Packaging reference

Packaging glossary: dielines, materials and print terms

Understand 40 packaging terms with practical examples, production checks and links to editable templates and tools.

Geometry

Dieline: A dieline is a flat drawing that identifies where a package is cut, creased, perforated and assembled.
Blank: A blank is the flat piece of material cut to shape before it is folded or assembled into packaging.
Cut line: A cut line indicates a path where material is intended to be cut through, such as a package outline or window.
Crease: A crease is a controlled deformation of board that guides a fold without cutting through the material.
Perforation: A perforation is a series of cuts separated by uncut bridges that creates a controlled tear or separation line.
Glue flap: A glue flap is an extra strip of a packaging blank that bonds to another panel to form a seam.
Inside dimensions: Inside dimensions describe the space within an assembled package, rather than its external footprint.
Outside dimensions: Outside dimensions describe the external envelope of an assembled package, including its material thickness.

Caliper: Caliper is the measured thickness of a sheet material, commonly expressed in millimetres or micrometres.
Grammage (gsm): Grammage is the mass of a sheet material per unit area, normally stated in grams per square metre (g/m² or gsm).
Paperboard: Paperboard is a relatively thick paper-based sheet used for applications such as folding cartons, sleeves and backing cards.
Corrugated board: Corrugated board combines one or more fluted paper layers with flat liners to create a lightweight structural sheet.
Flute: A flute is the wave-shaped paper layer within corrugated board; flute profiles describe its height and spacing.
Grain direction: Grain direction is the predominant alignment of fibres in a paper or board sheet.
Coating: A coating is a surface layer applied to paper, board or printed artwork to change its finish or performance.
Lamination: Lamination joins a separate layer, often a film, to a substrate to create a combined material.

FEFCO code: A FEFCO code identifies a corrugated packaging construction using a shared design-style reference.
ECMA code: An ECMA code identifies a folding-carton design style in the European Carton Makers Association’s classification.
Tuck end: A tuck end is a carton closure whose main flap has a tongue that slides inside the carton body.
Reverse tuck end: A reverse tuck end carton has its top and bottom main closure flaps attached to opposite body panels.
Straight tuck end: A straight tuck end carton has its top and bottom main closure flaps attached to the same body panel.
Crash-lock bottom: A crash-lock bottom is a pre-glued carton base designed to form as the flattened carton body is opened.
Mailer box: A mailer box is a packaging format commonly assembled from one blank with a hinged lid and interlocking walls or tabs.
Packaging sleeve: A packaging sleeve is an open-ended wrap that fits around a product, tray or inner box.

Bleed: Bleed is artwork extended beyond the intended cut boundary so small cutting variations do not expose an unprinted edge.
Safe area: A safe area is a region set inward from cuts, folds or other risks where important artwork should remain.
Trim: Trim is the intended finished boundary of printed work after excess material is cut away.
Quiet zone: A quiet zone is the clear margin around a barcode that lets a scanner distinguish the symbol from surrounding graphics.
Spot colour: A spot colour is a named colour separation handled independently from process colour channels in a print file.
Overprint: Overprint is a print instruction to retain underlying colour when another object is printed over it.
Trapping: Trapping is a small overlap between adjacent printed colours intended to hide gaps caused by registration variation.
Packaging proof: A packaging proof is a review version used to check a defined aspect of a design before production.

Imposition: Imposition arranges one or more designs on a production sheet for printing and subsequent cutting or finishing.
N-up: N-up states how many copies or positions of a design are placed on one production sheet.
PDF: PDF is a document format used to exchange fixed-layout pages containing artwork, text and production information.
SVG: SVG, Scalable Vector Graphics, is an XML-based format for two-dimensional graphics including paths, text and images.
DXF: DXF is Autodesk’s drawing interchange format, used to transfer drawing entities between CAD applications.
CF2 / CFF2: CF2 is the common file extension for CFF2, a packaging CAD interchange format used for structural design data.
JDF: JDF, Job Definition Format, is a CIP4 format for describing print products, production processes and related job information.
XJDF: XJDF, Exchange Job Definition Format, is CIP4’s XML-based format for exchanging print-job information between applications.