Online service for seps?

[jvieira]

We do mostly spot color stuff. 1 to 3 colors is our game. We've been trying with halftones lately and are getting a lot better (also got a rip) doing them but we just got a job that is completely new to us and we have no idea on how to separate and print this.

The initial thought would be to have 2 different colors and meet them halfway in the print with halftones. What do you guys think?
I saw a post a few weeks ago with the name of a service that creates seps for this kind of image. Can't find it anymore. Can anyone recommend a way of doing this and a service to do so?

[Rockers]

We do mostly spot color stuff. 1 to 3 colors is our game. We've been trying with halftones lately and are getting a lot better (also got a rip) doing them but we just got a job that is completely new to us and we have no idea on how to separate and print this.

The initial thought would be to have 2 different colors and meet them halfway in the print with halftones. What do you guys think?
I saw a post a few weeks ago with the name of a service that creates seps for this kind of image. Can't find it anymore. Can anyone recommend a way of doing this and a service to do so?

You mean a company that can sep this?
Back in the days as I was still living and working in the UK we used flyingcolors to do all of our sim process seps. They ship all over Europe in case you need actual films otherwise they just email you the separated  files. http://www.flyingcolourstextiles.com/

[Homer]

As far as the online sep's, I have had great luck with netseps.com - Mark Coudray's website.

[Maxie]

I'm sure Dan and a few other people on TSB can do this for you, especially if you can print the films.
Looks like a fairly simple Seperation.

[Sbrem]

your idea of having the halftones meet halfway is sound, until you give it a try, and it's not quite what you want. What we would do here is print a solid color underneath and then overprint your halftone; this way you don't worry about where each one ends and if they join up nicely or not. With these two colors on a dark shirt, a white base, flash, then your top colors, you might want to flash the second color, or not, check it out both ways and see which you prefer. A little mashing or crushing of colors makes a nice blend...

Steve

[Dottonedan]

I separate as a side thing now, but it was by full time gig for about 3 years most recently and before that separated as a side gig for around 20-25 years.

For this job, I feel you should learn how to do this yourself in House. Yes, I would be glad to do it, but it's within the basic category and it's something all shops should try to keep in house since you will get much more of this.  I will post up a video on how to do this shortly.

[jvieira]

I separate as a side thing now, but it was by full time gig for about 3 years most recently and before that separated as a side gig for around 20-25 years.

For this job, I feel you should learn how to do this yourself in House. Yes, I would be glad to do it, but it's within the basic category and it's something all shops should try to keep in house since you will get much more of this.  I will post up a video on how to do this shortly.

I feel the kind of jobs we do is very different from the jobs most you guys do in the US. Looking at most images I see on the forum, it's very different from our stuff and we don't have much experience with this type of jobs. It's actually the first time we're considering outsourcing our seps.

I'm definitely doing this in house as well, just feel the need to also have someone else doing it and then compare results to learn from it.

[Dottonedan]

Ok, well then, I'm one of your guys.  I charge $15.00 per sep for sim process and $10.00 per sep for basic seps.
Even though you have halftones blending, I'd put this in the basic sep category and would charge $10.00 per color.

Myseps is a full time separator and charges $15.00 per color last I heard. I would assume he would do this job also and would also assume he would provide a discounted price as well.

Then you have this other guy down in Florida I think. I hear he does good work also and is a single operations like Myseps and myself. He goes by the name of CornBread. Cornbread@CornbreadWilliams.com
I don't know his prices but I hear he's pretty good.

[SEPSINK]

I too offer color separations! Turn time is usually 1-2 business days. Feel free to contact me at imageseps@gmail.com!

[tonypep]

We do these all day

[Full-SpectrumSeparator]

I would love to just get you set up with a free copy of the Full-Spectrum Toolkit for Photoshop so you can run and test doing these separations in-house, or compare to other separations you are getting....  but also if you really insist on paying for a separation service, then I have added an option to my product website page that sets a $50 FLAT-RATE color separation service,  but I feel so strongly that if you have Photoshop CS6 or Creative Cloud that you will be able to run advanced high-end professional color separations yourself easily and efficiently in-house and my goal is to liberate the printer from having to rely on a pre-press service in order to simply take images to separations and to press.   

 It is so easy to make even the most advanced color separations by simply using the tools and techniques in photoshop, and the Full-Spectrum Toolkit is there to speed up and automate some of these techniques.... however - included with the Color Separation Service is the Full-Spectrum Separator Toolkit plugin and 2-hours of setup/consultation/training - even just perform your separation job in real-time via screen-share if you'd like.... so you know how the service was done and you then have the tools and knowledge to go in at the same level on your own.    If you are willing (and have permission from the client) to let me make a PUBLIC video hosted to youtube of the color separations done in photoshop, then I will even make it 50% OFF the service so it is only a $25 flat-rate fee and you get the color separation plugin and training for free as well as a video of your separation example ---- however, if you cannot have the video made public, it can still be hosted PRIVATELY so only YOU can see it, but this would keep the price at the $50.   

It is not "per color", and you will not be charged or expected to purchase the service until AFTER you are completely satisfied with the color separations and print results.   

I honestly was going to just offer it as a completely FREE service with the videos - and because I just love to work on and teach about color separations and screenprinting that much,  but I am also only human and there is only so much time in a day, so it would be unwise if I got swamped with too many separations and videos to make.    But I think it is a fair trade in which you are either paying for the separation service at no risk (only if you're satisfied with the print result) - and getting the toolkit free but also with a 2-hour personal training --- or if you can let me post the video online publicly of the separations then we are both giving back to the industry - it costs less for you to get the same separation service (just a public video instead of private), and it helps me to show examples of the free toolkit separation plugin so others can see how it works.   And if people only want separation services and don't want to do them in-house, it still works within my time-frames.    No separation service can ever take into account all the variables in production in your own environment that might be different from another, so my goal is really simple that there is no need for a separation service especially with the quality and accuracy of the results myself and hundreds of other shops have gotten from the Full-Spectrum Separator techniques and available automation tools.   

You just have to see it to believe it,  take the Full-Spectrum Separator challenge and test my separations or the results of the automated actions which you can create many types with just one-click automations ready to output to film, and then give me feedback on how satisfied you are with the results and maybe even compare to another separation method or service to see if running your own will actually be easier, cheaper, faster, and higher quality.    There is no reason a print shop should not be able to produce their own professional-level color separations with the right professional-level tools that are as easy to use to make separations as using your exposure table or your press to make screens or prints.    Even with all of the years of experience and advanced knowledge I have about these things myself, I still use my own fully-automated procedures and more often directly to halftone RIP with the 1-clicks, and only do a few operations like merging or eliminating colors, adjusting some dot-gain compensation or just choke/trap the results.       If it is best for a client to just purchase the separation services, it is at least priced fairly and according to the actual time or difficulty of the service, not according to how many colors,  and yet still I can guarantee a higher quality and more accurate outcome than other services which charge more, and don't give you a full-featured color separation automation plug-in and training along with it.       My purpose is service and co-operation.   I want to make lots of separation examples of real print jobs in videos and liberate people to accomplish this task more efficiently and unhindered by lack of knowledge, experience, or skill, as long as they have the right tools for the job, it is truly simple and easy and you just go on to the printing.    If the clients prefer separation services then at least I can factor it into my time and there is no profit for me unless you are satisfied with the service first.    There is no goal of competition with other separators or methods, as they could use my plugin and service and training and get the videos of the separation examples as well if they want to try it.    If the clients of the print jobs allow public videos then it is clearly about co-operation and not competition, as the more videos I put up and the more copies of the toolkit people download, then hopefully the less and less they need the separation service and they can perform them on their own,  the purpose again is to allow the screenmakers and printers to achieve art-reproduction via color-separations self-sufficiently,  and although I don't mean to affect any other separation software or services negatively, it is simply in the spirit of service to and co-operation with the PRINTERS.    If there is a competitive aspect to this it is only to give other software or separation services a free and open invitation to try the same methods and techniques and tools themselves, and perhaps they can increase their profits with more efficiency and quality and with the tools in the separation process for their clients or by improving their own software, and also they should be able to then afford to make the separations more affordable or the software priced more accordingly.   If the separations I create for the service or the ones people run on their own end up costing less, taking less time, are easier to do or require less up-front knowledge or experience, and are even a higher quality than other options, then maybe there is something which could make it competitive for me, but obviously I am making the separation tools or techniques available free without the service and with coming tutorial videos for the plugin and methods or any separation-example videos it will be giving these knowledge and tools to anyone else who wants to try, so that would be undercutting my own intentions if they were to simply run a separation service.    If the program and techniques really work, and are that easy, then why would I have a separation service?     It is not my intention to just have a separation service, but I know that I can do it easily and cost-effectively and I love doing color separations and if people are willing to go with the 50% OFF deal then I will be able to show the separations publicly and teach them which is my real goal with this, besides of course producing the satisfaction-guaranteed color separations.   I would only feel right being paid for them, especially if the video has to be private, if the print result met the clients approval.    I have no problem talking and e-mailing, doing screenshare meetings with anyone who wants to just download and install the free photoshop plugin, and I routinely do this for those interested and even just to meet other fascinating artists and printers and give them this tool and show that I'm not a stranger, get to know people on a real level and not just because they purchased a product  -  there is no purchase of a separation service necessary to just get the plugin and get me on the phone or to train for a couple hours when we both have time really.   I love this, it is fun,  besides daytime art and printing I work on these things all night usually just digging in to more color and separation and printing research and developing all sorts of these tools.    The Full-Spectrum Toolkit is the tip of an iceberg of developments I'm now just pulling out of the deep and into the light of day and sharing what I've created.   This is all just my art really.   

Here is the link to my separation service offer: https://sellfy.com/p/W7VG/#