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OOOOOhhh my god!!!!!
Why, why, why did I say yes! The answer is, our dear friend Derek Pearson caught me at one of those moments we all have in business, you know, dealing with five things at the same time, but the truth of the matter is the brain overloads, and those words that all sign makers fall back on….
"Yeah no problem" and then thirty minutes later panic sets in. Oh my god.
Having never written a word since leaving school that anyone other than myself would have to decipher a couple of days later, this has filled me with fear, but as a man of my word, here goes.
Who are Trade Direct?
Trade Direct evolved to use a better word, from a small well established sign shop base in the Lincolnshire town of Spalding, still enjoying the work even after 18 years it was a great feeling to see a job grow from just a thought in the minds eye of my customers to the finished product, whether it be just a small panel sign or a whole fleet of 40'trailer livery's, those words my dear wife Sally hated so much forced there way out "I DID THAT". The design always played a major part in our work and successes came with being brave and different but technology often restricted the finished results. Then came outdoor digital imaging we had to get involved, at this stage by just using trade suppliers to print the files we sent them.
Soon finding that adding full colour images to the most simple job would not just put a smile on the customers face but also add value.(the same job…more money…higher turnover…more profit).
There were down sides, as we found over the few years that followed, mistakes happen and the problem is that with colour there are so many variables that no one warns you about, or can help you with. The truth is there are large format printing companies and there are sign companies
As I once got told from a supplier of a print that had failed on a commercial vehicle " We only printed your image and don't know what your application will be". So the time came to take control and make the investment into solvent printing equipment. It was the biggest learning curve I have ever gone through and the same thoughts went through my mind at three o'clock in the morning when I'm still trying to get a printer to print pantone bla.bla.bla as now why,why,why.
It was all worth it, the enjoyment and satisfaction are as strong as ever but now our customers have changed, gone the day Joe Bloggs the Plumber who wants his Transit lettering, now we speak and trade with sign makers who see the value in full colour outdoor sign age, but don't want
to make the capital investment nor wish the hassle that running these
machines can bring. Let alone all of the additional costs that stock, inks, maintenance contracts, laminators, etc. that I forgot and I'm sure many others have not included in their sums
Sign makers Know What Sign makers Need
The ethos of Trade Direct is to provide the service that we as a retail sign shop were always looking for. A high quality printed image, produced on the correct material for the application, at a cost that still allows profit and
within the often short time frames available.
Quality
To be able to produce high quality images, whether you use a trade supplier or your own machine, even with today's higher resolution printers, you will only get out what goes in. Image quality is of such importance but there some simple tricks that will help.
When creating a image document for print ensure you are working in CMYK, not RGB, your colours will be punchy and more vibrant, even though on screen they may look dull.
Image resolution with bitmaps is very important to prevent pixilation
Try supplying the image at 100 dpi at the size required. This will make the file large but the results can be stunning. Often images will seem almost impossible to be supplied at this kind of dpi.
So here is a solution that after many hour of messing with bad images may help.
1. Open your file in a editing program. (Adobe Photoshop for example)
2. Increase the file dpi by 10
3. Rotate the image by 10 degrees
4. Repeat step 2. and 3. until you get the size and resolution required.
Pixilation only takes place on the diagonals therefore by rotating will
help avoiding the problem.
Material
After all the work that goes into the preparation of files which require printing, to spec the wrong material for the job, can not only be costly, but embarrassing. At Trade Direct every material has been used and tested so we can offer correct advice.
One of the most exciting advances we made last year was the purchase of a Seal AS1600 liquid laminator, the main use we find is for the growing market of vehicle wrapping.
After printing on a suitable film and then liquid laminating the film has lost very little of its original properties therefore allowing application as if it had no laminate what so ever, but still having the advantages of a laminate, i.e. additional scuff resistance and an extended life expectancy.
On the other hand to use such solutions as this for something as simple as a flat panel sign would be over specified, a printed image on a 5 year calendared material with matching over laminate would be suffice and more economical. Good advise and knowledge is often free but can save and also make pounds.
At Last The End….
This is one of the very few creative industries, that not only is it possible to make a living at but also express yourself in your work. Even the great masters such as Vincent van Gogh were unable to do this. Technology is only the paint and canvas of the industry and in my opion should be embraced.
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