Screenprint Testing
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- version30
total print size 13"w x 16"h btw
- horton0
are you going to output this page as different halftones patterns and linescreens?
if not you'll probably want to test a variety of dot patterns and sizes.
- BonRickles0
what horton said.
- horton0
+ i would think at this size your small gradations tests and % bars are going to be too small to get a good feel for your halftone results.
- mrdobolina0
what screen mesh are you using?
- mrdobolina0
also, what type of exposure unit are you going to use? To get really good detailed halftones, you should really use a vacuumed expo unit.
- -scarabin-0
that thing's kind of a cool image in itself
- v3nt0
you wont get very good results from that test sheet.
You can use quite small text but you have to expose the screen for less time - if you do that larger txt & shapes will not wash out of the screen very well & viceversa.
And as others said you'll need to bitmap or halfton those gradients.are you exposing & washing the screens yourself?
- version30
I do not know the technical terms of screen printing so I'm not sure about your question dobs but to answer some questions, we both use corel draw and plan on trying to test it's output options with this test as well
we plan on printing at screen frequencies of 65, 100, and 140 at 45 degrees with a default application resolution of 1200dpi with AGFA Balanced Screening - Dot
any and all information anyone can throw at this topic would rock as this is my first time concerning myself with the quality and possibilities of gradient screening
dobs, is the screen mesh you're referring to the actual screen that the printer "burns" the image into?
if so I do not know. I will be given a crash course in screening at the printers shop when we are printing this file to textile.
What would you suggest dobs?
thanks again everybody
- mrdobolina0
if you are getting these exposed for you by another printer you should be okay as far as the exposure goes. Im sure they have a decent exposure unit.
Screen mesh comes in standard sizes like 110, 255, 305 and so on. When printers are printing things like cd's (that have extremely tiny text sizes) they use mesh counts that are in the 400's. Printing on textiles is going to give you a lot more dot gain than a substrate as slick and shiny as a cd. should be interesting to see what the final product turns out like.
- horton0
if you are not actuallu doing the printing don't worry so much about the tech and talk to your printer as to how they like to receive the art.
most will be ok with just EPS art with graytones etc and let them output to film with the screen settings they prefer.
- version30
Here's an example of the art I made and the art that was printed.
We made 1600 of these for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and the city ate them up. So, we're not having problems by any means.
I am just looking to possibly reduce the dot size of the gradient or different ways to accomplish similar effects that I may be forgetting, overlooking, or just not aware of.
Dobs thanks for the heads up on mesh types. Is it possible to use the tighter meshes on textiles?
The guy I am working with is all about getting things to look good and working with me to perfect our workflow/system
he is looking into transparent inks for me and has already perfected the foil technique with equiptment.
We just want to see how nice we can really make these pieces that I order from him as opposed to applying this knowledege to the athletic jobs we do every week.
thanks again all
- version30
*already perfected the foil technique with his equipment.
- horton0
sample looks decent, that's just what small halftones do printed onto jerseys/ cottons.
if you want more control over your halftones send your layers to PS and convert to bitmaps.
for garments i like to use big halftones as more of a graphic element/ texture rather than trying to recreate grads with as small a dot as possible because they never look that tight.
the registration problems are your printers setup. most good screeners should be able to print tees with a kiss fit/ no traps.
- mrdobolina0
"butt to butt" horton?
hahaha
- horton0
"butt to butt" horton?
hahaha
mrdobolina
(Mar 10 06, 10:56)hahaheh? you use traps?
i'm just repeating what my printers have previously told me. they do quality work, registration always super tight.
- mrdobolina0
haha
Nah sounds like your printer is on the ball. You would laugh if you saw my hokey fat albert ramshackle setup in my apartment. I expose screens on my kitchen countertop with a big piece of glass, a photoflood bulb and a pie-tin!
I used to have a lot more equipment but then gave up printing for like 8 years.
- redefine0
so the shirt that you printed above, is that straight from AI or did you convert it to a bitmap. i am starting to screen print myself and would love to know how to get gradients... seems like converting to bitmaps is the best way?? along with high mesh count?
- horton0
haha
Nah sounds like your printer is on the ball. You would laugh if you saw my hokey fat albert ramshackle setup in my apartment. I expose screens on my kitchen countertop with a big piece of glass, a photoflood bulb and a pie-tin!
I used to have a lot more equipment but then gave up printing for like 8 years.
mrdobolina
(Mar 10 06, 11:07)but ain't the grass always greener because i would way rather have the time for a DIY setup at home :)
personally i think screenprints look best with all the imperfections that come with a DIY operation.
- version30
that image was created vector in CorelDraw and the seperations were printed from that image no bitmaps were made
thats why i was asking for the support