M 1 yards

a unit of pricing used on binding and stripping tapes to designate an area one inch wide and 1000 yards in length. It represents the same amount of area as 36 MSI.

machine direction

the direction of web materials parallel to it's forward movement on a machine or coater.

machine finish

In the pressure sensitive industry it most frequently refers to a liner that was calendered on the paper machine rather than when calendering is done as a separate operation. It is full term for abbreviation M.F.

machine-readable

a general term for printed material which can be directly transferred to a data processing system.

magnetic die

a die used in on roll label presses that is made from a thin sheet of metal. Magnetic dies attach to a fixed cylinder magnetically. Magnetic dies are much less expensive to buy than engraved dies, but they do not last as long. The reason they are less expensive is that the printer does not buy a new cylinder each time he buys a die. Their main limitations are that they need a large circumference cylinder and their shorter life cycle. Their main advantage is ease of handling and lower cost.

making order

any order which cannot be filled from stock and is made according to the purchaser's specifications. It could involve either a large quantity of a standard item, or it could be a custom combination that is not currently stocked.

mandrel

the core around which a material is wound to form tubes.

manifold paper

a light weight paper used by the form industry for additional carbon copies. Frequently it is in a 7 to 9 pound basis weight bond basis. The paper needs to be light weight so that imaging will be visible on lower parts of a multi-part form.

Manufacturer's ID

In the UPC code, the 6 digit number applied by the UCC to uniquely identify a manufacturer or company selling products under its own name; the first 6 digits of the 12-digit UPC number

marginal perforation

a type of perforation in a form used to enable the user to manually remove the pin feed margins from the form.

Martin Sweets Reflection Diano Meter

equipment used to measure brightness of paper. It was formerly called the G.E. Brightness Tester. See also brightness.

matrix

the face and adhesive layers of a pressure sensitive construction surrounding the die-cut labels. this is usually removed after die-cutting to obtain pressure sensitive labels mounted on a release liner.

matrix stripping

the act of removing the matrix surrounding the label at high speeds.

Matrix Symbol Scanners

are designed to evaluate data from a two dimensional area, locating each printed element in both x and y coordinates simultaneously. Because of this, CCD camera technology is currently employed in some of the available scanners.

Matrix Symbols

appear as a checker board; they are most likely square in shape, and contain some form of unique finder pattern which distinguishes them from others and provides a decoding reference for scanners.

matte finish

a dull finish.

MD

This stands for machine direction of the paper. The machine direction would be the direction of paper parallel to its forward movement on the paper machine. In rolls it would be the length of the roll. In sheets it would be the long grain direction of the sheet. Generally paper offers greater strength and stiffness in the machine direction.

mechanical adhesion

the attraction of label and substrate based on the physical interlocking of the adhesive with substrate. Smoothness of substrate has a big bearing on how good mechanical adhesion is. The rougher the surface, the less mechanical adhesion there will be.

medium

a term used in the water sensitive industry to refer to colored offset base papers.

melting point

the temperature at which a solid becomes a liquid.

memory

the property of a material that attempts to return to it's original shape.

metalized film

a plastic or resinous film that has been coated on one side with a very thin layer of metal. See metalizing.

metalized paper

a paper that has been coated on one side with a very thin layer of metal. See metalizing.

metalizing

the application of a thin coating of metal to a non metallic surface. Metalized papers are in Technicote's Roll PS line. They are similar in appearance to foil, but do not have a solid layer of aluminum.

MHI

Material Handling Institute, Inc.

MICR

abbreviation for magnetic ink character recognition. It is the process of reading characters by means of magnetic sensing. The most common application for this type of scanning is the numbers at the bottom of checks.

migration

the movement of one or more of the components of a pressure sensitive adhesive to either a substrate or face stock. It can also refer to components of face stock, ink or substrate that move into the adhesive. For example, plasticizers in vinyl frequently migrate into rubber based adhesives causing the label stock to look transparent.

mil

unit of thickness measurement used for materials. 1 mil = 0.001 inch = 100 gauge

Mil-Std

Military Standard.

mill brand

a product brand chosen by the paper mill or supplier as a trade name. It would be the opposite of private brand where a merchant picks the name.

mimeo bond

a paper used for making copies on the Mimeograph machine. Absorbency, opacity, finish and scuff resistance are significant properties. Users of stencil type marking machine equipment use this type of paper.

MIS

Management Information Systems

misread

a condition which occurs when the data output of a reader does not agree with the data encoded in the bar code symbol.

MMMSI

an abbreviation for billion square inches.

MMSI

an abbreviation for million square inches.

module

the narrowest nominal unit of measure in a bar code.

module check digit or character

a character within the symbol data field calculated using modular arithmetic, which is used for error detection. The calculated character is determined by applying a code algorithm to the data field contents. see Check Character.

moisture content

a measure of how much moisture is in the paper. The moisture content of paper affects its dimensional stability and affects most of the strength tests. Normally samples are conditioned in air at 731/4F and 50% RH before conducting strength tests. A dry paper would tend to tear more easily. Paper changes in moisture content depending on atmospheric conditions to which it is subjected. It is measured numerically and higher numbers indicate a larger amount of moisture is present.

moisture equilibrium

when a sample stops changing in weight because of moisture absorbed or given off. Paper will get heavier as it picks up moisture and lighter as it gives off moisture.

moistureproof

the property of a material which makes it substantially impervious to water vapor. This type of treating is frequently done on boxes that will be in high moisture atmospheres. Many types of moistureproof coatings can make label adhesion difficult. This is particularly the case with water sensitive adhesives. Due to fears of overstating performance, many use the term moisture resistant rather than moistureproof.

monomer

a primary chemical structure which reacts with itself, under the influence of catalytic action, to create polymeric forms of much greater molecular weight.

mottle

non uniform coloring or gloss level of paper.

Moving Beam Bar Code Reader

a scanning device where scanning motion is achieved by mechanically moving the optical geometry.

MRD

minimum reflectance differential; A method that is used to determine if there is an adequate difference between absorbed and reflected light.

MRP

material requirements planning.

msi

an abbreviation for thousand square inches. It is the most common unit of pricing in the roll pressure sensitive industry. At times it is used for pricing dry gum forms products.

Mullen tester

a brand of equipment used to test the bursting strength of paper.

Mylar(r)

Dupont's trademark for clear, tough polymeric polyester film.