Glossary

The PRINTING United Alliance Glossary serves as an excellent industry terminology resource. It is the language by which we all communicate. Without it, universal understanding would be impossible.

To keep our constituents well informed about changes to the increasingly complex industry terminology, PRINTING United Alliance has developed this glossary of terms. Definitions are for general reference only. Usage may vary between companies, individuals, or national and country customs. The information presented is as accurate as the authors and editors can ascertain and PRINTING United Alliance assumes no responsibility for the use of information presented herein.
  • Turn table
    A revolving index table for feeding flat or three-dimensional objects into an automated screen printing press.
  • Tusche
    A black or very dark gray waxy substance that repels water, used to manually draw design on the screen printing mesh to make a printing screen.
  • Tusche-glue printing screen
    A printing screen made manually by drawing desired design on the mounted, properly stretched screen printing mesh with tusche, squeegeeing a coating of water soluble glue on one side, then dissolving the tusche with mineral spirits. (The tusche having been placed where the stencil is to print, it is then washed out leaving the open stencil design). No longer used in the industry.
  • Tweaking
    To make minor adjustments.
  • Twenty-four (24) sheet poster (billboard)
    Larger outdoor poster, approximately 277 x 605 cm (109 x 238 inches), usually consisting of 10 sheets or less; refer to poster paper.
  • Twill weave (TW)
    A pattern of weave where threads are woven over one and under two. (The area in which one thread crosses over two threads is called a float).
  • Twill weave mesh
    Weaving pattern with a configuration of one over and two under; (deposits approximately 20% more ink than plain weave).
  • Twist
    Spiral turns about an axis per unit length for textile strand, expressed in turns per centimeter or inch.
  • Two-package system
    Epoxy composition for screen printing or coating where the catalyst is packaged separately for mixing just prior to use.
  • Two-part (two-pack)
    Ink system that requires the addition of a catalyst agent that activates curing.
  • Two-point system
    In halftone photography, a method for specifying the highlight and shadow dots on a gray scale; also refer to three-point system.
  • Two-pot system
    Ink or coating where two reactive components are mixed just prior to use; refer to catalyzed system.
  • Tympan
    A make-ready oil, chemical, and ink resistant packing paper manufactured in calipers from 0.003 to 0.15 inches.
  • Type
    A group of characters used to form a descriptive word.
  • Type body size
    The height of the type measured from the top of the tallest ascender to the bottom of the lowest descender expressed in points.
  • Type gauge
    A printer’s measurement tool calibrated in picas and points.
  • Type high
    0.918 inches (23.32 mm), the standard in letterpress.
  • Typical error
    An inaccuracy within plus or minus one standard deviation of the nominal specified value, as computed from the total population.
  • Typo
    Acceptable abbreviation for typographical error; an error in the typeset copy.
  • Typography
    The art and craft of creating and/or setting type; the design and planning of printed matter.
  • Tyvek
    Trademark Du Pont for material that is a spunbonded structure of high density olefin fibers.
  • Ultimate elongation
    The maximum distance a material will stretch in a lengthwise direction before breaking, expressed as a percent of the original (unstretched) length.
  • Upper capability performance (CPU)
    A measure of the relationship between the performance of a process and the upper specification limit.
  • Washability abrasion test
    Used to determine the scrub resistance, washability, cleanability, and abrasion resistance of coating materials such as waxes, anodized metals, and plastics.
  • Yellow mercury oxide
    A mineral pigment used to dilute burnished gold in glass decoration; (this oxide is no longer used because of its toxic hazard).