registration marks

[Denis Kolar]

Here is the screen capture of my template.
It has two pallet sizes and two sets of registration marks.

[Dottonedan]

Good stuff going here.  One more thing to note from me, is that i prefer and get best results from very thin reggies. Even if your art is mostly flat spot colors, why bother with big bulky thick lines on your reggies. That takes away from the benefit of a registration mark. Make them thin, like a 1. line at most. .75 is good. With these reggies, if you have trouble holding them or losing them, then your exposure times is off. (tell tail sign) for those accustom to big solid stuff.

D

[mjrprint]

We have two, one on the top, and one at the bottom of the art. It works for us because we do 48-144 piece runs so the printers are registration pros here at this point. If it is a left chest there are ones at the center to line up with the palette and a set for the image itself. We have templates created for all of our locations. No more guessing where a certain placement is.

[jsheridan]

Question for John; if you place the regi marks above the drop zone of the squeegee, how do you use them to assist with on press registration adjustments?

No need for on press when you use a pin-reg system like Tri-loc or The Newman Pin lock system or your own home built. All your registration time is spent with the device lining up your films to each other and then their position on the screen.  If you did it all perfect there, it translates to the press as perfect as well.

Once the screens are test printed, you can visually tell if it needs micros.

As for 1/2 or full sheet carriers. I like the full sheets as their's no way your film will move once its taped to the sheet.

[Clark]

We use 3.  Two at the top and one at the bottom...Also have center lies at the top and bottom. The bottom reg mark is offset to the right so films don't get turned backwards.  My reg marks are .15 of a point.  This way any even if the film is ever so slightly out of registration it is very noticeable.  I slimmed mine reg marks way down when I started using the reg system.

I should add if you have very thin reg marks and don't hit them with too much water when exposing, you won't need to tape up the screens where the reg marks are.

[GraphicDisorder]

Zero, we have a tri lock and its almost always stupid close or dead on.  Winnar. 

[Screened Gear]

Here is the screen capture of my template.
It has two pallet sizes and two sets of registration marks.

I do the same thing. I have it all set up in Illustrator. I have layers with all of my positioning. one layer has the left chest placement. Another layer has a mockup of a shirt so I can make sure my sizing looks right. I print everything on this same set up. All the reg marks are the same on all the film I have printed in the last 3 years. This way setting up a job on my manual all I have to do is use a blank film with the reg marks on it. I can set up a bunch of jobs on the press in just mins since they have the same reg marks. I believe in making everything consistent. It will make you faster and you will make less mistakes. My reg marks are the same ones used in offset printing just bigger.

[Shanarchy]

Zero, we have a tri lock and its almost always stupid close or dead on.  Winnar.

How do you line up your film to the screen in pre-registration?

[GraphicDisorder]

Zero, we have a tri lock and its almost always stupid close or dead on.  Winnar.

How do you line up your film to the screen in pre-registration?

By EYE and magnifying glass lol.

Everyone has there own way I guess.

[tpitman]

I'd picked up the Vastex preregistration system on the cheap when I bought my press used. I used the pin-registration setup until recently, as my exposure unit doesn't have any stops for the screen frames and it was working pretty half-assed. What I use now for set-up is the frame jig that mounts on the standard platens. I've got the Illustrator template I use for all my art with registration marks for front or back and heartprints, plus centerlines, mounted on this jig. I drop out any layout lines and marks I don't want on the stencil before I print my film for the job. Following someone's mention of a few spots of brush-on platen adhesive (where the four blue tape marks are) to hold the registered film to the template film, I lay the film down in registration to the template on the jig, add double-sided tape, then lower the screen up agains the 3 round stops. The jig goes on the platen, the frame clamp drops into the notch at the top of the jig, and I tighten the frame then adjust off-contact so the mesh lies right on top of the jig, which when removed, gives me just enough off the platen to print. It isn't usually dead-nuts on, but it's always within a 1-point line, and it's never skewed, which I find is the hardest to micro in with some artwork.
I'm gonna replace the template on the jig with one in which the registration marks are printed red, after reading ZooCity's remark on the earlier post.

[Homer]

I made a template in AI that I drop all my art onto before printing to film.

This template has 3 reg marks across the top placed 1.5" above the top of the art for film positioning on my reg system.

I learned that if you place your reg marks above the drop zone of the squeegee on your auto, you will never ever accidentally print a reg mark.

I did the same in Corel -thanks to you for that idea...brilliant time saver

[Prosperi-Tees]

What do these FPU/Registration units run? I know Vastex auto sized one is about $1300, any others? I use static frames and a blacklight exposure unit and a 6/8 Javelin 1996. Will these units work with manual (20x24) and auto (23x31) sized frames?

[inkman996]

I use a template I created in Corel, it has 7 layers I believe. Each layer has the reggies layed out where I want them, I have layouts for everything from left chest, full back, to bags. The beauty of using layers for each layout is all you have to do is turn the print on for the layout you are using.

[Fluid]

I have a client that uses the M&R Tri Lock registration system and he asks for just one reg mark centered on the top and bottom of the design. Seems to work just fine for him. All my other clients I give the reggie marks centered top and bottom and left & right totaling 4 all together.  Depending on the client they are .5 thickness yet some request them @ 1pt.  The thicker the reggie the harder it is to correctly register a job.  Depends on the job yet simulated process and true four color process are tough when the reggies are super thick.