) Also used on other machines to remove excess amounts of coatings, adhesives or other materials being applied to boxboard sheets.
Drier A substance added to ink and other material to accelerate its rate of drying.
Dust Flaps The narrow flaps extending from each side of a carton or from the sides of a top or cover that turn down into the carton before closure to keep foreign particles out.
E-Flute A structure made from containerboard grades of paperboard. Corrugated consists of a medium, that has been fluted on a corrugator, to which one (single-face) or two sheets (double-face) of linerboard are attached to create the structure. A double-face corrugated container is referred to as a single-wall container. The height of the E-fluted material is 1/16"
Electron Beam An alternative protective coating curing technique to ultraviolet (UV) or more conventional heat drying of varnishes or lacquers.
Electrotypes Duplicate printing plates made by the electrical deposition of copper or nickel over molds pressed from original engravings or type. For maximum press life, electrotypes may be chrome plated. For economy, several small electrotypes may be molded or soldered together to make a pattern plate from which actual duplicate printing plates are in turn produced.
Embossing (1) Raising the letters or areas of a design above the flat surface of carton blanks or paper sheets by means of pressure applied through the action of male and female dies on cutting and creasing presses. (2) Embossing done by means of engraved rollers on sheet and web fed converting equipment.
Embossing, Blind The embossing of a design on unprinted paper or paperboard.
Engraving In the graphic arts and converting industries, this term is often used in referring to original photoengravings from which the actual printing plates are duplicated or produced.
Etching The process of making a design on a metal plate by a corrosive substance or by cutting it with a sharp tool.
Facing(s) A marketing term indicating the outwardly visible panel of a carton at retail display (facing panel) or the number of cartons displayed in a given set of vertical and horizontal dimensions; i.e., 8 facings in a 2’ x 2’ display rack.
Felt The porous belt which carries the newly formed paperboard through the papermaking machine until the sheet is stable enough to continue without support.
Fiber (1) A small thread-like cellulose unit of vegetable growth obtained from plants such as trees, sugar cane, cotton, jute, etc., from which paper and board are made. (2) In packaging, this designates converted paperboard products such as fiberboard, fiber boxes, fiber containers or fiber drums.
Fiberboard The general term indicating boxboard that contains center plies of a different furnish than used for the top and bottom liners.
Filler (1) The inner ply or plies of a multiple layer boxboard. (2) A loading material, such as clay, used in coating paper or board.
Film A flexible plastic material, generally transparent, used as windows in cartons; or for overwraps and laminates. It is extruded, cast or calendered.
Finish The term used to designate the density of boxboard and the change in smoothness incidental to change of weight. There are four standard finishes designated by numbers 1 to 4; the number 1 indicating the lowest density and number 4 the highest density.
Flap One of the closing members of a folding carton, an envelope or corrugated container.
Flexography A printing process by which fluid, quick drying ink is transferred by a relief-molded, flexible rubber plate to a fast-moving web through rotary action.
Flock Finely cut cloth fibers blown or shaken on adhesive-coated boxboard or cartons to produce a velour or suede finish.
Foil Thin gauged aluminum used in packaging as a laminate to board, or as an overwrap, to increase eye appeal and to provide functional properties such as resistance to heat, grease and water.
Foil Stamping The impressing of lettering or a design through foil upon a carton blank by means of a heated die or type. Also called “hot stamping.”
Folding Carton Generally accepted designation of containers made by bending grades of plain or printed boxboard, cut and creased in a variety of sizes and shapes; delivered to the user in a flat, or glued and collapsed form.
Forty-eight/Forty (48/40) Term referring to a pallet size of 48” by 40” which optimizes space utilization of trailers and most warehousing systems.
Fourdrinier Machine Paperboard making machine (usually makes solid board) using an endless traveling wire screen on which the furnish is deposited. The screen shakes as it travels, knotting the fibers into a homogeneous sheet. Some grain direction discernible.
Frame Structural description of the end and/or side wall components of a tray type of folding carton, diecut and scored to form a shoulder or enclosing border to protect and enhance the display of the contents.
Furnish The mixture of pulp, paper scrap, sizing, water, dyes, and other additives fed to the wet-end of a paper or board making machine from which paper or board is formed. The wet-end furnish is approx. 94% water; finished sheet ranges from 5% to 7% water.
Glassine A supercalendered, smooth, dense, transparent or semi-transparent paper manufactured primarily from chemical wood pulps. It is grease resistant and when waxed, lacquered or laminated is highly impervious to the transmission of moisture vapor. It is used extensively as a protective carton liner or inner bag for food and many other products.
Gloss The term used to express shine, sheen or luster of the surface of boxboard or cartons. It varies according to the nature of the board stock itself, or may be imparted to the board or carton blank by coating, printing, or laminating.
Glue A commonly used synonym for the word adhesive. The term should actually apply only to those gelatinous adhesives extracted from the bones, skin, etc., of animals and fish by hot water.
Gluing The operation of applying an adhesive substance to the surface of a material which causes it to bond or adhere to another.
Glue Flap Structural element of a folding carton blank used to adhesively secure one panel to another.
Grain The longitudinal arrangement of the fibers in paper or paperboard which results as they settle in the direction parallel with the travel of the paper or board machine. Direction of the grain is important in carton design because greater tearing strength exists across the grain, and greater tensile strength in grain direction. Grain is more pronounced in paperboard made on a cylinder machine than on paperboard made on a fourdrinier machine.
Gravure Printing (Rotogravure) An intaglio printing process using cylinders on which an image is etched in the form of a series of cells. These cells are filled with ink and the excess removed by means of a doctor blade. Ink from the wells is transferred by the rotary action of the press to the board in either sheet or web form.
Greaseproof Board Paperboard which has been treated or laminated to provide resistance to the penetration of greasy or oily substances. Treatment may include such coatings as casein, lacquer, hot melt polyvinyl, resin or silicate. Glassine and other greaseproof papers may be laminated to board to provide this quality.
Grippers The metal fingers that clamp onto the edge of the paperboard and control its flow through the press.
Halftone The printed reproduction of a photograph, painting or other art subject whose varying tone values are derived from different sized, closely spaced dots of ink transferred from engravings, plates or cylinders into which the original image has been made photographically through a fine mesh screen pattern. Such reproductions are generally made in conjunction with letterpress, offset and gravure printing, and to a lesser extent flexography.
Halftone Engraving A metal or plastic plate from which the tone values of halftone reproduction are obtained during the printing operation. While the term may be used alone it is usually prefaced by another word to indicate the material from which it is made; such as copper, zinc, magnesium or plastic.
Halftone Negative (or Positive) The exposed photographic film or glass onto which the tone values of a subject are converted through a halftone screen. The negative or positive image is transferred in the succeeding steps toward the preparation of a halftone film for plate/cylinder preparation.
Heat Seal The uniting of two or more surfaces by the fusion of coatings or base materials under controlled conditions of temperature, pressure and time.
Heat Seal Coatings Materials applied to board, in a liquid form, and dried which may be reactivated by heating to about 225° to 250° F.
Holography The method of producing a three dimensional image in foil or film utilizing interference patterns from a split laser beam.
Hot Stamping The impressing of lettering or a design through foil upon a carton blank by means of a heated die or type.
Impression Transferring an image to boxboard from a printing plate, blanket or cylinder by one of the printing processes. It may be a single color design or one in a series of multi-color patterns.
Imprint (1) The trade mark or legend reproduced on a carton during the process of printing to identify the manufacturer. (2) The subsequent printing of additional identifying information on a previously printed carton blank such as stock retail boxes.
Inhibitor A substance added to the furnish, coating or laminate of boxboard to retard or prevent deterioration of a carton or its contents by chemical reaction.
Ink A fluid or viscous substance consisting of pigments, dyes or other materials dispersed in a carrier or vehicle by means of which a printing press imparts the desired image on boxboard. Character of the ink varies according to the printing process and application.
Ink Receptivity The degree of penetration of printing inks on the surface of boxboard.
Insert A piece of paperboard which is not an integral part of a carton but is used in connection with one carton to perform a special function in separating, holding, or protecting the contents in position as a block, base, cushion, compartment or partition. Such inserts may serve as platforms, steps or frames for displaying the products within a carton.
Jordan A machine which mechanically bruises the pulp fibers, causing fibrillation and hydration, while serving to produce a more uniform mixture of water and other fibers.
Kraft Paper or paperboard made from virgin pulp produced by the sulfate process. Natural kraft is unbleached and has a characteristic light brown color; bleached kraft is a sheet having a higher brightness rating then natural kraft.
K.D.F. A term used by public carriers in referring to boxes (cartons) other than corrugated when Knocked Down Flat.
Lacquer A type of coating, applied in liquid form to boxboard, for protective or decorative purposes.
Laminated Board A combination of different kinds of boxboards, films, foils, papers or other materials bonded by adhesives in webs or sheets. May also be designated as “lined board.”
Letterpress Printing The printing process by which ink is transferred from the raised portions of printing plates or type to board.
Liner The outer or inner ply of a sheet of cylinder board.
Lithography A printing process using plates whose printing surfaces are partially water repellent and partially ink (oil) repellent. The plates are made of flexible sheets of metal, such as zinc or aluminum, or of two metals as in bimetal plates. These plates are photographically imposed, chemically etched and run on either sheet-fed or roll-fed presses. The term lithography is often shortened to “litho.”
Litho-laminating The process of laminating litho pre-printed sheets to a single-face corrugated structure, forming a complete double-face structure.
Make-Ready General preparatory operations prior to the actual production of printing, or cutting and creasing. It usually involves the adjustment of the impression by overlaying or underlaying the printing plates; the cutting of the female part of the die. Also used in connection with finishing machines such as gluer, waxer, windower.
Manila Board Boxboard made principally from mechanical ground wood pulp used largely for packaging foods. It has a light straw color and a suitable surface for printing.
Manufacturer’s Joint The mechanical connection between two panels to create a tube. In the classic four-panel tube, the manufacturer’s joint is comprised of a flap and an adhesively secured overlying panel.
Metallic Ink Bronze or aluminum powder suspended in an appropriate vehicle and applied as a printing ink to produce designs with a metallic luster on the surface being printed. In addition to the natural metals, lustrous tints of other colors may be produced by adding small amounts of transparent color to aluminum inks.
Mini-Flute A term used for corrugated boards with small flute heights. These boards can be printed and converted on folding carton equipment with minor modifications. Also referred to as small flute boards, mini-flute boards include E, F, G and N flute.
Mist Lined Chipboards Colored manila top liner boxboard containing some long black fibers to give a mist effect on bending chipboard.
Moisture Content The amount of water in boxboard expressed as a percent of factory paper weight of the test sample.
Moistureproof A coating, extrusion or laminated barrier which resists the passage of moisture through a package.
News Vat Lined Chipboard A combination boxboard made on a cylinder machine from chip and a news liner waste newspaper stock.
Offset Lithography The lithographic printing process by which a photographically made ink receptive image on flexible metal plates is transferred by means of a rubber blanket to boxboard or the material being printed.
Offset Powder A powder applied to the surface of a litho-printed sheet to prevent the ink from transferring (offsetting) to the surface of the adjacent sheet as the sheets are stacked off the delivery end of the printing press.
Overprint To print additional material, such as a varnish or another color, on a previously printed sheet.
Overwrap A plain or printed sheet of paper, foil or flexible film applied over a filled carton or tray for decorative or protective purposes.
Package A container that provides protection and identification, and promotes the sale and use of a product.
Pallet A low, portable platform of wood, metal, plastic, or fiberboard which facilitates the handling, storage, and transportation of materials as a unit.
Panel A face, side, top or bottom of a folding carton.
Paperboard A general term descriptive of a sheet of fibrous material usually made on a cylinder or fourdrinier machine from either virgin wood fiber (pulp), or recycled paper stock (old newspapers, old corrugated), or a combination of these fiber sources. Paperboard differs from paper in that it is heavier, thicker, and more rigid. The two general classifications of paperboard are containerboard, which is used principally in making corrugated and solid fiber boxes; and boxboard, the bending grades of which are used in the manufacture of folding cartons.
Patent Coated Boxboard A combination white vat lined board made on a cylinder machine. One or both sides of the board consists of bleached raw material and center plies are generally of less expensive grade.
Platen The flat mounting plates of a press to which the entire printing assembly is fastened.
Ply One of the layers of boxboard formed on a multi-cylinder paperboard making machine. Each cylinder adds one web or ply to others which are pressed together and dried to achieve the desired thickness.
Point A term used to designate the thickness of boxboard. One point is one thousandth of an inch. See “Caliper.”
Polymerization A chemical reaction in which the molecules of a monomer (simple chemical) are linked together to form large molecules whose weight is a multiple of that original substance.
Prepress Collective activities of preparing copy for printing. In an analog workflow, it includes color separation, production of films, analog proofs, using the film to make printing plates, and the make-ready of the press. In a digital workflow, this would include manipulating digital files for producing the printing plates, digital proofing, and make-ready of the press.
Proof A trial impression made in conjunction with a printing process to determine the need for corrections. Impressions must be taken singly from each colorplate of a set, showing each color alone, and in combination with each of the other colors in proper sequence. Proofs should be made on the board and with the inks to be used for actual production.
Pulp The basic cellulose fibers resulting from the disintegration of wood, rags or other vegetable matter by chemical and/or mechanical processes or combination from which all paper and paperboard are made.
Ragger A device which removes rags and similar contaminants from recycled material during the pulping operation. Normally installed on a beater machine.
Recycled Material (Fiber) Reclaimed material which, after repulping, is used as one of the two principal furnishes for paper or paperboard. This includes boxboard cuttings, over-issue newspaper, reclaimed corrugated containers, mixed paper, tabulating cards, envelope cuttings, kraft cuttings, etc.
Registration (or Register) Accuracy of imposition to secure correct alignment of the printed color-to-color areas of a multi-color design image and of the design-to-scores shown on a die sheet. Also, the correct placement of the design on the printed areas or items. Color-to-color is usually referred to as “printing register.” Design-to-scoring is called “cutting register.”
Regular Number The quantity of boxboard sheets, 25” x 40” (1,000 square inches) required to make a bundle of 50 pounds.
Reverse Plate A plate on which the reproduction of an original design is produced in negative form.
Rotary Die The die used in the rotary diecutting process.
Rotary Diecutting Cutting and creasing by means of arcuate metal dies mounted on a backup cylinder so as to permit continuous cutting and scoring of a paperboard sheet.
Rotary Press A press on which both the printing and impression surfaces are cylindrical.
Rotogravure An intaglio printing process using cylinders on which an image is etched in the form of a series of cells. These cells are filled with ink and the excess removed by means of a doctor blade. Ink from the wells is transferred by the rotary action of the press to the board in either sheet or web form. (See “Gravure”)
Score A crease along which the adjacent elements of a diecut carton blank are folded without cracking or breaking to form a carton.
Stock A term referring to the materials that go into a sheet of paperboard in the state in which they exist just prior to going through the papermaking machine.
Stock Box A carton which is manufactured in large quantities in advance of sale and sold in smaller quantities, usually to retailers.
Stripping Removal of the excess board around or in carton blanks after diecutting. This may be done either by hand or mechanically.
Styles Folding cartons are made in a great variety of constructions. There is no standard numerical classification of styles, as they are identified by descriptive names and the proprietary designations of their inventors or manufacturers. In the Federal Specification “Boxes, Folding Paperboard” (PPP-B-566a) styles are listed by Roman numerals with variations in construction referred to as “types” with Arabic numbers, and “classes” with lower case letters.
Taber Unit Unit of measurement used to determine the stiffness (resistance to bending) of a material such as paper or paperboard.
Tear Strip A perforated band made in a carton blank to facilitate opening the package after it has been filled and sealed. Also a narrow ribbon of film, cord, etc., usually incorporated mechanically in a wrapper, overwrap, or the carton itself.
Thumbhole A semi-circular or triangular cut made in the sides or ends of cartons to facilitate opening of the package. Also, semi-circular openings used on multi-packs for inserting fingers to carry the package.
Tray Style Carton A structure developed from a flat blank comprised of a base and at least three hinge-connected side or end panels, which in turn are connected at the corners by adhesive or mechanical means to form an open top carton.
Trim Size The maximum width that can be efficiently produced on a paperboard manufacturing machine, printing press or paperboard converting machine, minus an allowance for trimming off edges. The size of something after a trimming operation.
Tube Style Carton A structure developed from a flat blank comprised of a series of three or more hinge-connected panels, which have the free vertical edges of the outermost panels connected by adhesive or mechanical means to form a carton open at both ends.
U-Board A “U”-shaped boxboard configuration of a body and two ends or sides scored to provide rigidity and facilitate overwrapping of product with flexible packaging material.
Ultraviolet (UV) Inks Solventless printing inks which incorporate liquid photopolymers that release free radicals on exposure to large doses of ultraviolet light. The radicals cause the ends to polymerize into a dry resin, eliminating the need for drying time.
Ultraviolet (UV) Coatings UV coatings are cured, or dried, by exposing the coating to ultraviolet radiation. These coatings offer excellent gloss, chemical and rub resistance.
Universal Product Code (UPC) A computerized method of registering sales information on products identified by the system. Electronic scanners are used to read pre-designated product codes at the point of actual purchase. This information is instantly fed into a computer which provides pricing information and also accumulates inventory data and synthesizes sales analysis data.
UPC Symbol A pattern of bars and spaces (which can be electronically read by a scanner) applied to a product container for use in implementing the Universal Product Code system. The symbol contains a numeric code identifying both the manufacturer and product.
UV Printing Printing with ultraviolet inks.
Vat-Lined Board Cylinder boards which have one or both of the surface linings composed of furnish different from the inner plies. They may be colored.
Vertical Reciprocating Press Press in which both the form and impression cylinders move up and down in a reciprocating motion.
Virgin Material (Fiber) Fiber gleaned from organic materials such as wood chips which has not been previously used in the manufacture of another product.
Water Based (inks/coatings) See “Aqueous” (inks/coatings).
Waxing The application of paraffin to printed board or carton blanks as a preservative coating resulting in a high-gloss or impregnated finish.
Web A continuous sheet of boxboard or other flexible material coming from the machine which produces it. It may be slit and rewound into rolls or cut into sheets. Also refers to belt or blanket on which boxboard is conveyed through papermaking machines. Roll stock is used on some printing and converting equipment.
Wet Strength Board A specially treated board, usually kraft, that is resistant to moisture. Wet strength board is often used for beverage carriers, frozen foods, or in applications where the board will be exposed to excessive amounts of moisture, condensation, etc. (see Carrier Board)
Window A diecut opening in a carton blank which provides visibility of contents, usually covered with a transparent film. Sometimes referred to as an aperture.
Abrasion Damage caused to the surfaces of a carton by friction or the rubbing of adjacent objects such as other cartons or the walls of shipping containers; also referred to as rubbing and scuffing.
Absorption The penetration of one substance into another; for example certain printing inks into boxboard.
Adhesive Any viscous substance such as animal or vegetable glues, resins, dextrins or paste used in the manufacture and closure of folding cartons; or used to bond one material to another as in laminating.
Anti-oxidant Board Boxboard chemically treated to increase the shelf life of foods containing fats and oils by retarding rancidity of such products when packaged in cartons made of it. The treatment does not change the appearance of the board and is non-toxic and odorless.
Anti-tarnish Board Boxboard chemically treated to retard development of tarnish which may result from packaging non-ferrous items, such as brass and silver.
Aqueous (inks/coatings) Water based inks and coatings widely used in the industry, replacing solvent based materials to reduce or eliminate the use of volatile organic chemicals (VOC’s) from the converting process.
Back Liner See “Bottom Liner.”
Band A strip of paper or board wrapped around the top, bottom, and sides or ends of a package or other object to cover them without being turned in.
Basis Weight The specification of boxboard as density of weight per unit area. In the U.S., it is measured as “pounds per thousand square feet” and in Europe, as “grams per square meter” (gsm). It ranges from a light weight of 60 pounds per thousand square feet to as heavy as 200 pounds per thousand square feet in a single ply; however, any one machine is ordinarily not capable of making this complete range.
Beater A large mixer in which stock is prepared. The fibers are mechanically treated in the beater while additional ingredients are mixed in.
Ben Day A shadowing effect in printing derived from engravings made by a mechanical shading machine.
Bending Board A descriptive term applied to any boxboard which, when properly scored, will sustain a single fold through 180 degrees without breaking the outer fibers or separating the plies.
Bending Chipboard The least expensive grade of boxboard used in the manufacture of folding cartons, composed principally of recycled fiber.
B-Flute A structure made from containerboard grades of paperboard. Corrugated consists of a medium, that has been fluted on a corrugator, to which one (single-face) or two sheets (double-face) of linerboard are attached to create the structure. A double-face corrugated container is referred to as a single-wall container. The height of the B-fluted material is 1/8"
Billboard (1) Term used to describe the front or face panel of a carton as it sits in the display rack. (2) The pop-up display panel of the typical counter display.
Bimetal Plate A lithographic plate used for long runs. The printing image basis is copper or brass while the non-printing area is aluminum, stainless steel, or chromium.
Blank A folding carton after cutting and creasing but before folding and gluing.
Blanket A rubber surfaced fabric used in offset lithography which is clamped around the cylinder and transfers the image from plate to paper.
Blister A plastic dome or bubble, usually transparent, attached to a piece of boxboard to form a package.
Bogus Papers and paperboards which are manufactured from inferior materials in imitation of higher quality grades.
Bottom Liner The surface of the boxboard which forms the interior of the carton, also called the “back-liner”.
Box (1) A term describing unit container made from (a) non-bending grades of paperboard, i.e., set-up box; or (b) shipping container containerboard grades of corrugated or solid fiber, i.e., corrugated or solid fiber boxes. (2) The term used to distinguish set-up, corrugated or solid fiber unit containers from cartons made from bending grades of paperboard.
Boxboard A term used to describe bending and non-bending grades of the fibrous material used in the manufacture of folding cartons, set-up boxes, fiber cans and the like. In the folding carton industry this term is used interchangeably with the terms “board,” “paperboard,” or “folding boxboard.” (See Paperboard)
Brightness The quality of white intensity as measured by the percent of reflectance of a boxboard surface compared to a standard block of magnesium oxide by means of an optical instrument and expressed in “points of brightness.” The recognized test procedure is TAPPI’s Standard T 452m.
Brush Finish A finish produced by running dried clay coated boxboard against rapidly revolving cylindrical brushes.
Bundle (1) The unit of boxboard containing sheets weighing 50 pounds. The quantity of sheets varies with their size, weight and caliper; but the weight of 50 pounds per bundle is fixed. (2) Bundle also refers to a quantity of finished cartons.
Calender A group or stack of rollers between which paperboard is passed under controlled conditions of speed, heat and pressure, in order to give the material thickness, coating or surface finish.
Caliper A dimensional term used interchangeably with the word “thickness” in connection with paperboard. It is expressed in units of thousandths of an inch and is usually written decimally but may be referred to as “points.”
Carded Packaging Packaging that consists of a stiff paperboard card onto which a product is held by a preformed plastic blister (blister card) or by a film vacuumed onto the product and card (skin or contour packaging). Blister cards are usually covered with a special coating that allows the blister to be heat sealed to the card.
Carton A unit container made from bending grades of boxboard. It is a shortened term for “folding carton,” the preferred designation for folding boxes, folding paper boxes and folding paperboard boxes. The word carton does not refer to set-up boxes, corrugated or solid fiber shipping containers.
Carrier Board A term referring to board, usually Kraft, used for beverage carriers. It is often specially treated to impart water resistance since beverage carriers encounter significant moisture. (See “wet strength”)
Cellulose Fiber Paperboard’s primary component. A carbohydrate constituent of the walls and skeletons of vegetable cells having the chemical composition of (C6H10O5)n.
Chase A metal frame in which plates are locked for diecutting and letterpress printing.
Chipboard A low quality, non-test paperboard made of waste paper for use where specified strength or quality are not necessary. May be bending or non-bending grades.
Clay-Coated Board A high grade bending boxboard, the top surface of which has been coated with a fine clay that provides an excellent printing surface.
Coating A substance applied in liquid form to the surface of boxboard to enhance and protect printing or impart special functional properties. Coatings include varnishes, water based, and energy curable coatings such as ultraviolet (UV) or infrared.
Color Transparency A full-color positive image on a transparent support and rendered in natural colors, used in the preparation of multicolor printing plates.
Color Control Measurements taken during the printing operation to insure that the inks match the approved progressive color proofs or other color standards for a carton; and to maintain uniformity of ink film thickness and color value during the production run.
Colored Boxboards Any grade of boxboard colored during manufacture by the addition of pigments or dyes to the liner pulp in the beaters.
Computer Aided Design (CAD) The use of a computer drafting software to design folding cartons. The CAD program also provides information for layout and manufacture of the dies that will be used to cut and crease the cartons (Computer Aided Manufacturing or CAM).
Computer-To-Plate (CTP) The use of an entirely digital workflow to design and transfer copy to the printing plate output device (plate setter) without the use of films.
Containerboard A general term applied to both solid fiberboard and corrugated fiberboard which are used in the manufacture of shipping containers. Containerboard grades include medium and linerboard.
Contour Packaging (a.k.a. skin packaging) The overwrapping or covering of an irregular-shaped object with a flexible film applied in connection with a paperboard base. The air surrounding the product is exhausted, thus causing the film to fit or cling closely to all parts of the packaged item.
Converter A manufacturer who fabricates folding cartons from boxboard and other packaging materials. In general can refer to any manufacturer who fabricates packaging materials from various unfinished, raw materials.
Corrugated Board A structure made from containerboard grades of paperboard. Corrugated consists of a medium, that has been fluted on a corrugator, to which one (single-face) or two sheets (double-face) of linerboard are attached to create the structure. A double-face corrugated container is referred to as a single-wall container. Corrugated is primarily used for shipping containers. The height of the fluted medium varies and is referred to by a letter. Common flute sizes are A, B, C, E, F, G and N.
Count The actual quantity of sheets of a given size, weight and caliper required to make a bundle of 50 pounds.
Creasing The production of the score or folding line in a sheet of boxboard made by pressing the board with a steel rule into a counter or female pattern on the metal surface of a platen or cylinder jacket of a cutting and creasing press.
Cut (1) The term properly applies to wood engravings and other surfaces manually engraved. It is frequently used inappropriately to mean photoengraving. (2) To pierce or shear completely through a sheet of paperboard; i.e., to cut carton blanks from a sheet of paperboard.
Cut Score Piercing partially through a sheet of paperboard.
Cut and Crease An alternative to a crease score wherein the fold line is made up of a series of alternating cuts and creases.
Cutting and Creasing Die Steel rule forms used on cutting and creasing presses to cut and score sheets of boxboard into folding carton blanks.
Cylinder Board Boxboard made on a papermaking machine characterized by the use of a series of cylinders or molds, each laying down a single layer (or ply) of fiber, which permits wide variation in the thickness or weight of the finished board as well as a variation in the furnish used in the different layers, or plies, of the sheet. There is a grain in the direction in which the web travels.
Cylinder Machine A paperboard making machine consisting of wire cylinders revolving in vats containing furnish of different types. Each cylinder deposits a layer of furnish on the moving web or blanket to form separate layers, the fibers of which are combined under pressure into a single sheet as the water is squeezed out.
Dampeners Cloth-covered or rubber rollers that distribute the dampening solution to the lithographic press plate.
Debossing Trade jargon for what can more precisely be described as negative embossing. Debossing is accomplished by using a male die (slug) to depress an image into the surface of paperboard usually as part of the diecutting process. In debossing a matching female die is not used.
Die A form used for shaping, cutting or stamping out parts and blanks. Usually made from hard metal but may be made of wood or other suitable material.
Diecutting The cutting of paperboard or paper by a die.
Die Stamping The process of reproducing a design, figures or lettering from engraved plates of copper, steel or other metal, usually on a die-stamping press.
Die Sheet An accurate imprint or transfer made on vinyl or oiled sheet from the die form so that the print image can be brought into exact register with the cutting and creasing rules. Also called a “strike” sheet.
Display A folding carton style designed to provide a point-of-purchase unit for holding a number of individual packages or products.
Doctor Blade (1) The part of an inking system on a gravure or flexographic press which scrapes off or removes the surplus ink from the printing cylinder before the image is transferred to the sheet or web of board or paper. (2) Also used on other machines to remove excess amounts of coatings, adhesives or other materials being applied to boxboard sheets.
Drier A substance added to ink and other material to accelerate its rate of drying.
Dust Flaps The narrow flaps extending from each side of a carton or from the sides of a top or cover that turn down into the carton before closure to keep foreign particles out.
E-Flute A structure made from containerboard grades of paperboard. Corrugated consists of a medium, that has been fluted on a corrugator, to which one (single-face) or two sheets (double-face) of linerboard are attached to create the structure. A double-face corrugated container is referred to as a single-wall container. The height of the E-fluted material is 1/16"
Electron Beam An alternative protective coating curing technique to ultraviolet (UV) or more conventional heat drying of varnishes or lacquers.
Electrotypes Duplicate printing plates made by the electrical deposition of copper or nickel over molds pressed from original engravings or type. For maximum press life, electrotypes may be chrome plated. For economy, several small electrotypes may be molded or soldered together to make a pattern plate from which actual duplicate printing plates are in turn produced.
Embossing (1) Raising the letters or areas of a design above the flat surface of carton blanks or paper sheets by means of pressure applied through the action of male and female dies on cutting and creasing presses. (2) Embossing done by means of engraved rollers on sheet and web fed converting equipment.
Embossing, Blind The embossing of a design on unprinted paper or paperboard.
Engraving In the graphic arts and converting industries, this term is often used in referring to original photoengravings from which the actual printing plates are duplicated or produced.
Etching The process of making a design on a metal plate by a corrosive substance or by cutting it with a sharp tool.
Facing(s) A marketing term indicating the outwardly visible panel of a carton at retail display (facing panel) or the number of cartons displayed in a given set of vertical and horizontal dimensions; i.e., 8 facings in a 2’ x 2’ display rack.
Felt The porous belt which carries the newly formed paperboard through the papermaking machine until the sheet is stable enough to continue without support.
Fiber (1) A small thread-like cellulose unit of vegetable growth obtained from plants such as trees, sugar cane, cotton, jute, etc., from which paper and board are made. (2) In packaging, this designates converted paperboard products such as fiberboard, fiber boxes, fiber containers or fiber drums.
Fiberboard The general term indicating boxboard that contains center plies of a different furnish than used for the top and bottom liners.
Filler (1) The inner ply or plies of a multiple layer boxboard. (2) A loading material, such as clay, used in coating paper or board.
Film A flexible plastic material, generally transparent, used as windows in cartons; or for overwraps and laminates. It is extruded, cast or calendered.
Finish The term used to designate the density of boxboard and the change in smoothness incidental to change of weight. There are four standard finishes designated by numbers 1 to 4; the number 1 indicating the lowest density and number 4 the highest density.
Flap One of the closing members of a folding carton, an envelope or corrugated container.
Flexography A printing process by which fluid, quick drying ink is transferred by a relief-molded, flexible rubber plate to a fast-moving web through rotary action.
Flock Finely cut cloth fibers blown or shaken on adhesive-coated boxboard or cartons to produce a velour or suede finish.
Foil Thin gauged aluminum used in packaging as a laminate to board, or as an overwrap, to increase eye appeal and to provide functional properties such as resistance to heat, grease and water.
Foil Stamping The impressing of lettering or a design through foil upon a carton blank by means of a heated die or type. Also called “hot stamping.”
Folding Carton Generally accepted designation of containers made by bending grades of plain or printed boxboard, cut and creased in a variety of sizes and shapes; delivered to the user in a flat, or glued and collapsed form.
Forty-eight/Forty (48/40) Term referring to a pallet size of 48” by 40” which optimizes space utilization of trailers and most warehousing systems.
Fourdrinier Machine Paperboard making machine (usually makes solid board) using an endless traveling wire screen on which the furnish is deposited. The screen shakes as it travels, knotting the fibers into a homogeneous sheet. Some grain direction discernible.
Frame Structural description of the end and/or side wall components of a tray type of folding carton, diecut and scored to form a shoulder or enclosing border to protect and enhance the display of the contents.
Furnish The mixture of pulp, paper scrap, sizing, water, dyes, and other additives fed to the wet-end of a paper or board making machine from which paper or board is formed. The wet-end furnish is approx. 94% water; finished sheet ranges from 5% to 7% water.
Glassine A supercalendered, smooth, dense, transparent or semi-transparent paper manufactured primarily from chemical wood pulps. It is grease resistant and when waxed, lacquered or laminated is highly impervious to the transmission of moisture vapor. It is used extensively as a protective carton liner or inner bag for food and many other products.
Gloss The term used to express shine, sheen or luster of the surface of boxboard or cartons. It varies according to the nature of the board stock itself, or may be imparted to the board or carton blank by coating, printing, or laminating.
Glue A commonly used synonym for the word adhesive. The term should actually apply only to those gelatinous adhesives extracted from the bones, skin, etc., of animals and fish by hot water.
Gluing The operation of applying an adhesive substance to the surface of a material which causes it to bond or adhere to another.
Glue Flap Structural element of a folding carton blank used to adhesively secure one panel to another.
Grain The longitudinal arrangement of the fibers in paper or paperboard which results as they settle in the direction parallel with the travel of the paper or board machine. Direction of the grain is important in carton design because greater tearing strength exists across the grain, and greater tensile strength in grain direction. Grain is more pronounced in paperboard made on a cylinder machine than on paperboard made on a fourdrinier machine.
Gravure Printing (Rotogravure) An intaglio printing process using cylinders on which an image is etched in the form of a series of cells. These cells are filled with ink and the excess removed by means of a doctor blade. Ink from the wells is transferred by the rotary action of the press to the board in either sheet or web form.
Greaseproof Board Paperboard which has been treated or laminated to provide resistance to the penetration of greasy or oily substances. Treatment may include such coatings as casein, lacquer, hot melt polyvinyl, resin or silicate. Glassine and other greaseproof papers may be laminated to board to provide this quality.
Grippers The metal fingers that clamp onto the edge of the paperboard and control its flow through the press.
Halftone The printed reproduction of a photograph, painting or other art subject whose varying tone values are derived from different sized, closely spaced dots of ink transferred from engravings, plates or cylinders into which the original image has been made photographically through a fine mesh screen pattern. Such reproductions are generally made in conjunction with letterpress, offset and gravure printing, and to a lesser extent flexography.
Halftone Engraving A metal or plastic plate from which the tone values of halftone reproduction are obtained during the printing operation. While the term may be used alone it is usually prefaced by another word to indicate the material from which it is made; such as copper, zinc, magnesium or plastic.
Halftone Negative (or Positive) The exposed photographic film or glass onto which the tone values of a subject are converted through a halftone screen. The negative or positive image is transferred in the succeeding steps toward the preparation of a halftone film for plate/cylinder preparation.
Heat Seal The uniting of two or more surfaces by the fusion of coatings or base materials under controlled conditions of temperature, pressure and time.
Heat Seal Coatings Materials applied to board, in a liquid form, and dried which may be reactivated by heating to about 225° to 250° F.
Holography The method of producing a three dimensional image in foil or film utilizing interference patterns from a split laser beam.
Hot Stamping The impressing of lettering or a design through foil upon a carton blank by means of a heated die or type.
Impression Transferring an image to boxboard from a printing plate, blanket or cylinder by one of the printing processes. It may be a single color design or one in a series of multi-color patterns.
Imprint (1) The trade mark or legend reproduced on a carton during the process of printing to identify the manufacturer. (2) The subsequent printing of additional identifying information on a previously printed carton blank such as stock retail boxes.
Inhibitor A substance added to the furnish, coating or laminate of boxboard to retard or prevent deterioration of a carton or its contents by chemical reaction.
Ink A fluid or viscous substance consisting of pigments, dyes or other materials dispersed in a carrier or vehicle by means of which a printing press imparts the desired image on boxboard. Character of the ink varies according to the printing process and application.
Ink Receptivity The degree of penetration of printing inks on the surface of boxboard.
Insert A piece of paperboard which is not an integral part of a carton but is used in connection with one carton to perform a special function in separating, holding, or protecting the contents in position as a block, base, cushion, compartment or partition. Such inserts may serve as platforms, steps or frames for displaying the products within a carton.
Jordan A machine which mechanically bruises the pulp fibers, causing fibrillation and hydration, while serving to produce a more uniform mixture of water and other fibers.
Kraft Paper or paperboard made from virgin pulp produced by the sulfate process. Natural kraft is unbleached and has a characteristic light brown color; bleached kraft is a sheet having a higher brightness rating then natural kraft.
K.D.F. A term used by public carriers in referring to boxes (cartons) other than corrugated when Knocked Down Flat.
Lacquer A type of coating, applied in liquid form to boxboard, for protective or decorative purposes.
Laminated Board A combination of different kinds of boxboards, films, foils, papers or other materials bonded by adhesives in webs or sheets. May also be designated as “lined board.”
Letterpress Printing The printing process by which ink is transferred from the raised portions of printing plates or type to board.
Liner The outer or inner ply of a sheet of cylinder board.
Lithography A printing process using plates whose printing surfaces are partially water repellent and partially ink (oil) repellent. The plates are made of flexible sheets of metal, such as zinc or aluminum, or of two metals as in bimetal plates. These plates are photographically imposed, chemically etched and run on either sheet-fed or roll-fed presses. The term lithography is often shortened to “litho.”
Litho-laminating The process of laminating litho pre-printed sheets to a single-face corrugated structure, forming a complete double-face structure.
Make-Ready General preparatory operations prior to the actual production of printing, or cutting and creasing. It usually involves the adjustment of the impression by overlaying or underlaying the printing plates; the cutting of the female part of the die. Also used in connection with finishing machines such as gluer, waxer, windower.
Manila Board Boxboard made principally from mechanical ground wood pulp used largely for packaging foods. It has a light straw color and a suitable surface for printing.
Manufacturer’s Joint The mechanical connection between two panels to create a tube. In the classic four-panel tube, the manufacturer’s joint is comprised of a flap and an adhesively secured overlying panel.
Metallic Ink Bronze or aluminum powder suspended in an appropriate vehicle and applied as a printing ink to produce designs with a metallic luster on the surface being printed. In addition to the natural metals, lustrous tints of other colors may be produced by adding small amounts of transparent color to aluminum inks.
Mini-Flute A term used for corrugated boards with small flute heights. These boards can be printed and converted on folding carton equipment with minor modifications. Also referred to as small flute boards, mini-flute boards include E, F, G and N flute.
Mist Lined Chipboards Colored manila top liner boxboard containing some long black fibers to give a mist effect on bending chipboard.
Moisture Content The amount of water in boxboard expressed as a percent of factory paper weight of the test sample.
Moistureproof A coating, extrusion or laminated barrier which resists the passage of moisture through a package.
News Vat Lined Chipboard A combination boxboard made on a cylinder machine from chip and a news liner waste newspaper stock.
Offset Lithography The lithographic printing process by which a photographically made ink receptive image on flexible metal plates is transferred by means of a rubber blanket to boxboard or the material being printed.
Offset Powder A powder applied to the surface of a litho-printed sheet to prevent the ink from transferring (offsetting) to the surface of the adjacent sheet as the sheets are stacked off the delivery end of the printing press.
Overprint To print additional material, such as a varnish or another color, on a previously printed sheet.
Overwrap A plain or printed sheet of paper, foil or flexible film applied over a filled carton or tray for decorative or protective purposes.
Package A container that provides protection and identification, and promotes the sale and use of a product.
Pallet A low, portable platform of wood, metal, plastic, or fiberboard which facilitates the handling, storage, and transportation of materials as a unit.
Panel A face, side, top or bottom of a folding carton.
Paperboard A general term descriptive of a sheet of fibrous material usually made on a cylinder or fourdrinier machine from either virgin wood fiber (pulp), or recycled paper stock (old newspapers, old corrugated), or a combination of these fiber sources. Paperboard differs from paper in that it is heavier, thicker, and more rigid. The two general classifications of paperboard are containerboard, which is used principally in making corrugated and solid fiber boxes; and boxboard, the bending grades of which are used in the manufacture of folding cartons.
Patent Coated Boxboard A combination white vat lined board made on a cylinder machine. One or both sides of the board consists of bleached raw material and center plies are generally of less expensive grade.
Platen The flat mounting plates of a press to which the entire printing assembly is fastened.
Ply One of the layers of boxboard formed on a multi-cylinder paperboard making machine. Each cylinder adds one web or ply to others which are pressed together and dried to achieve the desired thickness.
Point A term used to designate the thickness of boxboard. One point is one thousandth of an inch. See “Caliper.”
Polymerization A chemical reaction in which the molecules of a monomer (simple chemical) are linked together to form large molecules whose weight is a multiple of that original substance.
Prepress Collective activities of preparing copy for printing. In an analog workflow, it includes color separation, production of films, analog proofs, using the film to make printing plates, and the make-ready of the press. In a digital workflow, this would include manipulating digital files for producing the printing plates, digital proofing, and make-ready of the press.
Proof A trial impression made in conjunction with a printing process to determine the need for corrections. Impressions must be taken singly from each colorplate of a set, showing each color alone, and in combination with each of the other colors in proper sequence. Proofs should be made on the board and with the inks to be used for actual production.
Pulp The basic cellulose fibers resulting from the disintegration of wood, rags or other vegetable matter by chemical and/or mechanical processes or combination from which all paper and paperboard are made.
Ragger A device which removes rags and similar contaminants from recycled material during the pulping operation. Normally installed on a beater machine.
Recycled Material (Fiber) Reclaimed material which, after repulping, is used as one of the two principal furnishes for paper or paperboard. This includes boxboard cuttings, over-issue newspaper, reclaimed corrugated containers, mixed paper, tabulating cards, envelope cuttings, kraft cuttings, etc.
Registration (or Register) Accuracy of imposition to secure correct alignment of the printed color-to-color areas of a multi-color design image and of the design-to-scores shown on a die sheet. Also, the correct placement of the design on the printed areas or items. Color-to-color is usually referred to as “printing register.” Design-to-scoring is called “cutting register.”
Regular Number The quantity of boxboard sheets, 25” x 40” (1,000 square inches) required to make a bundle of 50 pounds.
Reverse Plate A plate on which the reproduction of an original design is produced in negative form.
Rotary Die The die used in the rotary diecutting process.
Rotary Diecutting Cutting and creasing by means of arcuate metal dies mounted on a backup cylinder so as to permit continuous cutting and scoring of a paperboard sheet.
Rotary Press A press on which both the printing and impression surfaces are cylindrical.
Rotogravure An intaglio printing process using cylinders on which an image is etched in the form of a series of cells. These cells are filled with ink and the excess removed by means of a doctor blade. Ink from the wells is transferred by the rotary action of the press to the board in either sheet or web form. (See “Gravure”)
Score A crease along which the adjacent elements of a diecut carton blank are folded without cracking or breaking to form a carton.
Stock A term referring to the materials that go into a sheet of paperboard in the state in which they exist just prior to going through the papermaking machine.
Stock Box A carton which is manufactured in large quantities in advance of sale and sold in smaller quantities, usually to retailers.
Stripping Removal of the excess board around or in carton blanks after diecutting. This may be done either by hand or mechanically.
Styles Folding cartons are made in a great variety of constructions. There is no standard numerical classification of styles, as they are identified by descriptive names and the proprietary designations of their inventors or manufacturers. In the Federal Specification “Boxes, Folding Paperboard” (PPP-B-566a) styles are listed by Roman numerals with variations in construction referred to as “types” with Arabic numbers, and “classes” with lower case letters.
Taber Unit Unit of measurement used to determine the stiffness (resistance to bending) of a material such as paper or paperboard.
Tear Strip A perforated band made in a carton blank to facilitate opening the package after it has been filled and sealed. Also a narrow ribbon of film, cord, etc., usually incorporated mechanically in a wrapper, overwrap, or the carton itself.
Thumbhole A semi-circular or triangular cut made in the sides or ends of cartons to facilitate opening of the package. Also, semi-circular openings used on multi-packs for inserting fingers to carry the package.
Tray Style Carton A structure developed from a flat blank comprised of a base and at least three hinge-connected side or end panels, which in turn are connected at the corners by adhesive or mechanical means to form an open top carton.
Trim Size The maximum width that can be efficiently produced on a paperboard manufacturing machine, printing press or paperboard converting machine, minus an allowance for trimming off edges. The size of something after a trimming operation.
Tube Style Carton A structure developed from a flat blank comprised of a series of three or more hinge-connected panels, which have the free vertical edges of the outermost panels connected by adhesive or mechanical means to form a carton open at both ends.
U-Board A “U”-shaped boxboard configuration of a body and two ends or sides scored to provide rigidity and facilitate overwrapping of product with flexible packaging material.
Ultraviolet (UV) Inks Solventless printing inks which incorporate liquid photopolymers that release free radicals on exposure to large doses of ultraviolet light. The radicals cause the ends to polymerize into a dry resin, eliminating the need for drying time.
Ultraviolet (UV) Coatings UV coatings are cured, or dried, by exposing the coating to ultraviolet radiation. These coatings offer excellent gloss, chemical and rub resistance.
Universal Product Code (UPC) A computerized method of registering sales information on products identified by the system. Electronic scanners are used to read pre-designated product codes at the point of actual purchase. This information is instantly fed into a computer which provides pricing information and also accumulates inventory data and synthesizes sales analysis data.
UPC Symbol A pattern of bars and spaces (which can be electronically read by a scanner) applied to a product container for use in implementing the Universal Product Code system. The symbol contains a numeric code identifying both the manufacturer and product.
UV Printing Printing with ultraviolet inks.
Vat-Lined Board Cylinder boards which have one or both of the surface linings composed of furnish different from the inner plies. They may be colored.
Vertical Reciprocating Press Press in which both the form and impression cylinders move up and down in a reciprocating motion.
Virgin Material (Fiber) Fiber gleaned from organic materials such as wood chips which has not been previously used in the manufacture of another product.
Water Based (inks/coatings) See “Aqueous” (inks/coatings).
Waxing The application of paraffin to printed board or carton blanks as a preservative coating resulting in a high-gloss or impregnated finish.
Web A continuous sheet of boxboard or other flexible material coming from the machine which produces it. It may be slit and rewound into rolls or cut into sheets. Also refers to belt or blanket on which boxboard is conveyed through papermaking machines. Roll stock is used on some printing and converting equipment.
Wet Strength Board A specially treated board, usually kraft, that is resistant to moisture. Wet strength board is often used for beverage carriers, frozen foods, or in applications where the board will be exposed to excessive amounts of moisture, condensation, etc. (see Carrier Board)
Window A diecut opening in a carton blank which provides visibility of contents, usually covered with a transparent film. Sometimes referred to as an aperture.
