Frequently Ask Questions (FAQ)
- What is silk-screening? Is it the same as
screen-printing?
Silk-screening and screen-printing use the same process. In both cases, a piece of tightly stretched sheer fabric (originally silk, now polyester) is placed on a frame. This is the screen. Then the screen is coated with a liquid plastic that's sensitive to ultraviolet light. Next we place the image to be printed on the screen and expose to ultraviolet light. Then the screen is washed to make the stencil for printing.
To print, ink is spread on the open areas of the stencil and then the screen is applied to the item being printed. If more than one color is needed this process is repeated for each additional color.
- What are spot colors?
Spot colors are a solid color such as red, navy blue, sky blue, mint green... We have spot color inks in almost any color. We also have hundreds of solid vinyl colors.
- What are process colors?
Process colors, or four Color Process, is a blending of 4 colors to create used to create a full-color image such as a photograph. It is called a four color process because the printing process requires printing the image four times - once each for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK) colors. Before printing photographs at The Shoppe we separate a full-color image into Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black images.
- What type of files do you accept for graphics?
We can accept many commercial vector or image file types. We use Adobe Illustrator CS1, Adobe PhotoShop 6.0 and CorelDraw 12. For most applications, including screen printing and vinyl graphics, we need a vector graphics format. We prefer a native vector graphics format such as Adobe Illustrator (*.ai) or CorrelDraw (*.cdr). We can also accept Adobe Acrobat (*.pdf), Encapsulated Prostscript (*.eps), Postscript (*.ps), AutoCad Drawing (*.dwg), CAD (*.dfx), Windows Metafile (*.wmf), or Enhanced Metafile (*.emf) file types.
For printing photographs at The Shoppe we can use standard image file types (including *.psd, *.jpg, *.tif, and *.png).
- How do I apply my custom water slide
decals on models?
If you are applying to a painted surface, be sure you let it dry for at least 24 hours. Then clean the area where you plan on putting the decal using a liquid soap or alcohol. As an alternative you may want to gloss coat the area where you want the decal. Next cut out the decal you want to apply and soak in warm water until you can easily move the decal (5-10 seconds). Then apply and remove the backing. Finally pat the area dry. You may want to then seal the decal using a gloss or flat finish.
- What are Water Slide Decals?
Water slide decals are printed designs on a film. The film is pretreated with an adhesive that softens in water. After it is wet you can then slide the film off of the backing paper. Custom water slide decals are an easy way to add a lot of detail to a model that would otherwise be very difficult to add any other way.
- How do I attach my vehicle magnet sign?
You should apply your magnet sign on a clean smooth flat surface with no grooves or sharp humps. Also be sure to clean the back of the sign each time before applying. After applying check the edges to make sure they are tight. If the edges are not tight then there is a good chance that the sign will come off as you are driving.
We do not recommend that you use a magnetic sign for long term use since it can cause rust to form on the door leaving marks when it is removed. If you need a permanent sign we recommend that you use a custom vinyl sign.
- Is it possible to remove vinyl signs?
In many cases the answer is yes. However, we recommend that you try removing a sample vinyl sign from an inconspicuous area of your surface to determine if there are any problems first. The steps to remove the vinyl are:
- Heat the surface of the vinyl with a heat gun.
- Use a plastic squeegee and scrape the vinyl from the surface.
- Clean the surface using an adhesive removal fluid.
- Finally clean the surface with soap and water.
