Documentos de Académico
Documentos de Profesional
Documentos de Cultura
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
CONTENTS
December 2007 TRAINING: How to Use
10 Using CorelDRAW: Using Preview Modes in Image Adjustment Lab by Corel Corp. 11 Using CorelDRAW: Bitmap vs. Vector by Dave Demoret 13 Inside Color: RAW
by David Milisock Pg 10
ADVERTISER INDEX
Click Web to go to advertisers website. Click Ad to go to the ad in this issue. Clicking the ad itself will go to website.
Colorado Heirloom Web Web Web Web Web Web Web Web Web Web Web Web Web Web Web Web Web Web Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad Ad
16 Inside Print/Sublimation: Creating Sublimation Product Templates by John McDaniel 18 Inside Screen Printing: Using Specialty Platens: Part 2 by Jeff McDaniel 21 Inside Sandblasting: Screening the Abrasive
by Judy McDaniel
Conde Systems Custom Graphic Technology Epilog Laser Corp. Geo. Knight & Co. JBL Graphics John E. Lepper Inc. Johnson Plastics Laser Reproductions LaserBits Inc. LaserSketch N&R International
Paramount Services Inc. ProLink Graphics Svc SCT Crystal The Magic Touch USA Trotec Laser Inc. Universal Laser Systems
Any process that does not have the image editor and RAW converter in a coordinated manner will totally negate any benet of using RAW. David Milisock, p. 13
5 Graphics News Wire with link to News Details
by Kathryn Arnold
36 Marketing Secrets December -- Time to Review! by Donna Gray 40 Traveling Tidbits: Rep, Volunteers, People Skills, and An Agreement
by Otis Veteto
Pg 24
DEPARTMENTS
7 About the Cover Marian Millers Snowake 10 Inside ACDRP: Winter -- Time to Prepare 38 GNN Network 38 Marketplace 39 Contributing Writers
NEXT PAGE INFO REQUEST FULL SCREEN
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
NEWS DETAILS
(Click Here)
Dog Tags for Kids Project Needs Help TheMagicTouch USA opens Florida branch SanMar debuts its 2008 Premium Collection catalog ASI launches Product Data Service for custom websites
Stahls ID Direct introduces Professor Upperplaten AWT World Trade introduces digital timer and high-output lamps Unisub introduces new ChormaLuxeTM clock Roland names David Goward president and CEO Midwest Sign to carry full line of Roland printers Midwest Sign offers Rho 600 Pictor Flatbed UV inkjet printer Colman & Co. offers new Backing-in-a-Box
Check out the upcoming training classes and trade shows of interest to CorelDRAW users.
Hirsch has Third Hand Air Cap Framing system EmbSupplies.com has Allied Grid-Lock Tubular Frames Stahls ID Direct releases CADCOLOR Solutions Opaque Johnson Plastics offers new gift items for personalization LaserBits adds cribbage boards and glass photos frames
FULL SCREEN
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
the object, and choosing effects>powerclip>edit contents (move the jpg where you want, or size it, stretch or rotate), then in the left lower corner of the screen, click on nished editing this level ). I used stained glass jpgs downloaded from websites of the numerous stained glass producers, such as Armstrong, and Spectrum Glass (mostly Spectrum Glass jpgs were used here). The line thickness was increased and line color was selected with a right click over the color palate. To ll the outside hexagon, outline was increased to 16 pts, then the object was converted to curves, and lled with a colorful jpg le. The whole design consisted of copied and pasted nished snowakes into a pattern (in this instance adjacent hexagons). The arrange>shape>trim options were used to trim off snowake areas that were not wanted. Finally, all objects were selected, grouped, and the size of the snowake design determined. A rectangle of those same dimensions was created, then centered to the page , arranged>ordered>sent to back, then lled. Contact Marian at marian@pdqpatterns. com or visit her site at www.pdqpatterns. com 3945 Red Bud Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45229, 513-558-1715 (w)
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
Inside ACDRP
DECEMBER 2007
EDITOR / PUBLISHER Michael R. Neer mikeneer@coreldrawpro.com GRAPHICS John Mise ADVERTISING John McDaniel II jhmcdaniel2@coreldrawpro.com 541-990-6687 OFFICES Membership & Publishing ofces located at: 4709 N. El Capitan, Suite 103, Fresno, CA 93722; 800-276-8428, 559-276-8494 Fax 559-276-8496 www.CorelDRAWPro.com editor@coreldrawpro.com
Subscriptions: Free to qualied individuals and businesses. Send change of address to the above. ACDRP Membership: $60/yr., See the website for details. Includes exclusive content and more. Advertising: Request a Media Guide or download it from www.CorelDRAWPro.com. Writers: CorelDRAWPro accepts articles from industry experts. Email publisher for details. Copyright 2007 by ACDRP. All Rights Reserved.
In many parts of the world, winter comes in with a white blanket of snow across the elds and streets. People tend to stay indoors out of the cold, so if you go outside, its very quiet and still. Theres less hustle and bustle in the marketplace. The pace of life is slower. Errands take longer. Holidays put the attention more on family and less on business. In fact, its a time when many industry businesses either close or are open fewer hours. Few new products are launched. Most business owners are waiting to make announcements at the start of the new year.
Published by Association of CorelDRAW Professionals President: John H. McDaniel Vice President: Judith McDaniel Executive Director: Michael R. Neer Assoc. Exec. Director: Steven V. Neer
ACDRP Corporate Ofce: Albany, OR
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
Using CorelDRAW
Using Preview Modes in Image Adjustment Lab
By Corel Corporation When working with les that have poor color balance and contrast, you need to use many different tools to make adjustments. You can save valuable time by using the Image Adjustment Lab, which is accessible from both Corel PHOTO-PAINT and CorelDRAW. By uniting the most important manual and automatic controls required for common color and tone corrections, the Image Adjustment Lab offers a fast, intuitive way to achieve professional results with your image les. With the Image Adjustment Lab, you can use different preview modes for evaluating the color and tone adjustments you make. You can preview the corrected image in a single window, view the original and corrected images in separate windows, or view the image split into original and corrected portions within one window. The Image Adjustment Lab also lets you create snapshots of your adjustments with just one click. The snapshots appear below the working preview, which lets you easily compare each snapshot against the original version and then choose the best result. To preview the corrected image in a single window After correcting the image, click the Full Preview button .
Training
To view the original and corrected images in separate windows After correcting the image, click the Before and after full preview button . To view original and corrected portions of an image in one window After correcting the image, click the Before and after split preview button .
The preview mode buttons (A) and the Create Snapshot button (B)
To capture the current version of your image Click the Create Snapshot button .
To open the Image Adjustment Lab Do one of the following: If youre working in CorelDRAW, click Bitmaps > Image Adjustment Lab. If youre working in Corel PHOTO-PAINT, click Adjust > Image Adjustment Lab.
Thumbnails of the snapshots appear in a window below your image. Each snapshot is numbered sequentially and can be deleted by clicking the Close button in the upperright corner of the snapshot title bar.
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
10
Using CorelDRAW
Bitmap vs. Vector
By Dave Demoret, Contributing writer BITMAPS One of the reasons bitmaps are not the desired image of choice in our industry is that they do not reproduce well when enlarging the image. Nor do they lend themselves to our process of decorating, at least in screen printing, embroidery and vinyl cutting, to mention a few markets. We need to use color in solid object form to achieve many of the end products we produce. Color is very difcult to change in a bitmap image so we tend to lean towards the vector side to achieve our goals. One of the most confusing issues, especially for beginners, is the difference between bitmap, also called raster, and vector images. To help clarify this, take a look at the images on the side. Bitmaps are made up of thousands of pixels, (short for picture elements), which are tiny squares, usually of different colors, that form a picture. These pixels are what make up the resolution of a given picture or bitmap image. In lithography they are commonly referred to as dpi or dots per inch thats for printing resolution. We also use the dpi designation when we are talking about pixels per inch (ppi) in our industry but thats not technically correct. Pixels per inch (ppi) refers to resolution on a monitor. However, we are looking at the scanning and the end product resolution in this article and therefore we are mostly concerned with the standard dpi measurement. Bitmaps are usually scanned into a graphics program or taken from a digital camera using the dpi designation. In the illustrations here, a 300 dpi (dots per inch) image is somewhat dened and appears to have clean edges, but as we enlarge the image we are, in effect, decreasing the dots per inch. We are making the dots themselves larger and, therefore, there are fewer dots that will t into a one inch space. By increasing the size using dpi, or enlarging the bitmap, using the dpi measurement we begin to see pixels and
Click ads to go directly to advertisers web site.
Training
very rough edge denition. This is not especially good for printing or digitizing. If you have an image to print at 300 dpi to heat press on a t-shirt, it can look pretty good, but if you want that same image to go on the back of a jacket and you try to enlarge it, you will get the jaggies. It is very difcult to take a low resolution image and increase the size while maintaining any kind of clarity or quality image. On the other hand, if you have a low resolution image that needs to be reduced, you will increase the image resolution because you will be putting more dots in that same one inch. This simply means that a 300 dpi resolution image reduced by 50% will become a 600 dpi resolution. Image Size -vs- Image DPI Allow me to take this one step further to explain image dpi versus image size. When you have a 5 x 7 photo and you scan it into your CorelDRAW or scanning software, you have the option of selecting the resolution using the dpi measurement. If you want to enlarge the photo for your project, increase the dpi. I usually scan most everything at least a minimum of 600 dpi (gure 1). Others I will scan at 1200 to 1800 dpi to get a better quality print when I enlarge it enough to t on a shirt. Yes, it does take longer to scan but the work on the other end is reduced dramatically. Remember that a 600 dpi image, when reduced, will become a 1200 dpi image. In reverse, the same 600 dpi image (gure 1), when enlarged, will become a 300 dpi image (gure 2). This is all coming from the same 5 x 7 size image. Size really doesnt make a difference. Its the resolution that will give you the quality that you are looking for. Resampling in CorelDRAW Most of the images you download
PREVIOUS PAGE NEXT PAGE CONTENTS INFO REQUEST FULL SCREEN
December 2007
11
Using CorelDRAW
from the Internet will be 72 dpi (gure 3) and some are at 96 dpi. These images are low grade and will need to be used at the existing size. You can help them a little by using the Resample in the pull down menu under Bitmaps in the Menu Bar of CorelDRAW. This wont help a lot but may give you some assistance with some images. The problem here is that the image will look slightly smoother, but if enlarged much at all you will see it as being fuzzy or out of focus (gure 4). Play with resampling at several higher dpi choices and image sizes to get a feel for what you can and can not do. VECTOR IMAGES Vector graphics are images that are made from mathematical computations. That is, there is a certain shape and color associated with an outline and that area is the vector object, as shown with one of the links here (gure 1). There are no denite objects or outlines in a bitmap. It is simply thousands, or millions of pixels, each of a different color, shade, or tint. That is why bitmaps are so hard to change easily. With a vector image, you simply select an object within the graphic and change the shape, size, and color with the tools provided in your graphics software. In contrast to the bitmap, the vector image can be enlarged to any size without any distortion of edge denition. This allows us to generate an image for a business card or a left chest logo on a t-shirt or a name tag, then turn around and enlarge that same image to be placed on a billboard without any distortion of the image. All the objects, lines, and integrity of the image are still intact (gure 2) no matter what size we select. You can also see in gure 2 with the magnication that all the lines are still crisp sharp edges with no distortions. Vector images are the base images used in embroidery, screen printing, vinyl graphics, and other markets within our graphics industry. Many manufacturers today have geared their software as an add-on to CorelDRAW because of the ease, clarity, and exibility that vector images offer. You can change a vector into a bitmap image with the click of a few buttons. It takes considerably longer, in most cases, to change a bitmap into a vector le. Most of the time
Training
you will have to manually redraw or trace the bitmap image to convert it to a vector le. There are programs out today that will convert these for you, at least up to a point. CorelDRAW is one of these programs. PowerTrace is an auto trace feature used in the latest version of CorelDRAW. Printing Images While you will want to create your graphics in a vector format, you should know some basic principles of printing these two le choices. One is that when you print a vector le it can take several times longer to print than a bitmap image of the same graphic. Therefore, for most of my printing in digital format, like sublimation or heat transfer, I will save a copy of my vector graphic as an original and make a duplicate copy to convert to a bitmap format for printing purposes. Another thing that most beginners dont know is that if you are creating an image with CMYK Color Palette and print it to an inkjet printer, you will throw off your color in the printed piece. For example, blues generally tend to turn to a violet, lavender, or purple shade. Check with your supplier or distributor to help you set your printer to Output color bitmaps as RGB. And, use your RGB Color Palette to color your graphic images. Dave Demoret, founded Prolink Graphic Services to help people understand and prot from learning CorelDRAW. He has been in both the Flat Graphics Industry and the Decorating Graphics Industry over the past 30 years. He has written several articles for Screen Graphics Magazine on Color Control & Matching in the past. Dave has used CorelDRAW since version 3 and became a CorelDRAW Training Partner in 2006. During the past 5 years he has been conducting workshops all over the U.S. and is the author of several Video CDs & Instructional CDs on CorelDRAW. Dave continues to conduct workshops in the U.S. & also worldwide online. He can be reached at 765-DO COLOR (362-6567) or by email at daved@prolinkgs.com
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
12
INSIDE COLOR
By David Milisock
Training
RAW
Wow! Powerful! Controversial! Useful! I nd the latter term to be most honest as shooting photos in the RAW format allows as much chance for the image to be ruined as it does for it to be improved. The key to it being an improved experience rather then a ruined experience is, of course, understanding what the technology is all about, work ow calibration, and your skill. First off, all cameras shoot RAW; lower-cost cameras just wont let you save the le without an automated conversion process. Here is the denition of RAW as printed in my new book Color Management in the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite for Professionals, Small Office and Home Office, capture C (to be released January 2008): RAW is a le format that is proprietary to the camera manufacturer. They are linear-gamma, grayscale images from digital color lter arrays. All these les require processing by a RAW converter to convert them to an RGB image. What this means to the user, outside of the photographic ramications, is that the user needs to understand how the process is going to affect their color. How this comes about is that the camera has a capture array that has red, green and blue sensors. Or an array that has lters to make some sensors only sensitive to red, some only to blue, and some only to green. Each set of red, blue and green sensors creates grayscale data that has to be combined to three channels. Color is not only applied to the channels based on the value of the grayscale but a color space is assigned. All cameras do this; some just dont let you do it manually. What Im saying Is that as soon as the RAW converter develops a color display, a color space has been assigned. In fact, the application has to have a standard color space to base the preview display on or your color edits would have no meaning. Stand-alone applications may allow you to choose what color space to apply to the image. Some do not; some force you to use an ultra-wide gamut RGB color space like Prophoto. RAW Lab or plug-ins within image editing applications are most likely to use the internal (working) RGB of the application. So often, it is written that RAW les have no color space and this is a true-falsehood. True, as long as they are still linear grayscale data streams of no value to anyone without a RAW converter, but false as soon as you start the process of making a universally accepted RGB image of them. The key to the process is making sure that you understand what color space your converter assigned to the image so you can coordinate the internal RGB of Corel PHOTO-PAINT. Make sure to activate the arrow from the internal RGB to the monitor. Any process that does not have the image editor and RAW converter working in a coordinated manner will totally negate any benet of using RAW. You simply wont know what colors youre really working with and thats not good for a process that was supposed to improve your work, not make it worse. To my mind, that biggest problem I see is that multiple RAW converter applications, when viewing a RAW le as shot by the camera, can have vastly different displays of the same image. See capture A & B (blurred on purpose), if you have a mind to try using RAW converting. I suggest calibrating your display system rst, as this RAW image when opened in 4 different RAW converters has the white balance temperature identied
Click ads to go directly to advertisers web site.
Coming Soon to the CorelDRAWPro Book Store! A new book by columnist David Milisock:
Color Management in the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite For Professionals, Small Ofce and Home Ofce Basic Color Theory Postscript and NonPostscript Devices RIPs for Ink Jets and Press Adobe Color Coordination Color Continuity During Exportation and Much More
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
13
INSIDE COLOR
as four different values, ranging from 2850 to 9980! OUCH! Its hard to believe that the same data has been interpreted to be as shot by the camera judging by these two images, isnt it? This can only be described as an extremely painful experience. Now you cant rely on the software to interpret the data properly, so the only thing you have that you can rely on is your calibrated work ow and your good sense. Another complaint that I have about stand-alone RAW converter applications is that, in many cases, the image display within the application is so poor that I cannot make a reasonable editing decision for any color or sharpening. The image is glassy like in Paint Shop Pro, or too soft like in Photoshop; not sharp and clear like in PHOTO-PAINT. OUCH! Please note in Capture A, the Adobe RGB color space is already in play (see lower left corner). The adjustments available as shown in this capture are typical for RAW converters, and
this capture will show them to you. I am neither pro nor con RAW. What Ive found is that it is most generally used like image editor, in place of good photography. This is not always a bad thing. Saving the cost on another shooting session through technology certainly has its selling point. Another observation Ive noticed is that as the cost of the cameras goes up, the quality of their built-in conversion also goes up. Many times they will save TIF instead of JPG les. This is a real plus. In studio settings with a superior camera you most likely will work your butt off and not be as good as the built-in RAW conversion of a studio quality camera. On site, live shoots is where the RAW conversion application seems to have a place to be most useful in my mind. Im a Corel PHOTO-PAINT guy and I love my sharp clean PHOTO-PAINT display. So until Corel PHOTO-PAINT has a RAW converter, Im sticking with the camera conversion and a TIF le for studio work. But I will certainly use RAW when it benets my client, which benets me. Watch out next month its going to be HOT! David Milisock is president of Custom Graphic Technologies Inc. He has been in the print production business since 1975, and specializes in professional support for the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite. He can be reached at 717-509-3523 or davidmilisock@comcast.net. See full bio on Writers Page.
Captures A & B: Two blurry images (on purpose) showing what happens to the white balance when opened in different RAW converters. This is typical.
Turbo-charge your networking with unique strategies that work. Chien attends 10-12 events a week, and has created a system for turning contacts into customers, and customers into lifelong relationships.
www.coreldrawpro.com/allbookstore.htm
Click ads to go directly to advertisers web site.
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
14
INSIDE TRANSFERS
By Bill Leek
Applications
I have to be honest..My normal inclination after the holiday season is to relax and take it easy for a few weeks. It seems that after a very busy year I really deserve it. But small- to medium-size business owners cannot afford to do this. The few weeks of relative calm after Christmas are too valuable to squander. Every year I write up an action plan for January. Hear are some ideas that you may nd valuable: 1) Follow the lead of the big retailers. Valentines Day is almost here and Easter is early this year. Get your new spring displays, mailings, emails and catalogs out right after the holidays. Highlight some new products with spring themes every year. 2) Offer January specials with sizable discounts if you anticipate a slow month. Use coupons and thank you gifts to show appreciation to your loyal, long-term customers. 3) B r i g h t e n u p y o u r display space with new graphics, fixtures and lighting. Look into new LED displays. They offer superior lighting at significantly lower cost and maintenance. LED
than others? Determine how to build on your strengths and possibly remove yourself from markets that are not protable. 8) Organize an email list of all your existing customers and solid leads. Improve your communications with a newsletter. Dont overkill with your emailstheres a ne line between informative and irritating. 9) Sit down and list your major accomplishments and failures of the past year. Try to assign a quantitative measure where you can. Make a detailed list in each area and honestly investigate what resulted in success or failure. 10) Come up with a list of 10-20 goals that you can realistically achieve in 2008. These goals can be dened as specic actions or nancial results. Create a small poster and display it in place where you will see it every day. Go over the list every month and ask yourself how you are doing. I wish you all a Very Happy New Year. I will try to keep you informed of all the exciting technical and market developments in 2008. Thanks for all your questions, ideas and support during the past year.
Add quality imprintables from Unisub for the Valentines Day market.
December 2007
15
INSIDE PRINT/SUBLIMATION
By Judy and John McDaniel
Applications
of your printer and heat press. The largest transfer that can be printed or pressed will determine the upper limit of the templates page size. These factors are only of concern for large items like shirts. In our shop, we have both wide format (11inch) and standard (8.5 inch) sublimation printers. We can choose roll material or standard sheets. Currently our largest at press is 14 x 16 inches, so thats our upper limit for at product images. Creating a T-shirt Template Remember, creating a template is something you only do one time for each item in your inventory and for any variations you would like to have available. Creating
Photo 2
Last time we finished all the background stuff; now well get on to making things. Well start with at products, which include plaques; tiles; shirts and other garments; etc. Later well explore specialty items like cups. Creating a Product Template File The rst step in designing graphics for any new product that we intend to make again and again is to create a product template. Templates give us layouts into which we can place our text and graphics. They may take a little time to set up initially, however they make it much easier and faster to produce products once the templates are available.
December 2007
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
16
INSIDE PRINTING
ok for an adult large or XL shirt, but you may want to adjust the area for smaller shirts. As a part of this layout Ive created a couple of layers. One Ive called text and one picture. These layers will be used for the graphic elements of the nal template. As an option, you can also create a nonprinting layer that contains a rectangle. Since the layout is off centered, you can use the rectangle to align your text and graphics, but the rectangle will not print. (See picture 1) Save Your Template You can now save this simple layout as a CorelDRAW template. To do that click on File/Save As and select CDT CorelDRAW Template (see picture 2). I normally save templates in a special folder; however, if youre using Windows Vista, its sort capabilities reduce the need to organize your les. (See picture 3) You can use this generic template as is. You can also use it as a base for creating other templates. Next time well make some additions to customize it for a special occasion. Well also look at how we can use templates. Judy and John McDaniel are owners of JHM Marketing in Albany, OR. JHM provides consulting and training services for the industry. For information on training services offered and their application support service visit www.CorelDRAWhelp.com. They can be reached by phone at 541-967-4271, via SKYPE (user name JHMcDaniel), or via email at mail@CorelDRAWhelp.com. See full bio on Writers Page.
a template le takes a little time in the beginning but saves a lot of time in the long run. With these factors in mind, Ill go through the steps of creating a special-occasion t-shirt template. The rst one Ill create will be in portrait orientation. If youd like to follow along, open CorelDraw to a new project, 11 x 17 paper, and set the orientation to portrait. Set Guidelines Next well bring in some guidelines. These will help us see the image area we have to work with. For this project, Ill set guidelines at inch in from the left and right; 1 inch in from the top and 3 inches up from bottom. The guides are for visual reference. This is the maximum text and graphics layout area. Since this is a vertical layout, our graphic will be 1 inch down from the top edge of the transfer. If we set the shirt on the press with the collar at the top edge, then all well have to do is align the transfer to the top edge of the press and the image will be 1 inch down from the shirt collar. Ive limited the vertical image area to 13 inches. Allowing an inch down from the top will make the bottom of the image 14 inches down from the collar. Thats
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
17
Applications
exposure unit, attach our blackout board and expose the screen (see gure 3). Exposing Step 3: After exposure, we need to rinse out our screen and inspect it to be certain we have a complete rinse (see gure 4).
Figure 4
Figure 5 Exposing Step 4: Once the image is rinsed out, it is time to put the screen back in the dryer (see gure 5).
Figure 6
Exposing Step 2: Next, we need to put our rst image back on the exposure unit and re-install the screen on the printing system. Then, we can bring the screen down on the
Click ads to go directly to advertisers web site.
December 2007
18
Figure 7
Figure 8
Locating the pocket patch on the shirt There are a couple of different ways to locate the pocket patch on the shirt. The rst thing to consider is where you want it to end up on the wearer. If the patch is too far toward the sleeve the image will end up under the wearers arm pit. If the image is too far up toward the neck the image will not look right either. A good way to gure out the correct location is by looking at a shirt that has a pocket patch on it (maybe one or two are in your closet right now). Another way to locate the pocket patch is to put on the shirt size that you wear and mark off where you think it feels correct and comfortable. Once you have decided where you would like the patch, keeping it in the same relative location on all of the different sizes is not too difcult. The actual placement of the shirt can be accomplished a couple of different ways that we know of. Which you prefer will depend mostly on if you are more accurate with sight or touch. The sight method involves using a masking tape strip to mark the desired location on the shirt prior to loading it onto the platen (see gure 11). Figure 11
Re-Align Step 2: The black screen is a little bit off (see gure 7), so we will need to use the Printa 770 micro-adjustment knobs to bring it back into alignment (see gure 8).
Figure 9
Masking off the screen Now that our artwork is lined up correctly, we can mask the rest of the screen off. Wherever we dont want the ink to run through the screen needs to be masked off (see gures 9 and 10).
Figure 12 Figure 10 Once you have your marking in place you can load the shirt on the platen and have a nice representation that you are placing the design in the desired location (see gure 12).
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
19
We prefer the sight method because it works well with our equipment. The Print All system from Printa Systems Inc. uses a smaller platen for pocket patches. The smaller platen allows us to load sizes from youth XS adult 5X without stretching. The touch method involves using a standard platen and adding a riser underneath where the pocket patch will be printed (a piece of cut cardboard or thin wood of the appropriate size). With this method you can feel when the shirt is in the correct location and begin printing from there. Figure 14
Figure 13
Figure 16
Printing Step 3: Our rst color will need to be ash cured (see gure 16).
Printing Step 4: Now we can add our second color (see gure 17).
Printing Step 5: Finally we can do the finish cure step, paying attention to the temperature gauge (see gure 18). After nal curing, it is always a good idea to take at least a sampling of the product and wash it to be certain of the curing. All of the information on post-job clean-up can be found in the CorelDRAWPro archives for September. Conclusion This time we took our screens out of the dryer and pushed our project all the way to its completion. Figure 15 Figure 18 Jeff McDaniel is the Owner/Operator of Creative Graphic in Philomath, Oregon. Jeff has been working with computers since the age of 5 and was a journeyman machinist before working in the graphic arts business. Creative Graphic offers services including laser engraving, rotary engraving, sandblasting, sublimation, image transfers, vinyl signs, banners, screen printing, and promotional products. Jeff routinely applies graphics to a wide variety of materials. You can contact Jeff by email at Jeff@creativegraphic.net.
CONTENTS INFO REQUEST FULL SCREEN
Inking the screens, printing, and curing Since we have resolved our location issues with the pocket patch, we are ready to ink the screens, print, and cure. Printing Step 1: Inking the screens is fairly straightforward (see gure 13).
Figure 17
Printing Step 2: Using the squeegee we will screen our rst color (see gure 14) and check the quality of the image (see gure 15).
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
20
INSIDE SANDBLASTING
By Judy McDaniel
Applications
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
21
INSIDE ENGRAVING
By John McDaniel
Applications
cut, the tool and its sharpness, the depth of cut, the material feed rate, and whether or not lubricant is used. The cutting force may also vary over the length of the job as the tools cutting edge wears and becomes dull. Machine Component Looseness In addition to the cutting force not being uniform throughout the 360 of tool rotation, looseness in the machines structure will also vary. For example during the cutting operation, as the tool transitions through 0 and 180 of rotation, X axis hysteresis will be a factor in overall machine looseness but Y axis hysteresis will have no effect. At 90 and 270 the Y axis will become a factor but the X axis will have no impact. In the real world any looseness in the machine will cause an oscillation in the cut which will have its own angle. If we could slow the tools movement, we would see this oscillation as a sharp jump in the positional relationship between the tool and material being cut. In the nished product this sharp jump in position will result in a jagged cut.
CONTENTS INFO REQUEST FULL SCREEN
December 2007
NEXT PAGE
22
INSIDE ENGRAVING
If the cutting oscillation is at any angle other than the direction of the cut and the oscillation is great enough, a jagged cut will be visible in the nished product. A cut deviation of as little as .001 is visible to the naked eye, and will most commonly show up on curves and circles, but may show up on straight lines as well. To illustrate this point a little further and perhaps make it somewhat clearer, Id like to refer to diagrams 3 and 4. For purposes of these illustrations, we will assume we have a machine that has some looseness, on both the X and Y axes. However the rest of the machine is structurally solid, the frame is rigid, and no other components have any looseness. Making these assumptions and disregarding the variation in force caused by the cutter as it travels through the material, we will have cutting oscillations at 0, 180, 90, and 270 during the tools rotation. As the tool travels through the material on its path, these oscillations will cause a slight variation in the centerline of the tools cut. Diagram 3 shows a horizontal tool path. While the machine is cutting in this direction any X axis looseness will be masked by the cutter path itself, however looseness in the Y axis will result in a slight oscillation in the cutters horizontal position and therefore a deviation in its cut. Diagram 4 shows the effect of the X axis looseness which will impact vertical lines. As you can see from this discussion and these illustrations, structural integrity, i.e. looseness in the components from which a machine is constructed, can make a signicant difference in quality of the nished products that a machine will produce. Next time well consider structural tolerances and their impact. John McDaniel with his wife Judy are owners of JHM Marketing in Albany, OR. JHM provides consulting and training services for the industry. For information on training services offered and their application support service visit www.CorelDRAWhelp.com. They can be reached by phone at 541-967-4271, via SKYPE (user name JHMcDaniel), or via email at JHMcDaniel@CorelDRAWhelp.com. See the full bio on the Writers Page.
December 2007
23
LASER TIP
By Kathryn Arnold
Applications
Figure 2
In this lesson we will take a look at using cardstock to create a card and an announcement. See the Figure 4 examples of a holiday card and a birth announcement gratuitously they are of my family! (Figure 1 & Figure 2).
1) In CorelDRAW use any pattern, image, text you wish. Be sure that there is a clear and discernible vector line that will be laser cut and yield a cut piece from the cardstock. 2) See the clear (red) cut line it goes fully around my object, even the bow portion (important!). I then duplicated my object to t as many as possible on my 8 x 11 cardstock. (See Figure 3). 3) I saved this le as my master le that I could return to at any point. I then created two copies -- one that will be used to send the le to my printer and one that will be used to send the le to my laser engraver. (See Figure 4). 4) In the master le I have every part of what my end product will have. In the le for my printer I only have the parts that the printer will print in this example,
Click ads to go directly to advertisers web site.
December 2007
24
ELECTRONICS FRONTIER
By Louie Alvarez
Opportunity
Webcams
Webcams are an interesting subject which I am intimately familiar with. Some typical questions are: what are they, what purpose do they serve, what benet are they, what to look for, and various other questions, concerns and issues. Webcams surely bring back a memory or two, not all that great, I might add! I remember when they rst became usable primarily due to the Internet having affordable true broadband. First experiences The choppy, poor quality of dial-up service simply didnt make this a useful technology. Short of communicating with far-ung family members, it left much to be desired. With my immediate family living in Las Vegas and all other family (parents, siblings, cousins, etc.) living in California, this was a technology I thought would be useful to keep in touch. So I set up my computer and my moms computer with Webcams to stay in touch. Needless to say, with the poor quality, terrible tracking (had to keep perfectly still because video frames didnt refresh fast enough), the hard-to-see tiny video window, and poorly synchronized voices to the faces (we looked like a badly translated kung fu movie), the novelty quickly wore off. (Id say in about 30 minutes.) Second attempt So I promptly dumped the technology for the next few years until I started seeing broadband picking up the pace and more interest in Webcams becoming obvious from all the new devices on the market. So about three years ago a wireless Webcam caught my eye and I decided to put it to the test once again. Considering I was, by then, traveling quite extensively (about 40,000 miles a year), I gured Id use it to monitor my home. I had two teenagers and a 5-year-old at home at the time while I was on the road and my wife was still at work. (She normally didnt get off work until about two hours after school was out.) So this looked to be a cool device to see if, as the clich goes, when the cats away the mice will play. I proceeded to position this wireless Webcam strategically to allow viewing of my living room, including the back door. Plus to get to the front door, or side door, you would have to pass through the eld of the camera. My little one loved the idea of being on camera for her daddy and would dance, play and make funny faces for me. Pretty cool, actually! That in itself almost justied the camera, but needless to say, my teenagers, even my wife, didnt take to the idea too well. So it was returned and life continued on as usual. That experience did show me that the broadband
Click ads to go directly to advertisers web site.
speeds, the quality of the video feeds, the prevalence on the net of live cams, and the quality of the video cameras (better known as Webcams) had progressed to a level of usefulness and I could see the potential of this technology. With that said, lets get into the heart of this article. So what are webcams? Basically, they are digital cameras attached to the computer and connected to the Web or Instant Messaging (IM). This allows the camera to be linked to a website or to each other directly, and individuals who view the website or IM are able to see what the camera is viewing at that moment. You can choose to get either still pictures that are updated at regular intervals (Snapshot), or live streams (Streaming), depending on what your bandwidth permits. The WebCam technology has advanced sufciently now to make it both easier and cheaper to maintain a camera that is refreshing an image 24 hours a day. Features of Web Cameras: Listed here are some of the features more commonly found in WebCams: 1. Live streaming video / still pictures updated 2. No plug-in or software necessary to view image; can be viewed with any Web browser 3. Live audio 4. Incorporation with other software such as Instant Messaging (IM) 5. Adding captions/logos/time displays 6. Archiving video 7. Chat feature
CONTENTS INFO REQUEST FULL SCREEN
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
25
ELECTRONIC FRONTIER
WebCams in an instructional scenario could be used to: Monitor your staff or employees, thus being able to guide them better. Telecommute to companies worldwide and demonstrate project procedures Broadcast seminars, workshops, or demonstrations Share special events and programs with students enrolled in distance learning courses Hold a video press conference, online meeting, or broadcast meetings and discussions In some cases, it is important for the learner to be able to establish a connection visually; WebCams could be a good alternative to using text les or audio les. Join WebCam groups and allow students to take advantage of other WebCam locations for educational purposes. Using a web camera allows learners to be a part of either a conference or class/studio. Benets of using WebCams: a. The most important advantage of using a web camera is that it creates a direct link between the camera and the live site, and dispenses with all the production work. Production work in this context includes the cost and effort involved in shooting, editing, and streaming videos. Thus, using a WebCam does not require advanced skills. b. The software is basically a Web server that runs on your system and pushes images out to a Web page. For viewers of images delivered over a WebCam, one of the benets is that they get the entire picture, preferable in certain cases, rather than a sleek edited version. c. WebCam technology can also be used for remote surveillance systems,
monitoring events or places, and broadcasting live events. d. Learners can link to a web camera-monitored location and just watch; or also have an additional web camera in their own location, enabling two-way communication. Setting up your WebCam: a. Setting up your own WebCam obviously requires a computer, a WebCam (the hardware) and WebCam software along with a broadband Internet connection. Before you decide which camera to buy and which software to acquire, youll have to review the different methods to show pictures or video feed through the Internet (i.e. refreshed after x amount of seconds). This will enable you to decide which hardware and software solution will t your situation best. b. P l a c e m e n t of a camera is an important decision to be made. Decide whether a static angle is sufcient to demonstrate the concept, or a moving camera (handheld) is required. It is important however to remember the limitations of using WebCams, and leave the panoramic and other fancy shots to more sophisticated video; Use WebCams for videos that require more focus, and ones that require a smaller viewing/movement range. c. For detailed technical instructions on using WebCams, visit http://developers.webcamworld. com/methods.html
Click ads to go directly to advertisers web site. PREVIOUS PAGE
d. Here is a good resource for inexpensive Webcams on the market: http://castle.pricewatch. com/s/search.asp?s=webcams e. For an in-depth review of various Webcams on the market go to this link: http://reviews.cnet. com/4244-6502_7-0-1.html?query=web&tag=cat_ 1 f. There are many Webcam examples online; here are a couple: http://www.webcamworld.com/ or http://www.leonardsworlds.com/camera.html By the way, DONT TELL MY KIDS! I picked up a Logitech QuickCam Pro 4000 not too long ago. My family doesnt know why I got it or what my intention is, but I can say that now that my kids are 17, 16 & 8, my job as a parent is to ensure the mice dont play when the cats away Louie Alvarez began acquiring his experience in the awards and engraving industry in Central California over 15 years ago, rst as an employee of the largest and oldest trophy shop and then as owner of one of the rst laser engraving businesses. Louie has been a featured workshop instructor and seminar speaker throughout the industry in addition to being a contributing writer to numerous industry publications. Louie is based in Las Vegas, NV, and can be reached at alvarezwriting@gmail.com.
December 2007
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
26
THE WORLDS ONLY ASSOCIATION FOR CORELDRAW USERS INVITES YOU TO MAKE MORE MONEY WITH CORELDRAW!
The Association of CorelDRAW Professionals is The Education & Business Resource for CorelDRAW Users Worldwide.
Its goal is to help: 1) IMPROVE your CorelDRAW skills, and 2) MAKE MONEY with those skills! You can participate in ACDRP services in four ways:
SUBSCRIBE -- NO CHARGE All users of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite are qualied to subscribe free to CorelDRAWPro magazine (PDF format) and CorelDRAWPro E-News. CorelDRAWPro, the Entrepreneurial magazine for CorelDRAW users, features in-depth content on: How to Use CorelDRAW -- tips, tricks, advanced artwork, success stories, interviews, and more. How to Apply CorelDRAW -- for graphic production processes such as embroidery, engraving, heat printing, laser, promo products, printing, sandblasting, signmaking, sublimation, and screenprinting. How to Prot from CorelDRAW -- Product news, business columns, reviews, proles, and advertising with live links. JOIN -- $60 PER YEAR All users of CorelDRAW are invited to join the Association and take advantage of exclusive content, discounts, and professional recognition. ACDRP membership includes: Subscription to CorelDRAWPro & CorelDRAWPRo E-News TTF Newsletter. Subscription to the monthly Tips, Templates & Fixtures Newsletter only available to members. GSG Basic Listing. You can list your services in the Graphic Services Guide in one category as part of membership (a $25 value). Access to QuickLearn. A keyword searchable database of 100s of articles on CorelDRAW, graphics production, and business. Access to QuickTnT. A growing database of CorelDRAW tips for understanding the ne points of the program, and templates that can be downloaded to speed up your production. Access to Archives. Past issues of CorelDRAWPro are available to members with live links. Bookstore Discounts. Members receive a 10% discount on all products in the CorelDRAWPro Bookstore. Professional Recognition. Use of the ACDRP logo for professional identication on business cards, websites, and letterhead. You also receive a membership certicate. Classified Ads. Members can place one classied ad per year at no charge with photo, and run it till the item is sold! (a $35 value)
QuickTNT
Archives
TTF
CorelDRAWPro E-News is a free digital newsletter delivered to you twice a month focused on Industry News via the Graphics News Wire, Links to valuable resources, and a complete education and show Calendar. S BASIC GSG LISTING -- $25 PER YR The Graphic Services Guide is the Industry Yellow Pages for Services and Finished Goods. GSG is promoted in all our publications and our website to the world of CorelDRAW users. Your listing gives you the opportunity to promote your services (in any of 40 categories) to other CorelDRAW users. The Basic Listing includes: your company description email link, and listing in one category. Additional service categories are $10 each per year.
QuickLearn
Classieds
ENHANCED GSG LISTING -- $50/$75 PER YR The Enhanced GSG Listing is for companies that want to list in two categories and add a photo or logo. MULTI-SERVICE GSG LISTING -- $120/$145 PER YR The Multi-Service GSG Listing allows you to list up to 40 different service categories with detailed descriptions and add a photo or logo.
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
To Subscribe (no charge) To Join ($60/yr) To List in the Graphic Services Guide ($25 Basic $50/$75 Enhanced, or $120/145 for Multi-Service)
CorelDRAW is a registered trademark of Corel Corp., and is used with permission. Click ads to go directly to advertisers web site.
December 2007
27
For more information on the products in this article, click on the Info Request button at the bottom of each page, and select by company name or product. You might open the Info Request page, and minimize it as you read. That way you can quickly open it and check the products you want. EQUIPMENT ANAJET DIRECT-TO-GARMENT DIGITAL PRINTER AnaJet Digital Apparel Printer (Model FP-125) from AnaJet Inc. in Costa Mesa, CA, is a direct-to-garment printer offering high quality and affordability. It can print custom graphics on any cotton or polycotton at textile material in one minute. The printer, priced affordably from under $13,000, can produce up to 5,000 shirts per month, each retailing for about $20. Most printers installed so far are in a production plant environment, but some customers have started to take the mobile printer to malls for instant printing of customer graphics. According to Dr. Chase Roh, company president, the unique printhead they have developed allows for 16x more ink ow than normal desktop printers, and thus shirts only require one pass.
December 2007
28
ARMS (Advanced Registration Marks System), and combined with a desktop printer, the Craft ROBO Pro makes contour cutting an easy task. Innovations include: a new digital servo motor, rst mark auto-sensing, menu navigation system that includes 8 user-dened conditions, Tangential Control, and three software applications. ROLAND RELEASES DIRECT-TO-FABRIC PRINTER Roland DGA Corp. of Irvine, CA, released the new 74 HeatWave DFP-74 Fabric Printer through its reseller channel in the U.S. Based on Rolands HeatWave sublimation technology, the DFP-74 Fabric Printer is a complete, integrated solution and Rolands rst inkjet ever to support direct printing onto polyester fabrics. As a complete solution including printer, sublimation unit, inks and RIP software, the DFP-74 makes it easier than ever for shops to enter the fast-growing textile printing market. Key features include: eight advanced piezo print heads, an intelligent media handling system, and a temperature-controlled heating system. HOTRONIX PERFECT PRESSURE HEAT PRESS Hotronix of Carmichaels, PA, has taken heat press technology to the next level with Perfect Pressure, a new digital pressure display function.This new feature has a single-digit LED readout that measures the pressure of the inner platen. This technology is exclusive to Hotronix and is patent pending. Previously, a digital pressure display was available only on air-operated heat press machines. With this new pressure display gauge, all heat press users will have more consistent results from job to job reducing the number of misprints and speeding up production. For more information about the new digital pressure display, contact Stahls Hotronix at 800-478-2457; e-mail: info@stahls.com or visit the Web site at www.stahls.com. SWF DREAM EMBROIDERY MACHINE With its new DREAM Machine, SWF has broken the barrier in multi-head embroidery machine technology. The DREAM machines are the rst multi-head embroidery machines that truly can sew at 1,500 stitches per minute. During the research and development of these new machines, 12 new patents were led and granted, proof that the DREAM machines are built with state-of-the-art technology.
Click ads to go directly to advertisers web site.
Innovations include: LED control panel, error codes to quickly troubleshoot problems; optional devices to do sequins, cording, and boring; automatic oiling system, large memory, a hoop selector and more. These innovative new machines come in congurations ranging from two to six heads. It is distributed exclusively by SWF East (Tampa, FL) and SWF MESA (Dallas, TX). MESAS HOTFIX SPANGLE MOTIF MACHINE With the all new YAS-11, Hotx Spangle Motif Making Machine, the rst of its kind in the United States, you can create beautiful spangle transfer designs that have the look of sequins. This patented machine, which is distributed exclusively in the United States by MESA Distributors of Fort Worth, TX, cuts out shapes such as circles and squares in a range of sizes from reels of Mylar tape. The machine comes with proprietary design software that allows the user to create any pattern or design up to 15.7 by 15.7 inches. SAWGRASS HYBRID SYSTEM FOR EPSON R1800 Sawgrass Technologies of Mt. Pleasant, SC, introduced the SubliJet/ChromaBlast Hybrid System for the Epson R1800 for both sublimation printing and cotton decorating from one machine. The affordable, entrylevel system features dual functionality with both SubliJet and ChromaBlast inks in one machine, allowing users to create customized images with superior color and clarity on both polyester coated substrates and cotton garments. This is the second hybrid system from Sawgrass, following in the footsteps of the popular SubliJet/ChromaBlast Hybrid System for the Epson 4800. TROTECS NEW LARGE PLATFORM LASER Trotec Laser, Inc. of Ypsilanti, MI, has introduced the SP500 series of laser engraving and cutting systems. The systems have a work area of 50 X 28 and X-Axis clearance of 12. The systems are offered in power levels from 45W-200W. There is an available pass-through option (Class 4). Exhaust fumes are captured
PREVIOUS PAGE NEXT PAGE CONTENTS INFO REQUEST FULL SCREEN
December 2007
29
at the laser head to insure an efcient extraction when using the pass-through feature.Trotec systems are designed for minimal wear-and-tear and eliminate the need for periodic replacement of belts and bearings. For additional information visit our web site www.trotec.net or call 866-226-8505, 734-484-3260. UNIVERSAL LASERS NEW PROFESSIONAL SERIES Universal Laser Systems, Inc. (ULS) of Scottsdale, AZ, added four new models in its Professional Laser Series (PLS) line of advanced, high-productivity computer-controlled CO2 laser cutting, marking, and engraving systems. The new PLS line, which replaces Universals M, V, and X laser systems, incorporates a host of evolutionary design improvements to the laser cartridge, platform chassis, system electronics, and software interface. The new PLS models include several powerful new features: most notably, a unique materialsbased print driver called Laser Interface + that gives users their choice between automatic or manual control over power, speed, and other system settings. For more information on Universal Laser Systems, Inc. call 1-800-859-7033 or visit Universal Laser Systems online at www.ulsinc.com. UNIVERSAL LASERS NEW VERSALASER Universal Laser Systems, Inc. (ULS) added a new version of its desktop-sized VersaLaser computer-controlled CO2 laser cutting, marking, and engraving system. The new VersaLaser improves on the award-winning original thanks to a host of evolutionary design renements. It also includes a unique, next-generation materials-based print driver that automatically calculates power, speed, and other system settings. It was awarded a patent for the unique design of its external cabinet, which also functions as a Class 1 laser safety enclosure. For more information about VersaLaser or Universal Laser Systems, Inc. call 1-800-859-7033 or visit www.ulsinc.com.
US SCREENS FAST T-JET 3 U.S. Screen Print and Inkjet Technology of Tempe, AZ, adds the Fast T-Jet3TM, which features 30% faster print speeds compared to the previous T-Jet2 model, and has a longer low prole print bed for easier loading and unloading. Now you can produce a full size 12 x 12 (30.5 x 30.5 cm) print in one minute on a light shirt and in under three minutes on a black shirt with white ink. Small pocket images can be printed in about 15 seconds. US SCREENS AUTOMATED PRETREATMENT CENTER Speed up production when using Fast T-Jet inkjet-to-garment printers with the AutoTREAT Automatic Pretreatment Center. This versatile piece of equipment allows you to treat shirts on a production level rather than spraying shirts individually one at a time. For use with light or dark shirts, the AutoTREAT can spray up to three shirts per minute. It has two application modesone for lights and one for darks that can be switched over by activating the cleaning mode, which ushes out the system with water. TOOLS / MATERIALS / SOFTWARE CORELDRAW X3 CERTIFIED FOR WINDOWS VISTA Corel Corp. of Ottawa, ON, announced that CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 has been Certied for Windows Vista. Customers who wish to install the Certied for Windows Vista version of CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X3 can download the latest service pack (SP2) from www.corel.com. This new update delivers an exceptional experience for customers on Windows Vista including an updated user interface, enhanced security, improved text handling, and further enhancements to the popular suites renowned import and export le compatibility. COREL LAUNCHES NEW ONLINE COMMUNITY Corel Corp. of Ottawa, ON, announced that it has launched http://coreldraw.com/, a new online community for users of the CorelDRAW family of products including CorelDRAW Graphics Suite, Corel DESIGNER Technical Suite
PREVIOUS PAGE NEXT PAGE CONTENTS INFO REQUEST FULL SCREEN
December 2007
30
and Corel DRAWings . This new community site is the rst in a series that Corel will be launching to support its various user communities. Designed to fuel inspiration, CorelDRAW.com combines forums, blogs and galleries for design professionals and graphic hobbyists alike. Forums are available in English, French, German and Spanish, serving an international audience. DALCOS NEW REFLECTIVE HEAT TRANSFERS Cater to the safety market with new reective transfers offered by Dalco Athletic of Dallas, TX. These durable transfers come in a reective silver gray color in three styles: police, sheriff, and re dept. They are sized for left chest and full back, so all you have to do is heat seal for 8 seconds and youre done! Its very fast and easy. DALCOS NEW OPTIC YELLOW CLASSIC SWB APPLIQUE Classic SWB appliqu designs offered by Dalco Athletic, now come in two new styles: softballs and tennis balls in optic yellow fabric. These new balls literally jump off any wearable and make it an eyecatching standout. This appliqu collection is ideal for spiritwear items to be sold to fans and family or created as fund-raisers for boosters clubs. POWER GRAPHICS 3 FROM DIGITAL ART SOLUTIONS Power Graphics 3 by Digital Art Solutions of Tempe, AZ, is the ultimate design tool for the creation of high-end custom graphics and logos for custom signage, awards, vehicle graphics, promotional products, and apparel graphics. Tuned to the latest styles and trends, it provides fresh graphics that will impress even the most critical and demanding customer. It includes more than 1,500 images. The 10 design categories include: Flames, Gangsta (Urban), Mascots, Offroad, Rebel (Biker and Hot Rod), Retro, Speed, Sports, Surf, and Tuner.
FLORIANI COMMERCIALS NEW NO-SHOW DIAMOND MESH Continuing in its tradition of research and development to create embroidery stabilizers that meet the needs of todays embroiderers, Floriani Embroidery Commercial Division of Knoxville, TN, released a new product called Floriani No-Show Diamond Mesh. This unique nylon mesh stabilizer has a perpendicular embossed pattern that makes it more multi-directionally stable and enables it to better hold stitches for crisper design registration. It is specically designed for light-colored garments where traditional stabilizers have a tendency to show through the front of the garment. GREAT DANES NEW DIGITAL PHOTO FRAMES Tap into the lucrative team market with an incredible collection of stock art specially designed to work for direct-to-garment printers, sublimation transfers, and digital transfers. Digital Photo Frames Volume 1 is a collection of spectacular predesigned layouts each with one or more frames to insert personal photos. The collection includes ve categories: baseball, football, basketball, soccer, and hockey. Each category has four designs (20 total layouts) and each design comes in three template formats: mugs, mouse pads, and shirts. So there are a total of 60 template designs in all. IMPRINTABLES WAREHOUSE OFFERS SPECTRA ECO FILM New from Imprintables Warehouse of Masontown, PA, is a digital cutter material that is free of PVC, a plus with companies that want to be as environmentally friendly as possible. Spectra Eco Film is made with ecological polyurethane and is peeled hot. It is pressure sensitive (sticky backing), and extremely easy to weed. While maintaining superior durability and opacity, this new lm is thinner than current offerings on the market and delivers the super soft hand that is in demand by todays consumers. It can be used on 100% cotton, 100% polyester, poly/cotton blends, and even nylon and leather.
PREVIOUS PAGE NEXT PAGE CONTENTS INFO REQUEST FULL SCREEN
December 2007
31
KISSCUT TECHNOLOGIES SELF-WEEDING INKJET TRANSFER PAPER Kiss Cut Technologies Ltd Newcastle, UK, has addressed the polymer window issue and developed the worlds rst self-weeding inkjet transfer paper for printing to textiles. In simple terms only the areas of their patented transfer paper that have been printed will be transferred to the garment when heat pressed. A Kiss Cut print can be further embellished with specialized textile foils so in effect a digital foiling method is now available. Foil is heat pressed onto the garment and when peeled the foil only sticks to the image areas. LASERSKETCHS NEW PHOTOPLAS-TIC MATERIAL LaserSketch.com of Lemont, IL, a leading supplier of LaserGrade Absolute Black Marble, Super Black Granite, and Black Onyx Jewelry, introduces their new PhotoPlasTic. This is a new material developed for front and/or reverse laser engraving on micro surface impact acrylic plastic. It is a premium plastic for laser engraving that is UV stable, ideal for photo badges, plaques, trophies, signage, and high-end awards. Each sheet of PhotoPlas-Tic is specially designed for a crisp, clean burn and ultra-ne laser lettering, logo, and vector output. For details, call 630-243-6360 or visit www.lasersketch.com THEMAGICTOUCH LAUNCHES WOW TRANSFER PAPER TheMagicTouch USA launched WoW Professional 7.1 transfer paper, which requires no weeding or prole cutting, and the vibrant colors are achieved using digital laser technology, making it great for short runs. It uses Polymation TM., which incorporates a newly designed catalyst that provides the ultimate compatibility with all generations of dry toner material. According to the company, PolymationTM is the next generation of laser heat transfer. Sublimation requires the substrate to have a specialty receiving polymer coating to absorb the pigments, but PolymationTM delivers everything at once: polymer, pigments and catalyst.
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
32
INKTRA STRETCH TRANSFER PAPER FROM STAHLS Stahls, based in St. Clair Shores, MI, adds InkTra Stretch, a flexible transfer paper. A revolutionary product, InkTra Stretch provides a soft hand with an amazing stretch and recovery feature. InkTra Stretch lets you take your favorite photo or graphic design and apply it to light colored or white hats, shirts, bags, and more for a long lasting and completely personalized garment. The highly stretchable paper can be applied to cotton, poly/cotton blends, spandex, and Lycra. TRANSFER EXPRESS GOOF-PROOF TRANSFERS Want the look of screen printing without the hassle? With Goof Proof transfers, offered by Transfer Express of Mentor, OH, you can custom order a transfer that has the popular athletic feel and will apply in a blazing four seconds! Ordering is done step-by-step online, and you can customize hundreds of designs. You choose your typeface, colors, and size. Once your design is just the way you want it, you can print it out to show a customer for approval. Or Transfer Express can print from your artwork. The minimum order is only ve pieces, and your one-color order ships in one to three working days. TRANSFER EXPRESS NEW FULL-COLOR DIGI PRINTS Apparel decorators can now offer full-color designs on light and dark apparel made of virtually any type of fabric without the hassle or minimums of screen printing with new state-of-the-art heat transfer technology called Digi Prints. Offered through Transfer Express, this revolutionary new method of decorating
offers distinct advantages over any other process. It allows for an unlimited number of colors and very ne detail, which is impossible with screen printing or embroidery. And the cost does not go up as colors are added. These new specialty materials are so advanced, they can be heat sealed to all kinds of fabrics, and hot new multimedia designs can be easily done. VAPOR APPAREL LAUNCHES VAPOR ART VOLUME 1 Va p o r A p p a r e l , a subsidiary of SourceSubstrates LLC, Charleston, SC, announces the launch of Vapor Art Volume 1, a collection of 127 vector graphics for digital sublimation and general use. The diverse collection of high-quality graphics comes after several years of customers requesting access to the companys sample art at trade shows and educational events. The Collection of art includes vector drawings and JPGs for everything from mountain biking and snowboarding to yoga and cheerleading. BLANK PRODUCTS COLORADO HEIRLOOMS COLOR LACQUERED FRAMES Colorado Heirloom Inc. of Loveland, CO, introduced their new Color Lacquered Frames. This is an option to add color your unique creations. It is not color ll. Colored lacquer is sprayed on their high quality wood frames. Because
Click ads to go directly to advertisers web site. PREVIOUS PAGE NEXT PAGE CONTENTS INFO REQUEST FULL SCREEN
December 2007
33
lacquer is used instead of paint, any design can be lasered on these frames. The possibilities are endless! These colorful creations are offered in two different designs -- a designer frame and a frame with an insert. Call 970-667-4222 or visit www. coloradoheirloom.com CONDE ADDS PET MATS FOR SUBLIMATION Cond Systems, Inc. of Mobile, AL, has added food bowl placemats and litter box mats to its DyeTrans family of sublimatable products. Favorite photographs and pet-related artwork can be transferred to the mats to create fun products for individual pet lovers or for the pet industry such as pet stores, veterinarians, groomers, boarding facilities, and animal adoption groups. Visit www.conde. com for additional information and pricing. Call Conde at 800-826-6332. CONDE INTRODUCES FABRIC PATCHES FOR SUBLIMATION Cond Systems, Inc. of Mobile, AL, has added fabric patches to its DyeTrans family of sublimatable products. Custom decorators can now produce unique, full-color patches that will impress organizations, businesses, clubs, sports teams, sports enthusiasts, and individuals alike -without the use of embroidery. Heat seal patches are great for identication, marketing, awards, trade show promotions, or to commemorate special events. Visit www.conde. com for additional information and pricing or call 800-826-6332. LASERSKETCHS NEW LASERSLAB LaserSketch of Lemont, IL, Internationally known for their LaserGrade Absolute Black Marble and Super Black Granite, announces LaserSlab, Super Black Granite, at 4 x 8 x 7mm and 4 x 4 x 7mm, weighting in at just over 2 pounds per square foot. The surface of the LaserSlab Granite has the sheen of a black mirror. The reverse side features epoxy berglass backing to give structure integrity to the ultra-lite granite sheet. All may be viewed @ www.lasersketch.com, or by calling LaserSketch @630-243-6360.
Click ads to go directly to advertisers web site.
MATTHEWS INTRODUCES ALUMICOLORTM Matthews International Corp. of Pittsburgh, PA, introduced Alumicolor, a high-resolution graphics solution for aluminum signage, recognition, commemoration, and way nding. Using cutting-edge technology, Matthews embeds a four-color image into the aluminum to create an anodized reproduction of unsurpassed durability. Alumicolor products, which are designed for interior and exterior installations, are resistant to extreme weather conditions, grafti, scufng, grease, chemicals and UV rays. Additionally, they will not chip, crack or peel. PSI ADDS ROUND FRAMES, & STRING PUZZLES Paramount Services Inc. of Hollywood, FL, introduced new round resin frames for sublimation tiles! Choose from Coral or RopeStone, with optional Unisub Hardboard Tiles. They will also accept the Bison 8 round glass Cutting Board. Why be square when round may t better? PSI also introduced a new puzzle guaranteed to string you along! These String Puzzles come with a Unisub Hardboard puzzle and the necessary string and beads along with instructions how to string it after printing. Templates to aid in design are available for download in several formats. For details, call 800-455-7212 or visit www.Dye-Sublimation-Products.com CRYSTALEDGE LUXORTM CRYSTAL AWARDS CrystalEdge, Chicago, IL, presented the Luxor Series. This stunning, cost-effective collection comprises a series of specially designed Rosewood and Black Piano nish bases, Matte Mahogany and Matte Black bases, and a precision cast Satin Nickel Finish Metal Base with your choice of brass or silver hardware for mounting our twelve unique shapes, making this the most versatile award yet. Luxor Series glass blanks are curved, 1/4 thick, crystal clear glass with 3/16 diameter holes for mounting. The Luxor Series glass blanks feature a generous engraving area and there is plenty of room on the base to add an engraving plate.
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
34
UNISUBS CHROMALUXE PHOTO PANELS ChromaLuxe photo panels are an exciting new line of sublimatable products from Unisub of Louisville, KY. These panels allow you to sell a completely nished photo product to your customers, capturing some of the additional revenue (and prot) your customers now spend elsewhere on framing. Available in a range of traditional photo sizes, as well as exciting new shapes, these panels can be joined together to create stunning photo displays - perfect for a replace mantle, library shelf, or the top of an armoire. Available in aluminum or MDF substrates.
XENETECHS NEW ENGRAVABLE GIFTS Xenetech of Baton Rouge, LA, introduced high quality engravable gift items at wholesale and quantity discounts. The Xenetech collection provides a selection of gifts created for corporate recognition, weddings, births, holidays, anniversaries, retirements, birthdays, special occasions, or just expressing appreciation. Items include money clips, key chains, book markers, desk accessories, quartz movement clocks, asks & wine accessories, entertainment gifts, travel gifts, genuine Swiss Army knives, business card holders, luggage tags, silver-plated jewelry boxes, keepsake gift boxes, silver-plated banks, and baby gifts. The gift items are designed primarily for diamond drag, burnishing, and rotary engraving personalization.
Coming in 2008:
CorelDRAWPro Index One of our members in Michigan requested that we put together an Index of all the articles weve published during the year. He prints out all the issues and puts them in binders, but an Index would make it easy to reference specic articles. We think its a good idea, and well send it to all subscribers in January. Product Focus Topics January 2008 -- Signage Products, esp. Wide Format February 2008 -- Engraving: Awards & Gifts March 2008 -- Apparel Products April 2008 -- Laser Wood Products
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
35
MARKETING SECRETS
By Donna M. Gray, CRM
Opportunities
has worked in the past and will remain the same in the future. The extra mile Success has to be nurturedthen it gets celebrated. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made to get to the rewards. At year end, when we analyze how we got from Point A to Point B, its interesting to note that we sometimes had to take detours, and sometimes the road blocks called for sacrificeof time or money. Sometimes the sacrifice came in the way of a sleepless night worrying if an order that was lost in delivery would be found and re-routed to us in time to make a clients deadline. Someone (unknown) said A day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work. Anyone in business could testify to that. Part of success is going the extra mileeven if it results in a sleepless night. Going the extra mile is worth all the paid advertising in the world on the road to success.
CONTENTS INFO REQUEST FULL SCREEN
December 2007
NEXT PAGE
36
MARKETING SECRETS
Commitments made and kept Our team felt good about some commitments we made and kept this past year, like: We used a daily to-do list and we set priorities in order of importance. When we finished a project we celebrated and then moved on quickly to the next job. We built in some time for stress relief with morning meeting breaks. This was especially good when treats were served since weve got some good bakers on our staff. We didnt screen calls through voice mail. We considered every call to be important. We did it right the first time even though it sometimes took longer. We tied up all the loose ends. We became cheerleaders for each other. When one of us accomplished a goal, we all applauded. We all tried to deliver more than we promised. This can be challenging sometimes when working with a difficult project. We eliminated (or tried to eliminate) unnecessary procedures, and we simplified our paper flow system. We spent most of our time on high priority tasks. We all worked on our delegation skills. We were committed to not wasting time, either our own or other peoples. Goals that were lacking Now, all those great things being put on paper reminds me that we also had some goals we didnt quite succeed atbut well try harder next year: We didnt always group tasks togetherlike going to the bank and the post office in one trip, or answering mail when it gets opened. It wasnt always easy to avoid procrastination. Some low priority chores got put off. There were still times when we couldnt find enough hours to finish the work. Our tools didnt always get put away when we were through with a project, even though this is Daves pet peeve.
Conclusion Experts say that we have to actively create our success, not wait for it to happen. This coming year, hopefully none of us will sit in the comfort zone waiting for the phone to ring. Theres an old Chinese proverb that goes, It you continually give, you will continually have. Our team will go on being involved in community activities. When time is spent on worthwhile projects outside the business, opportunities come knocking at the front counter. Besidesat years endit makes us feel really good about the help we gave on these projects. Donna Gray is the president of Total Awards, Promotions, & Gift (aka AwardsMall.com) in Madison, Wis. She and her husband Dave have run their full service awards and personalization business since1977. She can be reached by email at donna.gray@AwardsMall.com.
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
37
MARKET PLACE
Some Things Were Meant To Be In Etched in Stone
Importers & Wholesalers of Marble/Onyx Gifts & Accessories N&R International 1155 Allgood Rd. #13 Marietta, GA 30062 678-560-4088 Fax 678-560-1157 Call for a free color catalog.
The Entrepreneurial Magazine for CorelDRAW Users CorelDRAWPro Magazine is delivered to you once a month in PDF format. It features in-depth content that readers rave about, including articles on how to use CorelDRAW, how to apply CorelDRAW, and how to prot from CorelDRAW.
The Industrys Most Comprehensive & Easy-To-Use Search Engine It gives you one-click access to suppliers, products, phone numbers, and live links to ACDRP Member Suppliers. Its always up-todate, searchable by keyword, and accessible from your desktop! News, Tips, & Resources for CorelDRAW Users CorelDRAWPro E-News is a free digital newsletter delivered to you twice a month about the 15th and 25th. It brings you highly targeted content that you wont nd elsewhere, including CorelDRAW Tips, extensive product news, links, and a calendar of shows and training. The Industrys Newest Resource for Graphics Tips & Templates Gain access to a growing library of CorelDRAW tips and templates that will make your work easier.
Click ads to go directly to advertisers web site.
QuickSource
TM
The Graphics News Wire is the always live, always updated source for graphics news products, equipment, technology, and more. Make it (CorelDRAWPro.com/ NewsPage.htm) your home page or favorite to gain access to: Breaking news, updated regularly. New Classied Ads New Job Announcements Supplier Specials All news is related to graphic products!
GRAPHICS NewsWire
JOIN TODAY!
White-tone Pewter & Gold GIFTS & ACCESSORIES FOR WOMEN AND MEN 800-835-3623, Fax 508-222-2732 www.jelepper.com
The Industrys Most Comprehensive and Easy-To-Use Article Library Gain access to hundreds of articles on graphics-related and business topics, searchable by keyword.
QuickLearn
TM
Quick TnT
TM
541-990-6687
December 2007
PREVIOUS PAGE
NEXT PAGE
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
38
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Louie Alvarez started in the industry working for one of the largest trophy shops in Central California, and then opened one of the rst retail laser engraving businesses. He has given seminars and workshops on CorelDRAW and Laser for many years, and has written for several publications. He is now with Vytek Industrial Lasers and is based in Las Vegas, NV. He can be reached at alvarezwriting@gmail.com. Kathryn Arnold is the Senior Developer at LaserUniversity, sponsored by LaserBits Inc. of Phoenix, AZ. She can be reached at 1-800-733-7705 or laseru@laserbits.com. Or visit www.laseru.com. Errol Barr has a wide range of experience in sales & marketing, eventually getting into laser systems in 1999, currently with Vytek Industrial Lasers. He also sold extensively in the CNC router industry selling the machines as more of a business opportunity wrapped around the machine. He can be reached by email at errolbarr@gmail.com. Dave Demoret founded Prolink Graphic Services to help people understand and prot from learning CorelDRAW. He has been in both the Flat Graphics Industry and the Decorating Graphics Industry for 30 years. He has written articles for several publications, is a Corel Training Partner, and conducts workshops nationwide and online. He is the author of several CD Instructional programs on CorelDRAW. He can be reached at 765-DO COLOR (362-6567) or daved@prolinkgs.com Donna Gray is the president of Total Awards, Promotions, & Gift (aka AwardsMall. com) in Madison, Wis. She and her husband Dave have run their full service awards and personalization business since 1977. She has presented seminars on a variety of topics nationwide, and has won many marketing awards. She is the author of two books on family business, and can be reached at donna. gray@AwardsMall.com. Bill Leek is a color consultant for JBL Graphics in Houston, TX, and has over 30 years experience in computer engineering and graphics design. He has developed several lines of color imprintable products, and does testing on a variety of products for different manufacturers. He can be reached at week@jblgraphics. com or 281-970-6677. Jeff McDaniel is the owner of Creative Graphic in Philomath, Oregon. He worked as a journeyman machinist before getting into the graphic products business. Creative Graphic offers laser engraving, rotary engraving, sandblasting, sublimation, image transfers, vinyl signs, banners, screen printing, and promotional products. Jeff routinely applies graphics to a wide variety of materials. Contact him at Jeff@creativegraphic.net.
Click ads to go directly to advertisers web site. PREVIOUS PAGE NEXT PAGE CONTENTS INFO REQUEST FULL SCREEN
John McDaniel is the co-owner of JHM Marketing in Albany, OR, which provides consulting and training services for the industry. He worked for many years with computers in electronic data processing and pioneered the use of CorelDraw for engraving applications. He owned a retail personalized gift shop for over ten years, and writes about hardware design, software, laser engraving, sublimation, and more. He is a Corel Training Partner, and co-founder of the Association of CorelDRAW Professionals. For information on training and more, call 541-9674271, or write to mail@CorelDRAWhelp.com. Judy McDaniel is the co-owner of JHM Marketing in Albany, OR, which provides consulting and training services for the industry. Her background includes many forms of art and retail sales, as well as the operation of a retail personalized gift shop for over ten years. She is a regular columnist on sandblasting, sublimation, and diversifying business, as well as a Corel Training Partner, and co-founder of the Association of CorelDRAW Professionals. She can be reached at 541-9674271, fax 541-967-4272, or via email at mail@CorelDRAWhelp.com. David Milisock is president of Custom Graphic Technologies Inc. in Pennsylvania. He has been in the print production business since 1975, and specializes in professional support for CorelDRAW Graphics Suite. Output includes computer-to-plate processes for all commercial digital front-end applications, as well as Postscript-compliant graphic applications. He offers technical and color management support for all RIP-driven corporate digital output systems. He can be reached at 717-509-3523 or davidmilisock@comcast.net. Deborah Sexton, former editor of Impressions Magazine, has been in the apparel graphics industry since 1981. She currently does marketing and public relations for apparel graphics companies, and is a columnist for several industry publications.. She can be reached at dsexton@sbcglobal.net. Otis Veteto is the Western Regional Manager for the R.S. Owens & Co. Inc., manufacturer and supplier of the Elegance in Awards & Gifts line. With more than 30 years experience in the industry, he offers the PROspective of a veteran sales rep in reporting on ideas, people and places that he visits. Otis also presents sales and motivation seminars. He can be reached in Sacramento, CA when not on the road at 916-567-1867.
December 2007
39
Traveling Tidbits
by Otis Veteto
Otis Veteto is the Western Regional Manager for the R.S. Owens & Co. Inc., manufacturer and supplier of the Elegance in Awards & Gifts line. With more than 30 years experience in the industry, he offers the PROspective of a veteran sales rep in reporting on ideas, people and places that he visits. Its a fun and informative column focusing on the human-interest side of the industry. Otis also presents sales and motivation seminars for industry organizations, and some of that knowledge will rub off as well. He can be reached in Sacramento, CA when not on the road at 916-567-1867.
concentrated effort to give at least 3 honest compliments every day of your life. You will be amazed at what it will do for your relationships. LISTEN. Listening is the greatest compliment you can pay. When you assume the role of the listener, it relaxes the sales climate. As you listen you are demonstrating that you truly care and you are genuinely interested in what he or she has to say. MAKE THE OTHER PERSON FEEL IMPORTANT. When you are sincerely impressed by something the other person has achieved or owns, let them know it. Understand that fundamentally, every person is important and treat them accordingly. Personal comment: When I nished reading this, I thought to myself, These make sense in our everyday life, not just in sales. The Third Agreement I will close with the 3rd step from the book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. DONT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS. Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama. Sounds a little like what I wrote at the beginning of the column doesnt it? Thats all for now! Remember to save some time for yourself and your family. And when you travel, please travel safe. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE
December 2007
CONTENTS
INFO REQUEST
FULL SCREEN
40