Hello, all. I am using FlexiSign 8.1 and an Edge II printer. I know that Fred and others have done a SUPER job of explaining how to set up Omega for printing the best pictures possible on an Edge. But, I can not see here anywhere, where some one has done this for FlexiSign users. I am printing on Oracal 651 white vinyl. I am guessing that it is close to Gerber 220 white vinyl. And, of course, I am using CMYK process foils. Will some one who has successfully done this, please explain in detail your Rip & Print settings? Things like Dither Type, Gradient Smoothness, Screen, Output Profile. In Angled Screen, which Shape works best & should I check Accurate Screens or Supercell halftoning? The Driver Options seem fairly obvious, but some of the other stuff is confusing. Thanks for any input!
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Need help with Flexi settings for printing good pictures
- Thread starter RG
- Start date
Fred Weiss
Merchant Member
I cannot offer much help with the specifics in Flexi since I chose not to drive my Edge with it in favor of Omega. My reasoning was simply that I did not wish to try to keep the differences between the two applications straight in my mind ... and the logic of the various commands in each application can be quite different. I do recall that Flexi did print an impressive image when using four color process at default settings for the halftones and LPI.
What I can do is provide you the core piece of information you need to know and then suggest that you start printing out small squares ... say 2", with stepped variations in the various settings to see the effect and determine what suits you.
The core information is this: These various settings will vary the size and other aspects of the halftone dots. This is a quest to find a decent looking compromise between the smoothness and fineness of the print versus the tonal quality of the print. The settings are there because every image is different as are the situations into which they will be placed. You must also keep in mind that an Edge 2 prints at only 300 x 600 DPI. Your output is acceptable to the majority of the marketplace and has a number of advantages over inkjets. But it will never have the resolution print quality of an inkjet. Your job is to get the best out of your printer, not to look like inkjet output.
Simplifying this, the finer or smaller the dot size the nicer the print looks if what you are seeking is magazine quality at handheld viewing distance. This is accomplished at the expense of tonal quality and will lose much in subtle details at colors become denser and more solid looking. It is a major problem if the image has any gradients in it and will show up as banding if you make the dots too fine. Adjusting in the other direction will cause detail to look much nicer at greater viewing distances but you will see an increase in graininess at closer viewing distances as your adjustments increase the size of the halftone dots.
If you understand the principle you should then be able to determine with printed samples how each will work at the cost of about an hour of your time and about ten feet of material.
And you are not correct in comparing Oracal 651 to Scotchcal 220. Prints on calendared films are far less durable then the vinyl itself. Prints on Scotchcal 220, which is a cast film, can be expected to hold up for years while prints on calendared films often show noticeable fade after only a few months. We use both Oracal and Scotchcal in our production but we do not use 651 for outdoor durable prints. Both brands make excellent products. My advice to you is that if you prefer Oracal, then stock in the 751 or better Oracal films.
Thank you so much for taking the time and being so in depth with your reply. I have printed a few jpg since getting my edge up and running. The prints were smaller and they turned out fine but with the info you've just given me I will be putting into use this weekend.
Had o idea about the prints fading maybe after a couple months on calendar film. I just printed 250 decals on fdc 6 year. I'm switching to cast pronto. I do use the abrasion guard but did not on these. Thanks for the info!
Had o idea about the prints fading maybe after a couple months on calendar film. I just printed 250 decals on fdc 6 year. I'm switching to cast pronto. I do use the abrasion guard but did not on these. Thanks for the info!