Fenix Metals
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Glossary

Acrylic:  A synthetic polymer which is the basis of most transfer adhesives. Has very good aging characteristics and initial low tack, which allows repositioning

Aluminum:   The most popular metal substrate we use - both Mill finish and OSB (One Side Bright). Superior to tin in many ways due to its durability, light weight, corrosion resistance, brilliant reflectivity, ductility and recyclability.

Mill finish:  The aluminum as it is received from the mill

One Side Bright (OSB) finish:   A sheet material having a moderate degree of brightness on one side. The reverse side is uncontrolled and may have a dull, non-uniform appearance. 

Cold Rolled Steel:  A type of steel that cannot be hardened

Polycarbonate:  A plastic material often used for nameplates because of its excellent clarity, stability, printing, and die cutting characteristics

Polyurethane Coating:   A coating derived from polyester and urethane resins

Color:  Transparent or opaque application of colored ink by wet screening process followed by heat cure to achieve permanence of film properties

Opaque:  Ink that does not allow the light to pass through it and it has good hiding characteristics

Transparent:   Lacking hiding power permitting transmission of light thus allowing previous printing or substrates to show through

Custom Color Matching :   The physical creation of a color in the range of uni-dimensional hues applied to a specific product.   Fenix Metals uses computer color matching

Spot Color:  Individual inks formulated to print by themselves to match a specific color

Digital Printing:  Printing from a digital based image directly to metal or plastic, assembling each image from a complex set numbers and mathematical formulas. These images are captured from a matrix of dots, generally called pixels. The digitized image is then used to digitally controlled deposition of ink, toner or exposure to electromagnetic energy, such as light, to reproduce images

Lithographic Printing / Offset Lithography:  A process for applying an image to a surface with a smooth plate treated to accept ink in preselected areas.   In this printing process, offset lithography, the image to be printed is rendered or etched onto a flat surface, (the plane) such as a sheet of aluminum or plastic.  The image is then transferred to a rubber roller, and then finally to the substrate

Screen Printing:   Ink is forced through a photographically created mesh stencil (screen) using a rubber squeegee allowing heavy ink deposits with a minimal number of passes

Second Surface Printing:  Printing on the underside of plastic substrate where they are protected from damage and wear

Four Color Process:  Yellow, magenta, cyan and black printed in halftones on top of each other to create a multitude of colors (also known as process color and 4-color printing)

Curing:  A process of drying all inks and coatings for maximum reliability

Primer:  An organic resin applied wet over the entire overlay surface and heat cured to provide the most suitable surface for subsequent adhesion of decorative inks

Coating:  Once the aluminum or metal substrate has been printed on, a primary coating is applied to protect the surface. Acrylic varnish that contains UV stabilizers (primary use on parts that are used outdoors); and modified epoxy that does not contain UV stabilizers (primary application of this coating is for parts that will not have heavy exposure to UV). This type of coating can be applied clear or with various dulling agents. Both coatings are applied to the surface of the aluminum using the roller coating method. Both are cured to achieve maximum hardness and abrasion resistance. We are also able to add dyes to obtain a colored finish - for example, most of our gold substrate. This is normally done after size coating but before printing

Hard-coating:  A lacquer coating applied to a surface making it impervious to particular chemicals at the same time adding scratch resistance.  This can be applied either as a sprayed coating on a 3D component or as a pre-coating of the film used in the decoration process.  Generally, hard coating will be an essential requirement with first surface decorated parts

Protective Films:  Used to protect the cosmetics of decorated parts during fabrication and handling

Embossing:  A process for providing 3-dimensional relief to the surface of the metal overlay through pressure stamping in a set of matched metal dies

Debossing:  Similar to embossing, except the copy is lowered in relation to the substrate

Crimping:  Wrapping metal parts to supporting plastic moldings 

Forming:  The process of shaping a flat decorated film into a three-dimensional format. It is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking and can be cut and bent into a variety of different shapes 

Hot stamping :  Hot stamping, also called hot forming or press hardening, is the process of forming metal while it is very hot (in excess of 900 C degrees) and then quenching it (cooling it quickly) in the die.  Hot stamping allows the forming of complex parts in one stroke and converts low-tensile strength metal to a very high-strength steel

Injection molding:  Material is fed into a heated barrel, mixed, and forced into a mold cavity where it cools and hardens to the configuration of the cavity

Laminating:  Applying one material over another.  An adhesive is laminated to a substrate or polycarbonate is laminated to aluminum by means of an adhesive intermediate

Photo Electric Punching:  Punching an opening in a piece of plastic or metal.  Punching is very similar to blanking except that the removed material, called the slug, is scrap and leaves behind the desired internal feature in the sheet, such as a hole or slot. Punching can be used to produce holes and cutouts of various shapes and sizes. The most common punched holes are simple geometric shapes (circle, square, rectangle, etc.) or combinations thereof.   Punching with the use of a photo electric sensor achieves ultimate precision

Photo Electric Shearing:   Shearing  (also known as die cutting) is a specific cutting process that produces straight line cuts to separate a piece of sheet metal or plastic into two parts with the use of a photo electric sensor to achieve ultimate precision.  Shearing-type operations include: blanking, piercing, roll slitting, and trimming

Blanking:  A cutting process in which a piece of sheet metal or plastic is removed from a larger piece of stock by applying a great enough shearing force. In this process, the piece removed, called the blank, is not scrap but rather the desired part

Riveting:  Riveting metal to another substrate

Die cut:  To make an opening by means of a sharp edged steel knife set in a holding tool. (Conventional steel rule, Laser steel rule, Hard tooling)

Doming:  The application of castable urethane resin to plastic or metal sheets to create a "domed" 3-dimensional lens effect on all or part of the overlay surface.  Where desired to be selectively applied, there must first be applied a resist by the screening process

Soft-touch:  A screened or coated material with a rubber like consistency

Brush:  Mechanical abrading of metal surface in regular pattern achieved by passing under revolving wheel with specific bristle concentration and density

Selective Brush:  The same type of brush but in selective pattern as designated by customer achieved through the prior application of resist ink applied by the screening process

Texturizing:  Changing the RZ surface characteristics of a substrate, making the substrate rough to the touch such as some molded plastics or ABS

Selective Texture:  A surface coating to texture selective areas on a graphic overlay. The degree of texture can be varied by the mesh of the screen used to apply it. A fine screen will create a slight texture, while a coarse screen is used when more texture is desired. In addition, heavier coverage results from increased spacing between the screen and press sheet at the time of application

In-mold decorating:  Catchall term used to describe any one of a number of processes used to decorate plastic products during the injection molding cycle

Non-embossable Adhesive:  Overall pressure-sensitive adhesive applied to back of overlay for purpose of adhering to CD or DVD case

Pressure Sensitive Adhesive (PSA):  A high tack adhesive film requiring only pressure (no heat or catalyst) to form a high strength bond. Generally protected by a release sheet prior to actual application

Removable Mask Adhesive:  1-mil polyester mask that protects the nameplate

Selective Adhesive:  Adhesive applied to selected portions of a part. Fenix Metals die cuts the selective adhesive and assembles it to the part in a separate step

Backlighting:  Illumination originating from within or behind a switch panel which outlines or accents specific areas. Typical lights are LEDs, Fiber Optics, Electroluminescence, LCDs, and incandescent lamps

Dead Front:  A transparent area of copy on overlays and panels that is visible only when lit from the back

LED:  Selective sections of a piece of plastic which allow for Light Emitting Diode.  Colors - red, green, amber and yellow

Proof:  A visual representation of how the finished part will look. It is customary to submit an artwork proof for approval by the customer before producing a new or revised part