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Having a very strange problem that I've never seen before on a laser plate. Imaging some test plates (Hurst SmartPlate IO) on a Konica-Minolta c6500 and I'm getting a repeating pattern of small dots on the impressions off the press. Couldn't see the dots on the imaged plate but once the ink...

Click me.

The question is one only you can really answer. Are your clients asking for finishing options that you don't have or do you see a market segment that needs those abilities where you can expand into? Answers adding finishing equipment to offer these services. Is your current installation...

Might be a great time to learn how to coat and expose a screen =) But yeah, probably the simplest option. You might even be able to score a cheap screen print kit at a local hobby or crafts store but be aware that these kits aren't exactly professional standard. If your school has a screenprint...

Yet another voice for the master white board + job jacket/ticket system. A master list (white board or spreadsheet) of jobs with clearly defined status markers gives everyone a central authority to verify information about a job as well as lets you schedule each part of the process easily. I...

I'm currently in the process of changing over our 1/2 color offset work (a lot of forms on a t-head) to use the Hurst SmartPlate rather than sending everything to film/metal plate. I've used several laser plates in the past and have had the fewest problems with Hurst. I've imaged the plates...

Thanks for the replies! We've just sent off some sample prints to test with the TEC on a variety of stocks to a friendly printer with a unit installed. I'll update for future reference when the samples come back. Cheers!

Dunno, I'd just do it with the pen tool in Illustrator. Auto-trace is for art students =P Seriously though, it does seem that a lot of people will try to build a digital Goldberg machine to do things that can easily be done with the more simple tools available and a bit of skill. edit: That...

Hey o! I'm looking for opinions, anecdotes, tales, etc regarding using an offline UV coater for digital outputs. Namely the KM c6500 and the TEC Lighting Xtra Coat Mini. My new job is at a vertical market printer (auto-industry) who is trying to slowly move more services in-house rather than...

It's not there to cool down anything, it's there to help control the relative humidity in the sheets.

Any digital printer with a Variable Data Printing (VDP) set up should be able to do that. Set up the master without numbers, and use a mail-merge type of thing for the numbering. Good luck.

Far better than expected from Xerox. If you don't mind, what are the optional features you have with your new machine? The 1000 is a possible next year upgrade and I need to start working out my "we need this, or that" proposal for the bosses (looking at the new Xerox and the new Konica). This...

Convert the RGB to Greyscale TIFF in photoshop, level or eyedrop to taste. Place it in Illustrator. "Fill" with your spot color. Output to PDF. (just noticed this was above, so... I'm slow =)

It doesn't look like the red is a screen at all from the image so LPI and spread aren't probably the issue with the red as much as the grey. Ink spread is how much the ink physically "spreads" into the fiber of the substrate. Take a drop of water and plop it down on a paper towel then watch how...

I have to agree with the solid custom color being easier with better results than trying to force a screen on that substrate. Sadly this makes it a 3-color job of course. If any ink is smudging on that stock you may have a simple density issue, i.e. laying down too much ink? Might be on press...

As a designer who started as a floor help in a large commercial printer and worked his way up through production to art directorships I can honestly say that real, hands on pre-press experience is an excellent selling point for you when seeking design positions. Not so much for freelance. But...

Best thing to do is find your local paper suppliers and talk with them about their services. Partnering with a local distributor can save you hours and headaches. Kelly Paper, Xpedex, etc are great sources of information and help if you're confused about paper. Each distributor usually has a...

Decent quick explanation of paper grain. It's important to be sure that you get the grain of the paper to align properly with the fold so that grain and fold are in the same direction. I'm seeing more and more digital papers available only in long grain (i.e. 11x17") as opposed to short grain...

I usually make an 8-bit (greyscale) flattened Tiff for my drop shadows and place them on a layer between the object and the background. At least, I do this in the "mechanical" or pre-press stage. You can then apply a spot color to the Tiff in InDesign (as well as Illustrator) as a "fill", as...

I'm not sure if this helps at all but here's 2 pennies: A long way back when I was operating a King web (5-unit) we had a similar-sounding issue late in long runs. Turns out we had packing material wrapping around the turn where the blanket ends are secured making it "thicker" at that point by...