Print Knowledge

presented by

Link to Your Sales Representative

Danny Blevins

Carl Phinney

Donna Phinney

Tim Hoffart

Bob Burnell

Kay Page

Jenny Hoffart

Link to Your Customer Service Representative

Terri Kline

Cherie Roseliep

Debra Hirdning

Link to Your PrintKnowledge Staff

Michael Mumford (Editor)

What type of printing do I really need?

This should be one of the first, if not the first question you ask yourself once you have decided on what you want to convey. Before making this decision, there are several other questions you need to ask yourself as well.

1. Where will this printing be viewed? (Indoors / Outdoors) - (Close up / Far Away) - (Stationary / Moving)

2. How many color will I need? (Is this a single "spot" color / multi "spot" color / 4 color process job?)

3. How many prints will I need? (1 / 100 / 1000...)

4. How long will the image need to be displayed? (Will the image just be for a day or weekend, or a month or perhaps a year, or does it need to be permanent?)

Once you have established these basic criteria, many of your options will then become self-evident.

If you are only in need of a small quantity of an image that only requires one or two colors with no gradients, then plotter cut vinyl may be your best bet. It is durable and available in a wide variety of colors. (Remember, for plotter cut images you will need vector art. That means no jpg / gif files.) Various qualities of vinyl are available depending on duration requirements.

For four color process jobs in small quantities, that will be viewed close up in an indoor environment, Inkjet Digital Printing would be your best option. This option offers image sizes up to 50" x 200" and tiled images to any size.

If your four color process, small quantity printing project is going to be for exterior use and will be displayed for longer periods of time, then we suggest 3M™ / ScotchPrint™ Digital Printing. This process is great for banners, vehicle wraps, perforated window graphics and many other uses.

Screen Printing offers the widest array of uses. Offering quality images in spot and four color process, this method of printing will imprint on a wide variety of substrates and has great durability. From hard hat decals to dry-erase boards to 30 foot banners, screen printing is a wonderful solution.

If you have any questions about what format will be most advantageous for your project, please contact our sales and customer service team. They will be happy to answer any question and offer the best solution for your situation.

Die Cutting : Types and Applications

A die is a cutting pattern used to repeatedly create an exact pattern, shape or cut line. There are two main types of dies predominantly use in the Screen and Digital print industries. Steel Rule Dies and Thermal Dies.

Steel Rule Die: (The Process) A vector pattern is created to precisely follow the shape required. This can be anything from putting rounded corners on a product to complicated shapes including logos and silhouettes. The pattern is then recreated using a linear steel blade embedded in support material. Pressure is applied to the support material causing the blade to cut the substrate into the exact pattern required. This process works well on most substrates requiring the cut to penetrate through the substrate.

Thermal Die: (The Process) A vector pattern is recreated on a heat conductive plate. The raised pattern plate is then mounted on a thermal die press. When the press applies the die to the material to the substrate, the heat is transferred through the plate and melts the pattern into the substrate. This process is perfect for decal sheets.

If you would like further information on our products and services or would like to receive a quote on an upcoming project please drop us an e-mail at: printknowledge@mercurysigns.com

or visit us at:

www.mercurysigns.com

Tip of the Month

Minimize Links: To reduce output problems, minimize the number of images linked between programs. For instance, rather than creating an image in Photoshop, then adding graphic elements in Illustrator or Freehand and then importing into Quark, we suggest the following. After creating the image in Photoshop, add the graphic and text elements directly in photoshop on a seperate layer. Be sure to convert file to CMYK, confirm output resolution and rasterize any text before saving the file to avoid any font substitutions. Then import directly into your output program.