TRAINING CLASSES

This advanced course is designed for screen printers who want to expand beyond basic vector artwork. The class will cover preparing complex designs and producing professional-quality film positives. Students will learn about dedicated separation software and RIP software, alongside manual separations in Photoshop and Illustrator to create simulated process separations, and four-color process techniques. We'll focus on how to properly edit, optimize, and prepare artwork so it prints cleaner, sharper, and with consistent results on press.

Note! The minimum prerequisite for this class is a working knowledge of either Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW and the software loaded onto your laptop.

Advanced Artwork and Color Separations will cover:

• Software Mastery
  • Advanced use of Separation Studio for complex artwork separations
  • Generating simulated process and four-color process (CMYK) separations
  • Best practices for setting up and printing film positives using RIP software
  • Understanding halftone settings, dot shapes, line screen angles, and output resolution
• Artwork Editing Techniques
  • How to optimize artwork for the cleanest possible print
  • Identifying elements that don't separate well — and how to fix them
• Separation Strategy & Workflow
  • Choosing between spot-process, simulated process vs. four-color process based on artwork style
  • How to simplify or restructure designs for smoother printing
  • Managing tonal range, smooth gradients, and difficult colors
• Film Output & Screen Prep Integration
  • Dialing in RIP settings for dense, crisp film positives
  • How proper film output impacts exposure, washout, and on-press performance
• Real-World Printing Applications
  • How to adjust separations based on shirt color and garment type
  • Understanding how ink opacity, mesh count, and off-contact affect the final result
  • Tips for testing, proofing, and dialing in colors on press
  • Preparing artwork that reduces press setup time and increases consistency