ImagesMagUK_February_2022

TIPS & TECHNIQUES www.images-magazine.com 46 images FEBRUARY 2022 Registration time T he registration marks that come with software such as Illustrator were made for the offset industry. As a result, they’re not ideal for us screen printers: they are too small, they are located on all four sides of the design, and there are four of them. Firstly, you need bigger registration marks so they will be easier to see when registering a job and looking through a screen. Secondly, the problem with registration marks on all four sides is a piece of film could flop over and it would still register to the marks, but the image would be reversed and in the wrong place. Three registration marks with one that is offset will guarantee that the images will be shot the correct way and will register perfectly. The good news: making your own ‘screen print ready’ registration mark is not difficult, as this step-by- step demonstrates. www.taubliebconsulting.com New to screen printing? Keen to get the fundamentals right? Charlie Taublieb of Taublieb Consulting is here to lend a helping hand by explaining how to create branded registration marks that are tailor- made for use with the screen process STEP-BY-STEP: CREATING BRANDED REGISTRATIONMARKS In a vector program, draw a horizontal line 12.5mm - 19mm (0.5" - 0.75") long. Use 'registration colour'. Set the stroke on the vertical line to 0.5pt, the stroke on the horizontal line to 0.75pt, and the stroke on the circle to 1pt. If the vertical line is missing when washing out a screen, the chances are the screen was over-exposed. Now draw a vertical line of the same length and position it so that it bisects the horizontal line. Add a small solid square in the upper left-hand corner that is within the area of the vertical and horizontal lines. This will act as a back-up for registration and a directional aid for when you need to micro. Draw a circle and centre it over the horizontal and vertical lines. Remove the lines inside the circle and add a miniature of your logo. This registration mark will be duplicated and used for the top registration marks. Leave the interior of the circle empty for the bottom registration mark so the artist that put the design together is able to put their initials in it. Then, if there is a question in production, they will know exactly who to go to for clarification. 1 4 2 5 3 6