Impressions - June 2018 - 27

Pushing creative boundaries is good
for your art team. Can using textures
or shapes improve your layouts?
How can an outline or different
background improve an image?

I always have trained my art staff to select mesh counts for jobs.
Your art team should know the difference between the effect a 110 or
156 mesh can have on an underbase screen, as well as the importance
of screen tension.
The art staff usually will be asked to approve a job on press. Screens
play a pivotal role in screen printing, and many registration issues are
related to screen tension. A fully trained art staff that is knowledgeable about screen-mesh choices and tension can play a big role in
producing better results.
A good way to save a lot of time for the art staff is to have your
front-end team use the same art programs as your creative team. Train
front-end staff on how to open incoming art files to check them; have
fonts converted to paths; and label all PMS colors. This goes a long way
toward preventing future problems related to fonts or colors.
Also, prevent the art department from talking to customers who
will submit order-quantity changes, pricing and other information
to anyone they can contact. Keep the communication funnel moving to the proper shop staff by channeling all client dialog to your
customer-service or sales teams, not the art department.

Start with Templates

To promote more efficiency, create art templates. This means each
time you need art for a left-chest, back or another common placement, your art department will have a fully developed place to start.
Sizing, guidelines and a color palette can be predetermined. This
saves time, since the same tasks won't require repeating when an
artist starts on a new job. Plus, it keeps things uniform if multiple
people are building files.
Many shops use custom registration marks and helpful guidelines
that print with each color to save time on press during setup. If you
do this, try to limit the size of this type of information so they can
be masked off on press with a small piece of tape. That way, you
won't need to tape off the entire top part of the screen on press to
cover things up.
When creating a template, think about how the image will be
burned on the screen for placement on press. How many inches
from the top or to the side will a left-chest image require? Build the
pasteboard template in your design program so that it matches. Set
guidelines on a layer for easy placement. Once the template is built,
anytime you separate an image for that print location, it already will
be set up for easy registration on press.

Good Habits

While artists generally can be seen as a temperamental and aloof
bunch, promote and reward great professional methods of working.
This means being proactive and working ahead of deadlines. Established guidelines should dictate when something needs to be han-

dled based on a job's quantity and ship date. Does your creative team
understand this so it can handle its workload without being told or
reminded what to do? If not, you should initiate training.
Your art team should know the exact day that a job will begin production. Screens should be ready one business day prior, and the art
file should be approved and separated one business day before that.
Without nagging, does 100% of your art get created so this happens
effortlessly? Such should be the workflow goal for your art team.
The professional end of the graphic-artist stick also means that
before the job is sent for customer approval, the image is reviewed
for accuracy. It should be matched with the job instructions to ensure the file was built correctly. Always check spelling on all text. All
Pantone colors should be labeled and the file should be built to size
correctly for the garments used.
For art approvals or mockups, the design always should be shown
on the garment color as a background. Even if the order includes
four different shirt colors, the artist should set it up showing all four
colors when seeking customer approval. This is how you discover the
navy text won't be visible on black shirts before the job is on press.
Too often, shops lose revenue as the art department has to make
new screens or the production department has to change ink colors
the day an order is printing. These charges don't end up on the invoice. If this sounds familiar, address the situation and resolve the
challenge immediately.
JUNE/JULY 2018

P.27

Impressions - June 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Impressions - June 2018