Screen Printing - October/November 2011 by ST Media Group International

www.screenweb.com

October/November 2011

UV Inkjets Jump New Hurdles p. 34

Mesh Selection p. 24 Automation in Prepress p. 30

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O C T O B E R / N O V E M B E R 2011 Volume 101 / Number 5

CONTENTS COLUMNS About the Cover The number of UV inkjet printers in use continues to rise, and applications for which they’re suited grows along with their increasing popularity. Turn to page 34 to see how the systems are used to overcome challenging jobs.

PREPRESS WIRE

12 How Digital Technology Is Killing Innovation

Mark Coudrey

Evaluate how well you approach marketing efforts going forward.

EXPERT APPAREL

16 Prepping Artwork for Fast Separation

Thomas Trimingham The separation process you select can increase quality and speed at the same time.

FEATURES

24 Untangling Mesh Selection

Roland Hobart Learn which mesh material and thread count match your printing substrate and application.

30 Prepress Robotics

Mike Ruff Removing the human element from the prepress workflow can boost efficiency and add to profit margins.

34 UV Inkjet Printers Face Modern Challenges

Gail Flower Get a glimpse of the wide range of possible applications for UV Inkjet by seeing what other printers have tackled successfully.

40 Social Media: A Stronghold for Marketing

Joe Dysart A wide range of social media awaits those who want to expand their business opportunities.

DEPARTMENTS

SCREENPRINTING Online Communities

4 6 42 44

NEWSWORTHY NEW PRODUCTS SHOP TALK INDUSTRY UPDATE

45 46 47 48

US & CANADIAN DIRECTORY OPPORTUNITY EXCHANGE ADVERTISING INDEX EDITORIAL INSIGHTS

screenweb.com/ news-trends/mesh-blog

SCREEN PRINTING (ISSN 0036-0594) is published bi-monthly by ST Media Group International Inc., 11262 Cornell Park Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45242-1812. Telephone: (513) 421-2050, Fax: (513) 362-0317. No charge for subscriptions to qualified individuals. Annual rate for subscriptions to non-qualified individuals in the U.S.A.: $42 USD. Annual rate for subscriptions in Canada: $70 USD (includes GST & postage); all other countries: $92 (Int’l mail) payable in U.S. funds. Printed in the U.S.A. Copyright 2011, by ST Media Group International Inc. All rights reserved. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for product claims and representations. Periodicals Postage Paid at Cincinnati, OH and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Screen Printing, P.O. Box 1060, Skokie, IL 60076. Change of address: Send old address label along with new address to Screen Printing, P.O. Box 1060, Skokie, IL 60076. For single copies or back issues: contact Debbie Reed at (513) 421-9356 or Debbie.Reed@ STMediaGroup.com. Subscription Services: SPTG@halldata.com, Fax: (847) 763-9030, Phone: (847) 763-4938, New Subscriptions: www.screenweb.com/subscribe.

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NEWSWORTHY www.screenweb.com

STUDY REVEALS VENDOR ROLE IN MARKETING Recent research conducted by Weymouth, MA-based InfoTrends indicates that print-service providers (PSPs) understand the critical importance of getting into cross-media marketing services. A survey of 285 print-service providers shows that 58% of respondents are offering some level of cross-media marketing services today. Furthermore, 87% of respondents were either offering these services today or had plans to offer them in the next 24 months. According to the study, PSP buy-in alone is not the only factor needed to make cross-media marketing successful. A critical component in advancing this market evolution will be support from equipment and software vendors. The vendor community has a major role to play through training, education, and marketing support. PSPs are seeking assistance from vendors in several areas, including self-promotion, marketing and sales, business-development services, pricing strategies and tactics, and technical training. These results are in line with what PSPs consider the major concerns and pain points in offering cross-media marketing initiatives to their customers. Among PSPs who were currently offering cross-media services, the top challenges were determining how to price services and educating clients. Those who were planning to offer services believed that training staff on campaign execution and determining how to price services were the top challenges. “The good news is that vendors can help PSPs,” says Lisa Cross, a senior consultant at InfoTrends and the project manager of the research study. “Vendors have a lot to gain in providing fuel for the evolution. Our study shows that PSPs offering cross-media marketing services report a 13.7% increase in digital-print volumes. Software providers can also get in the game and gain share via offerings that support companies looking to make the transition, or those hoping to further expand or improve efficiencies.”

SCREENWEB POLL RESULTS What type of color-measurement equipment do you use? We eyeball it Spectrophotometer None

WE EYEBALL IT 52%

52% 41% 7%

Steve Duccilli Group Publisher steve.duccilli@stmediagroup.com Gregory Sharpless Associate Publisher gregory.sharpless@stmediagroup.com Gail Flower Editor gail.flower@stmediagroup.com Ben P. Rosenfield Managing Editor ben.rosenfield@stmediagroup.com Keri Harper Art Director keri.harper@stmediagroup.com Mark Coudray, Rick Davis, Tim Greene, Andy MacDougall, Rick Mandel, Thomas Trimingham Columnists Linda Volz Production Coordinator linda.volz@stmediagroup.com Lou Arneberg – Midwest lou.arneberg@stmediagroup.com Lisa Zurick – East US, East Canada, Europe lisa.zurick@stmediagroup.com Ben Stauss – West US, West Canada, Asia ben.stauss@stmediagroup.com Business Development Managers Andy Anderson, Jeff Arbogast, Albert Basse III, Reynold Bookman, Bob Chambers, Don Curtis, Dean DeMarco, Michael Emrich, Craig Furst, David Gintzler, Ryan Moor, Bob Roberts, Jon Weber, Andy Wood Editorial Advisory Board

NONE 7%

Jerry Swormstedt Chairman of the Board

SPECTROPHOTOMETER 41%

A new poll is open on ScreenWeb right now. Check it out and weigh in today!

SCREENPRINTING

Tedd Swormstedt President Kari Freudenberger Director of Online Media Customer Service Screen Printing Subscription Services P.O. Box 1060 Skokie, IL 60076 P: 847-763-4938/877-494-0727 F: 847-763-9030 E: SPTG@halldata.com Free Subscription www.screenweb.com/subscribe Renewals/Address Changes www.screenweb.com/renew

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NEW PRODUCTS Inkjet Inks Nazdar (www. nazdar.com) recently launched Lyson 213 Series Inks for Roland AJ-1000i and AJ-740i largeformat inkjet printers. The comNazdar pany bills the ink as a true alternative to the OEM EcoXtreme Ai3 inkset. According to Nazdar, 213 Series ink is color matched, thereby eliminating the need to profile in most situations, and displays longevity performance that matches the OEM ink. Lyson 213 is available in 1000-ml cartridges.

Fujifilm

Wide-Format UV Inkjet Printer

Fujifilm (www. fujifilm.com) recently unveiled the Inca Onset S40, a wide-format flatbed UV inkjet printer. The system is engineered to print at speeds up to 5059 sq ft/hr (470 sq m/hr), producing 94 full beds/hr (63 x 123.6 in., 1600 x 3139 mm) onto substrates up to 2 in. (51 mm) thick, including plastic, metal, and board stock. The Inca Onset S40 is available in either four-color (CMYK) or six-color (CMYKLcLm) configurations.

Cap Printer The CapMax Convex Cap Printer from Workhorse Products (www.workhorseproducts. com) features a curved platen and screen that follow the Workhorse natural shape Products of the cap. The CMM44 comes standard with cap and T-shirt platens and includes screens made from 110-thread/in. mesh, squeegees, and CP2 cap platens. The CMM44’s center shaft is equipped with tapered bearings and tubular steel construction. Other features include 6

SCREENPRINTING

microregistration, adjustable off-contact, adjustable screen angle, and more. The press is upgradable to a six-color/sixstation unit.

Direct-toGarment Inkjet Printer AnaJet’s (www. anajet.com) new mPower is a direct-to-garment AnaJet inkjet printer that features a closed-loop ink delivery system that enables ink recirculation for all channels, control of ink flow and inkdrop size, and imaging resolutions up to 1200 dpi. The system prints AnaJet’s PowerBRIGHT water-based, pigmented CMYK+W inks on cotton, cotton blends, and general-purpose printing substrates. According to AnaJet, the mPower mP10 prints a typical color graphic in about 34 seconds; the mP5 requires about twice that time.

AdhesiveBacked Paper

Roland DGA Corp.

Roland DGA Corp. (www.rolanddga. com) expanded its Eco-SOL MAX certified media line to include Solvent Glossy Paper with Adhesive (ESMSGPA). Roland says the paper is tested and profiled for performance with its eco-solvent printers and printer/cutters and bills the media as an alternative to vinyl for decals and mounting. The 8-mil product is multicoated for water resistance and durability and can be used for indoor and outdoor displays. Its permanent, waterbased acrylic adhesive is backed with a silicone-treated liner. Solvent Glossy Media with Adhesive comes in 30- and 54-in.wide (762- and 1372-mm) rolls for VersaCAMM, VersaArt, and SOLJET models. A 20-in.-wide (508-mm) roll is available for the VersaStudio BN-20.

Mesh Murakami Screen USA (www.murakamiscreen.com) says its new LX Mesh for plastisols, water-based formulations, and discharge printing is designed to meet the demand for prints with a soft hand. LX Mesh uses proprietary thread technologyto create a mesh that Murakami says has more open area, thinner mesh fabric, minimal mesh knuckles, and improved printing properties. According to the company, LX

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new products

Mesh yields brilliant white solid areas along with detailed line work or halftones that typically are difficult to print well together. The mesh is available in pre-stretched screens or in yardage in five mesh counts.

Print-and-Cut Material Siser (www.siserna. com) says Digi Patterns can help you take lettering and logos to the next level by filling them with a dynamic, 3-D or textured patterns that will make them pop. Fashion designs include skulls, a variety of abstracts, blue jeans, and a range of camouflage variations. Animal prints include Siser leopard, zebra, giraffe, snake, and savannah. Other choices include puzzle, bricks, and diamond patterns. A logo or name can be printed over the pattern as well. According to Siser, Digi Patterns will work with all its print-and-cut materials, including Colorprint PU, Colorprint Sublithin, ColorPrint Extra, Colorprint Classic, Colorprint II, and Colorprint Evolution.

and promotion on flat or slightly curved surfaces. It is coated on one side with a acrylic, pressure-sensitive adhesive and features a 90-lb SuperFlat C2S polycoated liner. The film offers outdoor durability of five years and indoor durability of up to seven years.

Banner Material Imprintables Warehouse (visit www. imprintables. com) now offers DuraSol 13-oz banner Imprintables material. The Warehouse scrim banner roll is 1000 denier, fire resistant, and available in a matte or gloss finish. It is printable on one side, and Imprintables says it’s ideal for front-lit applications. Banners can be hemmed or grommeted. The material comes in four widths: 30, 38, 54, and 63 in. (762, 965, 1372, and 1600 mm). The length for all widths is 40 yd (36.6 m).

Dye-Sub Appliqué

Interlam Pro laminates from Drytac (www.drytac. com) are composed of a water-based acrylic adhesive coated on a UV-stabilized PVC base film. According to Drytac, the lamiDrytac nates offer excellent resistance to UV light and can be used for indoor and outdoor applications. Films are available in widths of 38, 51, and 61 in. (965, 1300, and 1550 mm). Products include: Interlam Pro Glossy, Lustre, Matte, and Emerytex.

Dalco’s (www. dalcoathletic.com) latest dye-sublimaDalco Athletic tion-appliqué design is called 8 Bit. This concept features a team name and sport in a retrostyle typeface with gradient color for a three-dimensional look. Dalco says it’s ideal for any type of spiritwear or team traveling jerseys, jackets, or sports bags. The appliqué measures approximately 4.5 x 10 in.(114 x 254 mm), is made of 100% polyester twill, and comes with an EasyStitch sew file for sewing it down. It also can be backed with a permanent, heat-applied adhesive for application to sweatshirts, 100% cotton or 50/50 T-shirts, and 100% polyester— but not mesh materials.

Media for Screen and Digital Printing

Direct-to-Textile Inkjet Printer

MACtac’s (www.mactac.com) Rebel RB599H is designed for screen and digital printing applications that call for a high-gloss, clear facestock for borderless graphics and a high-tack adhesive. Rebel RB599H is a 4.0-mil, flexible, PVC film designed for medium- to long-term outdoor advertising

Revolutionizing the Digital Textile Printing Industry Kornit’s (www.knornit-digital.com) new Allegro is a roll-toroll inkjet printer that’s designed for direct-to-textile decoration. It features an integrated pretreatment solution and prints at speeds up to 3014 sq ft/hr (280 sq m/hr) and resolu-

Pressure-Sensitive Laminates

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tions up to 500 dpi. The unit prints Allegro Symphony inks in seven colors (CMYKLcLm+Grey) and comes standard with QuickP Movement RIP software for continuous positioning.

PressureSensitive Films Scotchprint Brand Wrap Film Series 1080 from 3M (www.3m.com) now includes 19 new highgloss and two matte colors. According to 3M Wrap Film Series 3M 1080 has been used to create distinctive and exciting looks on hoods, roofs, door panels, and entire vehicles. The long-term, removable cast films are designed for vehicle detailing, decoration, and full wraps without graphic protection. The company explains that film’s pressure-activated adhesive allows it to slide and be repositioned until firm pressure is applied and notes that air-release channels assure fast, easy, and virtually bubble-free installations.

Grommets RNR Plastics, Inc. (www. metalgrommets.com) now offers a full line of self-piercing, solid-brass grommets, washers, and setting dies for use with ClipsShop, Micron, Stimpson, and Hiker manual grommet presses. Finishes include shiny, satin, antique, nickel, black oxide, copper oxide, gun metal, and others. Grommet sizes range from #XX00 (0.125 in, 3.175 mm) to #12 (1.5 RNR Plastics, Inc. in., 38 mm). ColDesi, Inc.

Direct-toGarment Inkjet Printer ColDesi, Inc. (www.coldesi. com) recently introduced what it calls another game-changing product line with the DTG M-Series. It features

screenprinting

a 24 x 17.75-in. (610 x 451-mm) print area and multiple platen configurations, and ColDesi says the unit can print two dark garments designed with 11 x 10-in. (279 x 254-mm) graphics in less than three minutes and the same image on light garments in less than 90 seconds.

Aluminum-Composite Material Alupanel Ultrawhite is a new aluminumcomposite material from Graphic Solutions Group (www. gogsg.com). It’s designed for flat signage, vinyl applicaGraphic Solutions Group tion, P-O-P displays, and short-term displays for outdoor use. According to GSG, Alupanel Ultrawhite features a paint finish that supports color vibrancy and improved ink adhesion. GSG says a newly formulated mixture of compounds used in Alupanel Ultrawhite has increased the product’s rigidity by more than 25% compared to the company’s Ecopanel. Alupanel Ultrawhite comes in 0.12-in.-thick (3-mm) 4 x 8-ft (1.2 x 2.4-m) sheets in a matte/matte finish.

Absorbent Pads Oil Eater Naturals is a new line of absorbent pads from Kafko Int’l (www. oileater.com). The pads are made of natural plant by-products and feature Kafko Int’l woven construction. According to Kafko, the pads will absorb up to 20% more than melt-blown polypropylene pads. Product sizes range from 16 x 18 in. to 28 in. x 150 ft. (406 x 457 mm to 711 mm x 45.8 m). Weights include light, medium, and heavy. Oil-Only Pads and Rolls soak up oil and repel water; Universal Pads and Rolls soak up oil, water, and other liquids; and Absorbent Socks control larger spills and protect drains.

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THE PREPRESS WIRE HOW DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY IS KILLING INNOVATION Mark Coudray

Times of change can be roads to revenue or ruin. Coudray describes how you can evaluate your situation and aim for growth.

t’s that time of year again—time for the biggest imaging techno-fest: SGIA. I love technology, always have. But we’re fast approaching the point where even techno geeks can’t keep up with the awesome display before us. There was a time when I couldn’t wait to see what was new. Over the last decade or so, the speed at which technology has accelerated has changed my perspective. By way of background, I’ve just spent the last nine months re-evaluating everything I know about where we’ve been and where we’re going. This all came about with the decision to close my own print operation at the end of January, 2011, after 38 years. It was a very difficult decision, and I anguished over it for months. I didn’t close it because of the economy; there were other factors I won’t go into. I came to some serious revelations while in the process of selling off equipment and disposing of almost 40 years worth of collected works. If you ever get a chance to go through a lifetime’s worth of work in a short period of time, the impact can be stunning. I’ve only done it once before, when my father passed away and I had to go through everything. It is a very weird feeling to see a life flash in front of you by going through what’s left behind. Very few of us ever come face-to-face with our own lives in this manner. As I was going through my personal archives of saved print samples, journals, lab notebooks, and the like, I was initially excited. This is mostly because I was pulling out memories of great adventures from along the way. There were photos of when my wife and I visited Michel Caza in Cergy Pentoise in 1984 for the first time. There were the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Golden Squeegee Awards from the very first competition in 1980, along with the award-winning shirts. And much more. It was amazing. There were pictures of a very young Andy Anderson, Don Newman, and Mark Coudray looking over samples in the Stretch Devices booth in 1986. As the chronology of work and time progressed, I could see something happening. I was watching innovation unfold in front of me. I was looking back at the history of digital imaging, color science, and halftone technology being played out before my very eyes. Then, about 1998, something happened. The evolution of color, halftoning, separation technology—it all kind of stopped. I didn’t notice it at first, but it was definitely there. From that point on, the quality of our printing kept getting 12

SCREENPRINTING

Mark A. Coudray is president of Coudray Graphic Technologies, San Luis Obispo, CA. He has served as a director of (SGIA) and as chairman of the Academy of Screen Printing Technology. Coudray has authored more than 250 papers and articles over the last 20 years, and he received the SGIA’s Swormstedt Award in 1992 and 1994. He can be reached via e-mail at coudray@coudray.com.

better and better, but the innovation stopped. There were only smaller and smaller refinements, and to be honest, hardly anything new since late 2006. It pains me to make that admission, but think about your own business or the screen side of the industry and tell me honestly I’m not the only one who sees it.

How we innovate going forward Here’s what I’ve noticed. First and foremost, trades shows and the trade press started cutting back the number of seminars, columns, and features. They felt the crush of declining show attendance ad revenues. The events and publications got smaller and smaller. This is of major significance. It is the beginning of an accelerating decline. Innovation is based on improvement. Improvement means doing things differently. To introduce and market any new technology successfully, you must have a market in place that understands the significance of the improvement and has a willingness and capacity to implement change. Furthermore, that change or improvement must demonstrate enough economic or market significance to justify the capital investment and the disruption within the organization. When the primary educational channels are choked down to the point where nothing of significant substance can be delivered, you starve the end users in the market to the point where they jeopardize the successful launch and adoption of any new vendor technology because they are not prepared to deal with it. This wasn’t a problem as long as we lived in the analog world. A major purchase would last for 20 years or more, and education could be delivered over time with no ill effect. Innovation was slower. Businesses could digest new knowledge at a more reasonable pace. That all changed forever as soon as accelerated, disruptive, digital technologies appeared. Driven by Moore’s curve, processor density doubled every 18-24 months while the price of new technology dropped like a rock. If you invested early, or took too long to implement, you were dead. Your competitors would watch you struggle with early or beta versions. Hardware and software reliability were poor. In their techdriven schedules, products were rushed to market before they were ready. Both the vendors and your competitors would learn from your struggles. So when version 2.0 was released, you

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were economically done. Being in early was not necessarily a good thing unless you were an exceptional implementer with lots of savvy. I know. I’ve experienced the bleeding edge too many times. It gets worse. When the technology vendors weren’t strong enough, you risked them going out of business before the market was mature enough for them to sell sufficient volumes to stay alive and profit. Think of the early days of DTG. So, stepping back from this for a minute, I can see that the majority of innovation for screen printers peaked in about 1998 or thereabout. Digital technologies have maintained their relentless march forward, so much so that now we are having a convergence with the other printing disciplines like litho and flexo.

Creating new business

Come See Today’s Leading Technology Booth #901

screenprinting

As much as I love imaging technology, my focus and attention have shifted. It’s now zeroed in on markets, opportunities, and the application of technology to them. There are new ways to define value in the market. There are more opportunities in front of us today than ever before, but we just aren’t recognizing them. We’re trying to apply our old ways of looking at the game to a whole new game. It’s as if we’ve spent the last 100 years playing baseball and now the field has been changed over to soccer and we don’t know the rules, strategies, or the plays. When I realized this, everything changed. I began to see things differently. I began to look at situations differently. Things would never be the same again. In the past, we all would look at a job based on three things: how much or many resources would it take, how much risk would be involved, and how much friction (hassle factor) was involved with the client, account, or market. We were treating every account, client, and deal pretty much as a one off. It was what I called the hunter-gath-

the prepress wire

erer approach to sales and marketing— foraging for lots of small orders, every day, or going for the big one. Landing a whale meant eating for a long time, getting fat and lazy, and then slowly beginning to starve when trying to replace the source of sustenance when it was gone. The problem was daily foraging was getting pretty lean, and the whales had all gone offshore. The point of this is simple. Your marketing effort going forward must contain a self-perpetuating element if you expect to survive. It’s a way of extending existing tech purchases and will help you buy time for training and learning new things until you can adjust to the new paradigm. I’ve written a number of columns over the last few years about the need for accelerated learning and the exponential expansion of knowledge. We are at a critical crossroad right here, right now. Unless we find a new way of delivering current, relevant knowledge, in large quantities, to a receptive audience, that gets it, we’re on the way to demise. I wish I could lay out the answers here, but space is too limited. But there are solutions. To start, I would highly recommend getting a copy of the excellent new book, “Business Model Generation,” by Alex Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur. Not only will it change the way you look at everything going on around you, but it will also give you a fundamental framework to design the changes I’ve proposed so far. Keep all of this in mind as you walk the vast expanse of the trade show. Look at how our industry has changed and who the new players are. Screen printing is still here to be sure, but our role now is not necessarily one of print innovation; rather, it is one of how we bring our knowledge, technology, and value to the markets in more efficient and innovative ways.

october/november 2011

EXPERT APPAREL PREPPING ARTWORK FOR FAST SEPARATION Thomas Trimingham

Rushing the separation process can lead to disaster in production. Find out how to determine which approach represents the best mix of quality and speed for your shop.

f your main goal is speed, the end result is rarely ideal for a consumer product. The extra speed you obtain when you fail to consider quality or waste is lost quickly when you have to redo part or all of a job. This mentality is the same when considering the separation method that you use to process an image for screen printing. Raw speed in separation doesn’t guarantee quality on press. This is one of the reasons why it is difficult to script the separation process with preset commands in Adobe Photoshop. Each image that is presented for separation has its own ideal color palette, and some adjustments must be made to prep a file before pulling out the right colors. After that, you have to select the right separation methods for the specific image. Speed is still important in separations, of course. The ability to separate an image in 15 minutes instead of two hours yields production time that can be allocated to other areas. Additionally, too few screen printers charge adequately— or at all—for the separation process, which makes any delays costly. A fast separation set may not be completely successful on the press on the first setup. Experienced printers know spending a little more time on quality separations makes for

FIGURE 1 Color pollution often shows up as several colors crowded together in what otherwise looks like an area of solid color.

SCREENPRINTING

Thomas Trimingham has worked in the screenprinting industry for more than 15 years as an artist, art director, industry consultant, and head of R&D for some of the nation’s largest screen printers. He is an award-winning illustrator, designer, and author of more than 45 articles on graphics for screen printing. He can be reached at ttrimingham@yahoo.com.

higher success rate during production and less downtime. Separations that fail on press are very expensive, no matter how fast they were done. How can a printer have fast separations that are also very reliable the first time they are put on press? The best way to decide which process is ideal for a specific screen printer is to review some designs with three different separation methods and compare them to their individual speed of execution, accuracy of reproduction, and rate of success on press. To keep it simple, the three different methods of separating detailed artwork are simulated process, four-color process, and index color. Determining which method of separation produces the fastest set of quality screens depends on several factors: preferences in the production and art departments, image variables, equipment limitations, and separator skill.

Art preparation Preparing files for color separation is one of the most underrated activities in the art department. The artist may not know how or have the experience to prep the file, the designer may not want to revisit the work before separation to avoid looking inefficient, and there is always the communication process that needs to happen between the art department and the sales de-

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Figure 2 Photoshop’s hue/saturation dialog is an effective tool to use when battling color pollution.

partment when the look of the artwork is adjusted. These issues may cause a design to go to separation with a lot of inherent problems that will cause significant separation challenges or may not show up until the screens go onto the press. Deal with your art and separation problems before pulling out colors. Colors become more difficult to define once the separation process starts. Prepping an art file for separation involves reviewing it in three major areas: color pollution, resolution and file size, and edge quality. Once you review and correct for all of these aspects—if necessary or applicable as budget and time permit—the final colors are almost always easier, clearer, and simpler

to duplicate correctly in a final print. Here’s a quick look at the three areas of art prep in regard to how they contribute to the separation process: Color pollution This is the one of the least addressed areas in prepping artwork. Ironically, it is also one of the easiest to correct. An image that appears at a distance to have a flat area of color may, upon closer inspection, have a lot of colors that are crowding together to effectively pollute the intended color (Figure 1). Separations may have a lot of holes in the solid areas of color when this color is pulled, and extra colors may be ghosted onto other screens where they don’t belong. A good solution for images that show significant color pollution is to

use the layers dialog in Photoshop and then select the main color that you are looking for using the eyedropper tool. You can then adjust this color to the right hue by selecting it from the tool menu and then modifying it in the color-picker dialog. Once you have the proper color for separation from the design, you can use the colorrange command in Photoshop on this color to select all of the areas in the image that have this color. Careful use of the fuzziness slider in this dialog box will ensure that you select the right amount of color. Once you create this selection using the color-range tool, switch to the channels menu, and create a new channel by selecting the box at the bottom of this dialog. Fill the selected areas in the new channel with white—assuming you have the new channels in solid black—and then deselect the selection. The next step is to invert this new channel and then use the curves menu to adjust it so it is very solid black. You can do this by pushing the black point most of the way along the bottom toward the white point in the curves menu. This creates a solid selection area in the channel. The new channel can then be used as a gross selection to create a new layer or adjustment layer in the layers palette. Just control-click (Cmd-click on the Mac) on the channel image in the channel dialog to select the white areas, then invert the selection. Go to the layers menu and, with this selection still active, copy and paste this

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area into a new layer. The next step is to use the hue/saturation dialog and average the color in these areas of your new layer by using the colorize command. This new, colorized layer can then be adjusted by opacity or by using a layerblend mode to merge with the original image underneath. It will force the selected colors into the same family/hue set (Figure 2). Though this process sounds complex, it’s really just using a pre-selection to create a more precise selection and then averaging the color of these areas in a new layer like a lens on top of the original artwork. This process alone can reduce the number of colors necessary in artwork dramatically and improve Figure 3 Pushing resolution higher and then evaluating available color information is the overall look, separation, and printone way to determine whether you should spend more time working on the art or contact ing of images with color pollution. the customer about image quality. Resolution and file size Every printer wishes that customers would that only a small percentage of the supplied that was compressed for Web provide original artwork ready to go artwork provided is considered ready viewing to 72 dpi and at a small size. Mimaki 1 separate. 9/16/11 12:24 Page 1 onto theUJF3042_IndusRev_H_SP1011_Layout screens, but the reality is to MorePM often, artwork is These files—if they’re not rejected out-

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Figure 4 Evaluating layer blends is an important part of correcting for poor edge definition in a design.

rightâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;must be adjusted, averaged, or in some cases completely redone. Low-res images donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t retain enough information to create a definitive separation set.

If the file is borderline and the client cannot provide a better source, then you can do several things to enhance your results (Figure 3). One solution is

to take the original artwork and then up the resolution in the image/size dialog box to 200-250 dpi at the final output size. Review this ramp-up of the resolution carefully to see whether there is enough information to justify investing more time in the art. Pay special attention to type clarity and sharp-edged lines in the artwork that may have appeared jagged in the low-resolution version of the file. If the file looks like it can be saved without a ton of work, then the first step is to copy and paste the image in as a new layer and then use the curves command to force the contrast up by pushing the white and black points together. This removes some of the marginal values that may have been created when the resolution was increased and define the edges better. You can also define and edges manually, if necessary, by using Photoshopâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s smudge, eraser, and brush

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tools. Finally, depending upon the image, you can copy the adjusted layer, paste it, run the poster-edges filter on it, and then adjust the opacity and blend mode so that just the edges merge down and help to define the original. Different options may be used depending on the colors and graphics in the image. Running through the layer-blend modes using the arrow keys is a good step here (Figure 4). Edge quality The definition of the edges in an image contributes to its overall resolution. Many photographs that are used for designs to be screen printed are just plopped into a layout in Photoshop. These images may suffer from poor definition or unclear transitions from one shape to another in the graphic. Solutions to poor edge quality in designs are complex and can take many forms, such as redrawing parts of the graphic, resetting type on top of

fuzzy letters, and adjusting resolution selectively. You can also improve edge definition in a photograph by drawing on top of the original artwork in an extra layer using a fine black line to cut out shapes and define edges in the original. This works so well in screen printing because the black line knocks out a hole in the underbase or other colors, which helps to control ink gain, and the black line makes for a clean look on a printed shirt and gives the eye a place to stop.

Testing separation speeds How fast can a separation run and still maintain the quality needed on press? Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s look at what happened when two test images were processed through three separation methods that should work as quality processes for reproduction in screen printing (Figure 5). The results for simulated process, index color, and four-color process followed a

predictable pattern with a few interesting exceptions. Each method of separation has its advantages and flaws. The tests proved that expected variables would appear on press. The results of the speed tests of the prepared artwork were reviewed for time that it took to achieve final separations, number of colors necessary, and other considerations related to production.

Four-color process Separating the images for four-color process was deceptively easy. The files were just converted from RGB into CMYK with black at maximum. The part of the process that took the most time was looking over the images and making adjustments to the sections or areas of color that wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t print properly. There was a tendency for the separations to have too much black in them and some unnecessary ghosting of cyan

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control of press, ink, and garment variables to have a consistent look to all the garments through a printing run. These concerns make four-color process a big challenge for many screen printers. This approach to color separation is image dependent. Many printers wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t touch a four-color job on dark garments because of all of the headaches, but on white garments, with the right artwork, this style of printing can capture the widest array of colors.

Index color

Figure 5 These are the two test images used in the time trials. and yellow in the red areas, so these had to be corrected manually prior to finalizing the channels. Separating the files into fourcolor process with the added time for

screenprinting

correction took 35 minutes each. The number of colors was four with an added underbase color for dark shirts. The critical consideration is that four-color process requires intense

Both of the test designs happened to be good candidates for index separation, so the test in a sense wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t quite as balanced. Index separations require a good understanding of how to manipulate an imageâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s color table in Photoshop as it is converted to an index-color design. Therefore, operator experience can really play a factor in separation speed.

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Index separations are the fastest of the three types of separations discussed here. The final results for both designs were obtained in less than ten minutes. The time included some significant tweaking of the color table to allow for some blending and some underbase extraction. One downside is that index separations take two to three times as many colors to work as the other methods— in this case, eight or nine colors each. The other major concern is that all of the colors are opaque in an index print, so nine colors were mixed to match what was in the file separations. The flaws and advantages of index prints really go along with a shop’s production style. If a printer has a large press with a lot of mixed inks already, that might be a perfect environment for index printing.

process produced the best balance in profitable prints, it was the slowest in separation. Index color was worth a second look just for the fact that it is exceedingly fast to do—but it does create extra colors and needs a lot of custom inks. Four-color process was the most troublesome on the press and the most

nerve-wracking for a learning screen printer to separate. In considering all of the test results, simulated process still leads in overall quality and printing ease; index color comes in a clear second for its extremely fast test times; and four-color process remains in last place because of its temperamental results.

Simulated process The most popular style of separations for detailed art is defined by its ability to blend and create multiple colors and be friendly in production with minimal gain. Images can be adjusted to fit stock inks, thereby saving on mixing time. Another advantage of simulated process in these tests was the ability to limit colors to six on both designs. The production of simulated process is more of a challenge in screenmaking than it is on press. Screens have to be made carefully to capture any subtle dots and shades to prevent loss of details in the design. The drawback of simulated process is the time it takes to separate effectively. Even with a small amount of scripting—it’s easy to program a list of commands to create an underbase and highlight color—the separation of the test designs took 45 minutes each. Considerable adjustments were made to the final separations to ensure proper testing and printing without difficulty.

Summing up the results The overall review of the different separation methods for speed and quality showed that while simulated october/november 2011

Untangling Mesh Selection The following discussion addresses critical factors to consider when choosing mesh for your next screen-printing job. Roland Hobart Dynamesh

hen you consider the number of different applications calling for screen printing and the range of mesh counts and types that are available, it’s a wonder anyone can make a decision about which mesh to use. Mesh selection is a process that requires understanding and consideration of the characteristics that influence the print results. This article discusses those traits and provides tips for visualizing the three-dimensional aspects of mesh and how variations can affect outcomes on press. Thread composition Screen printing has benefited from the evolution of the materials used in the process. The earliest meshes were natural multifilaments, such as silk and cotton. A synthetic, multifilament mesh was developed later. Eventually, monofilament nylon, polyester, and stainless steel were introduced.

Twill Weave

Plain Weave

Substrate Contact

FIGURE 1 Structural differences between monofilament plain- and twill-weave mesh

SCREENPRINTING

The most recent materials include some interesting hybrids for specialty printing applications that require extreme strength and dimensional stability. The different tensile strengths of each of these materials determine the strength of the woven mesh and the level of dimensional stability. The specific characteristics would produce different print results, even though all of the other elements—emulsion, ink, and squeegee—were exactly the same. Advances in thread composition and improvements in mesh weaving and finishing have done a lot to enhance printing in today’s environment. However, there are still a lot of variations that factor into mesh selection. Thread structure/strength Two common threads types are used in modern screen printing: multifilament and monofilament. The multifilament structure is mostly used for coarse mesh and has the least amount of dimensional stability and poorest ability to print fine details. This type of mesh would be used for applications where a durable, long-lasting screen is needed—and for some filtration. The multifilament construction offers excellent adhesion for either emulsion or capillary film. It was often used with direct/indirect film with great success before the introduction of more dimensionally stable materials. This mesh structure can make cleaning and reclaiming difficult. Monofilament mesh comes in a wide variety of thread diameters. In general, the thicker the thread, the stronger the woven mesh. Structural differences are shown in Figure 1. Certain combinations of large threads and higher mesh counts may require a twill weave to produce a nicely woven product, but the twill weave is sometimes preferred because it is a stronger, thicker mesh. These meshes aren’t suited to four-color process because there is more substrate contact and mesh interference; however, they offer durability and are therefore ideal for heavy-duty industrial applications and textiles. As the threads get smaller, the woven mesh gets finer, and mid-range meshes can be used for much more detailed work, including four-color process and fine lines. To get finer

detail, some of the mesh strength is sacrificed, although recent developments have made even the thinner threads more durable. To determine the mesh count needed, the printer should realize that a single dot should cover at least three mesh openings—four for optimum coverage—to prevent dot loss and ensure the printability of even the smallest dots. The thinnest polyester threads are used for the highest mesh counts. Thinner thread means a larger opening and finer mesh (Figures 2 and 3). Much research and development has gone into making these ultra-thin threads stronger and more stable. The finer the mesh, the thinner the ink laydown. To achieve an even thinner laydown, polyester meshes are calendered on one side with heat. The process makes the mesh thinner and produces an extremely smooth surface, both of which make calendered mesh ideal for applying a clearcoat because it reduces clearcoat consumption and reduces costs (Figure 4). Nylon threads are ideal for mesh that will be used for printing challenging surfaces or containers. Nylon supports greater elongation than polyester and can conform to rough, uneven, or rounded surfaces. However, the same thing that makes it so good for this ap-

Thread Diameter vs. % Open Area

Figure 2 The influence of thread diameter on percentage of open area

plication makes it unsuitable for most applications that require dimensional stability and low elongation. Stainless-steel wire has the highest strength for thread diameter, so it is used for fine printing that requires a precise ink laydown and good dimensional stability for registration. Wire is strong, and this property enables the use of thinner threads. In turn, the thinner threads reduce mesh interference—fewer incidences of sawtoothing and moiré—and improve ink transition. Furthermore, wire mesh can be calendered for precise control of the

mesh thickness, which is crucial in the electronics industry. During the calendering process, the knuckles are pressed together, giving the mesh even better dimensional stability. This type of mesh would be used for electronics, RFID, and other precision printing. Stainless-steel mesh is also produced in a format called 3-D for printing extremely opaque narrow lines. This type of mesh can accommodate heavy laydown while maintaining sharp edge definition because it is constructed with straight threads in one direction and high peaks on the

Regular Polyester

Calendered Polyester

Lower, Wider Cone Evener Ink Laydown Less More-Sharper Edge Definition

High, Narrow Cone

Figure 3 The effect of open-area percentage on ink-laydown characteristics

Less Ink Laydown Figure 4 Differences in ink laydown between regular and calendered polyester mesh

october/november 2011

Polyester

Stainless Mesh

Stainless 3-D Mesh

Figure 5 Ink laydown common to polyester, stainless-steel, and stainless-steel 3-D mesh

Polyester Mesh Thickness 2X Thread Diameter Less 20%

Stainless Mesh Plus-25%

Figure 6 Developments in thread design and fabrication, whether polyester or stainless, have benefited print quality.

Plain Weave

Figure 7 Profiles of plain-weave, twill-weave, and plain-weave calendered mesh

Twill Weave

Plain Weave Calendered

screenprinting

opposing threads for greater depth (Figure 5). Regardless of the material, the advances made in thread composition and structure have resulted in everimproved print capabilities in myriad applications (Figure 6). Weave structure Screen-printing mesh is available in plain or twill weave (Figure 7). The majority is constructed in a 1:1 plain weave. The range of mesh counts is 15 or fewer threads/in. to 508 or more threads/in. The coarsest polyester meshes typically are used to print textiles with glitter ink or other large particles or for industrial applications using adhesive or paste. Thread diameters can exceed 400 μm, which translates to a mesh thickness of approximately 900 μm. A lot of mesh-count options in the medium thread range for polyester (35-63 μm) are suitable for a wide range of applications, from decals and P-O-P graphics to industrial and OEM printing. Polyester-thread diameters are in the range of 24-33 μm for the very finest meshes. These would be used for extremely fine lines and four-color process with a high line count. Again, the smallest dot should cover at least three mesh openings to prevent dot loss. Stainless-steel thread is available as thin as 11 μm and has been woven with 840 threads/in. This is an amazing accomplishment and indicative of ongoing efforts to meet more demanding requirements. Selecting the correct mesh for the job requires analysis of ink type, viscosity, and desired opacity (ink laydown). Ink laydown is influenced by mesh thickness and open area. A quick calculation to approximate the ink laydown is mesh thickness in microns x percentage of open area. Other considerations include the detail of the artwork and the precision and durability requirements for final product Twill-weave mesh is generally used for threads that are too heavy to weave 1:1. Thread diameter and mesh

count dictate that the construction be 2:1 or 2:2. This mesh would be used for textiles and industrial applications where durability for long runs and a heavy laydown of adhesives or pastes are required, but detail is not. Therefore, twill-weave mesh is useful for flood coats and jobs that require extreme opacity. Impeded ink flow, greater mesh interference, and more substrate contact make twill weave a poor choice for printing fine detail. Thread diameter/mesh count This combination determines the opening size and percentage of open area. These factors play a huge role in the final print result. Each mesh manufacturer sets a standard for each of its meshes, specifying the tolerance on mesh count, mesh thickness, size of opening, and percentage of open area. When selecting your mesh, you will want to take into account the particle size or viscosity of your ink or other material to ensure proper ink transition. Knowing your desired ink deposit allows you to use mill specifications to determine which mesh will support your needs. Remember to use the quick calculator for ink laydown. Take into account the smallest dot size. Divide that number by 4 to arrive at the approximate mesh-opening size and select the mesh based on the mill specs. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get unraveled Mesh is the centerpiece of screen printing, from prepress through production, which is why selecting the right one from the vast assortment of options on the market can be especially frustrating. However, making the mesh manufacturer of your choice a partner in the mesh-selection process can help you solve even the most complicated mesh mystery. Roland Hobart is national technical director for Dynamesh. He has more than 45 years of research and practical experience in the screen-printing industry and has taught hundreds of seminars on subjects ranging from the very basics of the printing/coating process to the most complex elements.

screenprinting

MESH SELECTION BY INDUSTRY

This chart offers guidelines for mesh selection by industry. The factors discussed throughout this article must still play a part in your final decision. GLASS/CERAMIC Application Concave glass Glass for construction Automotive glass Decals and nameplates Tiles GRAPHIC ART Application Area coarse lines Area fine lines Halftone printing >45 lines/in. 230-305 Halftone printing >90 lines/in. 3 05-380 Halftone printing >137 lines/in.

Mesh Count (threads/in.) 180-305 150-230 200-305 90-380 30-305

Mesh Count (threads/in.) 230-305 305-355

380-460

PRINTED CIRCUITS Application Etching/Plating resist Solder mask Solder resist, peelable Marking print Conductive-ink carbon base

Mesh Count (threads/in.) 255-355 11-255 30 255-355 90-180

GARMENTS/TEXTILES Application Plastisol ink Water-based ink Two-part system Glitter Adhesive

Mesh Count (threads/in.) 125-355 110-255 120-280 30-110 30-110

OPTICAL MEDIA Application Area printing Lettering Halftone printing <60 lines/in. 3 05-380 Halftone printing <137 lines/in. Halftone printing >137 lines/in. MEMBRANE SWITCHES Application Overlay Conductive ink Electrically resistive ink Dielectric Conductive adhesive

Mesh Count (threads/in.) 305-380 305-380 305-420 380-460

Mesh Count (threads/in.) 305-355 150-255 180-255 110-230 80-100

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Prepress Find out how making an automated assembly line in your prepress department can help boost quality, productivity, and morale. Mike Ruff Nazdar Consulting Services

recently read an article by Pearl Tesler, Universal Robots: The History and Working of Robotics. In it, she said, “If you think robots are mainly the stuff of space movies, think again. Right now, all over the world, robots are on the move. They’re painting cars at Ford plants, assembling Milano cookies for Pepperidge Farms, walking into live volcanoes, driving trains in Paris, and defusing bombs in Northern Ireland.” I contend that robotics can do many of the repetitive tasks that the graphics industry does to every file that comes through the door. Today, I hope to build a case for prepress robotics—technology that is here now and is ready to improve your productivity, accuracy, and profitability.

What is prepress robotics? Prepress robotics is just a term that identifies automation solutions in prepress and print functions. If you think about it, most of the redundant tasks are in this part of print production. Robotics is a term for the replacement of a human function—not a replacement of the human, but the function that a human would be doing. The human (hopefully) possesses attributes that could be used for higher level tasks that require good analytical decisions and make us more money if we free the humans from the lower level, repetitive work.

A new challenge Market conditions are changing quickly in the graphics industry. Change is driven by technology—faster computers, RIPs, printers, and file transfers. Technology should give us more time because we can do more work in less time and do more important work by eliminating redundant tasks. However, technology change will cause us as much pain as pleasure if we do not embrace what is available. Customers want their jobs finished faster now because they know we can now do them faster. Customers want their jobs at a lower cost, with better accuracy, to a specific color data set, and

FIGURE 1 After files are uploaded, the client should be e-mailed, the file should be preflighted, and the client e-mailed again. If a file fails, it is placed in a holding folder for inspection or repair. If it can’t be fixed, the client is again e-mailed with an explanation. If it passes, it moves to the next stage of production automatically. 30

SCREENPRINTING

on demand. If we don’t do it, someone else will. Is the answer faster equipment? It helps, but can you really afford to keep buying the fastest and most expensive machine every two years? The faster equipment game is hard to win. While there is a need to stay current in speed, there is also a need to pay off the equipment you have invested in and then squeeze as much life as possible out of it until ROI is realized and competition demands more speed. One way to stay competitive with print speed is to keep your printers printing and not sitting idle. I visit about 50 print facilities a year. I have found that most print equipment is only producing shippable product about 60% of the time. The other 40% of the time is spent waiting for files to be prepared, stopping to fix mistakes, adjust color, and wait to reprocess the same raster image multiple times before starting or resuming production. I’m not against faster equipment. But a slower printer with a faster and more accurate workflow has a high degree of likelihood to win the race over a higher priced, cutting-edge, faster printer. In reality, we can push forward the calendar on a purchase of a faster machine a year or two just by optimizing our productivity and profitability with prepress robotics.

How does prepress robotics help?

of the next key process area of the final product: film and proofs. Robotics in prepress can solve the problem (Figure 1). A digital storefront can manage incoming jobs and the information needed to start the job. Clients simply log in and all their information is populated. It simplifies placing an order and saves the client time. They have the option to select preloaded job information from pull-down menus or select data needed to output their file. The client then uploads their file and, as soon as uploading is complete, the client immediately is sent a confirmation e-mail thanking them for the job and confirming that the file is in process—even if it’s midnight and no one is there. This is not the stopping place for a good robotics-based workflow. Every redundant mechanical function should be looked at as an opportunity to increase productivity with fewer humans 24 hours a day. If we leave the file the client sent to us in a box overnight or all afternoon, it may be growing moss on the north side of the file before we have time to preflight it. Therefore, the file movement to preflight must be automated (Figures 2A and 2B). The file moves to inspection and preflighting. Preflighting software is

Figures 2A and 2B In Figure 2A, robotic functions have automatically created a high-res PDF-4X that contains all of the information needed at the next stage. Figure 2B shows the other side of the workflow, which is handled automatically while people complete other prep work.

There are three areas of the prepress workflow that offer opportunities to drive productivity and improve your competitive position with existing equipment: better and more accurate robotic incoming file management, standardizing file preparation, and managing the color result to maximize the accuracy of expected results. Robotic management of incoming files A key principle of lean manufacturing is that correct job flow cannot have bottlenecks. A bottleneck for most graphics producers is getting a file from the client into print-ready stage and in a standardized state that doesn’t require rework. The bottleneck is created when everything else waits for the front-end work to be completed. The prepress technicians preflight and inspect files, call clients, and send files through the workflow. It destroys the productivity october/november 2011

Figure 3 Many of the prepress tasks are robotic. Some are manual. People and prepress robots work together to improve productivity. now better than what any human can do. Rule-based parameters for what passes and what fails are predetermined by the humans in prepress. The file that just hit the inbox immediately moves to preflight. It is evaluated quickly and accurately based on what we wanted to inspect. If the file passes, it moves on to the next stage and the client is e-mailed that the file has been inspected and is ready for output. The client doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to waste your time by calling to see if you received the file and are working on it. If the file were to fail, it would automatically go to a box to be inspected and either fixed or set aside to be replaced. This means that all files that are ready to roll get a front seat at the next stage of the process: file preparation and standardization. Standardizing file preparation and standardization through robotics Rules-based preferences set up properly in a preflight software is the key part of 32

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file preparation and standardization. In other words, you can choose the wrong settings and cause inconsistency and failure downstream. Invest in a certified process-control consultant to help you with making decisions about how files should be standardized and prepared. At this point there are preparation functions that are mostly done manually. Some of these manual functions are redundant. Some are custom. The redundant tasks are those that are repeated day after day for the same clients, on the same substrate, on the same press, on the same sheet sizeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; and boring the heck out of the people in prepress. Correct sheet size, colorcontrol bars, print information, bleeds, pagination, trim marks, and even placing multiple images on the same sheet can be automated upon receipt of information uploaded from the client and information that is associated with the file. This is done by automated imposition software.

Not all jobs can be imposed automatically, but if we just eliminate manual setup for half of the jobs, these jobs will slide right past the bottleneck created by human touch and move them to the next stage, which is to trapping if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s for an analog process or to color-management decisions if it is a digital print job. Prepress robotics can move the files to the right software and to the right hot folder with automated functions already assigned and get these jobs done while the humans do jobs that require custom decisions and customized actions (Figure 3). Automated preparation and print-color control are set up by people who know the process and the requirements for their printing. The opportunity for accuracy is improved because it is no longer guesswork. Decisions are made about trapping automatically, but someone should inspect the work at this point because all files are different. A special-

ist can check the result of the trapping quickly and head off any potential trapping problems. The good results are that the decisions in imposition and trapping are rock solid, consistently accurate, and fast. Again, jobs that are not standard at this point are kicked out for someone to inspect or fix. The number of jobs that require inspection and tweaking will start to decrease as people start to realize that standardizing files at the beginning of the workflow eliminates the need to touch the jobs as they travel through the roboticsbased workflow. Managing the color to maximize the accuracy of expected results Automating all the movement of the file saves time, but the biggest payoff from the automation can be the automated color control. Other industries have done it. Some in this industry are so predictable from input to output that the color accuracy they output is amazing. Assuming the file has been standardized, based in process-control and conformance specifications, the output of color compared to the input file can be done by robotics. A PDFX-4 file contains all the information we need. If we have standardized our print device (screen or digital), we also know what our printer will do with a certain ink line on a certain media. That means robotics can automatically assign the right devicelink profile to the file to get accurate color as long as we train the people to remain predictable in their output. Many say this is impossible, but they’re wrong. It is possible when we set up process-control and conformance standards (visit www.idealliance.org for more about these standards). This is important to maximize prepress robotics and become as close to a manufacturing process as we can. The file is simply moved by the robot to color management. The file contains the embedded source profile telling us the intent of the file. Mr. Robot quickly thumbs through his little list of device-link profiles, slaps a little instruction packet on the file, and drags the file to the queue for printing.

Results If we have set up prepress robotics correctly, we’ll have increased the pro-

ductivity of the human work force by at least 30% and our accuracy by at least 50%. A little bit of accuracy makes a big difference. Larry Steinmetz, president of Boulder, CO-based Hi-Yield Management, Inc., does profitability consulting and training. He has a Ph.D. in business administration, is on the board of directors of several companies throughout the United States, and is the author of 13 books. He also operates four small businesses at this time. I have followed Larry’s teaching for more than 30 years. If you ever get a chance to attend his seminars, it will be well worth your time. He has a simple formula that shows the danger of losing margin. The Steinmetz Formula:

A false Solution chosen by those who are no longer in the graphics-production industry is to just print more to make up for the increased cost of poor productivity. Run the numbers in Larry’s simple formula before you make this deadly mistake. How much more do we have to print if we don’t become more productive?(,

Overhead (GS&A) ÷ Gross Margin% - Variable Expense% = BE

Prepress robotics is a solution that is good now and getting better every day. You can see that every point of prepress robotics that saves five or more minutes of manual function adds to the profit margin as we attempt to go faster, cheaper, and more productive. IDEAlliance has just kicked off its Process Control and Conformance program (PCC). It sets many of the rules for standardization and makes the standardization critical to prepress robotics a reality. Through automation our presses are now running more and sitting less.

Example:

Total sales: 1,000,000 Cost of Goods Sold (65%) = (About the national average) Gross Margin= (35%) (About the national average) Overhead of 20% = (About the national average) Variable expenses of 15% = (About the national average) Total net profit of 0 =

-650,000 350,000 -200,000 -150,000 0

Checking the formula: $200,000 (Overhead) ÷ (35%-15% variable expense = 20%) = $1,000,000 our Break Even, 0.

What happens if our margins go down 10% due to faster and cheaper without increasing productivity? Let’s run the Steinmetz formula on it and see.

Calculation of the bad news: Total sales:

Sales are still $1,000,000 Cost of Goods Sold = (Now 75%)

Same as before, but… we have reduced our magin from 35% to 25%

Overhead (GS&A) ÷ Gross Margin % - Variable Exp.% = B.E. $200,000 ÷ (25%-15% variable expense = .10) Overhead of 20% = 200,000 ÷ Gross Margin – Variable expense .10 = $2,000,000 000,000

You have to sell $2,000,000 just to break even! Double your sales! Can you do it? Probably not.

Conclusion

Mike Ruff is chief technology officer of Nazdar Consulting Services. He has more than 40 years of experience in the graphics-production industry and is a member of the Academy of Screen Print Technology, a certified G7 Color Calibration Expert, and a certified G7 Process Control and Conformance Expert. Mike has studied color-control theory and is an accomplished and award-winning technical writer with numerous articles in trade publications.

$1,000,000 $750,000 (Cost went up due to faster and cheaper) $250,000

Gross Margin = (Now only 25%) Overhead of 20% = - 200,000 Variable expenses of 15% = - 150,000 Total net profit or loss = $100,000 (Loss)

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011

UV Inkjet

Printers Face Modern Challenges

Gail Flower

V inkjet printers have proven themselves capable of handling many types of graphics projects. Some are easy and routine; others take a bit of daring and creativity. In this article, we interviewed ten printers and asked them to share a few of the more difficult, but satisfying, applications produced with UV inkjet printing. Keep in mind that business size, market focus, expertise, and experiences are very different. The one common thread is that each company used UV inkjet printing as a way to expand business. SEVERN GRAPHICS, INC. Glen Burnie, MD Jeff Sparhawk, VP Severn Graphics bought a flatbed UV inkjet printer in 2005 and has since

been able to provide a broader and more architecturally exciting variety of substrates into play. In turn, the company’s designers can give customers a more unique graphical element in their interior and exterior designs. It also reduced the amount of steps that go into producing rigid graphics, making it more economical for the client in the long run. Severn took on a job that involved covering the exterior walls, windows, and gates of an abandoned, prominent landmark in downtown Baltimore, MD (Figure 1). The wall surfaces were a mixture of materials. Severn used its Durst Rho 205/16 to produce the graphics on more than 200 5 x 10-ft sheets of 6-mm corrugated plastic and installed the pieces like tiles

FIGURE 1 Severn Graphics, Inc. covered the exterior walls, windows, and gates of an abandoned prominent Baltimore, MD, downtown landmark with graphics.

SCREENPRINTING

around the entire perimeter of the area after just one week of notice. Making images that fit unusually large sizes involves measuring the space ahead of time very carefully. The Morris Mechanic Theater in Baltimore, MD, required advance planning. There, Severn calculated the space’s dimensions and then printed and installed graphic panels with interesting images that appeared to be reflections but allowed see-through window viewing as well (Figure 2). Another noteworthy job was the production of floating ceiling panels for an aircraft company in Seattle, WA (Figure 3). “The client had a very upscale waiting room with 30-foot ceilings, designed as a meeting spot for corporate jet flyers,” Jeff Sparhawk says. The architects wanted to give the feeling of a lowered, floating ceiling with an aircraft turbine graphic that was repeated throughout the space, but they didn’t want an opaque image that simply looked like mounted prints. Severn Graphics engineered a cable system to hang acrylic panels that had turbines printed on them in such a way that light could flow through this creative design element. Severn printed directly to 0.375-in.-thick acrylic and

FIGURE 3 Severn Graphics produced floating ceiling panels for an aircraft carrier lounge in Seattle, WA.

FIGURE 2 The UV inkjet produced images that fit unusually large sizes involves measuring the space ahead of time, as in the Morris Mechanic Theater window graphics in Baltimore, MD.

used partial varnish and a partial white channel. ASTEK INC. Van Nuys, CA Aaron Kirsch, president and owner Astek Inc. purchased its first UV inkjet printer five years ago. The company now has four Dursts, including flatbed and roll-to-roll units. Even with using more UV inkjets, the company has been running 24/7 for the last 15 months as they attempt to keep up with wallpaper orders from large retail stores, nightclubs, hotels, and restaurants. “They’re our lifeblood,” Aaron Kirsch says. UV inkjet is cleaner, ecofriendly without VOCs, faster, holds registration, and offers more diversity in the material that you print on (foils, naturals, recycled, canvases, etc.), he explains. Astek is now an all-digital operation. The Venetian Hotel Macau hired Astek to print all of the interior graphics for guest suites. The client originally wanted the walls to be hand-painted, but time constraints prevented it. Astek could deliver the wallpaper in three weeks by using its Durst 500 to print 54in.-wide rolls three up in lengths of 250 yd (Figure 4).

FIGURE 4 Astek Inc. printed and delivered hotel wallpaper in three weeks by printing it three up on their UV inkjet and running it 24/7.

How did they start it? Ten in-house graphic designers worked together to come up with a classical Asian theme with birds and flowers that looked just right. The next step was a day-and-night print run. The hotel opens for business in November, 2011 with wallpaper installed. In this case, the creativity Astek brought to the project, the focus on turnaround time, and the capability of roll-to-roll UV inkjet printing really made a difference. PHOTOCENTER IMAGING Burbank, CA Boris Winograd, executive VP

Photocenter Imaging started out as the processing and printing arm of J.H. Maddocks Professional Photography. Eventually the company began providing custom color and black-and-white photos for outside customers. Photocenter still works in photography and offers screen printing, lithography, content creation, digital printing, and finishing. The company purchased an Océ Arizona 350 XT flatbed UV inkjet printer in June of 2009. “We have the one 8 x 10-ft flatbed, and that’s unusually high for our field,” Boris Winograd says. He explains that the screen-printing process works well OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011

FIGURE 5 Photocenter Imaging prints custom candy tins—200 lids at a time.

for hundreds or thousands of one, but the inkjet does one to a hundred prints in shorter runs, which works out well for Photocenter’s clients. “The ability to do a one-off or fit shorter runs makes it easier in our field of fashion graphics.” Most of the company’s work is in P-O-P campaigns with Fortune 500 cosmetics and fashion companies, though Photocenter also does package prototypes and special-event graphics. For example, Photocenter Imaging prints

200 lids at a time for custom candy tins (Figure 5). According to Winograd, the white ink gives the company the right opacity to color match any tin and can be printed on demand. THE AD ART COMPANY Vernon, CA Joe DeMarco, co-owner The Ad Art Company has moved forward progressively from a traditional screen-printing and litho company to

FIGURE 6 At The Ad Art Company, matching colors was a challenge in the type of sale where litho, digital, and screen printing converge for the same roll-out.

SCREENPRINTING

FIGURE 7 Holland & Crosby printed a 3-D window display for Foot Locker Canada’s Back to School program that looks like the real thing.

one embracing inkjet as the business grew. The company operates as a onestop shop for unique P-O-S printing and packaging solutions. A recent investment in UV inkjet equipment added three HP FB7500 flatbed UV inkjet printers, an HP Scitex Turbojet, and an HP 2750 hybrid to Ad Art’s mix of more than 12 inkjets. The company still uses inline screen-printing systems. “Inkjet printers have added a great deal of flexibility and diversity to our operation, as well as being a supplement to our three mid- to large-format inline screen-printing presses,” Joe DeMarco says One of the more challenging applications is producing an entire roll-out for clients who demand brand integrity (Figure 6). Color matching is critical when the client requires consistency across printing platforms. Litho, digital, and screen printing converge for the same roll-out—all on different substrates. According to DeMarco, Ad Art incorporates a stringent set of procedures and guidelines throughout production to ensure the consistency and quality of each print. Among these is a color-management program aligned to the G7 specification that involves

FIGURE 9 At Timsco, the most challenging applications are two-sided prints, those with spot colors, really large production runs, and working with unusual substrates.

FIGURE 8 Deluxe Design printed multiple layers on pick-guard plastic for a unique effect.

constant monitoring and calibrating of all equipment, including cross-reference measurements to color standards. Ad Art is certified as a G7 Proof-to-Press Master. G7 is based on ISO 12647-2 and focuses on using RIP curves to achieve a more consistent visual appearance in neutral gray tones. HOLLAND & CROSBY Mississauga, Ontario, Canada Scott Holland, VP sales and marketing, equity partner Holland & Crosby first invested in a UV inkjet printer in October of 2004. At present, the company has an Inca Onset S70, an Inca Onset S20, and a Durst Rho 320R. Having three UV inkjet printers allows the company to increase its speed to market, realize greater efficiency, and lower costs for customers. Holland & Crosby used this combination of flatbed and roll-to-roll digital presses to produce three-dimensional locker images within a tight timeline for Foot Locker Canada’s Back to School program. The window display was designed to look like a locker and attach to an pole system at retail locations (Figure 7). By building a full-size prototype of the locker and using digital technology to print the piece, Holland & Crosby was able to show the client an accurate sample beforehand. Once the prototype was approved, the company had four business days to produce, cut, assemble,

pack, and ship the units. Scott Holland estimates that were it not for the digital presses, the breaks in the print run for language changes would have made the project a tall task to complete. DELUXE DESIGN, INC. Rio Rancho, NM Norman C. Ruth, VP Deluxe Design invested in a Roland LEJ-640 in May of 2011. It was the company’s first foray into digital printing. Deluxe needed the ability to print directly on flexible and rigid media in full color with variable data in as few production steps as possible. Being new to the process they didn’t know really what to expect, and that may have been an advantage. One recent involved printing on a new substrate: guitar pick-guard material from

IPI Plastics in multiple passes to build up clear layers. “To prevent misregistration on the backside print, we designed the graphics as a step/repeat pattern,” Norman Ruth explains. The results are giant picks that feature colorful, 3-D structures (Figure 8). TIMSCO Temple Hills, MD Keith Pritchard, president Timsco handles an array of digital and screen-printed advertising for masstransit authorities, financial and government institutions, P-O-P, and trade-show displays. The company invested in UV inkjet technology in 2005. Keith Pritchard says the company has three Fujifilm Acuity UV flatbeds and notes that digital imaging

FIGURE 10 ADJ Group Inc. accepted the challenge of printing on laser-engraved wood.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011

FIGURE 11 ADJ made signs for a laboratory on nonglare acrylic with a subsurface print and appliqué lettering/Raster Braille.

FIGURE 12

has kept the company in business and is rapidly taking over screen-printing sales. According to Pritchard, the most challenging applications are two-sided prints, those with spot-color printing, really large production runs, and working with unusual substrates (Figure 9). Color matching can be difficult in spot-color applications, and registration is tough to hold with two-sided prints.

to be resistant to cleaning materials (Figure 11). ADJ made the signs on non-glare acrylic with a subsurface print and appliqué lettering/Raster Braille. The backside of the plaques had steel to attach to a backer plate that was coated with magnetic material.

ADJ GROUP, INC. Norwood, MA Anthony Pace, president ADJ Group Inc. got its start in UV inkjets in 2006 and now makes use of two Mimaki machines: a UJF-605C and a JF-1631. “Flatbed UV printing has made a significant difference to our operation,” Anthony Pace says, noting that it has replaced screen printing for most of the short-order runs, increased order throughput, and allowed the company to take on orders that others might veer away from. The company doesn’t shy away from the tough jobs, either. As a personal project, the ADJ took up printing on laser-engraved wood. The engraving process enables the wood to exhibit textured depth after printing (Figure 10). The company also produced signs for a laboratory—signs that needed 38

SCREENPRINTING

Albert Screenprint produces specialized pennant strings for bars, restaurants, and special events.

ALBERT SCREENPRINT INC. Norton, OH Joe Presto, IT manager Albert Screenprint began using UV inkjet in 2007, investing in an EFI VUTEk GS3200 and, most recently, in an EFI VUTEk GS3250LX. As in many of the other examples above, Albert Screenprint saw increasing customer demand for a one-stop-shop for promotional programs, including shorter run items. The company began looking for a digital solution that could augment its screen and litho capabilities in a hybrid manufacturing model. “By producing and finishing everything internally, we have more control over timelines and quality, and we are no longer leaving money on the table using outsource partners,” Joe Presto says. He explains that the new printers enable the company to complete projects on schedule at competitive prices while maintaining a healthy bottom line. It also is a greener technology that uses less energy, produces less waste, and

uses less in consumables, he notes. Albert Screenprint produces pennant strings for bars, restaurants, and special events (Figure 12). They may have a 25- to 30-panel pennant string produced on their litho presses in one design, and the customer may wish to customize the remaining five. The shop uses its inkjet printers to produce made-to-order pennants on doublesided poly that would otherwise be too expensive to customize in short runs on screen or litho presses. In addition, the GS3250LX’s UV-LED curing system enables the use of substrates that are prone to dimensional instability under conventional UV curing. TAKE A LOOK AROUND Printers should look around, see what their competitors can do when pairing inkjet printers with demanding applications, and learn from their successes. It’s called the Prairie Dog Effect. Every so often, and not just at trade shows, you need to pop up your head to get a good perspective. Many of the printers expanded into UV inkjet for short runs, prototypes, one-offs, and streamlined production. By looking at what’s happening around you, it may be possible to best competitors with better, and faster, specialized prints and to be able to hold or improve on price.

The 2011 SGIA Expo draws thousands of imagers from around the world to one expansive show floor. Attendees can see hundreds of exhibitors showcasing the broadest range of technology available on the market.

This is not your fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s trade show.

Specialty Graphic Imaging Association

703.385.1335 â&#x20AC;˘ SGIA.org Untitled-3 1

9/2/11 1:51 PM

Social Media: A Stronghold for Marketing

Joe Dysart

little creative contact with current and potential customers on social networks like Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter can fortify tried-and-true e-mail campaigns. Printers who want to harness social media as a promotional tool have found an easy solution in integrating the medium into existing electronic marketing programs. Brighton, TN-based Screen Scene used social media to boost its e-mail efforts in promoting a T-shirt contest. Paul Stalter, the shop’s owner, reports that the program was very successful. “To enter to win a free shirt, people would send an e-mail with a specific subject line,” he says. We notified winners by e-mail and also asked all entrants if we could send future marketing to their e-mail address.” Indeed, the power of social media can be so great that the results can sometimes be unsettling. Flowtown is an example of a tool you can use to essentially match an e-mail address with related social-media activities. The service focuses primarily on mining and manipulating evidence of social networking. I took the bait, and not surprisingly, found a few revelations on my social-networking activity with e-mail addresses 40

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I currently use for such purposes. In addition, Flowtown unearthed a Website community I joined—and forgot about—years ago with an old e-mail address I haven’t used in years. Apparently, like rock and roll, the Web never forgets. Granted, printers will need to tiptoe lightly between being seen as reaching out to socially active customers, as opposed to becoming willing participants in privacy invasion. But it’s clear that the ability to literally monitor every public move made by a person on the Internet can already be discovered, sliced, diced—and turned into a marketing opportunity. In fact, some of the more sophisticated programs now offer marketers dashboards they can use to create, manage and monitor such integrated programs across all digital media, including email, social, mobile, and Web. For example, ExactTarget’s Interactive Marketing Hub offers a module that enables marketers to manage multiple Twitter and Facebook accounts, track conversations, and schedule posts—while monitoring all the activity with analytics and reports.

Another module gives marketers the ability to create, design, and deploy static, interactive, or socially enabled landing pages to support specific marketing campaigns. And still other modules offer enhanced interactivity and monitoring vial e-mail and mobile phones. Similar programs with all-inone solutions include Interact Campaign from Responsys and Social Studio from StrongMail. For some, this fusion of e-mail marketing and social media seems inevitable. The study “View from the Social Inbox,” released earlier this year by Merkle, found that active social networkers are also likely to be avid e-mail users. All told, the study found 42% of social networkers check their e-mail four or more times a day, as

compared to just 27% of those who don’t socialize online. As the fusion gels, here are some tactics you’ll find marketers already using to combine the two, either by using pre-configured programs, or putting together applications of their own. Hold contests driven by Twitter or Facebook The immediacy of these media lends itself perfectly to time-sensitive contests. Hold an answer-the-question contest once a week, rewarding the first person with the right answer with a valuable prize or free service. Watch the tweets and posts come in. ”I have been using Twitter for the last couple of years, and it’s quick and easy,” says Stuart Brent, owner of Vacord Screen Printing, based in Philadelphia, PA. “I tweet about printing, of course, and business—but also about more personal interests and activities. It does get me work sometimes, but more importantly, it builds relationships. I really like Twitter.” Get the most from testimonials Customer accolades look good on company Websites and even better on customer Facebook pages. Marketers most aggressive in this area start by e-mailing customers shortly after a visit. Customers who respond with glowing reviews, and often a related digital photo, get their testimonial posted to the practice’s Website. In addition, the authors are e-mailed again with a request to repost the testimonial on their Facebook account, or in a Twitter tweet to all their friends. Often, willing participants get a small reward for their service. ”Just getting our names in people’s heads is our main objective,” says Dan Cadogan, partner at Hemlock Ink Custom T-Shirt Printing & Embroidery, based in Somerville, MA. “Then when the time comes they need printing services, they remember us.” Embed social-network testimonials in e-mails Sometimes, spontaneous testimonials pop up on Facebook and Twitter without any prodding whatsoever. Such promotional plugs can be cut and pasted into the next marketing e-mail—along with a grateful nod, of course, to the author. Reach out to top influencers in new ways The ability to monitor social networking activity like never

before gives marketers creative ways to reach out and partner. E-mail/socialmedia suites and services allow them to input an entire customer e-mail list and instantly identify the e-mail addresses on that list owned by people who have hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of friends on Facebook and similar social networks. Marketers can then reach out to these people via e-mail and partner with them on word-of-mouth promotions. Many of the new programs can also track the referrals these influencers generate and verify which influencers are ultimately generating the most conversions in terms of sales or some other desired action. Fish where the fish are Running an e-mail database through some of the more sophisticated programs can also yield an interesting picture of where your customers hang out. You may find that the greatest percentage of your customers frequent Twitter, rather than Facebook. Consequently, armed with these insights, you’ll be able to put your digital marketing dollars where they’ll reach the greatest percentage of your customers. Give people a reason to like you on Facebook The Like button on Facebook has become one of the most coveted clicks on the marketing world. When someone likes your printing business on Facebook, your product or service becomes quantifiably more important and more desirable. Many Facebook users click the Like button in the hopes they’ll get a freebie from the business. Don’t disappoint. Always offer, if at all possible, a coupon or some other tangible reward for the endorsement. Optimize your e-mail for social media This is really step one in any synthesis campaign and should be a part of every e-mail marketing campaign. Such optimization is as easy as adding links to the key social networks in your e-mails, including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. You can also add a share button to your e-mail that offers clickable access to dozens of social-networking sites. Joe Dysart is a speaker and business consultant based in Manhattan, NY.

october/november 2011

shop talk The Battle Continues Andy MacDougall

’ve received a number of e-mails about my last Shop Talk column, “Screen Printers Fight Back.” Most were from printers in other states, wondering whether they’ll have to deal with a licensing scheme in their area. Luckily, as far as my sources tell me, the manufacturer’s license is only required in a few other jurisdictions—New York being one, where the cost is only $150 compared to California’s $750-2000 annual fee. One has to question the need and ultimate result of the large difference in fees, or lack of them, between states and between countries. This unfair and unlevel playing field causes manufacturing to migrate and smaller, locally owned businesses to fold. Meanwhile, governments wonder why people support a grey economy and deal in cash. A $2,000 fee for a business doing $2 million per year is chump change, but it can close the doors forever for many small shops. The stats tell us small business is the only part of the economy that is creating jobs. Wouldn’t it be something if governments were to stop paying lip service to this fact and, instead of wasting resources enforcing outdated regulations and levying fines, put their efforts into supporting the growth of small businesses?

More battles In another area of the Empire of Squeegistan, the locals report attacks from Giclée Monsters in the form of unauthorized replicas of screen-printed rock posters showing up on eBay. This is actually a bigger problem than you might think, as the combination of high demand among collectors and fans, plus the ease of scanning and printing out copies and then selling them to unsuspecting suckers is just a little too tempting for some people. It’s copyright infringement, and it affects the artists who create the prints and the bands whose names, in many cases, sell the poster. The originals were created and printed for a specific gig and signed in limited numbers. The eBay scammers save a file and then just print the replica posters off as needed. Maybe the scale isn’t the same, but it’s no different than counterfeit Gucci bags or fake Rolex watches, although these cheap knockoffs are made in the USA! My buddies over at the American Poster Institute (API), the artists who make this stuff, jump on the scammers right away. When one discovers an eBay Store with fakes being flogged, artists are alerted and the fun begins. The smart artists register for the VERO program on eBay. This is an effective block that results in the replica mate42

screenprinting

Andy MacDougall is a screen-printing trainer and consultant based on Vancouver Island in Canada and a member of the Academy of Screen Printing Technology. If you have production problems you’d like to see him address in “Shop Talk,” e-mail your comments and questions to andy@squeegeeville.com.

rial being pulled. Sellers on eBay who persist in selling fakes are run off of the Website, although they usually resurface under a different name and continue the fraud. Another tactic is for the artist to contact the seller directly and issue an order to cease and desist—although this is mostly hot air, as no artists I know can afford the lawyers needed to go after the perps.

Off to war While we are on the subject of screen printers fighting back, I’ve had an opportunity to peek inside the upcoming book, “A History of Screenprinting—How an Art Evolved into an Industry.” This will be out in early 2012, available through ST Media Group. It traces the growth of the secret process from its early roots in the 1800s up through the 1950s. Author Guido Lengwiler, a professor of screen printing in Switzerland, has done a great job piecing together this fascinating story. My favorite chapter is devoted to screen printing in WWII. From full-size tank images stretched over wood frames used to fool the Nazis before the D-Day landings, to ceramic tiles printed in Holland that would spell out Resistance slogans when combined a certain way, screen printers were very much in the thick of it. On the home front, they cranked out everything from propaganda posters to top-secret proximity fuses for bombs. Many mobile sign shops followed the troops into areas so devastated that signs and posters were the only mass-communication media. With new paper rationed or commandeered for the war effort, screen printers—especially in Europe— remained busy overprinting old newspapers with flood coats and printing new information and images on top. Printed circuits, control panels for airplanes and jeeps, insignia for uniforms, flags, and banners were some of the other products made by screen printers to help win the war. Being a screen printer will always be a struggle. What do you expect when your main weapons consist of a piece of synthetic rubber and a square of cloth? Whether it’s government tax collectors in California or some competitor down the block or in the next country undercutting you by a nickel, you have to find a way to fight through the problem. Sometimes it requires you to charge forward and adopt new equipment to improve efficiency or expand into new product areas. Sometimes it requires you to rethink and reeducate yourself and your fellow workers and change the way you process jobs or adapt to new technologies and methods. And sometimes you have to retreat, regroup, and downsize the operation so you can live to fight—and print—another day. n

industry update Roland Redesigns Home Page

Kent Adhesive Products Switches to Eco Lighting Kent, OH-based Kent Adhesive Products Co. (KAPCO) has decided to switch the lights in their shop from metal halide lighting to T-9 energy-efficient fixtures. The results are predicted to lower energy costs by 50% while doubling the light-output levels. KAPCO’s energy reduction is expected to be paid for within six month after consideration of First Energy Corporation’s rebate program and an EPAct tax incentive. “We’re able to reduce our carbon footprint by more than 207 tons while reducing our energy costs year after year,” says Ed Small, president of KAPCO. The company worked with energy reduction and lighting specialist Bob Taussig to contract the installation of Philips Optimum high-bay fixtures. The fixtures use WhiteOptics high diffuse reflectance technology to maximize energy efficiency and light distribution.

Hirsch Shortens URL Hirsh International, formerly located at www.hirschinternation al.com, has shortened its Website URL to www.hic.us. The new address reportedly is easier to remember and faster to type. All staff e-mail addresses reflect the change as well. They are constructed of the person’s first initial, last name, and @hic.us.

Ellsworth Expands Germantown, WI-based Ellsworth Adhesives relocated its western region to a large facility in Irvine, CA. As a global distributor of specialty chemicals and equipment. The new location in Irvine is designed to bring improved floor-stocking capabilities and an increase areas for to hazardous and cold storage, the company said. “Our new facility in Irvine more than triples our previous warehouse space and capabilities, and the increased storage areas will allow our dedicated team in the Western Region to better serve our customers’ needs,” says Roger Lee, company president. Ellsworth distributes adhesives, sealants, lubricants, coatings, encapsulants, tapes, soldering products, surface preparations, specialty chemicals, maintenance and repair products, and dispensing equipment. 44

screenprinting

Irvine, CA-based Roland DGA Corp. has redesigned its Website home page with an updated navigation layout that’s intended to simplify access to product information, support resources, and the company’s online store. “The new home page focuses on the information most valued by our customers, including examples of real-world applications, as well as in-depth product information and extensive support resources,” says Andrew Oransky, director marketing and product management. The redesigned page showcases the company’s latest products. Users can search the entire line through dropdown menus in four main categories: inkjet printers, vinyl cutters, rotary engravers, and benchtop mills.

PPMOV Adds Workers Pad Print Machinery of Vermont, East Dorset, VT, says it has increased engineering and production staff because of greater demands from custom solutions and automation enhancements and notes that the company enhanced its standard pad printers with custom-designed automation features and integrated the machines into larger production lines. “Sixty percent of our current orders are for specific applications requirements,” says Julian Joffe, CEO.

Bradner Acquires conVerd Elk Grove Village, IL-based Bradner Central Company acquired conVerd LLC, a paper distributor and converter of environmentally sustainable products specifically engineered for the wide-format and flatbed digital printing markets. “Our products, which are FSC certified and fully recyclable, are an ideal substitute to the films and vinyl products predominantly printed for many POP displays and most signage,” says Richard Bull, chairman and CEO of Bradner Central. “These capabilities, along with our financial stability, will allow conVerd to better serve this rapidly growing segment of the print community.” Paper products from conVerd include Enviroboard MR rigid board material for indoor and short-term outdoor P-O-P signs; Blox-Lite, and alternative to PVC-based banner stock; GreenLight Plus! Backlit poster paper; and EnviroScape Mural Plus! for wallscaping that carries Class A fire rating on ASTM E-84.

U.S. Distributor & Dealer Directory Equipment / Materials / Services For Directory Rates or Information, please contact Victoria Wells E: Victoria.wells@stmediagroup.com P: (800) 925-1110 ext. 393 F: (513) 744-6993 An advertising service for local or regional screen printing distributors/dealers and national companies with branches and/or distributors. The Products & Services (P&S) Codes and the Business Classification Codes in each listing are defined as follows: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Art, Photography, Cad Graphics Curing & Drying Equipment Finishing Equipment Printing Equipment & Accessories Screen and Stencil Making Equip. & Supplies Inks, Coatings & Chemicals Board & Paper, Foam Center board, Block Out Board. Garments & Piece goods

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Glass & Containers Nameplates, Dials & Sheetmetal Plastics, Rigid & Flexible Pressure Sensitive Materials Misc. Substrates: Magnetic, Binders, Banners, etc. Testing & Instrumentation Computers, Color matching/Business, Hardware & Software Embroidery Equipment & Supplies

› ARIZONA

› ILLINOIS

Rhinotech

› NEW YORK

Phoenix

SaatiPrint

Advanced Screen Technologies, Inc.

2050 Hammond Dr., Schaumburg, IL 60173 (800) 368-3243. (847) 296-5090. Fax: (847) 296-7408. E-mail: info.US@ saatiprint. com. Website: www.saatiamericas.com. Contact: Jan Bill. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes: 2,4,5,6,14.

2415 Pilot Knob Rd., Mendota Hts., MN, 55120. (651) 686-5027. (888) 717-4466. Fax: (651) 686-9745. E-mail: rhinotech@isd.net. Website: www. rhinotechinc.com. Contact: Todd Michaels. Business Class: A,B,C. Marketing area served: National. Product Codes: 2,4,5,6.

619 S. Hacienda Dr. #5, Tempe, AZ 85281. (480) 858-9804, (877) 509-7600 Website: www.advancedscreen.com. Contact; Tom Bays. Business Class: A,B. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes: 1,2,3,4,5,6,14.

› CALIFORNIA SaatiPrint 15905 S. Broadway, Gardena, CA 90248. (800) 992-3676. (310) 5233676. Fax: (310) 523-3610. E-mail: info. US@saatiprint.com. Website: www. saatiamer icas.com. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes: 2,4,5,6,14.

› iNDIANA Atlas Screenprinting Equipment & Parts, Inc. 31 N. Davis St., Dublin, IN 47335. (765) 478-9481. (800) 533-4173. Fax: (765) 478-9462. E-mail: atlasckg@skyenet. net. Website: www.atlasckg.com.Marketing area served: National. Product Codes: 2,4,5.

› LOUISIANA

Los Angeles

Reece Supply Co. of Louisiana, Inc.

NuSign Supply, Inc.

1017 Dealers Ave., Harahan, LA 70123. (504) 733-7799. Contact: Ronnie Garic. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes: 1,2,4,5, 6,7,10,11,12,13,14.

1365 Darius Ct., City of Industry, CA 91745. (626) 961-7688. Toll Free: (877) 6NU-SIGN. Fax: (626) 961-7225. Contact: Tony Le. Business Class: A,B. Marketing Area served: Local, Regional, National, International. Product Codes; 4,6,12,13. San Francisco

Midwest Sign & Screen Printing Supply Co. 21054 Alexander Court, Hayward, CA, 94545-1234. (510) 732-5800. (800) 824-2468. Fax: (510) 732-7624. Fax: (800) 824-2474. E-mail: midwest@ midwestsign.com. Contact: Marilee Fox-Cichon, Paul Louie, Kevin Todd, Steve Michel. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes:1,2,3,4,5,6,7,11,12,13.

› COLORADO Denver

Midwest Sign & Screen Printing Supply Co. 5301 Peoria St., Unit F, 80239-2319. (800) 332-3819. (303) 373-9800. Fax: (800) 332-3820. Fax: (303) 373-9700. E-mail: midwest@midwestsign. com. Contact: Al Menzie, RAMON FONTANES, Aaron Remsburg. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,11,12,13.

› MASSACHUSETTS Garston Screen Printing Supplies, Inc. 8 Parkridge Rd., Haverhill, MA 01835. (800) 328-7775. Fax: (978) 374-9777. Contact: Dean Garston. Business Class: A,B. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, 10,11,12,13,14.

› MINNESOTA St. Paul

Midwest Sign & Screen Printing Supply Co. 45 E. Maryland Ave., 55117. (651) 489-9999. (800) 328-6592. Fax: (651) 489-0202/ Fax: 800-328-6599. E-mail: midwest@midwestsign.com. Contact: Jason Knapp, Dan Fleming, Pete Weinberg, Ryan Warner, John Hermes, Kevin Wood. Business Class: A. Product Codes: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,11,12,13.

› MISSOURI Kansas City

Midwest Sign & Screen Printing Supply Co. 1806 Vernon St., Kansas City, MO 64116.. (816) 333-5224. (800) 2333770. Fax: (800) 233-3771. Fax: (816) 333-5446. E-mail: midwest@midwestsign.com. Contact: Junior Costigan, Patti Fairchild. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,11,12,13. St. Louis

Lawson Screen Products Inc. 5110 Penrose St. 63115. (314) 3829300. (800) 325-8317. Fax: (314) 382-3012. Contact: David Landesman. Business Class: A,B. Marketing area served: National. Product Codes: 1,2,4,5,6.

› NEBRASKA Omaha

Midwest Sign & Screen Printing Supply Co. 9313 “J” St., 68127. (402) 592-7555. (800) 228-3839. Fax: (402) 592-5267. Fax: (800) 228-3886. E-mail: midwest@ midwestsign.com. Contact: Trish Nelson, John Schnackenberg, Dan Thomas. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes: 1-2-4,5,6,7,11,12,13.

A B C

Distributor Dealer Branch of National Manufacturer

247 Route 100, Somers, NY 10589.. (800) 431-2200. (914) 232-7781. Fax: (800) 829-9939. E-mail: info.US@saatiprint.com. Website: www.saatiamericas.com. Contact: Paul Cylenica. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes: 2,4,5,6,14. New Hartford

Reich Supply Co., Inc. 2 Campion Rd., New Hartford, NY 13413. (315) 732-6126. (800) 3383322. Fax: (315) 732-7841. E-mail: sales@reichsupply.com. Website: www.reichsupply.com. Contact: Neil Reich. Business Class: A,B. Marketing area served: National. Product Codes: 1,2,4,5,6,7,11,12,13,14.

› OREGON Portland

Midwest Sign & Screen Printing Supply Co. 5035 N.W. Front Ave. 97210-1105. (503) 224-1400. Fax: (503) 224-6400. 800-228-0596. Fax: 800-278-0596. E-mail: midwest@midwestsign.com. Contact: Karen Walker, Pat McNamara. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,11,12,13.

› TEXAS Dallas

Reece Supply Co. of Dallas, Inc. 3308 Royalty Row, Irving, TX 75062. (972) 785-0212. (800) 938-8330. Fax: (972) 785-0512. Contact: Kelly Leonard. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes: 1,2,4,5,6,7,10,11,12,13,14.

› NEW JERSEY Crown Roll Leaf Inc. 91 Illinois Ave. 07503. (201) 742-4000. (800) 631-3831. Fax: (201) 742-0219. Contact: James R. Waitts. Marketing area served: National. Product Codes: 12.

OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011

Canadian Distributor & Dealer Directory El Paso

› UTAH

Vancouver

› ONTARIO

Reece Supply Co.

Salt Lake City

Ryonet Corporation

1530 Goodyear Dr., Suite J, 79936. (915) 592-9600. (877) 776-0128. Fax: (915) 592-9050. Contact: Aaron Wieberg. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes: 1,2,4,5,6,7,10,11,12,13,14.

Midwest Sign & Screen Printing Supply Co.

11800 NE 60th Way., Vancouver, WA, 98682. (360) 576-7188. (800) 3146390. Fax: (360) 546-1454. E-mail: sales@ryonet.com. Web Site: www. silkscreeningsupplies.com. Contacts: Jeff Held. Ryan Moor. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: National, International. Product Codes: 2,4,5,6,8 ,11,12,13,14,15.

Cosmex Graphics Inc.

Houston

Reece Supply Co. of Houston, Inc. 2602 Bell St., 77003-1753. (713) 228-9496. (800) 776-0113. Fax: (713) 228-9499. Contact Labon Tatum. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes:1,2,4,5,6,7,10 ,11,12,13,14. San Antonio

Reece Supply Co. of San Antonio, Inc. 4960 Eisenhauer Rd. Ste 110 (78218). (210) 662-6898. Fax: (210) 662-6945. (800) 776-0224. Contact: Ricky Brown. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional. Pro-duct Codes: 1,2,4,5,6,7,10,11, 12,13,14.

1160 So. Pioneer Rd., Ste. 2, 84104. (801) 974-9449. (800) 497-6690. Fax: (801) 974-9442. Fax: (800) 497-6691. E-mail: midwest@midwestsign. com. Contact: Sean Hession. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,11,12,13.

› WASHINGTON Seattle

Midwest Sign & Screen Printing Supply Co. 401 Evans Black Dr., 98188-2912. (206) 433-8080. (800) 426-4938. Fax: (206) 433-8021. Fax: (800) 426-4950. E-mail: midwest@midwestsign.com. Contacts: Jeff Macey, Todd Colvin. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,11,12,13.

› WISCONSIN Milwaukee

Midwest Sign & Screen Printing Supply Co.

Let us help you sell your unwanted equipment. **** Place your ad here.

screenprinting

300 Commerce St., Vars, Ontario, K0A3H0. (613) 443-1999. (888) 265-3556. Fax: s(613) 443-1909. E-mail: sales@ecoscreen.ca. Website: www.ecoscreen.ca. Contact: Mike Brugger. Business Class: C. Marketing area served: National. Product Codes: 5,6. 1680 Courtney Park Dr. E., Units 1 & 2, Mississauga, Ontario L5T 1R4, (905) 564-5388. (800) 567-0086. Fax: (905) 5645391. Contact: Alfred Guinness. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: Regional. Product Codes: 2,4,5,6,14. Markham

Sias Canada Ltd. 3400-14th Ave., Units 37 & 38, L3R OH7, (905) 305-1500. Fax: (905) 305-1501. Contact: Karl Bakker. Business Class: A. Marketing area served: National. Product Codes: 2,4.

Used,Trade-in & Demo equipment, Help Wanted, and Business for sale.

American Stretch-Air Bar™ Tubes American Stretch-Air Bar™ tubes are now available for immediate delivery 773-725-4900 or sales@gpiparts.com

Ecoscreen, Inc.

SaatiPrint

16405 W. Lincoln Avenue, New Berlin, WI 53132. (262) 641-8550. (800) 2427430. Fax: (262) 641-8555. Fax: (800) 242-7439. E-mail: midwest@midwestsign.com. Contacts: Tom Robinson, Craig Gray, Marty Campell, Fred Horn. Business Class: A. Product Codes: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,11,12,13.

Used Equipment Mart & Opportunity Exchange

We are buyers of your preowned flat bed graphic presses, cylinder presses, 4-post presses, longstroke presses, uv dryers, cutters, die-cutters, sheeters, slitters & all equipment & items related to the screen printing industry. Top dollar Paid. 305-551-0311 800-383-2649 www.ezscreenprinting.com

390 Deslauriers St., St. Laurent, Quebec, H4N 1V2, (514) 745-3446. Fax: (514) 7453449. Contact: Enzo Di Gneo. Business Class: A,B. Marketing area served: National. Product Codes: 1,2,3,4,5,6,12,14.

Rates and Information E: victoria.wells@stmediagroup.com P: (800) 925-1110 ext. 393 F: (513) 744-6993

UV Dryer Replacement Capacitors More than 75 different capacitor sizes available - most in stock for immediate delivery. 773-725-4900 or sales@gpiparts.com

Huge Stock Of Screen Printing Machine Parts • Screen print equipment • Domestic & foreign • Most parts in stock 773-725-4900 or sales@gpiparts.com

Mesh Wanted Cash For Your Surplus Or Unneeded Mesh! Any mesh, Any color, Any quantity, Any brand, Any width. 773/777-7100 or sales@awt-gpi.com

Largest Inventory Of Replacement Parts. Largest inventory of replacement parts for screen printing machines 773-725-4900 or sales@gpiparts.com

SPE PARTS Squeegee holders/floodbars, vacuum tables, infra-red panels, conveyor belts, UV lamps, motors, 1000s more. Quick delivery on most parts. 773-725-4900 or sales@gpiparts.com

Roller Frames - Used. 100s in stock, many VERY large. Ask for quote & list before buying new. Save $100s. A.W.T. World Trade at 773-777-7100 or sales@awt-gpi.com

M&R* Parts Complete range of M&R parts. Vacuum beds, pallets, squeegee/floodbars, electrical and mechanical parts. 773-725-4900 or sales@gpiparts.com (*Not affiliated with M&R.)

SQUEEGEE SHARPENING BELTS All sizes, all grits for all brands of squeegee sharpeners. Buy at prices direct from the manufacturer! Graphic Parts Intl., 773-725-4900; Fax: 773.777.0909; sales@gpiparts.com

ARGON PARTS Manufacturing a complete range of ARGON machine parts. Fast delivery of high quality parts. 773-725-4900 or sales@gpiparts.com

Aluminum Frames Overstocked! Extruded and selftensioning; 1000s to choose from huge discounts! All clean of inks. 773-777-7100 or sales@awt-gpi.com

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SCREENPRINTING October 2011/November 2011

A DV E RT I S I N G I N D E X Advertiser

Page

Advertiser

Page

Alpina Manufacturing

Mimaki USA

Anajet

Nazdar

OBC

Douthitt Corp.

Nazdar Source One

Durst U.S.

Northwest Screen Systems Co.

Dynamesh Inc.

One Step Papers LLC

EFI

IFC

Palram Americas

Flexcon

RH Solutions

Franmar Chemical Inc.

IBC

Roland DGA Corp.

Fujiﬁlm Sericol USA Inc.

Seiko Instruments USA Inc.

Lawson Screen & Digital Product

Sign-Tronic AG

Mactac

5, 47

SGIA

Mag X America Inc.

ST Book Store

Marabu North America LP

Stahls’ Inc.

For more information on our advertisers please visit

EDITORIAL INSIGHTS

TAKE A BOW There are lots of printers who should take a bow for their willingness to share their expertise with Screen Printing.

riting the feature article for this issue of Screen Printing was exactly like putting on a play. In the beginning you do not see how the final play will work itself out, but it works like magic in the end. The target for my feature on page 32 was to provide a showcase of graphic applications produced on UV inkjets. I wanted to show what could be done with a creative approach to design, the ability to lay down white, and photographicquality prints using a specific UV inkjet in the field. That might seem odd in itself, since by title alone Screen Printing is our founding area of interest. However, as practices and technologies evolve, so does a magazine. We reflect what’s happening to printers rather than determine it, and that gives us lots of wiggle room. Getting back to the feature, I solicited participants and asked the pre-arranged questions right after oral surgery with a swollen, bruised face, and lips that would hardly form crisp words when talking. A few printers turned away from the opportunity, assuming that Bubba from Forrest Gump had called them by mistake. Others knew the quality of the magazine or knew me from previous articles and shared their experiences willingly, even though talking was somewhat difficult. In the end, our attempt to provide useful insights as to what can be done with UV inkjets came through just as planned in a variety of examples: wallpaper, graphics suspended from ceilings, images on unusual substrates, window graphics (see the cover of this issue), tin lids, and more. However, there are lots of printers who should take a bow for their willingness to share their expertise with Screen Printing for this feature article and cover. Jeff Sparhawk of Severn Graphics sent images from his projects on city walls. Aaron Kirsh at Astek Inc. shared his experience at printing 24/7 to meet a deadline, and using specialty artists and designers to make the look fit a chinoiserie design. Boris Wino-

Albert and Margaret Falkenstein of Albert Screenprint

grad at Photocenter Imaging shared the photographic quality he can obtain when printing vintage candy tins. Joe DeMarco wasn’t even in his office when he answered our questions and sent the images from The Ad Art Company’s ad campaigns. Scott Holland of Holland & Crosby took a recent Foot Locker back-to-school ad campaign and showed us how he could create a 3-D standing graphic. Anthony Pace of ADJ Group, Inc. showed us prints on wood and others on substrates suitable for tough laboratory environments. Joe Presto of Albert Screenprint Inc. showed us strings of banners across restaurants. Norm Ruth sent huge pictures of guitar pick images that seemed surrealistically large and layered in thickness. Kieth Pritchard of Timsco Inc. showed us lots of images printed for commercial and government use. We thank them all for the role they played in this issue. Along the way we met Albert and Margaret Falkenstein, founders of Albert Screenprint, who talked about being in business in Akron, OH, since 1962. During that time they have expanded to larger facilities, provided employment to 125 staff, and they continue to serve many Fortune 500 companies with large-format screen, digital, and litho printing. These people really contribute jobs to the area, technology to the industry, education to those interested in similar printing, and we appreciate their efforts. Although this issue struggled in the early stages, it all came together in the end, as in any good play. Ah, the play’s the thing.

Editor gail.flower@stmediagroup.com 48

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