[MikeM32]

I'm going for a job interview tomorrow for a local printing firm.

Apparrently they do Die(Dye?) Sublimition printing onto fabric of some kind. So they're going to give me some sort of "color correction" test on the computer. The only info I was given was something to the effect that colors need to be corrected to print to fabric for this kind of printing.

What I need to know is what do you think this will involve exactly? My main experience has been mostly with Typography and Preparing business forms and direct mail materials, mainly printing to paper.

Maybe someone with experience with this sort of printing can give me an overview of what it's all about. Meanwhile I'll be scouring the web for info.

Any help would be greatly appreciated as I really need work ASAP.

TIA, Mike

[chris v]

I suspect that if they're printing on fabric, 4 color process, that they're going to have dot gain problems. This is what I deal with screen printing on t-shirts, and once you get a feel for how much gain you experience generally, you can learn to adjust for it in Photoshop, usually in Curves.

I'd ask to see a digital file, and then a printed version of it, so you can see generally how much it's darkening up, and if one color is gaining more than the others. Most proccess printers will tell you that Magenta gains a little worse than Cyan, Yellow orBlack. If the magenta is gaining more than everything else, you can shift the whole design to green a tad to make up for it.

I never overwrite my original file-- I keep it, and do a save as: on my adjusted file. That way, I've got the original (what the customer expects to see) to compare the print to.

Good luck!

CV

[Corys]

so how did it go? did you get the job?

[MikeM32]

DUDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !! (I.E. I got the job)

It looks like I'll be able to pay next months rent after-all

Awesome facility, all new Macs and all the latest software. It's still mainly production work like my last job, but I'm not bitching. At least it's something different than page layout of business forms and dealing with direct mail campaigns. Like my last job, the brunt of the work is customer supplied and they just correct the colors so the finished piece looks as close to thier sample (or the image on the monitor) as possible.

They print those gigantic banners you see at museums and sports arenas. Very awesome technique. In principal, it's similar to those "iron on" transfers for tee-shirts, but for really humongous banners.

The test went like crap, but I made it clear ahead of time that I'm not truly a color correction "expert" nor do I really have much knowledge about this technique of printing. I'll be on a 1 month trial basis, so I'll have to train like crazy with the rest of thier department.

The test involved correcting a file and outputting it to a thermal transfer printer to proof the color (it literally prints thermal transfers, see above "tee-shirt/iron-on" analogy). Since the finished piece could be gigantic we scaled it down alot so we could just see enough of it. Then the transfer is taken into thier pressroom and you run off a "proof" onto an actual piece of the fabric expected for the job. The press is just a bunch of heated rollers which force the dye from the transfer into the fabric.

Mike

[chris v]

Congrats!

Make Image> Adjust... your friend!

Also, make Select> Color Range... Sampled Colors your other friend. If you ever need to build bump plates, thats the best way to grab the color you need.

Photoshop is an awesome program-- I'm still thinking of new ways to tinker with color after 8 years. Have fun!

CV

[Corys]

Congrats on the new Job Mike!