Testify and a Noob process

[B-DROID]

next to the mdf at the hardware store, there should be some mdf with a melamine coating (the plastic looking white stuff) give that a shot. i use it for my platen on my fabric/tshirt setup. i have a ton of spray tack on it, and it can be cleaned off fairly easily with mineral spirits (especially if you dont let it build up like mine)

Home Depot used to sell 4' x 2' sheets of this for like $5 or $10. Perfect deal for table top printing.

[Casey Burns]

I'm even wondering if the screen stretched slightly. I created the red and black on 2 different screens simultaneously.
I had waited several days after the screens were burned and washed out before I started printing.
When I was lining up the black it seemed like the stuff on top would register while the stuff on the bottom would be off and vice versa.
Am I crazy but is it possible that they stretched during drying?
They are new screens. One had been reclaimed twice while the other was new and had only gone through a degreasing stage.

stretching is possible, i guess, but my first bet would be that your positives didn't really line up with each other. pull them back out and put them on top of each other on a light table and see if they line up.
if you did them on vellum, i used to have trouble with this all the time. humidity and printer speeds can cause slight stretching or shrinkage of your images on your positives as they are printed out.

[steve w]

are you spraying out the image with a power-washer?
stop that.
a garden hose sprayer is good.

[boatdreams]

What Steve said.
Also, if your registration was inconsistent, you might try clamping small blocks of wood to your table directly in front of and to one side of your screen. This helps ensure it falls in the same place every time (there usually is a bit of play in hinge clamps).
You seem to be off to a solid start for sure, though. Nice work!

[weaponsofmassdesign]

stretching is possible, i guess, but my first bet would be that your positives didn't really line up with each other. pull them back out and put them on top of each other on a light table and see if they line up.
if you did them on vellum, i used to have trouble with this all the time. humidity and printer speeds can cause slight stretching or shrinkage of your images on your positives as they are printed out.

I have the same problem with my positives when I get them done at the Staples instead of at work. They don't have an 11x17 transparency setting so when I run it through the copier, it seems to shrink the film a bit and it is different on each color. It could also be the building up on your registration tabs. I use Dymo label tape (the embossing, old school kind) for tabs and anytime I try to use something else that I have to build up, it seems to shift a bit.

[MrBlonde7]

Awesome noob process thread post. Even with the cheese - gorgonzola's got a funk that'll
curl the toes of any man. Way to jump into this shit hard, son.

(Re: Weapons of Mass Design - I just saw one of your posters pasted up at a Record store
on Capitol Hill - good stuff!)

[eyepeace]

Thanks for all the comments! I'm trying to keep up with them all.

are you spraying out the image with a power-washer?
stop that.
a garden hose sprayer is good.

hehe, ya I am. I started with my thumb over the hose and it wasn't working. I guess I jumped the gun going straight to the power washer. I'll try my garden sprayer next time.

Casey, that was one of the first things I checked. The films lined up perfectly.
I'm printing them from an epson 1400.

boatdreams, that block thing sounds good. I didn't think of the hinges shifting.

It could also be the building up on your registration tabs. I use Dymo label tape (the embossing, old school kind) for tabs and anytime I try to use something else that I have to build up, it seems to shift a bit.

I didn't know they still sold that stuff. I'll try that. Not having to stack would be nice. Is that stuff thick enough for 110lb cover stock?

Bdroid, StrawberryLuna, Zombie... There was so much stuff to choose from at Home Depot it made my head spin. Thanks for that. Now I have a better idea of what to look for.

[Andymac]

that's pretty good for first time. some suggestions for the next go...

looking at your set up, lose the right bottom tab. You only want the side ones, and the stop at the bottom corner. x and y. tabs don't need to be big, they just need to be solid, and not move during the print.

check your posis on top of the prints - did they (the print) stretch? sometimes a first color on fresh paper that hasn't been laid out gets it all moist and then the paper changes size.

when you print the first color MAKE SURE IT IS IN THE TABS TIGHT EVERY TIME. don't burn through the first color and only start worrying about register on the second. Each paper has to be placed tight against the tab stops every time. Most rookies are just so excited that the ink is actually printing, they rush the placement. check it.

was the whole run consistently out that little bit? did you move your tabs to adjust the register after the first few prints? It looks to me like you just needed to move your bottom tab down a pube to bring the red down and close the crack. don't be scared to move your tabs on the second color.

If they were all over randomly, then you weren't being accurate with your placement. Easy fix. the blocks of wood are a real good idea at the front of the screen. then even if you clamps move, they move consistently, and only in one direction.

Build a vac table, you will speed up your printing and your registration will be way better, less screwups, less finish flaws (puckers and peels) the money you save from spray adhesive, you can buy beer.

[eyepeace]

that's pretty good for first time.

Thanks Andy. Thanks to posts like this it sure makes it easier.
This is all very helpful. Awesome.

My prints didn't seem to be too far off from one to another. It was pretty consistent on how it was off. And I think the inconsistent ones were due to my hastiness in the first color run as you mentioned. I was trying to keep it consistent knowing there was another color to do but now that you mention it, your right, that 2nd tab on the bottom did seem to be a pain in the butt and was making me get really impatient. It was taking me a long time between prints. And I was worried my ink was gonna dry as I didn't us any retarder base - though that seemed to be a needless worry - it never really seemed to come close to drying up on me.

As far as the paper stretching - bingo! I just checked and they lined up perfect for the black but for the red its off by about the same amount as I was having trouble with. The red was the first print run so it makes sense that it stretched at that point. It was 110lb French white paper.
What's the way around this? Should I have taken them out and let them sit for a while before printing? It can get pretty humid in the basement also, and come to think of it I think I had the dehumidifier off.

[eyepeace]

...just make sure mark pays you SOMEthing for your creative, my 2 cents.

Thanks, and it's a valuable 2 cents. And yes, that's a whole other issue I was thinking of bringing up but I didn't want to open a whole other can of worms just yet as it goes way beyond my little printing issues... but what the hell...

I really wasn't sure what the norm was going into this, but by reading some of the recent posts here, that seems to be a major issue in the gigposter community and the last thing I want to do is be part of the problem.

The model of making money from selling my share of the prints doesn't work great for me considering it's my first poster. I'll be lucky to sell them to my mom... but we'll see. This was really a test for me to get some under my belt.

I kind of feel like it would be worthwhile to create some sort of simplified Gigposters "pricing and ethical guidelines". Tools this community can turn to for a starting point. Maybe it's as simple as a list of questions to ask band management or a promoter or even negotiation tactics. The more educated we are as a group the easier it will be to move compensation trends in the right direction. I dunno. Just typing out loud.