Artificial Laminate: Surface of plastics, foil, or paper printed with a wood grain pattern and bonded to a composite such as particle board or MDF.

Backer Veneer: The veneer on the less visible, underside of surfaces.

Book Match:  Sheets of laminate or veneer are laid so that the back of one sheet is matched to the face of an adjacent sheet, like facing pages in a book. This results in a mirrored grain pattern. Most commonly used in matching plain sliced veneers.

Catalyzed Lacquer: Lacquer is a clear coating, usually glossy, applied to wood for protection or appearance. Catalyzed lacquer contains a catalyst that decreases the curing time of the lacquer.

Chain Set (Textile):  Complete color line of a pattern shown in 3′ x 3′ pieces and then chained together for handling ease.

Channel Bracket: A support for worksurfaces

Checking: Cracking in an intense or advanced stage of wood finish whereby the breaks are so deep they expose the underlying surface.

Cut Yardage (Textiles): Anything less than a full roll; the amount of fabric cut from the roll necessary to produce an item or total project.

Density: A term referring to the weight of a cubic foot of foam. It is an important property of a chair. The greater the density, the more material in the foam and the more durable the product.

Direct Pressure Laminate: Sometimes this material is referred to as melamine, but it is actually a sheet of melamine bonded to particleboard.  It is a much less durable material than high-pressure laminate.

Dovetail: A flaring joint between two pieces of wood, forming an interlocking fit.

Dowel: A small, rounded piece of wood usually made of birch or maple, used for making or strengthening joints.

Double Dowel: A term referring to the construction of a chair frame the connecting pieces of wood are joined by two dowels with glue and usually pin-nailed to maintain frame integrity.

Drawer Configuration: The pattern or layout of drawers within a pedestal often seen as box/box/file or file/file.

Edging: Edges on workstations, table and counter tops come is a wide variety of shapes. Some of these include:  Bullnose, Half Bullnose, D-Edge, Double Bevel Flush, Large Bevel, Pencil Sit-Back, Regular Bevel, Sit Out, V-Groove, Waterfall, Double Waterfall, Waterfall Flush, Ogee, Double Ogee, Tizzeled/Jagged, and Dupont.

Extrusion: An item made of metal or plastic that is produced by forcing the raw material through a die (extruding).

Fiberboard:  A composition board consisting of wood fibers bonded together with synthetic resins.

Flake Board: A composition board consisting of the flat shaving-like flakes of wood bonded together with synthetic resins.

Flat-pack: Furniture sold in kits.

Flexible Polyurethane Foam: synthetic foam used in all upholstered furniture the higher the density of the FPF, the more durable the cushion.

Fire Retardant: Fabrics treated with special chemical agents or finishes to make them retardant or resistant to burning.

Ganging: The method of joining individual seating elements into one unit; specifically refers to chairs or tables.

Glaze: To fit glass into a frame. Interior glazing is an option that may replace part of the standard wall construction to allow natural light to penetrate into the interior spaces.

Glazier: A person who puts glass in window frames etc.

Graining: The process of printing a natural wood grain pattern onto another surface that may or may not be wood product.

Hardwood: Designates lumber produced from broad-leafed or deciduous trees in contrast to softwood produced from evergreen trees or coniferous trees.

High-Pressure Laminate (HPL): A laminate composed of six to eight layers of building material that have been bonded with resin, then toped with a melamine plastic facing.  Often, high-pressure laminates are used in office furniture to add durability to a piece of furniture without sacrificing its appearance.

Inlay:  Design of contrasting wood.

Inscape: Founded in 1888 in Rochester, New York, as Office Specialty. Office Specialty grew steadily throughout the 20th century before becoming a public corporation in 1997 and officially adopting the name Inscape in 1999. A designer and manufacturer of products including office furniture systems, filing and storage, desking, casegoods and architectural products. Based in Holland, Ontario, Canada.

Insulator Pad (Fiber Pad): A thick pad used to separate the springs from the polyurethane foam.

Interlock: A device used to lock two or more drawers together that allow only one drawer to be open at a time, preventing tipping.

Knocked Down/KD:  Flat-packed office furniture requiring full assembly by an office furniture installer.

Laminate: A material formed by fusing two separate materials together.  The term laminate can be used to describe both high-pressure laminate and direct pressure laminate.

Laminated Board Septum: The center core in an acoustical panel. Used to block sound.

Low-Pressure Laminate: Sometimes referred to at melamine, this material is really a melamine sheet bonded to a single particleboard.

Masonite: Formed using wood chips, blasting them into long fibers with steam and then forming them into boards. The boards are then pressed and heated to form the finished boards. No glue or other material is added. Unlike other composite wood panels produced using formaldehyde-based resins to bind fibers, Masonite is made using natural ingredients only, which makes it an environmentally friendly product. Moving companies are large users of Masonite. Among other things, they use it to protect the walls of buildings they are working in, and lay it on floors to enable smooth rolling of dollies loaded with goods.

MDF: see Medium-density Fiberboard.

Medium-density Fiberboard (MDF): An engineered wood product formed by breaking down wood into fibers and combining it with wax and a resin binder, and forming panels by applying high temperature and pressure. MDF is denser than plywood. It is made up of separated fibers, (not wood veneers) but can be used as a building material similar in application to plywood. It is stronger and much denser than normal particle board.

Melamine: A plastic resin used to coat direct pressure laminate, and used between the layers of high-density laminate.  Melamine may also refer to direct pressure laminate, which is the less durable of the two laminates available for office furniture. 

Mesh: Term used to describe seating products that have backs and/or seat cushion support derived from a porous, posture-fitting material.

Metal Under-Structure Base: A steel 5-prong substructure.

Mitered: A surface forming the beveled end or edge of a piece where a joint is made by cutting two pieces at an angle and fitting them together.

Molding: A decorative plane or curved strip used for ornamentation or finishing.

Monocoque: A construction technique that supports structural load by using an object’s exterior, as opposed to using an internal frame or truss that is then covered with a non-load-bearing skin. The technique may also be called structural skin, stressed skin, unit body, unibody, unitary construction, or Body Frame Integral (BFI)..

Movable Walls (Demountable/Movable Partitions): A wall system that maximizes flexibility and reusability to accommodate frequent and quick relocation work without loss of materials, damage or modification to panels or to adjoining structures such as ceilings, fixed walls and floors. The wall system is modular, allowing the removal of individual panels from any location without disturbing adjoining units and providing interchangeability of panels and door units on the same module.

Non-Directional Fabric: A fabric which appears smooth with no visible pattern.

Paper Foil Laminate: A base paper is post-impregnated with resins and finally top coated. This paper is then glued to a core board, forming a glue line. Some of the topcoats contain an element of melamine resins; thus, the title melamine top coated papers. The thermal fusing creates a surface that is significantly harder than a glued down surface. Ballpoint pens or any pointed object will harm a paper foil laminate.

Particle Board: Board made from particles of wood mixed with a resin-type adhesive formed into a mat, then heated and pressed to produce a dense panel, smooth on both sides, much the color of oatmeal.

Plywood: 3-5 thin slices of wood glue together like a sandwich under high pressure

Polyester: Any of a group of polymers used to make fibers or plastics.

Polyurethane: Polyurethane is a synthetic product used to make a durable, hard, and clear finish for stained furniture and other surfaces.

Polyurethane Foam: Type of foam used widely in the furniture industry that offers excellent density, resilience and durability. Foam is mothproof, mildew resistant, and non-allergenic.

Polyethylene Shell: A strong, relatively opaque form of polyethylene having a dense structure with few side branches off the main carbon (molecule) backbone.

Powder Coating:  The surface treatment primary to metal products. The process itself starts by making the product electrostatic which attracts chosen color powder. Thereafter expose it to high heat which liquefies the powder and thereby enclosing the product with a smooth surface. When it has cooled down it forms an even and hard surface.

PVC:  Polyvinyl Chloride.

Ready-to-Assemble (RTA): Products built with the intention they can be put together by the end user.

Routing: The act of milling out a wood or metal surface.

Runners: Strips of wood on which doors slide.

Sealing: The process of applying finishing materials by immersing the object to be coated into the liquid.

Sheen Level: The degree of luster of the finishing materials, usually topcoats.

Spline: A flat key or strip that fits into a groove or slot.

Surface Abrasion: The degree to which a fabric is able to withstand surface wear, rubbing, chafing and other friction forces.

Suspension: Metal slides mounted to side of drawers and inside pedestals so those drawers can be easily opened and closed.

Tempered Hardboard: Elements that are mixed to form a very dense fiberboard with a smooth surface.

Thermally Fused Laminate (TFL): Produced by a single melamine resin impregnated sheet thermofused directly to the core board. During the process, the resins liquefy and flow, thermo fusing the wood grain sheet to the core (there is no glue line) and because the resins are fully impregnated into the overlay sheet, they produce a hard, durable laminate face.

T-Mold: A plastic edge band surrounding a self-edge surface.

Tongue & Groove: A joint made by fitting a tongue on the edge of a board into a matching groove on another board.

Transparent: Clear enough to be seen through.

Translucent: A surface that light and objects can be perceived through, but not clearly made out.

Togglers:  Wall anchors that provide secure holding power for light and medium loads on walls.  Designed for optimum holding in hollow walls, such as drywall and gypsum board, the anchor locks on walls and ceilings.

Veneer: A thin strip of real wood glued on to a substrate of plywood or particleboard.

Wall Mounting: Attaching display boards etc. and securing bookcases and shelving to office walls.

Wall Mount Kit: Hardware used to mount panels directly to permanent walls.

Wall Starters: Allows for a panel to be fastened to a reinforced wall at 90 degrees. Provides a starting point for a panel run.

Wall Track: A piece of metal mounted to the wall so that systems furniture, cubicles, and workstations can mount directly to the wall instead of a panel.