We are often asked by customers, what the best type of file format is best for digital fabric printing.
We would always prefer to work from fully separated files so that we can accurately match the customer’s colourways, however, it may be expensive to fully Colour separate a design, especially if it’s a large repeat, complex, perhaps tonal and may also involve many colours.
In the past, we have colour separated designs with as many as 45 colours, which was very time consuming, but the finished digitally printed fabric was fantastic.
So, if the customer doesn’t have the time or the budget to allow for colour separations what are our options?
Well, we can work from a flat design image, such as a JPEG, TIFF, PSD etc, however, there are limitations to using this type of file.
Initially we would look at the quality and the size of the file supplied, if the quality is good and the file has been created at a high enough resolution then we have a good chance of producing high quality printed fabric.
Please Note – any reference to lead times are a correct estimate at the time the article was published. Lead times are always estimated and never guaranteed, and for our current estimated lead times see: lead times & deadlines.
We can manipulate the file quite considerably making changes to the actual design and also adjusting the scale so that the image is suitable for each particular product.
However, the main issue with using a non-separated file, is that it may be difficult to colour match to the customer’s original artwork, as we can only adjust certain parameters.
We can adjust the brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, basically adjust certain elements within the design, which may be all that is necessary for photographic images where we don’t need to match a specific colour exactly.
If for example, we needed to change several colours within a design, perhaps a blue to a pink, a green to a yellow etc, then a flat non-separated design wouldn’t be ideal, we would probably need to work from a fully separated image.
We have been separating designs at Meshtex since 1972, so we have learned a trick or two along the way, and we have clever ways of manipulating designs, so quite often we can find a shortcut that will help to achieve the look that you require.
Don’t worry you are in good hands with Meshtex, we will always send you a proof so that you can approve the artwork prior to printing.
If a fully separated image is required one of our in-house separation artists can do this for you and we would be able to offer a quote for this work prior to accepting the order.
When offering a price we may either quote a “price per colour” or a set price depending on the actual amount of colours within the design.
Whatever artwork requirements you have prior to producing your bespoke printed items we have a solution to meet your needs.