Media Formats: CDs, Zip Disks, floppy discs and E-Mail.

Supported Applications: We print color separations/film from: Illustrator and Photoshop

FONTS: One of the biggest issues we have is usually with fonts.
When supplying your electronic files always supply the fonts.

MAC FONTS: There are two types of fonts. True type, which are fonts that consist of one file.

And Postscript, which are fonts that consist of two files, the Printer font
and the Screen font.

PC FONTS: There are two types of fonts. True type, which consist of one file.
And Postscript fonts that consist of two files the .PFB file and a .PFM file.

You can eliminate the font problems while working in Illustrator, Freehand or Corel Draw by converting the fonts to outlines or curves. Just remember once you convert the font to outlines or curves you can no longer edit it as text. Always save a copy of your file without outlined or curved fonts, in case you need to edit the text in the future.

VECTOR ART: (line art) Text and outlined images. For best results we recommend using Illustrator, Freehand or Corel Draw to create vector art and saving the image in either an .ai or .eps format. These vector based applications create nice clean edges and allow the image to be resized without effecting the image quality. See specs on Spot Colors, Gradations and Blends below.

RASTER IMAGES: (photo realistic) Grayscale, Duo-Tones, and CMYK images. For best result we recommend using PhotoShop or Photo Paint and saving the image in either an .eps or .tiff format at a resolution of 300dpi (dots per inch). We can accept .BMP or .JPG files, but the resolution tends to be very low and subsequently will not produce the best result. See specs on Halftone Line Screen, Gradations and Blends below.

DETAILS: When printing camera ready art from digital files, it is important that your file be constructed properly. Textile screen printing requirements are very different than those for printing on paper. This information will help you prepare your artwork so that problems can be avoided in preparing your film. These are general guidelines. Specific questions about your art can only be answered after viewing your image.

SPOT COLORS: When assigning colors please use Pantone or custom colors (not CMYK) so that your files separate and print properly. Do not create separate files for each ink color.

4 COLOR PROCESS: The image or artwork we are to reproduce will determine whether we use spot or 4 color process printing techniques

4 color process images are reproduced by a series of small dots called halftones and generally use a combination of the the three primary colors--blue, red, yellow, to make the remaining colors required for the image. For example, green is reproduced on the garment by combining yellow and blue dots.

In spot color printing, green is a premixed stock color or a Pantone color we mix using pigments. Spot color images are reproduced by solid areas of ink and selective areas of halftones. It is possible to create shading using spot color halftones. Most images (logos, illustrations, cartoons, etc.) are reproduced using the spot color technique of printing. The types of images reproduced using the 4 color process technique are fine art (oil, pastels and water color paintings) and color photographs. Most designs can be redrawn or re-colored to print using the spot color technique. 4 color process printing should be used in only limited circumstances and should not be used to avoid printing 5 or more spot colors.

Proper art preparation will go a long way in ensuring proper print results. Because of the complexities involved in preparing your image for 4 color process printing and the time it requires to set up and register your image on the press, special considerations for screen printing 4 color process images on textiles are made in the color separation process. For that reason, we discourage customers from supplying their own film. Please consult with us before preparing 4 color process film.

HALF TONES: We use halftone line screens between 35 lpi (lines per inch) and 75 lpi. Most spot color halftones are printed at 55 lpi. When combining solid line art images (bold type or graphics) and very fine halftones (75 lpi) in the same design/ink color it may be required to separate them and print them independently. This requires the use of two films and two screens for that one ink color.

GRADATIONS AND BLENDS: Halftones assigned a percentage of a color between 1% and 15% print as 0%. And conversely, those assigned between 85% and 99% print as solid.

RESOLUTION / FILE SIZE: Scanning resolutions should be 2 times the line screen. For example: If we are to print a photo at 55 lpi then you should scan it at 110 lpi. Do not present files or images with a resolution over 300 lpi. Higher resolutions greatly increase the file size and the time it takes to transfer and print the separations. There is no benefit to increasing the lpi above 300.

Need art? Need a logo? We can create it for you! Our art department can handle all of your art needs.

If you do not have camera ready art or you need to make changes to the art you have our art department will be happy to help you make the best of your print job.

Tell us your ideas and we can give you an estimate of your art costs.

We have many resources available to make the job you want perfect!

Make sure you see The Gallery