posted
We had a new customer come in today and want a site sign for a new subdivision going in. Very nice place, homes from $500,000.00 on 5 acre lots. They want a 'Coming in Spring 2002' Sign that I think would have to be digital printed. Problem is, I've never ventured into the digital printing part of the biz. I'm looking at a picture of a sign in Signcraft (July/Aug 2001) on page 24 at the bottom. The trees in the background is something like I'm looking for, with the copy over the top. Maybe not as much color and detail, but something to that effect. A Pecan tree against a 'picture perfect' blue sky. What I need is a supplier of Digital Printed banners,(preferrably L-ville merchant) ((Keep biz in the family)), and how to (I know this is bad, but I don't know how) send them what the proof would be like. Do I send a jpeg with copy over the top? I am basically a vinyl shop(I know; don't start! I'm trying to learn all I can from you guys.) I run VE Master and have it 'mastered'. But, besides my sign program, I'm basically computer dumb. I do have Corel(6), Don't Laugh!! I've never had the time to learn it or to upgrade. Anyway, back to the question at hand, do I draw this by hand and scan in? Or What?! This is a new area for me, and I'm asking for a little bit of help for a (still) Newbie trying to do the best I can. I watch this board at least three times a day and I know there are some 'SMART & WILLING TO HELP' people out there. Oh, and by the way, for what they are looking for, I could never attempt to handpaint these graphics. Remember, I'm still learning. I know this is pretty long for a question post; but I don't want anybody thinking that I'm looking for an easy way out. I've done some investigating on this so far, but I do VALUE a lot of your opinions. Thank you for any help that you can send my way. Feel free to call(collect if need be) or e-mail me and I'll call you for more info. I think L-Ville is a great place to Live!!
Craig
------------------ "Growing like pine trees in East Texas" Craig & Susan Sign Country 20257 FM 2493 Bullard, Texas 75757 email:cgardner@ballistic.com 903-894-9666
i would use brian stoddard in seattle for this job. the summaprints would hold up quite well for what you need. although i haven't used his services, i have talked to brian on the phone and he seems to know what the heck he talking about.
i wouldn't send a jpeg file as they tend to be of lower quality. maybe as the proof to the customer but not for the printing file. a bitmap would work better but they tend to be larger files and you will most likely have to burn it on a cd.
i save bitmaps at 600 dpi at 25-50% in corel, import them into flexi or inspire and then resample them to 300 dpi after resizing them. then we print them on the encad. maybe someone has a better system for this but this works very good for us
just remember that the background is crucial to the quality of the print. i tried to use some stock photos for a 8 x 16 backdrop we did and was very disappointed by the quality of the print. the pixels were very large and noticeable.
we ended up scanning a photo at 600 dpi and saving it full sized after resizing and resampling. it made one heck of a file size. thank goodness for big hard drives.
while the print wasn't photo quality close up, at 10 feet away it looked pretty darn good. we were quite pleased with the result.
hope this helps you in your endeavor!
have a great one!
------------------ Bruce Bowers DrCAS Signtech
"how great are His signs..." Daniel 4:3
i am a proud supporter of this website!
[This message has been edited by Bruce Bowers (edited August 21, 2001).]
Posts: 6464 | From: Saint Cloud, Minnesota | Registered: Jun 1999
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1) When working with scanned photographs, if the printhead is 300 dpi, then the scanned image only needs to be 108 dpi at full size. Increasing the dpi will not improve the image sufficiently to make any more difference. ( www.scantips.com )
2) Corel offers a whole series of high res. photos of various subject matter. Personally, I'd go to the library or book store and find a book with photos of landscapes and skylines.
If you need help with anything specific in setting up your file, feel free to contact me at anytime.
---------quote:--------- Personally, I'd go to the library or book store and find a book with photos of landscapes and skylines. ------------------------
Just as reproducing "Bugs Bunny" is ethically wrong, so is reproducing photography out of any publication. True, it may be that no one will ever get "caught" , but there is always a honest solution to any design that needs to be created.
Besides, if you scan from a magazine or printed book, a morie pattern will form in the image. The scanner puts a screen over the image that already has had a screen placed over the image, and another screen will be placed over the image when it is digitally prints. Its a mess!
Take 3 window screens off of your house windows and lay them over the top of each other and slowly move them around. You will see this really weird pattern. The same thing happens in digital printing. From the user end to the printer end, its a wonder any image can print clear.
I wont accept file sent over the internet to print. I request they burn a CD and ship it overnight FED X. If its that important, they can spend an extra 10 bucks.
------------------ Draper The Signmaker Bloomington Illinois USA
Get To A Letterhead Meet This Summer! See you there! DUCK SOUP SPLATTER JAM Sept. 14,15,16 Somewhere in Alabama -------------------- 309-828-7110 drapersigns@hotmail.com Draper_Dave on mIRC chat
Posts: 2883 | From: Bloomington Illinois USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Well Thanks for the plug Bruce. I can in fact print that for you at any size and would be glad to help you out with the setup and such, BUT.... if you are going to slap this thing on a banner that big you might consider having the banner printed directly. Royal Banner is a Letterhead supplier and they do great work pretty reasonable. An 8' x 8' banner is going to be pretty awkward though, you might consider going to something like Dibond (2 sheets on stringers) that will give you a much better looking product and it does not sound like something they need to take down and put back up on a regular basis. If you need help with the digital stuff give me a call or e-mail you questions,if you end up using our product or not, I would be glad to help you out either way.
------------------ Brian Stoddard Expressions Signs 2621 244th Ave NE Sammamish WA 98074
posted
FINALLY! I've been trying to get on the 'net since 6 this morning! Something was wrong with the ISP. Thanks for the replies guys. I was thinking of a banner because it will be up for less than a year(supposedly) and I thought that would be the quickest and easiest way to get the sign up. That's what these developers want, "Quick & Easy". Have you seen those billboards with the wrap around banners? That's kinda what I was looking at. Thanks again for your help, and I'm still investigating.
Craig
------------------ "Growing like pine trees in East Texas" Craig & Susan Sign Country 20257 FM 2493 Bullard, Texas 75757 email:cgardner@ballistic.com 903-894-9666
posted
You will have to do the math but those banner wrapped billboards are cost effective only because of the high turn around they are used for. If you stick a banner up there for a year make sure you have a print on there that is going to last or its going to look like crud in 9 months.
------------------ Brian Stoddard Expressions Signs 2621 244th Ave NE Sammamish WA 98074
I don't think your customer would be happy with an 8' x 8' digitally printed banner, unless you can find someone with a Vutek or scotchprint printer. (They can print on a heavier banner stock, and will last longer than most inkjets).
I think printing on vinyl with an Edge or even some inkjets and then applying that to two 4x8's with posts and stringers would yield a better product for your customer.
We have an artist on staff who could pull off the design, and we can print on vinyl that would last 2-3 years. Email me if we can help.
posted
Thanks again for taking the time to help. I am working on some different avenues with the different 3-tier pricing system. You know; good, Better, BEST pricing. Just to give them some rough estimates and see which direction they want to go. I'll be pushing for the Best, of course. But don't push too hard! (don't wanna push 'em away) Thanks again!
Craig
------------------ "Growing like pine trees in East Texas" Craig & Susan Sign Country 20257 FM 2493 Bullard, Texas 75757 email:cgardner@ballistic.com 903-894-9666
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