Terminology

Don't be confused by the terminology used in our industry. Find out what it all means right here. This page includes an alphabetical list of technical terms and phrases used throughout our web site, and sometimes used by our sales and customer service representatives.

In this glossary you will find definitions for newly introduced and uncommonly used terminology. We have included diagrams and illustrations in an attempt to shed additional light on the meanings of various phrases. You will also find out why and when we use these phrases.

We hope you will find this glossary helpful but, should you need any further clarification of any kind, please don’t hesitate to ask us.

Choosing a Good Font for Jewelry Stamps
The Difference Between Center Lines, Outlines & Filled Artwork
The Difference Between Center Lines, Outlines & Filled Characters
Embossing vs. Debossing
Sharp Face, Flat Face & Round Face Stamps
Understanding Raster & Vector Images
Tips for Submitting Artwork
When Vector Images Need Correction
Stamp Relief
Surface Area

Choosing a Good Font for Jewelry Stamps:

Make sure all the lower case alphabet letters are as close as possible in size. In other words, the longest letters (b,d,f,g,j,k,l, p,q,t,y and z) should be short. An example of such font is the President font.

Make sure the letters are fairly simple in style, with open loops (loops in letters such as the a and the e).
Also make sure the letters are as thin as can be (This promotes clarity).
A font with letters that are even in line-thickness, such as the letters of the Arial font, are recommended. In other words, look closely to see if the line thickness of each letter does NOT change from thin to thick and back to thin again. (For example the Times New Roman font features such letters and, therefore, this font is not modifyable).

The Difference Between Center Lines, Outlines & Filled Artwork

Artwork- Centerlines: Centerlines of any given artwork are imaginary lines that run through the centers of the entire filled image (like a skeleton).
When and why do we use this tem: When hard materials such as steel need to be marked, a sharp-faced stamp is needed. Therefore, any filled artwork, or artwork that has any degree of boldness, would need to be recreated with only its centerlines. (See: Graphic Assistance for converting filled artwork into centerline-artwork) and Fig.1.

Artwork- Outlines: Outlines of any given artwork are all the lines that surround the entire filled image. In other words, the outlines are all the borderlines inside and around the outer edges. For example, the inner and the outer circles make up the outlines of a doughnut.
When and why do we use this term: See: “Artwork Centerlines” above and Fig.1

Artwork- Filled: We use this phrase to describe artwork for logos and designs that are filled in or “colored in”. For example, a child’s coloring book featuring the outlines of images to be filled with color. After they are colored, these images would be considered “filled artwork”. The same applies to artwork we receive for producing stamps.
When do we use this term: This kind of artwork is primarily used to produce flat-faced stamps for marking materials such as soft metals, clay and tooling leather and Fig.1

Fig.1

The Difference between Centerliine, Outline & Filled Characters

Character- Centerline: The Centerlines of a character are the imaginary lines that run though its center. In other words the character centerlines make up its skeleton.
When and why do we use this term: See: “Artwork- Centerlines” above and Fig.2.

Character- Filled (Standard): Existing True-Type or computer font characters that were created with some degree of thickness. We call these “filled characters”
When do we use this term: When a fairly soft material needs to be marked, flat-faced stamps can be made using filled characters. However, when a fairly hard material needs to be manually marked, sharp-faced stamps would be needed eliminating the option of using filled characters. See “Artwork- Filled” above and Fig.2.

Character- Outlines: These are the inner and outer boundary lines of a filled character. For example, the inner and the outer circles make up the outlines of the letter O.

Single-Stroke Fonts: These are fonts created in single vectors (see also “Character Centerline” above).
Why and when do we use this term: When sharp-faced stamps must be used (see “Sharp-Faced Stamp” above), you can choose from our single-stroke fonts which were specifically created for producing sharp-faced stamps that will easily penetrate hard, impressible materials. See Fig.2
When and why do we use this term: See: “Artwork Centerlines” above and Fig.2.

Fig.2

Embossing vs. Debossing

Debossed Mark: A debossed mark is a sunken imprint.
When do we use this term: We use it when a mark is impressed into the surface of the material. The majority of stamps are made to achieve a debossed (sunken) effect in the surface of the material being marked. See Fig.3

Embossed Mark: An embossed mark is a mark that protrudes from the surface of a sheet of metal. A good example is the license plate of a vehicle. This kind of mark is achieved by using an embossing die set comprised of two parts (male & female). This marking option requires the use of a press (usually industrial). When do we use this term: Although this phrase also means to stamp, imprint, decorate, etc., at Infinity Stamps we use this term when producing embossing die sets. See Fig.3

Fig.3

Flat Face, Sharp Face & Round Face Stamps

Flat-Faced Stamp: This term describes a stamp that features a character, logo or design that is made with a flat top surface.
Why do we use this term: When you need to mark materials such as soft metals soft and semi-soft wood, tooling leather, cardstock, ceramic pottery clay, PMC (precious metal clay), wet cement/concrete, sand, wax, soap and any soft materials; a flat-faced stamp would be the preferred option. See Fig.4

Round-Faced Stamp: This term describes a stamp that features characters, logo or design that is made with rounded peaks.
When do we use this term: When low stress marking is required (to lower the impact), for example for canisters containing gas under pressure, for aerospace parts and the oil industry), round-faced or dot-style stamps are the best option.

Sharp-Faced Stamp: This term describes a stamp that features a character, logo or design that is made with chisel-like sharp peaks.
When do we use this phrase: When you need to mark materials such as unhardened carbon steel, mild steel, hardwood, thick tough leather (shoe-sole leather) and plastics that can withstand impact, sharp-faced stamps are the best and, sometimes, the only way to go. See Fig.4

Fig.4

Understanding Raster & Vector Images

Raster Artwork: Graphic files consisting of or containing a digital image which is a 2-D array of pixels (picture elements). In other words, raster artwork is a digital image which has either been captured as a photograph or a scan or was created by using a raster graphics software program such as Photoshop.
Raster artwork can vary in its resolution but even high resolution raster artwork can easily be identified by simply zooming in on it. When zooming in on a raster graphic the pixels making up the image will be revealed.
Examples of raster image file types are: BMP, TIFF, GIF, and JPIG files.
When do we use the term “Raster Artwork: This term identifies the kind of artwork files (such as those listed above) that cannot be used by computer engraving programs unless converted into vector artwork. (See Graphic Assistance) See Fig.5

Vector Artwork: We use this term when we refer to Vector graphics. Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves and shapes or polygons, which are all based upon mathematical equations, to represent images in computer graphics. When artwork is in vector format, it can be refined and modified without the risk of losing detail.
Why do we use term: This term identifies the only artwork format compatible with computerized engraving. Every stamp we produce involves computerized engraving and, therefore, vector artwork is the only artwork that can be used. See Fig.5
Whether your artwork is in raster or vector format, we can accommodate you and we are at your service. For Graphic Assistance, please see http://infinitystamps.com/at_your_service.html

Fig.5

Tips for Submitting Artwork

Raster files such as .JPG, .TIF, .GIF, .BMP & .PSD should be of the highest quality possible.
Vector files should be free of any raster images. A useful way of spotting raster art is to zoom in close and see if it becomes pixilated. (See example below)
Saving a file as a vector format such as EPS, AI or FH11, does not guarantee that the image will be in true vector format. If the document contains raster images, they need to be vectorized. An easy way to determine this is to preview the document in "outline" or "keyline" mode. In this mode, every outline will be a pathway for the engraving program.

When Vector Images Need Correction

When a filled (“colored in”) image is provided (for producing flat face stamps), area should be outlined and interior of image should be free of intersecting lines. (see example below

When flat-face stamps are desired, the artwork should be prepared with outlines.
(See example below).

When sharp-face stamps are desired, the artwork should be prepared either as an outline, or as a single-stroke centerline. (See examples below)

Stamp Relief

Stamp Relief: We use this term to indicate how much the featured image will protrude above the surface of the stamp face.
Why do we use this term: The nature of the material you intend to mark will dictate the relief for your stamp(s). In other words, for soft materials such as wood, leather and clay, the relief will be greater than the relief of stamps made for marking harder materials such as soft metals and steel. See Fig.6

Fig.6

Surface Area

Surface Area {of Stamp Face}: We use this term when referring to the total length and thickness of a character, text or design. In other words, the total amount of black (filled) areas comprising the character(s), logo or a design to be used for producing any single stamp equals the total line length which makes up the surface area of the stamp face.
Why do we use this term: The amount of black present on the proof prepared for any stamp equals the portion of the stamp that will come in contact with the surface of the product you intend to mark. Therefore, when choosing a font and preparing the artwork for any stamp, the total “line-length” needs to be taken into consideration, as it has a direct affect on the degree of force that will be needed for achieving quality marks. See Fig.7