Advanced Specialty Resins & Coating Solutions
+91 9582401868 shwetank@coatproinnovations.com WhatsApp

Glossary

Coatings & resins glossary

30 terms from specialty resins, binders, printing inks and coatings — defined in plain language, with the practical implication rather than just the textbook line.

A

Acrylate Functionality

Acrylate functionality is the number of reactive acrylate groups per molecule, and it is the main control over cure speed, hardness and flexibility in a UV formulation.

Also known as: Functionality, f

Acrylic Emulsion

An acrylic emulsion is a water-based dispersion of acrylic polymer particles that coalesce into a continuous film as the water evaporates.

Also known as: Acrylic latex, water-based acrylic

Adhesion

Adhesion is the strength of the bond between a coating and its substrate, and it is the first requirement — every other coating property is irrelevant if the film does not stay attached.

Also known as: Bond strength

Amine Synergist

An amine synergist is an amine-functional additive that counteracts oxygen inhibition at the surface of a UV coating, producing a fully cured, tack-free finish.

Also known as: Amino acrylate, amine-modified acrylate

B

Block Resistance

Block resistance is a coating’s ability to resist sticking to itself when printed or coated material is stacked or wound into a reel under pressure.

Also known as: Anti-blocking

C

Coalescence

Coalescence is the process by which emulsion polymer particles deform and fuse into a continuous film as water evaporates from a water-based coating.

Also known as: Film formation

Coat Weight

Coat weight is the mass of dry coating applied per unit area, usually expressed in grams per square metre, and it determines both performance and cost.

Also known as: Film weight, application weight

Corona Treatment

Corona treatment is an electrical discharge process that oxidises a plastic film surface to raise its surface energy so inks and coatings will wet and adhere.

Also known as: Corona discharge treatment

D

Dyne Level

Dyne level is the measured surface energy of a substrate in dynes per centimetre, and it predicts whether a coating will wet and adhere to it.

Also known as: Surface tension, dyne value

E

Epoxy Acrylate

Epoxy acrylate is a UV-curable oligomer made by reacting acrylic acid with an epoxy resin, giving hard, glossy, chemically resistant films at low cost.

Also known as: Bisphenol-A epoxy acrylate

F

Flexible Packaging Film

Flexible packaging film is thin plastic film — commonly BOPP, PET, PE or CPP — used as the substrate for printed and laminated packaging structures.

Also known as: Packaging film, converting film

Flexographic Printing

Flexographic printing transfers ink from a flexible relief plate via an anilox roller, and is widely used for flexible packaging, labels and corrugated printing.

Also known as: Flexo

G

Glass Transition Temperature

Glass transition temperature (Tg) is the temperature at which a polymer changes from a hard, glassy state to a soft, rubbery one, and it largely determines film hardness and flexibility.

Also known as: Tg

Gravure Printing

Gravure printing transfers ink from cells engraved into a metal cylinder directly onto the substrate, and is used for long-run, high-quality flexible packaging printing.

Also known as: Rotogravure

L

LED UV Curing

LED UV curing uses narrow-band light-emitting diodes instead of mercury arc lamps to cure coatings, with lower energy use, no ozone and instant on-off operation.

Also known as: UV-LED

M

Migration

Migration is the transfer of low-molecular-weight substances from a coating or ink through packaging into the packed product, and it is regulated for food-contact applications.

Also known as: Component migration

Minimum Film-Forming Temperature

Minimum film-forming temperature is the lowest temperature at which a latex or emulsion coalesces into a continuous film rather than drying to a discontinuous powder.

Also known as: MFFT, MFT

O

Oligomer

An oligomer is a medium-molecular-weight reactive polymer that forms the backbone of a UV-curable formulation and determines most of the cured film properties.

Also known as: Prepolymer, resin backbone

Oxygen Inhibition

Oxygen inhibition is the quenching of free radicals by atmospheric oxygen at the surface of a UV coating, leaving a tacky, undercured surface layer.

Also known as: Surface inhibition, air inhibition

P

Photoinitiator

A photoinitiator is a molecule that absorbs UV light and fragments into free radicals, starting the polymerisation that cures a UV coating.

Also known as: PI

Polyurethane Binder

A polyurethane binder is a resin based on urethane linkages, used in printing inks and coatings to hold pigment in place and bond the film to the substrate.

Also known as: PU binder

R

Reactive Diluent

A reactive diluent is a low-viscosity acrylate monomer that thins a UV formulation and becomes part of the cured film, unlike a solvent which evaporates.

Also known as: Monomer, acrylate monomer

Rheology

Rheology is the study of how a coating flows and deforms under stress, covering everything viscosity alone cannot describe.

Also known as: Flow behaviour

S

Slip Additive

A slip additive is a surface-active material added to plastic film or coatings to reduce friction, which improves handling but frequently destroys adhesion.

Also known as: Slip agent, anti-block additive

Solids Content

Solids content is the percentage of a coating that remains as film after all solvent or water has evaporated.

Also known as: Non-volatile content, NVC

Surface Energy

Surface energy is the measure of a solid surface’s tendency to be wetted by a liquid, and it determines whether a coating will spread across a substrate or bead up on it.

Also known as: Critical surface tension

U

Urethane Acrylate

Urethane acrylate is a UV-curable oligomer combining a polyurethane backbone with acrylate end groups, giving flexibility and adhesion alongside fast UV cure.

Also known as: PU-acrylate, polyurethane acrylate

UV Curing

UV curing is a process where a liquid coating converts to a solid film in seconds through a photoinitiated polymerisation reaction triggered by ultraviolet light.

Also known as: Radiation curing, energy curing

V

Viscosity

Viscosity is a liquid’s resistance to flow, and it determines whether a coating can be applied correctly by a given process at a given speed.

Also known as: Flow resistance

VOC

VOC means volatile organic compounds — carbon-based solvents that evaporate from a coating during drying and are regulated for their environmental and health effects.

Also known as: Volatile Organic Compounds

Start a conversation

Term you cannot find?

If a term you work with is missing here, tell us — we add definitions as the questions come up, and we will answer yours directly in the meantime.

Send an enquiry

The more specific you are, the faster we can give a useful answer.

Chat on WhatsApp