--- title: Printed Circuit Boards Terminology I Garner Osborne - Printed Circuits description: Printed circuit boards are complex beasts and getting to grips with the terminology alone can be baffling, so we‚Äôve put together an A-Z of printed circuit board terms to help you get up to speed. image: https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/hubfs/Blog%20images/The%20A-Z%20of%20Printed%20Circuit%20Boards%20-%20357x357.png --- [01635 582 626](tel:%2001635%20582%20626)  |  [sales@garnerosborne.co.uk](mailto:sales@garnerosborne.co.uk) - - - - Discover our certifications  [here](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/accreditations) [![GarnerOsborne](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/hubfs/Logo.svg)](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk) - Services - [PCB Assembly](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/pcb-assembly) - [PCB Manufacturing](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/pcb-manufacturing) - [PCB Prototyping](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/pcb-prototyping) - About - [Capabilities](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/capabilities) - [Process](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/process) - [Quality and Assurance](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/qa) - [Certifications](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/accreditations) - [Our Story](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/our-story) - [Meet the Team](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/team) - [Careers](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/careers) - [Contact](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/contact) - [Insights](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/insights) [Start your quote today](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/contact) # The A-Z of Printed Circuit Boards ![Printed Circuit Boards](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20images/The%20A-Z%20of%20Printed%20Circuit%20Boards%20-%20357x357.png?width=747&height=747&name=The%20A-Z%20of%20Printed%20Circuit%20Boards%20-%20357x357.png) #### Printed circuit boards are complex beasts and getting to grips with the terminology alone can be baffling, so we’ve put together an A-Z of printed circuit board terms to help you get up to speed. **Assembly:** [Assembly](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/pcb-assembly) is where components are added to the bare composite board to give the printed circuit board its functionality. **Blind Via:** A Blind Via connects an outer layer to an inner layer, but doesn’t go through the whole board. **Components:** Components are the individual units that are added to the board, giving it its functionality. **Dry Film:** Dry Film is a polymer-coated polyester film that is sensitive to UV light. It is used to print circuit boards using photolithography. **Etchant:** Etchant is a corrosive chemical used to etch a design into the circuit board. **Footprint:** A Footprint is the layout of pads or holes used to electrically connect a component to a circuit board. **Gerber File:** These are the original design files for a PCB layout. Our specialist technicians at Garner Osborne will always review your Gerber files before quoting on a project to see if our PCB technicians can help you [reduce costs](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/insights/5-ways-keep-costs-low-pcb-design) or improve performance or reliability. **HASL:** HASL (Hot Air Solder Leveling) is a type of finish used on printed circuit boards. **Ident:** Ident layers are added to the PCB to identify components, test points and parts and to add symbols, logos and warnings. It’s sometimes referred to as Silk-Screening. **Jig:** Jigs are used to test PCBs. They contain a dump board which can find faults within the PCB. **Kits:** Kits can be purchased containing all of the elements required for certain PCB designs. Buying components in this way can work out more cost effective for basic, off-the-shelf designs. **Laminate:** Laminate is another word for the composite boards or bare boards used to build PCBs. **Multi-Layer:** Often, printed circuit boards require more than one layer of composite. These are referred to as Multi-Layer boards. [![flexible printed circuit boards](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20images/What%20you%20need%20to%20know%20before%20you%20choose%20flexible%20printed%20circuit%20boards%20-%20357x357.jpg?width=357&height=357&name=What%20you%20need%20to%20know%20before%20you%20choose%20flexible%20printed%20circuit%20boards%20-%20357x357.jpg)](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/insights/need-know-choose-flexible-printed-circuit-boards-2) ##### [Know before you buy - flexible printed circuit boards](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/insights/need-know-choose-flexible-printed-circuit-boards-2) [Read more](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/insights/need-know-choose-flexible-printed-circuit-boards-2) [![printed circuit board production stages](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20images/The%209%20stages%20of%20printed%20circuit%20board%20production%202%20.jpg?width=357&height=357&name=The%209%20stages%20of%20printed%20circuit%20board%20production%202%20.jpg)](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/insights/the-9-stages-of-printed-circuit-board-production) ##### [The 9 stages of printed circuit board production](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/insights/the-9-stages-of-printed-circuit-board-production) [Read more](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/insights/the-9-stages-of-printed-circuit-board-production) [![printed circuit board production](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20images/The%209%20stages%20of%20printed%20circuit%20board%20production%20-%20357x357.jpg?width=357&height=357&name=The%209%20stages%20of%20printed%20circuit%20board%20production%20-%20357x357.jpg)](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/insights/the-9-stages-of-printed-circuit-board-production-2) ##### [The 9 stages of printed circuit board production](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/insights/the-9-stages-of-printed-circuit-board-production-2) [Read more](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/insights/the-9-stages-of-printed-circuit-board-production-2) [![Circuit Board Champions team](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/Blog%20images/Garner%20Osborne%20%E2%80%93%20A%20Team%20of%20Circuit%20Board%20Champions%20-%20357x357.jpg?width=357&height=357&name=Garner%20Osborne%20%E2%80%93%20A%20Team%20of%20Circuit%20Board%20Champions%20-%20357x357.jpg)](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/insights/garner-osborne-team-champions) ##### [Garner Osborne – A Team of Circuit Board Champions](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/insights/garner-osborne-team-champions) [Read more](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/insights/garner-osborne-team-champions) ![MicrosoftTeams-image9289e4941c31e2b6a85d95ed6d7b37830d19a68eb6ecec5ddeb354327a4e67d1](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/hs-fs/hubfs/MicrosoftTeams-image9289e4941c31e2b6a85d95ed6d7b37830d19a68eb6ecec5ddeb354327a4e67d1.png?width=833&height=575&name=MicrosoftTeams-image9289e4941c31e2b6a85d95ed6d7b37830d19a68eb6ecec5ddeb354327a4e67d1.png) #### Arrange your visit ## Visit our UK facilities and meet your PCB production partners Email:  [sales@garnerosborne.co.uk](mailto:sales@garnerosborne.co.uk) Phone:  [01635 582 626](tel:01635%20582%20626) Garner Osborne Unit 10, Hambridge Business Centre Hambridge Lane, Newbury Berkshire RG14 5TU ![Contact](https://www.garnerosborne.co.uk/hubfs/Garner%20Osborne%20Theme%202023/Global/Contact.png) ## Start working with a UK team that’s driven by quality, not just quantity #### Visit our UK facilities and meet your PCB production partners. 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