Acrylic Color Match : A mix of different inks to make acrylic color match practically any PMS™ color as closely as possible.

Artwork : Any non-typeset drawing, photo, illustration, or lettering to be printed.

Autoclave : An airtight oven with thick walls used for conducting chemical reactions under high pressure.

Bleed : Illustration or printed matter that exceeds crop marks.

Camera-Ready Art : Any drawing, photo, illustration or lettering that is suitable for photographic reproduction.

Card Insert : A white piece of cardboard used as an embedment with artwork silkscreened on one or both sides.

Casting : A mold, which may be either cardboard or metal, is built according to desired shape. Acrylic resin powder and crystal-clear liquid are mixed to produce a thick, opaque liquid, called "slurry". First layer of slurry is poured into mold and embedment is glued onto partially-set layer. Final layer of slurry is poured over embedment to fill mold.

Cibachrome® : A photo reproduction used as an embedment. It can be done on opaque white material or a clear transparency from a good quality picture or an electronic file.

Clear Insert : A clear film used for silk-screening artwork. Once embedded, film almost disappears and artwork seems to be floating within acrylic piece.

Color Filling : The process through which ink is used to add color to laser-engraved text. However, the choice of standard colors is limited to red, white, metallic silver, gold, gray, and a few blues. Other colors may also be prepared, but will not match PMS™ exactly. For feasibility of such colors, please contact a BCH Unique technical representative.

Color Key® : The use of four superimposed acetates, one for each basic printing color, which gives an excellent reproduction of the final product. Color accuracy rate of 90%. Generally speaking, this process is used for offset printing.

Color Separation : The separation of multicolored original art by camera or laser-scan technique prior to printing. Each film corresponds to one printing color.

Composite : Combination on one page of elements of continuous tone, usually black and white, and line work.

Compression : Volume reduction of the chain of bits constituting an image through a coding process in order to speed up transmission or reduce memory space requirements.

Crop Mark : An indicator placed on artwork to show where an illustration is to be cut.

Cropping : The process of eliminating an unnecessary portion of a picture, illustration, or photograph for the purpose of highlighting a more important area.

Curing : The process in which mold is placed in autoclave to be cured at approximately 150°F under pressure for several hours.

Cutting Die : A tool with very sharp edges used for cutting a specific shape from printed sheets. This tool is used for the production of dimensional decals.

Die-Cutting : The use of sharp steel blades to cut a specific shape from printed sheets.

Double Cast : This type of casting is performed for various applications, such as those requiring copy to show on three or more sides of piece.

dpi : Dots per Inch. Unit of measure used for the resolution of a picture. Also known as "pixels per inch".

Drop Shipping : Shipping of merchandise from the manufacturer to the end-user to save time, rather than to the distributor, who would have to forward it to the end-user.

Electronic Artwork : Artwork created using computer-aided design software.

Embossing Die : A tool of very hard material used for pressing a particular shape into polyester sheets. This tool is used for embossing dimensional decals.

File Format : Structure imposed on data. Manner in which data is arranged or coded in different programs or computers, for instance, ASCII, DSC, EPS, PICT, and TIFF.

Financial Tombstone : An acrylic piece with a regular or custom-made shape used for commemorating a financial transaction, for example, a merger, acquisition, or issue of shares.

Font : A complete set of a letters, numbers, punctuation, and special characters of a particular size from the same typeface available in typesetting.

Four-Color Process : Color printing technique by which four colors -- cyan, magenta, yellow, and black - are used for producing a full color picture that can be similar to a photograph.

Halftone : Screened reproduction of an original made up of dots varying in size to create the illusion of a variation in tone. Can be done in various colors.

JPEG : Joint Photographic Experts Group. Standard compression format used for files containing high-resolution color images.

Laser Engraving : An imprinting method by which electronic artwork is etched into acrylic surface by a laser beam.

Laser Plexiglas™ Cutout : Various patterns can be cut out of Plexiglas™ by laser and used as embedments. Many colors are available.

Layer : When embedments are required on different levels within the acrylic piece to produce an effect of depth, they need to be cast in separate layers.

Logo : Broadly defined, it is any drawing, illustration, symbol, abbreviation, lettering style, or word that is legally registered by a company and used for identification purposes. Also known as "trademark".

lpi : Lines Per Inch. Number of lines of dots in one linear inch.

Marbleized Acrylic : Partial blend of two or more acrylic colors to produce a marble look.

Matchprint® : A color proof made from superimposing four color films (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black). Color accuracy rate: 95%.

Mechanical : Final assembly of the artwork and type proofs on a sheet used for producing the printing plate. Nowadays, this manual technique is not widely used.

Metal Casting : Miniature metal figurine with a gold or silver color finish used as an embedment for an acrylic piece.

Metal Plate : Aluminum or brass plate featuring silkscreened artwork on one or both sides and used as an embedment in an acrylic piece.

Model Piece : Original master version in 3-D used for making reproductions.

Mold : A custom-built shape into which a viscous acrylic mixture is poured to produce acrylic pieces.

Negative : In photography, film with an image having density values opposite those of the original.

Offset Printing : A printing process where a positive image is transferred to a rubber blanket in reverse, which in turn applies it to the paper, right reading.

Paper Proof : A printed version of a document generally in black and white for purposes of checking it, making the necessary corrections, and submitting it to the client for his approval prior to printing.

Paperweight : Small acrylic piece placed on sheets of paper to keep them from scattering. Since people tend to keep this item on their desk, the printed message always remains right before their eyes and therefore in their mind.

Personalize : Mention the recipient's name on a particular product.

PMS™ : Pantone Matching System. Trademark of a color scale commonly used for precisely matching colors for printing. Each hue comes with a coded number, which indicates instructions for mixing inks to achieve color match.

Polishing : The 1st polishing step consists in a rough buffing to remove sanding lines and scratches. The 2nd polishing step is the final hand polishing to bring out luster and thus the crystal-like finish of an acrylic piece.

Positive : Image reproduction with the same density values as the original.

Pre-Production Sample : Production of a sample of the finished product featuring the specifics of a purchase order for the purpose of checking whether the product's appearance and printing correspond to client's expectations prior to processing the whole order.

Random Sample : A piece that was previously produced in excess of the quantity ordered by a client (overrun) and was not shipped. It is kept as a potential sample that may be sent to a prospective client who wishes to have an idea of the finished product prior to ordering.

Recess : Depression of an image or a shape into a product's surface.

Registration : Perfectly superimposing various monochromatic printing films to produce a color picture.

Reject : Final product that does not meet quality standards and will therefore not be shipped.

Resolution : Clarity of the picture defined by the number of pixels per inch on a screen or by the number of dots per inch on a printed document. Its unit of measure is dpi.

Safety Program : Promotional program designed to raise safety awareness and recognize those who follow safe on-the-job practices.

Sandblasting : A blast of air or steam laden with sand, used for decorating an acrylic surface. Can be done on entire surface with or without special patterns.

Scanning : Digitizing a document and converting it into an image using dots in order to enable its electronic handling. It consists in the transformation of analogical data into numerical data.

Screenprinting : Printing method by which image is transferred to printed surface by squeegeeing ink through a stenciled screen stretched over a frame. In this process, screens are treated with a light-sensitive emulsion. Then, film positives are put in contact with screens and exposed to light, which hardens emulsion not covered by film, leaving a soft area on screen for squeegeed ink to be forced through. Also called "silkscreening".

Sizing : Since piece is cast oversized to allow for shrinkage, the 1st sanding grinds piece to size with wet coarse grit sander belt. In the 2nd sanding step, sizing process continues with medium grit belt. The purpose of the 3rd sanding step with fine grit belt is to properly prepare piece for a smooth, flawless finish.

Speculative Sample : Also called "spec sample". A product sample carrying a prospective buyers' printing produced with the expectation he will buy into the concept and order it.

Transparency : Full-color, translucent, photographic film positive.

Trapping : A technical action that ensures adjacent colors overlap enough to take into account any possible variation during printing.

Trim Line : Line on artwork indicating where to cut to remove the waste on a printed piece.

Trimming : Technique that consists in cutting the margins in order to make the sheets even.