Let’s Print!
First thing to figure out what type of printing.
Firecrest Press offers two different type of prints screen printing and Giclée archival inkjet printing. Both styles of printing have their strengths and weaknesses, some of the pros and cons are:
Screen Printing
Pros
Hand mixed inks, including metallic, gloss, glow in the dark, and fluorescents.
Cost efficient for limited color palettes
Great for bold graphic images
Wide variety of paper options including colored and foil papers
Cons
Limited colors
Colors in the file must be separated on to different layers.
Visible dithering or halftones for gradients
Expensive proofing. To cover films, screens, and labor. (5 prints at $150 per layer)
Giclée Printing
Pros
Unlimited colors.
Smaller runs available, even just a one off.
Easy to proof (test print)
Files can be flat, no color separations.
Cons
Expensive materials
Limited paper choice
Limited to the color gamut of the printer
Let’s Screen Print!
Thanks looking into screen printing with Firecrest Press! Screen printing is an exciting process but requires some coordination between the artist and their printer. A good collaboration can help ensure the end product meets or hopefully exceed expectations. It may be helpful to take some time to read over our file requirements as you prepare your artwork for print. We hope to provide some information to that we can communicate clearly and efficiently how to best streamline the print process and optimize your artwork for a quality production.
Artwork File Set up
All artwork for screen printing must be submitted in a digital format.
Pdf, Psd, Ai and Tiff are preferred
300dpi -600dpi pixels/inch
Starting artwork files at the correct size and resolution is critical to ensure the quality of the print. Upscaling after the fact will result in a blurry or pixelated image. File must be in the final size with margins included as part of the artwork.
The file must have each color on a separate layer including paper.
For artwork where ink reaches the edge or a “bleed”, should extend past the crop lines by at least 1/8 of an inch.
Label layers with Uncoated Pantone colors when possible
Label layers with Metallic ink
Inks will be matched to iMac screen when left unlabeled
File Submission
Send files to arghristprints@gmail.com
Files exceeding 25mb can be sent through a file sharing platform (i.e. Dropbox, Google Drive)
Google Drive will be used to share any process images and videos to the clients email.
Ink/Paper
Ink
We print with a high performance vibrant water based inks, including fluorescent, metallic, and glow in the dark. All inks are custom mixed and can vary slightly depending on what color paper or previous layers are underneath. Additional notes for the printer will also go a long way in helping us meet expectation.
Choosing ink colors from an Uncoated Pantone book can help improve color accuracy, however if you need a perfect color match an additional mixing fee will be added to cover the time an ink that requires.
Variant color ways are an option but there will be a ink swapping fee of $10 per swap.
Paper
One of the best things about screen printing is the large amount of substrates that you can print on. This means lots of paper options, we work with a number of vendors and can order most paper types. If unspecified, prints will be done on House Stock which is a smooth bright white 100# card stock. If you’re looking for a splash of color or something more unique look at the selection at French Paper Company.
Edition/Run
How many prints will you need? Picking the amount of prints to order can become tricky, make sure that you have enough extra to cover all your bases. Screen printing is done by humans and is subject to slight inconsistency. Firecrest Press we will always print 12-25% over the edition to account for these inconsistencies that don’t meet quality standards. It is rare but 5% under run does happen and will be considered acceptable. If you need to guarantee a specific number of prints you will need to make sure to order extra at least by 5%.
