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Simulated Process Screen Printing
By: Charles Taublieb
For many years the standard in the industry, especially for small shops,
was flat color  Separations and printing. With the advancements made in
computers and the separation software, that seems to be changing. The
ability to take a photograph or complex image and break it down for use
on a garment is becoming a common practice. The main problem is that many
of the printers working with these images are not artists and are not
setting up their artwork to have maximum impact. Some artists also have
a problem since most were not trained in designing for a t-shirt and are
not accustomed to the size a design can be and the fact that those designs
are not going on a flat, straight edged object. There is also a difference
between designing for light colored garments verses dark ones. With light
colored garments, the soft subtle tones are desirable and are fairly easy
to achieve. Using a digital camera and then separating the image in one
of the software programs would work. With a little practice and understanding,
it should not be too difficult to get good results. When it comes to dark
colors, things change, and with black garments, they change even more.
This article will address some of the design and separation considerations
associated with dark colored and black garments.
The first item that I like to look at is the difference between designs for a
light colored or white garment verses a dark colored or black garment. In designing
for light colored garments, showing soft subtle tonal changes is desirable. The
design should make good use of the fact that transparent inks can be used and
colors will blend together easily. Being on a light colored garment, those subtleties
will show. Working on dark colored or black garments, we would want strong colors
that are visible from a distance. The inks will be opaque and although there
will be some blending of colors; the main thing to keep in mind is impact from
a distance. Very soft subtle changes in tonal value will not show very well from
a distance and should not be considered very important although it doesn’t
hurt to have them. This is one of the things that many artists that are not familiar
with screen-printing spend a lot of time on and are disappointed with when they
see the printed results. The way I look at dark colored garments, and especially
black ones, is “someone wants to make a statement and they want everyone
to know what it is”. Visibility from a distance is very important, soft
subtle tonal changes will hardly be noticed until up close. Light colored garments-soft
tonal changes. Dark colored garments-bold colors.
Colors to be used on a dark colored garment are also important. It is important
that the colors jump off of the garment. There are times that we want a tone
on tone effect, but for the most part, that isn’t the case for dark colored
garments. Colors that contrast with the garment will work well. There are some
colors that pretty much always work well on dark colors such as yellow, orange,
red, bright blue, bright green, purple and of course white. If a design will
be printed on a variety of garment colors, these will almost always work well.
The size of the image and the objects in the image are an important consideration.
When working with dark colored garments, consider designing as large as possible
and make it easy to identify the theme of the design. In order for the design
to be seen from a distance, it will need to be large or you are missing out on
the impact that a dark colored garment can have. Don’t design a lot of
little items, but instead, focus on one large item. There should be a theme to
the garment and it should stand out very clearly. Large designs placed on the
back of a garment work well since there will not be distractions. Place a small
left chest design on the front to give the garment a finished appearance.
Now, let’s look at the area that I think many artists and would-be artists
miss. How do you make a design jump? The key factors are size, which was discussed,
and contrast. How do you achieve contrast? By deciding on where the light source
is coming from and having very bright colored highlights with very deep shadows.
Exaggerating those areas creates this. Decide where you want the light to come
from and make the highlights almost white for maximum impact. The shadows will
be opposite the highlight and will be black, or almost black. In the case of
black garments, the shadow areas should definitely be black. In designing for
black shirts, the shirt itself should make up the shadow areas. This integrates
the shirt and design and makes them one. Do not be concerned about being anatomically
correct. We are designing garments and not a medical book so the fact that a
very strong highlight cannot have a black shadow doesn’t matter. Add a
soft highlight opposite the strong one to stabilize the image or it will float
in space. Even though this is also theoretically incorrect, it works well.
Once you have finished designing the garment, it will be necessary to separate
it. There are lots of good programs on the market to choose from. Each one has
its own strong points. Almost every program is available as a free trial version
with the same functions as the full working program, but with a time or usage
limit. Down load and try them all. You will be able to make an educated call
on which one works best for you.
There are a few things that I look for after the separations are processed by
the programs available on the market. The separations are not ready for use until
they are adjusted, since the programmers don’t know exactly what you are
looking for and each artist has a different style. The first thing I check is
the white underlay. This is usually the color that affects the design the most.
A poor underlay means a poor print. I want the underlay to have a lot of soft
areas that are subtle as well as very strong areas. The soft areas will let colors
gently come off them and blend into the garment to create the shadows. The strong
areas will create the highlight areas. The way I judge a good underlay is “it
should look like a good one color print”. If it has all of the characteristics
of a good single color print, then chances are the design will stand up well.
If the underlay doesn’t appear as a good single color print, chances are
the overall image will not have good impact. Remember that the shadow areas may
not have any white at all in the underlay, but may have color printing there
once they are laid down. The underlay is not a one-color print so don’t
expect everything to be in it, but the overall appearance should be strong. As
for the other colors, just make sure you have a good range of lights and darks.
If there is a highlight white, make sure it doesn’t over power the other
colors.
One thing to keep in mind when working with clients that are not sure what color
garments they want to have printed. Designing for light colors only works well
for light colors. Adding a solid white underlay requires additional flashing
and usually flattens the design. Designing for dark colored garments works well
for light and dark colored garments and may only require eliminating the white
underlay if printing on white garments or adding a black plate if the design
was designed for a black garment. Designing for light colored garments usually
works well for light garments only. Designing for dark garments usually works
well for all colors from black to white.
When I’m ready to output my work, I like to use a 45-50 LPI with all colors
at a 61 degree angle. I find I have very little Moire problems with this
combination and can even get away with my underlay going on a 110 mesh if I plan
on printing on fleece without much of a moire issue.
The screen selection is another important part of the process. I like to use
a 156 mesh at 45 N/cm for my underlay and 230 mesh at 35-40 N/cm for all the
other colors. For fleece, I use a 110 mesh at 45-50 N/cm.
On an automatic, I prefer a 60/90/60 squeegee for all of my colors, but especially
the white underlay. I usually open the squeegee angle all the way and try to
print with only one flood and print stroke. On a manual press, I would use 70
Durometer squeegees for all colors. All of the squeegees should be sharp and
straight.
I prefer using ink without thinning them even though they could be. I like the
way opaque colors sit on the garment when they are not on the underlay. When
the ink is thinned, it falls into the fabric and doesn’t have the impact
I like.
Let’s look at a design and see what makes it work.
Design #1
- Strong light from one direction for the highlight area.
- Deep shadows where a shadow is needed.
- Gentle light opposite the strong high light area to stabilize the image.
- Large image with easily identifiable subject.
 Charlie Taublieb has been in the screen printing industry since 1976 and is the owner of Taublieb Consulting
in Englewood, Colorado, a company that specializes in technical
consulting-i.e., evaluating a shops efficiency, designing and laying
out floor plans for new and existing facilities, instituting quality
control programs and working with companies on improving their
technical abilities.
You can visit Charlie Taublieb's website at www.taubliebconsulting.com/
He has been a consultant for 25 years and has worked in shops through out
the US, Latin America, Caribbean, Europe and Asia. He owned Great
American Screen Designs, Ltd., an automated screen printing facility in
Brooklyn, New York and Bullseye Screen Printing Supplies, Inc., a
screen-printing supply company in Denver, Colorado. Currently, Charlie
is Marketing Director for Fassi Equipment, Miami, Florida and continues
to work for Taublieb Consulting Englewood, Colorado. In 2002, he
instituted the new seminar programs at Rutland Plastic Technologies,
Inc., Pineville, North Carolina and oversees them currently.
Charlie
has written numerous articles for many of the industry publications and
writes a monthly column for Impressions Magazine, "Printing with
Charlie". He started the "Hands on Screen-Printing Workshop" conducted
at the Imprinted Sportswear Shows in 1985 where he continues to conduct
seminars as well as the SGIA Shows, the Bobbin Shows in the US, Mexico
and Brazil, the ImageWorld Show in Mexico City, Image Wear Expo and the
DAX shows. He was voted "Top Industry Consultant" the last time the
survey was conducted.
Taublieb
is a graduate of Western Michigan University with a Bachelor of Science
in Fine Art. He majored in painting and had a minor in print making and
drawing. Charlie is a member of CORE New Art Space where he exhibits
his paintings and artwork. Charlie Taublieb is a member of the Academy
Of Screen Printing Technology.
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