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.
  • NDT
    Acceptable acronym for nondestructive testing.
  • Neck lock
    A display lock used in the setup of rectangular parts.
  • Neck ring
    A metal mold part that forms the finish of a hollow glass article.
  • Necking
    Local reduction of a cross-sectional area of a tensile specimen that may occur during loading.
  • Needle
    Slender piece of steel with a point, ball, taper or other shape on one end with a nearby hole or eye for thread used in machine sewing of fabrics.
  • Negative
    A photographic image on film where the black values in the original subject are transparent and the whie values are opaque.
  • Negative holder
    A device designed to hold a film negative in proper position in an enlarger during exposure.
  • Negative opaque
    An opaque brushing consistency liquid used to repair pinholes or other blemishes on negatives.
  • Negative plane
    The plane within a camera that is occupied by the film when ready to expose after proper focusing and removal of the ground glass.
  • Negative temperature coefficient
    A decrease in resistance with an increase in temperature.
  • NEMA standards
    Property values adopted as standard by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (US).
  • Neon
    (1) A colorless inert gaseous element comprising 0.0012 percent of normal air; (2) a fluorescent, a color of ink or dye that is especially bright.
  • Nesting
    Placement of images of a job in an arrangement to minimize waste of material.
  • Network
    A group of machines linked via a central computer.
  • Neugebauer equations
    A set of linear equations used to calculate the tristimulus values of halftone color mixtures and combinations when the dot area of the contributing colors are known.
  • Neutral
    (1) Any color that has no hue such as white, gray, and black; (2) the absence of acid or alkaline activity in a material having a pH of 7; (3) the presence of an equal concentration of hydrogen and hydroxyl ions.
  • Neutral atmosphere
    An atmospheric condition in a firing kiln that is neither strongly oxidizing or reducing.
  • Neutral pH paper
    An acid-free paper.
  • Neutral-density filter
    A camera filter that uniformly reduces all colors of light striking the lens.
  • New source performance standards (US)
    Limits on effluent as applied to new industrial or commercial installations in the United States; these standards are generally more stringent than those of existing plants.
  • Newsboard
    A paper board used primarily in the set-up box trade, also used as a core for lining one or both faces with a higher quality paper, made from reclaimed newspapers.
  • Newsprint
    An inexpensive paper made from ground wood or mechanical pulp used chiefly in printing newspapers.
  • Newton (N)
    The basic unit of force in the metric system; the amount of force necessary to accelerate one kilogram of mass at a rate of one meter per second squared.
  • Newton rings
    A pattern of minute, colored, concentric annular shapes that form between closely spaced polished surfaces, similar to a drop of oil on water. The phenomenon is more or less common in vacuum frames and pressure contact frames during exposure to film through a glass layer.
  • Newton value
    Unit of measure, used in screen mesh tensioning, generally expressed in Newtons per centimeter.