AutoGrafx Specialties

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!

The following stickers were printed on my Roland PC-600 thermal printer.  These prints are outdoor and UV safe for at least 5 years (vertically mounted) depending on the vinyl used.

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.  I have many hours invested in each of the prints below.