"He who marches out of step hears another drum." ~ Ken Kesey
Almost everything we do is sim. process or spot+sim. process, 55lpi...sometimes 60lpi (for that I'll use a 150/48 and 225/40 that we keep around loose and stretch as needed...which is extremely rarely).180/48 - underbase (150/48 for extreme circumstances that never really come up)225/48 - colors (300/34 for extreme circumstances that very rarely come up)We used to keep over 160 different meshes in circulation...after linearizing the RIP the need to keep much else on hand disappeared. Simplifying our mesh counts down to pretty much two (base and colors) virtually multiplied my screen inventory. 97% of everything works with this setup with very rarely a need to use any of the extreme-circumstances screens.We also keep a dozen or so sfx screens around ranging from 17 to 80 mesh with high-solids emulsion (Aquasol HS) for glitter, HD, stacking, building up, etc.
Quote from: Screen Dan on June 13, 2016, 11:01:05 AMAlmost everything we do is sim. process or spot+sim. process, 55lpi...sometimes 60lpi (for that I'll use a 150/48 and 225/40 that we keep around loose and stretch as needed...which is extremely rarely).180/48 - underbase (150/48 for extreme circumstances that never really come up)225/48 - colors (300/34 for extreme circumstances that very rarely come up)We used to keep over 160 different meshes in circulation...after linearizing the RIP the need to keep much else on hand disappeared. Simplifying our mesh counts down to pretty much two (base and colors) virtually multiplied my screen inventory. 97% of everything works with this setup with very rarely a need to use any of the extreme-circumstances screens.We also keep a dozen or so sfx screens around ranging from 17 to 80 mesh with high-solids emulsion (Aquasol HS) for glitter, HD, stacking, building up, etc.Hey Dan, curious on the choice of 180/48 over 150/48. We employ both but the 180 is really there for the plastisol jobs that need better "snap off" since they run at a higher ten. I love, love, love simplifying mesh count selection, it eases so many parts of the process form pre-press to screen to production, purchasing and onward. Also, are you linearized per mesh count? i.e., the CTS has one curve for 55lpi on 180 mesh, another for 55lpi on 225? sounds ingenious or maybe problematic, I can't tell which, but it's intriguing.
Does anyone running such a beautifully simple mesh selection also do WB/DC and HSA? I can't see giving up some of our star performers for specific inks here.