| Fading |
The destruction of colouring matter in a printed surface as a result
of ageing, weathering or exposure to sunlight. |
| Feathering |
Wisps
of ink around the printed image, normally caused by static charges
in the component or pad. Can be a result from the ink being too
thick. Also called static, splashes, wisps. |
| Filler |
The
material used for blocking out. Also a material added to an ink
to increase opacity. Much cheaper than pigment. Normally this is
chalk or china clay. |
| Finger
Print a Press |
Determination
of the print characteristics of a printing press. This will give
the dot gain curves to allow compensation during production of original
file. |
| Finish |
The
surface property of a material determined by its surface contour
and gloss. |
| Fish
Eye |
A
fault in the stencil emulsion normally caused by dirty mesh. An
undesirable circular flaw in the printed image usually caused by
bubbling of the ink. |
| Flaking |
Lifting
of the ink from the underlying surface in the form of flakes or
scales (poor adhesion). |
| Flaming/Flame
Treatment |
The
treatment of the surface of polyethylene and polypropylene by passing
through a gas/air flame (alternative system to Corona Discharge).
Can also be used to accelerate the drying of ink |
| Flammable
Liquid |
A
liquid having a flash point below 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees
C). |
| Flare |
Non
image-forming illumination, e.g., scattered light that causes a
"haze." |
| Flashpoint |
The
minimum temperature of a saturated vapour of a specified liquid
at which the vapour will ignite in the presence of a spark or flame.
The flashpoint is an arbitrary figure and depends on the method
of test. |
| Flat
Colour |
A
technique of imaging graphics from regions of solid colour with
no gradations at all. Often used in fabric and wallpaper imaging. |
| Flat
Or Matte Finish |
A
low-gloss finish, with little reflective quality. |
| Flatbed
Scanner |
A
scanner that utilises CCD linear arrays, where the image is placed
on a glass platen, and the array moves past the artwork. |
| Flexible |
The
degree to which an ink film, after drying, is able to conform to
movement or deformation of its supporting surface without cracking
or flaking. |
| Flexography |
Printing
from a rubber roller; i.e. direct rotary printing using resilient
raised image plates. |
| Flocculation |
The
process by which an aggregation of pigment particles in ink form
clusters or chains changing the hue and/or chroma of that ink. Also
called Livering. |
| Flock |
Flock
is precision-cut lengths of nylon or rayon fibres which vary in
length from .5 mm to 5 mm and also vary in denier. It is applied
electrostatically onto an adhesive. |
| Florida
45 |
A
weathering panel exposed in Florida at 45 degrees to the sky and
facing south. Generally, considered to be one of the harshest exposures
to sunlight. |
| Flow |
The
degree to which a wet ink film can flow out after application so
as to eliminate marks and thus produce a uniform surface on drying. |
| Flow
Agent |
An
additive used to disturb the surface tension and increase the ink
flow. |
| Fluorescence |
A
physical process at which the materials pigments absorb light and
re-radiate this light as a different colour, giving the colour of
the material extra light or brilliance. |
| Flush |
Refers
to an object that is mounted directly to a surface, with no raised
surface space between, i.e.: "Flush Mount Letters." |
| FM
(Frequency-Modulated Screening) |
A
dithering method that uses uniform dot sizes and varies the distance
between them. This method is different from conventional halftone
screening, which aligns dots of varying sizes on a regular grid. |
| Foil |
Term
for donor medium for thermal-transfer printing; usually involves
wax-based or resin-based colorant on rolls of thin plastic that
travel over heated print head and are placed on a substrate by combinations
of heat and pressure by the printer. Also, a very thin, metal sheet
of various alloys used mainly as an overlay, veneer, or cut out
appliqué. |
| Font |
Historically,
an assortment of letters and/or numbers, all the same size and type
having a pre-determined amount of each letter or number. The term
today refers generically to letter styles. |
| Foot
candles, LUX |
A
unit used to measure light, a measure of illuminance, light level
incident on a surface. LUX x .0929 = Foot candles |
| Four
Colour Process |
Printing
Reproducing full colour by photographically separating the art into
its three primary colours: process yellow, magenta and cyan plus
process black and printing them in that configuration. All these
colours are transparent. |
| Full
Bleed |
Printing
term used when an image or background extends to the final trim
edge of a printed page |
