Corporate merch glossary

Name: Merch Italy
Address: IT

30+ industry terms used by procurement, marketing and finance teams sourcing branded corporate merch across Italy.

MOQ: Minimum order quantity. Standard tiers 50 / 100 / 250 / 500 / 1,000 units; unit price drops 15–30% per tier.
Pantone: Standardised colour matching system (PMS) of ~1,800 spot colours, each defined by a specific ink recipe; the bridge between brand book and printed product.
Delta-E (ΔE): Numeric metric for colour difference between two samples. ΔE ≤ 1 invisible; ≤ 2.5 invisible to most viewers; ≤ 5 acceptable; > 5 visibly different.
DTF: Direct-to-Film transfer printing. Full-colour photo-quality print on most fabrics, soft hand, 30–40 wash cycles.
Sublimation: Dye-into-polyester printing using heat and pressure; photo quality but only works on white synthetic fabric or coated hard goods.
Silk-screen / serigraphy: Classic stencil-ink push through mesh. Up to 6 spot colours, durable 50+ washes, best Pantone accuracy on cotton apparel.
UV digital print: UV-cured ink applied digitally to any hard substrate — bottles, power banks, notebooks, gift boxes. Full-colour, photo-rich.
Laser engraving: Permanent subtractive mark on metal, leather, wood, bamboo or coated stainless steel. Substrate-coloured (no ink); high-end finish.
Pad printing / tampography: Silicone-pad ink transfer for curved small items (pens, lighters, USB drives, golf balls). MOQ typically 100+.
Embroidery: Thread sewn directly into fabric. Premium feel, full-colour via thread library (Madeira / Gunold codes approximate Pantone).
Heat-transfer vinyl (HTV): Cut vinyl pressed onto textile. Cheap and fast for 1–2 spot colours; 20–30 wash durability.
Strike-off: Pre-production sample with logo on real substrate using real production method. €35–80 per sample; credited against orders 200+ units.
FOB: Free On Board — Incoterm where seller delivers to port and buyer takes risk from there. Common on Asia–EU shipments.
EXW: Ex Works — buyer collects from seller's premises. Lowest seller responsibility.
DDP: Delivered Duty Paid — seller bears all costs and risk to buyer's door, including customs and duties. Common request from EU corporate buyers.
EUR.1: EU origin certificate enabling preferential tariff treatment in non-EU FTA countries (UK, Türkiye, Mercosur, EFTA, etc.).
REACH SVHC: EU Chemicals Regulation 1907/2006. Mandatory declaration of Substances of Very High Concern present above 0.1% by weight.
RoHS: EU Directive 2011/65 restricting hazardous substances (lead, mercury, cadmium) in electronics. CE mark prerequisite.
CE marking: Manufacturer declaration of conformity with applicable EU directives. Mandatory on toys, electronics, PPE, machinery.
ISO 9001: International quality-management-system standard. Baseline expectation for a credible production supplier.
OEKO-TEX Standard 100: Textile-safety certification — independently tested for skin-harmful substances. Baseline on apparel for EU corporate use.
GOTS: Global Organic Textile Standard. Gold-standard certification for organic cotton and wool, covering chemicals, social criteria and traceability.
FSC: Forest Stewardship Council. Sustainable forestry certification for paper, notebooks, wooden boxes, bamboo. Classes: FSC 100%, FSC Mix, FSC Recycled.
GRS: Global Recycled Standard. Tracks recycled content in polyester, nylon and other synthetic materials.
rPET: Recycled polyethylene terephthalate — polyester yarn made from post-consumer PET bottles. Common in eco apparel and bottles.
CMYK: Subtractive colour model for print (cyan, magenta, yellow, black). The native colour space for digital print.
RGB: Additive colour model for screens (red, green, blue). Never used for print production — always convert before sending.
PDF/X-1a: ISO 15930 print-ready PDF standard. Flat transparency, embedded fonts, CMYK + spot. The expected format for EU print houses.
Debossing: Pressing logo into substrate without ink — premium look on leather notebooks, wooden gift boxes, paperboard.
Embossing: Raised logo on substrate via die pressure. Premium tactile finish on leather, paper, card.
Hot foil stamping: Heated metallic foil pressed onto substrate via brass die. Gold / silver / copper premium finish on notebooks, gift boxes, business cards.
Screen mesh count: Threads per inch on the silk-screen mesh — higher mesh (305+) prints finer detail; lower mesh (110) lays down more ink for vivid solid colours.
Fusing: Heat-press bonding of two textile layers — used for collars, cuffs, structured polos and embroidered patches.
Kiss-cut: Sticker cutting style where the vinyl is cut but the backing paper is not — produces individual peel-off stickers on a sheet.
AQL 2.5: Acceptable Quality Limit per ISO 2859-1. Statistical sampling plan defining how many defective units in a batch are tolerable before rejection.
Lead time: Working days from artwork approval (or strike-off approval) to dispatch from production. Standard 5–8 days; rush 3–5 at +35% surcharge.
SdI: Sistema di Interscambio — mandatory Italian B2B/B2G e-invoice channel via Agenzia delle Entrate. Routes through codice destinatario or PEC. IVA 22% standard rate.
Setup fee / screen charge: One-time cost per logo position per colour for producing screens, pads, dies or embroidery files. €25–80 typical; stored free for reorders.