Screen printing to 6 colors

Screen printing is very different from regular litho printing. You'll need...

Ed R. from CA, using Photoshop 6.0 with Mac, writes in with:

[Quote:] I want to screen print my image and the 4 color process is too splotchy. I would like to create a 6 color process. Can I copy or duplicate any of the channels?

Reply:

We assume you're talking about Serigraphy (Silk Screen Printing)

If your fabric and film holds the dot for 4-color process, you can "help" mend the splotchy-ness of the image by:

a) using transparent inks specifically formulated for process color screen printing. Ask your supplier for NAZDAR inks for this purpose. Also get a quart of transparent medium because you may want to further blend your inks for more transparancy. Remember that fabric really soaks up the inks and, in effect, gives severe dot mashing or what's called "dot gain."

b) Change the screen frequency and angle. Screen printing also requires slightly different angles. You'll need to experiment with the screens and your fabric selection. (Screens and the "weave" of the fabric set up moirae patterns.

c) Convert the art to flat (or flatter) colors.

If you wish to experiment with a 6-color image, that's all well and fine, and will probably produce a more dramatic, and therefore more dynamic image.

Our favorite method is through selective posterization. But it takes a great deal of experimentation and discretion when preparing the image -- and that's more or less beyond the scope of this blog because we don't have the image.

Basically begin rendering the image to its basic and fundamental 6 colors by using the Posterize effect and dialog:

Choose Image > Adjustments > Posterize and ask for 6 levels.

Depending on how it turns out, you'll have to do this again and again until you arrive at the combination you like. Once you've posterized the image to your satisfaction, use Select > Color to select each of the 6 ranges, and assign them to a separate color channel for output to your final film positives.

Comments

[Hashim]

Hi, really important. I prepare my artworks on illustrator, and they are all 3 to 4 colors. But my printer is asking me to separate them or they'll charge me to do it. And i have no idea how to separate colors etc. Can anyone help me out, would be very thankfull :D my email : hashim@varsally.com thanks!

[David Porter]

How do I do put a dot in my art work for for when gradients are in it? I heard there is some way to put a screen on it?

[Craig Bond]

There are a few programs on the market that are plguins for Photoshop that work great. One is called Photospot and the other one is made by Wilflex called Easy Art.

http://www.wilflexeasyart.com/

http://www.bedagi.com/product/10904?vendor=171

[Umer Farooq]

is that any free plugin for simulated process separation, or anyone know or have a good tutorial to do simulated process separation with photshop cs, i want please help me.

[liton]

how can make screen print design in photoshop/illustrator?

[rich]

I knew of a way to seperate colors in photoshop. I would change a picture to grayscale and then back to RBG scale even though it would still show up black and white. Then I would click on areas that used to be red (to a certain extent) for instance. I would do this for all the colors I wanted and then I could print out each color template ( it would print black) that way I could use it for photo emulsion for silk-screen printing. However I forget all the steps, can you help?

[Bruce Parrott]

Is it possible to make separations on velum and a laser printer rather than film?

[Derek Carr]

There is a program on the market titled "FastFilms" that does exactly this. If you check out their website, you can download a free trial. Basically, it is a really complex plugin for Photoshop that will convert a full color image to multiple spot colors by making complex selections and then sending them to their own "spot" channels. Usually, two of those spot colors is white. One for the underbase and one for a highlight. In reality, it is no longer full color process after the conversion but is called simulated process as it uses actual spot colors to achieve a full color image on the textile.

[jesse]

How do you get spot colors to drop out in photoshop.
say a black over red, but you dont want the red to drop out
where the black touches?

[Craig]

I have a question about Photoshop CS2.

Do I need a plug-in for spot color separation, or does Photoshop have this?

[aman]

thanks for that info
really needed that for my project

[vineesh]

Screen printing to 6 colors

[Mikl Gorges]

to prepare your art for halftone printing, you need to follow the 4 times rule. 4 times your lpi(dots per inch), is the screen mesh that you need. example;
my dpi is 55 line per inch. My screen mesh would be 4 times that, or 220 mesh. In photoshop you can call out your dpi and you screen angle. I use between 45 and 55. The angle for 4 color proceess are different for every studio. I use 5 for Process yel, 55 for magenta, 22for cyan, 80 for black.