Aaaand we're back! Beautiful @deadandcompany poster by @spustastudio for @collectionzz
#gigposter #screenprinting
Music: "New Speedway Boogie" by Grateful Dead
Written by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter
Copyright Grateful Dead Productions
License: Rhino Entertainment Company
BIG ANNOUNCEMENT: Over the last decade we have become the galaxy's undisputed greatest screen printing masters. While we will always cherish the memories, the work has become tedious. So as of today we have shut down all print operations in order to pursue new, more challenging business ventures — starting with bespoke floral arrangement service. Pictured here is our new CEO, Marge Ellen. Please help us welcome her aboard and wish us luck on our new journey!
Cross-post #8 — @katpszymanski is pictured here holding up one of the very first posters we printed with UV-cure inks. This @officialjackwhitelive print would have been a garbled mess with waterbased inks. As it was we had some beginner's luck. We printed this with just two screens, blue and black, both with halftones at 80 LPI. We've pulled a bunch of different prints out of the flat files to show you tonight.
Cross post #7 — Nerd Alert! We produce near imagesetter-quality film positives at @bakerprints by using a combination of advanced hardware and software solutions. Our transmission densitometer helps us achieve precise dMax and calculate a linearization curve to compensate for prepress dot gain. Our FilmMaker XL 10+ RIP software helps us create super sharp imaging at 2880 dpi. We output the 44"-wide films on an Epson 9800 equipped with refillable cartridges, four of which contain dark dye-based black ink formulated for positive printing. If this kind of thing turns you on, learn more at our meeting tonight!
Cross-post #6 — Lest you think we've gone soft with all our doodads and semi-automatons — we still print by hand whenever the situation warrants. Split-fountains are a good example. It's easier to achieve a smooth blend and avoid marblizing drips when one wields the squeegee directly.
Cross-post #5 — Here's Gabriela coating under the UV-blocking amber lights in our screen room. Sam built the adjustable coating rig, one of my favorite innovations in the shop. Behind Gabie are coated screens on the large rack we built to store them properly while drying (printside-down for EOM, face coats flipped for lower Rz). To her left is our vacuum-frame exposure unit. We built an easily-removable sheet metal "skirt" around the unit to protect our light-sensitive screens from the 5000 watt UV exposure lamp underneath (it's held on with magnets!). Between a dehumidifier, air filter, circulating fans, and the exhausted heat from the lamp, the room stays clean, warm, and bone-dry: perfect conditions for cycling through our screens.
Cross-post #4 - A year ago we put a second press into service along with an automatic takeoff machine and a UV-cure conveyor. There are countless new challenges with UV screen printing but we have been attacking each one we encounter and it has truly revolutionized our shop. Come hear all about it at the meeting Wednesday!
@chicagoprintersguild cross-post #2 — Our print viewing-station at Baker Prints helps us get color dialed in just right. It fits full 40" x 26" press sheets so we can compare against Pantones, previous prints, and the production file on a hooded and calibrated IPS monitor. The viewing booth is a Graphiclite EVS. It features 5 high-tolerance 5000K lamps with an asymmetrical reflector for perfectly-even lighting throughout. We toggle through the color separations every step of the job and Rooster tweaks the ink formula as needed.
