Screen Printing, DTF &
Embroidery Industry Glossary
The definitive reference guide to apparel decoration terminology, technical darkroom chemistry, embroidery mechanics, gang sheet nesting, and pricing formulas.
270° Wide Cap Frame
A specialized curved cylindrical embroidery hoop attachment and cap driver that rotates hats 270 degrees, enabling seamless stitching across the front and sides of a baseball cap in a single hooping.
2D Auto-Nesting (Bin Packing)
An algorithmic computing method that automatically arranges multiple irregular artwork bounding boxes onto a fixed roll width to achieve maximum surface area utilization.
3D Puff Foam
High-density ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) foam placed over fabric before stitching, allowing satin stitches to wrap over the foam and create a raised, three-dimensional tactile effect.
Accounts Receivable (AR) Aging
A financial report that categorizes outstanding unpaid customer invoices by the length of time they have been due (Current, 1–30 Days, 31–60 Days, 61–90 Days, 90+ Days).
Appliqué
A decoration technique where pre-cut twill, felt, or leather patches are sewn onto garments and bordered with dense satin embroidery stitching.
Automated Powder Shaker & Dryer
An inline finishing machine connected to a DTF printer that automatically applies adhesive powder, vibrates off excess particles, bakes the adhesive, and rolls the cured film onto a take-up reel.
Backing (Stabilizer)
Non-woven fibrous material hooped behind fabric to stabilize the weave and prevent stretching, puckering, and needle cutting during high-speed stitching.
Bill of Materials (BOM)
A comprehensive itemized inventory list of all blank goods, consumables, threads, inks, transfers, and packaging supplies required to complete a specific job.
Blowout (Kraft) Paper
Disposable untreated butcher or kraft paper placed between heat press platens to absorb sublimated gas or residual moisture and prevent dye ghosting on subsequent shirts.
Bobbin Thread
The fine, high-strength white or black filament thread wound on small spools beneath the rotary hook, which interlocks with top needle thread to form balanced stitches.
Choke and Spread (Trapping)
Pre-press graphic adjustments that expand (spread) or contract (choke) adjacent color boundaries to prevent white gaps caused by press vibration or fabric stretch.
CMYK 4-Color Process
The subtractive color model using Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Key (Black) translucent inks blended in microscopic dot patterns to reproduce full-color photographic images.
Color RIP Software
Raster Image Processing software that translates digital artwork files into precise CMYK ink channels, white underbase density layers, and ink-drop firing voltages for digital printheads.
Contract Decorating
Wholesale printing or embroidery services performed for promotional product distributors, clothing brands, or other print shops on goods supplied by the customer.
Darkroom Reclaim
The chemical and pressure-washing process of stripping cured ink, emulsion stencil, and ghost haze from an aluminum screen frame so it can be recoated and reused for future jobs.
Discharge Ink
A specialized water-based ink mixed with a zinc formaldehyde sulfoxylate activator agent that chemically removes reactive dyes from 100% cotton fabric and replaces them with pigment for an ultra-soft hand feel.
DTF Gang Sheet
A master digital layout sheet on a continuous roll of PET film packed with multiple distinct artwork designs, logos, and neck labels to maximize film utilization and minimize waste.
Dye Migration (Bleed)
A chemical defect where disperse synthetic dyes inside polyester or poly-blend fabrics sublimate into gas under heat and bleed into the cured ink layer, turning white ink pink or grey.
Dye Sublimation Transfer
A digital print process where disperse dyes printed on transfer paper turn directly from solid to gas under heat (400°F) and permanently bond into synthetic polyester polymers.
Embroidery Digitizing
The specialized CAD conversion of raster or vector artwork into stitch commands (DST, EMB, PES) that instruct commercial embroidery machines where to drop needles, adjust density, and trim thread.
Exposure Unit
A specialized darkroom machine using ultraviolet (UV) light and vacuum suction to transfer artwork from film positives onto photosensitive emulsion-coated screens.
Fibrillation
A defect where unprinted cotton fiber hairs break through the cured ink film after washing or mechanical abrasion, giving the graphic a faded, fuzzy, weathered appearance.
Flash Cure
An intermediate radiant or quartz heating unit mounted on a screen printing press that quickly heats wet ink to 220°F–250°F to semi-gel the surface without curing it completely, allowing subsequent colors to overprint cleanly.
Forced Air Conveyor vs. Heat Press Curing
The two methods for curing water-based DTG inks: Forced-air conveyor ovens circulate high volumes of hot air to evaporate water, while heat presses use contact heat and hover cycles.
Halftone Dots
A pattern of microscopic ink dots of varying size and spacing that simulates continuous-tone gradients, photorealistic shadows, and color blends using solid spot color inks.
Heat Press Cold Spots
Uneven temperature distribution across a heat press heating platen caused by failing heating elements or warped cast aluminum plates.
Heat Press Pressure & Calibration
The calibrated mechanical downward clamping force (measured in PSI or medium-to-firm manual resistance) required to fuse heat transfers into textile fibers.
Hoop Burn
Temporary or permanent circular pressure ring marks left on delicate fabric fibers by the outer and inner rings of manual embroidery hoops.
Hot Peel vs. Cold Peel Film
The chemical release coating characteristic on DTF PET film that determines whether the film carrier can be peeled off immediately after heat pressing (hot peel) or must cool completely first (cold peel).
PET Transfer Film
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) dimensional plastic film coated with specialized ink-receptive and release layers designed to carry DTF ink through the printing, powdering, and pressing process.
Plastisol Ink
A PVC-based suspension ink formulated with plasticizers that will not dry or cure in the screen at ambient room temperature, requiring heat exposure (typically 320°F / 160°C) to fully polymerize.
Platen (Pallet)
The flat rubber-coated aluminum board attached to the arm of a manual or automatic screen printing press that supports and positions the garment during printing.
PMS Color Matching
The precise formulaic mixing of base ink pigments by gram weight on a digital scale to match a designated Pantone Matching System (PMS) solid coated color standard.
Pop-Up Spirit Wear Stores
Temporary, deadline-driven e-commerce micro-stores built for schools, athletic booster clubs, corporate uniform programs, and charity fundraisers to collect individual orders and payments.
Pretreatment Solution
A liquid chemical primer applied to dark cotton garments prior to Direct to Garment (DTG) printing that chemically reacts with water-based white ink, causing it to coagulate instantly on the fabric surface.
Pricing Matrix Operating System
A dynamic two-dimensional mathematical pricing engine that automatically calculates decoration pricing per piece across colors/stitch counts and quantity break tiers based on shop hourly burden.
PSST (Pack Separately, Ship Together)
SanMar and apparel distributor fulfillment programs that pack blank goods organized by specific customer job order and ship them with free freight directly to decorators.
Pull Compensation
A deliberate digital widening of satin columns and fill borders in embroidery software to counteract the natural mechanical tension of thread pulling fabric inward.
Simulated Process
A color separation and printing technique that blends multiple opaque spot color inks using halftone dots to recreate complex, photographic illustrations on dark garments.
SPM (Stitches Per Minute)
The operational mechanical speed at which an embroidery machine needle penetrates the fabric, typically rated between 650 and 1,200 SPM.
Spoilage (Misprint) Allowance
The accepted industry percentage tolerance (typically 1.5% to 3.0%) for misprinted or damaged garments that occur during setup, registration, or machine jams.
Squeegee Durometer
A standardized measurement of polyurethane squeegee blade hardness on the Shore A scale, determining how much the blade flexes and how much ink is sheared through the screen mesh.
Stitch Count
The total number of individual needle penetrations required to embroider an embroidery design, serving as the foundational unit for commercial pricing matrices.
Sublimation vs. DTF
The key distinction between dye sublimation (gas dye that bonds only to light polyester) and DTF (printed ink film with adhesive that bonds to virtually any fabric and color).
Tatami (Fill) Stitch
A dense, repeating pattern of overlapping running stitches used to fill large geometric areas and background shapes without leaving long, snag-prone thread spans.
TPU Hot Melt Adhesive Powder
Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) powder applied to wet DTF ink that melts into a flexible, rubberized adhesive layer, bonding the printed transfer permanently to apparel fibers.
Trims and Jumps
Automated machine knife cuts (trims) and non-stitching pantograph movements (jumps) that transition the needle from one section of an embroidery design to another.
True Shop Hourly Burden
The exact monetary cost required to keep a print and embroidery shop open and operational for one billable hour of machine production, factoring all fixed overhead and loaded wages.
Turnaround Time
The total number of business days required from final artwork proof approval and payment receipt to finished order shipment or customer pickup.
White Ink Recirculation
An automated mechanical pump and tubing system inside DTF and DTG printers that continuously circulates heavy white titanium dioxide ink to prevent pigment settling and printhead clogging.
White Underbase
A foundational layer of opaque white ink printed beneath colored inks on dark or colored garments, providing a neutral reflective surface that ensures top colors match their intended Pantone vibrancy.
Work Order (Job Traveler)
The master physical or digital production document that travels with an order through receiving, staging, printing, quality inspection, and shipping.
Turn Industry Terminology Into
Automated Shop Profits
Every term in this glossary—from white underbases and stitch counts to gang sheet nesting and hourly burden—is mathematically automated inside The Print Life operating system for a flat $49/month.