Online Classes for Graphic Artists Screen Printing

[dahmitdesigns]

Interested in suggestions for online classes to help Graphic Artists get a better understanding of how to set up film for screen printing.

I just started a new job, and my primary job is to set up/print files for my screen printer. I went to school for Graphic Design but never learned anything on how to set the files up correctly for screen printing. I find that I really struggle with halftones in Illustrator. I know how to create them so they print as halftones, but optimal printing seems to be an issue with me.

Any help or suggestions would be great!

[blue moon]

Interested in suggestions for online classes to help Graphic Artists get a better understanding of how to set up film for screen printing.

I just started a new job, and my primary job is to set up/print files for my screen printer. I went to school for Graphic Design but never learned anything on how to set the files up correctly for screen printing. I find that I really struggle with halftones in Illustrator. I know how to create them so they print as halftones, but optimal printing seems to be an issue with me.

Any help or suggestions would be great!

Do you have RIP like AccuRIP or FilmMaker? Also, what kind of printer are you using and if you can describe the issues you are facing, we might be able to help some. . .

pierre

[dahmitdesigns]

We have AccuRIP Black Pearl and I'm using an Epson Stylus Pro 4880.

My main issue is a mix of inexperience and opacity. The last project I had an issue with was printing white halftones on a black shirt. The guidelines left for me by the previous artist state that an opacity between 30% - 70% is optimal for printing. However, the issue I kept running into was creating a halftone that left more shirt than ink (so it would appear darker than the rest of the image.) My screen printer told me that the dots were too small for him to burn onto a screen no matter what the opacity was.

Thank you, any help is appreciated at this point!

[Frog]

How are using the word "opacity"?
In this area of the shirt-printing game it could refer to the printer's ink on the film, the screen printing ink on the shirt, or the amount of "tint" in the object in the art.

[dahmitdesigns]

I mean the amount of "tint" in the object in the artwork file. At least I think that is what I mean.

Basically how I interpreted her notes, was that when she says between 30% - 70% opacity, she was referring to how light or dark the halftone was in the illustrator file. For example, after I created a gradient in Illustrator, I will use the opacity slider bar at the top of the program and keep it between those guidelines. In doing that, this changes the size and distance of the dots are when it prints as a halftone.


I'm new to printing film but can do/understand basic jobs. But when it comes to halftones and complicated designs with a lot of layers and overlapping, I get overwhelmed and confused about where to start/what to do.

I hope this makes sense!

[blue moon]

We have AccuRIP Black Pearl and I'm using an Epson Stylus Pro 4880.

My main issue is a mix of inexperience and opacity. The last project I had an issue with was printing white halftones on a black shirt. The guidelines left for me by the previous artist state that an opacity between 30% - 70% is optimal for printing. However, the issue I kept running into was creating a halftone that left more shirt than ink (so it would appear darker than the rest of the image.) My screen printer told me that the dots were too small for him to burn onto a screen no matter what the opacity was.

Thank you, any help is appreciated at this point!

that's a good RIP and a good printer! What kind of film and ink are you using in it?

AccuRIP is notorious for printing dots that are too big. Go here:
http://www.theshirtboard.com/index.php/topic,8018.0.html
and download and print the test. This will get you going in the right direction.
What mesh counts are your screens? That will dictate the dot size (lpi).

pierre

[Sbrem]

I mean the amount of "tint" in the object in the artwork file. At least I think that is what I mean.

Basically how I interpreted her notes, was that when she says between 30% - 70% opacity, she was referring to how light or dark the halftone was in the illustrator file. For example, after I created a gradient in Illustrator, I will use the opacity slider bar at the top of the program and keep it between those guidelines. In doing that, this changes the size and distance of the dots are when it prints as a halftone.


I'm new to printing film but can do/understand basic jobs. But when it comes to halftones and complicated designs with a lot of layers and overlapping, I get overwhelmed and confused about where to start/what to do.

I hope this makes sense!

Doing what you're doing with he slider changes the size of the dots output, because you are lowering their value. The centers on the dots (how measure the distance between them) will stay the same.  Try printing out a film with 0% (white) - 100% (black) in 5% increments, at your favorite line count (40 - 65) and burn it on your usual mesh for halftones, and make some prints. Now you have hard data from your own equipment to judge with, it's probably a better starting point. And as Pierre advises, ask away, there are a lot of us here who know this stuff pretty well.

Steve

ps. you probably need to linearize your printer, that is, print out the test strip from AccuRIP, have them read, and make the corrections to the software. just because you tell your printer to print a 15% dot (or whatever) doesn't mean it's actually doing it...

[dahmitdesigns]

Pierre,

We run our bases on 173.

[dahmitdesigns]

We are using InkJet Waterproof and Ink is Plastisol.

[blue moon]

Pierre,

We run our bases on 173.

start with a 35lpi dot and see what you get to open on the screens (use the test pattern from the link). If you can hold 35lpi between 5-95% than try 45 lpi. For most shops 45 lpi will do what needs to be done. If everything is working well, or just for shits and giggles, try the 55lpi. for your prints to work properly you should hold a 7% at a minimum.

Also when you print the film, take a look at where the dots are merging into a solid. It should be in the high 90's. If it's lower than that, you'll have to go and adjust the output (there is a section in the AccuRIP that lets you do that).

pierre

[blue moon]

We are using InkJet Waterproof and Ink is Plastisol.

sorry, what I meant was what type of ink are you using to print your films?

pierre

[Dottonedan]

The 30-70% your previous artist may have been referring to, is for what halftone % works best in your shop and mesh.

Keep in mind, your black or "solid areas" that are to show up on press as solid, need to stay solid in the seps. It's that darkest part of the halftone (dots) that need to go no further than 70% fill. In other works, don't just select the color and assign it a 70% fill. That might seem obvious, but it can be a little confusing to read and hear what people say about processes.

This 30-70 seems (not very good) and I would attribute that to the exposure system, coating thickness and exposure time of the stencil. That's another story way down the road after you get more exposure to the whole process.

The best mesh selection and halftone dot that works best for it, can be done by taking the mesh count of a high mesh, like 230 and divide by 5. this givs you 46, but you can round off to 45.  5 gives you a little buffer to help assure you can hold the smaller dots well. Most people suggest using 4 or 4.5 to divide the mesh by, but that work well on lower mesh where dots are bigger and can be held a little easier. After you are more skilled at holding fine halftone dots, you can go up to a 55, 65, or higher.

Keep asking questions here. We can move you along in the right direction.

[dahmitdesigns]

So when you say the darkest part of the halftone that needs to go no further than 70% fill, do you mean when I am changing the %, I only have to change the percent of the darkest color?

For example, if I create a halftone that is fading from black to white, I only need to change the % of the color black, not the % of the entire gradient?

This is the first time (only company) I've worked for where I had to set up and print film. And I never learned any of this in design school so its an entirely new concept to me and it can be incredibly overwhelming when doing more complicated projects.

The last project I did, the entire image was made out of gradients (Halftones) and I royally screwed up the film multiple times before I was able to get it right. The screen printer at my company said it turned out well, and I think the t-shirts look great, but it was quite the struggle/headache trying to figure it out all out and I wasted a lot of time in the process. And it was obvious that the printer was frustrated with my inexperience.

[dahmitdesigns]

Pierre, I am not sure off the top of my head, I don't do the ordering for the ink, but I will find out what brand it is and post it as soon as I get an answer.

Thanks!

[dahmitdesigns]

Another question, maybe someone can answer it for me. I was sent a file to set up for film that has letters set at 25% opacity. I am sending this job out to be printed by another company, but I want to make sure I have the file set up properly for them.

Do I need to change these letters into a halftone for it to print properly? It needs to appear lighter than the image that is on top of it. It will be a one color job (black).