In screen printing, CTS (computer to screen) is the direct imaging of a digital document to make the printing screen, without films. It is the equivalent of the CTP (computer to plate) of offset printing: the screen is imaged straight from the digital file, with no intermediate film. The design is projected onto the emulsion-coated screen, which hardens where the light touches. The gain is twofold: preparation is faster, and the positioning of the design is more precise than with films.
In offset printing, it is an imaging technology which transfers a digital image directly onto a printing plate or roll, bypassing the photographic film step.
In screen printing, the equivalent is CTS, computer to screen.
A Cromalin is a fast photogravure proof obtained by photographic means. The process was developed by DuPont de Nemours. The Cromalin serves as a contract proof (BAT). Over time it has become a common name, used by extension for any proof used to validate a print before the run. This validation process is used less and less, with the rise of digital proofing.
Secondary colours result from mixing two primary colours. They are green, orange and violet. Green is obtained by mixing cyan and yellow, orange by mixing magenta and yellow, violet by mixing magenta and cyan. This notion of mixing matters for how a colour renders on substrate of another colour. Example: a blue printed on a red background will not look the same as on an ecru background.
There are 3 primary colours (Cyan – Yellow – Magenta) that are at the extremities and the center of the solar spectrum. Much like white, they cannot be obtained by mixing other colours. However, black is obtained by mixing these 3 primary colours together.
Cotton that is grown without using any chemicals but with organic fertilizers. Its traceability, from crop to final fabric, is given by the GOTS certification.
A finishing process where the fabric is passed between calender rollers at high temperatures. These rollers press the fabric to give it a glossy aspect. If the rolls are 3D, designs and special effects such as marbling or moire, embossing.
Plant fiber. This is the soft fibrous substance that surrounds the seeds of the cotton plant. Cotton retains humidity (8.5% of its weight in water.) Its heat-retaining capacity is average but it has a rather good thermal conductivity. Its main characteristic is its length which varies from 10 to 50 cm. The longest cotton fibers are the thinnest. Its fabric finish is soft.
CMYK refers, in both English and Spanish, to the three primary colors – cyan, magenta, yellow – plus black.
In French, the acronym used is CMJN for cyan, magenta, jaune, and noir.
These four colors are enough to reproduce millions of shades and are used for four-color printing.
Fire classification measures how a material behaves when exposed to fire. In France, this classification has five classes or performance levels: M0 non-combustible, M1 non-flammable, M2 hardly flammable, M3 moderately flammable, M4 easily flammable. The French classification is now being replaced by the European Euroclass system, set out in standard NF EN 13501-1.
