A colour system that can be used to generate all colours in the spectrum by mixing the primary colours (red, green and blue). White is created by mixing equal parts of red, green and blue.

The attraction between dissimilar molecules

Tesa strength defines the ability of prints to resist forces that occur when an strip of adhesive tape is torn off a printed surface. Since different results are produced depending on the type and make of adhesive tape, this method can only serve as a preliminary test for orientation purposes.

(Metering roller) An engraved or lasered metal or ceramic roller for metering printing ink in a flexographic inking system

Used in food and plastics to prevent sensitive substances from reacting to atmospheric oxygen or oxidising chemicals

Composite films that act as a barrier to restrict oxygen permeability.

Ink setoff can be severe enough to prevent the subsequent separation of the sheets of material. The rolls stick together; they block. Roll blocking caused by residual solvent is the reason for about 30% of all complaints relating to packaging printing. Such blocking can be caused by insufficient drying of the ink, incorrect or omitted binding agents, incorrect climatic storage, excessive wrapping pressure, excessive moisture in the case of alcohol inks, excessive pre-treatment of PE and PP films. Lubricant migration can cause finished bags to block.

Films are manufactured by extruding granulate, which has been heated to melting point, through slot or ring dies. The process of extruding two or more films simultaneously from two or more dies and then merging them shortly thereafter is known as coextrusion.

Is the term used in physics and chemistry to describe the forces of attraction between the atoms and/or molecules of a substance (e.g. within liquids or solids) and within the molecules. In terms of adhesives, cohesion describes the forces that bond the adhesive. These cohesive forces are responsible, on the one hand, for the consistency and flow (rheological) behaviour of the unhardened adhesive during processing and, on the other hand, for the strength of the hardened adhesive under stress.

Application of an adhesive that enables cold sealing.

Characteristics: The aim of combining films and/or combining plastic films with other materials is to achieve properties that would not be possible with one film alone. The combination very frequently aims to ensure low gas or water vapour permeability, or to achieve or improve heat sealability in other cases. Manufacturing methods: Laminating, brushing, varnishing, coating, coextruding, metallising

Convenience products are types of food that have already been subjected to certain processing phases. Convenience packaging or consumer-friendly packaging offers consumers additional benefits, such as re-sealing

A term used in the graphics industry to describe a piece of paper, card, woven fabric, etc. of any size that has been cut out of a larger piece. Printers use the term to describe the number of individual copies that can be cut out of a sheet and/or substrate.

In packaging terms, deep drawing is the manufacture of hollow containers with a smooth surface, e.g. bowls, cans, lids, etc. A distinction is made between cold and hot forming methods. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polystyrene(PS), high density polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP) are mainly used for rigid single-portion packs. Composite films made of polyamide/polyethylene or polyester/polyethylene are generally used for thin-walled, non-rigid packaging (mainly vacuum packs).

Is the term used to describe the separation of laminate compounds as a result of composite material failure

Device for measuring the density of incident and transmitted light in reproduction and printing; serves to control accuracy, quality and uniformity of the test sample

Resistance of a substance to changes in shape, e.g. of films to elongation and shrinkage

Materials that cannot be reheated and resoftened. These plastics cannot be reshaped once the structural framework has been fixed.

Material that can be repeatedly stretched to at least double its original length at room temperature and which returns to virtually its original length immediately once the application of stress is terminated

Machine for manufacturing more or less continuous lengths of plastic sections, such as bars (rods), flat materials (films, sheets), tubes (hoses) and profiles.

This continuous process is used to manufacture semifinished materials. Semifinished materials are films, boards, tubes, profiles and sheaths that require further processing to convert them into commodities. Powdered or granulated thermoplasts are used as the moulding compound.

Printing of the first side of the substrate as opposed to the reverse side.

Is the term used in packaging technology when manufacturing bags made of plastic films to describe a foldable seam created by sealing or welding inside to inside. On an overlap seam, by contrast, the outside is sealed or welded to the inside.

A rotary printing process used for packaging papers and films for which flexible plates made of rubber or plastic are used. Also known as relief process. The print plate is either a rubber stereo attached to the cylinder or an engraved rubber cylinder. Rotary machines are used for flexo printing to achieve high print runs in a short space of time. Nowadays special water-soluble or spirit-soluble inks are used instead of the aniline inks that used to be commonplace

Bag made from a single sheet of film with top, bottom and back seam

The term used to describe both the foggy effect created by unfavourable viscosities during lamination and the clouding of transparent films.

Term used for the outside print on a packaging film, whereby covering base colours or opaque white are very frequently used on transparent films which are then screen printed using multiple colours in the sequence yellow, red, blue, black.

Identically shaped tablets or grains of plastic or mixtures of plastics and compounding additives, extruded and cut into short segments in preparation for forming methods.

The motif is converted into a pattern of different sized points to simulate a half photo in colour or black and white

If reverse printed films are printed into the sealing zone, the inks must be sealable. They may not adversely impact the strength of the seam. As such, thermoplastic inks must be used that soften at sealing temperature and re-solidify once they have cooled down.

If front printed films are printed into the sealing zone, the inks must be able to withstand the sealing temperature. They may not set off on the sealing tools.

A counter-pressure cylinder, e.g. in roller gravure printing equipment, that pushes the sheet of film flat against the coating or laminating cylinder, for example.

A chamber in the printing mechanism of a flexographic printer in which the anilox roller is inked. One doctor retains the ink in the chamber while the other meters ink.

Indicates that several work steps are performed consecutively without interruption. One example of this is the manufacture of composite films whereby a film is reverse printed and then laminated with a second film.

Intaglio is the term used to describe printing methods where the printing part of the print plate is recessed. Ink is therefore pressed into the recessed cells while the surface remains free of ink.

Innovative packaging systems that are capable of monitoring the state of the packaged foods and providing information about the quality of the same during transportation and storage.

Process of bonding/laminating two films to combine the properties of the individual films

The lower part of a packaging system consisting of upper and lower film. The lower film can be deep drawn from a flexible or rigid film.

Additive that improves the sliding performance of thermoplasts, primarily films. Active ingredients: oleic acid amide (OAA), erucic acid amide (EAA). Mode of action: Lubricants are basically incompatible with the polymer and therefore migrate to the surface of the film where they form a sliding layer. Applying too high a dosage can adversely impact the properties during both printing and sealing of the film. The content of active ingredients is limited by food laws.

Modified Atmosphere Packaging. Different gases applied to the packaging and barriers (e.g. against B36 N2, O2, water vapour or UV light) in the packaging film extend the shelf life of the contents

Measured values are figures obtained from a specific test following a measuring procedure. The tolerance is the extent to which a variable can deviate before it starts jeopardising the functionability of a system.

Quantity of a thermoplastic polymer, measured in grams, that can be pressed through a specified die in the space of 10 minutes when a pre-defined force is applied.

The melting temperature Tm is the temperature at which the crystallinity in a semi-crystalline polymer decomposes under pre-defined conditions. Semi-crystalline materials possess a pre-defined melting temperature. Amorphous materials soften over a wide temperature range above glass transition temperature. They possess a melting range rather than a specific Tm.

Application of metal coating on metals, plastics, etc., by means of thermal vaporisation in a vacuum

Movement of substances. Migration can cause substances to transfer from the packaging to the contents

(see also MAP) A modified atmosphere surrounding the contents of a package differs from air. Chemical, microbial and enzymatic perishing processes are curbed by modifying the surrounding atmosphere.

Indirect mechanical planographic printing technique using a rotating system that works with a transfer roller.

means optical density. A densitometer (device for measuring transmitted light, scanning the optical density of materials) is used to compare the intensity of incident light through an optical layer with that of the beamed light

Derived term for non-transparent, cloudy

Films that are easy to pull/peel off the lower film/bowl or which enable, e.g. packets of coffee, to be opened without tearing or cutting the packaging.

Passage of gas and vapours (oxygen, carbon dioxide, aromas, solvents, water vapour) through the undamaged packaging surface.

In the widest sense of the word, plastics are organic materials with a macromolecular structure that are obtained from the conversion of natural products or the synthesis of primary materials obtained from crude oil, natural gas or coal.

Plastics manufactured by adding on monomer molecules, e.g. 2-component polyurethane adhesive system

(Synthetic) The product of a polymerisation reaction. Polymerising a monomer produces a homopolymer, monopolymer or simply polymer. The polymerisation of two monomers simultaneously produces a copolymer. The term terpolymer is used for products created by polymerising three monomers.

Production of long-chain polymers using catalysts to chemically link carbon-carbon double bonds. Unlike polycondensation, no low-molecular components are extracted (e.g. polyethylene).

A test print to demonstrate the appearance of the final result if printed using similar or identical printing machines

Bonding agent

Properties of the paper surface, such as smoothness, absorption and trapping capability

Test print to show how the final result will look

In the case of multi-coloured printing, the exact status of all colours on the sheet and/or substrate. Corresponding aids include register marks which are printed in the margin and where all colours must be exactly superimposed over each other.

Corresponds to one printing length of a plate cylinder, equivalent to one rotation of the plate cylinder drive

Reproduction of original templates (regular copies or transparencies) using various repro techniques with the aim of producing a copy for creating the print plate. Also means the reproduction of any number of copies in a wider sense

The resistance of a printed surface to scuff stress caused by two touching surfaces being pushed against each other.

Industrial printing technique based on the principle of rotation. The print plate is cylindrical and presses against an equally cylindrical object

Term used to describe an inverted reverse print on transparent film which is subsequently laminated to a second sheet. Alternatively, a transparent film can be laminated onto paper or aluminium film that is printed frontally and unreversed. The print lies between two printing materials in each case.

The resistance of glossy plastic surfaces to abrasive impacts

Surface wear, caused by scuff

Process of sealing one film with another

Stand-up pouches with punched contour for special shapes

Tubular wraparound labels that contract when heated and, as such, shrink to the bottle/container, i.e. are not glued in place

The sliding friction coefficient is the quotient of resulting friction force R and load N: = R/N

Substances that are capable of dissolving other substances

Also known as Doy pack pouches. Bags with a sealed edge and reinforced base that allows them to stand securely upright

Mainly made of PE-LLD. They are extremely elastic and mainly transparent. Film thicknesses fluctuate between 15 and 25. They are used to wrap technical goods and are stretched around pallets to secure the contents during transportation.

Elastic, tube-shaped labels that are pulled over a bottle / container and sit firmly in place, without slipping, without the need for adhesive or application of heat.

The molecule chains are stretched lengthwise or transverse (monoaxial stretching). Stretching is also possible in both directions at the same time (biaxial). Stretching exerts a strong influence on some of the properties of the film, e.g. reduces elasticity or increases the barrier effect.

Thermoplastic polymer films can be stretched in one direction, lengthwise or transverse (monoaxial), or in both directions (biaxial). The process is used to achieve the required film thickness and reduce the weight per square metre, to improve the mechanical properties, increase transparency, improve resistance to cold and reduce gas permeability. The process of stretching is mainly applied to polypropylene, polyester and polyamide films.

The material being printed (e.g. films, papers)

Is the term used when the layers of a roll of wound film slide to one side. This is due to the films being too smooth or to insufficient wrapping tension.

The force needed to produce a specific elongation of a plastic. The higher the value, the stronger is the material. Also defined as maximum elongation that a material can withstand without rupturing. Yield tensile strength is the term used if maximum elongation occurs at the yield point. Fracture tensile strength is the term used if maximum elongation occurs at breakage point.

Tear strength (N/mm²) and elongation at tear (%) are determined by slowly subjecting the test specimen to stress at a constant test speed of 100-500 mm/min. The tear strength represents the tearing force relative to the initial cross section of the sample. The elongation is determined based on the change in length relative to the clamping length. The values are measured transversely in the extrusion direction of the film.

Materials that soften when heated and solidify again when they cool down to room temperature. This process of softening and hardening can be repeated numerous times.

The upper part of a packaging system consisting of upper and lower film. (see also lower film)

The degree of thickness. It is based on internal molecular friction and is measured using a viscometer.

Is determined by measuring the water vapour permeability. Which in turn gauges the leak tightness of the packaging material. Water vapour permeability (WVP) is expressed as the quantity of water vapour in g that leaks through a test surface measuring 1 m² over a period of 24 hours under specified conditions.