Glossary

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HAIRLINE REGISTER

Register within +/- 1/2 row of dots in halftone printing.

HALFTONE

The reproduction of continuous-tone subjects such as photographs through a contact halftone screen, which converts the image into dots with equal spacing and different sizes.

HALO

An undesirable, peripheral outline of a printed image. An undesirable, peripheral outline of adhesive around the edge of an applied pressure sensitive label (due to adhesive ooze or substrate shrinkage).

HANG LABEL

A term used to describe a label where part of the liner is peeled away, the exposed adhesive wrapped around an object, then stuck to the back of the liner that remains. These products usually ‘hang’ in the retail market place. Airline suitcase baggage labels are an example.

HANG TAG

A term used to describe fold-over labels (stuck to themselves) generally used for product identification. These products usually ‘hang’ in the retail market place.

HARD DOT

A term that refers to a dot where the fringe or halo is so slight as to be barely noticeable and the dot is very sharp.

HARDNESS

Degree of hardness. Shore and Rockwell being two (2) scales used to measure and compare hardness. Usually ‘Shore’ is used to describe the hardness factor of rubber rollers.

HAZE

A degree of cloudiness in a plastic material.

HDPE

-> 2 PLASTIC

HEAT RESISTANCE

The property of a material which inhibits the occurrence of physical or chemical changes caused by exposure to high temperatures.

HEAT SEAL

To bond two (2) or more surfaces together using heat. Usually for sealing plastic or acetate bags.

HEAT SEAL LABELS

Label paper that has a coating which melts under heat to form the bonding agent. Commonly known to the carpet industry as ‘Iron-on Labels’.

HEAT SEALING

The process of bonding two (2) or more surfaces together by heating the adherent surfaces so that the heat seal coating or film is melted, thereby affecting an adhesion between those surfaces. Pressure is often added along with heat.

HEAT SEALING ADHESIVE

An adhesive film applied to a substrate to be later reactivated by the application of heat.

HELIUM NEON LASER

The type of laser most commonly used in bar code scanners.

HICKEY

A piece of foreign matter in paper or similar defect. A burr or defect on the printing plate or engraving. Spots or any imperfections in the printing due to dirt on the press, dried or lumpy ink, paper dust particles, etc.

HIGH SPEED UNWIND

A device used to accelerate the unwinding of a roll of labels on a high speed automatic label dispenser.

HIGH TEMPERATURE ADHESIVE

An adhesive that will enable a pressure sensitive label to adhere or stick well when applied to a hot substrate. Its characteristic will be such as to have a high degree of resistance to aging or deterioration at the elevated temperatures. Refer NS & LM specification sheets.

HIGHLIGHT

The lightest or whitest parts in a photograph represented in a halftone reproduction by the smallest dots, or the absence of all dots.

HOLDING POWER

The ability to withstand stress, as in holding rigid label materials on small diameter cylindrical objects. Involves both adhesive and cohesive strength and flexibility of the face material. Refer NS & LM specification sheets.

HOLOGRAM

The pattern on a photosensitive material or embossed into a polymeric film structure resulting from an interference pattern created by a laser light striking an object, then merging with a reference beam of the same light. One of the best examples of a hologram is the use of images in the clear part of Australian bank notes.

HOT MELT ADHESIVE

Thermoplastic materials with 100% solids that liquefy when heated and re-solidify on cooling to form a bond with the face sheet. The adhesive was applied to a pressure sensitive lamination which includes a release coated backing sheet. Refer relevant NS & LM specification sheets.

HOT STAMPING

A process that uses heat and pressure to transfer the image from a metal printing plate to a substrate using a coloured or metallic foil to produce the desired result. Most commonly used to create metallic effects on a printed label.

HUE

In colour, the main attribute of a colour which distinguishes it from other colours. Red, orange, green, blue are colour hues.

HYDROSCOPIC

The quality of some materials to absorb atmospheric moisture; exhibiting an infinity for water.