graphic design

How To Prepare a Design File for Screen Printing

 
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Screen Printing file setup is one of the biggest obstacles to achieving a high-quality print, and this is largely due to minimal knowledge on how screen printing works. There are specific ways in which the artwork needs to be submitted for your printer to ensure a perfect print. We will go over two file types and their attributes as well as the common mistakes made and which file types to avoid.

What Type Of File Should I Have?

There are two main types of files for apparel printing that you should know, Vector and Raster. A vector file is always the best option and most printers will ask for this file type as it will always produce the best results. Raster files are the alternative option and a necessary option in some cases, especially for photographic artwork. Raster files should be high-resolution with minimal compression for the best print possible.

The most problematic files are those that are low-resolution and compressed raster images, which is the reason why vectors are favored as they will not require as much work to prepare for printing, and in some instances, bitmap files will require for the artwork to be recreated entirely.

Vector & Rasters

There are instances where both file types are needed for one single print. A raster can exist within a vector file, for example, if a graphic requires an element of smoke or a photograph then the raster file will need to be converted by using a raster imaging processor; This is a software program like a PostScript Driver that can convert the raster artwork and the information it holds to halftones. When converting to a vector format, or rasterizing, image parameters such as resolution, antialias, color mode and color profile are set.

Vector Graphic Files

A vector graphic is made up of points and distance between those points where each of these point relates to each other and define the shapes of the graphic elements. This type of graphic is based on the Cartesian Coordinate system which is based in complicated mathematics. Within the vector file, there are other components of the data that include colors, gradients, font type, and effects. One of the best features of this type of file is the ability to resize your graphic as big as you need it to be without losing the quality, as well as taking up less space in your computer’s hard drive because instead of mapping large pixel arrays it just maps out the coordinates of the points in the file.

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There is a downside to Vector files, however, if the grid has a lot of points this may cause a delay whenever a change is made as it will re-calculate each point and will require a lot of RAM.

Raster Graphic Files

A raster file is a grid of pixels that has information stored for each one of them containing the position, color, and brightness. A raster file is a less complex file than a vector, it is the simplest way to present image data. JPEGs, TIFFs, and PNGs are common raster image types. Almost all of the photos found on the web and in print catalogs are raster images.

 
 

Because raster graphics are created from pixels, when you expand your image, you are expanding those pixel blocks. That’s why the image becomes blurry if you make it too large.

“Raster graphics are pixel-based and work on a large grid. Think of a mosaic where all the tiles up close just look like a bunch of different colors, but when you view it at a distance it becomes a very detailed picture of the Mona Lisa.”
— Alex Meiners, Family Industries Head of Art Department

Preparing Your File

Photoshop

Before creating your artwork in Photoshop you should ensure that your file is set to RGB color mode and at least 300 dpi. If this is not set correctly before you begin your design phase, resizing it later will result in a blurry image and jagged edges on fonts.

 
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Adobe Illustrator / Affinity Designer / Corel Draw

If you are designing your artwork on Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer or Corel Draw all you need to do is set your file to the size you want to print. Programs like illustrator will have an option to turn your Raster artwork into a vector.
Normally, any raster artwork (created in Adobe Photoshop or CorelDRAW PHOTO-PAINT or other raster software program) has to be separated into four process colors or simulated process color prior to printing out the films used to expose each screen.

Transparent Background

To isolate the white channels in a color separation an image needs to be masked onto a transparent background. Using a transparent background provides control over the transition from the garment color to the printed colors, and can be used to manage the ink deposit as well. Image areas that fade to shirt color when screen printed should fade to a transparent background in the image file.

Most Common Mistakes

Fonts

The most common error people make when submitting a design to a screen printer is not converting the fonts into outlines. This means converting your editable text into shapes, this will save your printer time, otherwise, they will need to find the exact font then download it and load it into your design. Keep in mind that once a font is converted into shapes, you cannot edit your text.

 
 


Luckily, at Family Industries, we understand this process can be overwhelming, but there’s no need to worry! Our super knowledgeable staff are here to help you get through any design challenges that come your way. Ask Us How!

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator

The Women At Family Industries Print Shop

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Women are an integral part of Family Industries, and to close out Women’s History Month we would like to highlight the women behind the scenes at Family Industries. These women are an essential part of the team and they bring a lot of creativity and value to our business.

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Meet Kerin

Kerin is Family Industries’ Fulfillment Department Manager, her role is vital to our fulfillment operation and more than a manager, she is the master behind our DTG projects. Kerin has been with family industries for a long time and has become the go-to person for many projects. She is also a very creative and talented designer and has designed for some of our clients such as Amoeba Records. And as if that was not enough, Kerin is also a big part of our Live team, helping with live events as a printer and a brand ambassador. She is without a doubt a force to be reckoned with.

Get to know Kerin

Q: What do you do at Family Industries?

Kerin: I'm a part of the art department, however, I occasionally jump from art to post-production. I also take care of any DTG orders.

Q: What do you like about your day-to-day tasks?

Kerin: I like that I get to problem-solve. I enjoy a challenge and having to figure out how to get people's ideas into the real world.

Q: How did you become interested in the Screen Printing business?

Kerin: I love art. I took several printmaking classes in college and fell in love with the process.

Q: Are you an artist? if so, what motivates you to make art?

Kerin: I'm originally an illustrator/animator. I make art that I want to see. If I don't see enough of a thing I like, I'll make it.

Q: Who are the women or who is the woman in history that has had a big impact on your life or career?

Kerin: Obviously I'm going to go with my mother. When I was growing up, there weren't that many women in power that you could look up to, but my mother was someone who got shit done and never let anyone belittle her. I strive to be that kind of person every day.


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Meet Andrea

Andrea is Family Industries’ main graphic designer and also provides superb customer support. Andrea is a master of design and has a very important role within the company as she talks to the clients and helps them with their designs. Many clients come to us with a basic idea and Andrea is able to translate their ideas into a kick-ass graphic. She is a key and integral part of our client success rate - she helps us keep our clients happy and coming back.

Get to know Andrea

Q: What is your day-to-day like at Family Industries?

Andrea: At Family Industries we use Monday.com, which allows sales and live reps to create a checklist of things that need to be done for the day. I go through that checklist as the day progresses. Each of us in the art department creates CADs and mock-ups for clients to review. Sometimes we get art requests for businesses, events, or parties.

Q: What do you enjoy the most about working at Family Industries?

Andrea: I enjoy creating fun designs for events and companies.

Q: What woman in history or in your personal life has had the biggest impact on your art and/or your career?

Andrea: I don't know if I really have anyone that I can really say influences or inspires me, but I've always liked the story of Annie Oakley, a sharpshooter. kind of a crazy reference but I went to preschool/kindergarten in the south. She grew up in a home where her father taught her at an early age to hunt, which was a crazy concept for "proper girls" back in her day. She was poor though, so it was out of necessity and she ended up taking that skill to travel circuses and was able to support herself. I think it stuck with me because she was a woman that was unconventional but practical. Her fame was based on her skill and nothing else. As a note, I'm not for guns but I admire people being themselves and celebrated for it.

10 Thing You May Not Know About Annie Oakley

Gertrude Stein was another figure I was fascinated with. I was pretty lucky to go to good schools with strong female teachers also. Cal State Long Beach has a lot of great professors that helped me gain my skills and direction during my time there. If I hadn't taken graphic design and printmaking I wouldn't be at family.

Q: What motivates you to make art or be creative?

Andrea: I think creating is the motivation itself. I think artists are just people that have ideas that they need to get out or they'll implode. I love doing doodles and designs just for fun. And when you see others enjoy them it makes you want to make more.

Although it’s not all gems, if I'm lucky, the drawings I put together come together to make something I like. There are a lot of versions and failures before I get to something I really like and make me want to create more. LOL

Q: Were you familiar with Screen Printing before you started working for Family Industries? What do you find interesting about what Family Industries offers to their clients that maybe other similar businesses don't?

Andrea: Yes I went to Cal State Long Beach for printmaking and my main focus was actually drypoint and screenprinting. I actually interviewed because a friend of a friend knew there was an opening and felt it could be something to check out.

Family Industries probably caters more to clients than the other companies. We definitely try hard to make sure all orders are treated the best they can. Attention to sizing, detail, and print quality. We try to catch errors and work with the clients to make sure we can give them the best product.

Andrea’s Work


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Meet Gabi

Gabi is the newest addition to the team, she is our customer service specialist and focuses on new clients by providing quotes and taking the client from the initial contact phase to the production phase. Gabi has been a much-needed addition to the team and has helped us manage all of the inquiries we receive on a daily basis.

Get to know Gabi

Q: What your job title is and what is your day-to-day like?

Gabi: My official job title is Customer Service Specialist. My days are pretty much filled with emails with clients, phone calls, and building quotes. I handle the quotes email, so whenever we get a request for a quote, I’m one of the people that respond. When putting together a quote, a lot of it involves searching for the right garment, amount of placements and colors in the art (which sometimes can be super hard to tell lol), and also finishing services if needed.

I also handle custom order requests, for example, we just started an order with custom tie-dyed socks and a custom dip-dyed shirt that looks like a watermelon! For an order like that there's a lot of coordinating with outside vendors for the tie-dye and socks since we don't produce those in-house. Luckily, we work with awesome vendors that produce the best quality for us! Another thing that happens during my days is print approvals; whenever the guys in production start printing an order, they bring up the first print for us in sales to approve. We make sure the placements are right according to the mock-ups/CAD's. Sometimes Pantones and placements can be tricky, so it’s always best to have another set of eyes on it!

check out How To Dip Dye Your Clothes

Q: What do you like about working at Family Industries?

Gabi: I love the crew so much! Everyone here is so nice and so chill which makes it a great work environment. They welcomed me with open arms and taught me so much about screen printing (I literally knew nothing about it when I started). I feel like a part of a team which is great and something I lacked in my past work experience. We have fun and joke around but always get our work done on time.

I also LOVE all the cool prints we do and the clients we get to work with! Seeing an order come together from start to finish is an awesome process. I get blown away sometimes by the beautifully detailed work we produce. Screen printing is literally an art!

Q: What woman in history or in your life inspires you and why?

Gabi: I'm going to be cheesy here and say my mom, but she is such a huge inspiration to me; she's tough, hardworking, and loving. She started her own business in Philly just after she left her job and literally a year after my sister was born. Now, the company is one of the biggest real estate companies in Philly and they have about 12 employees and manage HUNDREDS of properties. She should be retired by now, but she still goes to work every day - I definitely get my ambition and drive from her. She always supported my dreams and choices, which I didn't always get from others. I hope one day I can be a boss babe like her!

Q: Do you have any artistic or creative interests? If no, what do you like to do in your free time?

Gabi: I love art but I am no artist. However, I live and breathe music! I'm always listening to Spotify and love finding new and eclectic artists. I'd say my favorite hobby is making playlists on Spotify, and honestly, I think I'm pretty awesome at it.

Other than that, I'm usually watching a good show/film relaxing with my cat and pup, or online shopping for things I DON'T need.

Q: What are your top 3 favorite movies?

Gabi: My favorite movies are Empire Records, Almost Famous, and The Craft.

Gabi’s Pets

Author: Irene Floridia - Content Creator


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send us an e-mail at quotes@familyindustriesla.com

Our showroom at 2755 Fruitdale Street, Los Angeles, CA 90039 is open by appointment only from 10 am - 4 pm Monday through Friday.

Cured in 60 Seconds: An inside look at live screen printing

Ten years ago we ventured into the unknown world of Live Screen Printing. At the time, no one was really doing it so our gauge on whether or not it would work was… well, there was no gauge. We were attempting to build an entire business around something that had zero proof it would actually be successful. All we knew was that we had a solid idea, the skills to pull it off, and the drive to make it work.

Today, a decade later, we are doing over four hundred events a year. To say we’ve been extremely fortunate is an understatement. We owe a giant debt of gratitude to all the incredible people who have supported us along the way, and all the brands we’ve been lucky enough to work with throughout the years.

As incredibly exciting as these past ten years have been, we couldn’t have gotten to this point without lots and LOTS of practice. As cliché as it is, practice really does make perfect. We’ve had to fall and pick ourselves back up more times than not, but those falls have taught us something each time. That’s why, in the spirit of learning, we wanted to show you how we make the magic happen. From prep work to the event itself, there’s a lot that goes into live screen printing.

Here’s a little inside look into how we do what we do…


PREPARATION IS KEY

Stagecoach 2019 Prep — Before we headed to the desert for 2019’s Stagecoach Country Music Festival, we had to prepare hundreds of pre-printed posters for the event.

Stagecoach 2019 Prep — Before we headed to the desert for 2019’s Stagecoach Country Music Festival, we had to prepare hundreds of pre-printed posters for the event.

Some say that “eighty percent of life is just showing up”. Unfortunately, that doesn’t really apply to live screen printing. Depending on the type of item we’re printing on, as well as the designs themselves; prep work is usually inevitable. We never want to walk into an event blindly, so we typically spend the days leading up to it practicing the activation.

Reasons for prep work ranges from types of ink we’re using to pre-printing tags and brand logos onto the items. For example, before we went to Tik Tok’s “For Black History” event in Hollywood, we pre-printed hundreds of denim jackets with the Tik Tok logo.

You may be asking yourself: “Wait. if you’re ‘live screen printing’ why are you printing stuff BEFORE you’re actually live?” That’s a solid question. What it usually comes down to is twofold: time and branding. Typically when we’re hired to work an event, a company will want their logo/branding on the items we’ll be live printing. This is completely separate from the design(s) they want to be printed live.

Whenever we’re live, we want to make sure guests of the event are given their items in a timely manner, and not wasting their time waiting in line. No one wants to wait a long time for a t-shirt when there’s food and drinks to be had! So in order to save time, we tend to pre-print any branding that the company wants on their items. That way, the items are ready to go for guests once they get to our booth. They only thing they have to worry about is choosing which design they want live printed.

Pre-printing is far from the only reason we do prep work for our live events. Sometimes we’re asked to print on an item we’ve never printed on before, and like anything you want to get good at doing: practice makes perfect.

This past April we were asked by The Fields Restaurant to do live printing on clear, PVC tote bags. While it may sound simple, printing on plastic bags can be quite tough. ESPECIALLY live. That’s why our Production Manager Mike hit the floor and practiced until we knew we could pull this off. Lucky for us, Mike is a master problem solver and came up with a system that would make this activation possible. Check out photos of the bags below!


pack it up, pack it in…

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Once we’ve got everything prepped and ready to go, it’s time for everyone’s favorite activity: PACKING! Lugging our equipment around as often as we do can be quite taxing, but practice has certainly made for a smoother operation.

Most of the events we do call for a specific type of screen printing ink. Before everything gets packed up, we need to get all those inks ready to go. Our live team will either grab something off of the ink wall that’s already prepared, or mix something up.

After the inks are ready to go, we gather all our road-ready equipment and pack it up. Depending on where the event is taking place, we either transport the equipment ourselves or ship it to the event destination.


live from [insert location]… it’s family industries!

Stagecoach Country Music Festival 2019 - Indio, CA

Stagecoach Country Music Festival 2019 - Indio, CA

Over the last ten years, we’ve been lucky enough to travel all over the country. Life on the road is a rollercoaster, but it’s like a rollercoaster in Disneyland; it never gets old, it’s always a good time, and there is very little motion sickness.

Every event is different, but load in and set up always take place before the festivities get going. After everything’s good to go, that’s when the fun begins. It can get pretty nuts whenever we’re live printing, especially at large scale music festivals like Lollapalooza and Stagecoach, but that’s kind of why we love it. We feed off the energy of the crowd, and that’s what keeps the work interesting after all these years.

Depending on the activation and item being printed, our live team can turn an item out every thirty to ninety seconds. That’s why we’ve been able to take events on like the grand opening of Toyota’s headquarters in Plano, Texas where we printed five thousand shirts in four hours. Our heads were spinning and our arms were tired, but boy did we have a great time! That’s why we’re always down for a good challenge. The more, the merrier.


THAt’s all folks!

Bugs Ball 2019 - Warner Bros. Studio

Bugs Ball 2019 - Warner Bros. Studio

HOPE WE SEE YOU ON THE ROAD!

For more information on Live Screen Printing and all the other awesome activations we do, head over to our website:

Meet A Family Member - Kerin Amit

Each month we bring you inside our warehouse to introduce you to a member of our Family.

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Kerin Amit

Fulfillment Department Manager / Master of Direct to Garment

Though it is far from finished, we’ve been working out of Camp Family (our new facility in Frogtown, LA) for quite some time now. Simultaneously managing the workflow of two separate locations would be a much more difficult and stressful situation if it weren’t for one person: Kerin Amit. Over here at the Chinatown warehouse we’re fortunate enough to work alongside our fellow Family members, with someone always there to help pick up the slack. Meanwhile, at Camp Family, Kerin has had to handle the bulk of everything on her own. Most people would lose their minds, but somehow she manages to stay above it all. She’s the very definition of hard worker, and her ability to handle everything with poise and a level head is what makes her an invaluable member of the Family. The Fulfillment Department is a non-stop, ever-changing machine; yet somehow Kerin makes managing it look easy. Add to that the fact that she’s our go-to Direct to Garment printer, and you begin to wonder: is Kerin half human, half machine? Simply put, without Kerin we would be lost. Very few people could do what she does on a daily basis and manage to keep their head on straight. There is never a moment of nuttiness (of which there are plenty) that Kerin let’s get to her. She’s Camp Family’s knight in shining armor, and there isn’t a day that goes by that she doesn’t make us feel lucky as hell for getting to call her a member of our Family.

Without further ado, we’re excited to finally introduce you to THE Kerin Amit.


What do you do at Family Industries?

To put it simply, I manage the Fulfillment department and run the Direct to Garment printers. I also do live events. I can pretty much do anything. DTG, embroidery, screen print, sublimation, vinyl, heat transfer.

Breaking it down, my main job is to work with clients in managing and maintaining their online store. We offer on demand printing for fulfillment, so when orders come in, I’ll either print them or if there is printed stock I’ll pull from inventory. And then I ship everything out. We can get anywhere between 40-100 orders overnight, so it’s always busy.

What piece of clothing that you own could you not live without?

High waisted pants.

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At the moment, what are your top three songs?

1. “Lost On You” - LP

2. “Little Bit” - Terror Jr.

3. “Needy” - Ariana Grande


THE OVER-SHARE QUESTIONNAIRE


On top of steering the ship known as Camp Family, Kerin is also an incredible artist. If you attended Record Store Day 2019 at Amoeba Records, you might have snagged a shirt with Kerin’s design on it. That’s right, she’s the amazing artist behind this year’s Amoeba Tape design!

AND FINALLY,

DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN ONE GIF:

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Meet A Family Member

Each month we bring you inside our warehouse to introduce you to a member of our Family.

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ANDREA UEDA

Graphic Designer / Customer Service /

Dog Whisperer

This month we’re introducing you to one of our masters of design, Andrea. On top of being an incredibly talented artist, Andrea is also our in-house dog whisperer. As you know, we have two pups here at Family Industries, and they loooooove to talk. Sometimes they talk a little TOO much, and Andrea can get them to zip-it like no one else. We have no idea what we’d do without her.

Check out some of Andrea’s work!

What do you do at Family Industries?

I’m a member of our Graphic design team, and I also work in customer service.

What piece of clothing that you own could you not live without?

Alternative Apparel’s tank tops and harem pants FOR SURE.

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At the moment, what are your top three songs?

1. “One More” - Yaeji

2. “Boo’d Up” - Ella Mai

3. “You should see me in a crown” - Billie Ellish

THE OVER-SHARE QUESTIONNAIRE

AND FINALLY,

DESCRIBE YOURSELF IN ONE GIF:

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