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Hey Digital "heads, I am trying to print on a matte paper stock and wondered if anyone has had success printing posters. The profile that we have from the ColorRip program doesn't give us the best color. Imagine that! All the blacks and grays have a funky greenish tint. Some prints even have a weird oil and water look right in the middle of the paper which I think maybe caused by the heater. Anyone have some input for me on this?
We seem to be asked for poster prints for interior signage and I want to be able to produce them consistently without having to adjust the printer for every print. CMYK with Illustrator seems to be the standard but what about RGB? I still don't understand which is better or good for what we are doing. HELP! We still manage to get signs made but I would like to sleep better at night knowing that I'm not just getting Lucky with the profiles!
We test printed on ETCHMARK vinyl today and it worked! Another option for us.
Anyone else discover other vinyls to print on?
I haven't tried reflective yet. Still nervous.
Sign-cerely, Steve
-------------------- Steve Luck Sign Magic Inc. 2718-b Grovelin Godfrey, Illinois 62035 (618)466-9120 signmagic@sbcglobal.net Posts: 870 | From: 2718-b Grovelin Godfrey, Illinois 62035 | Registered: Dec 2004
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The versacamm prints beautifully on glossy paper. The paper I have is a Roland product, so I can't tell you about any other kinds.
I prefer designing in RBG, as I find CMYK really hit and miss with colors. There are many colors that come out grey or muddied with cmyk. I don't know a whole lot about either, but I'm sure there are lots here with some good advice.
I've had great results printing on banner material, reflective vinyl, clear vinyl, regular metallic vinyl and chrome. I usually stick with approved media if I can. I'm curious what you printed on the etchmark.
Steve We print posters with the versacamm on economy vinyl. Print quality is great, colors vibrant It's the 'default' material on the machine ie no changeover and @ 22c(cdn) / sq ft costs less than I used to pay for coated papers to print with my HP3500.
The arlon 600 matte is actually a semi lustre finish, customers love it.
-------------------- Mike O'Neill
It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value. - Arthur C. Clarke
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It sounds like you might have the wrong paper. I got rid of my HP 2500 (used water-based inks) and got the VersaCamm. One day I grabbed some photo paper to print a poster and it came out awful. It turned out that I was using the paper for the HP 2500. Once I got the right paper everything was beautiful.
-------------------- Laura Butler Vision Graphics & Sign 4479 Welch Rd Attica, Mi 48412 Posts: 2855 | From: Attica, Mi, USA | Registered: Nov 2000
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Most papers dont need heat to bond with the inks. Id run the printer without the heat if you think it is being a problem.
If you are getting fish eyes or spots where the ink seems to flow off you probably have material not suitable for printing, material contaminated by the supplier or have somehow contaminated the material yourself.
As a general rule I find paper to be more forgiving than vinyl for printing. Fingerprints or smudges on vinyl create obvious flaws. On paper they dissapear.
As for the green in the grays you should get rid of them by working in RGB and making sure you flatten transparencies when you save/export.
-------------------- Paul McDowell 7 Hills Signs Virginia Posts: 84 | From: Lynchburg, Virginia | Registered: Oct 2004
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Thanks Paul for the advice. I have been told by several "Graphic Artists" that CMYK is preferred over RGB. Has their been a post about this yet?
What type of paper is everyone using to print on? And what supplier are you getting your paper from?
We went ahead and continued to use the paper roll and everything looks great for now. We did a few posters for a local dentist and his photograph came out beautiful and the copy looks crisp. Maybe I had a few bad feet of paper that had something on it. It was sealed in a plastic bag in the box that it came in. So I guess the factory got something on it before shipping it. I still would like to know what everyone else is using for paper and how they adjust their files for color correction before printing.
Sign-cerely curious, Steve Luck
-------------------- Steve Luck Sign Magic Inc. 2718-b Grovelin Godfrey, Illinois 62035 (618)466-9120 signmagic@sbcglobal.net Posts: 870 | From: 2718-b Grovelin Godfrey, Illinois 62035 | Registered: Dec 2004
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RGB is best suited for "light" projects (ie: computer monitors/web sites)Colors are comprised of variations of color combos of red, green and blue. This is easiest to view on a CRT monitor really close up, you can see the dots.
CMYK is best suited for "printed projects". Four colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and black = four color process)are used to create the full array of visible colors printed on a product.
Now then...Suelynn and Paul both said that they were having better luck with RGB with these products. The traditional useage of printed CMYK colors I am refering to above include offset printing, lithograph, web, etc.
-------------------- Stefanie Fox Fox Design Studio Atlanta, GA Posts: 181 | From: Atlanta GA, USA | Registered: May 2006
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the substrates for those traditional print jobs also include:
papers of all sorts of weights and textures... coated/uncoated paper stock business card/letterhead/envelopes sheets are kept separate with offset powder
some of the folks above are not just printing on paper but on vinyl, etc.
I believe traditional graphic art/printing industry is a very different process from what you are doing,ie: each of the four colors is printed separately at a different station during the printing process...aren't Digital printers jet printers or laser printers that print it all one line at a time?
Are you familiar with dot gain? Color correction can be done by adjusting the curves (in photoshop).
-------------------- Stefanie Fox Fox Design Studio Atlanta, GA Posts: 181 | From: Atlanta GA, USA | Registered: May 2006
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I have better results with RGB files as well. As Stefanie said, CMYK may be traditional for the final printing, but as far as setting up the files, I've heard opinions from a few qualified inkjet technicians stating that the wider gamut of files set up in the RGB colorspace improves the output even when it is printed with cmyk ink. It doesn't make sense to me, but most technology doesn't... it just "works" so I use it.
I don't stock much paper, & like Mike, I will print on matte finish vinyl for poster orders if needed... then if they want them mounted to foam-core... it's easy to offer that.
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I guess I should have stated that SignLab software which I use for designing some of my signs creates the colors in RGB. We have to convert these files in Illustrator to add the cutpath for the Roland Versacamm to read. The Versacamm requires a 100% magenta cutpath which for the life of me can't seem to create successfully in SignLab!
I think you can save the files in SignLab as a CMYK file, but I can't find that function if it exists in the program. Maybe someone out there has found this feature and can let me know how to use it. I also have found that when I send a RGB color file to Illustrator, none of the colors match what I had on my screen in SignLab. Some are close, but not close enough to use.
I guess I'll be asking a lot of questions at the sign show in Indianapolis next weekend. If anyone is going to Indy look for me! I'll be the one with the blank look on my face dazed and confused!
Sign-cerely puzzled,
Steve Luck
-------------------- Steve Luck Sign Magic Inc. 2718-b Grovelin Godfrey, Illinois 62035 (618)466-9120 signmagic@sbcglobal.net Posts: 870 | From: 2718-b Grovelin Godfrey, Illinois 62035 | Registered: Dec 2004
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