Glossary
Packaging terms for the moment you need them.
Definitions are written for the moment a buyer meets the term in a quote, specification, proof, or supplier conversation.
Bleed
Artwork intentionally extended beyond a trim or boundary so small production variation does not leave an unintended unprinted edge.
PC-074BOPP
Biaxially oriented polypropylene, a polypropylene film stretched in both machine and transverse directions.
PC-002COF
Coefficient of friction: a measure used to describe how surfaces resist sliding against one another under defined test conditions.
PC-047 · PC-083Cutoff
A machine or package-length term used for the length at which individual packages are separated from a continuous web.
PC-076Dieline
A controlled drawing that shows package geometry and artwork boundaries such as cuts, folds, seals, gussets, zippers, and other features.
PC-110EVOH
Ethylene vinyl alcohol, a polymer used as an oxygen-barrier layer in some multilayer packaging structures.
PC-030 · PC-035Fin seal
A longitudinal seal formed when the inside sealant surfaces meet and the joined edges project like a fin.
PC-078Flow wrap
A package made as film travels horizontally around a product and is sealed along its length and across each end.
PC-067Gauge
A packaging thickness expression whose meaning depends on the material and industry convention; for many flexible films, 100 gauge is commonly treated as 1 mil.
PC-048 · PC-094Gusset
A folded section of a bag or pouch that can expand to create additional volume, shape, or a standing base.
PC-071HFFS
Horizontal form-fill-seal: equipment that forms and seals packaging while product movement is primarily horizontal.
PC-068Impression
One printed repeat of an image or layout on the web.
PC-109Lamination
The combining of two or more flexible webs into one structure, commonly with an adhesive or another bonding process.
PC-069Lap seal
A longitudinal seal formed by overlapping one web edge over the other.
PC-078Micron
A micrometer: one millionth of a meter, written µm.
PC-048 · PC-094Mil
A thickness unit equal to one thousandth of an inch.
PC-048 · PC-094MOQ
Minimum order quantity: the smallest quantity a supplier will accept for a particular item or production setup.
PC-043 · PC-113OTR
Oxygen transmission rate: a measured rate at which oxygen passes through a material under stated test conditions.
PC-029Overrun
Finished quantity produced above the amount stated on the purchase order.
PC-005 · PC-113PA / nylon
Polyamide, commonly called nylon, used as a layer in some flexible structures.
PC-030 · PC-072PE
Polyethylene, a broad family of polymers used in flexible films and sealant layers.
PC-002 · PC-036PET
Polyethylene terephthalate, a polyester film used in many flexible-packaging structures.
PC-039Print repeat
The distance in the machine direction from one occurrence of an image or registration point to the next corresponding occurrence.
PC-010 · PC-041PVDC
Polyvinylidene chloride, a barrier polymer used in some films or coatings.
PC-073Registration
The alignment of print colors and printed features to each other and to the package geometry.
PC-074Reverse print
Printing applied as a mirror image to the inside face of a transparent web so it can be viewed correctly through that web after lamination.
PC-013 · PC-108Rollstock
A continuous web of flexible material supplied on a roll and converted into packages on filling or wrapping equipment.
PC-041 · PC-056Surface print
Printing applied to the exposed outer surface of a film web.
PC-013 · PC-022 · PC-108Trapping
A controlled overlap between adjacent print colors intended to reduce visible gaps when normal registration variation occurs.
PC-074Underrun
Finished quantity produced below the amount stated on the purchase order.
PC-005 · PC-113VFFS
Vertical form-fill-seal: equipment that forms a package from rollstock while the product generally enters through a vertical filling path.
PC-068Web width
The dimension measured across a roll of film from one edge of the web to the other.
PC-041WVTR
Water-vapor transmission rate: a measured rate at which water vapor passes through a material under stated conditions.
PC-029