Silkscreen, or legend, is ink printed on top of the soldermask, usually white or black, showing component outlines, reference designators, pin 1 and polarity marks, test point labels and logos. It can be screen-printed or applied by inkjet. Ink must stay off pads, and text much below about 0.8 mm tall or 0.15 mm stroke width turns into an unreadable smudge.
Put the polarity mark in the silkscreen outside the part body, once the cap is on you can't see the one underneath.
Also heard as
- silk
- legend
- nomenclature
Related terms
Refdes
Reference designator: the label such as R12 or U3 that names one part on the schematic, board and BOM.
Soldermask
Thin polymer coating over a board's copper that leaves pads exposed and keeps solder where it belongs.
Footprint
Pattern of copper pads, outline and markings on a board that matches one component package.