Machine direction
(1) In
the manufacture of paper or board the majority of the fibres tend to align
themselves in a direction parallel to the direction of travel through the
machine. This direction is known as the "machine,"
"longitudinaI," or "with the grain" direction, and is at
right angles to the "across," "transverse" or
"cross" direction.
(2) For packaging equipment, a right-handed
machine is one through which the packages flow from 1eft to right when the
machine is viewed from the front or normal operator location; on a
left-handed machine, the package travels from right to left.
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Machine-glazed (MG)
Paper
made on a machine with a Yankee drier. The top surface is smooth and can have
a relatively high gloss; the reverse side is rough and not glossy.
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Magnum
A glass
bottle, sometimes usedfor sparkling
wines, having a capacity of 2.25 litres. A double magnum contains 4.5 litres. In some markets magnumcapacities differ from these values.
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Mailer lock
An extra
lock tab that is added to the ends or top of a folding carton so that it will
remain closed during rough handling.
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Make-ready
(1)
(noun) Preparatory operations required prior to actual production, largely
with work of a custom nature.
(2) In printing plants, preparatory operations
prior to going to press, including the adjustment of cutting, creasing and
scoring rolls, preparation ofthe
press, etc.
(3) (verb) To perform the make ready operations.
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Manila
A paper
with colour and finish similar to that formerly obtained with paper made from
manila hemp stock. Nowadays the term has no significance as to fibre
composition.
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Manufacturer's joint
The seam
of a paperboard case or folding carton where the two edges of the blank have
been joined by the manufacturer.
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Marking
Application
of printed symbols, numbers, etc., to containers or labels for
identification, storage, handling, shipment, etc. May be done manually using
stencils, pens, stamps or paint, or automatically on the packaging line.
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Marking ink
Ink for
marking containers using stencil, a rubber stamp or other marking devices.
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Master container/pack
Shipping
container/pack into which other packs are placed, for collation handling and
additional protection purposes e.g. for frozen shrimps.
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Materials handling
The
concept and technology of conveying, transporting and warehousing of goods.
Can be accomplished by manual, semi-automatic or fully automatic means.
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Matte Finish
A surface
coating which is not glossy, from whatever angle it is observed. Also
referred to as a flat finish.
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Mechanical artwork
Artwork
that has been fully prepared and assembled for photographic reproduction.
Normally the first step of a printing job; also termed a paste-up.
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Mechanical wood pulp
Pulp
produced by grinding logs against a revolving rough stone cylinder to
separate the fibres.
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Melt index
A measure
of the viscosity of a molten thermoplastic resin, defined as the quantity of
product that will flow through a defined orifice in 10 minutes under
controlled pressure and temperature.
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Melting point
The
temperature at which a solid begins to become a liquid, to melt. Not to be
confused with softening point.
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Membrane
Any thin,
soft, pliable sheet or layer of animal or vegetable material or thin metals
or plastics.
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Meniscus
The
curved surface ofa liquid at the fill
level in a bottle or jar, where the fluid level next to the container wall is
higher than in the center.
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Metal can
A rigid
metal container made of steel, tinplate, aluminium or other metal.
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Metallizing
Applying
a thin coating of metal, usually aluminium, by vacuum deposition onto a
non-metallic film or paper surface in a vacuum chamber.
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Microclimate
A term
used by climatologists to designate the climate of a small, local area. The
term has come into use to describe the "climate" within a package
and includes temperature, relative humidity, and chemical composition of the
gases within the package.
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Microcrystalline wax
A fine wax with grains so small that they are visible only through a
microscope. It therefore has high flow and high penetration characteristics.
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Microflute
Corrugated
paperboard employing relatively fine pitch small thickness E flutes; fluting
medium.
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Micron
One
thousandth of a millimetre.
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Migration
The
movement or transfer of a chemical component of the packaging material to the
product or a component of the product to or through the packaging material.
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Mil
One
thousandth of an inch (25 microns).
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Mirror imaging
When
printing on an opaque surface, the design reproduced is the mirror image of
that on the printing plate. However, if printed on the reverse side of a
transparent material and viewed through it, the image is the same as that on
the plate.
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Modified Atmosphere Packaging
(MAP)
Gas-tight
package in which the interior mixture of gase is modified to assist in
preserving the contents
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Modular container
(1) One
of a series of containers so designed that the panels forming the faces can
be used interchangeably for several box sizes and the completed containers
can be arranged, like blocks, in several patterns to fill the same cubic
space.
(2) A system of shipping containers designed dimensionally to make up
a module for maximum storage and shipping space utilization. The containers
are designed to fit given rack and pallet sizes during the distribution
cycle.
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Moebius loop
Design of
circulating arrows indicating that a product or package is recoverable and
recyclable.
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Moire patterns
Interference
patterns which can arise in a printed, half tone designs if the halftone dots
are slightly misaligned.
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Moisture content
The
amount of water in a finished material expressed as a percentage of the
original total weight of the test sample.
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Mould
A cavity
into which a molten material such as glass, metal or plastic is poured or
forced to be formed into a desired shape conforming to the inside of the
cavity.
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Mould join line/seam
A line or
slight projection formed at the point where the mould halves make contact.
The prominence of the line depends on the accuracy with which the mating
mould halves are matched. Also known as the mould parting line.
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Mould Number
The
number assigned to each mould or set of moulds for identification purposes,
usually placed in that part of the container mould that forms the base of the
container.
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Moulded pulp tray
Packaging
container formed directly from slush pulp moulded into forms that snugly
contain, separate or cushion articles — e.g. apples, eggs.
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Mullen test
A test to
determine the bursting strength of a flat sample of a corrugated or solid
fibreboard.
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Multifold/multipanel label
Label
having two or more folded leaves that can be opened out by the customer to
reveal additional information (on pharmaceutical packages, for example)
and/or mail-in coupons.
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Multi-layer container
A plastic
container which is co-extruded with two or more different plastics, to
protect and/or contain products such as oxygen-sensitive foods or industrial
chemicals. For example, a PA/PE pouch, the polyamide bringing the added
barrier, the polyethylene bringing the sealing performance.
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Multi-pack
Multiple
units of identical packed items — e.g. a six-pack carton of soft drink
bottles or beer cans, held together by a retaining device or material.
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Multiple ups
In
printing technology the number of identical copies on the same sheet. In
reproduction technology (step and repeat copying) the aligning of spaced,
identical designs in one or both directions on the printing plate by means of
photographic reproduction or copying.
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Multi-wall
Having
more than one wall or ply construction. In multi-wall sacks, generally means
more than two walls; a two-ply construction is called duplex or double ply.
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