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citysevendesign
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Great site....but too much info to take in!!

Post by citysevendesign »

Hi everyone! I've had a browse around and decided to register to ask a few questions - there's just to much info on the site for me to get "real" answers that are dumbed down enough for me to take in all at once!

Anyways, my name is Mark - I work a management role having earned the job after graduating from uni 6 months ago. Anyways, I graduated with my Honours degree in graphic design and that tied with my current job role has encouraged me to look into combining both the design and business aspects into one big goal - a purely web based printed T store. I know there's many (!!!) about, but I feel with a good 6 months of research I'll be in a position to decide whether this is plausable.

So I've got the design side covered (I'm a huge printed tshirt fan in addition to my love of typography), and am slowly understanding the workings of a larger company (I'm also the design/feature co-ordinator for a smal internationally dispensed automotive magazine)...I can even design the website to act as the vessel for my little plan! However...I know absolutely nothing in the slightest about printing on tshirts.

I'm hoping if you lovely people have a few minutes, some of you may be able to answer some of these questions or possible misconceptions:

1) Screenprinting is the primary method used in multicoloured tshirt printing - is this correct? Is this how all the big companies do it? Does it produce the same resuts as what I can buy in high street stores (with the right gear of course).

2) With screenprinting, I'm lead to believe that for gradients (lets say for example I was producing a T with a photo of a, err, rabbit on it), the image made in the design stage would be made using halftone, meaning that the screenprint produces tiny dots - is this correct?

3) If the above is correct, then would a 6 or 8 colour screenprint do the job, or is there a specific type needed to do precision printing (i not just 4 words, printed in one colour on a T)?

4) Can other unusual inks be used such as foil effect inks etc? And if so, can they be used at the same time as printing regular colours?

5) Prices for equipment varies vastly - for a starter setup that allows multi colour + gradients (if that makes a difference), what would be a ballpark figure, excluding inks etc etc? Vague question, I know!

I know I'm asking a lot, and these questions have likely been answered elsewhere but any help would be HUGELY appreciated! I look forward to reading more and getting to chat to some of you knowledgable folks!

Mark
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d fleming
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Re: Great site....but too much info to take in!!

Post by d fleming »

Welcome to the forum Mark! I'll take a shot at some and let some others finish as I need to get on the floor.
1 yes
2 yes
3 many different ways to achieve halftone type results, 4 color process, lots of screens, etc. Really depends on design and effect desired.
4 I don't use foils so maybe someone else is better qualified for this one.
5 manual or auto press? Shooting halftones requires strong single point light source for exposing
citysevendesign
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Re: Great site....but too much info to take in!!

Post by citysevendesign »

Thanks for the quick reply! I'm slowly gathering info! :)

Rookie question (super rookie infact) - the actual screens themselves - all the info or vids I see about making lets say, a 3 colour semi complex design T indicate that you use glue to basically blot out the bits of each screen that you dont want topass ink to the T. Is that right? Seems if doing it that way, it would take an hour or 2 just for the screens, let alone the actual printing aspect. Am I right, or is there a fast way that you smart folks do it?

And going back to half tones, on the same note as the above...IF the above is indeed achieved via the method mentioned above (did that make sense?? lol), how on EARTH do you make it so that you have tiny dots left over??

Or am I missing the whole point about how to actually make the screens??

Thanks in advance!! :D :D
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tompaine
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Re: Great site....but too much info to take in!!

Post by tompaine »

There is a significant set-up cost for screenprinting, thereafter it is quick & cheap.

I don't really understand the bit abot hlaftones. Do you mean 'how do I create halftones?'
citysevendesign
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Re: Great site....but too much info to take in!!

Post by citysevendesign »

yeh perhaps thats a beter question.... :shock: lol
citysevendesign
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Re: Great site....but too much info to take in!!

Post by citysevendesign »

Actually cancel that....now I know more about how the exposure unit works, I get how half tones would work... :)
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Re: Great site....but too much info to take in!!

Post by geckoartz »

On the foil effect your talking about. I use copper powder, or silver powder mixed with clear ink (UV sensitive). When you use powder, try to find a fabric with less mesh counth so your dropping more ink. But that's for plastics, could try it on whatever textile ur using, usually Nazdar has a solution for everything.
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