| B.S. |
British
Standard. |
| Base |
A
material which in itself is not an ink, but which may be used to
produce an ink, as in extender base. |
| Binder |
The
non-volatile portion of the vehicle of an ink; it binds the pigment
particles together to form the ink film and binds that film to the
material to which it is applied. |
| Black |
The
fourth colour in four-colour printing. It is listed as the K in
"CMYK." Black is required in the printing process because
equal amounts of cyan, magenta and yellow inks will not produce
a true black; ideally, the complete absorption of incident light;
the absence of any reflection. In the practical sense, any colour
which is close to this ideal in a relative viewing situation, i.e.
a colour of very low saturation and of low luminance. |
| Black
Generation |
The
addition of black ink to the other process colours when separating
an RGB colour image into CMYK colours. Black generation is typically
handled in one of two ways, GCR or UCR. |
| Bleaching |
Loss
of colour in an ink. This may be due to internal chemical or physical
action in the ink itself; to influences from the surface on which
it is applied; or to weathering or contamination from the atmosphere. |
| Bleed |
Migration
of an ink component or dye into an area it is not wanted. Can also
be the running of a pigment colour by action of the solvent. Also:
Extension of an image or background beyond the trim edge of a page. |
| Bleeding
Edge |
Technology
in its first phase of development. |
| Blocking |
An
unwanted adhesion between layers of material placed in contact under
moderate pressure and/or temperature in storage or use. Usually
occurs when stacked prior to thorough drying. |
| Blocking
Out |
The
process used during stencil production where areas left without
emulsion but not part of the image are filled with a material that
stops ink passing through the mesh. |
| Bloom |
A
deposit like the bloom on a grape which sometimes forms on gloss
ink or varnish films, causing loss of gloss and dulling of the colour.
Sometimes bloom may be removed by wiping with a damp cloth. It is
usually the result of too rapid solvent evaporation which causes
condensation of moisture on the surface. |
| Blue |
One
of the three additive primary colours of light. |
| Blushing |
A
milky opalescence which sometimes develops as a film of ink dries
and is due to the deposition of moisture from the air and/or precipitation
of one or more of the solid constituents of the ink; usually confined
to inks which dry solely by solvent evaporation. |
| Body |
The
apparent viscosity of an ink or varnish, as assessed subjectively
when applying a shearing force, e.g. when pouring material from
a can, stirring it or otherwise spreading it over a surface. |
| Brightness |
Dimension
of colour that is referred to an achromatic scale, ranging from
black to white; also called lightness or luminous reflectance or
transmittance (q.v.). |
| |
Brightness
The overall intensity of the image. The lower the brightness value,
the darker the image; the higher the value, the lighter the image
will be. |
| Bronzing |
A
characteristic metallic lustre shown by certain highly coloured
pigments in full strength, e.g. certain Prussian Blues. |
| Bubbling |
A
printing defect which may result in the dry print containing a lot
of small air bubbles. |
| Build |
Another
word for ink film. |
| Butyrate |
Cellulose
based thermoplastic. |
