Knowing Your Options
An educational piece from FLM Graphics shows output on various substrates and presses.
By Debora Toth, Project Editor -- graphic arts online, 2/1/2001
In an effort to keep its print-buying customers up to date on the latest technology and services it offers, FLM Graphics, a Fairfield, N.J.-based commercial printer offering both sheetfed offset as well as digital and wide-format printing services, recently produced a 20-piece informational packet entitled "We'll Help You Weather Any Storm."
Different substrates, presses
The packet includes examples of conventional offset printing on a variety of substrates as well as similar images output on vinyl and fabric on a wide-format digital printer, dye-sublimation printer, and short-run direct imaging press.
"As a printer that offers a variety of output devices, we wanted to help our print buyers to be able to see and feel how their files can be output, and compare and contrast the differences," says FLM chief operating officer Vince Fiorello. "We wanted to show how variables change all the time in printing, whether it be through paper storage, the printing presses, or across media."
Enclosed in an oversized envelope, the packet was printed to coincide with FLM's annual Seaview educational seminars in northern New Jersey, in which roughly 50 select customers are invited to participate. Held in November, this past year's seminar focused on color management, tying in with the packet's variety of printed output showing how to manage color using different printing presses and substrates.
FLM printed a total of 700 packets on its Heidelberg Quickmaster DI and six-color 40" Speedmaster 102 sheetfed press, as well as the company's Raster Graphics dye-sublimation system and 3M Scotchprint Printer 2000 electrostatic imaging system.
Within the packet, each printed piece carries the "weathering the storm" theme. The SM 102 offset and QM DI digital output show weather-related images with the taglines "We've got you covered" and "We see where you're going." Under the tab "Wild stuff," FLM included an image of two children in yellow raincoats, produced on the 3M Scotchprint Printer 2000.
Additionally, the piece's sidewalk sign graphic material provides an example of all-weather outdoor display applications.
Working with cloth
Since the campaign contained images output on cloth, FLM used GretagMacbeth's ProfileMaker software bundle and Spectrolino/Spectroscan hardware as it allows profiling of cloth, whereas other color strip readers do not allow soft cloth to pass through.
"The most satisfying quality boost came in our cloth outputs," says FLM electronic prepress manager Kevin O'Neill. "The cloth outputs have notoriously been fickle. Closed-loop color correction was considerably difficult because of the drastic adjustments needed to obtain shifts in final color. We were thrilled when the application of profiles allowed us to get an acceptable evaluation point for fine-tuning the color for final output. The pieces in the campaign reflect the profile, with only a slight yellow correction needed in Photoshop. We were pleased with their similarity to the offset printed pieces."
To produce all of the images on different media and different presses, FLM profiled its Pressmatch system to obtain an acceptable color reference to compare all other outputs. The firm only worked within the CMYK color space, and did not convert from RGB.
Interest piqued
"This campaign opened doors for us," says Fiorello. "Sheetfed offset customers may now consider printing on fabric in the future. They can take these samples back to their design departments, which might elicit some new projects.
"Just by virtue that the attendees took the packet and then called our salespeople asking to have their files printed on fabric shows us that we piqued their interest."
