What is screen printing?
Screen printing is a printing technique that uses a woven mesh to support an ink-blocking stencil to receive a desired image. The attached stencil forms open areas of mesh that transfer ink or other printable materials which can be pressed through the mesh as a sharp-edged image onto a substrate. A fill blade or squeegee is moved across the screen stencil, forcing or pumping ink through the mesh openings to wet the substrate during the squeegee stroke. Basically, it is the process of using a mesh-based stencil to apply ink onto a substrate, whether it be t-shirts, posters, stickers, vinyl, wood, or other material. One color is printed at a time, so several screens can be used to produce a multicoloured image or design.
What is heat pressed vinyl?
Heat pressed vinyl is generally cut from a roll of film using a vinyl cutter or plotter. Using a design file from a computer. The cut Transfer is then attached to the medium using a heat press, using heat and pressure to bond the newly cut design to your product.
What is Sublimation?
Sublimation printing allows businesses to create customized and personalized full color products on demand. Though the production technique is relatively simple, it’s the chemical process that separates sublimation from any other form of digital printing. When sublimation inks are heated to 400°F, they turn into a gas and form a permanent bond to 100% polyester fabric or items that have a polymer coating. The result is a premium full-color, photographic-quality image that will not crack, peel or wash away from the substrate.
What format should artwork I wish to use be in?
Most anyone working with digital printing and design will require some form of vector art. Vector file types include .ai .esp .pdf* and .svg.
*.PDF can either be a vector file or rasterized, depending on the original file used to compile the PDF.
What is a vector file?
Vector images, allow for more flexibility. Constructed using mathematical formulas rather than individual colored blocks, vector file types such as EPS, AI and PDF* are excellent for creating graphics that frequently require resizing. Your company logo and brand graphics should be created as a vector and saved as a master file so you can use it with smaller items such as your business card and letterhead, but also on larger surfaces, such as your corporate car. When necessary, always create a JPG or PNG for use on the web from this master vector file. Just be sure to save the new raster file in the exact dimensions needed.
*A PDF is generally a vector file. However, depending how a PDF is originally created, it can be either a vector or a raster file. Whether you opt to flatten the layers of your file or choose to retain each one will determine the image type.
What is a Raster file?
Raster images use many colored pixels or individual building blocks to form a complete image. JPEGs, GIFs and PNGs are common raster image types. Almost all of the photos found on the web and in print catalogs are raster images.
Because raster images are constructed using a fixed number of colored pixels, they can’t be dramatically resized without compromising their resolution. When stretched to fit a space they weren’t designed to fill, their pixels become visibly grainy and the image distorts. This is why altered photos may appear pixilated or low resolution. Therefore, it is important that you save raster files at precisely the dimensions needed to eliminate possible complications.
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