Promotional Items - Corporate Gifts

Gift Box Promotional Specialty Items and corporate Gifts

Helpful Information Advertising vernacular can be tedious so let us help! The following glossary will assist you with common industry terms. If you need further assistance, or want to receive samples, contact us!

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U W X Y Z

Abrade - To roughen a mesh surface, yielding what is termed “tooth.”

Absorption - Property which causes paper to take up liquids or vapors in contact with it. In optics, the partial suppression of light through a transparent or translucent material.

Account-opener - Direct premium offered by a bank or savings institution to a depositor opening a new account.

Acetate - Silklike in appearance and feel. Resistant to stretch and shrinkage. Fiber-forming substance is cellulose acetate.

Acknowledgement - Written notice ot a distributor from a supplier that an order has been received.

Acrylic - Soft and woolly. Appearance varies from smooth and thin to a thick woven texture. Springs back when crushed.

ActiveX - A set of technologies created by Microsoft to enable interactive content on Web sites. With ActiveX, Web sites can be animated using multimedia effects, interactive objects, and sophisticated applications that create a user experience comparable to that of a high-quality CD-ROM. The same effects can be experienced with Java, Shockwave and Flash — the difference is that ActiveX is an exclusive Microsoft product makin guse of ActiveX Controls. ActiveX programs or “controls” are among the many types of components that use COM (Component Object Model) technologies to provide interoperability with other types of COM components and services. ActiveX controls are the third version of OLE controls (OCX), providing a number of enhancements specifically designed to facilitate distribution of components over high-latency networks and to provide integration of controls into Web browsers. These enhancements include features such as incremental rendering and code signing, to allow users to identify the authors of controls before allowing them to execute. Put more simply, an ActiveX Control is an applet based on Microsoft technologies that enables interactive content on Web pages.

Ad Copy - Lettering imprinted on any item. Usually an advertiser’s name, sales message, trademark or slogan.

Advance premium - Merchandise give to a new customer on the condition that he or she earn it via a later purchase.

Advertiser - Purchaser of specialties. Also know as an end-user or buyer.

Advertising specialty - Useful or interesting article or merchandise, usually carrying an imprinted advertising or promotional message, given with no obligation. Also known as a giveaway adcentive or promotional product.

Aetz - Imitation lace made on a Schiffli loom. The end result of the aetzing process.

Aetzing - The process of eliminating the base fabric leaving only the threads remaining, resulting in lace.

Airbrush - Graphic technique in which ink is applied with compressed air, similar to spray painting, to render a soft, airy effect.

Allover - Continuous embroidery which covers all of the fabric from selvage to selvage.

Analog color proof - Off-press color proof made from separation films.

Anniversay plan - Goodwill-building promotion in which employees or customers receive a specialty or business gift on their hiring anniversaries.

Anti-static - Prevents the accumulation of static electricity and helps keep the fabric from clinging to the wearer or to other garmetns.

Application - a.k.a. “app” “program” “software” Used interchangeably with program and software, this is a general term for a program that performs specific tasks, such as word processing, database management, e-mail sending or retrieval, or Web browsing. Unlike system software, which maintains and organizes the computer system (such as the operating system), an app is an end-user program.

Applique - 1. An embroidered motif, aetzed or cut, which can be used as a separate embroidered figure (Schiffli embroidery). 2. Fabric, which may or may not be previously embroidered, sewn to another piece of fabric or to a garment.

Argyle - Multicolored diamond pattern used in knitwear, especially socks and sweaters.

Art - All illustration copy used in preparing a job for printing.

Art proof - Artwork submitted for client approval, usually a black-and-white stat of the camera-ready art.

ASCII - Acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. The general specification of bits in a computer to input, store, process, and output text characters.

Attachment (or) attached file - a.k.a. “enclosure” A file (or group of files) that is included (or “attached”) with an e-mail message. You can attach files through almost any popular e-mail program, such as Eudora or Outlook Express. Usually, this is accomplished by simply clicking the “attach file” button and then browsing through your computer system to find and select the desired file or image. Be careful with attachments, however, as they stay on your computer unless you go into your attachments folder and delete them. The best thing to do if you want to save an attachment is to open it, do a “save as,” and put it in a folder on your computer. That way, you can routinely go into your attachments folder and delete them all without worrying about losing one you want. Never open any attachment you receive from someone you do not know; it may contain a virus.

Author’s alterations (AAs) - Changes in type at the proof stages, made by and chargeable to the client.

Award - Recognition merchandise, often personalized, used to acknowledge performance or milestones.

Baby herringbone - Herringbone knit using fine yarns resulting in a lighter and smoother fabrication.

Baby pique - Pique knit using fine yarns - same as baby herringbone.

Backing - Woven or nonwoven material used underneath the item or fabric being embroidered to provide support and stability.

Badge - An insignia of identification

Basket weave - Variation of the plain weave in which two or more warp and weft threads are woven side by side to resemble a “basket” look. Fabrics have a loose construction and a flat appearance.

Beaded placket - Design detail at the opening of the placket that is formed by rolling the underside of the top placket to the face creating a piped or ridge detail at the edge. Sometimes the beading is in a contrast color.

Bean Stitch - Three stitches applied back and forth between two points, in the same space as one regular stitch. This stitch is used to provide secure registration in place of a repeated, single stitch outline that may not align properly.

Bengaline - Lustrous durable fabric with heavy crosswise ribs, used to make coats and suits.

Binary - Any downloadable file that contains more than simply human-readable, ASCII text. Typically it refers to a runnable program available text. Typically, it refers to a program available for download, but it can also refer to pictures, sounds, or movies, among other things. Most newsgroups have subgroups specifically for binaries; a posting in comp.sys.mac.comm might announce that a program is available for download, but the binary (the file itself) would be found in comp.sys.mac.comm.binaries. Newsgroups, such as alt.pictures.binaries, contain files for download (in this case, pictures). You will need a newsreader to download and decode binary files.

Binary numbers - A numbering system with a base (radix) of 2, it is unlike the numbering systems most of us use, which have bases of 10 (decimal numbers), 12 (measurement in feet and inches), and 60 (time). Binary numbers are preferred for computers, for precision and economy. Building an electronic circuit that can detect the difference between two states (high current and low current, or 0 and 1) is easier and less expensive than building circuits that detect the difference among 10 states (0 through 9). The word bit is derived from the phrase BInary digiT.

BIOS - Basic Input/Output System (pronounced: buy-ohss) A technical computing term used to describe what is coded into a PC’s ROM to provide the basic instructions for controlling the system hardware. The operating system (OS) and application programs both directly access BIOS routines to provide better compatibility for such functions as screen display. Some makers of add-in boards, such as graphics accelerator cards, provide their own BIOS modules that work in conjunction with (or replace) the BIOS on the system’s motherboard.

Biowashed - Caps are dyed normally and then very gently washed with stones in a chemical solvent to create a very sublte worn look.

Bird’s eye - Small diamond pattern accentuated by a dot in the middle, resembling the eye of a bird. Commonly used in suitings.

Birthday plan - Sale whereby employees or customers receive a specialty or business gift on their birthdays.

Bit - Basic unit of digital information.

Bitmap - Any picture you see on a Web page is a bitmap. Bitmaps come in many file formats, such as GIF, JPG, TIF, BMP, PCT, PCX, and DIB (Device Independent Bitmap). They can be read and edited by paint programs and image editors such as Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro. As its name suggests, a bitmap is a map of dots or pixels. If you zoom in or try to scale up a bitmap, it will look blocky.

Blanket cloth - Thick heavily fulled woolen fabric with a softly brushed finish similar to an actual blanket, used for outerwear.

Blatt Stitch - A term used in Schiffli embroidery, referring to zig zag stitches laid close together. In Multihead embroidery, the term is Satin Stitch.

Blazer cloth - General term for a variety of flannels and meltons used to make blazers.

Blends - Two or more types of staple fibers in one yarn to achieve color mixtures, unusual dyeing variations, or better preformance characteristics. The most common blend is cotton and polyester.

Blind embossing - Design stampled without metallic leaf or ink, giving a bas-relief effect.

Blind Stamping - Hot-stamping without fail. The approach, used often with leather, gives a more subtle imprint than hot-stampling and a shallower imprint than debossing.

Bobbin - A pre-wound reel or spool of thread, usually plain white. The contents of the bobbin, the bobbin thread, are stitched to the back of the fabric.

Boiled wool - Thick dense fabric that is heavily fulled to completely obscure its knitted construction. It has the suppleness of a knit, with the ability and shape retention of a woven fabric.

Bonding - The joining together of two fabrics permanently with a bonding agent (also known as heat sealing).

Bore - A sharp pointed instrument used to puncture goods, part of the Schiffli embroidery machine.

Boring - Open-work incorporated into embroidered designs; a sharp-pointed instrument punctures or bores the fabric, and stitches are made around the opening to enclose the raw edges.

Borrowed interest - Technique in which a marketer associates a promotion or product with a better-known property for the purpose of attracting attention or implied endorsement.

Boucle - French for buckled, curled or ringed. It describes a knitted or woven fabric characterized by loops, knots, or curls on one or both sides, made with a variety of looped, curled, or slubbed yarns in one or both directions.

Boucle - A yarn with loops producing a rough, nubby appearance on woven or knitted fabric.

Bounce - When an e-mail message cannot get to its recipient for some reason, it is returned or bounced to the sender, with an error message informing the user that it was not sent. This is also known as “bouncing back.” You may hear someone say, “I tried to send you an e-mail message but it got bounced back.” If this happens to you, check the e-mail address and contact tech support at your ISP.

Bounce-back - Bonus direct-mail offer sent along with a premium won or earned by the consumer.

Break for color - To separate, by color, elements to be printed in different colors.

Brights (Color Families) - Grouping made up of vibrant, primary colors such as blue, green, red, and yellow.

Broadcloth - Close plain weave fabaric made of cotton, rayon, or a blend of cotton or rayon with polyester. The term broadcloth is also used in reference to a plain or twill weave wool or wool-blend fabric that is highly napped (brushed) and then pressed flat.

Broken link (or) broken graphic - A link that no longer works or a graphic that does not appear when a Web page loads are said to be “broken.” In other words, when a link or image is “clicked on” and it does not take you to the correct destination, but instead an error message appears, the link is broken. When an image doesn’t load, and instead you see the alt text or some generic icon shapes, it’s a broken graphic. Broken links and broken graphics occur for several reasons: the server hosting the Web site has shut down temporarily or has been restarted; the Web site has moved to an entirely new server; the file or files have been moved or deleted; or the HTML code is incorrect.

Browser - Used to view and navigate Web pages and other information on the World Wide Web.

Browser compatibility - A term used to compare the way a Web page looks on one WWW browser as opposed to another. For example, if you view NetLingo.com on Netscape, it will look pretty much the same as it does on Internet Explorer (illustrating browser compatibility). Some time ago, though, if you viewed NetLingo.com on the AOL browser, it would’ve looked jumbled (a case of browser incompatibility). The reason these incompatibilities exist relates to the way a browser interprets the code that creates a Web page (HTML). Browser compatibility can also refer to cross-platform compatibility, which is, for example, the way a page renders or displays on a Windows system as opposed to on a Mac. The differences are usually very slight, however, just enough to annoy some Web designers and their clients into spending great time and energy on beta-testing a Web site with every browser on every type of system. Browser compatibility is often mentioned in conjunction with the term browser support, but the two should not be confused.

Brushing - Finishing process for knit or woven fabrics where brushes or other devices are used to raise a nap in fabrics to create a novelty surface texture. Used mainly in fall or winter seasons because of its warm feel.

Buckram - Liner which adds support to the front of a cap.

Bug - Manufacturer’s identification mark printed on a form or product, usually in an inconspicuous area.

Bullion - A hand made emblem, made with brass or silver hollow thread. These finished emblems are a product of India or Pakistan.

Business gift - Merchanside given by a business for goodwill, without obligation to its customers and employees. Also known as an executive gift.

Buy-in - Opportunity for travel incentive participants to purchase part of a trip if they do not fully qualify by sales performance.

Byte - Unit of digital information, equivalent to one character or 8 or 32 bits.

CAD/CAM - Computer Assisted Design/Computer Assisted Makeup or Manufacturing.

Calvary twill - Strong rugged fabric witha pronounced twill line on the back. Made with a steep 63-degree twill weave, worsted yarns and a very tight weave. Used for sportswear, uniforms, coats, and suits.

Camera-ready art - Any drawing, photos, illustration or lettering suitable for photographic reproduction.

Canvas - Heavy, firm, strong plain weave or basket weave fabric often made of cotton. It is produced in many grades and qualities and may have a soft or firm hand.

Cartoon - Prior to the modern method of digitizing on-screen, an enlarged picture or cartoon of a design was drawn, using the industry-standard six to one ratio (the cartoon being six times larger than the resulting design).

CAS (Certified Advertising Specialist) - Designated industry title signifying that the holder has attained seven certified education units by attending 70 hours of educational offerings.

Casting - Method in which molten metal is forced into a mold of rubber or plaster, then cooled into the desired shape.

Catalog price - Price of a product shown in a supplier’s catalog. There can be no requirement, implied or expressed, by the supplier that the price be adhered to by any person selling that product. Also known as Suggest List Price.

CD-ROM - Compact Disc - Read Only Memory An optical storage technology that stores and plays back data. “Read only” means the information on the disc may be capable of being displayed or used but not deleted. CD-ROMs are commonly used for encyclopedias, dictionaries, and software libraries, and they are also used for multimedia applications. One CD-ROM can hold around 650 megabytes, or the equivalent of 700 floppy disks. CD-ROMs have become a favorite medium for installing programs, since they cost only slightly more to manufacture than floppy disks and most major software applications would require at least five floppies. Most computers now have a CD-ROM drive. Don’t sound hopelessly out of touch with technology—be sure to use the term “CD-ROM” to refer to the technology or the discs, but not to the hardware you play the discs on; that’s a “CD-ROM drive.”

Chain Stitch - Named for its resemblance to a chain link, this stitch is usually applied using a single head embroidery machine.

Chalk stripes - White or light-colored stripes woven against a dark backgroup, like a chalk mark on a blackboard. They are usually more widely spaced than pin stripes.

Challis - High-quality, lightweight, especially soft fabric made with tighly spun worsted yarns and a plain weave, although sometimes a twill weave is used. Originally printed with small floral designs, now also made in plain colors and dark all-over prints. Used for scarves, blouses, and dresses.

Chambray - Plain weave fabric usually of cotton, rayon, or a blend of these. Chambray usually has yarn dyed yarns in the warp direction, and white yarns in the filling direction. It is often made in striped patterns. It is also frequently made with indigo or pigment dye to face with multiple washings.

Chenille - Form of embroidery in which a loop stitch is formed on the top side of the fabric. Uses heavy yarns of wool, cotton, or acrylic. Also known as loop piling.

Chenille - A form of embroidery, widely used in the college apparel markets, in which a large loop stitch is left on the top of the fabric. This embroidery utilizes the chain stitch described above.

Cheviot - Broad term for rough surfaced, heavily fulled woolen or worsted fabrics used to make suits and overcoats.

Chino - Twill weave fabric with a slight sheen, often made in a bottom weight fabric of cotton or cotton/polyester. Frequently, it is made of combed, two-ply yarns in both warp and filling and vat-dyed in khaki.

Clean-up charge - Factory charge added for the labor costs involved in cleaning the printing press after using a nonstandard ink. Also known as a wash-up charge.

Clients - Individuals who buy promotional products from distributors.

Cloisart - Hot-stamp procedure where the desired logo/copy is foil hot-stamped on a solid brass or metal base, then covered with epoxy dome.

Cloisonne - Product in which a colored paste, made from ground glass, is applied to recessed areas, then fired at 1400 degrees and polished by stone and pumice to achieve brilliant color. Since gullies and ridges separate each individual color, fine lines between them are difficult to achieve.

CMYK - Cyan, magenta, yellow, black subtractive colors for process color reproduction.

Collateral materials - Advertising materials that are not transmitted to consumers via traditional ad media, such as catalogs, shelf cards, posters, specification sheets and trade information materials.

Collectibles - Premiums designed to have inherent value based upon their perceived collectibility.

Color correction - Any method, such as masking, dot-etching, re-etching and scanning, used to improve color rendition.

Color families - Traditional tones are classic and timeless shades often deep and saturated. These colors include navy blue, forest green, burgundy, olive, along with khaki and cream.

Color proof - First or early printing of a finished color ad, combining impressions from each of the separate progressive color plates.

Color separation - Separation of multicolored original art by camera or laser-scan techniques to produce individual separated colors. There are four common separatons: yellow, magenta, cyan and black.

Colorfast - Prevents the dyed color of a garment from fading due to sunlight, body moisture, laundry bleaches, or stained removal.

Column Stitching - Tightly placed zig zag stitching. Straight or curved, it is commonly used in lettering and in borders. Also known as Satin Stitching or Steil stitching.

COM - Although it’s in all capital letters, COM is not an acronym. It’s a contraction of communications, and it’s used to describe the serial port on a PC. COM is generally used in conjunction with a number, as in COM1, COM2, COM3, or COM4 (for exampe, a printer port).

Combination sale - Tie-in of a premium with a purchase at a combination price; sometimes self-liquidating; on an on-pack.

Compacting - Mechanical process in which knit fabrics are compressed in the lengthwise direction to tighten the construction and control shrinkage.

Complex Fill - A digitizing term used to describe a pre-defined section of a design that includes areas of knock out (fabric show through).

Comprehensive layout - Final stage of a layout, finished to very closely resemble how the printed piece will look.

Compression - The process of making computer data smaller so less is needed to represent the same information and, consequently, the information takes up less disk or file space and may be transmitted in less time.

Computerized composition - All-inclusive term for the use of computers to automatically perform the functions of the hyphenation, justification, and page formatiing.

Condensed Format - Type of embroidery machine output format. The recording of only the points digitized which are later expanded to include all the stitches the machine will stitch in the format required.

Consumer promotion - Program which uses premiums or other incentives to get buyers to sample, purchase or remain loyal to a product or service.

Container premium - Product packed inside a special reusable container that is different from the product’s standard packaging.

Content - Textual information, images, art, diagrams, videos that appear on the Web site.

Content management - Process by which information is modified on a Web site.

Contest - Competition based on skill, in which prizes are offered. Proof-of-purchase is usually required with entry.

Continuity program - Promotion in which a set of related specialties or premiums are offered over a period of time.

Continuity promotion - Supermarket or other retail plan. (See Piece-a-Week and/or Tape Plan) Term may also apply to Coupon Plan.

Continuous tone art - Photography, painting or other piece of art in which black-and-white tones gradually merge into one another.

Contrasting - Using an embroidery thread color different from the color of the garment. For example, yellow and white thread used to embroider a navy blue shirt.

Controlled-markdown plan - Retail stamp or tape-redemption program that apples all markdowns to a limited group of grocery items and restricts them to loyal customers.

Cooperative (Co-op) program - Arrangement wherby the marketing elements (usually dealers) of a company order specialties from a specific distributor who has been awarded the exclusive right to imprint the corporate logo, in return for advantages to the company and dealers.

Coordinating - Thread colors are chosen that coordinate with the garment. For example, a navy blue shirt with a dark green collar and cuffs would have a dark green embroidery.

Copy - Written content of advertising or editorial matter in the media.

Copy testing - Tests to determine consumer response to advertising copy and more broadly, to the total content - written and visual - of advertisements.

Cost per inquiry - Cost to generate an inquiry in direct-response advertising. Calculated by the total cost of the direct-response advertising divided by the number of inquires it generates.

Cost per thousand (CPM) - Traditionally called CPM, because the “M” represents the Roman numeral for thousand. The figure is calculated by dividing circulation or audience by a thousand and dividing the result into the cost of the advertising unit.

Cotton-carded - Coarse, uneven yarns are made from lower grade short staple cotton fibers into less expensive fabrics.

Cotton-combed - Smooth, even yarns are made of long staple cotton fibers into fine weave or fine gauge knit fabrics.

Cotton-ring spun - Spinning process that further refines a yarn to achieve the desired yarn size. This results in a smoother and more uniform yarn and produces fabrics that take dyes evenly and have superior hand feel.

Cotton-sueded - Fabric that goes through a brushing process to raise the nap and give the garment a soft hand.

Coupon plan - Program in which premiums can be earned by accumulating proof-of-purchase coupons, labels or other tokens.

Cover stitch - Multineedle decorative topstitch traditionally used on underwear, T-shirts, henleys, and long johns, but more recently used as a fashion/design detail on a variety of knits.

Cover stitching - Using two needles to overlap threads underneath, covering the over-edged seams with a smooth-seamed layer of threads.

Coverage - The geographic area reached with specified intensity by an advertising medium. Also that reaction of an audience that is reached one or more times by a particular advertising schedule.

Covert - Rugged, water-repellent fabric made with a compact twill weave and tightly twisted worsted yarns. Usually, two shades of a color are twisted together, creating a two-ply yarn with a flecked or specked appearance. Used for top coats, suits, and sportswear.

Credit-card offer - Direct mailing to a credit card holder, offering merchandise. It often uses premiums or sweepstakes to close a sale or trial-offer acceptance.

Crepe - Textured surface fabric found in both wovens and knits. It can be used in knits as the reverse side of a special jacquard. A crinkly surface is achieved via use of high twist yarns, chemical treatments, weave, construction, or some form of embossing or surface treatment. Crepes are available in an unlimited variety of fibers and blends and in may different constructions.

Cromalin proof - Chemically created facsimile of a full-color reproduction.

Crop - To eliminate a portion of a picture, illustration or photography that contains unnecessary material, or to highlight a certain area of the image.

Crop marks - Indicators on artwork to show where an illustration is to be cut or sized.

Cross grain - Grain or fibers stitched diagonally or irregularly.

Cross platform independence - Feature on the Web enabling people from different computer systems to easliy access information on the Web.

Customer - Person who receives the advertising specialty from the buyer, often a client or prospective client of the buyer. Also known as the recipient.

Cut - Broad term encompassing all plates associated with letterpress and hot-stamp printing.

Cut charge - Factory charge for producing a cut.

Cyberstore - Virtual shop on the Web enabling transactions.

Data - In general, data is information, factual information such as text, numbers, sounds, images, anything that can be processed on a computer. Data also represents concepts, and sensations that are suitable for communicating, interpreting, or processing. As futurist Marshall Mcluhan said, “The electric light is pure information,” meaning everything perceptible is data. The word data is plural; the singular form is datum, however data is commonly used to refer to both singular and plural.

Dealer incentive - Premium, merchandise or travel offered to a retailer with the specified purchase of a products. Also called a dealer loader or dealer premium.

Deboss and color-fill - Combing hot-stamping with debossing, so foil fills an image that is pushed down into the product.

Debossing - Depression of an image into a material such as paper, leather or suede, so the image sits below the product surface.

Decal transfer - Imprinting method in which the decal is printed on an offset or letterset press, submerged in water and placed on the product. Excess water and air squeegeed off and the product is kiln-fired, a process that fuses the decal with the glaze.

Demographics - Descriptive audience statistics that reflect consumer qualities like age, sex, race, income, residence, and education level.

Denim - Twill weave, yarn dyed fabric, usually made of cotton/polyester blend. The warp yarns are colored and the filling yarns are white.

Denim weights - Weight is determined by weighing one yard of fabric. Some popular denim weights are: 5 oz., 7 oz., 9.5 oz., 10 oz., 11.5 oz., 12 oz., and 14.5 oz.

Density - Amount of stitches in a given area.

Diagonal - Another name for any fabric with a visible twill line.

Die - Mold into which molten metal, plastic or other material is forced to make a specific shape. Also, a tool of very hard material used to press a particular shape into or onto a softer material.

Die charge - Charge by the supplier for creating a die from artwork supplied by the supplier.

Die-casting - Process where molten metal is injected into the cavity of a carved die.

Die-cutting - Using sharp steel blades to cut shapes from printed sheets.

Die-stamp - Steel plate engraved with the desired image, generally used to apply a gold or silver imprint.

Die-striking - Method of producing emblems and other flat specialties. A blank, cut from a metal sheet, is struck with a hammer that holds the die.

Digital artwork - Artwork created using computer-assisted design software.

Digital color proof - Off-press color proof produced from digital data without the need for separation films.

Digitize - 1. to transform graphical input data into digital form for computer processing; to transform graphical input data into digital form for computer processing. 2. to assign a discrete numeric value to an analog variable by analog-to-digital conversion; to assign a discrete numeric value to an analog variable by analog-to-digital conversion.

Digitized typsetting - Creation of typographic characters and symbols by the arrangement of black-and-white spots called pixels or pels.

Digitizer - Computer peripheral device that converts an analog signal (images or sound) into a digital sound.

Dipping - Resin is applied to finished garment. The garment is then creased and dipped in a vat of chemicals to set in the resin.

Direct house - Company that manufactures advertising specialties and sells them through its own salesforce. Also know as direct selling house.

Direct response - Advertising that attempts to generate orders directly to the manufacturer or service rather than through stores, dealres, or agents.

Direct seller - Item that serves as a door-opner, sales-closer, or party incentive.

Direct-mail - Ad medium that employs the postal system to deliver advertisements to prospects.

Display premium - Form of dealer incentive which is part of a point-of-purchase display. May be a sample of a consumer premium or a functional element of the display.

Distributor - Person or company that represents many advertising specialty suppliers and sells ad specialties and premiums to various buyer companies, often developing promotional programs and employing them. Also know as counselor or jobber.

Distributor’s net - Price a distributor pays for promotional products.

Donegal tweed - Woolen tweed fabric that originated in Donegal, Ireland, characterized by thick, random, multicolored slubs.

Door-opener - Specialty offered by a salesperson to persuade potential buyers to listen to a sales presentation, or to initiate interest in a product or service for a follow-up sales call.

Double knit - Fabric knitted on a machine by interlocking loops with a double stitch (two sets of needles). Contrasts with single needle construction. Double knit fabrics are heavier than single knit fabrics.

Double-faced fabric - Thick, heavy, reversible fabric made by weaving two separate cloths together with an extra binder in the warp or filling. Also called double cloth.

Download - To transfer a file(s) from another computer to your computer. There are a few methods of doing this on the Internet. HTTP, FTP and as E-mail attachments are the most common. When you “load” a Web page into your browser you are essentially “downloading” the page from the server it is hosted on. One of the most resourceful things about the Internet is that you can download almost any type of computer file or program. Lots of them are “shareware” which means you can try them before you buy them.

Drop needle - Knitting technique that disengages a knitting needle so as to prevent knitting a stitch. This results in a vertical rib-like appearance. Typically this technique is done on interlock (double knit) constructions.

Drop Shadow - Graphic device in which type is reproduced with an offset second image on one edge, giving a shadow effect that visually lifts the primary type and makes the image appear three-dimensional.

Drop-shipping - Individual packaging, address and delivery of a product to a specific address, usually the recipient’s or client’s.

DSL - Digital Subscriber Line DSL is a technology that uses existing copper wiring found in almost every home and office to provide a fast connection to the Internet. Special hardware is attached to both ends of the line to allow data to transmit over the wires at a far greater speed than the standard phone wiring. It also provides a constant connection to the Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, meaning there is no need to dial-in to your ISP each time you want to get online. A DSL line is most convenient in that you only need one line to carry both voice and data signals (meaning you don’t have to get a second phone line). DSL is similar to ISDN in that they both operate over existing copper telephone lines (POTS) and both require short runs to a central telephone office. (DSL is not yet available in many areas because of the distance from a central office or because the local telephone companies have not yet introduced this product.) DSL provides much higher speeds, however, because connection speeds vary, many people prefer the fixed speed of an ISDN (or a T1 for that matter). Connection speeds for DSL typically range from 1.544 Mbps to 512 Kbps downstream and around 128 Kbps upstream. xDSL refers to the family of digital subscriber line technologies, such as ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), SDSL (Symmetrical Digital Subscriber Line), HDSL (High bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line), and RADSL (Rate Adaptive Digital Subscriber Line).

Dummy - Simulation of a finished printed piece.

Dye transfer - In photography, a process of producing color prints by tanning photographic emulsions and using them to transfer dye solutions to film or paper coated with gelatin.

Dyed garment - Fabric that has been dyed after the shirt is assembled. Many different types of dyeing process can be used. i.e., pigment, direct, or reactive.

Dyeing - Method used to impoart color to textiles. It involves the use of complet organic or chemical dyestuffs, which under proper conditions will actually compbine with the textile fibers. Ther are many ways fabric can be dyed.

Dyeing - Indigo - Indigo dye is a substance taken from the indigo plant. There are many chemical imitation indigo dyes. Indigo dye color can only be achieved through a process of dyeing, where yarn is dipped into a dye bath and is then allowed to oxidize. The number of dips determines the depth of the indigo color, the more dips, the darker the color.

Dyeing - Piece - Fabrics are dyed solid colors after they have been woven or knit, but before they are sewn into a garment. Piece dyed goods can be used in making solid and color-blocked shirts.

Dyeing - Pigment - Textile color by the use of pigments differs from reactive dyes in that pigments do not combine with the fiber molecules as reactive dyes do. Pigments hold onto the textile materials with resin binders in much the same way that paint holds to a wall. It is intentionally expected that pigments will wash out through repeated washings.

Dyeing - Reactive/Wet prints - Reactive print dyeing process produces rich colors that are very colorfast because the dye absorbs or is bonded into the fibers. Reactive dyes produce bright colors on cottons and can dye acrylics, nylon, silk, wool, and blends of these fibers. These prints produce a nice, soft hand. This process is used on print shirts.

Dyeing - Top - Yarns are dyed before the yarn is spun when the yarns are in the top state, which gives an uneven dyed or heather appearance to the yarn. Top dyeing results in a natural look of the two colors blended. This process is used on heathered and natural color shirts.

Dyeing - Vat - Vat dye is obtained through oxidation. It is usually very bright and will hold up better when bleached than most other dyes. The process is very colorfast in all respects. This is an expensive procedure and is used mainly on high-end products.

Dyeing - Yarn - Yarn is dyed prior to the weaving or knitting of the goods and after the spinning of the yarn. Done in either total immersion or partial immersion of the yarn. This process is especially used in patterns such as jacquards and stripes that require knitting.

E-business - Ability to perform business over the Internet.

E-mail - Ability to send information over the Internet.

Earthtones (Color Families) - Neutral shades reminiscent of colors found in nature, such as deserts, mountains, and valleys. Many of these shades serve as a base of apparel, particulary in clothing (suits, etc.). COlors include tan brown, sage, and charcoal.

Eco Spun - Fleece outerwear fabric made from at least 50% materials reclaimed from recycled plastic pop bottles.

Electronic (Engraving) - Any artwork from child’s signature to newspaper is reproduced as long as it can be wrapped around a cylindrical drum.

Electronic marketing - System using magnetic card at a checkout to give retail customers incentive credits, accumulate purchase information, issue discount coupons, authorize check-cashing, and other functions.

Embedment - Medallion, logo or everyday object is buried deep in what appears to be solid glass but instead is acrylic

Emblem - Embroidered design with a finished edge, commonly an insignia of identification, usually worn on outer clothing. Also known as a crest or patch.

Emboss and color-fill - Combining hot-stamping with embossing (opposite of debossing). A raised image is stamped with foil. True embossing cannot be performed on vinyl.

Embossing - Raising of an image on a product, accomplished by pressing the material between concave and convex dies.

Embroidery - Design stitched onto fabric through the use of high-speed, computer-controlled sewing machines.

Embroidery - Art of creating and producing ornamental needlework consisting of designs worked on fabric with high luster threads either by hand or machine.

Employee award - Incentive to a nonsales employee for safety, quality control, suggestions, attendance, or productivity achievement.

Employee incentive - Program designed to motivate a company’s own employees with premiums given for specific actions taken or goals met. Also called recognition program.

End on end - Knit process using two yarns of alternating colors to create a microstripe pattern. In a woven, a pattern in which the warp alternates between two colors.

End-user - Purchaser of a promotional product. The recipient is one it’s given to .

Engineered stripes - Usually yarn dyed knitwear made on modern knitting equipment with wide bands of multiple colors. The effect is not possible to achieve on less sophisticated repeat machines. This is a jersey or pique fabric with different, more complicated needle selections.

Engraving - Cutting an image into metal, wood or glass by one of three methods; computerized engraving, hand tracing or hand engraving.

Envelope stuffer - Direct-mail ad circular or product included with some other mailed message.

Enzyme wash - Washing process that uses a cellulose-based solution to obtain garments that appear to have been stonewashed or acid washed.

EPS (or) .eps - Encapsulated Postscript A type of graphics file written in the PostScript language.

Etched - Imprinting method in which the product to be imaged is coated with a protective coating that resists acid. The image is then exposed, leaving bare metal and protected metal. The acid attacks only the exposed metal, leaving the image etched onto the surface.

Facing - Material hooped or placed on top of fabrics that have a definable nap or surface texture, such as corduroy and terry cloth, prior to embroidery. The facing compacts the wale or nap and holds the stitches above it.

Factory pack - Premium offered within or on a package or as a container premium.

Fair Isle - Traditional knitted patterns or horizontal bands of geometric and foral designs against a contrasting background. Named after Fair Isle, the most southern of the Shetland Isles off the northern coast of Scotland, where authentic Fair Isle sweaters are made by hand from Shetland wool.

Felt - Nonwoven fabric made by layering thin sheets of carded wool fibers, then applying heat, moisture, and pressure to shrink and compress the fibers into a thick matted cloth that will not ravel or fray.

Fire Wall - Software application that restricts unauthorized people on the Internet from accessing an internal Web site.

Fired decals - Decal that actually becomes part of the piece to which it is applied.

Fisherman knits - Distinctive knitted patterns that originated on the Aran Islands off the coast of Ireland. Each family had its own highly recognized patterns, which were used to identify the remains of fishermen lost at sea.

Flannel - Light to heavyweight plain or twill weave fabric with a napped surface. Can be made of cotton or wool. The brushing process creates insulating air cells that provide more warmth than plain cotton.

Flax/linen - Flax is the plant, linen yarns are made from flax. Linen is stronger that cotton. It is one of the oldest textile fibers known.

Fleece - Luxurious fabric with a thick deep nap that provides warmth without weight. May be twill or plain weave. The term correctly applies only to wool fabrics, although there are so-called fleeces of other fabrics.

Flexography - Imprinting method for paper in which a flexible rubber plate is wrapped around a cylinder. As the paper moves under the plate, it is pressed against it by another roller, and the ink is transferred on the paper.

Foil stamping - Process in which a metal plate or die is heated and then pressed against foil into a surace, causing the pigments of the foil to transfer to the surface. Also called hot-stamping.

Four-color process - Printing process that creates color productions by overprinting screens that individually print reds, yellows, blues and blacks of variable specified intensities.

Frames - Number of separate HTML documents that interact with each other on a single Web page.

Franchise line - Arrangement where a supplier specifies restrictions, such as minimum, volume, number fo distributors in a geographical are and credit, in order for a distriburor to carry its line.

Free - Word whose use is not so severly restricted as it once was - but it’s still wise to be sure it really is free if the advertising says it is. Conditions on which the free offer is made should be clearly stated.

Free mail-in - Consumer offer of premium by mail for proof-of-purchase - plus, usually a sum for postage and handling.

French Terry of Fleece - Pile knit fabric with uncut loops on one side. IT is called fleece if the loops are sheared and brushed. A pile, woven fabric with uncut loops is called terrycloth.

Frequency of exposure - Number of times an individual or household is exposed to a particular ad message in a specific period of time.

Frequency program - Promotion that provides those participating with points, redeemable for merchandise or services.

Frequent-buyer incentive - Continuing offers designed to build customer loyalty; akin to coupon plan or trading stamps.

FTP - File Transfer Protocol. A protocol agreed upon to transfer files over the Internet from one location to another.

Fulfillment house - Service firm that processes premium and specialty orders, often packaging and mailing the items. Other services offered include warehouseing, accounting, and coupon-redemption management.

Full-fashioned - Knitting process whereby the pattern shape of an individual garment piece is formed on the knitting machine as opposed to being cut from a piece of cloth. Full-fashioned garments are typically expensive sweater knits where the sleeve is knit together with the body of the machine. Full fashioned collar trims allow for one to control the shape/angle of the collar points.

Functionality - Stands for “functional capability” Use is deprecated in contexts where just “function” means the right thing. (Marketing people seem to think the two are synonymous and that “functionality” has a more impressive sound to it.)

Gabardine - Popular fabric with a smooth face and a dull sheen, made with a tight twill weave and worsted yarns. Fabric has a distinct, closely set diagonal rib on the face and a plain back. Made in various weights for men’s and women’s outerwear, sportswear, suits, dresses, and uniforms.

Game - Includes a variety of chance promotions such as contests, sweepstakes, etc.

Garment wash - Process of industrially washing garments after they have been manufactured that softens and pre-shrinks.

Garment-washed - This means a cap has been sewn and made and then washed in a washing facility. This creates the popular faded, worn look around the edges and looks more natural than the material pre-washed caps.

Gauge - Measure of the fineness or coarseness of knit fabrics. Refers to the number of loops (knit stitches) in an inch. The higher the gauge, the finer the fabric.

GIF - Graphics Interchange Format Developed by Compuserve using compression technology from Unisys. On the World Wide Web pictures and graphics you see on Web pages are usually in GIF format because the files are small and download quickly. Another type of graphics format used commonly are JPEG these files download even faster and contain a better resolution but cannot be interlaced so many Web page authors tend to opt for using GIF’s instead to get that “melting” onto the screen effect that happens with interlaced images.

GIF89a, GIF animation, or multi block GIF - A type of GIF format which allows a series of images to be displayed one after another or on top of each other.

Giveaway - A low-cost item handed out fairly freely-akin to an advertising specialty or a traffic builder. Now also sometimes used as a term for any direct premium.

Grommet-sewn slot - Caps that have a back strap made of cotton or leather and bucke, and have a slot where the end of the strap tucks into the hat. This slot can either be trimmed with stitching creating a sewn slot, or with a metal creating a grommet.

Group travel - Incentive program in which qualifiers (and spouses usually) travel together to a single destination; business meetings are often included.

Gun club check - Double-check design that uses three colors to form a larger check over a smaller check.

Gusset - Inlaid piece of fabric, usually triangular, between arm and body of shirt. Allows ease of movement.

Half-moon label mount - Fabric sewn inside the back of the garment just below the neck to add hanger appeal and to allow for placement of the label without visible stitches.

Halftone - Engraving made by photographing through a glass screen that breaks the subject into small dots of varying intensities of gray, ranging from white to black.

Hand - Quality of characteristic of fabrics perceived by sense of touch, e.g., softness, firmness, drapability, fineness of the feel.

Hand or manual (Engraving) - Used for detailed work on materials ranging from metal to eggshells. Not practical for volume orders.

Hardware - Computer and peripherals as distinguished from software, which is a program for operating hardware.

Heat-transfer printing (direct-transfer process) - Imprinting method in which an image is screened onto a transfer substrate, which is then laid directly on the material to be imprinted. The image is transferred from the substrate to the material through heat and pressure.

Heat-transfer printing (sublimation) - Process in which a design is transferred to a synthetic fabric by heat and pressure. The heat causes the inks to turn into a gas so that they penetrate the fabric and combine with it to form a permanent imprint. Also called a plastocal transfer.

Heather yarn - Tow (or more) toned yarn which is knit or woven to create a soft tonal effect.

Henley - Knit shirt with buttoned placket at the neckline with no collar. Copied from a shirt originally worn by a rower in Henley, England.

Herringbone - Broken twill weave fabric created by changing the direction of twill from right to left and back again. This creates a chevron pattern. Herringbone fabrics are made in a variety of weights, patterns, and fiber types. Herringbone patterns can also be knitted as a jacquard.

Hologram - Combination of several layers of refractive material that causes the image to have a three-dimensional effect.

Home page - Entry point to a Web site. The first page that viewers see. Also the Web page that loads when a browser is first started up.

Homespun - Rough, coarse, tweed-like fabric made with thick, uneven yarns and a plain weave. Once made by hand, now produced on power looms.

Hostess/Host gift - Way of compensating a customer who hosts a party plan.

Hot stamping - Dry imprinting process in which a design or type is set on a relief die that is subsequently impressed by heat and pressure onto the printing surface.

Hot type - Type composed by machine and made from molten metal.

Houndstooth - Popular wool pattern made with a variation of the twill weave to form jagged broken checks. It is not widely used to make many types of fabrics, especially suitings.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) - Language that defines styles for Web pages such as headings, paragraphs, lists, tables as well as characters such as type size and typestyle (boldface, italic, etc.).

HTTP - Hyper text transfer protocol. A protocol agreed upon to access information on the Web.

Hyperlink - a.k.a. “link” - The text you find on a Web site which can be “clicked on” with a mouse which in turn will take you to another Web page or a different area of the same Web page. Hyperlinks are created or “coded” in HTML. They are also used to load multimedia files such as AVI movies and AU sound files.

Hypertext - Enables users to read and navigate text in a nonlinear way. Instead of reading in a linear structure, such as a book, readers can skip easily from one point to another.

Image advertising - Advertising to make an organization’s relevant publics have more postive attitudes toward it.

Imagemap - An image or graphic that has been coded to contain interactive areas. When it’s clicked on, it launches another Web page or program. There’s a subtle distinction between an imagemap and a clickable graphic. An imagemap usually has many different hyperlinked areas, known as links. For example, an imagemap of a country could be coded so that when a user clicks on a city or region, the browser is routed to a document or Web page about that place. A clickable graphic, on the other hand usually contains just one link.

Imagesetter - Device that outputs type, line art, and photos in position.

Imprinted product - Merchandise featuring a company’s logo, slogan, or other corporate identification.

In lieu of interest - Premium offered by a financial institution instead of all or part of normal interest payments.

In-pack - Premium offered inside a products being sold. Also called package enclosure.

Incentive - Reward for performance. Merchandise or travel offered to consumers, salespeople, dealers, or employees as a tangible reward for purchase or performance.

Incentive catalog company - Company that puts together a catalog premium and incentive program for an end-buyer.

Incentive representative - Specialized manufacturer’s representative servicing premium users; a commission salesperson representing several different manufactuers.

Independent contractor - Salesperson operating his or her own business as an independent agent of a distributor.

Industrial advertising - Advertising directed at businesses or enterprises that produce goods/services that are ulttimately sold to other businesses or commercial consumers.

Injection molding - Process in which molten metal or plastic is injected into the cavity of a carved die.

Ink jet - Printer that reproduces by projecting ink onto paper without the mechanical impact of plates.

Institutional advertising - Advertising on behalf of a corporation or institution rather than for a product.

Intaglio - Design that is impressed into its base material.

Interactive kiosks - Usually a kiosk of computers connected to the Internet located strategically in offices for easy access to the Internet.

Interlaced GIF - Interlaced GIFs appear first with poor resolution and then improve in resolution until the entire image has arrived, as opposed to arriving linearly from the top row to the bottom row. This is great to get a quick idea of what the entire image will look like while waiting for the rest. This doesn’t do much for you if your Web browser doesn’t support progressive display as the image is downloaded, but non-progressive-display Web browsers will still display interlaced GIFs once they have arrived in their entirety. You can make transparent and interlaced GIFs through the Web without running any utility software on your own system through the Visioneering image manipulation page, which will access your image through the Web and produce an enhanced version for you to save.

Interlock - Firm double knit fabric. Both sides of the fabric look the same (similar to the face of jersey). Used in short sleeve knit shirts.

Internal server - A server that is accessible only to people within a defined network.

Internet - a.k.a. “the Net” Originally designed by the U.S. Defense Department so that a communication signal could widthstand a nuclear war and serve military institutions worldwide, the Internet, was first known as the ARPAnet. A system of linked computer networks, international in scope, that facilitates data communication services such as remote login, file transfer, electronic mail, and newsgroups. The Internet is a way of connecting existing computer networks that greatly extends the reach of each participating system. For a brief history of the Internet click on the more button below for an article by Vincent Cerf, the father of the Internet. When you see internet written with a lower case “i” it usually refers to a group of local area networks (LANs) that have been connected by means of a common communications protocol. Many internets exist besides the Internet, including many TCP/IP based networks that are not linked to the Internet. The Defense Data Network is a case in point.

Internet service provider - Charges startup and monthly fees to users and provides them with the initial host connection to the rest of the Internet usually via a dial-up connection.

Intranet - An internal Web site harnessing the power of the Web to deliver information and perform transactions via a dial-up connection.

Jacquard - Type of woven or knitted fabric, which is constructed on a special machine that uses needle selection which results in intricate, complex all-over designs. Single knit jacquards are commonly knit with two separate colored yarns that are knit together in a row. Double knit jacquards are knit with up to five separate colored yarns across a row. Double knits are generally much more intricate, more colorul and yet heavier (mostly used in long sleeve product). Woven jacquard fabrics include brocade, damask and tapestry.

Java - Developed by Sun Microsystems, Java is a programming language that is specifically designed for writing programs that can be safely downloaded to your computer through the Internet and immediately run without fear of viruses or other harm to your computer or files. Using small Java programs (called “Applets”), Web pages can include functions such as animations, calculators, and other fancy tricks. Java is a simple, robust, object-oriented, platform-independent multi-threaded, dynamic general-purpose programming environment. It is best for creating applets and applications for the Internet, intranets and any other complex, distributed network.

Java applets - Mini programs that run on a Web page or a Web site to perform complicated tasks.

Jersey - Single knit construction which has rows of vertical loops (knit stitches) on the face and rows of horizontal half-loops (purl stitches) on the back. Jersey can be any fiber content and can be knit flat or circular. Often used in short sleeve knit shirts.

Jewel Tones (Color Families) - Are still deeper, saturated, more vibrant colors that include brights, such as emerald green, ruby red, and sapphire blue that cross seasons.

JPEG File - Joint Photographic Experts Group is a standard compression format for high-resolution color images.

Keeper - Premium offered via direct mail as an incentive for the consumer to try a new product/service or to complete a questionnaire.

Kern - To add or delete space between pairs of adjacent characters. Also known as letterspacing.

Keyline drawing - Outline drawing on finished art to indicate the exact shape, position and size for such elements as halftones, line sketches, etc.

Khaki - Light brown cotton used for Indian army uniforms.

Kilobyte - A thousand bytes. Actually, usually 1024 (2^10) bytes.

Knit - Fabrics constructed by interlocking a series of loops of mone or more yarns by hand or by machine. Can be any fiber content. (See double knit, interloc, jersey).

Lambswool - Fine soft wool from the first shearing of a lamb, usually when it is about seven months old.

Laminated - Coated with clear plastic, or two separate sheets of paper joined together as a single sheet to provide a special thickness or varying colors from side to side.

Laser (Engraving) - Imprinting method by which art or lettering is cut into a material by a laser beam that vaporizes the portion exposed through openings in a template.

Leather - Has subcategories, including genuine (top-grain or full grain leather from the outermost layer of hide); splits (underlayers split off from the top grain, usually having a surface treatment to simulate color and grain of geniune leather), and processed leather (one type of skin or hide made to resemble another type usually called “bonded leather” or “laminated leather”).

Leave-behind - Product usually given by a salesperson that serves to act as a reminder of his or her visit, company, or product/service.

Lenticular printing - Process of creating multidimensional, animated or bi-view effects by photographing with an extremely fine screen and placing plastic made up of tiny lenses over the top.

Lettering - Embroidery using letters or words. Lettering, commonly called “keyboard lettering,” may be created from circiut boards that allow variance of letter style, size, height, density, and other characteristics.

Letterpress printing - Printing method in which ink is carried on a raised surface to the page or object being printed.

Line art - Black-and-white illustration of reproduction quality.

Line conversion - Photograph reproduction as a line illustration, accomplished by shooting the photo without a screen and omitting the middle tones.

Line name - Name used by a supplier to identify its line of products, generally to protect the confidentiality of the distributor’s sources.

Liquid crystals - Technology used to produce temperature reactive products which change colors, going through a range of reddish browns, greens, and blues.

List broker - Person or firm specialtizing in selling or leasing lists names for direct mail use.

LISTSERV - An automatic mailing list server developed by Eric Thomas for BITNET in 1986. When e-mail is addressed to a LISTSERV mailing list, it is automatically broadcast to everyone on the list. The result is similar to a newsgroup or forum, except that the messages are transmitted as e-mail and are therefore available only to individuals on the list. LISTSERV is currently a commercial product marketed by L-Soft International. Although LISTSERV refers to a specific mailing list server, the term is sometimes used incorrectly to refer to any mailing list server. Another popular mailing list server is Majordomo, which is freeware.

Litho laminating - Process of mounting a printed lithography sheet to single-faced corrugated to produce a display-quality piece that is structural corrugated.

Loader - Obsolete term (also “dealer loader) for a dealer premium given with specified product purchase. In disfavor because of obvious negative connotation. “Dealer premium” or dealer incentive” has replaced it.

Local Area Network (LAN) - Linking of workstations, storage units (file servers) and print-out devices (print servers).

Locker loop - Looped piece of fabric in the neck of a garment for the convenience of hanging the garment of a hook. Can also be located at the center of the back yoke on the inside or outside of the garment.

Locker patch - Semi-oval panel sewn into the back of the garment just under the collar seam to reinforce the garment to minimize stretching when hung on a hook.

Logo or Logotype - Style of lettering or design of a company used as a trademark to identify itself.

Lottery - Plan that awards a prize on the basis of chance and requires consideration to enter. It becomes a legal sweepstakes or game when consideration is removed, or a contest when chance is eliminated.

Lycra - Dupont’s trademark from spandex fiber. Spandex has excellent stretch and is always blended with other fibers, imparting stretch to the resulting fabric.

Madras - Handloomed Indian cotton fabric in plaids, checks, or stripes all colorfully intermingled. Because the yarn is dyed with natural vegetable dyes, colors run together (bleeding), producing a muted effect. The weave itself has many slubs and imperfections.

Mail-in - Premium consumers can order through the mail, usually with proof-of-purchase, on a free or self-liquidating basis.

Mainframe system - A high-end computer system capable of performing billions of transactions per second.

Make-good - Rerun of an advertisement designed to compensate for a mistake made.

Maret profile - Description in demographic or psychograhic terms of those people who use a particular product and thus constitue its market.

Market segmentation - Breakdown of a market into subsections, each with distinct demographic, psychographic and/or consumption characteristics.

Market share - Proportion of sales in a product market that is held by an individual brand of that product.

Marketing mix - Blending of a variety of marketing elements (price, packaging, distribution, promotion, public relations, etc.) into a marketing program.

MAS (Master Advertising Specialist) - Designated industry title signifying that the holder has attained 17 certified education units by attending 170 hours of educational offerings.

Matte finish - Dull paper finish without gloss or uster.

Mechanical - Final make-up of printed advertisement before transformation onto a printing plate.

Media planning - Process that develops media goals and strategies and specific plans to implement these goals and strategies.

Media strategy - Strategy concerned with how ad messages will be delivered to consumers. It involves: identifying the characteristics of the target audience, who should receive ad messages and defining the characteristics of the media that will be used for the delievery of the ad messages.

Medium (plural, media) - Established vehicle for transmitting promotional/ad messages to the target audience.

Megabyte - A million bytes. A thousand kilobytes.

Melton - Dense, thick coating fabric with a smooth face, made with a tight plain or twill weave and two sets of softly twisted filling yarns. It is heavily fulled napped t o hide all traces of the weave. named for Melton Mowbray, a town in Leicestershire, England, where the original cloth was used to make hunting outfils.

Mercerization - Improves the quality of cotton fibers and fabrics. Provides added strength, luster, and ability to accept and hold dyes. Mercerization is a chemical process that swells the yarn, resulting in a smoother and more dye receptive yarn/fabric.

Merchandise proof - Product imprinted with the specified design/copy of an issued purchase order, used to clarify the appearance of the product and the imprint prior to manufacturing.

Merino - Very fine wool from the Merino breed of sheep, used to make the finest of woolen and worsted cloths.

Metal casting - Production method in which jewelry or other material is shaped by covering a mold with molten metal.

Microfiber - Super fine polyester filament yarn recently developed. Microfiber has superior hand feel and draping characteristics to ordinary polyester yarn. Because the fabric is high-count polyester or nylon yarns, it is durable, water-repellent, and windproof, and retains its color, resilience, and soft touch.

Midtones (Color Families) - Transitional colors such as dusty blue, rose pink, sunflower yellow, and salmon that cross seasons and climates, and are less intense than jewlel tones.

MIME - Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions A protocol for internet email that enables the transmission of nontextual data such as graphics, audio, video and other binary types of files. An e-mail program such as Eudora is said to be “MIME Compliant” if it can both send and receive files using the MIME standard. When non-text files are sent using the MIME standard they are converted (encoded) into text - although the resulting text is not really readable. Besides e-mail software, the MIME standard is also universally used by Web Servers to identify the files they are sending to Web Clients, in this way new file formats can be accommodated simply by updating the browsers’ list of pairs of MIME-Types and appropriate software for handling each type.

Modem - MOdulator/DEModulator. Device that converts computer data into high-frequency signals or vice versa, for transmission over phone lines.

Moire - Screen pattern caused by the clash of dot patterns when two or more screens are used.

Molded materials - Made by pouring molten plastic (usually polypropylene) into a cavity to make a hard, seamless shell.

Monogram - Embroidered design composed of one or more letters, usually the initials in a name.

Motivation - Stimulation of a salesperson’s, dealer’s, or employee’s innate desires and personnal objectives by a program of recognition or achievement through merchandise or travel incentive techniques.

Mounting and finishing - Manufacturing of a display, applying litho, die-cutting and assembly.

MPEG File - Motion Pictures Experts Group is a standard compression format for video and sound. It can be used to display and hear online movies.

Multi-line rep - Independent contractor representing several different supplier lines.

Multiifilament - Screenprinting fabric made of two or more strands of material twisted around one another.

Nail head - General term for a variety of small woven patterns, including bird’s eye, dots and small houndstooth. It is usually associated with clear finished worsted suitings, such as sharkskin.

Nap - Raised surface or pile of a fabric, such as fleece, formed by distressing it.

Nav bar - short for “navigation bar” The set of directional tools you are presented with on a Web site. The options listed and hyperlinked on a web page - usually determined by the names of the sections of a Web site. Inherent to the name “Web” almost all web pages are “linked” in numerous places to numerous other pages. Nav bars are supposed to help in guiding a user through the tangled mess.

Navigation - How viewers on a Web site find their way through the content of that site.

Near-pack - Premium separate from, but adjacent to, the merchandise being promoted.

Nonrepro blue - Color that does not reproduce in final production, used to mark instructions and corrections on camera-ready art.

NPSE (National Premium Sales Executives) - Former name of Association of Incentive Marketing.

Nylon - High strenght, high abrasion resistance, low absorbency, good elasticity. Texture varies from smooth and crisp to soft and bulky.

Offset lithography - Printing process in which the image is transferred to a rubber blanket, which in turn applies it to the surface to be printed.

Offset printing - Printing process in which a positive image is transferred to a rubber blanket in reverse, which in turn applies it to the surface to be printed, right reading.

Ombre - Design that has graduations in color, usually it is shades of one family of color or can change colors, such as from green to blue.

On-pack - Direct premium attached to the outside of the product’s container.

Opacity - Heaviness of ink coverage.

Open line - Product line a supplier will sell to all distributors. Also known as a general line.

Overlay proof - Off-press color proof produced with four dyed or pigmented overlay films.

Overrun - Specialties produced in excess of the number originally ordered.

Oxford - Soft, somewhat porous and rather stout cotton shirting weave gives a silklike finish, also made from spun rayon, acetate, and other man-made fibers. Oxford also means a woolen or worsted fabric with a grayish cast.

Pad printing - Method of imprinting in which a recessed surface is covered with ink. When the plate is wiped clean, ink remains in the recessed area. A silicone pad then presses against the plate, pulls the ink out of the recesses and is pressed directly against the product.

Page description language - Method for communicating page, font, and graphic information from the workstation to the print-out device.

Pagination - Process of performing page makeup automatically.

Paisley - Abstract scroll pattern that originated in Paisley, Scotland.

Panels - Five and six-panel caps. Six panels sewn together from the crown of the cap creating a seam down the front of the cap. Good for embroidery, but not a good choice for printing. A five-panel cap has five panels sewn together to form the crown of the cap.Since there is not seam down the front of the cap, five panels are an ideal choice for printing and embroidery.

Pantograph (Engraving) - Master letters or designs are traced with a stylus that is connected to and followed by a cutting tool that pushes the lettering or image into metal. Used in many jewelry shops an to engrave silver-plated bowls and cups.

Pantone Matching System (PMS) - Color scale used to precisely match colors for printing. Each hue has a coded number indicating instructions for mixing inks to achieve that hue.

Paper proof - Impression of type or artwork on paper so the correctness and quality of the material to be printed can be checked. The least expensive is a regular black and white faxed paper proof. The most expensive is an actual physical preproduction sample of the product itself.

Part-cash redemption - Option, often included with coupon programs, allowing the customer to get a premium more quickly by sending fewer coupons plus a specified cash amount.

Paste-up - Act of producing mechanical art.

Pastels (Color Families) - Soft sunwashed colors such as sky blue, seafoam green, coral, baby pink, and butter yellow that are used predominatly in spring and summer deliveries and in warmer climates.

Peach finish - Soft hand usually obtained by brushing the fabric lightly. It can also be achieved with chemical or laundry abrasion.

Pencil rub - Low-cost way of producing a “sample” of an embroidery design. Consists literally of a piece of tracing paper placed over a sew-out and rubbed lightly with a pencil to produce an impression for the embroidery.

Per inquiry - Means of media payment used in direct-response programs.

Perceived value - What someone believes promotional merchandise is worth.

Permanent press - Improves the wrinkle recovery and shape retention qualities of fabrics.

Personalize - To imprint the recipient’s name on a particular product.

PFD - Products that are specially manufactured for dyeing; 100% cotton thread, oversized cut to allow for shrinkage; no optical brighteners for even dye coverage.

Phantom - Transparent image or ghost superimposed over a subject.

Photoetching - Printing process using an acid solution to etch a photograph onto a metal surface.

Photographic imaging (Engraving) - 1. Photometal processes actually develop metal by using photosensitive, anodized aluminum in either metal stock or metal sheet stock. 2. Chemical etching uses negative or camera-ready artwork, exposes it and coats the metal using acid or other more toxic chemicals to eat away impressions on the metal not covered by film.

Photomechanical transfer (IPMT) - Diffusion-transfer process used to resize or copy images.

Photostate - Black-and-white reproduction of original art, generally not acceptable as “camera-ready” art.

Piece-a-week offer - Self-liquidating or profit-making retail offer of related premiums, once a week for 12 to 15 weeks, with specified purchases.

Pigment dyed - Caps are colored with a particular pigment that reacts with the washing to create a faded look.

Pincheck - Very small check pattern that is popular for suits, sportswear and outerwear.

Pique - Single knit construction also known as honeycomb or mesh. An open knit surface with a coarser hand than jersey or interlock.

Plackets - (Slits in apparel forming a closure). A small boxed area at the bottom of where the buttons are.

Plain weave - Simplest, most common of three basic weaves (over one/under one interlacement). Provides a smooth surface for printing. The other basic weaves are satin and twill. (See Broadcloth, Chambray, and Poplin).

Plate - Rubber or metal image carrier that transfers ink to the printing surface.

Point-based system - Program in which recipients earn premiums based on an acquired number of points.

Point-of-purchase (POP) advertising - Advertising materials such as displays and cards that are placed in retail stores to draw attention to a product.

Polyester - Versatile in weights and textures for weaves and knits. Resists wrinkling. Excellent shape retention.

Poplin - Medium to heavyweight unbalanced plain weave. It is a spun yarn fabric that is usually piece dyed. Usually poplin is constructed with fine yarn, densely woven, resulting in a crisp, dressy appearance.

Position proof - Color proofs for checking position, layout and/or color breakout of image elements.

Positive - Image reproduction with the same density values as the original.

Post-cure - Resin treated fabric is cut and sewn. The finished garment is then cured in a high temperature curing oven.

Premium - Product, imprinted or not, that is given for performing some task or duty, e.g., a gift with a purchase.

Premium rep - Incentive representative.

Premium show - Exhibition featuring displays of incentive suppliers.

Press Proof - Proof of a color subject made on printing press in advance of the production run.

Prize - Reward give to the winner in a contest, sweepstakes, or lottery; also sometimes refers to a sales incentive award.

Pro forma invoice - Invoice issued as a matter of record and sent to the distributor prior to the shipment of products to confirm the specifications.

Profile - Height of a cap’s crown. Low-profile is approximately 3.5”. Regular profile is approximately 3.75”. Pro-style is somewhere in-between the two.

Progressive proofs - Color proofs that show the reproduction of each color plate separately and in combination with each other. Also called color keys

Progressive proofs or "progs" - Proofs made from separate plates in color work showing sequence of printing and result after each color has been applied.

Promotional buyer - Advertiser or other purchaser of promotional products from distributors. Also know as end-user.

Promotional product - Useful or interesting article of merchasndise usually carrying an imprinted advertising or promotional message.

Proof - Impression of type or artwork on paper to allow the correctness and quality of the material to be checked.

Proof-of-purchase - Box-top, label, trademark, coupon, UPC symbol or other token from a product, which qualifies a consumer to receive a premium.

Proportion - Design concept expressing an element’s relationship of length to width.

Protected domains - Areas that are accessible only by authorized people usually by the use of a Fire Wall.

Proxy (or) proxy server - A technique used to cache information on a Web server and acts as an intermediary between a Web client and that Web server. It basically holds the most commonly and recently used content from the World Wide Web for users in order to provide quicker access and to increase server security. This is common for an ISP especially if they have a slow link to the Internet. Proxy servers are also constructs that allow direct Internet access from behind a firewall. They open a socket on the server, and allow communication via that socket to the Internet. For example, if your computer is inside a protected network, and you want to browse the Web using Netscape, you would set up a proxy server on a firewall. The proxy server would be configured to allow requests from your computer, trying for port 80, to connect to its port 1080, and it would then redirect all requests to the proper places.

Psychographics - Measurement of the psychological and lifestyle characteristics of individuals or households.

Puff prints - Screening process using puff inks. After screening, the product is exposed to heat. A chemical additive in the ink causes it to rise, creating a raised surface.

Purchae privlege offer - Term little used. Once commonly applied to self-liquidating food-store