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Russ's primer on thermal
printing
There are two main types of
artwork, vector and raster:
Vector images are
mathematically interpolated images and thus look like drawings. A simple
blue circle is defined as a center point, radius, fill color and outline
color (if any). Since it's a vector, it can be scaled as large or small as
you'd like by just changing the radius. The file size is extremely small
and does not change as the size of the circle changes (thankfully, the
software design program does all of this for you). This is the absolute
best type of file for printing and contour cutting, because the image can
be scaled at will without degrading the looks of the finished print.
Vector file formats include EPS, PS, AI, CDR, DWG, WMF, etc. I use Corel
Draw (version 9.0) exclusively, so I'm partial to the CDR format.
Raster images are a
pixel by pixel representation of the image where each separate pixel in
the image is assigned a color value as is common in photographic images.
This results in large files that are basically unscalable. If you attempt
to scale a raster image, you'll be adding or removing pixels and their
assigned color values. To scale down a raster image's size, your program
will delete pixels and conversely to enlarge a raster image, pixels will
be added. There is no software program that can intelligently add or
remove pixels without degrading your image's quality, so if you need a
raster file printed, you'd better make it the exact size that you want it
to print! Raster file formats include PSD, BMP, JPG, TIF, GIF, etc. I have
Photoshop (version 6.1) and can work with PSD images if need be.
DPI There is another
aspect of raster image files to deal with, and that is DPI (dots per
inch). Images on your monitor screen will look great at 96 DPI, but print
horribly (at 96 DPI, on paper, you can actually "see" each pixel). If you
want a raster image to print decently, you'll need at least 300 DPI, and
preferably 600 DPI. For every increase in DPI, the file size will grow
accordingly. Look
here to estimate your needs as to approximate DPI for your desired
output dimensions. As you can see, file sizes grow HUGE whenever you
increase the DPI for better print results!
There are two basic types of vinyl, calendared
and cast:
Calendared vinyl
starts out as a wad of vinyl putty and is extruded through decreasingly
smaller heated rollers, and ultimately ends up at around three to five
mils in thickness. Calendared vinyl is cheaper to make than cast, but does
not last as well. It's also not as conformable to uneven surfaces due to
it's shape "memory" from being forced through the rollers. There are
different grades of calendared vinyl ranging from two year ($15.00 for a
24" x 10 yard roll) to seven year ($40 for a 24" x 10 yard roll). Examples
of calendared vinyl are Oracal 651 and Avery A6.
Cast vinyl is
vinyl liquid poured into sheet form and allowed to set up on it's own, so
it has no shape memory. It's higher in quality, more durable, more
conformable, and more expensive too. It can be cast as thin as 1.5 mils or
as thick as 9 mils depending on application. All cast vinyls are rated for
eight to ten years life expectancy and cost around $60.00 for a 24" x 10
yard roll. Oracal 851 is a premium cast vinyl.
If you require a special color, there are around 60 colors available in
Oracal 851 cast and around 80 colors in calendared Oracal 651.
Miscellaneous:
Roland PC-600
ColorCamm Pro
is the thermal ribbon printer/cutter we will be using. It will do CYMK
prints in addition to a dozen or so spot colors. When designing files to
be printed, you can save a little money on prints by being careful with
colors. To print a CYMK image requires use of four separate ribbons, which
will cost more. A reasonable charge is 5 cents per square inch per color
(for process colors), so a full four color CYMK would be 20 cents per
square inch, or $28.80 per square foot. Spot color is more per square inch
(8 cents due to spot color ribbons costing more), but the overall cost can
be less, since less than four ribbons may be used. Please e-mail me for
specifics!
Cutting machines
can only work from vectored lines, so if you need a raster image cut, it's
outline will need to be vectorized anyways, so you may as well do your
work in a vector program and make everyone happy!
Laminates:
You probably won't need a laminate for vehicle stickers *if* the vehicle
is primarily garaged and only out on show days. For long-term items, I
usually laminate with "Frog Juice", a UV inhibiting liquid that can be
sprayed or brushed. Liquid laminates are cheap and easy to use compared to
cold or hot film laminates, which require expensive machinery to apply.
For what it's worth, Roland says prints should last five years outdoors
without lamination.
Bottom line:
If $28.80 / sq.ft. sounds high, think about this: you can get 100 stickers
1.4" wide x 1.0" high from a single square foot for 29 cents each (not
counting expenses for vinyl). Add a stock cast vinyl at $1.00 per square
foot, and cost will be less than $30.00 per square foot. You can get
several nice stickers for a lot less than a factory replacement emblem!
Shipping:
I usually ship by USPS and most of the time it's a buck. There are,
however, special circumstances that you should be aware of. Large items
may need to go in a tube and postage will be specified accordingly. Same
for large envelopes and or large quantity orders.
If you see something you like, feel free to
and I'll see what I can do. If you're looking for something special,
I do one-off, custom work too! Please be aware that transforming
your ideas to an actual print can be very expensive, depending on how your
design has been prepared.
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